Contents
I Wonderful News
II An Unsuspected Listener
III Andy Is Whitewashed
IV A Perilous Flight
V News From Africa
VI "Beware The Head-Hunters!"
VII Tom Makes A Promise
VIII Eradicate Will Go
IX "That Looked Like Andy!"
X Mysterious Passengers
XI The Midnight Alarm
XII Into The Unknown
XIII Followed
XIV A Weary Search
XV The Golden Image
XVI The Map On The Gold
XVII The Ruined Temple
XVIII Finding The Tunnel
XIX The Underground River
XX The City Of Gold
XXI The Big Image
XXII Trapped
XXIII "Is It A Rescue?"
XXIV The Fight
XXV The Escape--Conclusion
"Letter for you, Tom Swift."
"Ah, thanks, Mr. Wilson. This is the first mail I've had this week.You've been neglecting me," and the young inventor took the missivewhich the Shopton postman handed to him over the gate, against whichTom was leaning one fine, warm Spring day.
"Well, I get around as often as I can, Tom. You're not home a greatdeal, you know. When you're not off in your sky racer seeing howmuch you can beat the birds, you're either hunting elephants inAfrica, or diving down under the ocean, or out in a diamond mine, orsome such out-of-the-way place as that. No wonder you don't get manyletters. But that one looks as if it had come quite a distance."
"So it does," agreed Tom, looking closely at the stamp and postmark."What do you make out of it, Mr. Wilson?" and then, just as manyother persons do when getting a strange letter, instead of openingit to see from whom it has come, Tom tried to guess by looking atthe handwriting, and trying to decipher the faint postmark. "Whatdoes that say?" and the young inventor pointed to the black stamp.
"Hum, looks like Jube--no, that first letter's a 'K' I guess," andMr. Wilson turned it upside down, thinking that would help.
"I made it out a 'G'," said Tom.
"So it is. A 'G'--you're right. Gumbo--Twamba--that's what itis--Gumba Twamba. I can make it out now all right."
"Well, where, for the love of my old geography, is Gumba Twamba?"asked the lad with a laugh.
"You've got me, Tom. Must be in Sweden, or Holland, or some of thoseforeign countries. I don't often handle letters from there, so Ican't say. Why don't you open your letter and find out who itsfrom?"
"That's what I ought to have done at first." Quickly Tom ripped openthe much worn and frayed envelope, through the cracks of which someparts of the letter already could be seen, sh