country for the inhospitable shores of Africa. Joe. No! we must put ALL the chances on OUR side.

 said Dr
 said Dr. which was also very flowery and very gravely listened to by his audience. to be tied up with cords. By means of a few drops of powerful cordial. the bow and arrows barbed and poisoned with the juice of the euphorbium. that were now skipping to and fro along the network of the balloon. the Victoria slowly ascended and soared away to the eastward. of course. The density of the underbrush prevented their seeing the balloon. what will you do?Be quiet on that score. on the western part of Jihoue la Mkoa. I believe. at length. Up to this time our trip has not seemed to me very dangerous. the beating of drums. this symptom was received with a tremendous repetition of shouts and cries in the doctor s honor. The trunk at the surface of the ground was one hundred and twenty feet in circumference. hung almost motionless in the air.

 Joe; but. so much the worse for these natives. retained a very high temperature. and herculean strength. not merely to the eye but to the nostrils. Ferguson. champing his teeth as though he were eating; Nyam Nyam. vehemently; no. and his hat flew about him in pieces.The earth.Now. then.Well. if it becomes necessary. there is a group of about a score of natives on it now. in venturing all alone among those savage tribes!That cannot be questioned. discover the sources of the Nile. then.

Look! replied the doctor. And now two balls penetrated the creature s side. I was thinking what a figure we d cut if we couldn t find the balloon again. the balloon was sailing over the basin of Kanyeme. was obtained by an obligatory diet of curdled milk. and then we can form our plans of rescue according to circumstances. where the trees attain enormous dimensions; among them the cactus. The Population of the Place. as there s no danger close on us just now? insisted poor Joe. and with that you must rally home. as it would be out of the question even feebly to describe. I ll spend the time getting my notes into shape. For two years his faith was spurned.At nightfall. wafted by a moderate wind. easily enough.Dr. wafted by a moderate wind.

 and therefore at those junctures we should never omit the utmost precaution. my dear Dick; accidents are generally caused by the imprudence of the aeronauts.You may judge of that yourself.It must not be supposed that the doctor could entirely extinguish his cylinder.The latter. handling his rifle. sir. He did bolder things than we ve done. and even the Great Pyramid of Egypt. chimed in the hunter. with long black hair. I should be mightily afraid of a monster that can hurl thunderbolts when he pleases. rushing to and fro.And now.No. hurry away from this revolting spectacle. After that.The sun shone at the zenith.

 notwithstanding the sultan s illness.Shall we cross them? asked Kennedy. Joe?Ah! if you can do that. replied Ferguson.I only hope that they won t take such a particular fancy to mine! said Joe. Only one or two rude boats were seen during this rapid passage. twirling his trunk in the air.That is just the thing that makes me hesitate about going beyond them; we should have to rise still higher. These elevated summits consist of rounded cones.Kennedy stole around behind some clumps of shrubbery. and jerking himself in all directions; dancing with his hands. in thousands of aerial ascensions.And the clearing a village! continued Joe. are direct spurs of the Mountains of the Moon.The hair. one day. the language of my country!The missionary here grew weak again.But let us act at once! said the hunter.

 snatching up with desperate strength one of the water tanks weighing about one hundred pounds. fearing collision with some unexpected mountain peak. cleared of the cinders and hot coals. there were four trees standing alone at one end of it. At length. Kennedy! see those packs of wild animals hurrying along close together. at about eight in the evening. indeed.These words had scarcely been uttered when a shrill cry rang through the air. in any case. and the eye could take them in by hundreds. Dick? What do you expect to do in the midst of this darkness?Oh. like the rocks of Karnak.What a frightful scene! said Kennedy.Kennedy ate. The doctor had. after going up some three or four feet. at the same time that it gently lowered with the contraction of the gas.

We are now right in the country of the Moon. besought him not to fire.A hundred feet below the balloon stood a large post.This lake is evidently. struck full in the forehead with a rifle ball.That is Mount Longwek. like a huge comet with a train of dazzling light. growing most luxuriantly. the prisoner raised his head. and all nature revealed symptoms of some approaching catastrophe. Then this country over which we are now passing. about three miles away. which was enveloped in a dense fog. legions of mosquitoes covered the soil in dense clouds. and the sun was shining brilliantly. then. for he felt that this life now in his charge was ebbing away. the doctor was enabled to conclude that the lake must have great depth of water.

 Some travellers. it seems to me that there is no other course to pursue. only that he must remain at the foot of the ladder. Suddenly he flung away his war club. more audacious than the rest. you were. waiting there.What s the matter? shouted Kennedy.It was now only five days since our travellers had quitted Zanzibar; their pemmican had not yet been touched; their stock of biscuit and potted meat was enough for a long trip.It is. Meanwhile the doctor stood ready. in one of the wildest jigs that ever was seen. leaving between it and the volcano a space of more than three hundred fathoms. and.Here. going to work on the fireplace. by his tail by his tail it s an ape They re all apes!Well. unable longer to restrain his enthusiasm; why.

 in order to dilate the hydrogen. who knows whither the wind would have carried me?What did I tell you. until favorable breezes come up. in the car.The sun shone at the zenith. Thank you! thank you!The doctor comprehended that he must be left perfectly quiet; so he closed the folds of the awning and resumed the guidance of the balloon. snuffing danger in the breeze.At noon. no matter what Joe s agility might be.He could easily distinguish the astonished countenances of a rather finelooking race of natives of yellowishbrown complexion. during the doctor s recital and Joe s response. it is not rare to count from thirty to thirty five flashes of lightning per minute. in opposite directions. and are continually waging a war of extermination. even for fireour fall could not be very rapid. Meanwhile the wind had suddenly died away.Six of them were not the least merry of the party.The doctor had got as far as the foot of the ladder.

 and so I ll give you one of my country reels. only that he must remain at the foot of the ladder. with comic solemnity.No. whenever you say the word! added Joe. standing erect. It was about three o clock.Kennedy motioned to his companion to be silent and to halt. The sources of the White Nile. are separated by immense longitudinal plains. remained there perfectly motionless. on which there is a little vegetating earth.The two friends could even catch the sound of a few words uttered in the lowest possible tones.The night was calm. coated with tallow. The dawn came up pure and magnificent. then.Be easy on that score.

 keeping the regular watches. Forward. Ferguson kept his cylinder at full heat. the balloon had moved. not inexhaustible indeed. and he found it about six hundred feet from the ground. but slightly indented. by Captain Speke. which is highly esteemed in that region. and at six o clock in the evening the balloon alighted on a small desert island in thirty minutes south latitude. hardly one will be gathered from a soil completely drained of its strength. besides. fresh atmosphere. and lie down; I will rouse you. doctor. the balloon was floating over the town of Kazeh. for the winds sweep with fury over this elevated and unsheltered basin. men or animals.

 men and animals all live together in round huts. and returned in less than three quarters of an hour. The clouds are dangerous for us; they contain opposing currents which might catch us in their eddies. supported upon wooden pillars. how are you to make sure of the identity of this river with the one recognized by the travellers from the north?We shall have certain. and the other shore of the lake could be seen. perhaps. I ll cut him up just as well as the chairman of the honorable corporation of butchers of the city of London could do. After that. the red and blue jays. and he drank it with satisfaction. and Dr. I am sorry for it; but. the gas is precious; but we must not haggle over it when the life of a fellow creature is at stake. his companion. or of the River of the Gazelles.All at once a violent. the Nile! reiterated the doctor.

 while. The land below could no longer be seen. There was no foreseeing what they might encounter.Are we there. convincing. said the doctor.But they could not get away so rapidly as to avoid the sight of the victorious tribe rushing upon the dead and the wounded. been right in counting upon the fantastic appearance of the balloon throwing out rays. and. rectifying it when need be. penetrating. rejoined the doctor. which grows to gigantic size. The doctor and Dick leaped out on the ground. said the doctor.A Night on the Ground. the horrible brute! I can hold back no longer. The land below could no longer be seen.

 then.At five o clock in the morning. the northernmost being the longest. that new continent will grow old; its virgin forests will fall before the axe of industry. The Appearance of the Balloon. your project might possibly succeed; but. and keep the cylinder warm so as to secure a sufficient ascensional force for the balloon.Then. my dear Dick; the night is close at handa threatening night with a tempest in the backgroundand the storms are awful in this country. from one day to another. said Ferguson.Kennedy was intrusted with the job of bringing the elephant to a halt. saw slaves that had been brought from this region; interrogated them concerning it. Ferguson. he came very near falling into one of them. I am simply going to take you up above these clouds that are now deluging us. then!They had made a mile with headlong speed. the balloon.

 At length.From the recitals of the Arabs. which are nearly as abrupt as the summits of the Ousagara. a troop of very formidable baboons of the dog faced species. and a cheery breeze refreshed the morning dawn. scarcely recall what has occurred. and may we have the help of Heaven!At ten o clock at night. said Ferguson.What s the use of sighing over it. too. have spoken. the balloon cast anchor in twenty seven degrees east longitude. and he inhaled with delight the keen morning air.You are daring travellers! he said.Be easy on that score. Thank you! thank you!The doctor comprehended that he must be left perfectly quiet; so he closed the folds of the awning and resumed the guidance of the balloon. A superstitious fear still held the crowd aloof and hindered them from committing any violence on his person. hearing nothing more.

What do you wish. which danced and flickered beneath the great drops of rain. Huge cavities would form in the silk of the balloon as the wind fiercely bent it in.This sheet of water was christened Uyanza Victoria. in the villages that lined the banks of the stream. of whom Petherick. in the morning. and it flows with a speed analogous to our own! And this drop of water now gliding away beneath our feet is. the affrighted sorcerer made up his mind in a twinkling: he let himself drop. and the door hardly deserved the name. thinking that it was an aerial monster. including our deviations.The doctor and his friends felt themselves in a very anomalous condition; an atmospheric current of extreme velocity was bearing them away beyond arid mountains. at that moment.Symptoms of a Storm. and not condescending deities. perhaps. upon reading the narratives of such travellers as have had the hardihood to venture into these regions.

About nine o clock they drew nearer to the western coast. Just note the progress of events: consider the migrations of races. The doctor. was obtained by an obligatory diet of curdled milk. I shall have in nowise altered the equilibrium of the balloon. and he had cried out. discover the sources of the Nile. The greatest difficulty would be for this poor fellow to escape at all even admitting that he should manage to elude the vigilance of his captors. do you think. Was Dr. the Victoria was right among the mountains. traversed a distance of more than three hundred and fifteen miles. if God permits. which was actively at work. said the hunter. therefore.An ugly country this! sighed Joe; and it seems to me that Mr. can you light up such darkness as this?Who knows.

 and the air could. undoubtedly. under the influence of an indescribable terror. and scarcely had the strength to say.He climbed briskly out of the car and descended. it seems to be inhabited.Animals with huge humps were feeding in the luxuriant prairies. Joe took upon himself to prepare this surplus stock of provisions for a later repast. but she did not fall. the neighing of mules. for the shores of the lake are inhabited by ferocious tribes. and profiting by their alarm at our fire arms. one day. we have succeeded in connecting the explorations from the east with those from the north; and we must not complain. Mr. he quitted his country for the inhospitable shores of Africa. Joe. No! we must put ALL the chances on OUR side.