"Well," said Van, after a pause, "I should like to go and look up my friends."
"You remain just where you are. I'll send out a couple of men to hunt up your friends. You lie down and go to sleep, and you will surely see them in the morning."
"I guess I'll do as you say," returned our hero. "To tell the truth I am so sleepy I can scarcely keep my eyes open."
Whether it was the drink that caused it, or whether it was because he was completely tired out, we cannot say, but, anyhow, five minutes later Van Vincent was sleeping soundly upon the soft divan.
The sun was shining brightly when he awoke, which informed him that another day had arrived, and also that the storm had cleared.
He was in the same room he had fallen asleep in, and, rising from the divan, Van went to the window.
As he looked out and saw that he was in a little city, a cry of surprise came from his lips.
"So this is the African Utopia," he mused. "Well, it looks like a place where naught but enjoyment could be found. I never saw such a beautiful spot in my life."
Our hero's meditations were cut rather short, for at that moment a door opened and a number of people entered.
To his great joy, he beheld his friends standing before him.