“I guess his royal highness will remain friends with us,” said Ned with a smile, as he heard the music.  “He can see what a lot of presents and other things we have, and as for that Delby, he doesn’t seem to have much of anything.”

“Oh, I haven’t shown half the things I have as yet,” spoke Tom.  “But I don’t like this, just the same.  Those giants may turn from us, and favor him on the slightest pretence.  I guess we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“Then let’s plan some way to beat him,” suggested Mr. Damon.  “Look over your goods, Tom, and make the king a present that will bind his friendship to us.”

“I believe I will,” decided the young inventor and then he and Ned began overhauling the boxes and bales, while a crowd of curious giants stood without their hut, and another throng surrounded the palace of the giant king.

“There goes Delby out to get something from his baggage,” announced Ned, looking from the window.  Tom saw his rival taking something from one of the packs slung across the back of a mule.  Soon the circus agent hurried back into the king’s hut, and a moment later there was heard the strains of a banjo being picked by an unpracticed hand.  It was succeeded by a rattling tune played in good style.

“Bless my fiddlestick!” exclaimed Mr. Damon, “Does your phonograph have a banjo record, Tom?”

“No.” was the somewhat hesitating answer of the young inventor.  “Delby who can play a banjo himself must have given Kosk one for a present, and, like a child, the king is amused by the latest novelty.  So far he has scored one on us,” he added, as once more they heard the unmelodious strains of the banjo slowly picked.  “The king is evidently learning to play the instrument, and he’d rather have that than a phonograph, which only winds up.”

“But haven’t you some other things you can give the king to off-set the banjo?” asked Mr. Damon.

“Plenty of them,” replied Tom.  “But if I give him—­say a toy steam engine, for I have one among our things—­what is to prevent Delby giving him some other novelty that will take his attention?  In that way we’ll sea-saw back and forth, and I guess Delby has had more experience in this business than I have.  It’s going to be a question which of us gets a giant.”

“Bless my reserved seat ticket!” exclaimed Mr. Damon.  “I never heard of such a thing!  But, Tom, I’m sure we’ll win out.”

“Get something startling to give the king,” advised Ned, and Tom began opening one of the boxes that had been transported with such labor from the coast.

“Delby had much better luck with his mule drivers than we did Tom,” remarked Ned as he saw the two natives standing by the pack animals of the rival circus man.  “They evidently didn’t get scared off by the giants.”

“No, but probably he didn’t tell them where they were headed for.  Though, as a matter of fact, I don’t believe any one has anything to fear from these big men.  All they ask is to be let alone.  They’re not at all warlike, and I don’t believe they’d attack the other natives.  But probably their size makes them feared, and when our drivers heard the word ‘giant’ they simply wilted.”