Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/302

 lopes. Joe took upon himself to prepare this addition to the repast.

"Dinner is ready!" he soon cried, in his cheery voice. And the three travelers had only to seat themselves upon the verdant meadow. The feet and trunk of the elephant were pronounced exquisite. They drank to "Old England," as usual, and some delicious havanas perfumed the air of this beautiful region for the first time.

Kennedy ate, drank, and talked enough for four. He was intoxicated with the surroundings. He seriously proposed to the doctor to remain in that forest, and to construct a leafy cabin, and begin a sort of African Robinson Crusoe life. This proposition was not otherwise followed up, although Joe promised himself to take the part of "Friday."

The country appeared so quiet, so deserted, that the Doctor determined to pass the night on the ground. Joe made a circle of fire, an indispensable barricade against wild beasts. Hyenas, cougars, and jackals, attracted by the scent of the elephant's carcass, came prowling around. Kennedy occasionally sent a shot after the most pressing of these visitors, but the night passed without any unpleasant incident.

morning, at five o'clock, they prepared to depart. Joe, with the ax which he had fortunately recovered, cut off the elephant's tusks. The "Victoria," restored to liberty, carried our travelers to the northeast at a speed of eighteen miles an hour.

The doctor had carefully ascertained his position by the altitude of the stars during the night. He made it 2° 4′ latitude below the equator, or say 160 geographical miles distant from it. They now passed over several villages without noticing the cries their appearance provoked. He took notes of the form of the locality with rapid sketches. He crossed over the slopes of the Rubemhé, almost as steep as the summits of the Ousagara, and later on reached the Tenga, the first spurs of the Karagwah chain, which, according to him, are the commencement of