human
That--that makes me feel better,
gpt
How long? he asked in a level voice.
human
How long have I been asleep?
gpt
Some considerable time,
human
How long?
gpt
A very long time.
human
Yes--yes, said Graham, suddenly testy.
gpt
But I want--Is it--it is--some years? Many years? There was something--I forget what. I feel--confused. But you-- He sobbed.
human
You need not fence with me. How long--?
gpt
Five or six? he asked faintly.
human
More?
gpt
Very much more than that.
human
More!
gpt
More.
human
Many years,
gpt
Many years!
human
How many years?
gpt
You must be prepared to be surprised.
human
Well?
gpt
More than a gross of years.
human
More than a _what_?
gpt
How long did you say? asked Graham.
human
How long? Don't look like that. Tell me.
gpt
More than a couple of centuries.
human
he cried, turning on the youth who he thought had spoken.
gpt
Who says--? What was that? A couple of _centuries_!
human
Yes, said the man with the red beard.
gpt
Two hundred years.
human
Two hundred years, he said again, with the figure of a great gulf opening very slowly in his mind; and then,
gpt
Oh, but--!
human
You--did you say--?
gpt
Two hundred years. Two centuries of years,
human
But it can't be, he said querulously.
gpt
I am dreaming. Trances--trances don't last. That is not right--this is a joke you have played upon me! Tell me--some days ago, perhaps, I was walking along the coast of Cornwall--?
human
I'm not very strong in history, sir,
gpt
That was it, sir, said the youngster.
human
Boscastle, in the old Duchy of Cornwall--it's in the south-west country beyond the dairy meadows. There is a house there still. I have been there.
gpt
Boscastle! Graham turned his eyes to the youngster.
human
That was it--Boscastle. Little Boscastle. I fell asleep--somewhere there. I don't exactly remember. I don't exactly remember.
gpt
More than _two hundred years_!
human
But if it _is_ two hundred years, every soul I know, every human being that ever I saw or spoke to before I went to sleep, must be dead.
gpt
The Queen and the Royal Family, her Ministers, Church and State. High and low, rich and poor, one with another ... Is there England still?
human
That's a comfort! Is there London?
gpt
This _is_ London, eh? And you are my assistant-custodian; assistant-custodian. And these--? Eh? Assistant-custodians too!
human
But why am I here? No! Don't talk. Be quiet. Let me--