“I rescued them from their perilous situation,” continued the Colonel, “and then came the most startling disclosure of all.”
“Which was?” inquired the Doctor.
“They then informed me,” said the Colonel solemnly, “that they had entered the cave and had been there since June the tenth, nineteen hundred!”
“Since June the tenth, nineteen hundred!” exclaimed the Doctor. “Extraordinary! Marvelous! Still the case is not without some precedents. The famous Doctor Fredicus, of Berlin, reports a case of suspended animation lasting for ten months, but anything like the lapse of time in this case is certainly without parallel.”
“I trust that you do not doubt our word,” said Kearns with dignity.
But the Professor turned upon him.
“Doubt our word!” he exclaimed. “Who could credit such a preposterous statement without some tangible evidence to support it. We must appear in the light of either falsifiers or lunatics!”
“Doubt your word!” exclaimed the Colonel impulsively. “I beg you not to think of such construction. There may be some mistake, some possible inaccuracy; but, if so, I am convinced it is entirely unintentional.”
“Thank you,” said the Professor gratefully; “I’m unable to think clearly just now owing to this very perplexing situation in which we find ourselves, but is there not some way by which our statement could be effectively tested and either proved, or disproved?”
“A good idea!” exclaimed Kearns. “Yes; surely there must be many ways. The newspapers, for instance; they must certainly have reported our disappearance. In your public libraries there are undoubtedly bound copies of the newspapers of that period. That is,” he added, turning doubtfully to the Colonel, “if public libraries have not ceased to exist in these times, like the horse, the high ball, and other cherished institutions.”