Suddenly, after they had crossed the hill, the doctor
exclaimed: "The river! the river! the Senegal, my friends!"
And about two miles ahead of them, there was indeed
the river rolling along its broad mass of water, while the
farther bank, which was low and fertile, offered a sure
refuge, and a place favorable for a descent.
"Another quarter of an hour," said Ferguson, "and
we are saved!"
But it was not to happen thus; the empty balloon descended
slowly upon a tract almost entirely bare of vegetation. It
was made up of long slopes and stony plains, a
few bushes and some coarse grass, scorched by the sun.
The Victoria touched the ground several times, and
rose again, but her rebound was diminishing in height and
length. At the last one, it caught by the upper part of
the network in the lofty branches of a baobab, the only
tree that stood there, solitary and alone, in the midst of
the waste.
"It's all over," said Kennedy.
"And at a hundred paces only from the river!"
groaned Joe.
The three hapless aeronauts descended to the ground,
and the doctor drew his companions toward the Senegal.
At this point the river sent forth a prolonged roaring;
and when Ferguson reached its bank, he recognized the
falls of Gouina.
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