It was well that Cobb had made this great mistake, for the movement of the magnetic meridian was, in reality, so slow on the meridian of San Francisco, that he could not have used it with any degree of safety. One hundred and eight points, or an arc of 1 degree 48 minutes, was too small to work upon, as any great magnetic storm, earthquake, or other disturbance might have caused it to oscillate over such a small arc and spring the wheel-work. In fact, the needle, as Cobb had set it, would not have arrived at the little catch before the middle of June, A. D. 2198. Without losing another moment, Cobb wrapped himself in a heavy overcoat taken from the iron box, and requested Rawolle to take the other box with him, and to take him to a hotel at once, as he needed rest and refreshment. The party then left the chamber which had been Cobb's abiding-place for so many years, and proceeded to the Occidental Hotel, leaving a man to guard the place and its contents. Arriving at the hotel, Cobb was at once shown to his room, and refreshments ordered; later on he detailed the whole story of his long and death-like sleep, and received, in return, all the information concerning the finding of the safe and the mission of Rawolle and Lyman. Despite the secrecy with which all had been done, the papers of the next day contained the following: "MOST WONDERFUL! "IS IT A HOAX? IS IT TRUE? "ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN YEARS ASLEEP, BUT NOW ALIVE! "Junius Cobb, a Lieutenant in the Army in 1887, was Last Night Taken from a Chamber Cut in the Solid Masonry of the Statue of Liberty on Mt. Olympus. "The Rescue Made by a Party Sent from Washington. "The Paraphernalia Still in the Base of the Pedestal. "The Story of the Guard Who was Left to Prevent Entrance into the Interior. "The Man Now at the Occidental Hotel. "Copy of the Dispatches sent by the Chief to the President of the United States." And then followed column after column of the news, which startled all San Francisco at nine the next morning, when the extra edition was sent into the streets. Thousands upon thousands of people visited Mt. Olympus after twelve had struck that day, and by midnight of that 22d of June, A. D. 2000, the whole world had heard the news, and wondered and wondered. CHAPTER VIII The sun was streaming into Cobb's eyes; he was restless; he awoke. The room was empty, not a soul in sight, and he lay in his bed, all alone. How long he had lain there he could not tell, but he knew it must have been some time, for his bones felt sore, and he had a great desire to get up and stretch himself. The room was the same that he had entered the night before; of that he felt assured as he glanced around.