“Well, it happened in this way. We were sitting in the gallery in the Hall of Justice when an old man got up to speak. He was enough like our old man to be a twin brother, (which he proved to be) and I cried out, ‘There is the wonderful old man who left me the Elephant!’ Mercury said that could not be as this old man had not left the island for a century as he could not get away, being at the head of the wise and learned men here and President of the Island.
“‘I can’t help it,’ I said. ‘If you don’t believe me just look at this picture I carry here in my watch and see if the man speaking is not its exact counterpart even to hair, eyes, and beard; besides, the voice is exactly the same.’
“Mercury looked and said, ‘The picture is certainly a perfect likeness of the man on the platform.’ Then he told me to sit still and when the session was over we would go and speak to him and find out if he were really the one who left the Elephant, or if he were a relative of the man.
“This we did and the old man met us very graciously and told us that he was a twin brother to our old man. ‘And a wonderful old fellow he is,’ continued the sage. ‘I never saw his equal in inventive genius. He originates things and then goes to the earth to try them. His hobby is electricity and finding out the secrets of nature, while mine is to bring peace and administer justice, as well as to promote the arts and sciences. I never go to the earth but remain here and plan, sending my deputies to carry out my ideas.’
“‘In speaking,’ said I, ‘you said is instead of was, do you mean to tell me that your brother and my wonderful old man is alive still?’
“‘Certainly, I do. You thought he was dead when he fell back on his pillow, but he had merely fainted and after a time when he recovered his senses he found himself, so he said, on a bed of spruce bows, shut in a cave. He knew immediately what had happened and that you had buried him, thinking him dead, so he lay still for a time until the coolness of the cave revived him, then having his wishing-robe with him, he wished himself back on his beloved planet Uranus, and there he is now, safe and well. If your travels take you that distance, to that most wonderful planet which all inventors love, you will find him there and I am sure he will be delighted to see you all.’
“Now, what do you think of that for a surprise?” asked Harold when he had finished his story.
“It certainly is a pleasant one,” said Ione, “and of course we will go to Uranus, no matter how far it is. I would not miss it for worlds, would you, Princess?”
“Neither would we,” cried the boys, “and we will go there as soon as we have seen Saturn. We may remain on Saturn for some time though, for they say it is different from the other planets and that there is more change and variety there than on the other planets.”
“How is that?” cried Ione.