CHAPTER XIV.
FROM THE CROW'S NEST And so after strange delays and through an avenue of doubt and battle, this man from the nineteenth century came at last to his position at the head of that complex world.
At first when he rose from the long deep sleep that followed his rescue and the surrender of the Council, he did not recognise his surroundings.
By an effort he gained a clue in his mind, and all that had happened came back to him, at first with a quality of insincerity like a story heard, like something read out of a book.

And even before his memories were clear, the exultation of his escape, the wonder of his prominence were back in his mind.

He was owner of the world; Master of the Earth.

This new great age was in the completest sense his.

He no longer hoped to discover his experiences a dream; he became anxious now to convince himself that they were real.
An obsequious valet assisted him to dress under the direction of a dignified chief attendant, a little man whose face proclaimed him Japanese, albeit he spoke English like an Englishman.