CHAPTER XX
AFTER THE ENGLISHMEN
"The camera gone!" gasped Ned.
"Did they chloroform us?" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "Bless my--" but for oneof the few times in his life, he did not know what to bless.
"Get all the fresh air you can," hastily advised Mr. Nestor. "Koku,open all the doors and windows," for, though it was hot during the dayin the jungle, the nights were cool, and the airship was generallyclosed up. With the inrush of the fresh air every one soon felt better.
"Is anything else gone?" asked Ned, as he followed Tom into the cameraroom.
"Yes, several rolls of unexposed films. Oh, if only they haven't gottoo much of a start! I'll get it away from them!" declared Tom withenergy.
"From who? Who took it?" asked Ned.
"Those Englishmen, of course! Who else? I believe they are in the payof Turbot and Eckert. Their taking pictures was only a bluff! They goton my trail and stuck to it. The delays we had, gave them a chance tocatch up to us. They came over to the airship, to pretend to borrowfilms, just to get a look at the place, and size it up, so they couldchloroform us, and get the camera."
"I believe you're right," declared Mr. Nestor. "We must get after thosescoundrels as quickly as possible!"
"Bless my shoulder braces!" cried Mr. Damon. "How do you imagine theyworked that trick on us?"
"Easily enough," was Mr. Nestor's opinion. "We were all dead tired lastnight, and slept like tops. They watched their chance, sneaked up, andgot in. After that it was no hard matter to chloroform each one of usin turn, and they had the ship to themselves. They looked around, foundthe camera, and made off with it."
"Well, I'm going to get right after them!" cried Tom. "Ned, start themotor. I'll steer for a while."
"Hold on! Wait a minute," suggested Mr. Nestor. "I wouldn't go off inthe ship just yet, Tom."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't know which way to go. We must find out which trailthe Englishmen took. They have African porters with them, and thoseporters doubtless know some of the blacks around here. We must inquireof the natives which way the porters went, in carrying the goods of ourrivals, for those Englishmen would not abandon camp without takingtheir baggage with them."
"That's so," admitted the young inventor. "That will be the best plan.Once I find which way they have gone I can easily overtake them in theairship. And when I find 'em--" Tom paused significantly.
"Me help you fix 'em!" cried Koku, clenching his big fist.
"They will probably figure it out that you will take after them," saidMr. Nestor, "but they may not count on you doing it in the Flyer, andso they may not try to hide. It isn't going to be an easy matter topick a small party out of the jungle though, Tom."
"Well, I've done more difficult things in my airships," spoke our hero."I'll fly low, and use the glass. I guess we can pick out their crowdof porters, though they won't have many. Oh, my camera! I hope theywon't damage it."
"They won't," was Ned's opinion. "It's too valuable. They want it totake pictures with, themselves."
"Maybe. I hope they don't open it, and see how it's made. And I'm gladI thought to hide the picture films I've taken so far. They didn't getthose away from us, only some of the blank ones," and Tom looked againin a secret closet, where he kept the battle-films, and the others, inthe dark, to prevent them from being light-struck, by any possiblechance.
"Well, if we're going to make some inquiries, let's do it," suggestedMr. Nestor. "I think I see some of the Africans over there. They havemade a temporary camp, it seems, to attend to some of their wounded."
"Do you think we can make them understand what we want?" asked Ned. "Idon't believe they speak English."
"Oh these blacks have been trading with white men," said Tom, "for theyhave 'trader's' guns, built to look at, and not to shoot very well. Ifancy we can make ourselves understood. If not, we can use signs."
Leaving Koku and Mr. Damon to guard the airship, Tom, Ned and Mr.Nestor went to the African camp. There was a large party of men there,and they seemed friendly enough. Probably winning the battle the daybefore had put them in good humor, even though many of them were hurt.
To Tom's delight he found one native who could speak a little English,and of him they made inquiries as to what direction the Englishmen hadtaken. The black talked for a while among his fellows, and thenreported to our friends that, late in the night, one of the porters,hired by Montgomery and Kenneth, had come to camp to bid a brothergood-bye. This porter had said that his masters were in a hurry to getaway, and had started west.
"That's it!" cried Mr. Nestor. "They're going to get somewhere so theycan make their way to the coast. They want to get out of Africa as fastas they can."
"And I'm going to get after 'em as fast as I can!" cried Tom grimly."Come on!"
They hurried back to the airship, finding Koku and Mr. Damon peacefullyengaged in talk, no one having disturbed them.
"Start the motor, Ned!" called his chum. "We'll see what luck we have!"
Up into the air went the Flyer, her great propellers revolving rapidly.Over the jungle she shot, and then, when he found that everything wasworking well, and that the cleaned gas generator was operating as goodas when it was new, the young inventor slowed up, and brought the craftdown to a lower level.
"For we don't want to run past these fellows, or shoot over their headsin our hurry," Tom explained. "Ned, get out the binoculars. They'reeasier to handle than the telescope. Then go up forward, and keep asharp lookout. There is something like a jungle trail below us, and itlooks to be the only one around here. They probably took that." Soonafter leaving the place where they had camped after the battle, Tom hadseen a rude path through the forest, and had followed that lead.
On sped the Flyer, after the two Englishmen, while Tom thoughtregretfully of his stolen camera.
Tom Swift and His Wizard Camera; Or, Thrilling Adventures While Taking Moving Pictures Page 20
