第39章

A HEAVY LOSS

"Bless my battle axe, but this is awful!" cried Mr.Damon.

"War is always a fearful thing," spoke Mr.Nestor."But this is not as bad as if the natives fought with modern weapons.See! most of them are fighting with clubs, and their fists.They don't seem to hurt each other very much.""That's so," agreed Mr.Damon.The two gentlemen were in the main cabin, looking down on the fight below them, while Tom, with Ned to help him change the reels of films, as they became filled with pictures, attended to the camera.Koku was steering the craft, as he had readily learned how to manage it.

"Are those Englishmen taking pictures yet?" asked Tom, too busy to turn his head, and look for himself.

"Yes, they're still at," replied Ned."But they seem to be having trouble with their machine," he added as he saw one of the men leave the apparatus, and run hurriedly back to where they had made a temporary camp.

"I guess it's an old-fashioned kind," commented Tom."Say, this is getting fierce!" he cried, as the natives got in closer contact with each other.It was now a hand-to-hand battle.

"I should say so!" yelled Ned."It's a wonder those Englishmen aren't afraid to be down on the same level with the black fighters.""Oh, a white person is considered almost sacred by the natives here, so the missionaries told me," said Tom."A black man would never think of raising his hand to one, and the Englishmen probably know this.They're safe enough.In fact I'm thinking of soon going down myself, and getting some views from the ground.""Bless my gizzard, Tom!" cried Mr.Damon."Don't do it!""Yes, I think I will.Why, it's safe enough.Besides, if they attack us we have the electric rifles.Ned, you tell Koku to get the guns out, to have in readiness, and then you put the ship down.I'll take a chance.""Jove! You've been doing nothing but take chances since we came on this trip!" exclaimed Ned, admiringly."All right! Here we go," and he went to relieve Koku at the wheel, while the giant, grinning cheerfully at the prospect of taking part in the fight himself, got out the rifles, including his own.

Meanwhile the native battle went on fiercely.Many on both sides fell, and not a few ran away, when they got the chance, their companions yelling at them, evidently trying to shame them into coming back.

As the airship landed, Mr.Damon, Mr.Nestor, Ned and Koku stood ready with the deadly electric rifles, in case an attack should be made on them.But the fighting natives paid no more attention to our friends than they did to the two Englishmen.The latter moved their clumsy camera from place to place, in order to get various views of the fighting.

"This is the best yet!" cried Tom, as, after a lull in the fight, when the two opposing armies had drawn a little apart, they came together again more desperately than before."I hope the pictures are being recorded all right.I have to go at this thing pretty much in the dark.Say, look at the beggars fight!" he finished.

But a battle, even between uncivilized blacks, cannot go on for very long at a time.Many had fallen, some being quite severely injured it seemed, being carried off by their friends.Then, with a sudden rush, the side which, as our friends learned later, had been robbed of their cattle, made a fierce attack, overwhelming their enemies, and compelling them to retreat.Across the open plain the vanquished army fled, with the others after them.Tom, meanwhile, taking pictures as fast as he could.