Page:A Few Hours in a Far Off Age.djvu/25

26 card—'The past is coming to the present. Send a hundred carpenters and material for about seventy diam. to secure your great treasure.' Signed with a name which commanded respect, though his hasty message afterwards caused much merriment, for it was well known the 'past' had been very fierce and rapacious. The quiet man who had so suddenly displayed such energy and direction was a Cosmopola geologist, named Denton, far-famed for his brilliant talents. It was proved that he had ascended from an American of the same name, who lived thousands of thousands of years before—who had been world-known for his great, good, truthful mind. He had only arrived in Alethia the previous week, having left his country in obedience to some powerful intuition. His advice was acted upon, and soon a large shed covered the treasure. A wise precaution to prevent hindrance the crowds would otherwise have caused, for people were continually assembling near the spot, some of whom offered payment to view the valuable statue fast appearing. Fortunately, it had been placed under a massive cupola so a small portion of that was the only part the machine had broken. It stood on a large pedestal, which proved to be hollow, and had been filled with the In-In records—so named from having been written on indestructible material and with ineffaceable ink. But language had so altered that the most able linguists were occupied for many years in deciphering them. From study of those writings, and others since discovered I learned all I have told, and have yet to tell you, concerning our ancestor's preceding and during the dawn of civilization, or Great Transition Age, which included the terrible Christian Era up to the happier time when true ethics began to stir all human kind to noble thoughts, truthfulness and benevolence. To this day no