“Don’t you know me, Richard?”
“No, sir; I don’t think I ever saw you before.”
Garry looked significantly at his father and, unobserved by the hermit, slightly tapped his forehead.
“You know young Dick, don’t you?” pursued Mr. Boone.
“Of course I know Dick; he’s a fine young man, too,” answered the hermit, who we will now call Prof. Wallace.
“Well, you are Professor Richard Wallace and Dick is your son.”
A look of wonder spread over the professor’s face.
“Perhaps you are right. I don’t know who I am or where I came from years ago. All I know is that I have lived in the forest for many years.”
Very slowly and gently Mr. Boone explained about the previous accident and the escape from the hospital before the operation. When he had concluded, the professor asked:
“You say there was to have been an operation? Is there anything to prevent that being done now?”