J. Allan Dunn

“ Morse," he said, "I have been carried away by my own enthusiasm. I have thought you shared it. You have been so interested, so cordial to me, a—crude and blustering fool who broke in on you like a thief in the night. I have assumed you were going to Dor. It is your discovery; I have no right to exploit it without your permission. I understand you are an explorer, that you know much of South America—"
"Say no more, Laidlaw. I am going to Dor; I have a mission there aside from the adventure. You will join me, of course. You are a scientist; I am merely an explorer, and an amateur one at that. ”

“ The curator nodded.
"Most fanatics have a gift for persuasion. . . But I shouldn't call him that. He may be right. Who knows?"
And then, changing the subject: "Mr. Morse, the faculty has empowered me to make you a very liberal offer for the vase. It should be preserved for science and the public benefit—"
"If it passed from me to the museum it would be as a gift," said Morse. "But that is impossible."
"As a loan? While you are absent?"
"I'll tell you what I'll do," said Morse jestingly. "If you think you can get it away from Laidlaw, I might agree. But seriously, it may be useful on the trip. ”

“ The sands of Sahara—the sandstone plateaus of Brazil are coeval!"
The idea was startling, revolutionary; yet to Morse, listening to the inspired voice of Laidlaw, it gained possibility.
"But would the Minoans or Atlanteans survive such a catastrophe?"
"Why not? Other tribes did, and handed down the story of the Deluge. There is no reason why their descendants should not be living today. Remember, their have been persistent rumors since the earliest explorations of white-skinned peoples living in the remote interior of South America. ”

“ Not a nation or tribe of either inland or coast possessions, civilized or barbaric, but unites in the story of a great flood. This, I maintain, was caused by—avoiding technical terms—a shrinkage of the earth's surface due to the settling of substrata even today manifested in lesser degree by earthquakes more or less persistent along recognized zones. ”

“ Morse and the curator moved toward him. He regarded them blankly; then recognition slowly came into his eyes.
"There," he said triumphantly, "is a literal translation of the linear script. No doubt Mr. Morse will permit photographs of the vase before we take it with us. There is no time for confutation before we start. It is up to the museum to verify this translation and to prepare the world for what will come out of Brazil. Listen! ”