Page:Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle.djvu/99

Rh who had brought along one of the picture machines, "bless my camera! but I don't call that much to look at," and he pointed to the almost impenetrable forest over which they then were.

"No, it isn't much of a view," said the old elephant hunter, "but wait. You'll soon see all you want to. Africa isn't all like this. There are many strange sights before us yet. But, Tom Swift, tell us how the airship is working in this climate. Do you find any difficulty managing it?"

"Not at all," answered Tom, who was in the cabin then, having set the automatic steering apparatus in the pilot house, and come back to join the others. "It works as well as it did in good old York State. Of course I can't tell what effect the continual hot and moist air will have on the gas bag, but I guess we'll make out all right."

"I certainly hope so," put in Mr. Anderson. "It would be too bad to be wrecked in the middle of Africa, with no way to get out."

"Oh, you needn't worry about that," said Ned with a laugh. "If the airship should smash, Tom would build another out of what was left, and we'd sail away as good as before."

"Hardly that," answered the young inventor.