CHAPTER XXII
A NIGHT ATTACK
"Well, what's to be done?"
Tom Swift asked that question.
"Bless my percussion cap! They certainly are the very worst imps forfighting that I ever heard of," commented Mr. Damon helplessly.
"Is the gas bag much punctured?" asked Ned Newton.
"Wait a minute," resumed the young inventor, as he pulled the speedlever a trifle farther over, thereby sending the craft forward moreswiftly, "I think my question ought to be answered first. What's tobe done? Are we going to run away, and leave that man and woman totheir fate?"
"Of course not!" declared Mr. Durban stoutly, "but we couldn't staythere, and have them destroy the airship."
"No, that's so," admitted Tom, "if we lost the airship it would beall up with us and our chances of rescuing the missionaries. Butwhat can we do? I hate to retreat!"
"But what else is there left for us?" demanded Ned.
"Nothing, of course. But we've got to plan to get the best of thosered pygmies. We can't go back in the airship, and give them openbattle. There are too many of them, and, by Jove! I believe more arecoming every minute!"
Tom and the others looked down. From all sides of the plain,hastening toward the village of mud huts, from which our friendswere retreating, could be seen swarms of the small but fiercesavages. They were coming from the jungle, and were armed with warclubs, bows and arrows and the small but formidable blowguns.
"Where are they coming from?" asked Mr. Damon.
"From the surrounding tribes," explained Mr. Durban. "They have beensummoned to do battle against us."
"But how did the ones we fought get word to the others so soon?" Neddemanded.
"Oh, they have ways of signaling," explained Mr. Anderson. "They canmake the notes of some of their hollow-tree drums carry a longdistance, and then they are very swift runners, and can penetrateinto the jungle along paths that a white man would hardly see. Theyalso use the smoke column as a signal, as our own American Indiansused to do. Oh, they can summon all their tribesmen to the fight,and they probably will. Likely the sound of our guns attracted theimps, though if we all had electric rifles like Tom's they wouldn'tmake any noise."
"Well, my rifle didn't appear to do so very much good this time,"observed the young inventor, as he stopped the forward motion of theship now, and let it hover over the plain in sight of the village,the gas bag serving to sustain the craft, and there was little windto cause it to drift. "Those fellows didn't seem to mind being hurtand killed any more than if mosquitoes were biting them."
"The trouble is we need a whole army, armed with electric rifles tomake a successful attack," said Mr. Durban. "There are swarms ofthem there now, and more coming every minute. I do hope Mr. and Mrs.Illingway are alive yet."
"Yes," added Mr. Anderson solemnly, "we must hope for the best. But,like Tom Swift, I ask, what's to be done?"
"Bless my thinking cap!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "It seems to me if wecan't fight them openly in the daytime, there's only one other thingto do."
"What's that?" asked Tom. "Go away? I'll not do it!"
"No, not go away," exclaimed Mr. Damon, "but make a night attack. Weought to be able to do something then, and with your illuminatingrifle, Tom, we'd have an advantage! What do you say?"
"I say it's the very thing!" declared Tom, with sudden enthusiasm."We'll attack them to-night, when they're off their guard, and we'llsee if we can't get the missionaries out of that hut. And to betterfool the savages, we'll just disappear now, and make 'em believewe've flown away."
"Then the missionaries will think we're deserting them," objectedMr. Anderson.
But there was no help for it, and so Tom once more turned on thepower and the craft sailed away.
Tomba, the faithful black, begged to be allowed to go down, and tellhis master and mistress that help would soon be at hand again, eventhough it looked like a retreat on the part of the rescuers, butthis could not be permitted.
"They'd tear you in pieces as soon as you got among those red imps,"said Tom. "You stay here, Tomba, and you can help us to-night."
"A'right, me glad help lick red fellows," said the black, with ascheerful a grin as he could summon.
The Black Hawk circled around, with Tom and the others looking for agood place to land. They were out of sight of the village now butdid not doubt but that they were observed by the keen eyes of thelittle men.
"We want to pick out a place where they won't come upon us as wedescend," declared Tom. "We've got to mend some leaks in the gasbag, for, while they are not serious, if we get any more puncturesthey may become so. So we've got to pick out a good place to godown."
Finally, by means of powerful glasses, a desolate part of the junglewas selected. No files of the red dwarfs, coming from theirscattered villages to join their tribesmen, had been noted in thevicinity picked out, and it was hoped that it would answer. Slowlythe airship settled to earth, coming to rest in a thick grove oftrees, where there was an opening just large enough to allow theBlack Hawk to enter.
Our friends were soon busy repairing the leaks in the bag, while Mr.Damon got a meal ready. As they ate they talked over plans for thenight attack.
It was decided to wait until it was about two o'clock in themorning, as at that hour the dwarfs were most generally asleep,Tomba said. They always stayed up quite late, sitting around camp-fires,and eating the meat which the hunters brought in each day. But theircarousings generally ended at midnight, the black said, and then theyfell into a heavy sleep. They did not post guards, but since they knewof the presence of the white men in the airship, they might do itthis time.
"Well, we've got to take our chance," decided Tom. "We'll start offfrom here about one o'clock, and I'll send the ship slowly along.We'll get right over the hut where the captives are, if possible,and then descend. I'll manage the ship, and one of you can work theelectric rifle if they attack us. We'll make a dash, get Mr. andMrs. Illingway from the hut, and make a quick get-away."
It sounded good, and they were impatient to put it into operation.That afternoon Tom and his friends went carefully over every inch oftheir craft, to repair it and have it in perfect working order. Gunswere cleaned, and plenty of ammunition laid out. Then, shortly afterone o'clock in the morning the ship was sent up, and with thesearchlight ready to be turned on instantly, and with his electricrifle near at hand, Tom Swift guided his craft on to the attack.Soon they could see the glow of dying fires in the dwarfs' village,but no sound came from the sleeping hordes of red imps.