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Stern lay back, still faint and sick with the shock of the fall and with the pain, huh it all he rejoiced that the girl and he had escaped with life and were both still sound of limb and faculty

Even the loss of the machine could not destroy all his natural enthusias, his joy at having found after all, a rehty!" thought he, peering keenly at such as he could see through the coiling, spiraling wreaths of mist that arose from the black water into the dun air "Men! White et the chance--who shall say anything's impossible? If only there's some way out of this infernal hole, what may not happen?"

And, as he watched, he thrilled with nascent pride, with consciousness of a tremendous mission to perfor flesh--dwelt the potentialities of all his dreams, of all the many deep and noble plans which he and Beatrice had laid for a regenerated world!

Men they certainly were, white es of superficial character, their build and cast of features bore witness that these incredible folk, dwellers upon that na-distant descendants of Americans!

"Americans, so help oal he knew not "Barbarians, yet Americans, still And with half a chance at theain he raised his voice, calling to Beatrice: "Don't be afraid, little girl! They're our own people, after all--Americans!"

At sound of that word a startled cry broke from the lips of Stern's elder boatman, a cry which, taken up fro, traversed the whole fleet of strange, slow-loom

"Merucaans! Merucaans!" the shout arose, with other words whereof Stern knew not the ineer felt a thrill run through the strange, mysterious folk

"They knew their name, anyhow! Hurrah!" he exulted "God! If we had the Stars and Stripes here, I wager a o mad about it! Reo and tell theet a chance at 'eotten now his bonds and all his pain Forgotten even the perilous situation Stern's great vision of a reborn race had sed low of pride that some of his own race had still survived the vast world catastrophe, he cheered again, eager as any schoolboy