CHAPTER VII
A beautiful day it was, this 19th of June, A. D. 2000; to be sure,the sun was sending down its rays with a trifle more heat than wasagreeable, but all things considered, it was one of those lovely dayswhich one sees, in the month of June, in Washington.
The heads of the various departments had not yet left the city fortheir summer vacations in the country, but were hard pressed by thebusiness required of them by Congress; for that body was still insession, as the national legislature did not end its work until thefirst of July.
In the Treasury building, Treasury Square, all was bustle and activity,and clerks and messengers were flying in every direction.
At his desk in the sumptuous office provided for him, sat Mr. Brett,the Treasurer of the United States; while near him, quietly smoking acigar, sat Mr. Peck, the first assistant to the Treasurer.
They were quietly discussing matters pertaining to their department,and evidently had plenty of time on their hands.
It was 14:10 by the large dial on the wall, and near the time when theSecretary of the Treasury would ask for the final papers for signaturefor the day. A huge stack lay upon the table awaiting this call, andthe two chiefs were only remaining to send them to him.
As the hands of the dial marked 14:15, a sharp knock was made upon thedoor, and immediately after, Mr. Lane, the second assistant, enteredthe room accompanied by Mr. Howell, a subordinate officer in theTreasury Department.
"Well, Mr. Lane, what is it? Have you any more business?" asked theTreasurer, looking up.
"Yes, sir," answered that gentleman, with apparent excitement. "Yes,sir; I have some papers here which I think may be of very greatimportance. As Mr. Howell was going through the old store-roomcontaining the records at the close of the administration of 1908, hefound this bundle, marked as you will see by looking at it. Deeming itmy duty, sir, to at once acquaint you with the fact, I have brought ithere." Saying which, he handed the Treasurer a small package of papers,bearing upon the brief-side this indorsement:
"TREASURY DEPARTMENT, } WASHINGTON, January 29, 1888. }
"This paper is this day deposited with the Treasurer of the United States, by Hugh Craft, Second Lieutenant in the First Artillery. With it is also deposited an iron safe, presumably containing the papers referred to in the body of the communication. Entry of the papers is made in book 'C,' folio 476. This document is to be transmitted from Treasurer to Treasurer, as they may be appointed, until its contents can be complied with; which will be by the Treasurer serving in 1988.
"CONRAD N. JORDAN, "_Treasurer of the United States_."
The Treasurer took the paper in an unconcerned manner and glanced overthe brief. Looking over his glasses, he said:
"Well, Mr. Howell, I see nothing about these papers that requires myattention. Undoubtedly they have been long ago acted upon by the properauthorities," and he handed them toward that gentleman.
"But the inside, sir," quickly returned Howell. "I must admit I readit, and so found out that it was of importance, even at this late day.It contains an account of a safe to be opened in 1988, and which hasbeen deposited in the vaults since 1888. Now, if such a safe had beenopened in this department in 1988, or since, I would have known it;for, as you know, sir, I have been here over fifteen years. I think,sir, that this communication has been mislaid long before the time setfor opening the safe, if, indeed, any such article is in the vaults,and that it might require investigation."
Mr. Brett seemed a little more interested in the matter, as he againturned the document over in his hand; then opening it, he read itscontents.
In silence his subordinates watched him, and noticed an increasingexcitement in his manner as he progressed.
This was the letter which Cobb had written and sent with the safe, andof which he had spoken to Craft and Hathaway.
Having read the main document, the Treasurer returned to the briefsand saw that it had been transmitted by five Secretaries, as theirindorsements were upon it; but after the year 1904 no more indorsementswere made, and it was apparent that the paper had been mislaid sincethen. Handing the bundle to Mr. Peck, the Treasurer said:
"That is a most curious document, I must say. Can you make anything outof it?"
The latter perused it carefully, and also looked at its indorsements.
"If such a safe is now in the vaults," he answered, returning thecommunication, "it should be looked after at once, for the time haslong since passed when it should have been opened. Perhaps you did notnotice that the last indorsement says that the safe was deposited inthe certificate vaults on January 7, 1904, by Treasurer Chamberlin. Ithink it would be well to look into this matter; and if you wish it, Iwill at once attend to searching that vault."
"I quite agree with you, Mr. Peck, that we ought not to let this matterdrop without at least trying to discover if the safe mentioned in thepaper is now in this department. I wish you would take the matter inhand and thoroughly search the old vaults, especially the one mentionedas containing the safe on January 7, 1904. Notify me if your laborsare rewarded by success. Good morning," and the Treasurer bowed to Mr.Peck as the latter left the office. In passing out, Peck motioned toMr. Howell to follow him.
The vaults of the Treasury were cut up into many small and minorvaults. Some had been used for the storage of old documents of thedepartment which had no further value than that, by law, they could notbe destroyed. One series of these latter were the certificate vaultscontaining the stacks of fraudulent certificates used by the Chinese,in the latter part of the nineteenth century, to gain admission intothe country, and in one of which the safe was supposed to have beendeposited.
An investigation was at once made by Peck and Howell in these vaults,and resulted in complete success; for, hidden behind huge piles ofpapers and boxes of documents, was found the small safe taken toWashington in 1888, by Hugh Craft.
It had taken several hours for the two men, with the aid of a coupleof janitors, to unearth, or rather unpaper, the iron box; but it wasthere, nevertheless, and they read the legend painted upon it with manyexpressions of wonder.
At 10:30 the next morning, when the Treasurer came to his desk, theyreported the result of their search, and informed him that they hadgotten the safe out into the main corridor of the vault, awaiting hisorders.
Mr. Brett immediately accompanied Peck down to the vaults, and saw forhimself the safe. He read the legend upon it, and could not conceal hisastonishment: the letter was genuine, and the safe was there.
The contents of that iron box had been placed in it over one hundredand thirteen years ago! What were the secrets it contained? Why was itsent to the Treasurer of the United States, with instructions not to beopened before a hundred years had passed? Why was it not opened at theproper time?
All these thoughts quickly passed through the Treasurer's mind.
Carefully noting the inscription upon the door of the safe, he informedMr. Peck that he would at once communicate with the President upon thesubject. He then went back to his office.
At 11:15 that morning the President was informed that the Treasurer ofthe United States had most important business with him, and desiredan immediate audience; it was granted him. The President was sittingin his private office, in the executive mansion, and received theTreasurer with a kind smile of welcome as he entered.
Mr. Brett immediately communicated the purport of his mission, andhanded the President the letter which had been found.
Mr. Craft, the President, seemed greatly surprised at the communication,and taking the letter, read it carefully--both it and its indorsements.
"Delivered by Hugh Craft, of the army," he read, to himself; then aloud:
"Why, a namesake of mine! I have had relatives in the army for manyyears; I wonder if this man could have been one of my ancestors?"
Taking down a large volume from an upper shelf of his book-case, hequickly turned the pages under the date of 1888. "Yes; yes, it ishere," and he followed on
for several pages more; then, referring back,read:
"'Hugh Craft, Second Lieutenant, First Artillery, July 1, 1886;First Lieutenant, September 15, 1891; Captain, October 6, 1906;Major, October 14, 1916; killed at the battle of Ottawa, August 5,1917. Married Augustine Phelps, May 28, 1890. Children: Edward, bornSeptember 12, 1891; Harry, born May 4, 1894; Mabel, born December 11,1906.'" Then, turning over the pages, he continued:
"'Edward married in 1916 and died December 22, 1937, leaving threesons; one of whom, Arthur, married in 1940. Arthur died in 1981,leaving one son, Emory D., born June 19, 1941.' And that man ismyself. It is most strange that I should at this late day receive acommunication signed by my great-grandfather. Whatever the contents ofthis safe may be, they are in some manner connected with me, and I ammost anxious to at once unravel the mystery."
Rising from his chair, he touched an electric bell, and upon its beinganswered by an orderly in the uniform of the President's guards,sent a summons to his Cabinet to immediately meet him at the Treasurybuilding; he then called for his wraps and signified his intention ofat once proceeding with Mr. Brett to the Treasury and opening the safe.
In about an hour afterwards there were gathered in the office of theTreasurer the President and all the members of his Cabinet, and Mr.Brett, the Treasurer. The gentlemen, upon request of the President,then proceeded to where the safe had been drawn out into the corridor.
There it stood, apparently in as good condition as when first sent tothe Treasury, save a slight discoloration caused by time. The legendwas still plain, and the party surveyed it with much curiosity. Thecombination of the lock, of course, was unknown to any of them, and thekey-hole was of no use, as none had a key to fit it. The services ofa couple of machinists were soon procured, and the outer door quicklyyielded to their efforts, and was torn from its hinges, exposing alarge plate-glass door, behind which were plainly seen several articles.
Breaking open this door, for it was cemented around its edges, thecontents of the safe were soon in the possession of the President.
First was a bundle of papers, then some newspapers of 1887, and finallythree photographs in well preserved condition, though brown with age.
The bundle of papers was first examined. They gave the whole secretof Cobb's intention of undergoing the ordeal of the cataleptic state,together with all that which had taken place up to the evening ofDecember 1st, 1887, as well as what would follow on that night, andcomplete directions as to what was necessary to be done to again bringhim to life should he not gain his natural state by the means he hadprepared. Full mention, with the names of Craft and Hathaway, was madeof their share in the work, and the photographs were of himself andhis two friends. His leave of absence, also, was among the papers, andproved, by its signatures, its genuineness.
Upon intimation from the President, the whole party repaired to theoffice of the Secretary of War, where the papers were carefully read,and a deliberate consideration of the matter undertaken.
The records of the War Department for the years 1887 to 1950 were thensent for, and the record of Cobb and the other two found.
Opposite Craft's name was the entry, "Killed at the battle of Ottawa,August 5, 1917;" after Hathaway's name, "Died of wounds received atBovispe Hacienda, Mexico, March 17, 1915;" while after Cobb's namewere the words, "Dropped from the rolls of the army as a deserter, todate from December 1, 1904, under the provisions of section 1229 ofthe Revised Statutes, no report having been received from him sinceDecember 1, 1887."
All those present read the instructions contained in the bundleof papers; all saw the photographs, and all read portions of thenewspapers which were found in the safe. The signatures of both Craftand Cobb were carefully compared with those which were made in the oldsignature papers attached to the record-book, and found to correspondexactly.
All present agreed that everything was perfectly genuine, and that thearticles had been placed in the safe about the time specified.
"This is a very remarkable affair, gentlemen!" finally exclaimed thePresident, after again looking over the documents. "This paper directsthat the place of entombment be opened by the first of January,1988, or as soon thereafter as possible. It is now the 20th of June,A. D. 2000; quite a long time after that set by Mr. Cobb for givinghim assistance is it not? If he has done what he says he has, inmy opinion, the man is long since dead. The mislaying of the firstdocument was a culpable act on the part of the administration of 1908;but it is our duty to remedy it, if possible. I know of nothing to dobut to send at once to California and open the statue spoken of in thisletter. If the man is dead, we may at least learn something more of hisstrange undertaking. I feel a personal interest, aside from that of myoffice, in this matter; for it appears that my great-grandfather was anaccessory to this man's foolish venture, and I would do all in my powerto repair his wrong-doing. Mr. Miles, I desire that you take measuresat once to solve this mystery and, if possible, render some aid to theman Cobb, if, indeed, it be not too late."
The Secretary of State answered that everything would be done thatwas possible, and that men would that afternoon leave on the CentralPneumatic for California. He arose, bowed to those present, and retired.
At 16:30 that afternoon, two men, with grips and coats, left Washingtonon the Central Pneumatic for California.
The distance was a little over 3,600 miles, and the party arrived atits destination at 11:25 the next day.
An immediate call was made upon the mayor and council of the city,and the purport of their mission disclosed. Full arrangements weresoon made for going to the Statue of Liberty, which still occupied Mt.Olympus, and was apparently in as good condition as when placed therein 1887, and ascertaining if the disclosures contained in the safe weretrue or not.
San Francisco had grown so much that the statue no longer occupiedan isolated position on the outskirts, but was entirely surroundedby large and beautiful dwellings, and that part of the city was nowdensely populated.
As it would not be well to have the mission of the party known whileworking into the base of the pedestal, it was decided that no entryshould be attempted before the following midnight. The two gentlemen,having taken dinner, proceeded with their arrangements, and soon hadprocured the services of four strong men to open the supposed chamber.
As the dial struck the hour of twenty-two that evening, two hackspassed quickly up Haight street, and thence to the foot of Mt. Olympus,which, though surrounded by residences, was yet bare upon its top.Leaving the carriage in two parties, the occupants cautiously proceededto the statue.
It was a quiet night, and in that part of the city few persons wereabout, and none in the vicinity of the top of the hill. The moon wasin its first quarter, shedding very little light, and in consequencedark-lanterns had been provided.
Albert Rawolle, the chief of the party which had left Washington, andwho had charge of all the preparations, was a cool and quiet man, andwell fitted to superintend such a piece of work. Stationing two of hismen in position to guard against surprise, he commenced operations onthe north-east corner of the base. He had made a careful survey ofthe whole structure, but could find no signs of an entrance, so hadselected that corner as affording an easier task for his men.
At 23:55 the work was commenced, and the picks were driven into thehard joints with quickness and dispatch, soon making a large breachin the wall. At 1:25 one of the men drove his bar through the side,piercing the wall into the chamber. Quickly enlarging the opening,bull's-eye lanterns were held to the hole, and the interior was baredto view.
As their eyes gradually became accustomed to the gloom, all thecontents of the chamber were brought to their vision: the cases, thebatteries, the boxes, and all the many things which Cobb had placedtherein a hundred years before.
There were no signs of life, however; everything was as cold and silentas the grave.
The first moments of their excitement being over, the men went towork with increased vigor; for there was, indeed, something more thanordinary in thi
s place--something true in the letter of instructionsleft in the safe; there was about to be disclosed to the world a mostmarvelous fact in the history of mankind.
With alacrity the men worked and toiled at the breach, and soon it wasopened to a full foot in diameter. A moment later, as one of the mengave a rather more powerful blow than usual, his bar slipped from hishand and went crashing into the chamber.
With the exclamation of the man came a sharp, crashing sound fromwithin, followed by a flood of light. Everyone jumped to the opening,and gazed within the chamber, while a superstitious shudder ran througheach, and it seemed to them as if their very hair was rising on end.
"My God! Look!" excitedly exclaimed Rawolle to the others, and hisvoice seemed hoarse and hollow. "Look! there is a man moving inside thechamber!"
With eyes almost protruding from their sockets, the men gazed throughthe breach. Indeed, it was enough to try a man's nerves; for withinthat chamber which but a moment before was wrapped in total darkness,in cold, and apparent death, was now light and life, and a man wasslowly rising from his bed, with his hands pressed against his breast.They watched him as he moved feebly toward the fire, which they couldnot see, but which they knew was there by its reflection.
They could not speak, so strained were their nerves; but their eyesfollowed every motion he made. They saw him turn to the fire andslowly rub himself with his hands; then take a bottle, and strikingits top against the side of the fire-place, break it open and take adeep draught of its contents, giving no heed to its broken and raggededges. They saw him open a chest and take from it what appeared to be aquilt and throw it around him, and then, seating himself at the fire,continue the rubbing as before.
Lyman, Rawolle's assistant, was about to speak, but the latter motionedhim to silence, saying, under his breath:
"Hush! let us see what this all means--what this man will do; for it isa scene that may never again be enacted upon this earth."
Cobb, for he it was, as is already surmised, did not sit long in frontof the fire, but soon arose and took from his breast and back the twocopper discs which were held in place by a band; then tearing off thebandages from the lower part of his body, he threw them to one side;next he placed upon the fire a small stew-pan, filling it with theliquor from another bottle which he had taken up and opened.
In a minute the savory odor of cooking meat came to the nostrils of thewatchers, while Cobb, taking it from the fire, poured it into a cup andbegan drinking it. Five minutes longer they watched him, during whichtime he had finished his repast, and had partially arrayed himself inclothing which he took from one of the boxes.
No longer able to restrain himself, Rawolle placed his head within thebreach, and in a quiet tone of voice, so as not to startle Cobb, said:
"Your friends are here and waiting to assist you; what shall we do?See! we are at this hole which we have made endeavoring to gainentrance to your cell."
As the words were spoken, the sound seemed to startle even the speaker,as well as the others, and Cobb turned, and for a moment shook as ifsome terrible vision had passed before his eyes; but, as the faces ofthe men were distinctly visible by the reflection from the fire and theincandescent lamp above it, he soon regained his composure, and in aweak voice asked:
"Who are you that have dared to break into this place? By whatmisfortune am I thus disturbed and my plans upset? By whose authoritydo you come? Have you gained the knowledge through Mr. Craft or Mr.Hathaway?"
"It is by the order of the former, sir, that we have broken into thischamber," replied Rawolle, not knowing the exact import of Cobb'squestion.
"Alas!" murmured Cobb, "are there no true friends on earth?"
With trembling limbs he sank down upon a box near the fire, but just inview of the others.
"We are ordered to rescue you, Mr. Cobb," added Rawolle; "and your weakcondition demands immediate succor. Waste no time, we implore. It isthe President's order."
"Whose order?" quickly exclaimed Cobb.
"President Craft's."
Weak as he was, Cobb sprang toward the opening through which Rawollewas speaking, and excitedly cried:
"Is it not 1887? Who is President Craft? I never heard of him. Tell me,what is the year? Are we in 1800 or 1900?"
"Neither, sir," answered Rawolle. "It is A. D. 2000."
"My God! Have I been asleep since 1887?" and he pressed his hands tohis brow, clutching his hair as if endeavoring to tear aside the veilof the past, that a realization of the moment might be made plain tohim. "Have I slept a hundred and thirteen years? Am I now alive? or isthis some terrible nightmare? No! no! I heard your voices! I live! Ilive again! Thank God! I have not failed in my undertaking." He lookedaround him in a dazed manner.
"But can we not help you?" broke in Rawolle; "you have no time to losein your weak condition. Tell us at once what we are to do; it willtake over an hour to enlarge this breach. Have you no door, or mode ofentrance?"
"Yes; there was a door, but it was sealed up after I entered thisplace. Go to the other side of the pedestal, and I will try to open it."
They all passed around as directed, and Cobb applied himself to thewheel and gearing. Weak as he was, it became somewhat of a difficulttask for him to turn the screw, but the mechanism had been so perfectlyadjusted that it revolved even by his feeble strength. Lifting up thespring catch, he slowly turned the screw, and the door opened upon itsrusty hinges.
A moment later, all were in the chamber of the Statue of Liberty.
Astonishment was depicted upon the countenances of all, as they beheldthe interior of the chamber and its peculiar contents. But Rawolle gaveno heed to the strange condition of the place; his thoughts were uponCobb, who lay upon the floor, where he had fallen, unconscious, afteropening the door. Quickly seizing him, they bore his body to the fireand rubbed back the departing life. His legs and arms were stiff fromlong inaction; his face was wan and his form somewhat emaciated. Theirwork was soon rewarded by a return to consciousness of their patient.Rawolle opened the box from which he had seen the clothing taken, andsoon Cobb was clad in warm, comfortable garments. Ten minutes wereconsumed in preparing fresh broth and administering to the weak man'swants.
Cobb's strength returned quickly to him, thanks to the liquor and beefjuice, and he moved from the fire toward the compass case.
"You say it is A. D. 2000?" he asked again; "are you not joking me? Isit indeed that year? or, rather, is A. D. 2000 this year?"
"For a fact," answered Rawolle. "It is as I tell you; and we are now inthe year 2000."
All the others joined Rawolle in assuring Cobb that he was not thesubject of any jest; it was just as had been told him.
"I cannot understand it; I cannot see why I have lain so long. I shouldhave been awake years ago, in 1988; something has gone wrong," and hemoved closer to the compass case. "It must be here, if anywhere," andhe leaned over the box and gazed upon the needle and wheel-work. Aninstant only he looked, and then he sprang back and exclaimed:
"Ah! what is this?" and an expression of blank astonishment came overhis face. "What is this? The needle of the compass not at 260, butstill far away to the east of it!" and he examined it most carefully.
There it was, not at 260, but away to the east of those figures--at899, or to the reading of 14 degrees 59 minutes. There was some mysteryabout this that sorely puzzled the brain of Cobb.
As the others attempted to speak, he bade them be silent until he couldsolve this problem.
Looking down, his eye fell upon the iron bar which the workman had letslip through his hand in opening the breach. It rested just under thealuminum rod attached to the wheel-work. From the bar his eyes wanderedinquiringly from one to the other.
"It shlipped out of me hond in making ther hule," said the man who haddropped it into the chamber.
The mystery was solved. The iron bar, in slipping through the workman'shands into the chamber, had struck the aluminum rod and set thewheel-work in motion; everything else had worked perfectly, and
as Cobbhad designed that it should work. But one other thing troubled him verymuch, and that was why did the compass-needle mark 899 instead of 260,as it ought to do?
"Give me a pencil and paper," he said to Rawolle, "and be still but amoment, and I will answer your questions."
The materials were given to him, and he busied himself a moment inputting down some figures.
"Yes, as I thought," he soon exclaimed, throwing down the pencil. "Itwas I who made the mistake. Gentlemen, you see that needle marking899," and he pointed it to them. "Well, a hundred and thirteen yearsago, or, more accurately, in December, 1887, it marked 1,007.8. Icomputed that it would move to where that catch now is, at 260, in onehundred years; but, like many another man, I made a most simple error.In my work, I read 14.355, instead of 1.4355--the mere misplacing ofthe decimal point. It came near costing me my life. Instead of theneedle moving 732.7 points, as I thought it would, it moved but 73.27points in the hundred years that I anticipated remaining here. It hasmoved only 108.7 points in one hundred and thirteen years."
It was well that Cobb had made this great mistake, for the movement ofthe magnetic meridian was, in reality, so slow on the meridian of SanFrancisco, 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 toosmall to work upon, as any great magnetic storm, earthquake, or otherdisturbance might have caused it to oscillate over such a small arc andspring the wheel-work. In fact, the needle, as Cobb had set it, wouldnot have arrived at the little catch before the middle of June, A. D.2198.
Without losing another moment, Cobb wrapped himself in a heavy overcoattaken from the iron box, and requested Rawolle to take the other boxwith him, and to take him to a hotel at once, as he needed rest andrefreshment.
The party then left the chamber which had been Cobb's abiding-place forso many years, and proceeded to the Occidental Hotel, leaving a man toguard the place and its contents.
Arriving at the hotel, Cobb was at once shown to his room, andrefreshments ordered; later on he detailed the whole story of his longand death-like sleep, and received, in return, all the informationconcerning the finding of the safe and the mission of Rawolle and Lyman.
Despite the secrecy with which all had been done, the papers of thenext 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 allSan Francisco at nine the next morning, when the extra edition wassent into the streets.
Thousands upon thousands of people visited Mt. Olympus after twelve hadstruck that day, and by midnight of that 22d of June, A. D. 2000, thewhole world had heard the news, and wondered and wondered.