The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1915-03-14
By
H. G. Wells

SPotS ielt upon his eyes. He wa
able to get up and steer himself
about, feed himself once mo1e
read, smoke, and behave like an or.
binary citizen again.
AT first it was very confusing nc
him to have these two pictl1res
overlapping each otter like the
changing views OF a lantern, but IN
little while he began to distin-
guish the real from the illusorv.
AT first he was unfeignedlv glad,
and seemed only too anxious to
complete his cure by taking cxcr-
else and tonics. But as that odd
island of his began to fade away
from him. he became queerly inter-
ested in it. He wanted particular
ly TO go down into the deep >eS
again. and would spend half his
time wandering about the low-lying
parts OF London, trying to find the
wateslogged wreck he had seen
drifting. The glare of real day
light very soon impressed him 81
wildly as to blot out everything of
his shadowy world, but OF a night
time, in darkened room, he could .
still see the white-splashed rocks of
the island, and the clumsy penguins
staggering to and fro. But even,
these grew fainter and fainter, and,
at last, soon after he married nv
sister. he saw them for the last
time.
And now to- tell of the queereSt
thing OF all. ABOUT two years after
his cure, dined with the David
sons, and alter dinner man named
Atkins called in He is lieuteni
ant IN the royal navy, and pleas
ant. laxative man. He was on
friendly terms with nv brother-in-
law. and was soon on friendly
terms with me. 1t came out that
he was engaged to Davidson's
cousin, and incidentally he took out
a kind OF pocket photograph case
to show us a new rendering OF his =
fiancee. And, by the by said he.
here's the old Fulmar."
Davidson looked at it casually.
Then suddenly his face lit up. .
Good heavens" said he. Il couII :
almost SWEAR
WHAT said Atkins.
That had seen that ship be-
fore
Don't see how YOU can have.
She hasn't been out OF the South
Seas for six years, and before
But" began Davidson. and
then, "leS-that'S the ship [
dreamed OF. I'm sure that's the
ship dreamed OF. She was stand
ing off an island that swarmed with ,
and she fired a gun
Good I.ordr' said Atkins. who
had never heard the particulars OF
the seizure. How the deuce could
YOU dream that? -
And then. bit by bit. it came out \
that on the very dav Davidson was
seized. IL. NJ. S. Fulmar had &C
tuallv been off a little rock to the
south OF Antipodcs Island. \ boat
had landed overnight to get pen
gums eggs, had been delayed, and
a thunderstorm drifting up. the
boats crew had waited until the
before rejoining the ship.
.\tkinS had been one OF them, and
he corroborated, word for word.
the descriptions Davidson had givA
en- OF the island and the boat
There is not the slightest doubt
in any of our minds that Davidson
has really seen the place, In some
way. while he m0v-
ed hither and thither in London, hi,
sight moved hithcr and thithcr i'll
manner that corrcspondcd. about
this distant island. How is abs"-
lutCly mystery.
That completes the remarkable
story of DavidSOn'S ewes. 1t is per
haes the best authenticated case i'll
existence of real vision at dis
tancc Explanation there is none
Forthcoming. except what Prof.
Wade has thrown ont But his eX-
PLANTATION nlvokcs the fourth di-
nension. and dissertation on the
Dretical kinds OF space To talk OF
here being "a kink in space
seems mere nonsense to me; it may
De because | am no mathematician
When | said that nothing would =
liter the fact that the place is 5000
niles away. he answered that two
points might be yard away on
'hect OF paper and vet be brought
ogether by bending the paper
'ound. The reader may grasp his
argument. but | certainly do not.
lis idea seems to be that Davidson,
topping between the poles of the
'ig electromagnetic. had some ex- =.
twist given to his retinal ,
dement's through the sudden
haHSe in the, field of force due to
he lightning.