第45章

"Of course.I wouldn't let my worst enemy run the chances of danger in that terrible blaze.I'd save them even if they had smashed my camera.I'll go down, and get them, and take them back to the native village, but that's as far as I will carry them.They'll have to get away as best they can, after that."It was the work of but a few minutes to lower the airship to the trail.Fortunately it widened a bit at this point, or Tom could never have gotten his craft down through the trees.

"Hand up that camera!" ordered our hero curtly, when he had stopped near the Englishmen.

"Yes, my dear chap," spoke the tall Britisher, "but will you oblige us, by taking us--""Hand up the camera first!" sharply ordered Tom again.

They passed it to him.

"I know we treated you beastly mean," went on Kenneth, "but, my dear chap--""Get aboard," was all Tom said, and when the rascals, with fearful glances back into the burning jungle, did so, our hero sent his craft high into the air again.

"Where are you taking us, my dear chap?" asked the tall rascal.

"Don't 'dear chap' me!" retorted Tom."I don't want to talk to you.I'm going to drop you at the native village.""But that will burn!" cried the Englishman.

"The wind is changing," was our hero's answer."The fire won't get to the village.You'll be safe.Have you damaged my camera?" he asked as he began to examine it, while Ned managed the ship.

"No, my dear chap.You mustn't think too hard of us.We were both down on our luck, and a chap offered us a big sum to get on your trail, and secure the camera.He said you had filched it from him, and that he had a right to it.Understand, we wouldn't have taken it had we known--""Don't talk to me!" interrupted Tom, as he saw that his apparatus had not been damaged."The man who hired you was a rascal--that's all I'll say.Put on a little more speed, Ned.I want to get rid of these 'dear chaps' and take some pictures of the jungle fire."As Tom had said, the wind had changed, and was blowing the flames away off to one side, so that the native village would be in no danger.It was soon reached, and the Africans were surprised to see Tom's airship back again.But he did not stay long, descending only to let the Englishmen alight.They pleaded to be taken to the coast, making all sorts of promises, and stating that, had they known that Turbot and Eckert (for whom they admitted they had acted) were not telling the truth, they never would have taken Tom's camera.

"Don't leave us here!" they pleaded."I wouldn't have you on board my airship another minute for a fortune!" declared Tom, as he signalled to Ned to start the motor.Then the Flyer ascended on high, leaving the plotters and started back for the fire, of which Tom got a series of fine moving pictures.

A week later our friends were in Paris, having made a quick trip, on which little of incident occurred, though Tom managed to get quite a number of good views on the way.

He found a message awaiting him, from Mr.Period.

"Well, where to now?" asked Ned, as his chum read the cablegram."Great Scott!" cried our hero."Talk about hair-raising jobs, thiscertainly is the limit!"

"Why, what's the matter?"

"I've got to get some moving pictures of a volcano in action," was the answer."Say, if I'd known what sort of things 'Spotty' wanted, I'd never have consented to take this trip.A volcano in action, and maybe an earthquake on the side! This is certainly going some!"