"I have been amply repaid already," said Arletta, "by the miraculous transformation of a very bad and offensive man whom I did not like, into a thoroughly good one whom I do like. So say no more about the matter, for the present at least. After you have fully recovered from the effects of the terrible ordeal through which you have just passed, then I shall consider any protests you may have to offer, but not before. I have ordered the carriage to come for you at noon, and have given instructions to have you taken to the hotel. When you arrive there, you will go to the head clerk's desk and hand him your card." Here she gave me a small package of visiting cards on which was inscribed "John Convert." "You will then ask to be shown to your apartments, which have been settled for in advance for one year, after which make yourself as comfortable as possible in the place. Do not mention your business in any way as it pertains to you and me. It will be impossible for me to see you as often as I should like, but whenever it is convenient I shall have you come and see me. I am stopping at a different hotel in another part of the city, and for reasons best known to myself, I shall continue to withhold my last name from you, as you seem to have no recollection of it whatever, and it will also be necessary for the present to meet you in some out-of-the-way place, which I will designate later. Perhaps some day you will learn who I am, and all about me, but until I am ready to furnish you with further information concerning my identity, I shall rely upon your honor as a man not to undertake, by any methods whatsoever, to discover who I am, or where I reside." With this mysterious admonition and a tender farewell, Arletta left me in the depth of meditation as to what strange occurrence nature's storehouse might still contain for me, and a few minutes later I was notified that the carriage was in waiting. CHAPTER XXVII It would be almost impossible to record my impressions of the different things that came to my notice for the first time in twenty-one years, as I was driven from the hospital to the hotel. While great progress had taken place in many lines during that time, still after having had such a realistic mental picture of the wonders of Sage-land stamped upon my mind, the new inventions, such as trolley cars, automobiles, etc., which I had never seen before, seemed crude and insignificant.