“Averill,” said he, “as I happen to know from certain old documents I have had occasion to examine, was an old-time village long ago absorbed by the town of Pemberton. Its very name has disappeared from local memory. I am not astonished that Mrs. Merriweather could not recall it. As for your demand for a horse and carriage--why, my dear sir, it is many, many years since horses were used. With charging stations in every direction and our systems of drawing electricity from the clouds, no man could afford to deal with so slow, expensive and antiquated an object as a horse. They are still used for the purposes of racing and His Majesty, the King, on certain state occasions sits in the royal chariot drawn by four horses, but for all ordinary uses the horse has entirely disappeared. You might as well have called for a sedan chair.” “Oh!” said the Professor blankly. “I suppose I should have asked for a _voiter_. What, by the way, _is_ a _voiter_?” “Simply a modernized name for vehicle,” replied the Colonel. “Do you happen to have a public official named Waring?” asked Kearns. “Yes,” answered the Colonel. “He is the Imperial and Royal Commissioner of Highways, and the best man for the post we have ever had! How did you come to know of him?” “I saw him stuck up on the sign-board,” said Kearns absently. “Stuck up on the sign-board!” exclaimed the Colonel, somewhat puzzled. “Yes; his name was signed to the notice to travelers,” explained Kearns. “Oh, I see!” replied the Colonel. “Well,” said Kearns regretfully, “I’m rather sorry to learn about the retirement of the horses. I was always very fond of them.” “You will find a good phaeromobile much more effective,” answered the Colonel with a smile. “But,” he continued turning to the Doctor, “I must continue my story. I followed our two friends along their course and the trail they had left was a pretty broad one. I finally traced them to the station-house.” “The station-house!” exclaimed the Doctor. “Yes,” answered the Colonel; “there on a charge of seditious utterances--in the position of conspirators against the peace and dignity of His Majesty, the King.” The Doctor laughed. “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.