"I vote we don't try it," said Joe simply.
"I am not exaggerating in the least," said the doctor, "for at the recitals of travelers who have had the pluck to venture into these latitudes, the tears would actually come into your eyes."
About eleven o'clock they passed over the basin of the Imengé; the natives scattered about upon the hills vainly threatened the "Victoria" with their weapons, and the balloon soon arrived above the last spurs of the high ground which leads to the Rubeho, which forms the third chain, and highest mountain of the ranges of Usagara.
The travelers took careful notes of the orographical features of the country. The three ramifications, of which the Duthumi forms the first line, are separated by vast plains. The lofty ridges are rounded off at the summit, and the ground is strewn with large blocks of stone at intervals, amid the shingle. The steepest side of these mountains is towards Zanzibar, the western declivity being merely a gentle slope. The more level portions of the plain are covered with a black and fertile soil, where vegetation is luxuriant. Numerous watercourses run towards the east and flow into the Kingani in the neighborhood of gigantic clumps of sycamores, tamarinds, gourds, and palms.
"Listen," said Doctor Ferguson. "We are now approaching the Rubeho mountains, whose name being translated, means 'Passage of Winds.' We shall do well to cross the sharp peaks at a considerable altitude. If my map be correct, we must ascend to 5,000 feet."
"Shall we have to attain such an altitude frequently?" asked Kennedy.
"No; very seldom. The height of the African mountains appears to be relatively small compared to the European and Asian peaks. But, in any case, the 'Victoria' will have no difficulty to overcome them."
In a short time the gas was dilated and the balloon took a very decided upward course. The expansion of the hydrogen had nothing dangerous in its character either, for the vast balloon was not filled to more than three-quarters its capacity. The barometer now, by a depression of eight inches, showed they had attained an elevation of 6,000 feet.
"Shall we travel like this long?" asked Joe.
