He little knew how soon he would have to put his plan into effect.

They arrived safely at Majumba, the African coast city, and for two
days Tom was kept busy superintending the unloading of the parts of
his airship. But it was safely taken ashore, and he and his friends
hired a disused warehouse in which to work at reassembling the Black
Hawk.

Tom had everything down to a system, and, in less than a week the
aircraft was once more ready to be sent aloft. It was given a try-
out, much to the astonishment of the natives, and worked perfectly.
Then Tom and his friends busied themselves laying in a stock of
provisions and stores for the trip into the interior.

They made inquiries about the chances of getting ivory and were told
that they were good if they went far enough into the jungle and
forests, for the big beasts had penetrated farther and farther
inland.

They also tried to get some news regarding the captive missionaries,
but were unsuccessful nor could they learn what had become of Tomba,
who had brought the dire news to civilization.

"It's too soon to hope for anything yet," said Mr. Anderson. "Wait
until we get near the country of the red pygmies."

"And then it may be too late," said Tom in a low voice.

It was two weeks after their arrival in Majumba that Tom announced