"That's it.Got on your banking air already," Tom laughed."To sum it up for you--notice I use the word `sum,' which is very appropriate for a bank--the professor has got on the track of another lost or hidden city.This one, the name of which doesn't appear, is in the Copan valley of Honduras, and----""Copan," interrupted Ned."It sounds like the name of some new floor varnish.""Well, it isn't, though it might be," laughed Tom."Copan is a city, in the Department of Copan, near the boundary between Honduras and Guatemala.A fact I learned from the article and not because I remembered my geography.""I was going to say," remarked Ned with a smile, "that you were coming it rather strong on the school-book stuff.""Oh, it's all plainly written down there," and Tom waved toward the magazine at which Ned was looking."As you'll see, if you take the trouble to go through it, as I did, Copan is, or maybe was, for all I know, one of the most important centers of the Mayan civilization.""What's Mayan?" asked Ned."You see I'm going to imbibe my information by the deductive rather than the excavative process," he added with a laugh.
"I see," laughed Tom."Well, Mayan refers to the Mayas, an aboriginal people of Yucatan.The Mayas had a peculiar civilization of their own, thousands of years ago, and their calendar system was so involved----""Never mind about dates," again interrupted Ned."Get down to brass tacks.I'm willing to take your word for it that there's a Copan valley in Honduras.But what has your friend Professor Bumper to do with it?""This.He has come across some old manuscripts, or ancient document records, referring to this valley, and they state, according to this article he has written for the magazine, that somewhere in the valley is awonderful city, traces of which have been found twenty to forty feet below the surface, on which great trees are growing, showing that the city was covered hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago.""But where does the idol of gold come in?""I'm coming to that," said Tom."Though, if Professor Bumper has his way, the idol will be coming out instead of coming in.""You mean he wants to get it and take it away from the Copan valley, Tom?""That's it, Ned.It has great value not only from the amount of pure gold that is in it, but as an antique.I fancy the professor is more interested in that aspect of it.But he's written a wonderful story, telling how he happened to come across the ancient manuscripts in the tomb of some old Indian whose mummy he unearthed on a trip to Central America."Then he tells of the trouble he had in discovering how to solve the key to the translation code; but when he did, he found a great storyunfolded to him.
"This story has to do with the hidden city, and tells of the ancient civilization of those who lived in the Copan valley thousands of years ago.The people held this idol of gold to be their greatest treasure, and they put to death many of other tribes who sought to steal it.""Whew!" whistled Ned."That IS some yarn.But what is Professor Bumper going to do about it?""I don't know.The article seems to be written with an idea of interesting scientists and research societies, so that they will raise money to conduct a searching expedition.
"Perhaps by this time the party may be organized--this magazine is several months old.I have been so busy on my stabilizer patent that I haven't kept up with current literature.Take it home and read it! Ned.That is if you're through telling me about my affairs," for Ned, who had formerly worked in the Shopton bank, had recently been made general financial man- ager of the interests of Tom and his father.The two were inventors and proverbially poor business men, though they had amassed a fortune.
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going over the books, and I'll submit a detailed report later."The telephone bell rang and Tom picked up the instrument from the desk.As he answered in the usual way and then listened a moment, a strange look came over his face.
"Well, this certainly is wonderful!" he exclaimed, in much the same manner as when he had finished reading the article about the idol."It certainly is a strange coincidence," he added, speaking in an aside to Ned while he himself still listened to what was being told to him over the telephone wire.
