ived.

The young inventor looked at them critically, as he was introduced to
them. Both men spoke with an English accent, one introducing himself as
Bruce Montgomery, and the other as Wade Kenneth. Tom decided that they
were of the ordinary type of globe-trotting Britishers, until, on his
way to his airship, he passed the place where the native bearers had
set down the luggage of the Englishmen.

"Whew!" whistled Tom, as he caught sight of a peculiarly shaped box.
"See that, Ned?"

"Yes, what is it? A new kind of magazine gun?"

"It's a moving picture camera, or I lose my guess!" whispered Tom. "One
of the old fashioned kind. Those men are no more tourists, or after big
game, than I am! They're moving picture men, and they're here to get
views of that native battle! Ned, we've got to be on our guard. They
may be in the pay of that Turbot and Eckert firm, and they may try to
do us some harm!"

"That's so!" exclaimed Ned. "We'll keep watch of them, Tom."

As they neared their airship, there came, running down what served as
the main village street, an African who showed evidence of having come
from afar. As he ran on, he called out something in a strange tongue.
Instantly from their huts the other natives swarmed.

"What's up now?" cried Ned.

"Something important, I'll wager," replied Tom. "Ned, you go back to
the missionaries house, and find out what it is. I'm going to stand
guard over my camera."

"It's come!" cried Ned a little later, as he hurried into the interior
of the airship, where Tom was busy working over a new attachment he
intended putting on his picture machine.

"What has?"

"War! That native, whom we saw running in, brought news that the battle
would take place day after to-morrow. The enemies of his tribe are on
the march, so the African spies say, and he came to summon all the
warriors from this town. We've got to get busy!"

"That's so. What about those Englishmen?"

"They were talking to the missionaries when the runner came in. They
pretended to have no interest in it, but I saw one wink to the other,
and then, very soon, they went out, and I saw them talking to their
native bearers, while they were busy over that box you said was a
picture machine."

"I knew it, Ned! I was sure of it! Those fellows came here to trick us,
though how they ever followed our trail I don't know. Probably they
came by a fast steamer to the West Coast, and struck inland, while we
were delayed on the d