deck before him, Tom followed. Tomba was capering
about his master and mistress, and he swung his big club savagely.
He had not been idle, and many a red imp had gone down under his
blows.

"Rescued! Rescued!" murmured Mr. Illingway, as Tom hastened to the
pilot house to start the motor.

CHAPTER XXIV

TWO OTHER CAPTIVES

But the rescue was not yet accomplished. Those on the airship were
still in danger, and grave peril, for all about them were the red
savages, shouting, howling, yelling and capering about, as they were
now thoroughly aroused, and realized that their captives had been
taken away from them. They determined to get them back, and were
rallying desperately to battle. Nearly all of them were armed by
this time, and flight after flight of spears and arrows were thrown
or shot toward the airship.

Fortunately it was too dark to enable the pygmies to take good aim.
They were guided, to an extent, by the flashes of fire from the
rifles, but these were only momentary. Still some of our friends
received slight wounds, for they stood on the open deck of the
craft.

"Bless my eye-glasses!" suddenly exclaimed Mr. Damon. "I'm stuck!"

"Don't mind that!" advised Ned. "Keep on pouring lead into them.
We'll soon be away from here!"

"Don't fire any more!" called Mr. Durban. "The gun-flashes tell them
where to shoot. I'll use the electric rifle. It's better."

They followed his advice, and put aside their weapons. By means of
the electric flash, which he projected into the midst of the
savages, without the glare coming on the airship, Mr. Durban was
able to tell where to aim. Once he had a mass of red pygmies
located, he could keep on shooting charge after charge into their
midst.

"Use it full power!" called Tom, as he opened the gas machine to its
widest capacity, so the bag would quickly fill, and the craft be
sent forward, for it was so dark, and the ground near the huts so
uneven, that the Black Hawk could not rise as an aeroplane.

The elephant hunter turned on full strength in the electric gun and
the wireless bullets were sent into the midst of the attackers. The
result was surprising. They were so closely packed together that
when one was hit the electrical shock was sent through his nearly
naked body into the naked bodies of his tribesmen who pressed on
every side of him. In consequence whole rows of the savages went
down at a time, disabled from fighting any more.

Meanwhile Tom was w