CHAPTER XVI
SEEKING THE MISSIONARIES
"Here! Come back!" yelled Mr. Damon and Mr. Anderson, in the samebreath, while the old elephant hunter cried out: "Don't you knowyou're risking your life, Tom to go off in the dark, to trail alion?"
"I can't stand it to let the native be carried off!" Tom shoutedback.
"But you can't see in the dark," objected Mr. Anderson. He hadprobably forgotten the peculiar property of the electric rifle. Tomkept on, and the others slowly followed.
The natives had at once ceased their merrymaking at the roaring ofthe lions, and now all were gathered close about the campfires, onwhich more wood had been piled, to drive away the fearsome brutes.
"There must be a lot of them," observed Mr. Durban, as menacinggrowls and roars came from the jungle, along the edge of which Tomand the others were walking just then. "There are so many of thebrutes that they are bold, and they must be hungry, too. They cameclose to our fire, because it wasn't so bright as the other blazes,and that native must have wandered off into the forest. Well, Iguess it's all up with him."
"He's screaming yet," observed Ned.
Indeed, above the rumbling roars of the lions, and the crackling ofthe campfires, could be heard the moaning cries of the unfortunateblack.
"He's right close here!" suddenly called Tom. "He's skirting thejungle. I think I can get him!"
"Don't take any risks!" called Mr. Durban, who had caught up his ownrifle, that was now in working order again.
Tom Swift was not in sight. He had now penetrated into the jungle--intothe black forest where stalked the savage lions, intent ongetting other prey. Mr. Durban and Mr. Anderson vainly tried topierce the darkness to see something at which to shoot. Ned Newtonhad eagerly started to follow his chum, but could not discern whereTom was. A nameless fear clutched at the lad's heart. Mr. Damon wassoftly blessing everything of which he could think.
Once more came that pitiful cry from the native, who was, as theyafterward learned, being dragged along by the lion, who had grabbedhim by the shoulder.
Suddenly in the dense jungle there shone a purple-bluish light. Itilluminated the scene like some great sky-rocket for an instant, andin that brief time Ned and the others caught sight of a great, tawnyform, bounding along. It was a lion, with head held high, draggingalong a helpless black man.
A second later, and before the intense glare had died away, thewatchers saw the lion gently sink down, as though weary. He stoppedshort in his tracks, his head rolled back, the jaws relaxed and thenative, who was unconscious now, toppled to one side.
"Tom's killed him with the electric rifle!" cried Mr. Durban.
"Bless my incandescent lamp! so he has," agreed Mr. Damon. "Bless mydynamo! but that's a wonderful gun, it's as powerful as athunderbolt, or as gentle as a summer shower."
Mr. Durban seeing that the lion was dead, in that brief glance hehad had of the brute, called to some of the natives to come and gettheir tribesman. They came, timidly enough at first, carrying manytorches, but when they understood that the lion was dead, theyadvanced more boldly. They carried the wounded black to a hut, wherethey applied their simple but effective remedies for the cruel bitein his shoulder.
After Tom had shot several other of the illuminated charges into thejungle, to see if he could discover any more lions, but failed to doso, he and his friends returned to the anchored airship, amid themurmured thanks of the Africans.
Bright fires were kept blazing all the rest of the night, but,though lions could be heard roaring in the jungle, and though theyapproached alarmingly close to the place where our friends wereencamped, none of the savage brutes ventured within the clearing.
With the valuable store of ivory aboard the Black Hawk, which wasnow completely repaired, an early start was made the next morning.The Africans besought Tom and his companions to remain, for it wasnot often they could have the services of white men in slayingelephants and lions.
"But, we've got to get on the trail," decided Tom, when the nativeshad brought great stores of food, and such simple presents as theypossessed, to induce the travelers to remain.
"Every hour may add to the danger of the missionaries in the handsof the red pygmies."
"Yes," said Mr. Anderson gravely, "it is our duty to save them."
And so the airship mounted into the air, our friends wavingfarewells to the simple-hearted blacks, who did a sort of farewellwar-dance in their honor, shouting their praises aloud, and beatingthe drums and tom-toms, so that the echoes followed for some timeafter the Black Hawk had begun to mount upward toward the sky.
The craft was in excellent shape, due to the overhauling Tom hadgiven it while making the repairs. With the propellers beating theair, and the rudder set to hold them about two thousand feet high,the travelers moved rapidly over clearings, forests and jungles.
It was agreed that now, when they had made such a good start incollecting ivory, that they would spend the next few days in tryingto get on the trail of the red pygmies. It might seem a simplematter, after knowing the approximate location of the land of thesefierce little natives, to have proceeded directly to it. But Africais an immense continent, and even in an airship comparatively littleof the interior can be seen at a time.
Besides, the red pygmies had a habit of moving from place to place,and they were so small, and so wild, capable of living in very tinyhuts or caves, and so primitive, not building regular villages asthe other Africans do, that as Ned said, they were as hard to locateas the proverbial flea.
Our friends had a general idea of where to look for them, but onnearing that land, and making inquiries of several friendly tribes,they learned that the red pygmies had suddenly disappeared fromtheir usual haunts.
"I guess they heard that we were after them," said Tom, with a grimsmile one day, as he sent the airship down toward the earth, forthey were over a great plain, and several native villages could beseen dotted on its surface.
"More likely they are in hiding because they have as captives twowhite persons," said Mr. Anderson. "They are fierce and fearless,but, nevertheless, they have, in times past, felt the vengeance ofthe white man, and perhaps they dread that now."
They made a descent, and spent several days making inquiries fromthe friendly blacks about the race of little men. But scarcelyanything was learned. Some of the negro tribes admitted having heardof the red pygmies, and others, with superstitious incantations andimprecations, said they had never heard of them.
One tribe of very large negroes had heard a rumor to the effect thatthe band of the pygmies was several days' journey from theirvillage, across the mountains, and when Tom sent his airship there,the searchers only found an impenetrable jungle, filled with lionsand other wild beasts, but not a sign of the pygmies, and with noelephants to reward their search.
"But we're not going to give up," declared Tom, and the othersagreed with him. Forward went the Black Hawk in the search for theimprisoned ones, but, as the days passed, and no news was had, itseemed to grow more and more hopeless.
"I'm afraid if we do find them now," remarked Mr. Anderson atlength, "that we'll only recover the bodies of the missionaries."
"Then we'll avenge them," said Tom quietly.
They had stopped at another native village to make inquiries, butwithout result, and were about to start off again that night when arunner came in to announce that a herd of big elephants was feedingnot many miles away.
"Well, we'll stay over a day or so, and get some more ivory,"decided Mr. Durban and that night they got ready for what was toprove a big hunt.