"Sure. I have a leave of absence from the bank, thanks to your
father and Mr. Damon, most of my clothes are packed, I've bought a
gun and I've got a lot of quinine in case I get a fever."

"Good!" cried the elephant hunter. "You'll do all right, I reckon.
I'm glad I met you young fellows. Well, I've lived through my first
trip in the air, which is more than I expected when I started."

They discussed their plans at some length, for, now that the airship
had proved all that they had hoped for, it would not be long ere
they were under way. In the days that followed Tom put the finishing
touches on the craft, arranged to have it packed up for shipment,
and spent some time practicing with his electric rifle. He got to be
an expert shot, and Mr. Durban, who was a wonder with the ordinary
rifle, praised the young inventor highly.

"There won't many of the big tuskers get away from you, Tom Swift,"
he said. "And that reminds me, I got a letter the other day, from
the firm I collect ivory for, stating that the price had risen
because of a scarcity, and urging me to hurry back to Africa and get
all I could. It seems that war has broken out among some of the
central African tribes, and they are journeying about in the jungle,
on the war path here and there, and have driven the elephants into
the very deepest wilds, where the ordinary hunters can't get at
them."

"Maybe we won't have any luck, either," suggested Ned.

"Oh, yes, we will," declared the hunter. "With our airship, the