"Do you think he can be this Lieutenant Patwick, Dad?" asked Joe.
"Possibly. If so, the crime may have turned his mind. Such things have happened."
"Well, if he's Patwick then we'll have cleared up something anyway," remarked Frank.
Breakfast was announced a few minutes later, and after the Hardy boys had been warmly greeted by their mother they sat down to fruit, bacon and eggs, toast and coffee and jam, to which they did full justice. They were anxious, however, to call on Miss Todd.
Mr. Hardy called up the private hospital and inquired about Captain Royal. He came back, his face serious.
"The old chap is still unconscious. The doctor seems to think he has only a slim chance."
"It will be tough if he turns out to be Todham Todd after all," said Joe. "Too bad if we've found him, only to have him die."
"Everything may turn out all right," said Mr. Hardy. "Of course he may not be Todham Todd. You have only your suspicions to go on, although I must say it's very strange that the old man should have had all those lecture clippings in the cave. I've been thinking that Todham Todd may have lost his memory and forgotten his identity. He may have had a dim recollection of once having been a lecturer of some kind so he took to collecting all the newspaper stories he could, in an effort to awaken his memory again."
"I'll bet you're right!" exclaimed Chet. "That sounds mighty reasonable to me."
"It's just a theory. Still, it may be true. We'll call on Miss Todd."