Here the expedition settled down to the serious business of shooting big game with a camera, while the days insensibly rolled into weeks. For Chief Ungaba and his people were friendly and, as the park-like country with its lofty hills, great stretches of thorn bush and spreading forests comparatively free of underbrush, in game, Mr. Hampton to use the village of Ungaba as a base of operations from which side expeditions could be sent out.
Under the tutelage of Niellsen, the boys had developed into excellent motion picture photographers. And whether they lay for days in brush shelters, awaiting the opportunity to film animals coming to a water hole to drink, or whether they crawled for hours along game trails, dragging both rifle and big camera with them, they returned not only with their enthusiasm undampened but also with many feet of film which they felt certain would prove on development to be amply worth all the effort .
That these trips were not without incident goes without saying. Time and again they had narrow escapes, as when on one occasion crawled around a rock with a view to film feeding in a depression at the base of the hillside, only to find a particularly deadly snake, the mamba, coiled on the sunny side just at the place where he would next have placed his hand. Drawing back with lightning quickness, he drew his revolver and shot the snake. The sound of the shot sent the buffalo tearing and away and spoiled his chance of getting a picture of them, a chance which he had spent a full hour in acquiring. But he saved his life.
Many weary hours, too, were spent in stalking animals, so that the obtaining of each separate bit of film was an adventure in itself. The common jungle grass progress and its getting into their eyes set up an which half-blinded them. They were never without at least one member of the party suffering from eyes. Anticipating this, however, they had come provided with eye wash for the of . It was the dry season, and they wore only the lightest of clothing, consisting of sleeveless shirt and knee length pants, “like Boy Scouts,” Bob remarked. Consequently, they suffered much from the scratches of various other varieties of grass with , of the tall reeds with stiff leaves which cut like a knife and, especially, from the “cow .” This latter name they gave a plant having seed pods covered with fine hairs which pierced even through clothing and set up an excruciating .
On the whole, however, the hardships were less than they had expected to encounter, and a hot bath in a collapsible tub on the return from a picture-taking expedition went far to make life bearable. Moreover, they had the of piling up thousands of feet of film which they felt assured would be .
“I can just see the kids sitting in the motion picture house when some of these scenes flash on the screen,” said Bob, one night, after returning from a particularly trying expedition upon which eland, giraffes, buffalo, and adjutant birds had been filmed. “Only we need some more thrilling stuff.”
“I should think you’d have gotten enough thrills on that raft to last you the rest of your life,” said Niellsen, smoking his pipe on the opposite side of the camp fire. “Just the same, what you say about our films of animal life is true. I wonder,” he added, turning toward Mr. Hampton seated on a camp chair at his shoulder, “whether we couldn’t persuade Chief Ungaba to organize a hunt. I have a we’d get a thrill out of that.”
“Good idea,” approved Jack. “Let’s try it.” After some further discussion, it was agreed that the next morning all should wait on Chief Ungaba and prefer their request. Accordingly, they turned in and slept soundly and at an early hour arose and entered the village which lay not far away across an open meadow. Whenever camp was pitched at an African village, the party was careful to locate some distance away, both because the odors of these villages frequently become offensive and to avoid possible arising between the native populace and the hearers from alien tribes.
The village was up and astir, and as the boys passed along the main street toward the central square where Chief Ungaba’s hut was located they found their interest excited by sights which ............