In the Depths of the Dark Continent: or, The Vengeance of Van Vincent

A large, flat-bottomed boat was moored to the shore not over a hundred yards away.

A number of the Utopians promptly set to work to dig a grave in the spot selected by Jack Howard.

When it was ready Prof. Drearland repeated a short prayer, and the body of the brave girl, who had shared the dangers and hardships of the explorers, was tenderly laid to rest.

Jack was the last to leave the grave, and, when he did so, he noticed that his friends had already gathered upon the boat.

The Utopians who came with them to witness and assist in the burial of the girl, were standing at the gate waiting for them, thinking that the strangers were merely examining the boat.

It was fast growing dark, and casting a last look at the grave of Masie Langford, Jack Howard led his horse down to the water's edge and boarded the scowlike craft.

He had scarcely done so when he felt the boat moving.

There was ample cause for this, since all hands had seized poles and were pushing with all their might.

Five minutes later the boat was in the middle of the stream, while the Utopians, who had been left standing at the gate, were running up and down the river bank in a state of wild excitement.

But darkness and the swift current of the river soon lost them to view.

Van's father, though his left leg was missing from the knee down, was quite spry, and he insisted that he should have charge of the boat during the night.

He was allowed to have his own way, and when the sun arose the next morning they were nearly a hundred miles from the African Utopia.

The current of the river was swift and steady, and when two days had slipped by the boat entered a large body of water, which the elder Vincent said was Lake Tanganyika.

We will not dwell on the voyage down the lake, but suffice it to say that it was really the body of water they supposed it to be, and in due time they arrived at the town of Ujiji, which was the nearest to anything like civilization they had seen since they started on their journey, barring the African Utopia, of course.

They were lucky enough to meet a party of Englishmen at this place, who were just about to start for Zanzibar.

One of them happened to be an acquaintance of Jack Howard's, and that made things satisfactory between the two parties, so they formed into one and set out for the coast.

CHAPTER XXIV.

CONCLUSION

It was nearly two months after our friends left the hidden city of Utopia before they arrived at Zanzibar, on the east coast of Africa.

At the request of Prof. Drearland they had kept all their wonderful discoveries to themselves.

Long before they reached the seacoast, Van and Metha Arundel had come to an understanding, and it was known to all their friends that they were engaged to be married when they reached a suitable age.

After a week's stay in Zanzibar – which, by the way, is not the nicest place in the world in which to sojourn – they embarked aboard a ship bound for London.

At the end of a rather tedious voyage they stepped on the docks of the famous British city.

It was here that the party became split.

Jack Howard, Dr. Pestle and Prof. Drearland had reached their home, and here they concluded to remain for the present.

A couple of weeks later Van Vincent, his father, Lank Edwards and Arundel and his daughter, Metha, embarked for New York.

They did not tarry long in this city after their arrival, but at once set out for the homestead of the Vincents in the quiet little country village.

Almost everybody in the village knew our hero, and when he stepped from the train with the handsome Metha by his side, the simple country folk were much mystified.

Before he had walked a hundred yards from the depot Van learned from one of his old friends that the house he had lived in so long was in the hands of the lawyer who had always done his uncle's business.

Our hero led the way to the best hotel in the village, and here the party put up.

Through the agency of his former employer Van got a good lawyer to take his case, and in his hands he placed the confession of Doc Clancy.

About a week later the village was agog with excitement over the arrest of Lawyer – , who was one of the richest and most influential men in the county.

But when it became known that he was implicated in the murder that had caused so much excitement several months before, the excitement reached a fever heat.

Well, the next thing to take place was a trial, which was a long and tedious one, as such trials usually are.

When it did finally come to an end, it resulted in complete victory for Van Vincent.

The rascally lawyer received a sentence of twenty years in the State prison for the part he had played in the murder and fraud.

He is now serving out the sentence; but the last we heard of him he was not likely to live until it expired, as his health was very poor.

A few of the old villagers recognized Van's father, and he was given a royal welcome back to his native place.

Arundel, who was an Englishman by birth, concluded to remain in America the rest of his life.

Four years later Jack Howard, Dr. Pestle and Prof. Drearland made a trip to America.

They not only came to see the best country on the face of the globe, but to attend a wedding as well.

The reader will of course guess the happy couple.

They were our hero, Van Vincent, and the pretty Metha Arundel, who had been born and reared in the African Utopia.

Van asked the professor about his book, but the learned man claimed that he had not yet finished it to his taste.

However, he gave him a copy of the title page, which read as follows:

"Across the Dark Continent. Being the remarkable adventures and discoveries of an exploring party of six, with biographical sketches and portraits. By Prof. Drearland, the Greatest of Modern Explorers."

If this book ever gets in print I would advise the reader to peruse it carefully, as it contains many details and minor discoveries that we have been compelled to leave out of this story.

We have just learned at this point of our writing that Jack Howard is making preparations to lead a party to the wonderful African Utopia.

Since the death of Masie Langford, Jack has never been exactly himself, and the poor fellow, no doubt, wants to get back to the balmy African clime and visit the grave of the girl who loved him, and who, for the sake of being at his side, traveled in the guise of a boy until she met her death at the hands of a cruel assassin.

And now we have reached the end of our story, which would never have been written had it not been for Van Vincent's vow.

THE END