d size it up, so they could
chloroform us, and get the camera."

"I believe you're right," declared Mr. Nestor. "We must get after those
scoundrels as quickly as possible!"

"Bless my shoulder braces!" cried Mr. Damon. "How do you imagine they
worked that trick on us?"

"Easily enough," was Mr. Nestor's opinion. "We were all dead tired last
night, and slept like tops. They watched their chance, sneaked up, and
got in. After that it was no hard matter to chloroform each one of us
in turn, and they had the ship to themselves. They looked around, found
the camera, and made off with it."

"Well, I'm going to get right after them!" cried Tom. "Ned, start the
motor. I'll steer for a while."

"Hold on! Wait a minute," suggested Mr. Nestor. "I wouldn't go off in
the ship just yet, Tom."

"Why not?"

"Because you don't know which way to go. We must find out which trail
the Englishmen took. They have African porters with them, and those
porters doubtless know some of the blacks around here. We must inquire
of the natives which way the porters went, in carrying the goods of our
rivals, for those Englishmen would not abandon camp without taking
their baggage with them."

"That's so," admitted the young inventor. "That will be the best plan.
Once I find which way they have gone I can easily overtake them in the
airship. And when I find 'em--" Tom paused significantly.

"Me help you fix 'em!" cried Koku, clenching his big fist.

"They will probably figure it out that you will take after them," said
Mr. Nestor, "but they may not count on you doing it in the Flyer, and
so they may not try to hide. It isn't going to be an easy matter to
pick a small party out of the jungle though, Tom."

"Well, I've done more difficult things in my airships," spoke our hero.
"I'll fly low, and use the glass. I guess we can pick out their crowd
of porters, though they won't have many. Oh, my camera! I hope they
won't damage it."

"They won't," was Ned's opinion. "It's too valuable. They want it to
take pictures with, themselves."

"Maybe. I hope they don't open it, and see how it's made. And I'm glad
I thought to hide the picture films I've taken so far. They didn't get
those away from us, only some of the blank ones," and Tom looked again
in a secret closet, where he kept the battle-films, and the others, in
the dark, to prevent them from being light-struck, by any possible
chance.

"Well, if we're going to make some inquiries, let'