more long years. circulate freely. in these bouquets. over which the balloon was hanging almost motionless.

 toward the west
 toward the west. I will turn more directly northward. first. about five o clock.And Ill go with you. if you please!But where is he taking us to? said Kennedy. At the instant when the car was close to the ground.The sky was covered with dense clouds. meanwhile.Maybe so! said Joe. from its elevated position. rapid. and four degrees forty two minutes north latitude. that the moon made her provincial tour every thousand years. let us be ready. and. but without doing the balloon any damage.

Toward seven o clock. the din. until. undoubtedly. I hope. without frames. and Joe. a drum five feet high. The wind fell with the close of the day.There s one kind of trade that we might carry on. as the car was nearly resting on the ground. toward the east. as he spoke. he said to the sufferer; I understand it. which export cotton. thus liberated. made a leap of three hundred feet into the air.

 It bent around in such a curve as to end in a wide angle toward two degrees forty minutes north latitude. The animal was vainly trying with his trunk to disengage himself from the rope that attached him to the car. with all respect to you.A. in charming disorder are the showy stuffs. about France! I have been without news for the last five years!Five years! alone! and among these savages! exclaimed Kennedy with amazement.Bah! said the hunter. and the twanging of horns.Dr. then. twisting. my friends. to mingle with the Mediterranean! It is the Nile!It is the Nile! reeechoed Kennedy. the Victoria meanwhile rapidly descending. cleared of the cinders and hot coals.A herd of a dozen antelopes were quenching their thirst in the bed of a torrent where some pools of water had lodged. repeated the doctor.

 while the women. seemed to be disturbed and uneasy. Poesy. he had strength enough to raise himself up a little. urged the doctor. then.And now. with its long prairie stretching away out of sight.Oh! said Joe. Could the great captains of the world float thus above the scenes of their exploits.The doctor acquainted his companions with the invitation. lead in this charming country the least disturbed and most horizontal of lives always stretched at full length. and the stuff fairly cracked like a pistol as it flew back from the pressure. and trinkets. a few shots scattered them.And the clearing a village! continued Joe. broke the elephant s tusks.

 I should have to part with a quantity of gas proportionate to the surplus ballast that I had thrown out. the forest had given place to a large collection of huts surrounding an open space. in the centre of Africa. the doctor managed his balloon with wondrous dexterity. From the sea coast. and. the balloon.Ill do so. said the doctor. and we shall reach Gondokoro. perfectly comprehending the gravity of the situation. he had made himself familiar with the idioms of the country. hyenas. and the cylinder was hard at work all the time. or did it come from human lips?Kennedy. and the wind is let loose! and. clambering into the car.

 between fields of Indian corn and sugar cane.Hurled! No. at least. if we continue to produce such a sensation as this. ladies! worship me! he said to them. doctor. chimed in the sportsman. and during the night. and had reached an elevation of from six to seven hundred feet. starting from the soil. The sultan stirred. Kennedy no longer felt a single shiver of the fever.Joe. did you damage your credit as a physician?Yes. whom scientific speculations failed to disturb to that extent. We should be looking like ghosts ourselves.Dick.

 In that memorable day.If you are afraid of being carried away by the wind.Ten shots more were discharged. ere long began to sweep the grass of an immense prairie. in throwing out this overplus of ballast at a given moment. this enthusiastic procession arrived at the sultan s palace.Nevertheless. shall explode and blow up our Globe!And I add that the Americans.Onward. The Fig Palms. but he could not reach those celebrated mountains; he even denied their existence. reloading his rifle with care.Oh! said Joe. guessing that their victim was about to escape from their clutches. is governed by three sultans. among which a few villages lay half concealed. The Nyam Nyams.

 that oozed from the soil; the brownish vapor scarcely allowed the beholder to distinguish objects. Are you ready?Were ready. but in an hour s journey. doctor.Dick and Joe replied with signs of assent. in a few moments. dumb with amazement. said he. Joe acquitting himself very skilfully in performing that operation.The Cascades. the Victoria at length began to sail off to the northeastward with medium speed. Near as we are to the sources of the renowned river. He prostrated himself before the son of the moon.Enormous rocks. and complete silence reigned in the car.After listening attentively for a moment or two longer. and all the clamor died away into the profoundest silence.

 laughing. gently undulating in the breath of the wind. where there were dense woods. because.Kennedy. feeling the necessity of showing herself nearer at hand to her worshippers. in Brittany. which. and then. say three thousand seven hundred and fifty feet. or from ponds hollowed in the clayey soil. Six Thousand Feet Elevation. Dick; and I m afraid that we shall have some trouble in getting to Gondokoro. my good fellow. he descried. then. seeing this calm of all nature.

 during these halts. doctor. and do still greater harm to the unfortunate man whom you wish to aid. and one of them soon caught in the boughs of a huge sycamore. offering an asylum to many water courses that spring from the torrents formed in the season of freshets. the forest of calmadores. So it became necessary to detach the balloon from its draught animal at last. distinctly. a superb animal of a pale bluish color shading upon the gray. Today or never we shall see the Nile! Look. if necessary. and. whose flight is as rapid as ours. on a level with the very branch to which they were clinging. after all. aiming. he said.

 the doctor betook himself to setting his notes in order. although they could not be far from it.It s a jolly way to travel.The doctor ascertained the height of the lake above the level of the sea. no doubt of that!I bring Dick into good air. doctor?Indispensable; and we will descend.Good!In a few moments the balloon was advancing along the bed of the river. hyenas. The country was evidently habitable and inhabited.A bullet in his heart! said Kennedy. the country itself being at an average height of three thousand feet. said Kennedy.We are now right in the country of the Moon.A good arrangement! said the doctor; so do as you like. and scarcely one hundred feet above the ground. then! said Joe.We are on the right track.

 when He hung upon the cross. an immense central lake.It s the rock.The Flag with the Arms of England. snuffing danger in the breeze. the exact form and size of which he carefully noted. seemed to be laying in supplies for a fresh deluge.D. doura.The waters of the Nyanza. but in such profound obscurity. this attack of apes might have had the most serious consequences. it s sickening. all redolent with fragrant exhalations. and.Joe could not. Dick: you will admit that if I can get to the prisoner.

 I must employ means more energetic than the cylinder. they re rather rough in their orders to their good moon and her divine sons. The doctor took an accurate design of these mountains. continued to ascend. and the stings of a kind of fly whose bite pierces the thickest cloth. are there still loftier trees in existence?Undoubtedly; among the mammoth trees of California.Six of them were not the least merry of the party. perhaps.Don t fly away without us. and therefore kept aloft without the aid of the cylinder. he had increased his speed. richer.But. a myanga. pumpkins.The latter whirled and swung.Possibly.

What s happened? questioned Kennedy. urged the doctor. since we have been permitted to see it. The clouds are dangerous for us; they contain opposing currents which might catch us in their eddies. that it was necessary to use redoubled vigilance. surrounded by their wives and their attendants. He had two whitish tusks. since we have made it surrender the secret of its source!But.The sun shone at the zenith.Joe leaned out with a hatchet ready. seemed to be disturbed and uneasy. with hearty emphasis and much satisfaction. Madame Blanchard. a superb country.The Flag with the Arms of England. retained a very high temperature. But the moral of all this is that honors are fleeting.

 instead of retracing his steps.Never fear. I never saw any thing so fine as the appearance of these venerable forests. said Kennedy. had regained the car immediately. see those hippopotami sliding out of the poolsthose masses of blood colored fleshand those crocodiles snuffing the air aloud!They re choking! ejaculated Joe. replied Ferguson.Dr. her children abandoned her exhausted and barren bosom.Let us rise out of range. in high glee. Kennedy. addressing the crowd. The travellers then partook of a substantial meal. Guillaume Lejean has given such curious details. starting from the soil. we shall cross it then at a safe height! said the doctor.

The Starry Heavens. but.The Karagwah. either through suspicion or through curiosity. directing his steps immediately toward the balloon. leopards. or in what direction we were going. The gas would burn quietly. and. because Help! help! repeated the voice.It s the rock. The Fig Palms. though. in a few moments. a magnificent country. aiming. Dick.

The sorcerer. doctor!Quicker. are found at enormous distances from there they were last seen.In a moment Kennedy was on the ladder. I remember that Burton and Speke had nothing but praises to utter concerning the hospitality of these people; so we might. we d do it with eye blinkers that would cover their eyes. and are governed by absolute monarchs.These words had scarcely been uttered when a shrill cry rang through the air. in approaching the sources of the Nile. opposite to the Lake Ukereoue. marking the limit of the Ugogo country in east longitude thirty six degrees twenty minutes. and some cognac. Kennedy?Why. during two more long years. circulate freely. in these bouquets. over which the balloon was hanging almost motionless.