第 16 页

"We are beginning to drop a little," said Bunbury.

"The supply of gas is lowly exhausting itself."

There was silence for a moment, and then Arthur, who had happened to glance over the edge of the car, suddenly uttered an exclamation of wonder.

"What's wrong?" he cried. "Are we standing on our heads — or has the balloon turned upside down? I can see the stars below me."

Arthur's companions looked hastily down, and they were no less surprised than he, to behold a perfect mirrored reflection of the starry sky.

"We must have risen above the clouds," exclaimed Godfrey. "In that case the delusion could be accounted for."

"Not a bit of it," replied Bunbury. "We are passing over a big river. That is evident."

The others shared this view, and they wondered how they could have been so stupid as not to see it at first.

But twenty minutes later the balloon was still passing over the stream. With growing wonder and uneasiness, the aeronauts saw the starry sky reflected beneath them, as far as their eyes could reach.

"Are we going down fast?" asked Roden.

"Very rapidly," Bunbury replied. "We are less than eight hundred feet from the earth."

"At this rate we are likely to drop into the river," exclaimed Godfrey. "There are no signs of the other shore yet. By the way, it's the widest stream ever I saw."

Bunbury turned away from the edge of the car.

"It is not a river, my friends," he said, in a grave tone. "Since we first made the discovery, we have traveled no less than four miles. We are rapidly descending to the surface of a great lake!"

Bunbury's deliberate statement produced great con sternation and alarm. It was only too evident that he was right.

* * *

Chapter XXIV

"What lake lies in this neighborhood?" asked Arthur.

"None that I know of," replied Godfrey, "and I was always was a good scholar in geography."

"I can find no trace of it," said Bunbury, who was consulting his chart and compass, by the aid of a small lantern.

"But that is very natural, since we are now in a totally unknown and unexplored part of Africa. It is impossible to tell whether the lake is large or small."

"What are we going to do?" muttered Godfrey. "If we drop into the water, we are lost. The car will fill and sink like a sieve."

"Look! there is a storm coming," suddenly cried Roden.

The lad was right. All unperceived, a canopy of black clouds had rolled across the starry sky. There was a dead, shuddering calm on the air, and a faint growling of thunder was heard.

A moment later a puff of wind sprang up, extinguishing the lantern, and driving the balloon briskly onward.

"Hurrah!" cried Godfrey; "if this continues, we're almost sure to clear the lake."

"It won't last," declared Bunbury, and he had hardly spoken when the prediction came true.

"The breeze dropped again, and a heavy drenching shower of rain fell suddenly from the clouds. Then came a vivid flash of lightning, and in the brief purple glare, the aeronauts saw, far ahead, only a waste of dark, heaving waters. There was no sign of land.

A second flash followed a minute later, and now it was seen that the balloon was perilously near the surface of the lake.

"Heaven help us!" cried Bunbury. "There is hardly a hundred feet of air beneath."

" We'll help ourselves first," exclaimed Godfrey. "Over with the stuff — all that can be spared."

"And that's none at all," muttered Bunbury, with a groan. "We need everything."

"We won't need anything at the bottom of the lake," said Godfrey, rapidly tossing over half of the provisions.

"That's only a drop in the bucket. What else, now?"

He was about to gather the rest of the supplies in his arms when Bunbury interfered.

" Wait; I'll sacrifice this," he said "taking the lid off the box of bombs.

He wrapped two of the canisters in cotton, and put them in his pocket.

Then he softly dropped the box from the car. For a wonder it did not explode as it struck the water with audible splash.

The balloon now rose a little, and went slowly on amid the driving rain. But it soon began to fall again. The store of gas was evidently very low.

At Godfrey's suggestion, all of the party filled their pockets with food, and their ammunition belts with shells.

Then what was left of the provisions and ammuni tion was reluctantly flung overboard.

But this was not enough, and the blankets had to go. Next Bunbury parted with the scientific instruments — a sign that he now realized the desperate nature of the situation.

The result was that the balloon took an upward spurt, much to the joy of the aeronauts. Ten minutes later it dropped rapidly, and a flash of lightning showed the surface of the lake to be scarcely fifty feet away.

"This is the end," exclaimed Bunbury, in a hopeless tone. "We have nothing else to lose. We are doomed."

"We have our weapons," cried Arthur. "I would rather live without them than die with them."

"I doubt if anything can save us now," replied Godfrey, "but the attempt is worth trying. Keep your belts and one revolver apiece. Throw the other arms overboard."

This was hastily done, and the valuable weapons disappeared with a splash. The advantage thus gained was only momentarily. The balloon settled lower and lower, until the car hovered within six feet of the water.

At that altitude it bounded forward; under the pressure of a light breeze, occasionally dipping so low as to slap the tops of the waves.

It was a terrible moment for the hapless aeronauts. Certain death stared them in the face, and they saw no way to avert it. It was hard to perish after having come safely through so many dangers; it was doubly hard at a time when their destination was so near at hand.

The rain still poured and the thunder crashed at intervals. Suddenly a long, zigzag flash of lightning revealed four ghastly white faces, stamped with horror and despair.

It also revealed something else — a blur of timbered land, lying a mile ahead, against the horizon.

"The shore! the shore!" cried Godfrey, rising to his feet.

"The shore!" echoed his companions, in eager, husky voices.

"But we can't reach it," added Bunbury. "We must die in sight of safety."

As he spoke the car gave a lurch, and struck the waves with such force that a shower of spray splashed in.

The occupants believed that their last moment had come and cried out with terror. But the car managed to rise again, and went skimming along a foot or two above the surface.

"The next time will surely be the end," cried Bunbury. "Prepare, my friends. It is the will of Heaven."

"My poor father!" exclaimed Roden, in a tone of anguish. "He will never know how near we were to him. If I could only see him once."

Arthur groaned and took hold of his brother's hand.

There was silence for a moment, save for the dull patter of the rain. The car seemed to be settling squarely down on the surface of the lake. There was very little wind stirring.

Suddenly Godfrey stood up, and with incredible swiftness, he kicked off his heavy boots.

"There are too many of us here," he said, in a strangely calm tone. "It is not necessary that all should perish. Good-by, boys; good-by, Bunbury. I think you will be saved. If it is God's will that we shall never meet again, I die resigned. Always remember that."

Then, before his companions could prevent it, Godfrey sprang lightly overboard.

As the balloon soared upward, away from the hungry waves, Bunbury and the boys leaned over the car, with hoarse cries. A flash of lightning showed Godfrey struggling in the water.

Then all was darkness and silence, and the saved balloon sped lightly away from the scene of so noble and heroic a self-sacrifice.

In vain the aeronauts called and called. The patter of the rain mocked them. They heard nothing else.

"Oh! Godfrey, Godfrey!" cried Roden. "Will we never see you again? You died to save us."

He burst into tears, and could say no more.

"No braver deed was ever done," declared Bunbury, in a husky voice. "The man who gives his life for his friends is a true hero."

"Is there no chance for him?" asked Arthur, choking at the words.

"I fear not, lad," Bunbury replied. "He can hardly swim to shore. The distance is too great, and the lake is likely to be infested with crocodiles."

A little later a flash of lightning showed the shore to be about half a mile away, and at the same time the balloon began to descend again. It was soon within six feet of the water.

"Poor Godfrey has sacrificed himself in vain," cried Arthur. "We will soon share his fate."

"That's true, lad," assented Bunbury. "If we could hold out for ten minutes longer we would be safe. But it is useless to talk of it."

The boys said nothing. They were thinking of the parent whom they believed to be so near, and whom they were fated never to see.

There was a brief period of silence, while the balloon sank still lower, and then Bunbury sprang suddenly to his feet in great excitement.

"Fools and blockheads that we are!" he cried.

"Why did we not think of it before? Godfrey might have been spared to us. We possess an almost certain means of escape."

"What is it?" the boys eagerly demanded.

"Climb into the network, quick!" was the reply. "there is no time to lose!"

Now Arthur and Roden understood, and their hearts were thrilled with hope. They pulled themselves hastily into the ropes, and climbed past the hoop, to the strong network that covered the balloon.

Bunbury followed them part way. Fixing himself securely in the cordage, he reached down with his knife and severed all but two of the ropes that held the car fast.

The next instant there was a heavy splash. The car broke loose of its own weight, and slowly vanished under the waves.

The body of the balloon, with the three terrified figures clinging to it, rose lightly to a height of twenty feet, and skimmed rapidly shoreward..

Bunbury climbed up to a safer place beside his companions, and for the next ten minutes hardly a word was spoken.

Then, through the beating rainstorm, the black outline of the shore was visible underneath. The balloon soared on for a minute or two, then took a sudden dive downward, into the misty darkness.

That quickly there was a crash and a jerk, followed by the hiss of escaping gas, the ropes snapped in Arthur's hands, and he fell through empty space, landing on something soft, that gave way with a crack.

He dropped still farther, and this time he was stopped by a warm, greasy object, that squirmed under him with a muffled yell, and then caught him by the throat.

Arthur was not in the least injured by the fall, but he was horribly scared by the uncouth cry that rang in his ears, and by the painful grip on his throat.

* * *

Chapter XXV

However, he did not lose his self-possession. With the instinct of preservation he immediately began to struggle desperately with his unknown and unseen antagonist.

For an instant he was uncertain whether the creature was brute or human, but all doubt fled when he felt the greasy body, and the long, brawny arms.

He managed to break the hold on his throat, and then ensued a short scrum in the pitchy, foul-smelling darkness.

The lad's foe continued to yell like a stuck pig, and presently other cries rose on all sides.

This was too much for Arthur's courage. With the madness of despair, he fought so furiously that he succeeded in breaking loose.

With a bound he was on his feet, trembling like a leaf. He dashed straight forward, bent only on escaping from the horrible place.

His feet trod on soft, slippery objects, and at every step he heard a bloodcurdling yell. Twice his ankles were clutched by invisible hands, but he kicked frantically loose.

Then — crash! he plunged into a soft barrier, that crackled and snapped under the weight of his body. He tore his way through, catching a gleam of light, and smelling a current of pure air, and finally he rolled in a heap on the outer side of the obstruction.

He staggered to his feet, feeling a little dazed and stunned. A single glance around revealed the truth. On all sides were conical, thatched huts, with here and there the still ruddy embers of camp fires.

"It's a native village," he exclaimed, aloud. "I've tumbled into a nice mess. I'd like to know what has become of Bunbury and Roden."

At that instant a group of negroes swarmed from the hut into which Arthur had fallen and out of which he had broken his way.

They surrounded the lad, with fierce yells, and seeing that resistance was useless, he held up his arms in token of surrender. His captors offered no violence, but regarded him with evident wonder and delight.

By this time the whole village had been aroused, and countless negroes — men, women and children — came flocking to the scene, making the night ring with their hideous yells.

The village was protected from the rain by numerous bushy trees, and as soon as fresh fuel was thrown upon the dying fires, they blazed up fiercely, making the scene as light as day.

Almost instantly, the attention of the negroes was diverted from their prisoner to a new discovery over head. They howled and pointed upward, and capered about like monkeys.

Arthur quickly saw the cause of their excitement, and he was fairly tempted to laugh.

From the branches of a tall euphorbia tree, fifteen feet from the ground, swung the now collapsed and torn balloon. Bunbury and Roden were clinging fast to the cords, and looking down on the animated scene with woebegone countenances.

"Hullo!" Arthur cried. "Are you going to stay there all night?"

"Not if we can help it," replied Bunbury. "It's pretty hard on our muscles. But the distance is too far to drop. "

"Tell those black monkeys to stand under and catch us," added Roden.

"Tell them yourself," retorted Arthur, "if you think they can understand English."

But the negroes were keen-witted enough to see what was wanted without any telling. A dozen of them brought big bundles of straw and thatch, which they piled directly under the tree.