CHAPTER XIX
SAVED BY THE SEARCHLIGHT
What our flyers saw was a very large body of water, with a strong toneof blue to it. As far to the north as they could see, it stretched,also to the east and south. And the shoreline on the western sidenearest them was covered with what seemed a never-ending border ofgreat forest trees, many of which had all the characteristics ofmangroves.
This great expanse of water they knew could not be the Red Sea, norcould it be the Indian Ocean; for they had not traveled far enoughwestward to reach these bodies. Unquestionably, therefore, it was thatwhich they were looking for--Lake Chad.
As they swept nearer, under reduced speed, they observed somewhat totheir left a good-sized collection of dwellings in an opening among themangroves, evidently a town. Swerving in that direction they were sooncircling above the place at an altitude of about five hundred feet,hoping that it might prove to be Kuka, their next stop.
By this time it had grown so dark that they could just make out thebuildings and surroundings. The former seemed to be nothing more thanrude huts with rounded thatched roofs covered by saplings. The flyerssaw many dark figures, with little or no garb, running about andexcitedly gesticulating upward to their position. As they circledlower, these figures, evidently natives, suddenly vanished within theirabodes.
"They seem scared to death of us," remarked Paul, laughing.
"Apparently they think the Sky-Bird is some gigantic member of thefeathered kingdom about to swoop down and devour them for their sins,"added Paul, who was equally amused. "Pete Deveaux and his crowd oughtto have landed here some time this morning, though, and you would thinkthe sight of their machine taking on gas would have gotten the blacksused to an airplane."
Be that as it may, every one of the dusky figures below had vanished asthough the earth had swallowed them up. A strange if not forebodingstillness hung over the town. You would have thought it contained nota single being, at least not one who was awake.
All at once John, who had been intently looking around the outskirts ofthe town, observed an open spot marked with the welcome sign of a whiteT. He joyfully called the attention of his comrades to this, and asthey looked they saw the form of a man emerge from the shadowsbordering the field and wave his arms upward at them. From the factthat this person was attired in European costume, they judged he mustbe Mr. MacInnis, the Scotch trader who had been appointed to look aftertheir fuel interests at this point.
It was a novel experience to be able to make a landing unhampered bythrongs of curious inhabitants, as they now did. The field was quitelevel, though sandy, as might be expected so close to the big desert,and they had to dodge several clumps of small growths, presumably jujutrees, before they could taxi to a stop.
The man in linen now rushed up to them, and introduced himself as Mr.MacInnis. He hurriedly shook hands with the boys, displaying, theythought, great nervousness while greeting them, and several times heturned his head and looked in the direction of the nearest shacks ofthe town.
Then he asked what they thought a very queer question. "Have youfellows enough petrol and oil to last you through to your next stop?"
"That's Aden," answered John; "we didn't fill to capacity at Freetown,and I'm afraid not. Why, what is the matter? Haven't you any fuelhere for us?"
"I have plenty of both petrol and oil here for you," said theScotchman, with another look toward the huts, "but I am afraid for yourlives if you stay to put it aboard."
"How is that?" cried Tom, his usually smiling countenance growing soberfor once, while his companions felt a vague uneasiness.
"It's this way," stated MacInnis. "About eight o'clock this morningthe airplane that is racing you came in. It was the first machine ofthe kind the natives had ever seen, and they were greatly frightened,thinking Jobbajobba, one of their heathen devils, had appeared in theguise of a great bird, and was about to attack the children of thewicked of them. When the aviators climbed out, and they saw that theywere human, they lost some of this fear, but remained at a respectabledistance all the time the 'great bird was being given a drink.' Thentwo of the men--one was the slender and dark-complexioned fellow--wentinto the town sight-seeing. In the course of their rounds they stolethe ivory head, set with gold eyes and teeth, off of the body of one ofthe tribe's most cherished idols, the god of Ogu Nogo. This was notdiscovered until the aviators had departed in their airplane, but thenthe Fulbees were wild with rage at the 'bird-men,' as they called them,and swore to kill them if they should ever return. To-night theyobserved you landing, as I did. They are now in hiding, probably withweapons, and are undoubtedly watching your every move, ready to strikewhen the time comes, thinking you to be those other fellows or men ofas evil instincts. As I said, I fear for your lives if you tarryhere." And as he finished he once more glanced nervously around at thehuts and shacks in the gloom of the fast-gathering night.
But in that direction all was so quiet that John hopefully remarked: "Ithink they are too frightened to appear. We need more gasoline, as wehave been running very hard and our tanks are low. We will hurrymatters up, and three of us will fill while the other stands guard witha rifle."
Mr. MacInnis then helped John, Tom, and Paul carry the big square tinsof British petrol, which is the same as American gasoline, from thefield shelter to the Sky-Bird, where, in the course of a half-hour, twohundred gallons were poured into the tanks, also ten gallons of oil.In the meantime, Bob Giddings, rifle in hand, stood close by, alert fordanger. He watched the nearest buildings of the natives sharply, butthough he saw numbers of black figures skulking in the shadows amongthem, no sign of hostility was observed.
The Scotchman had signed his name to the document certifying to thestop of the flyers at Kuka,--the paper on which they were to securecertifications at every scheduled airport,--and they were just in theact of starting over to the field tank to get some water for theairplane's radiators, when, without a moment's warning a hair-raisingchorus of yells broke out on the brooding night air, and scores ofsavage-looking figures sprang from the shadows of the buildings intothe open field. They emerged in a long straggling line, hooting andbrandishing guns, spears and bows. They advanced toward the airplanein peculiar hops and side jumps, as if fearing an attack uponthemselves. Not once did they cease their blood-curdling shouts.Rapidly they neared the objects of their anger and hatred.
For a full five seconds the boys stood as if rooted in their tracks,too horrified and astounded to think or act. The sharp voice of theScotchman, however, brought them to their senses.
"You've fooled here too long; it's too late to get away now! They'remad as wet hornets. Jump inside your cabin quick, and defendyourselves as well as you can!"
"But you, sir?" cried Tom.
"They won't harm me, because I'm not a flyer."
The boys dashed into the cabin and shut the door, while the Scotchmanhurried away from the airplane. It was certain that there was no timeto get out and crank the propeller and rise before the mad Fulbeeswould be upon them. Cornered in the little cabin of the machine theywould sell their lives as dearly as possible.
As they stood, guns in hand, watching through the windows, while thefrenzied blacks drew cautiously nearer, spreading a cordon of hundredsall around the Sky-Bird, they could see in the moonlight that theFulbees were grotesquely painted on arms and faces, while their bodieswere entirely naked except for a dirty-looking cloth wrapped aroundtheir loins in the form of a short skirt. Every one of them was armed,and as they contracted their circle, guns, spears, and bows werefrequently raised in threatening position; but for some reason no shotswere fired. The inmates knew, however, that when nearer approachbrought more assurance of hitting their target, the blacks could becounted upon to open up actual hostilities.
And now this thought brought a sudden and grave fear to their minds,one unnoticed before. The helium-gas tanks in the hollow wings andrear fuselage! Bullets, spears and arrows striking them wouldpenetrate, and the tanks th
us punctured would lose their last ounce ofthe precious gas!
It was a terrible predicament in which the flyers now found themselves,to be sure. By fighting they might preserve their lives, but that veryact would make their world-trip impossible. What could they do?
As the drowning man catches with hope at the floating straw. Bob nowconceived an almost impossible but startling idea for delivering themfrom their dilemma.
"The searchlight!" he cried. "These blacks never have seen one.Perhaps we can frighten them away with ours!"
"Great idea, Bob," approved John, while the others also applauded thescheme. "Paul, you work the lever that revolves the lamp up on top ofthe cabin there, and, Bob, you throw in the juice."
No sooner had he spoken, than both boys were at their stations. Thenext moment a great white path, widening as it went, streamed out intothe darkness, lighting up everything in its reach with the brilliancyof day, but with a bluish-whiteness which must have been decidedlyterrifying to the superstitious negroes. Like an accusing finger thestrange light swept around the field, raising and lowering, resting afew moments on this group and then that group of petrified,hideously-painted faces, from which eyeballs stood out like knobs ofwhite marble.
In an instant their incensed cries had ceased, and they had shrunk,cringing, back in their tracks. But only for a few moments, and thentheir gurgled yells arose once more, this time in ear-splitting fright,as all turned and fled toward the nearest forest. And that great,terrifying white eye of the big "bird" followed them, shining for manya rod on black backs which were so wet with perspiration that theylooked like oiled eelskin. Weapons were thrown in every direction asthe Fulbees fled. Whenever one would look around and see that glaringeye looking straight at him, he would shut his own eyes and shriek, andthen go dashing frantically on. Some even threw themselves prostratewhen the flood overtook them, and uttered invocations to their gods forprotection from the monster, until they could pluck up courage enoughto continue their flight.
Had the situation not recently been such a serious one for them--indeedthey were not out of it yet!--the flyers would have roared withlaughter. As it was, they kept the light traveling over the Fulbeesuntil the very last one had fled. Then at a quick word from John, theyall jumped out of the cabin and swung the airplane around for a quicktake-off.
Tom spun the propeller; there was a roar as the engine caught, and afew seconds later they were mounting up into the starlit heavens of theequatorial night. At a height of two thousand feet, they presentlylooked down, safe from the menace of the black populace whose receptionhad been so rabid.
But Kuka was blotted out in the mantle of gloom which lay between.Only the sparkling ripples of Lake Chad, struck by the beautifultropical moon, could be seen.
Around the World in Ten Days Page 20