CHAPTER VIII
The sun was streaming into Cobb's eyes; he was restless; he awoke. Theroom 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 havebeen some time, for his bones felt sore, and he had a great desire toget up and stretch himself. The room was the same that he had enteredthe night before; of that he felt assured as he glanced around.
For some time he lay half awake and half asleep, his thoughts runningin a most confused channel. In memory he wandered back to his oldfriends, Craft and Hathaway. He was living, but where were they?And his kindred, where were they? Dead! all of them! Not a singlesoul of all those whom he had known and associated with were living.Indeed, he was alone in the world! In his mind, once again he viewedthe longings and cravings which he had cherished for a knowledge ofwhat the world would be at a future day, and the vision materializedinto a full knowledge that at last he had the power he so long haddesired. What a wonderful experience! What a remarkable transition hehad passed through! He had become a king, an emperor, a very god, forhe had annihilated time, and passed, in a second, over many score ofyears. Was he to find such changes in the world as he had anticipated?Was he to be satisfied with things as he should find them now? Had hethrown away a life of quiet enjoyment and comparative ease, among hisfriends and kindred, for a new life in which he would be dissatisfied,miserable? Was the light worth the candle? All these and many more werethe questions he asked himself as he lay there awaiting the approach ofsome one from whom he might possibly receive an answer. He could liethere no longer; he must arise and be about. Had they all deserted him,that he was thus left alone? No, that was hardly possible; they wouldsoon come. He rose upon his elbow and looked about the room.
No sooner had he raised himself in his bed than a door opened and a manentered and quickly approached his bed.
It was Lyman, and Cobb instantly recognized him, though he appeared tobe so differently dressed from the style which he was accustomed toseeing that it made him doubt his identity.
Approaching close to him, Lyman looked into his eyes with a searchingexpression, as if endeavoring to fathom his very thoughts.
Still upon his elbow, Cobb returned his gaze and asked:
"Well! is it time to get up? Why do you look at me in such a manner?"and a feeling of fear ran through him that he might be laboring undera hideous dream, and that he was not only alive again, but had neverbeen dead to the world, as he thought.
The sorrowful expression of Lyman's eyes disappeared, and a glad smileparted his lips.
"Thank God, my boy, you are yourself again! We have watched you for along time, hoping for this return to consciousness. Do you indeed knowme?" and he leaned over and took the other's hand.
"Of course I know you. Have I been sick? have I lain here long? Haseverything been a dream? or am I awake in the new era?" and as he askedthe question, he sat up in bed.
"You are laboring under no delusion, Mr. Cobb," Lyman replied, smilingat the man's eagerness on the subject. "You are the same man whom werescued from the pedestal of Sutro's statue, and you are still in theland of the living, after years of inanimation. You have had a longand most severe struggle for your life since being brought here on thenight we dug you out of the pedestal. It is now the 16th of September,almost three months since your release, and you have lain upon your bedor sat in your chair nearly all the time. Your mind has wandered, andyou have known no one until to-day. We have sat near you for hours, andfor hours have listened to the history of your life."
As he ceased speaking, he arose and filled a glass with wine, and gaveit to the other, saying that it was necessary that he should get wellas soon as possible, now that he was himself again.
"And I have lain here since June 22d?" Cobb asked again.
"Yes; lain, sat, and walked--for you did walk a very little of late."
"It is strange! But, really, is it A. D. 2000?"
"In truth, it is."
"And Rawolle; where is he?"
"Out; but he will soon be back, for he has not left your side, exceptfor brief periods, since we brought you here. One of us has always beennear you."
Cobb looked at him a moment, and then asked:
"Will you please explain why you are wearing such outlandish clothing,for it is entirely different from anything I have been accustomed toseeing," and he surveyed the other from head to foot.
Lyman smiled, and took a step backward that a better view of him mightbe obtained.
"All in good time, my boy," he answered. "Suffice it to say that thisis the custom, or style, now. We have got a full suit for you as soonas you are able to put it on."
Saying this, he went across the room and threw open the doors of awardrobe, disclosing a number of articles of wearing apparel hangingtherein.
To Cobb, he presented an appearance quite out of the general order ofdress, and an aspect quite comical; yet, the more he looked at him,the more he was inclined to admit that his dress was becoming, and,no doubt, very comfortable. It seemed to him that he had seen stylessimilar to that his friend wore, depicted in the old prints as worn byhis forefathers. The main features were: tight-fitting knee-breeches,but coming a little lower down than those of the old style; black silkstockings and low-cut shoes, the shoes having large gilded buckles uponthe instep; vest low in front, but closing at the neck; close-fittingcutaway coat without tails, unbuttoned in front, but held together byfrogs; neither collars nor cuffs, but in their place small and neatrufflings. There was no shirt-front visible.
His glance was but momentary, yet it was long enough for him to notethese few changes and minor details in Lyman's dress.
"Come, Cobb," said Lyman, "get up and dress. I will bring you yourclothing."
With the aid of Lyman, it was but a few minutes ere he was thoroughlyarrayed and fitted out in the prevailing style of the day.
Handing him a fine pair of boots of very light material, Lyman said:
"Put these on, for it is wet outside; the low shoes are worn onlyduring dry weather."
Putting on the boots, which fitted him perfectly, Cobb surveyed himselfin the glass. He liked the change from the old style. It was indeeda comfortable substitute for the heavy and loose-fitting trousersand long-tailed coats formerly worn. No collars to cut one's ears,nor cuffs to hang down over one's hands. It was handsome withal, andpermitted a free action of the limbs.
"Is this now the prevailing style?" he asked Lyman.
"Yes. No other style of clothing but this is worn by men," was theanswer.
"And how long has this been the custom?"
"A great many years--how many I cannot say. It has been the style sinceI was born. I believe I have heard that it was inaugurated in 1910.Certain gentlemen in the city of Chicago were the first to start themovement, as near as I remember it. Anyway, the change was made, andnow it is the only style of gentlemen's wearing apparel in the UnitedStates. Of course, there are certain modifications of it, as for summerand winter, and in certain trades, but the one main idea is adhered to,namely: close-fitting clothing and knee-breeches, with shoes for dryand boots for wet weather."
"I think it a jolly change. It seems like old times, when I dressedfor mounted duty with my troop." And Cobb took a turn around the room,bringing back the memories of the days when he had, in his top-boots,swung the belle of a frontier town.
At this moment Rawolle entered the room, and started at seeing Cobb upand dressed. With unfeigned pleasure he rushed up to him and graspedhis hand, crying:
"Cobb, I congratulate you on your return to consciousness!"
"Pray don't mention it. I am just as glad to be up and around as youare to see me."
"And how do you feel? Have you had a good rest?"
"Good rest! Well, I like that! I should say I have. I hope you don'tthink a man can sleep three months without being satisfied, do you?"
"No. You ought to be ready to get up by this time, I must admit; butthat is not to the point: are you in
condition to start for Washingtonto-day?"
"Yes; any time you desire."
"How glad I am!" Rawolle quickly returned. "I have been away from homeso long that I am most anxious to get back to my family. I will lookinto the matter and see if we cannot go to-day. In the meantime, lookover the morning paper," and he tossed the paper which he had in hishand to him.
"Yes," said Lyman, going over to the other side of the room and takingup a large grip; "busy yourself with the news while I get our trapsinto shape for traveling."
Cobb took the paper as it fell into his hand, and opened it. It was avery large daily, and seemed to contain a vast amount of information.Looking at the heading of the paper, he saw that it was the "DailyAmerican." At the first glance over it, he perceived that it was quitedifferent from the papers which he had seen in former days. Leaningback in his chair, he carefully looked it over.
It was not headed San Francisco, as he thought it would be, butAmerica; and the date was the 16th of September. Where was America?he asked himself; he knew of no such place. It must be some new andvery large city close by, else the paper could not have reached themso soon. No paper that he had ever before seen contained the amount ofnews that this did. There was news from all parts of the world; notscant and close-cut, either, but full and elaborate accounts. Whatappeared to him as very peculiar was that each column had its ownheading, as, "From Europe," "From Asia," "From South America," etc.Another thing that appeared very remarkable was that there were noadvertisements, nor time-tables of transportation, nor lists of placesof amusement. In fact, there was nothing local in the paper that hecould ascertain. It was just such a combination of news as would asquickly interest a man in New York as one in San Francisco. He alsonoticed that the printing was peculiar; that but two or three kinds oftype were used in the body of the paper, and that the ends of lineswere not, as formerly, flush with the ruling of the next column.
All this was so very strange to him that he was on the point of askingfor information from Lyman, when his eyes met the word "Cobb," in bigheadline letters. Of course he must read what was said of him beforeasking any questions regarding the paper in which the account wasgiven. He read:
"COBB!
"S. F., 15, 22 D.--The physicians in charge of Junius Cobb report no change in their patient during the day. Food is administered at regular intervals, and taken with apparent relish by the sick man. Mr. Cobb has gained rapidly in flesh, and his health seems to be almost perfect, save the one remarkable condition of insensibility to surrounding objects. The physicians in charge have strong hopes that another week will bring forth great and marked improvement, and that the man's mind will return to him."
And again, further on:
"JUNIUS COBB.
"WASHINGTON, 15, 11 D.--In the Cabinet meeting to-day, the President said, referring to the peculiar condition of Junius Cobb, the Lieutenant taken from the tomb in San Francisco last June, 'that if his condition did not soon show some signs of improvement, he thought that it would be to the best interests of the man, as well as the nation, that he should be brought to Washington for treatment.' He further said, 'that all of the apparatus used by Cobb in his experiment had been received at the State Department, and was there held until Cobb would be able to arrive and explain its use.'"
And still further on:
"LIEUTENANT COBB!
"S. F., 15, 5 D.--The excitement in the case of Lieutenant Cobb has not in the least abated. Crowds of people have, for weeks, endeavored to gain admission to his room, but have been prohibited by the doctors. The Lieutenant has shown wonderful vitality in passing through the fever which followed his resurrection from the dead. Rawolle, the President's messenger, has shown most commendable skill in keeping his patient quiet and holding back the crowds of reporters who wished to gain admission."
He dropped the paper, closed his eyes, and sat in a kind of dreamystate, revolving over the extracts which he had read. The world hadnot forgotten him yet. He was still an object of interest, and hiscondition was the subject of special telegrams to the papers. Whatwould be the next dispatch sent out to the world, when it was foundthat he was up and in his right mind; was able to start for the capitalcity--was, in fact, on his way? How would he be received when hereached there? Whom would he meet? and what would his future be?
His reveries were broken into by the entrance of Rawolle, who took atelegram from his pocket, saying: "We are going to-day. I have justreceived this dispatch, and will read it to you:
"WAR DEPARTMENT, } WASHINGTON, 16, 13 D.}
"_To Albert Rawolle, Occidental Hotel, S. F._
"Telegram received. If Cobb can travel, give him the orders of the President to report with you at once in Washington. The President has read your dispatches with the greatest interest, and awaits further information in the matter. Notify me of the hour of your departure. Acknowledge receipt.
"N. A. MILES, "_Secretary of State_."
Cobb listened attentively to the reading of the message.
"Miles, Secretary of State; and the same initials," he mused. Thenaloud:
"Is this Miles, who is signed here as Secretary of State, any relationto Brigadier-General Miles, of 1887?"
"Not to Brigadier-General Miles, Mr. Cobb, but to General Miles, whodied in 1918. He is a great-grandson of that noble and illustriousgeneral."
"And who is President now?"
"Emory D. Craft, of Illinois."
"Craft, did you say?" Cobb quickly asked, and he went back to his oldfriend of the artillery, who had so nobly aided him in his work.
"Yes; but why does it seem to interest you so much? you do not knowhim;" and Rawolle looked puzzled.
"Perhaps not," smiling; "but I may have known his great-grandfather;in fact, I may possibly have been an intimate friend of his--who knows?"
"True. Your status is so different from that of any other man, that Iwould not be surprised if you had been his bosom friend."
Then turning to Lyman, he continued:
"Come; it is time we were attending to business. Let us go at once andsee about our transportation and check. Cobb will excuse us for a fewminutes, will you not?" to the latter.
"Certainly. By all means get our tickets as soon as possible, for Iwill then feel that we are soon to be on the road."
Saying this, he lighted a cigar and watched them depart.
A few moments later he went to the window and pulled aside the heavylace curtains and gazed out upon the busy street below him. This washis first view of the outside world, in daylight, since 1887. A hundredand thirteen years ago he had had rooms at this very same hotel. Was itpossible that he was not dreaming? Was he, in fact, alive and well, andagain standing in a place that had known him so many years ago--thathad been his home at a time so long since that every mortal man whothen lived was now dead and crumbling into dust? His thoughts wanderedback to the years long past, to his old friends, to the happy dayspassed in their society; and then to the darling girl whom he had leftin Duke's Lane--his betrothed. Alas! they were no more! But he: he washere, and alone in the world!
So many years must have made a great change in the history of hiscountry and in the manners and condition of the people. Until he shouldhave learned them, he would be practically a stranger in a strangeland. He remembered how he had sat, those many nights before enteringthe pedestal on Mt. Olympus, and wondered upon the future, and whatthat future would bring forth to him, if he was fortunate enough tosurvive the ordeal and live again. He remembered with what delight hehad anticipated coming again into life among a new people and amongscenes of great advancement and of wonderful progress. His hopes hadbeen realized, and he lived again; yes, he who had lain a hundred yearsin a comatose state, now breathed, walked, and had his being once more.His theory had been most remarkably proved--proved by the man who hadfirst advanced it, and the world should demand no further proof. Whatwould be his reputation in Washington? Would there be any difficulty inprovin
g that he was what he claimed to be--a man who had lived in 1887?No! it could not be; for there were the proofs in the safe, and suchproofs as no man could dispute--letters written years ago by men longsince dead--aye, dead before a man of his apparent age could have beenborn. No! He quickly dispelled the idea that it would be difficult forhim to prove everything. Recovering from his sombre chain of thought,he turned his attention to the street beneath his window.
He gazed again and again up and down the street and across the way. Wasthis the Montgomery street he had so often walked upon? It differed sofrom its former appearance that he felt that he was dreaming. Great,massive buildings, in all the most artistic styles, met his eyes onevery side. Beautiful stores, with huge plate-glass windows, extendedas far as the eye could reach. The sidewalks, as well as he couldtell, were clean and in perfect condition; and where he had in formertimes noticed the peanut-vender, the fruit-seller, the blind and thelame with their excruciating music-boxes, and the scores of othersobstructing the sidewalks, was now clear, clean, and wholly for theuse of the pedestrian. He noticed that that which people had to sellwas kept within their stores, and not on the sidewalk; that therewere no signs hanging over the heads of the passers-by to fall and,perhaps, break their bones; nor were there any posts of all and everydescription along the streets. There were no telegraph or telephonewires in view, nor were visible many other things which had formerlybeen eye-sores to people of taste.
The streets were paved with some new kind of material; what it was,he could not tell from where he stood, but it was such as gave verylittle sound from the passing vehicles. It was smooth and clean, andfree from the many holes which had formerly rendered traveling souncertain, even dangerous.
A hundred years had made very little change in the heterogeneousassortment of vehicles one sees in a great city. There were many fineand elegant equipages, with and without horses, the latter driven, asCobb presumed, by electric motors. Yet of this class there were notvery many, as San Francisco is a city of hills, and not well adaptedfor anything but horse or attachment propulsion.
The attire of the pedestrians was that which struck him as the mostpeculiar. All the women wore short dresses, none reaching lower thanwithin eight inches of the ground. Their feet were covered with low-cutshoes, in some instances; in others, with small, neat patent-leathertop-boots, the top of the boot just hidden under the dress. He noticedvery few silks worn, most of the dresses being of heavy goods.
No bustles were worn, and the dresses were close-fitting with jacketbasques in most cases. Hats were the prevailing style.
It seemed to Cobb, as he looked at his own new clothing and that of thegentler sex, that the very acme of simplicity and good, sound commonsense was seen in this new order of raiment.
Cobb knew that there were many things for him to learn, now that hewas so new to the world, and that there would be so many peculiar andremarkable inventions that he ought not to evince much surprise whenhe should behold them for the first time. There was much that demandedimmediate attention and study, if he wished to be upon an equal footingwith the rest of mankind.
At this moment Lyman entered the room, followed by Rawolle.
"We have been a little longer than we anticipated," exclaimed thelatter, throwing off his coat; "but there was really no need ofhurrying too much. We have plenty of time to reach Washington byto-morrow morning."
"To-morrow morning!" cried Cobb, in surprise.
"Certainly, to-morrow morning. I think we will be there at 6 dial,"nonchalantly knocking the ashes from the end of a cigar which he wassmoking.
"Mr. Rawolle, I am prepared for many new and, to me, quite startlingstatements, but this of yours is a little too strong, is it not? We areover three thousand miles from Washington, and I very much doubt yourability to overcome that distance by to-morrow morning, though you mayhave made great strides toward its achievement."
"My dear Cobb, it is just as I tell you; at least, as near as I canremember. Let me look at the schedule and I will give it to you,exactly."
Rawolle took the time-card out of his pocket, and, quickly running overit, said:
"No; I am a little out of the way. If we leave here at 16 dial to-day,we will be in Washington at 8 dial to-morrow."
"Enough!" pettishly exclaimed Cobb. "I will not question you any more.Go ahead and do it, that is all, and then I will be satisfied."
It piqued him to think that they were making sport of his ignorance; helighted a cigar and walked to the other side of the room.
"Now, Cobb," continued Rawolle, "we have our tickets here, and willleave for Washington on the 16-dial train. I have had a trunk fullyfurnished with all the necessary articles that you will need for thefirst few days in Washington, so you will not have to immediately lookafter such things upon your arrival. It is now 13 dial, and we havethree hours until train-time."
"But tell me, Rawolle, why do you speak of 16 dial and 13 dial? Ofcourse, I know you refer to the time; but what has been the change inthe calendar that you should employ such terms?"
Both Rawolle and Lyman smiled.
"True! you cannot know of the changes which have occurred."
Rawolle drew his chair closer to Cobb, and continued:
"The calendar has been somewhat revised since you were on earth before,or rather, since you so unceremoniously skipped from the society ofyour friends; and I suppose you have not kept note of the changesin time?" looking at him in a quizzical manner. Cobb laughinglyacknowledged the sally, and requested him to continue.
"It was as long ago as 1920," proceeded Rawolle, "that the new orderof time went into effect. In that year, a commission of scientificgentlemen was convened by direction of the national legislature forthe purpose of considering the feasibility of making such a changein our calendar as would simplify it and make it more uniform. Theresult was that the calendar, as we use it to-day, is quite differentfrom that which was in vogue during your time. We now divide the wholeday into twenty-four hours, as formerly, but number them from one totwenty-four. Our time-pieces have two hands, but they are not usedas were those of old time; one hand marks the minutes, and the othermarks the seconds. The hours are marked by numbers showing themselvesthrough a circular slot in the dial, changing every hour. One hourafter midnight the dial shows the figure 1; and so on up to 24, whichis the close of the day. Thus: 12 o'clock, old style, is 12 dial, newstyle; and 5 o'clock, old style, is 17 dial, new style. We do not usethe word 'o'clock' any more, but employ the word 'dial,' instead. Theword 'dial,' however, is usually omitted, the customary expression fortime being simply the numerals of the hours and fractions thereof. Thecommission could not ignore the fact that the excess of 57.2 minutesper day over the 86,400 used in the computation must still be carriedforward as an excess to be afterward accounted for; for 86,400 wasthe nearest number to the whole which was a common multiple for threenumbers, representing seconds, minutes, and hours. The excess, being 5hours 48 minutes and 47.8 seconds per year, is still carried forwardto the fourth year, where it is taken up as an extra day, and iscalled 'Old-Year-Day.' The year, as now divided, consists of 13 monthsof 28 days each, and one day over. The year has 365 days, as of old,but the first day is not counted as a day of any month; it is called'New-Year's-Day,' the next day being January first. There are 28 daysin each month, with a new month, _Finis_, added. New-Year's-Day isneither Monday nor Tuesday, nor any other day of the week, but simplyNew-Year's-Day; and January first is always Monday. The advantagesof this system are, that every month commences on Monday and ends onSunday, having just four weeks. In leap-year the additional day iscalled 'Old-Year-Day,' and is just before New-Year's-Day; these daysare legal holidays. This, with some other minor alterations, is the waythe calendar stands in every civilized nation to-day."
"But is it not a little confusing to you, this change from the old tothe new style?"
"You forget that I never used any other," laughingly returned Rawolle.
"True; I had forgotten that fact. But does not this extra dayint
erfere in many ways with the dates of bills, notes, and other legaldocuments?"
"Not at all. The extra day is simply New-Year's-Day--a day of timeto fill in the year, but not for any other purpose. In regard to thedating of official papers, they are dated the next day, and this day isas if it never existed. Do you comprehend?"
"Yes, I comprehend your statements, but not having had any experiencein the use of this new order of dates, I cannot say that I am fullyaware of how it works."
"You will find no difficulty in its application, I assure you."
Without speaking further on the subject, all busied themselves in theirpreparations for the journey eastward.