over the
big animals, and I'll work the camera."

Quickly he focused the lens on the strange scene below him. There was
a riot of trumpeting from the elephants. The beaters and hunters
shouted and yelled. Then they saw the airship and waved their hands to
Tom and his friends, but whether to welcome them, or warn them away,
could not be told.

The elephants were slowly advancing toward the stockade. Tom was taking
picture after picture of them, when suddenly as the airship came lower,
in response to a signal to Ned from the young inventor, one of the huge
pachyderms looked up, and saw the strange sight. He might have taken it
for an immense bird. At any rate he gave a trumpet of alarm, and the
next minute, with screams of rage and fear, the elephants turned, and
charged in a wild stampede on those who were driving them toward the
stockade.

"Look!" cried Ned. "Those hunters and natives will be killed!"

"I'm afraid so!" shouted Tom, as he continued to focus his camera on
the wonderful sight.

CHAPTER XII

THE LION FIGHT

Crashing through the jungle the huge beasts turned against those who
had, been driving them on toward the stockade. With wild shouts and
yells, the hunters and their native helpers tried to turn back the
elephant tide, but it was useless. The animals had been frightened by
the airship, and were following their leader, a big bull, that went
crashing against great trees, snapping them off as if they were pipe
stems.

"Say, this is something like!" cried Ned, as he guided the airship over
the closely packed body of elephants, so Tom could get good pictures,
for the herd had divided, and a small number had gone off with one of
the other bulls.

"Yes, I'll get some great pictures," agreed Tom, as he looked in
through a red covered opening in the camera, to see how much film was
left.

The airship was now so low down that Tom, and the others, could easily
make out the faces of the hunters, and the native helpers. One of the
hunters, evidently the chief, shaking his fist at our hero, cried:

"Can't you take your blooming ship out of the way, my man? It's scaring
the beasts, and we've been a couple of weeks on this drive. We don't
want to lose all our work. Take your bloody ship away!"

"I guess he must be an Englishman," remarked Mr. Nestor, with a laugh.

"Bless my dictionary, I should say so," agreed Mr. Damon. "Bloody,
blooming ship! The idea!"

"Well, I suppose we have scared