else.

"I've got it!" shouted Mr. Durban, for he had to call loudly to be
heard above the din. "They are asking us to make it rain. It seems
there has been a dry spell here, and their own rain-makers and
witch-doctors haven't been able to get a drop out of the sky. Now,
they take it that we have come to help them. They think we are going
to bring rain."

"And if we don't, what will happen?" asked Tom.

"Maybe they won't be quite so glad to see us," was the answer.

"Well, if they don't mean war, we might as well put up our weapons,"
suggested Mr. Anderson. "If they're going to be friendly, so much
the better, and if it should happen to rain while we're here, they'd
think we brought it, and we could have almost anything we wanted.
Perhaps they have a store of ivory hidden away, Mr. Durban. Some of
these tribes do."

"It's possible, but the chances for rain are very small. How long
will we have to stay here, Tom Swift?" asked the elephant hunter
anxiously.

"Well, perhaps I can get the motor mended in two or three days,"
answered the young inventor.

"Then we'll have to stay here in the meanwhile," decided Mr. Durban.
"Well, we'll make the best of it. Ha, here comes the native king to
do us honor," and, as he spoke there came toward the airship a