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.

The region of the Rockies and the district of Poison Gulch have yielded many interesting mining stories, but none more thrilling than that which is to appear in BRAVE AND BOLD, No. 110, next week, entitled "Barr, the Detective; or, The Peril of Lucy Graves." In this story all the mystery and terror that can be evolved out of lonely glens and desperate border characters is brilliantly set forth, and the reader is carried on as in a maze of enthusiasm and interest. You should not fail to read it. It is one of the few detective stories that really hold the interest. Out next week!

Are You Reading "Ayesha"

_H. RIDER HAGGARD'S_

Famous Companion Story to "SHE"?

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_THE POPULAR MAGAZINE_

Leo Vincey and Horace Holly make their way back to England after their terrible adventures in Kor (as described in "She"), but the spirit of unrest is in them, and Leo yearns to see his lost love once more--for, be it remembered, when Ayesha perished in the flames of the Pillar of Life she called to her lover that she would come again and would once more be beautiful. Finally, tortured by uncertainty, Leo is on the verge of taking his life when a vision comes to him in which he sees Ayesha and is guided by her to where she may be found. The place seems to be in Asia, and the distinguishing feature is a towering, loop-shaped mountain peak supported by a lava stem hundreds of feet high. Through it shines a fire which rises from the crater of a volcano just beyond. The two men go in search of this mountain peak, and finally reach a lamasery in Thibet, where they hear of a woman who answers the description of "She" and who seems to possess some of her power. They learn that this mysterious woman may be found on the further side of a well-nigh impassable mountain range. Leo and Holly, after frightful hardships, reach the land of Kaloon, where they are hospitably received by the Khania or queen. They learn that on the fire-crowned mountain which they are in search of, and which is not far away, is a mysterious priestess who is always veiled. The inhabitants of Kaloon and the people of the mountain have long been on unfriendly terms, but there is now a sort of armed truce. By some means the veiled priestess has learned of the coming of the two strangers across the mountain, and has sent word to that effect to the Khania, together with the demand that they be sent to her. Atene, the Khania, falls in love with Leo and resolves to wed him, even though this will necessitate doing away with her present husband. Atene sends the veiled priestess word that the strangers have arrived, but that they are both very old and so physically worn that they will be unable to obey her behest to come at once to her domains. Holly soon discovers the true condition of affairs, but he barely has time to warn Leo when they are confronted with the most frightful peril of their journey--the peril of "the Hounds of Death!"

THE POPULAR MAGAZINE for February, now on sale, contains the second instalment of this marvelously interesting story.

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Transcriber's Notes:

This story was previously serialized in a longer form in the _Golden Hours_ story paper under the title "Van Vincent's Vow; or, Chased to the Heart of the Dark Continent."

Added table of contents.

Italics are represented with _underscores_.

Some inconsistent hyphenation retained from the original.

Page 3, changed "that he man" to "that the man."

Page 4, changed "overheard" to "overhead" and added missing quote after "shipped to sea?"

Page 7, added missing quote before "Two of ther villains."

Page 14, fixed double semi-colon.

Page 25, changed "breathed if" to "breathed it."