"Scarcely, Dick; look at the compass; we are tending south towards the sources of the Niger."
"We shall have a capital opportunity to discover them then, if they have not been already explored," said Joe. "Is it the etiquette not to find any more of them?"
"No, Joe; but be easy. I hope not to go so far."
At nightfall the doctor threw out the last sacks of ballast. The "Victoria rose; the blow-pipe, although in full action, could scarcely maintain her. She was then at sixty miles to the south of Timbuctoo, and next day saw the travelers on the borders of the Niger, not far from Lake Debo.
CHAPTER XL
STILL TO THE SOUTH
The course of the river was divided by large islands, and in those narrow branches it ran with a swift current. On one of these islets some shepherds' huts were erected, but it was impossible to take the exact bearings, for the speed of the "Victoria" kept increasing. Unfortunately it inclined more to the south, and very soon passed over Lake Debo.
Ferguson sought for other currents at different elevations, but in vain. So he abandoned the attempt, which had still more diminished the gas, as the dilation pressed it against the failing envelope of the balloon.
He said nothing, but began to feel very uneasy. The obstinate wind blowing to the south had overturned all his calculations. He did not know what to think. If he did not reach English or French territory, what would become of them in the midst of the barbarians infesting the coast of Guinea? How could they obtain a vessel to take them thence to England? And the actual direction of the wind was hurrying them towards the kingdom of Dahomey, amongst the most savage tribes, at the mercy of a king who, at public displays, sacrifices thousands of human victims. There they would be lost.
On the other hand, the balloon was rapidly falling, and the doctor felt it. However, the weather cleared a little, and he hoped that the termination of the rain would bring about a change in the atmospheric currents.
