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CHAPTER XII
AMONG THE NATIVES
For a moment after Tom's departure the others stared blankly at one another. They could hear the throbbing and hum of the machinery, and feel the thrill of the anchored airship. But they could not understand what the trouble was.
"We must help Tom!" cried Ned Newton at length as he caught up his rifle. "Maybe we are in the midst of a herd of elephants, and they have hold of the ship in their trunks."
"It couldn't be!" declared Mr. Durban, yet they soon discovered that Ned's guess was nearer the truth then any of them had suspected at the time.
"We must help him, true enough!" declared Mr. Anderson, and he and the others followed Ned out on deck.
"Where are you, Tom?" called his chum.
"Here." was the answer. "I'm on the forward deck."
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