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Page 51
"Not the red pygmies?" asked Tom eagerly.
"Yes; this hunter has news of them. He has been to the border of
their country, and narrowly escaped capture. Then he was attacked by
a lion, and slightly wounded. But, Tom, now we can get on the
trail!"
"Good!" cried the young inventor. "That's fine news!" and he
rejoiced that once more there would be activity, for he was tired of
remaining in the African camp, and then, too, he wanted to proceed
to the rescue. Already it might be too late to save the unfortunate
missionaries.
CHAPTER XIX
AN APPEAL FOR HELP
The African hunter's story was soon told. He had gone on farther
than had any of his companions, and, being a bold and brave man, had
penetrated into the very fastness of the jungle where few would dare
to venture.
But even he had despaired of getting on the trail of the fierce
little red men, until one afternoon, just at dusk he had heard
voices in the forest. Crouching behind a fallen tree, he waited and
saw passing by some of the pygmy hunters, armed with bows and
arrows, and blowguns. They had been out after game. Cautiously the
hunter followed them, until he located one of their odd villages,
which consisted of little mud huts, poorly made.
The black hunter remained in the vicinity of the pygmies all that
night, and was almost caught, for some wild dogs which hung around
the village smelled him out, and attracted to him the attention of
the dwarf savages. The hunter took to a tree, and so escaped. Then,
carefully marking the trail, he came away in the morning. When near
home, a lion had attacked him, but he speared the beast to death,
after a hand-to-hand struggle in which his leg was torn.
"And do you think we can find the place?" asked Ned, when Mr. Durban
had finished translating the hunter's story.
"I think so," was the reply.
"But is this the settlement where the missionaries are?" asked Tom
anxiously.
"That is what we don't know," said Mr. Anderson. "The native scout
could not learn that. But once we get on the trail of the dwarfs, I
think we can easily find the particular tribe which has the
captives."
"At any rate, we'll get started and do something," declared Tom, and
the next day, after the African hunter had described, as well as he
could, where the place was, the Black Hawk was sent up into the air,
good-bys were called down, and once more the adventurers were under
way.
It was decided that they had better proceed cautiously, and lower
the airship, and anchor it, sometime before getting above the place
where the pygmy village was.
"For they may see us, and, though they don't know what our craft is,
they may take the alarm and hide deeper in the jungle with the
prisoners, where we can't find them," said Tom.
His plan was adopted, and, while it had taken the native hunter
several days to reach the borders of the dwarfs' land, those in the
airship made the trip in one day. That is, they came as far toward
it as they thought would be safe, and one night, having located a
landmark which Mr. Durban said was on the border, the nose of the
Black Hawk was pointed downward, and soon they were encamped in a
little clearing in the midst of the dense jungle which was all about
them.
With his electric rifle, Tom noiselessly killed some birds, very
much like chicken, of which an excellent meal was made and then, as
it became dark very early, and as nothing could be done, they
lighted a campfire, and retired inside their craft to pass the
night.
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