In a few minutes they were ready to go to the president of the African Utopia, and with Poppet at their head, they set out.
As the city was very small, as was before stated, it did not take them long to reach the president's office, which was situated in the most pretentious building in the city.
Without any preliminaries whatever, our friends were ushered in.
They beheld a pleasant-faced man of middle age seated in a huge armchair, and when he arose to greet them they saw he was minus a leg.
Poppet introduced them as the six visiting strangers, but when the president had shaken them by the hand, he requested them to write their names in the book of new arrivals, so he might know their names.
Each one complied with the reasonable request, and then the man looked over the names.
When he came to our hero's signature he started as though he had received an electric shock.
"Which one of you is Van Vincent?" he asked, in a strange, unnatural voice.
"I am," replied Van, stepping forward.
The president gazed at the boy for fully five minutes before he again spoke, and it was plain to be seen that he was undergoing a great deal of excitement.