o a bit
of thinking, and he believed he could do it best by himself. So it was
late afternoon when he again greeted Ned, who, meanwhile, had been kept
very busy.

"Well?" called Tom's chum.

"Um!" was the only answer, and Tom called Koku to put the car away in
the garage.

"Something wrong," mused Ned.

The next three days were crowded with events and with work. Mr. Damon
came over frequently to consult with Tom and Ned, and finally the last
of their baggage had been packed, certain of Tom's inventions and
implements sent on by express to New York to be taken to Honduras, and
then our friends themselves followed to the metropolis.

"Good-bye, Tom," said his father. "Good-bye, and good luck! If you
don't get the idol of gold I'm sure you'll have experiences that will
be valuable to you."

"We're going to get the idol of gold!" said Tom determinedly.

"Look out for the bad bugs," suggested Eradicate.

"We will," promised Ned.

Tom's last act was to send a message to Mary Nestor, and then he, with
Ned and Mr. Damon, who blessed everything in sight from the gasoline in
the automobile to the blue sky overhead, started for the station.

New York was reached without incident. The trio put up at the hotel
where Professor Bumper was to meet them.

"He hasn't arrived yet," said Tom, after glancing over the names on the
hotel register and not seeing Professor Bumper's among them.

"Oh, he'll be here all right," asserted Mr. Damon. "Bless my galvanic
battery! he sent me a telegram at one o'clock this morning saying he'd
be sure to meet us in New York. No fear of him not starting for the
land of wonders."

"There are some other professors registered, though," observed Ned, as
he glanced at the book, noting the names of several scientists of whom
he and Tom had read.

"Yes. I wonder what they're doing in New York," replied Tom. "They
are from New England. Maybe there's a convention going on. Well,
we'll have to wait, that's all, until Professor Bumper comes."

And during that wait Tom heard something that surprised him and caused
him no little worry. It was when Ned came back to his room, which
adjoined Tom's, that the young treasurer gave his chum the news.

"I say, Tom!" Ned exclaimed. "Who do you think those professors are,
whose names we saw on the register?"

"I haven't the least idea."

"Why, they're of Beecher's party!"

"You don't mean it!"

"I surely do."

"How do you know?"

"I hap