Dr．Ferguson energetically pushed the preparations for his departure，and in person directed the construction of his balloon．For a long time past he had been applying himself to the study of the Arab language and the various Mandingoe idioms，and，thanks to his talents in language，he had made rapid progress． In the meanwhile，his friend，the sportsman，never let him out of his sight-afraid，no doubt，that the doctor might take his departure，without saying a word to anybody．On this subject，he tried to discourage him with the most persuasive arguments，which，however，did NOT persuade Samuel Ferguson，and wasted his breath，by which the latter seemed to be but slightly moved．In fine，Dick felt that the doctor was slipping through his fingers． The poor Scot was really to be pitied．He could not look upon the blue sky without a wild terror: when asleep，he felt dizziness(眩晕)that made his head turn around；and every night he had visions of crashing down from immeasurable heights． We must add that，during these nightmares，he once or twice fell out of bed. His first care then was to show Ferguson a severe bump(肿块)that he had received on the fall．“And yet，”he would add，with warmth，“that was at the height of only three feet一not an inch more一and such a bump as this! Only think，then!” This appeal，full of sad meaning as it was，did not seem to touch the doctor's heart．Not even the shadow of a doubt was ever suggested；and Samuel made an intolerable misuse of the first person plural：“‘Our’balloon，‘our’ car ；‘our’expedition.” Dick trembled at them，although he was determined not to go ; he did not want to annoy his friend．Let us also disclose the fact that，without knowing exactly why himself，he had sent to Edinburgh for a certain selection of heavy clothing，and his best hunting-tools and fire-arms． 小题1:Why did Dr．Ferguson start to learn new languages?
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