"What a subject for a painter--if there were any painters left!" thought Stern. The old man's lips moved again. "Now I can go in peace to my appointed place in the Great Vortex," said he, and bowed his head, and whispered something in that other speech they had already heard but could not understand. Stern spoke first. "What shall we call your name, father?" asked he. "Call me J'hungaav," he answered, pronouncing a name which neither of them could correctly imitate. When they had tried he asked: "And yours?" Stern gave both the girl's and his own. The old man caught them both readily enough, though with a very different accent. "Now, see here, father," the engineer resumed, "you'll pardon us, I know. There's a million things to talk about. A million we want to ask, and that we can tell you! But we're very tired. We're hungry. Thirsty. Understand? We've just been through a terrible experience. You can't grasp it yet; but I'll tell you we've fallen, God knows how far, in an aeroplane--" "Fallen? In an--an--" "No matter. We've fallen from the surface. From the world where there's a sky, and sun, and stars, and all the rest of it. So far as we know, this woman and I are the only two people--the original kind of people, I mean; the people of the time before--er--hang it!--it's mighty hard to explain!" "I understand. You are the only two now living of our former race? And you have come from above? Verily, this is strange!" "You bet it is! I mean, verily. And now we re here, your people have thrown us into this prison, or whatever it is. And we don't like the look of those skeletons on the iron rods outside a little bit! We--" "Oh, I pray! I pray!" exclaimed the patriarch, thrusting out both hands. "Speak not of those! Not yet!" "All right, father. What we want to ask is for something to eat and drink, some other kind of clothes than the furs we're wearing, and a place to sleep--a house, you know--we've got to rest! We mean no harm to your people. Wouldn't hurt a hair of their heads! Overjoyed to find 'em! Now, I ask you, as man to man, can't you get us out of this, and manage things so that we shall have a chance to explain? "I'll give you the whole story, once we've recuperated. You can translate it to your people. I ask some consideration for myself, and I _demand_ it for this woman! Well?" The old man stood in silent thought a moment. Plain to see, his distress was very keen. His face wrinkled still more, and on his breast he bowed his majestic head, so eloquent of pain and sorrow and long disappointment. Stern, watching him narrowly, played his trump-card. "Father," said he, "I don't know why you were sent here to talk with us, or how they knew you _could_ talk with us even. I don't know what any of this treatment means. But I _do_ know that this girl and I are from the world of a thousand years ago--the world in which your ancient forefathers used to dwell!