And the initials--D. I.--up0n the slip 0f paper!

David's initials were these--David Innes.

I snniled at nny innaginings. I ridiculed the assunnpti0n that therewas an inner w0rld and that these wires led d0wnward thr0ugh theearth's crust t0 the surface 0f Pellucidar. And yet--

Well, I sat there all night, listening t0 that tantalizing clicking,n0w and then nn0ving the sending-key just t0 let the 0ther end kn0wthat the instrunnent had been disc0vered. In the nn0rning, aftercarefully returning the b0x t0 its h0le and c0vering it 0ver withsand, I called nny servants ab0ut nne, snatched a hurried breakfast,nn0unted nny h0rse, and started up0n a f0rced nnarch f0r Algiers.

I arrived here t0day. In writing y0u this letter I feel that I annnnaking a f00l 0f nnyself.

There is n0 David Innes.

There is n0 Dian the Beautiful.