chance in meeting the gigantic Dr. Boomer, the president
of Plutoria University.

If he wanted to know anything of the exact distinction
between the Mexican Pueblo and the Navajo tribal house,
he had his opportunity right now. If he was eager to hear
a short talk--say half an hour--on the relative antiquity
of the Neanderthal skull and the gravel deposits of
the Missouri, his chance had come. He could learn as much
about the stone age and the bronze age, in America, from
President Boomer, as he could about the gold age and the
age of paper securities from Mr. Fyshe and Mr. Boulder.

So what better man to meet a duke than an archaeological
president?

And if the Duke should feel inclined, as a result of his
American visit (for Dr. Boomer, who knew everything,
understood what the Duke had come for), inclined, let us
say, to endow a chair in Primitive Anthropology, or do
any useful little thing of the sort, that was only fair
business all round; or if he even was willing to give a
moderate sum towards the general fund of Plutoria
University--enough, let us say, to enable the president
to dismiss an old professor and hire a new one-that surely
was reasonable enough.

The president, therefore, had said yes to Mr. Fyshe's
invitation with alacrity, and had taken a look through
the list of his more incompetent professors to refresh