"Well, this is fierce!" exclaimed Tom, at the end of the first day
when, tired and weary, bitten by insects, and torn by jungle briars,
they made camp that night.
"Going to give up?" asked Ned.
"Not much!"
They felt better after supper, and, tethering the animals securely,
they stretched out in their tents, with mosquito canopies over them
to keep away the pestering insects.
"I've got a new scheme," announced Tom next morning at breakfast.
"What is it? Going on the rest of the way in the aeroplane?" asked
Ned hopefully.
"No, though I believe if I had brought the big airship along I could
have used it. But I mean about driving the animals. I'm going to
make a long line of them, tying one to the other like the elephants
in the circus when they march around, holding each other's tails.
Then one of us will ride in front, another in the rear, and one on
each side. In that way we'll keep them going and they won't stray
off."
"Bless my button hook!" cried Mr. Damon. "That's a good idea, Tom!"
It was carried out with much success, and thereafter they traveled
better.
But even at the best it was not easy work, and more than once Tom's
friends urged him to turn back.
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