Greatly excited by the strange news, but maintaining as calm an air outwardly as possible, so as not to excite the Indians, Tom and his friends returned to camp to prepare for their trip.  Goosal had said the cavern lay distant more than a two-days’ journey into the jungle.

CHAPTER XXII

THE STORM

“Now,” remarked Tom, once they were back again in their camp, “we must go about this trip to the cavern in a way that will cause no suspicion over there as to what our object is,” and he nodded in the direction of the quarters of his rival.

“Do you mean to go off quietly?” asked Ned.

“Yes.  And to keep the work going on here, at these shafts,” put in the scientist, “so that if any of their spies happen to come here they will think we still believe the buried city to be just below us.  To that end we must keep the Indians digging, though I am convinced now that it is useless.”

Accordingly preparations were made for an expedition into the jungle under the leadership of Goosal.  Tal had not sufficiently recovered from the jaguar wounds to go with the party, but the old man, in spite of his years, was hale and hearty and capable of withstanding hardships.

One of the most intelligent of the Indians was put in charge of the digging gangs as foreman, and told to keep them at work, and not to let them stray.  Tolpec, whose brother Tom had tried to save, proved a treasure.  He agreed to remain behind and look after the interests of his friends, and see that none of their baggage or stores were taken.

“Well, I guess we’re as ready as we ever shall be,” remarked Tom, as the cavalcade made ready to start.  Mules carried the supplies that were to be taken into the jungle, and others of the sturdy animals were to be ridden by the travelers.  The trail was not an easy one, Goosal warned them.

Tom and his friends found it even worse than they had expected, for all their experience in jungle and mountain traveling.  In places it was necessary to dismount and lead the mules along, sometimes pushing and dragging them.  More than once the trail fairly hung on the edge of some almost bottomless gorge, and again it wound its way between great walls of rock, so poised that they appeared about to topple over and crush the travelers.  But they kept on with dogged patience, through many hardships.

To add to their troubles they seemed to have entered the abode of the fiercest mosquitoes encountered since coming to Honduras.  At times it was necessary to ride along with hats covered with mosquito netting, and hands encased in gloves.

They had taken plenty of condensed food with them, and they did not suffer in this respect.  Game, too, was plentiful and the electric rifles of Tom and Ned added to the larder.

One night, after a somewhat sound sleep induced by hard travel on the trail that day, Tom awoke to hear some one or something moving about among their goods, which included their provisions.