The African Queen Page #3

The only question is,

which way will they come?

Maybe from the sea,

up the railway to Limbasi.

But that would put the Germans

between us and them.

Mightn't our soldiers

come in from British East, Mr. Allnut?

Yeah, they might,

but the war in Europe would be over

before they ever hacked their way

through that forest.

We're in a bit of a fix, miss,

no matter which way you look at it.

There's one thing certain.

They won't come up from the Congo,

not even if they wanted to.

They gotta cross that lake,

and nothing's going to cross that lake

while the Louisa's there.

- The Louisa? What's that?

- A hundred-ton steamer, miss.

The Germans brought her

overland in sections.

She's the boss of the lake

'cause she's got a six-pounder.

A six-pounder? What's that?

A gun, miss.

The biggest gun in Central Africa.

- I see.

- If it wasn't for the Louisa,

there wouldn't be nothing to it.

The Germans wouldn't last a month

if our men could get across the lake,

but all that don't get us

any closer to home, does it, miss?

This river, the Ulanga,

runs into the lake,

doesn't it, Mr. Allnut?

Well, yes, miss, it does,

but if you got any ideas

about going down to the lake

in this launch,

- you better get rid of them.

- Why?

Well, first off, there's Shona.

The Germans have a fort there

overlooking the river.

If we tried to pass under their guns,

they'd blow us right out of the water.

And then after that, miss,

there's the rapids.

A hundred miles of water

like it was coming out of a fire hose.

After that, why,

the river's even got a different name.

It's called the Bora.

That just goes to show you

they didn't even know

it was the same river

- until this fellow Spengler got...

- He got down it, I remember.

Yes, miss, in a dugout canoe.

He had a half a dozen Swahili paddlers.

Map-making, he was.

That was his map you was looking at.

- Mr. Allnut.

- Yes, miss?

What did you say is in these boxes

with the red lines on them?

Well, them, that's blasting gelatin, miss.

Is it dangerous?

Bless you, no, miss.

That's safety stuff, that is.

You can get it wet

and it don't do it any harm.

You set fire to it, and it just burns.

You can hit it with a hammer

and it won't go off.

At least, I don't think it will.

Takes a detonator to set it off.

I'll put it over the side, though,

if it worries you.

No, we may want it.

- Mr. Allnut.

- Yes, miss?

What are these long, round,

torpedo-like things?

Them? Them's oxygen

and hydrogen cylinders, miss.

- Mr. Allnut.

- I'm still right here, miss.

There ain't much of any other place

I could be on a 30-foot boat.

You're a machinist, aren't you? I mean,

wasn't that your position at the mine?

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