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.If we run across any elephant herds in the meanwhile, we canstop, get the ivory, and proceed."They discussed this plan at some length, and agreed that it was the bestthing to do.Mr.Durban had a map of the country around the center of Africa,and he marked on it, as nearly as he could, the location of the pygmies'country, while Mr.Anderson also had a chart, showing the location of themission which had been wiped out of existence.It was in the midst of a wildand desolate region."We'll do the best we can," declared Tom, "and I think we'll succeed.Weought to be there in about a week, if we have no bad luck."All that night the Black Hawk flew on over Africa, covering mile after mile,passing over jungle, forest, plains, rivers and lakes, and, doubtless, overmany native villages, though they could not be seen.Morning found the travelers above a great, grassy plain, dotted here andthere with negro settlements which were separated by rivers, lakes or thinpatches of forest."Well, we'll speed up a bit," decided Tom after breakfast, which was eatento the weird accompaniment of hundreds of native warning drums, beaten by thesuperstitious blacks.Tom went to the engine room, and turned on more speed.He was about to goback to the pilot house, to set the automatic steering apparatus to coincidewith the course mapped out, when there was a crash of metal, an ominoussnapping and buzzing sound, followed by a sudden silence."What's that?" cried Ned, who was in the motor compartment with his chum."Something's gone wrong!" exclaimed the young inventor, as he sprang backtoward the engine.The propellers had ceased revolving, and as there was nogas in the bag at that time, it having been decided to save the vapor forfuture needs, the Black Hawk began falling toward the earth."We're going down!" yelled Ned."Yes, the main motor has broken!" exclaimed Tom."We'll have to descend torepair it.""Say!" yelled Mr.Damon, rushing in, "we're right over a big Africanvillage! Are we going to fall among the natives?""It looks that way," admitted Tom grimly, as he hastened to the pilot houseto shift the wings so that the craft could glide easily to the ground."Bless my shoe blacking!" cried the eccentric man as he heard the beating ofdrums, and the shouts of the savages.A little later the airship had settled into the midst of a crowd of Africans,who swarmed all about the craft.CHAPTER XIII.ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL"Get ready with your guns, everybody!" cried the old elephant hunter, as heprepared to leave the cabin of theBlack Hawk."Tom Swift, don't forget your electric rifle.There'll be troublesoon!"Tom Swift and His Electric RifleCHAPTER XIII.ON AN ELEPHANT TRAIL38Page 35ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html"Bless my cartridge belt!" gasped Mr.Damon."Why? What will happen?""The natives," answered Mr.Durban."They'll attack us sure as fate! See,already they're getting out their bows and arrows, and blowguns! They'llpierce the gas bag in a hundred places!""If they do, it will be a bad thing for us," muttered Tom."We can't havethat happen."He followed the old elephant hunter outside, and Mr.Anderson, Ned Newton andMr.Damon trailed after, each one with a gun, while Tom had his electricweapon.The airship rested on its wheels on some level ground, just in frontof a large hut, surrounded by a number of smaller ones.All about were thenatives, tall, gaunt black men, hideous in their savagery, wearing only theloin cloth, and with their kinky hair stuck full of sticks, bones and otherodd objects they presented a curious sight.Some of them were dancing about, brandishing their weaponsclubs spears, bows,and arrows, or the long, slender blowguns, consisting merely of a hollowreed.Women and children there were, too, also dancing and leaping about,howling at the tops of their voices.Above the unearthly din could be heardthe noise of the drums and tomtoms, while, as the adventurers drew up infront of their airship, there came a sort of chant, and a line of natives,dressed fantastically in the skins of beasts, came filing out of the largehut."The witchdoctors!" exclaimed Tom, who had read of them in African travelbooks [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]