I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson

Author:Osa Johnson [Johnson, Osa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kodansha USA
Published: 2020-01-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The preparations for our first trip to Africa had tired us all more than we knew, so I took advantage of the leisurely weeks aboard ship to rest and store up energy for whatever might lie ahead. Martin, however, was up early every morning pacing the deck. There was a new restlessness in him, a new anxiety. His father usually joined him, and I contented myself with sitting, Kalowatt perched on my knee, and watching them. Their companionship was a fine thing to see. Martin hadn’t told me in so many words what was troubling him, but then it was rarely necessary for us to talk of things that touched us both closely, and I knew I could best help him by being cheerful and confident.

“Now, you stop worrying, son,” Mr. Johnson said. They had paused and were leaning on the rail near me. It was just a few days before we sighted the East African coast. “Sure it’s a responsibility, other people’s money, but—”

“Your money too, don’t forget!” Martin put in with a wry smile.

“Yes, and one of the best investments I ever made, or I miss my guess,” the elder Johnson replied firmly. “The way I see it,” he went on, “there’ll be time enough to worry about lighting problems and whether you can get close enough to the animals to photograph them when you’ve got African soil under your feet and a lion or something out there looking at you.”

“You’re an optimist, Dad, that’s all I’ve got to say. If they’re anything like the animals in Borneo, all we’ll see will be their tails.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that, son. What about those elephants? Didn’t you and Osa have to climb a tree?”

Martin grinned briefly. “We just happened to be lucky that day.” He was thoughtful again. “One thing sure,” he said, “Osa and I aren’t going to do any trapping or faking. We’re going to get the animals the way they live in their natural environment or we aren’t going to get them at all.”

“Absolutely!” Father Johnson was emphatic. “You’re going to get them honest.” Then, after a moment, “You know, son, there’s one thing you overlook and that’s you and Osa.”

“What?”

“You haven’t failed yet in anything you’ve set out to do, and as far as I can see, you’re a combination that just can’t be beat.”

Martin flashed a smile at me and winked.

“And me,” Father Johnson laughed, “I didn’t tell you this, but along with my Kodak, I brought a little twenty-two popgun, just in case some of these critters down here don’t like the smell of Kansas!”

Nairobi, principal city in British East Africa as well as the government seat, was our destination, and there, following Carl Akeley’s suggestion, we were planning to make our headquarters.

Arriving at Mombasa, the seaport to British East Africa, we immediately noticed the thick and humid heat that lies on this country’s lower lands along the Indian Ocean coast. It took three days to get our eighty-five trunks, boxes, and

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