a nice location, and the gas machine needs cleaning. We can do it here,
and maybe I can get some more pictures."

They were busy the rest of the day on the gas generator, but the main
body of natives did not come back, and the Englishmen seemed to have
disappeared.

Everyone slept soundly that night. So soundly, in fact, that the sun
was very high when Koku was the first to awaken, His head felt
strangely dizzy, and he wondered at a queer smell in the room he had to
himself.

"Nobody up yet," he exclaimed in surprise, as he staggered into the
main cabin. There, too, was the strange, sweetish, sickly smell. "Mr.
Tom, where you be? Time to get up!" the giant called to his master, as
he went in, and gently shook the young inventor by the shoulder.

"Eh? What's that? What's the matter?" began Tom, and then he suddenly
sat up. "Oh, my head!" he exclaimed, putting his hands to his aching
temples.

"And that queer smell!" added Ned, who was also awake now.

"Bless my talcum powder!" cried Mr. Damon. "I have a splitting
headache."

"Hum! Chloroform, if I'm any judge!" called Mr. Nestor from his berth.

"Chloroform!" cried Tom, staggering to his feet. "I wonder." He did not
finish his sentence, but made his way to the room where his camera was
kept. "It's gone!" he cried. "We have been chloroformed in the night,
and some one has taken my Wizard Camera."

CHAPTER XX

AFTER THE ENGLISHMEN

"The camera gone!" gasped Ned.

"Did they chloroform us?" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "Bless my--" but for one
of the few times in his life, he did not know what to bless.

"Get all the fresh air you can," hastily advised Mr. Nestor. "Koku,
open all the doors and windows," for, though it was hot during the day
in the jungle, the nights were cool, and the airship was generally
closed up. With the inrush of the fresh air every one soon felt better.

"Is anything else gone?" asked Ned, as he followed Tom into the camera
room.

"Yes, several rolls of unexposed films. Oh, if only they haven't got
too much of a start! I'll get it away from them!" declared Tom with
energy.

"From who? Who took it?" asked Ned.

"Those Englishmen, of course! Who else? I believe they are in the pay
of Turbot and Eckert. Their taking pictures was only a bluff! They got
on my trail and stuck to it. The delays we had, gave them a chance to
catch up to us. They came over to the airship, to pretend to borrow
films, just to get a look at the place, an