James H. Foster

“ Especially were Bob and Joe touched, for they realized for the first time that Africa was a land of tragedy.
“Is there nothing that can be done? Will you always be lame?” inquired Mr. Holton.
Mr. Seabury looked even more grave.
“Medical science cannot help me,” he said at last. “I’m afraid my hunting days are over.” For several moments he retained the same expression. Then suddenly his face lightened, as though he had resolved to forget the matter. “Just what fauna are you after this time?” he asked the naturalists. ”

“ The elephant remained where it was, not as much as moving an ear.
Bob and Joe and their fathers were gripped with fear as they saw themselves speed closer toward the huge brute. Let them once strike the animal, and their doom would probably be sealed!
The explorers heard a wild shout from the engineer. Then there was a creaking and grinding noise, and the train’s speed was checked somewhat. But even with the application of the emergency brake the heavy engine plunged on.
“Jump!” cried Mr. Lewis in a wild voice. “It’s the only way to escape!” ”

“ Are you seeking pleasure by traveling?”
“To a certain extent we are,” Bob answered him. “My chum here and myself are with our dads to collect specimens of animal life and photograph the country,” he explained. “Holton is my name—Bob Holton. This is Joe Lewis.”
“Most delighted to know you,” said the white-faced youth. “Cecil Purl Stone is my name. A real [Pg 102] pleasure to know you. I’m—traveling just for the fun of it,” he said with a foolish little laugh. “I do consider travel as one of the most gorgeous ways of enlightening oneself. ”

“ Mention of this out-of-the-way place revived the name of Thomas Seabury, the missing brother of the man in Mombasa.
“Wonder if we’ll find him,” mused Joe, gazing off into the dark depths of the jungle.
“Hard telling,” returned his friend. “About all we can do is to ask natives if they have seen or heard of him. And if they haven’t—well, it doesn’t look like there’ll be much chance of coming across him.”
“You’re right, Bob,” affirmed Mr. Lewis. “Africa is a very large place, and he might have left that unknown forest long before. But we’ll certainly do all we can to locate him.” ”

“ Both youths looked ahead in eager anticipation.
“Here’s hoping I can get a good picture of him,” said Joe, keeping his camera in readiness. “Movies of a buffalo hunt! Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“And I’m going to try to be the gink that pots him off,” came from Bob, inspecting his rifle. “He won’t live long if he gets one of these high-velocity bullets in his hide.”
Mr. Holton looked around.
“Don’t take any chances, Son,” he warned. “Better not fire till Ben or I give the word. There’s nothing quite as bad as a wounded buffalo.” ”

“ Along toward noon Bob called his chum over to a little clearing.
“Look at that strange track,” he pointed out. “Was that made by a wild animal?”
“Search me,” Joe said. “I never saw anything like it before. Looks like the footprint of a person, only it’s much larger, and there aren’t any toe marks.”
The youths recalled the different animals they had come in contact with and read about. But none, they were sure, could make footprints anything like this.
“I’m sure that couldn’t have been a monkey—even a gorilla,” said Bob, “because there would be marks of its toes.” ”

“ We’re plenty old enough to take care of ourselves. You see how we made short work of dangerous wild animals in the Andes and in Brazil. Well, we could do the same with lions and elephants.”
“Don’t be too sure of that,” said his father gravely but with twinkling eyes. “There’s scarcely anything worse than a charging elephant.”
“Just the same, we’d take care of the situation,” said Bob boastfully. “They wouldn’t stand much chance before the Lewis-Holton expedition. Why we’d mow ’em down right and left. But seriously, Dad, Mr. Lewis, why can’t Joe and I go with you?” ”

“ The naturalists glanced at each other.
“Better not ask that question, or you’ll start a heated debate,” laughed Mr. Lewis. “Howard and I are very much in disagreement about it.”
“Why?” persisted Bob.
“You father is inclined to place the rhino as the most dangerous, while I would say the buffalo comes first. But to settle the argument, both are bad enough when they’re after you.”
“But what about the lion?” demanded Joe. “Isn’t he dangerous?”
“Very much so,” answered Mr. Holton. “However, he isn’t considered anything like the two animals that Ben mentioned. ”

“ Hardly five minutes had passed when Bob caught the arm of the policeman, who was nearest him.
“Listen!” the youth hissed. “There’s a car coming. Hear it?”
Sure enough, the faint sound of an approaching automobile was breaking the evening silence. Whether the vehicle was that of the thief, the hiding forms did not know. Their hopes were high, though, as the purring became louder.
Those hopes were not shattered, for a minute later the same car that had been parked in front of Mr. Jordan’s estate turned in the driveway.
“Look!” breathed Joe. “It’s the man we’re after, all right. He’s stopping. ”

“ Holton.
“Well, I don’t know about the circus,” said Bob. “But I know the car is. Anyway, I’d like to take a look at wild animals that were brought from Africa. Lions, leopards, and the like. Don’t you and Mr. Lewis want to go, Dad? We can put you in the rumble seat.”
“Rumble seat, huh? Hmm. I’d want better service than that.” The naturalist viewed his son critically though with twinkling eyes. “No, we men won’t go to the circus,” he added with a grin. “But you boys can.”
“Listen to that!” cried Bob, squaring his powerful shoulders. “I guess you men enjoy it about as much as anybody does. ”

“ They were moving stealthily, as though undecided whether to sample the dead wildebeest.
“Look,” whispered Bob. “There are two hyenas. They’re going to risk eating, I guess.”
The jackals and hyenas formed a circle about the carcass and began to tear away at the flesh. Near as they were to the boma, they could easily have been shot by the hunters.
“If the lion doesn’t hurry there won’t be anything left for him,” whispered Bob.
“Maybe he’s forgotten all about coming,” suggested Joe, who was filming the scene.
Mr. Holton shook his head. ”

“ Bob aimed carefully at the beast’s heart; Joe cranked away at the movie camera.
“Fire!” said Mr. Holton in a loud voice.
Three rifle shots rent the air. The lion turned on the instant, then collapsed in a heap.
“Hurrah!” yelled Joe, jumping to his feet. “Killed him dead as a door nail. Good——”
“Look out!” shouted Mr. Lewis suddenly. “There’s another. A lioness!”
Bob worked furiously to push the bolt on his rifle. But before he had done so, the guns of his father and Mr. Lewis spoke.
The bullets stopped the brute for only a second. Then, with a horrible roar, it plunged toward the boma. ”

“ A hyena, too, had been hit by Bob’s rifle.
“One good turn done,” said Mr. Lewis, handing his rifle to his gun bearer.
“Wait till I shoot the rest of those hyenas,” came from Bob, who was taking aim with a high-velocity .22 rifle.
“Um get bigger gun. No kill um with little gun.” Noko was watching Bob curiously.
“Watch me and see,” smiled Bob.
Using his knowledge of marksmanship, the youth killed all of the hyenas by sending bullets through the eye to the brain. The stupid animals had not made the slightest move to flee, even though they saw their companions go down. ”

“ Holton ran around to the youths, followed by Joe’s father.
“Boys! Are you all right?” the latter asked anxiously.
“Yes,” Bob reassured him. “But, say, that was a whale of a smash-up, wasn’t it?”
“The elephant appears to be mortally wounded,” [Pg 137] Mr. Lewis said, with a shake of his head. “It seems only humane to put it out of its misery.”
He unstrapped his rifle and took aim at the animal’s heart. A moment later he pulled the trigger.
The naturalist never fired a more accurate shot. With a horrible groan, the great beast collapsed into a heap—dead. ”

“ The latter was a noted naturalist, who had just recently returned from Africa. There was a chance, the youths reasoned, that he could interest their dads, who were themselves naturalists, in making an expedition to the Dark Continent to collect specimens of animal life. And of that expedition, if there should be any, Bob and Joe hoped to be a part.
“What did you find out?” inquired Bob anxiously. “Did he come across anything unusual in the way of animals and birds?”
“Did he?” Mr. Holton smiled happily. “He shot several creatures that were previously unknown to civilized man.” ”

“ Lewis, and then, turning to Bob and Joe: “All the hunters in Africa couldn’t kill off as many beautiful harmless animals as the African hunting dog.”
“Why? How do they do it?” inquired Joe.
“They usually hunt in packs,” his father replied. “And the antelope or other animal that they go after is as good as doomed. They never give up [Pg 204] till they get the one they’re after. Worst thing is, they kill new animals every day and eat only a small part of the flesh. Then they single out more.” ”

“ Don’t tell me you are permitted to carry firearms!”
Bob and Joe smiled instinctively.
“Hunting is great sport,” said the latter. “But we never kill anything just for the pleasure of killing it. We have a good reason whenever we shoot an animal.” ”

“ Mr. Holton answered. “But there is a railroad running from Mombasa to Lake Victoria. As I was saying, we’ll board a train and go as far as it will carry us. Then we’ll have to organize a safari.”
“Exactly what is that?” inquired Bob. “I’ve often heard the term, but never was quite clear about its meaning.”
“Safari means practically the same as expedition,” Mr. Lewis explained. “It is an Arabic term that is used quite frequently in Africa. A safari is composed of the explorers, the native police, bearers, and the like. It may vary from just a few people to several hundred. ”

“ Holton answered whimsically. “I’m a mind reader.”
“Come out of it, Dad.” Bob was becoming impatient. “Cut out this stalling. Is there going to be an expedition to Africa?”
“What do you think?”
“How are we to know?” countered Bob. “We’re not the head naturalists.”
“Listen to that, Howard,” teased Mr. Lewis. “Not the head naturalists! It beats all how these young squirts get ideas in their heads that they’re actually scientists. Why, they——”
“All right, we take it back.” Bob was tiring of [Pg 17] getting nowhere. “Once more, is there going to be an expedition to Africa?” ”

“ Pong Lee’s mind was in a whirl. He [Pg 31] felt that it would be necessary to find another hiding place for the valuables, one that could not be located by anyone.
“I should think this fellow, or someone else, would come in and make you tell them where you keep this stuff,” remarked Joe. “Even threaten to kill you if you didn’t tell.”
The Oriental shook his head.
“They know I not tellee, even if I get killed,” he explained. “That do them no good, no.”
“Then you ought to feel fairly safe,” laughed Bob. “Your life isn’t in any great danger, anyway. Do you wear any of the jewelry?” ”

“ The youths left the naturalists and Noko and made their way to the other side of a large thatched house.
Then, horror stricken, they saw what had caused Bob to utter his sudden exclamation.
Coiled but a few scant feet away was a long black mamba, the most poisonous snake of Africa. It was eyeing the human invaders staringly, apparently with evil purpose.
For one awful moment the youths gazed in terrible [Pg 200] fascination, unable to take their eyes from the hideous reptile. Then, sensing the need for flight, they turned to leave. But they hesitated.
“It’s going to strike!” gasped Joe. ”

“ Bob roused himself and laughed.
“I was just thinking,” he said.
“About what?”
“Africa. Gorillas like this fellow here. Lions. Wild elephants. Tall forest giants. Adventure.”
“Wow!” cried Joe. “You’ll have me running around in circles. You know,” he went on more seriously, “it’s up to us to get our dads in the notion of going to Africa very soon now. And we’ll have to make them let us go along. They——”
He stopped abruptly and smiled sheepishly as he caught sight of two men standing beside him. Those men were none other than Mr. Lewis and Mr. Holton. ”

“ But, don’t you know, I never have escaped that dreadful seasickness. Not even as much as once.”
“That’s too bad,” said Bob sympathetically. “But, then, some people aren’t as lucky as others. It’s a fortunate thing, though, that the weather has remained calm.”
“Will it last, though?” queried Joe, keeping an eye on Cecil Purl Stone. “For all we know, there may come a violent storm tonight.” ”

“ Holton. “He finds that interesting now, you know.”
“Nix,” countered Bob. “Tommy’s all for a circus. He’d rather see the wild animals than eat. And to tell the truth, Dad,” he added mischievously, “you’re about the same way. Don’t deny it, now.”
Mr. Holton smiled.
“I see you’re putting me up a tree,” he said. “But say!”—in a tone of dismay—“come to think of it, Tommy is going to Baltimore with his mother tomorrow.”
The naturalist’s face was a perfect picture of disappointment. Bob and Joe burst out in loud laughter, and Bob gave his father a shove. ”

“ Once they caught sight of an unusually queer animal slinking through the underbrush.
“Maybe we’re miles and miles from the safari,” said Bob in a voice of hopelessness.
“I’m afraid of hostile natives,” his chum put in. “It wouldn’t be funny to be captured and carried off into some unknown village.”
The rain had stopped completely now, but darkness was beginning to close over them. The friends dreaded the coming of night in that wild country. Alone and unable to build a fire, they would be at the mercy of savage jungle beasts.
“Suppose we stop here for the night,” suggested Joe. ”