Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle; Or, Daring Adventures in Elephant Land

by Victor Appleton

  CHAPTER VI

  NEWS FROM ANDY

  Tom Swift's former airship, the Red Cloud, had been such a finecraft, and had done such good service that he thought, in building asuccessor, that he could do no better than to follow the design ofthe skyship which had been destroyed in the ice caves. But, ontalking with the old elephant hunter, and learning something of thepeculiarities of the African jungle the young inventor decided oncertain changes.

  In general the Black Hawk would be on the lines of the Red Cloud butit would be smaller and lighter and would also be capable of swiftermotion.

  "You want it so that it will rise and descend quickly and at sharpangles," said Mr. Durban.

  "Why," inquired Tom.

  "Because in Africa, at least in the part where we will go, there arewide patches of jungle and forest, with here and there big openplaces. If you are skimming along close to the ground, in an openplace, in pursuit of a herd of elephants and they should suddenlyplunge into the forest, you would want to be able to rise above thetrees quickly."

  "That's so," admitted Tom. "Then I'll have to use a smaller gas bagthan we had on the other ship, for the air resistance to that bigone made us go slowly at times."

  "Will it be as safe with a small bag?" Mr. Damon wanted to know.

  "Yes, for I will use a more powerful gas, so that we will be morequickly lifted," said the young inventor. "I will also retain theaeroplane feature, so that the Black Hawk will be a combined biplaneand dirigible balloon. But it will have many new features. I havethe plans all drawn for a new style of gas generating apparatus, andI think it can be made in time."

  There were busy days about the Swift home. Mrs. Baggert, thehousekeeper, was in despair. She said the good meals she got readywere wasted, because no one would come to table when they wereready. She would ring the bell, and announce that dinner would beserved in five minutes.

  Then Tom would shout from his workshop that he could not leave untilhe had inserted a certain lever in place. Mr. Jackson wouldpositively decline to sit down until he had screwed fast some partof a machine. Even Mr. Swift, who, because of his recent illness,was not allowed to do much, would often delay his meal to test somenew style of gears.

  As for Mr. Damon, it was to be expected that he would be eccentricas he always was. He was not an expert mechanic, but he knewsomething of machinery and was of considerable help to Tom in therush work on the airship. He would hear the dinner bell ring, andwould exclaim:

  "Bless my napkin ring! I can't come now. I have to fix up thiselectrical register first."

  And so it would go. Eradicate and Boomerang, his mule, were the onlyones who ate regularly, and they always insisted on stopping atexactly twelve o'clock to partake of the noonday meal.

  "'Cause ef I didn't," explained the colored man, "dat contrary muleob mine would lay down in de dust ob de road an' not move a step,lessen' he got his oats. So dat's why we has t' eat, him an' me."

  "Well, I'm glad there's some one who's got sense," murmured Mrs.Baggert. Eradicate and Boomerang were of great service in thehurried work that followed, for the colored man in his cart broughtfrom town, or from the freight depot, many things that Tom needed.

  The young inventor was very enthusiastic about his proposed trip,and at night, after a hard day's work in the shop, he would readbooks on African hunting, or he would sit and listen to the storiestold by Mr. Durban. And the latter knew how to tell hunting tales,for he had been long in his dangerous calling, and had had manynarrow escapes.

  "And there are other dangers than from elephants and wild beasts inAfrica," he said.

  "Bless my toothbrush!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "Do you mean cannibals,Mr. Durban?"

  "Some cannibals," was the reply. "But they're not the worst. I meanthe red pygmies. I hope we don't get into their clutches."

  "Red pygmies!" repeated Tom, wonderingly.

  "Yes, they're a tribe of little creatures, about three feet high,covered with thick reddish hair, who live in the central part ofAfrica, near some of the best elephant-hunting ground. They arewild, savage and ferocious, and what they lack individually instrength, they make up in numbers. They're like little red apes, andwoe betide the unlucky hunter who falls into their merciless hands.They treat him worse than the cannibals do."

  "Then we'll look out for them," said Tom. "But I fancy my electricrifle will make them give us a wide berth."

  "It's a great gun," admitted the old hunter with a shake of hishead, "but those red pygmies are terrible creatures. I hope we don'tget them on our trail. But tell me, Tom, how are you coming on withthe airship? for I don't know much about mechanics, and to me itlooks as if it would never be put together. It's like one of thosequeer puzzles I've seen 'em selling in the streets of London."

  "Oh, it's nearer ready than it looks to be," said Tom. "We'll haveit assembled, and ready for a trial in about two weeks more."

  Work on the Black Hawk was rushed more than ever in the next fewdays, another extra machinist being engaged. Then the craft began toassume shape and form, and with the gas bag partly inflated and thebig planes stretching out from either side, it began to looksomething like the ill-fated Red Cloud.

  "It's going to be a fine ship!" cried Tom enthusiastically, one day,as he went to the far side of the ship to get a perspective view ofit. "We'll make good time in this."

  "Are you going to sail all the way to Africa--across the ocean--inher?" asked Mr. Durban, in somewhat apprehensive tones.

  "Oh, no," replied Tom. "I believe she would be capable of taking usacross the ocean, but there is no need of running any unnecessaryrisks. I want to get her safely to Africa, and have her do stunts inelephant land."

  "Then what are your plans?" asked the hunter.

  "We'll put her together here," said Tom, "give her a good try-out tosee that she works well, and then pack her up for shipment to theAfrican coast by steamer. We'll go on the same ship, and when wearrive we'll put the Black Hawk together again, and set sail for theinterior."

  "Good idea," commented Mr. Durban. "Now, if you've no objections,I'm going to do a little practice with the electric rifle."

  "Go ahead," assented Tom. "There comes Ned Newton; he'll be glad ofa chance for a few shots while I work on this new propeller motor.It just doesn't suit me."

  The bank clerk, who had arranged to go to Africa with Tom, was seenadvancing toward the aeroplane shed. In his hand Ned held a paper,and as he saw Tom he called out:

  "Have you heard the news?"

  "What news?" inquired the young inventor.

  "About Andy Foger. He and his aeroplane are lost!"

  "Lost!" cried Tom, for in spite of the mean way the bully hadtreated him our hero did not wish him any harm.

  "Well, not exactly lost," went on Ned, as he held out the paper toTom, "but he and his sky-craft have disappeared."

  "Disappeared?"

  "Yes. You know he and that German, Mr. Landbacher, went over toEurope to give some aviation exhibitions. Well, I see by this paperthat they went to Egypt, and were doing a high-flying stunt there,when a gale sprang up, they lost control of the aeroplane and it wasswept out of sight."

  "In which direction; out to sea?"

  "No, toward the interior of Africa."

  "Toward the interior of Africa!" cried Tom. "And that's where we'regoing in a couple of weeks. Andy in Africa!"

  "'Maybe we'll see him there," suggested Ned.

  "Well, I certainly hope we do not!" exclaimed Tom, as he turned backto his work, with an undefinable sense of fear in his heart.