Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 1.djvu/379

 "You shall indulge yourself in that way in the streets of London, Joe. But to wind up, we are a party of three like Denham, Clapperton, and Overweg—like Barth, Richardson, and Vogel, and happier than our predecessors. All three of us are together still. But it is very important not to separate. If, during the absence of one of us on the ground, the 'Victoria' were obliged to ascend in order to avoid some sudden and unforseen danger, who knows whether we might come together again. So I tell you frankly, Kennedy, I do not wish you to go far away under the pretext of hunting."

"You must, nevertheless, allow me, my dear Samuel, to overcome this fancy; there is no great harm in renewing our stock of provisions. Besides, before our departure from home, you put before me a series of wonderful hunting exploits, and, up to this time, I have done very little in the way of Anderson or Cumming."

"Surely, my dear Dick, your memory fails you; or your modesty stands in the way of your prowess. It appears to me that, without reckoning smaller game, you have already an antelope, an elephant, and two lions on your conscience."

"Well, what is that for an African sportsman, who can have a shot at every created animal? Look here! look at this drove of giraffes!"

"Those giraffes!" cried Joe. "Why, they are only as big as my fist!"

"Because we are 1,000 feet above them," replied Kennedy; "but if you were nearer, you would see they were three times as high as you; and there are some ostriches going like the wind!"

"Ostriches!" said Joe; "they are fowls, and nothing more!"

"Cannot we get nearer to them, Samuel?"

"Yes, we can approach them, but cannot land. And what good, after all, is there in shooting animals which are of no use to us? If the question were the destruction of a lion, a tiger-cat, or a hyena, I could understand it, there would be always a dangerous beast the less; but to destroy an antelope, or a gazelle, without any profit but to satisfy the vanity of the sportsman, is not worth the trouble. However, my friend, we will keep at about 100 feet above