The Doctor took the book and handed it to the king. The latter opened it, and gazed with astonishment on the pictures which passed before his eyes. There were the very air-ships he had suggested; there were the mountains and lakes of Africa, its wild animals, its forests, and everything to indicate that his country had been traversed by the wonderful vehicles. For some minutes he gazed on the revelation, and could scarcely believe his eyes. When he came to the illustration of the scene where the anchor of the balloon is caught in the mouth of an elephant, which tows the travellers at a rapid rate, he laughed heartily. "Only the white man would think of having an elephant to draw him in that way," said M'tesa. "The white man can do everything." Seeing the great interest of M'tesa in the book, Doctor Bronson intimated that he could keep it. The volume was immediately handed to one of the officers, and the business of the visit went on. The king referred to his promise to send the party to the Victoria N'yanza, and the point where it discharges its waters to send them down to the sea. He asked how far they wanted to go. "We would like to visit Ripon Falls," said the Doctor, "and return from there to your majesty's capital." "Very well," replied M'tesa. "You can go to the falls in the boats I will give you, and then you can come back by land, as I said before. I will send the porters to meet you at the falls," he continued, "and an escort to make the road safe when you come back." Doctor Bronson suggested that they could return the same way as they went. They could come back in the boats, which would be obliged to return in any event, and therefore they could bring the party without any serious effort. The suggestion seemed to strike the king favorably, though he received it with some surprise, which Abdul explained by the fact that all the white men who had ever been in Ugunda seemed unwilling to travel the same route twice. It was therefore natural for the king to suppose that the strangers would prefer returning by the land route, which would be a new one to them, rather than make the water journey a second time. This would have been the case with Doctor Bronson and the youths, but they had learned that the land journey between Ripon Falls and Rubaga was a very difficult one, without any new and interesting features, and therefore they favored the return by water, as it would be easier and far less expensive. Besides, it would be a considerable saving of time to them, and they were anxious to continue their journey to the south as soon as possible. Accordingly it was settled that they would leave as soon as they were ready, and the king would give them a sufficient number of boats for the journey. All the goods and provisions they did not require could be stored at Rubaga, to await their return, and the king would see that everything was safe. With this understanding the audience ended and our friends retired.