But he did not finish. The smell of smoke suddenly became stronger,
and, a moment later, as the airship rose higher, in response to a
change in the angle of the deflecting rudder, which Ned shifted, all on
board saw a great volume of black smoke rolling toward the sky.

"A jungle fire!" cried Tom. "The jungle is burning! That's why the
animals are running back this way."

"We'd better not go on!" shouted Ned, choking a bit, as the smoke
rolled nearer.

"No, we've got to turn back!" decided Tom. "Say, this will stop the
Englishmen! They can't go on. We'll go back to the village we left, and
wait for them. They're trapped!" And then he added soberly: "I hope my
camera doesn't get burnt up!"

CHAPTER XXII

A DANGEROUS COMMISSION

"Look at that smoke!" yelled Ned, as he sent the airship about in a
great circle on the backward trail.

"And there's plenty of blaze, too," added Tom. "See the flames eating
away! This stuff is as dry as tinder for there hasn't been any rain for
months."

"Much hot!" was the comment of the giant, when he felt the warm wind of
the fire.

"Bless my fountain pen!" gasped Mr. Damon, as he looked down into the
jungle. "See all those animals!"

The trail was now thick with deer, and many small beasts, the names of
which Tom did not know. On either side could be heard larger brutes,
crashing their way forward to escape the fire behind them.

"Oh, if you only had your camera now!" cried Ned. "You could get a
wonderful picture, Tom."

"What's the use of wishing for it. Those Englishmen have it, and--"

"Maybe they're using it!" interrupted Ned. "No, I don't think they
would know how to work it. Do you see anything of them, Ned?"

"Not a sight. But they'll surely have to come back, just as you said,
unless they got ahead of the fire. They can't go on, and it would be
madness to get off the trail in a jungle like this."

"I don't believe they could have gotten ahead of the fire," spoke Tom.
"They couldn't travel fast enough for that, and see how broad the blaze
is."

They were now higher up, well out of the heat and smoke of the
conflagration, and they could see that it extended for many miles along
the trail, and for a mile or so on either side of it.

"We're far enough in advance, now, to go down a bit, I guess," said
Tom, a little later. "I want to get a good view of the path, and I
can't do that from up here. I have an idea that--"

Tom did not finish, for as the airship