“Got a picture of Amory Manning?” asked Wise, abruptly.
I handed him a folded newspaper, whose front page bore a cut of Manning, and the story of his mysterious disappearance.
Wise studied the picture and compared it with the man before him.
“Totally unlike,” he said, disappointedly.
“Not a chance,” laughed Rivers; “I wish I could step into that chap’s shoes; but you see, I came from far away.”
“Tell me about that trip of yours,” asked Wise.
“Don’t know much to tell,” returned Rivers; “but what I do know, I know positively, so I’ll warn you beforehand not to chuckle at me, for I won’t stand it!”
Rivers showed a determination that I liked. It proved that I was right in ascribing a strong character to him. He would stand chaffing as well as anyone I knew, but not on the subject of his fall through the earth.
“I don’t know when or where I started on my memorable journey, but I distinctly remember my long, dark fall straight down through the earth. Now it would seem impossible, but I can aver that I entered in some very cold, arctic sort of country, and I came on down feet first, till I made exit in New York. I was found, but how I got into the river, I don’t know.”
“You were clothed when you started?”