A COLUMBUS OF SPACE BY GARRETT P. SERVISS [Illustration: "Standing on the steps ... Was a creature shaped like aman, but more savage than a gorilla. "] TO THE READERS OF JULES VERNE'S ROMANCES THIS STORY IS DEDICATED Not because the author flatters himself that he can walk in the Footstepsof that Immortal Dreamer, but because, like Jules Verne, he believes thatthe World of Imagination is as legitimate a Domain of the Human Mind asthe World of Fact. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. A MARVELOUS INVENTION II. A TRIP OF TERROR III. THE PLANETARY LIMITED IV. THE CAVERNS OF VENUS V. OFF FOR THE SUN LANDS VI. LOST IN THE CRYSTAL MOUNTAINS VII. THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN VIII. LANGUAGE WITHOUT SPEECH IX. AN AMAZING METROPOLIS X. IMPRISONMENT AND A WONDERFUL ESCAPE XI. BEFORE THE THRONE OF VENUS XII. MORE MARVELS XIII. WE FALL INTO TROUBLE AGAIN XIV. THE SUN GOD XV. AT THE MERCY OF FEARFUL ENEMIES XVI. DREADFUL CREATURES OF THE GLOOM XVII. EARTH MAGIC ON VENUS XVIII. WILD EDEN XIX. THE SECRET OF THE CAR XX. THE CORYBANTIA OF THE SUN XXI. THE EARTH LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS "Standing on the steps ... Was a creature shaped like a man, but moresavage than a gorilla" "We were in the heart of the _Crystal Mountains!_" "'Who and what are you, and whence do you come?'" "It curled itself over the edge of the hovering air ship and drew itdown" CHAPTER I A MARVELOUS INVENTION I am a hero worshiper; an insatiable devourer of biographies; and I saythat no man in all the splendid list ever equaled Edmund Stonewall. Yousmile because you have never heard his name, for, until now, hisbiography has not been written. And this is not truly a biography; it isonly the story of the crowning event in Stonewall's career. Really it humbles one's pride of race to see how ignorant the world is ofits true heroes. Many a man who cuts a great figure in history is, afterall, a poor specimen of humanity, slavishly following old ruts, destituteof any real originality, and remarkable only for some exaggeration of thecommonplace. But in the case of Edmund Stonewall the world cannot beblamed for its ignorance, because, as I have already said, his storyremains to be written, and hitherto it has been guarded as a profoundsecret. I do not wish to exaggerate; yet I cannot avoid seeming to do so insimply telling the facts. If Stonewall's proceedings had becomeMatter of common knowledge the world would have been--I must speakplainly--revolutionized. He held in his hands the means of realizing thewildest dreams of power, wealth, and human mastery over the forces ofnature, that any enthusiast ever treasured in his prophetic soul. It wasa part of his originality that he never entertained the thought ofemploying his advantage in any such way. His character was entirely freefrom the ordinary forms of avidity. He cared nothing for wealth initself, and as little for fame. All his energies were concentrated uponthe attainment of ends which nobody but himself would have regarded as ofany practical importance. Thus it happened that, having made an inventionwhich would have put every human industry upon a new footing, andmultiplied beyond the limits of calculation the activities andachievements of mankind, this extraordinary person turned his back uponthe colossal fortune which he had but to stretch forth his hand andgrasp, refused to seize the unlimited power which his genius had laid athis feet, and used his unparalleled discovery for a purpose so eccentric, so wildly unpractical, so utterly beyond the pale of waking life, that toany ordinary man he must have seemed a lunatic lost in an endless dreamof bedlam. And to this day I cannot, without a nervous thrill, think howthe desire of all the ages, the ideal that has been the loadstar forthousands of philosophers, savants, inventors, prophets, and dreamers, was actually realized upon the earth; and yet of all its fifteen hundredmillion inhabitants but a single one knew it, possessed it, controlledit--and he would not reveal it, but hoarded and used his knowledge forthe accomplishment of the craziest design that ever took shape in a humanbrain. Now, to be more specific. Of Stonewall's antecedents I know very little. I only know that, in a moderate way, he was wealthy, and that he had noimmediate family ties. He was somewhere near thirty years of age, andheld the diploma of one of our oldest universities. But he was not, in ageneral way, sociable, and I never knew him to attend any of the reunionsof his former classmates, or to show the slightest interest in any of theevents or functions of society, although its doors were open to himthrough some distant relatives who were widely connected in New York, andwho at times tried to draw him into their circle. He would certainly haveadorned it, but it had no attraction for him. Nevertheless he was amember of the Olympus Club, where he frequently spent his evenings. Buthe made very few acquaintances even there, and I believe that exceptmyself, Jack Ashton, Henry Darton, and Will Church, he had no intimates. And we knew him only at the club. There, when he was alone with us, hesometimes partly opened up his mind, and we were charmed by his varietyof knowledge and the singularity of his conversation. I shall notdisguise the fact that we thought him extremely eccentric, although theidea of anything in the nature of insanity never entered our heads. Weknew that he was engaged in recondite researches of a scientific nature, and that he possessed a private laboratory, although none of us had everentered it. Occasionally he would speak of some new advance of science, throwing a flood of light by his clear expositions upon things of whichwe should otherwise have remained profoundly ignorant. His imaginationflashed like lightning over the subject of his talk, revealing it at themost unexpected angles, and often he roused us to real enthusiasm forthings the very names of which we almost forgot amidst the next day'soccupations. There was one subject on which he was particularlyeloquent--radioactivity; that most strange property of matter whosediscovery had been the crowning glory of science in the closing decade ofthe nineteenth century. None of us really knew anything about it exceptwhat Stonewall taught us. If some new incomprehensible announcementappeared in the newspapers we skipped it, being sure that Edmund wouldmake it all clear at the club in the evening. He made us understand, in adim way, that some vast, tremendous secret lay behind it all. I recallhis saying, on one occasion, not long before the blow fell: "Listen to this! Here's Professor Thomson declaring that a single grainof radium contains in its padlocked atoms energy enough to lift a milliontons three hundred yards high. Professor Thomson is too modest in hisestimates, and he hasn't the ghost of an idea how to get at that energy. Neither has Professor Rutherford, nor Lord Kelvin; _but somebody will getat it, just the same_. " He positively thrilled us when he spoke thus, for there was a look in hiseyes which seemed to penetrate depths unfathomable to our intelligence. Yet we had not the faintest conception of what was really passing in hismind. If we had understood it, if we had caught a single clear glimpse ofthe workings of his intellect, we should have been appalled. And if wehad known how close we stood to the verge of an abyss of mystery about tobe lighted by such a gleam as had never before been emitted from thehuman spirit, I believe that we would have started from our chairs andfled in dismay. But we understood nothing, except that Edmund was indulging in one of hiseccentric dreams, and Jack, in his large, careless, good-natured waybroke in with: "Well, Edmund, suppose _you_ could 'get at it, ' as you say; what wouldyou do with it?" Stonewall's eyes gleamed for a moment, and then he replied, with acurious emphasis: "I might do what Archimedes dreamed of. " None of us happened to remember what it was that Archimedes had dreamed, and the subject was dropped. For a considerable time afterwards we saw nothing of Stonewall. He didnot come to the club, and we were beginning to think of looking him up, when one evening, quite unexpectedly, he dropped in, wearing an unusuallycheerful expression. We had greatly missed him, and we now greeted himwith effusion. His animation impressed us all, and he had no soonershaken hands than he said, with suppressed excitement in his voice: "Well, I've 'got at it. '" "Got at what?" drawled Jack. "The inter-atomic energy. I've got it under control. " "The deuce you have!" said Jack. "Yes, I've arrived where a certain professor dreamed of being when heaverred that 'when man knows that every breath of air he draws hascontained within itself force enough to drive the workshops of the worldhe will find out some day, somehow, some way of tapping that energy. ' Thething is done, for I've tapped it!" We stared at one another, not knowing what to say, except Jack, who, inspired by the spirit of mischief, drawled out: "Ah, yes, I remember. Well then, Edmund, as I asked you before, what areyou going to do with it?" There was not really any thought among us of poking fun at Edmund; werespected and admired him far too much for that; nevertheless, catchingthe infection of banter from Jack, we united in demanding, in a mannerwhich I can now see must have appeared most provoking: "Why, yes, Edmund, tell us what you are going to do with it. " And then Jack added fuel by mockingly, though with perfectly good-naturedintention, taking Edmund by the hand and swinging him in front of uswith: "Gentlemen, Archimedes junior. " Stonewall's eyes flashed and his cheek darkened, but for a moment he saidnothing. Presently, with a return of his former affability, he said: "I wish you would come over to the laboratory and let me show you what Iam going to do. " Of course we instantly assented. Nothing could have pleased us betterthan this invitation, for we had long been dying to see the inside ofEdmund's laboratory. We all got our hats and started out with him. Weknew where he lived, occupying a whole house though he was a bachelor, but none of us had ever seen the inside of it, and our curiosity was onthe _qui vive_. He led us through a handsome hallway and a rear apartmentdirectly into the back yard, half of which we were surprised to findinclosed and roofed over, forming a huge shanty, like a workshop. Edmundopened the door of the shanty and ushered us in. A remarkable object at once concentrated our attention. In the center ofthe place was the queerest-looking thing that you can well imagine. I canhardly describe it. It was round and elongated like a boiler, withbulging ends, and seemed to be made of polished steel. Its total lengthwas about eighteen feet, and its width ten feet. Edmund approached it andopened a door in the end, which was wide and high enough for us to enterwithout stooping or crowding. "Step in, gentlemen, " he said, and unhesitatingly we obeyed him, allexcept Church, who for some unknown reason remained outside, and when welooked for him had disappeared. Edmund turned on a bright light, and we found ourselves in anoblong chamber, beautifully fitted up with polished woodwork, andleather-cushioned seats running round the sides. Many metallic knobs andhandles shone on the walls. "Sit down, " said Edmund, "and I will tell you what I have got here. " He stepped to the door and called again for Church but there was noanswer. We concluded that, thinking the thing would be too deep to beinteresting, he had gone back to the club. That was not what he had done, as you will learn later, but he never regretted what he did do. Gettingno response from Church, Edmund finally sat down with us on one of theleather-covered benches, and began his explanation. "As I was telling you at the club, " he said, "I've solved the mystery ofthe atoms. I'm sure you'll excuse me from explaining my method" (therewas a little raillery in his manner), "but at least you can understandthe plain statement that I've got unlimited power at my command. Theseknobs and handles that you see are my keys for turning it on and off, andcontrolling it as I wish. Mark you, this power comes right out of theheart of what we call matter; the world is chock full of it. We haveknown that it was there at least ever since radioactivity was discovered, but it looked as though human intelligence would never be able to set itfree from its prison. Nevertheless I have not only set it free, but I amable to control it as perfectly as if it were steam from a boiler, or anelectric current from a dynamo. " Jack, who was as unscientific a person as ever lived, yawned, and Edmundnoticed it. But he showed no irritation, merely smiling, and saying, witha wink at me and Henry: "Even this seems to be rather too deep, so perhaps I had better show you, instead of telling you, what I mean. Excuse me a moment. " He stepped out of the door, and we remained seated. We heard a noiseoutside like the opening of a barn door, and immediately Edmundreappeared and closed the door of the chamber in which we were. Wewatched him with growing curiosity. With a singular smile he pressed aknob on the wall, and instantly we felt that the chamber was rising inthe air. It rocked a little like a boat in wavy water. We were startled, of course, but not alarmed. "Hello!" exclaimed Jack. "What kind of a balloon is this?" "It's something more than a balloon, " was Edmund's reply, and as he spokehe touched another knob, and we felt the car, as I must now call it, cometo rest. Then Edmund opened a shutter at one side, and we all sprang upto look out. Below us we saw roofs and the tops of two trees standing atthe side of the street. "We're about a hundred feet up, " said Edmund quietly. "What do you thinkof it now?" "Wonderful! wonderful!" we exclaimed in a breath. And I continued: "And do you say that it is inter-atomic energy that does this?" "Nothing else in the world, " returned Edmund. But bantering Jack must have his quip: "By the way, Edmund, " he demanded, "what was it that Archimedes dreamed?But no matter; you've knocked him silly. Now, what are you going to dowith your atomic balloon?" Edmund's eyes flashed: "You'll see in a minute. " The scene out of the window was beautiful, and for a moment we allremained watching it. The city lights were nearly all below our level, and away off over the New Jersey horizon I noticed the planet Venus, nearto setting, but as brilliant as a diamond. I am fond of star-gazing, andI called Edmund's attention to the planet as he happened to be standingnext to me. "Lovely, isn't she?" he said with enthusiasm. "The finest world in thesolar system, and what a strange thing that she should have one sidealways day and the other always night. " I was surprised by his exhibition of astronomic lore, for I had neverknown that he had given any attention to the subject, but a minute laterthe incident was forgotten as Edmund suddenly pushed us back from thewindow and closed the shutter. "Going down again so soon?" asked Jack. Edmund smiled. "Going, " he said simply, and put his hand to one of theknobs. Immediately we felt ourselves moving very slowly. "That's right, Edmund, " put in Jack again, "let us down easy; I don'tlike bumps. " We expected at each instant to feel the car touch the cradle in which ithad evidently rested, but never were three mortals so mistaken. Whatreally did happen can better be described in the words of Will Church, who, you will remember, had disappeared at the beginning of our singularadventure. I got the account from him long afterwards. He had written itout carefully and put it away in a safe, as a sort of historic document. Here is Church's narrative, omitting the introduction, which read like alaw paper: "When we went over from the club to Stonewall's house, I dropped behindthe others, because the four of them took up the whole width of thesidewalk. Stonewall was talking to them, and my attention was attractedby something uncommon in his manner. He had an indefinable carriage ofthe head which suggested to me the suspicion that everything was not justas it should be. I don't mean that I thought him crazy, or anything ofthat kind, but I felt that he had some scheme in his mind to fool us. "I bitterly repented, after things turned out as they did, that I had notwhispered a word to the others. But that would have been difficult, and, besides, I had no idea of the seriousness of the affair. Nevertheless, Idetermined to stay out of it, so that the laugh should not be on me atany rate. Accordingly when the others entered the car I stayed outside, and when Stonewall called me I did not answer. "When he came out to open the roof of the shed, he did not see me in theshadow where I stood. The opening of the roof revealed the whole schemein a flash. I had had no suspicion that the car was any kind of aballoon, and even after he had so significantly thrown the roof open, andthen entered the car and closed the door, I was fairly amazed to see thething began to rise without the slightest noise, and as if it wereenchanted. It really looked diabolical as it floated silently upward andpassed through the opening, and the sight gave me a shiver. "But I was greatly relieved when it stopped at a height of a hundred feetor so, and then I said to myself that I should have been less of a foolif I had stayed with the others, for now they would have the laugh on mealone. Suddenly, while I watched, expecting every moment to see them dropdown again, for I supposed that it was merely an experiment to show thatthe thing would float, the car started upward, very slowly at first, butincreasing its speed until it had attained an elevation of perhaps fivehundred feet. There it hung for a moment, like some mail-clad monsterglinting in the quavering light of the street arcs, and then, withoutwarning, made a dart skyward. For a minute it circled like a strange birdtaking its bearings, and finally rushed off westward until I lost sightof it behind some tall buildings. I ran into the house to reach thestreet, but found the outer door locked, and not a person visible. Icalled but nobody came. Returning to the yard I discovered a place whereI could get over the fence, and so I escaped into the street. ImmediatelyI searched the sky for the mysterious car, but could see no sign of it. They were gone! I almost sank upon the pavement in a state of helplessexcitement, which I could not have explained to myself if I had stoppedto reason; for why, after all, should I take the thing so tragically. Butsomething within me said that all was wrong. A policeman happened topass. "'Officer! officer!' I shouted, 'have you seen it?' "'Seen what?' asked the blue-coat, twirling his club. "'The car--the balloon, ' I stammered. "'Balloon in your head! You're drunk. Get long out o' here!' "I realized the impossibility of explaining the matter to him, andrunning back to the place where I had got over the fence I climbed intothe yard and entered the shed. Fortunately the policeman paid no furtherattention to my movements after I left him. I sat down on the emptycradle and stared up through the opening in the roof, hoping against hopeto see them coming back. It must have been midnight before I gave up myvigil in despair, and went home, sorely puzzled, and blaming myself forhaving kept my suspicions unuttered. I finally got to sleep, but I hadhorrible dreams. "The next day I was up early looking through all the papers in the hopeof finding something about the car. But there was not a word. I watchedthe news columns for several days without result. Whenever the coast wasclear I haunted Stonewall's yard, but the fatal shed yawned empty, andthere was not a soul about the house. I cannot describe my feelings. Myfriends seemed to have been snatched away by some mysterious agency, andthe horror of the thing almost drove me crazy. I felt that I was, in amanner, responsible for their disappearance. "One day my heart sank at the sight of a cousin of Jack Ashton'smotioning to me in the street. He approached, with a troubled look. 'Mr. Church, ' he said, 'I think you know me; can you tell me what has becomeof Jack? I haven't seen him for several days. ' What could I say? Stillbelieving that they would soon come back, I invented, on the spur of themoment, a story that Jack, with a couple of intimate friends, had goneoff on a hunting expedition. I took a little comfort in the reflectionthat my friends, like myself, were bachelors, and consequently at libertyto disappear if they chose. "But when more than a week had passed with out any news of them I wasthrown into despair. I had to give up all hope. Remembering how near wewere to the coast, I concluded that they had drifted out over the sea andgone down. It was hard for me, after the lie I had told, to let out thetruth to such of their friends as I knew, but I had to do it. Then thepolice took the matter in hand and ransacked Stonewall's laboratory andthe shanty without finding anything to throw light on the mystery. It wasa newspaper sensation for a few days, but as nothing came of it everybodysoon forgot all about it--all except me. I was left to my loneliness andmy regrets. "A year has now passed with no news from them. I write this on theanniversary of their departure. My friends, I know, are dead--somewhere!Oh, what an experience it has been! When your friends die and are buriedit is hard enough but when they disappear in a flash and leave notoken--! It is almost beyond endurance!" CHAPTER II A TRIP OF TERROR I take up the story at the point where I dropped it to introduce Church'snarrative. As minute after minute elapsed and we continued in motion we changed ourminds about the descent, and concluded that the inventor was going togive us a much longer ride than we had anticipated. We were startled andpuzzled but not really alarmed, for the car traveled so smoothly that itgave one a sense of confidence. On the other hand, we felt a littleindignation that Edmund should treat us like a lot of boys, without willsof our own. No doubt we had provoked him, though unintentionally, butthis was going too far on his part. I am sure we were all hot with thisfeeling and presently Jack flamed out: "Look here, Edmund, " he exclaimed, dropping his customary good-naturedmanner, "this is carrying things with a pretty high hand. It's a gooddeal like kidnapping, it seems to me. I didn't give you permission tocarry me off in this way, and I want to know what you mean by it and whatyou are about. I've no objection to making a little trip in your car, which is certainly mighty comfortable, but first I'd like to be askedwhether I want to go or no. " Edmund shrugged his shoulders and made no reply. He was very busy justthen with the metallic knobs. Suddenly we were jerked off our feet as ifwe had been in a trolley driven by a green motorman. Edmund also wouldhave fallen if he had not clung to one of the handles. We felt that wewere spinning through the air at a fearful speed. Still Edmund utterednot a word, but while we staggered upon our feet, and steadied ourselveswith hands and knees on the leather-cushioned benches like so manydrunken men, he continued pulling and pushing at his knobs. Finally themotion became more regular and it was evident that the car had sloweddown from its wild rush. "Excuse me, " said Edmund, then, quite in his natural manner, "the thingis new yet and I've got to learn the stops by experience. But there's nooccasion for alarm. " But our indignation had grown hotter with the shake-up that we had justhad, and as usual Jack was spokesman for it: "Maybe there is no occasion for alarm, " he said excitedly, "but will yoube kind enough to answer my question, and tell us what you're about andwhere we are going?" And Henry, too, who was ordinarily as mute as a clam, broke out stillmore hotly: "See here! I've had enough of this thing! Just go down and let me out. Iwon't be carried off so, against my will and knowledge. " By this time Edmund appeared to have got things in the shape he wanted, and he turned to face us. He always had a magnetism that wasinexplicable, and now we felt it as never before. His features wereperfectly calm, but there was a light in his eyes that seemed electric. As if disdaining to make a direct reply to the heated words of Jack andHenry he began in a quiet voice: "It was my first intention to invite you to accompany me on a veryinteresting expedition. I knew that none of you had any ties of family orbusiness to detain you, and I felt sure that you would readily consent. In case you should not, however, I had made up my mind to go alone. Butyou provoked me more than you knew, probably, at the club, and after wehad entered the car, and, being myself hot-tempered, I determined toteach you a lesson. I have no intention, however, of abducting you. It istrue that you are in my power at present, but if you now say that you donot wish to be concerned in what I assure you will prove the mostwonderful enterprise ever undertaken by human beings, I will go back tothe shed and let you out. " We looked at one another, in doubt what to reply until Jack, who, withall his impulsiveness had more of the milk of human kindness in his heartthan anyone else I ever knew, seized Edmund's hand and exclaimed: "All right, old boy, bygones are bygones; I'm with you. Now what do youfellows say?" "I'm with you, too, " I cried, yielding to the spur of Jack's enthusiasmand moved also by an intense curiosity. "I say go ahead. " Henry was more backward. But his curiosity, too, was aroused, and atlength he gave in his voice with the others. Jack swung his hat. "Three cheers, then, for the modern Archimedes! You won't take that amissnow Edmund. " We gave the cheers, and I could see that Edmund was immensely pleased. "And now, " Jack continued, "tell us all about it. Where are we going?" "Pardon me, Jack, " was Edmund's reply, "but I'd rather keep that for asurprise. You shall know everything in good time; or at least everythingthat you can understand, " he added, with a slightly malicious smile. Feeling a little more interest than the others, perhaps, in thescientific aspects of the business, I asked Edmund to tell us somethingmore about the nature of his wonderful invention. He responded with greatgood humor, but rather in the manner of a schoolmaster addressing pupilswho, he knows, cannot entirely follow him. "These knobs and handles on the walls, " he said, "control the drivingpower, which, as I have told you, comes from the atoms of matter which Ihave persuaded to unlock their hidden forces. I push or turn one way andwe go ahead, or we rise; I push or turn another way and we stop, or goback. So I concentrate the atomic force just as I choose. It makes us go, or it carries us back to earth, or it holds us motionless, according tothe way I apply it. The earth is what I kick against at present, and whatI hold fast by; but any other sufficiently massive body would serve thesame purpose. As to the machinery, you'd need a special education inorder to understand it. You'd have to study the whole subject from thebottom up, and go through all the experiments that I have tried. Iconfess that there are some things the fundamental reason of which Idon't understand myself. But I know how to apply and control the power, and if I had Professor Thomson and Professor Rutherford here, I'd makethem open their eyes. I wish I had been able to kidnap them. " "That's a confession that, after all, you've kidnapped us, " put in Jack, smiling. "If you insist upon stating it in that way--yes, " replied Edmund, smilingalso. "But you know that now you've consented. " "Perhaps you'll treat us to a trip to Paris, " Jack persisted. "Better than that, " was the reply. "Paris is only an ant-hill incomparison with what you are going to see. " And so, indeed, it turned out! Finally all got out their pipes, and we began to make ourselves at home, for truly, as far as luxurious furniture was concerned, we were ascomfortable as at the Olympus Club, and the motion of the strange craftwas so smooth and regular that it soothed us like an anodyne. It was onlythose unnamed, subtle senses which man possesses almost without beingaware of their existence that assured us that we were in motion at all. After we had smoked for an hour or so, talking and telling stories quitein the manner of the club, Edmund suddenly asked, with a peculiar smile: "Aren't you a little surprised that this small room is not choking fullof smoke? You know that the shutters are tightly closed. " "By Jo, " exclaimed Jack, "that's so! Why here we've been pouring outclouds like old Vesuvius for an hour with no windows open, and yet theair is as clear as a bell. " "The smoke, " said Edmund impressively, "has been turned into atomicenergy to speed us on our way. I'm glad you're all good smokers, for thatsaves me fuel. Look, " he continued, while we, amazed, stared at him, "those fellows there have been swallowing your smoke, and glad to getit. " He pointed at a row of what seemed to be grinning steel mouths, barredwith innumerable black teeth, and half concealed by a projecting ledge atthe bottom of the wall opposite the entrance, and as I looked I wasthrilled by the sight of faint curls of smoke disappearing within theirgaping jaws. "They are omnivorous beasts, " said Edmund. "They feed on the carbon fromyour breath, too. Rather remarkable, isn't it, that every time you expelthe air from your lungs you help this car to go?" None of us knew what to say; our astonishment was beyond speech. We beganto look askance at Edmund, with creeping sensations about the spine. Aformless, unacknowledged fear of him entered our souls. It never occurredto us to doubt the truth of what he had said. We knew him too well forthat; and, then, were we not here, flying mysteriously through the air ina heavy metallic car that had no apparent motive power? For my part, instead of demanding any further explanations, I fell into a hazy reverieon the marvel of it all; and Jack and Henry must have been seized thesame way, for not one of us spoke a word, or asked a question; whileEdmund, satisfied, perhaps, with the impression he had made, kept equallyquiet. Thus another hour passed, and all of us, I think, had fallen into a doze, when Edmund aroused us by saying: "I'll have to keep the first watch, and all the others, too, this night. " "So then we're not going to land to-night?" "No, not to-night, and you may as well turn in. You see that I haveprepared good, comfortable bunks, and I think you'll make out very well. " As Edmund spoke he lifted the tops from some of the benches along thewalls, and revealed excellent beds, ready for occupancy. "I believe that I have forgotten nothing that we shall really need, " headded. "Beds, arms, instruments, books, clothing, furs, and good thingsto eat. " Again we looked at one another in surprise, but nobody spoke, althoughthe same thought probably occurred to each--that this promised to be apretty long trip, judging from the preparations. Arms! What in the worldshould we need of arms? Was he going to the Rocky Mountains for a bearhunt? And clothing, and furs! But we were really sleepy, and none of us was very long in taking Edmundat his word and leaving him to watch alone. He considerately drew a shadeover the light, and then noiselessly opened a shutter and looked out. When I saw that, I was strongly tempted to rise and take a look myself, but instead I fell asleep. My dreams were disturbed by visions of thegrinning nondescripts at the foot of the wall, which transformedthemselves into winged dragons, and remorselessly pursued me through themeasureless abysses of space. When I woke, windows were open on both sides of the car, and brilliantsunshine was streaming in through one of them. Henry was still asleep, Jack was yawning in his bunk, and Edmund stood at one of the windowsstaring out. I made a quick toilet, and hastened to Edmund's side. "Good morning, " he said heartily, taking my hand. "Look out here, andtell me what you think of the prospect. " As I put my face close to the thick but very transparent glass coveringthe window, my heart jumped into my mouth! "In Heaven's name, where are we?" I cried out. Jack, hearing my agitated exclamation, jumped out of his bunk and ran tothe window also. He gasped as he gazed out, and truly it was enough totake away one's breath! We appeared to be at an infinite elevation, and the sky, as black as ink, was ablaze with stars, although the bright sunlight was streaming intothe opposite window behind us. I could see nothing of the earth. Evidently we were too high for that. "It must lie away down under our feet, " I murmured half aloud, "so thateven the horizon has sunk out of sight. Heavens, what a height!" I had that queer uncontrollable qualm that comes to every one who findshimself suddenly on the edge of a soundless deep. Presently I became aware that straight before us, but afar off, was amost singular appearance in the sky. At first glance I thought that itwas a cloud, round and mottled, But it was strangely changeless in form, and it had an unvaporous look. "Phew!" whistled Jack, suddenly catching sight of it and fixing his eyesin a stare, "what's _that?_" "_That's the earth!_" It was Edmund who spoke, looking at us with a quizzical smile. A shockran through my nerves, and for an instant my brain whirled. I saw that itwas the truth that he had uttered, for, as sure as I sit here, his wordshad hardly struck my ears when the great cloud rounded out and hardened, the deception vanished, and I recognized, as clearly as ever I saw themon a school globe, the outlines of Asia and the Pacific Ocean! In a second I had become too weak to stand, and I sank trembling upon abench. But Jack, whose eyes had not accommodated themselves as rapidly asmine to the gigantic perspective, remained at the window, exclaiming: "Fiddlesticks! What are you trying to give us? The earth is down below, Ireckon. " But in another minute he, too, saw it as it really was, and hisastonishment equaled mine. In fact he made so much noise about it that heawoke Henry, who, jumping out of bed, came running to see, and when wehad explained to him where we were, sank upon a seat with a despairinggroan and covered his face. Our astonishment and dismay were too great topermit us quickly to recover our self-command, but after a while Jackseized Edmund's arm, and demanded: "For God's sake, tell us what you've been doing. " "Nothing that ought to appear very extraordinary, " answered Edmund, withuncommon warmth. "If men had not been fools for so many ages they mighthave done this, and more than this long ago. It's enough to make oneashamed of his race! For countless centuries, instead of grasping thepower that nature had placed at the disposal of their intelligence, theyhave idled away their time gabbling about nothing. And even since, atlast, they have begun to do something, look at the time that they havewasted upon such petty forces as steam and 'electricity, ' burning wholemines of coal and whole lakes of oil, and childishly calling upon windsand tides and waterfalls to help them, when they had under their thumbsthe limitless energy of the atoms, and no more understood it than a babyunderstands what makes its whistle scream! It's inter-atomic force thathas brought us out here, and that is going to carry us a great dealfarther. " We simply listened in silence; for what could we say? The facts were moreeloquent than any words, and called for no commentary. Here we _were_, out in the middle of space; and _there_ was the earth, hanging onnothing, like a summer cloud. At least we knew where we were if we didn'tquite understand how we had got there. Seeing us speechless, Edmund resumed in a different tone: "We made a fairly good run during the night. You must be hungry by thistime, for you've slept late; suppose we have breakfast. " So saying, he opened a locker, took out a folding table, covered itwith a white cloth, turned on something resembling a little electricrange, and in a few minutes had ready as appetizing a breakfast of eggsand as good a cup of coffee as I ever tasted. It is one of thecompensations of human nature that it is able to adjust itself to themost unheard-of conditions provided only that the inner man is notneglected. The smell of breakfast would almost reconcile a man topurgatory--anyhow it reconciled us for the time being to our unparalleledsituation, and we ate and drank, and indulged in as cheerful goodcomradeship as that of a fishing party in the wilderness after a bigmorning's catch. When the breakfast was finished we began to chat and smoke, whichreminded me of those gulping mouths under the wainscot, and I leaned downto catch a glimpse of their rows of black fangs, thinking to ask Edmundfor further explanation about them; but the sight gave me a shiver, and Ifelt the hopelessness of trying to understand their function. Then we took a turn at looking out of the window to see the earth. Edmundfurnished us with binoculars which enabled us to recognize manygeographical features of our planet. The western shore of the Pacific wasnow in plain sight, and a few small spots, near the edge of the ocean, weknew to be Japan and the Philippines. The snowy Himalayas showed as acrinkling line, and a huge white smudge over the China Sea indicatedwhere a storm was raging and where good ships, no doubt, were battlingwith the tossing waves. After a time I noticed that Edmund was continually going from one windowto the other and looking out with an air of anxiety. He seemed to bewatching for something, and there was a look of mingled expectation andapprehension in his eyes. He had a peephole at the forward end of the carand another in the floor, and these he frequently visited. I now recalledthat even while we were at breakfast he had seemed uneasy andoccasionally left his seat to look out. At last I asked him: "What are you looking for, Edmund?" "Meteors. " "Meteors, out here!" "Of course. You're something of an astronomer; don't you know that theyhang about all the planets? They didn't give me any rest last night. Iwas on tender hooks all the time while you were sleeping. I was halfinclined to call one of you to help me. We passed some pretty uglyfellows while you slept, I can tell you! You know that this is anunexplored sea that we are navigating, and I don't want to run on therocks. " "But we seem to be a good way off from the earth now, " I remarked, "andthere ought not to be much danger. " "It's not as dangerous as it was, but there may be some of them yetaround here. I'll feel safer when we have put a few more million milesbehind us. " _A few more million miles!_ We all stood aghast when we heard the words. We had, indeed, imagined that the earth looked as if it might be amillion miles away, but, then, it was merely a passing impression, whichhad given us no sense of reality; but now when we heard Edmund say thatwe actually had traveled such a distance, the idea struck us withoverwhelming force. "In the name of all that's good, Edmund, " cried Jack, "at what rate arewe traveling, then?" "Just at present, " Edmund replied, glancing at an indicator, "we'remaking twenty miles a second. " _Twenty miles a second!_ Our excited nerves had another shock. "Why, " I exclaimed, "that's faster than the earth moves in its orbit!" "Yes, a trifle faster; but I'll probably have to work up to a littlebetter speed in order to get where I want to go before our goal begins torun away from us. " "Ah, there you are, " said Jack. "That's what I wanted to know. What isour goal? Where are we going?" Before Edmund could reply we all sprang to our feet in affright. A loudgrating noise had broken upon our ears. At the same instant the car gavea lurch, and a blaze of the most vicious lightning streamed through awindow. "Confound the things!" shouted Edmund, springing to the window, and thendarting to one of his knobs and beginning to twist it with all his force. In a second we were sprawling on the floor--all except Edmund, who kepthis hold on the knob. Our course had been changed with amazing quickness, and our startled eyes beheld a huge misshapen object darting past thewindow. "Here comes another!" cried Edmund, again seizing the knob. I had managed to get my face to the window, and I certainly thought thatwe were done for. Apparently only a few rods away, and rushing straightat the car, was a vast black mass, shaped something like a dumb-bell, with ends as big as houses, tumbling over and over, and threatening uswith annihilation. If it hit us, as it seemed sure that it would do, Iknew that we should never return to the earth, unless in the form ofpulverized ashes! CHAPTER III THE PLANETARY LIMITED But Edmund had seen the meteor sooner than I, and as quick as thought heswerved the car, and threw us all off our feet once more. But we shouldhave been thankful if he had broken our heads, since he had saved us frominstant destruction. The danger, however, was not yet passed. Scarcely had the immensedumb-bell (which Edmund declared must have been composed of solid iron, so great was its effect on his needles) disappeared, before there camefrom outside a blaze so fierce that it fairly slapped our lids shut. "A collision!" Edmund exclaimed. "The thing has struck another bigmeteor, and they are exchanging fiery compliments. " He threw himself flat on the floor, and stared out of the peephole. Thenhe jumped to his feet and gave us another tumble. "They're all about us, " he faltered, breathless with exertion; then, having drawn a deep inspiration, he continued: "We're like a boat in araging freshet, with rocks, tree trunks, and cakes of ice threatening iton all sides. But we'll get out of it. The car obeys its helm as if itappreciated the danger. Why, I got away from that last fellow by settingup atomic reaction against it, as a boatman pushes with his pole. " Even in the midst of our terror we could not but admire our leader. Hisresources seemed boundless, and our confidence in him grew with everyescape. While he kept guard at the peepholes we watched for meteors fromthe windows. We must have come almost within striking distance of athousand in the course of an hour, but Edmund decided not to diminishour speed, for he said that he could control the car quicker when it wasunder full headway. So on we rushed, dodging the things like a crow in a flock of pesteringjays, and we really enjoyed the excitement. It was more fascinating sportthan shooting rapids in a careening skiff, and at last we grew soconfident in the powers of our car and its commander that we were rathersorry when the last meteor passed, and we found ourselves once more inopen, unimpeded space. After that the time passed quietly. We ate our meals and went to bed androse as regularly as if we had been at home. In one respect, however, things were very different from what they were on the earth. We had nonight! The sun shone continually, although the sky was black and alwaysglittering with stars. None of us needed to be told by our conductor thatthis was due to the fact that we no longer had the shadow of the earth tomake night for us when the sun was behind it. The sun was now neverbehind the earth, or any other great opaque body, and when we wished tosleep we made an artificial night, for our special use, by closing allthe shutters. And there was no atmosphere about us to diffuse thesunlight, and so to hide the stars. We kept count of the days by the aidof a calendar clock; there seemed to be nothing that Edmund hadforgotten. And it was a delightful experience, the wonder of which grewupon us hour by hour. It was too marvelous, too incredible, to bebelieved, and yet--_there we were!_ Once the idea suddenly came to me that it was astonishing that we had notlong ago perished for lack of oxygen. I understood, of course, from whatEdmund had said, that the mysterious machines along the wall absorbed thecarbonic acid, but we must be constantly using up the oxygen. When I putmy difficulty before Edmund he laughed. "That's the easiest thing of all, " he said. "Look here. " He threw open a little grating. "In there, " he continued, "there's an apparatus which manufactures justenough oxygen to keep the air in good condition. It is supplied withmaterials to last a month, which will be much longer than this expeditionwill take. " "There you are again, " exclaimed Jack. "I was asking you about that whenwe ran into those pesky meteors. What _is_ this expedition? Where are wegoing, anyway?" "Well, " Edmund replied, "since we have become pretty good shipmates, Idon't see any objection to telling you. We are going to Venus. " "Going to Venus!" we all cried in a breath. "To be sure. Why not? We've got the proper sort of conveyance, haven'twe?" There was no denying that. Our conveyance had already brought us somemillions of miles out into space; why, indeed, should it not be able tocarry us to Venus, or any other planet? "How far is it to Venus?" asked Jack. "When we quit the earth, " Edmund answered, "Venus was rapidly approachinginferior conjunction. You know what that is, " addressing me, "it's whenthe planet comes between the sun and the earth. The distance from theearth is not always the same at such a conjunction, but I figured outthat on this occasion, after allowing for the circuit we should have tomake, there would be just twenty-seven million miles to travel. At anaverage speed of twenty miles a second we could do that distance infifteen days, fourteen and one half hours. But, of course, I had to losesome time going slow through the earth's atmosphere, for otherwise thecar would have taken fire, like a meteor, on account of the friction. Then, too, I shall have to slow up on entering the atmosphere of Venus, which appears to be very deep and dense; so, upon the whole, I don'tcount on landing upon Venus in less than sixteen days from the time ofour departure. We've already been out five days, and within eleven more Iexpect to introduce you to the inhabitants of another world. " The inhabitants of another world! Again Edmund had thrown out an ideawhich took us all aback. "Do you believe there are any inhabitants on Venus?" I asked at length. "Certainly. I know there are. " "For sure, " put in Jack, stretching out his legs and pulling at his pipe. "Who'd go twenty-seven million miles to pay a visit if he didn't knowthere was somebody at home?" "Then that's what you put the arms aboard for, " I remarked. "Yes, but I hope we shall not have to use them. " "Strikes me that this is a sort of pirate ship, " said Jack. "But whatkind of arms have you got, Edmund?" For answer Edmund threw open a locker and showed us a gleaming array ofautomatic guns and pistols and even some cutlasses. "Decidedly piratical!" exclaimed the incorrigible Jack. "You'd betterhoist the black flag. But, see here, Edmund, with all this inter-atomicenergy that you talk about, why in the world didn't you invent somethingnew--something that would just knock the Venustians silly, and blow theirold planet up if necessary? Automatic arms are pretty good at home, onthat unprogressive earth that you have spurned with your heels, butthey'll likely be rather small pumpkins on Venus. " "I didn't prepare anything else, " Edmund replied, "because, in the firstplace, I was too busy with more important things, and in the second placebecause I don't really anticipate that we shall have any use for arms. Ionly took these as a precaution. " "You mean to try moral suasion, I suppose, " drawled Jack. "Well, anyhow, I hope they'll be glad to see us, and since it is Venus that we are goingto visit, I don't look for much fighting. I'm glad you made it Venusinstead of Mars, Edmund, for, from all I've heard of Mars with itsfourteen-foot giants, I don't think I should like to try the piratebusiness in that direction. " We all laughed at Jack's fancies; but there was something tremendouslythrilling in the idea. Think of landing on another world! Think ofmeeting inhabitants there! Really, it made one's head spin. "Confound it, this is all a dream, " I said to myself. "I'm on my back inbed with a nightmare. I'll kick myself awake. " But do what I would I could make no dream of it. On the contrary, I feltthat I had never been quite so much awake in all my life before. After a while we all settled down to take the thing in earnest. And thenthe charm of it began to master our imaginations. We talked over theprospects in all their aspects. Edmund said little, and Henry nothing, but Jack and I were stirred to the bottom of our romantic souls. Henrywas different. He had no romance in his make-up. He always looked at themoney in a thing. To his mind, going to Venus was playing the fool, whenwe had at our command the means of owning the earth. "Edmund, " he said, after mumbling for a while under his breath, "this isthe most utter tomfoolery that ever I heard of. Here you've got aninvention that would revolutionize mechanics, and instead of utilizing ityou rush off into space on a hairbrained adventure. You might have beentwenty times a billionaire inside of a year if you had stayed at home anddeveloped the thing. Why, it's folly; pure, beastly folly! Going toVenus! What can you make on Venus?" Edmund only smiled. After a little he said: "Well, I'm sorry for you, Henry. But then you're cut out on the ordinarypattern. But cheer up. When we go back, perhaps I'll let you take out apatent, and you can make the billions. For my part, Venus is moreinteresting to me than all the money you could pile up between theAtlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. Why, " he continued, warming up, and straightening with a certain pride which he had, "am I not theColumbus of Space?--And you my lieutenants, " he added, with a smile. "Right you are, " cried Jack enthusiastically. "The Columbus of Space, that's the ticket! Where's old Archimedes now? Buried, by Jo! _He_couldn't go to Venus! And what need we care for your billionaires?" Edmund patted Jack on the back, and I rather sympathized with hisenthusiasm myself. The time ran on, and we watched anxiously the day-hand of the calendarclock. Soon it had marked a week; then ten days; then a fortnight. Weknew we must be getting very close to our goal, yet up to this timeneither Jack, nor Henry, nor I had caught a glimpse of Venus. Edmund, however, had seen it, but he told us that in order to do so he had beenobliged to alter our course because the planet was directly in the eye ofthe sun. In consequence of the change of course we were now approachingVenus from the east--flanking her, so to speak--and Edmund described herappearance as that of an enormous crescent. Finally he invited us to takea look for ourselves. I shall never forget that first view! It was only a glimpse, for Edmundwas nervous about meteors again, and would allow us only a moment at thepeephole because he wished to be continually on the watch himself. But, brief as was the view, that vast gleaming sickle hanging in the black skywas the most tremendous thing I ever looked upon! Soon afterwards Edmund changed the course again, and then we saw her nomore. We had not come upon the swarms of meteors that Edmund had expectedto find lurking about the planet, and he said that he now felt safe inrunning into her shadow, and making a landing on her night hemisphere. You will allow me to remind you that Schiaparelli had long before foundout that Venus doesn't turn on her axis once every twenty-four hours, like the earth, but keeps always the same face to the sun; theconsequence being that she has perpetual day on one side and perpetualnight on the other. I asked Edmund why he should not rather land on thedaylight side; but he replied that his plan was safer, and that we couldeasily go from one side to the other whenever we chose. It didn't turnout to be so easy after all, but that is another part of the story. "I hardly expect to find any inhabitants on the night side, " Edmundremarked, "for it must be fearfully cold there--too cold for life toexist, perhaps; but I have provided against that as far as we areconcerned. Still, one can never tell. There _may_ be inhabitants there, and at any rate I am going to find out. If there are none, we'll juststop long enough to take a look at things, and then the car will quicklytransport us to the daylight hemisphere, where life certainly exists. Bylanding on the uninhabited side, you see, we shall have a chance toreconnoiter a little, and can approach the inhabitants on the other sideso much the more safely. " "That sounds all right enough, " said Jack, "but if Venus is correctlynamed, I'm for getting where the inhabitants are as quick as possible. " When we swung round into the shadow of the planet we got her between thesun and ourselves, and as she completely hid the sun, we now hadperpetual night about the car. Out of the peephole she looked like astupendous black circle, blacker than the sky itself, but round the rimwas a beautiful ring of light. "That's her atmosphere, " Edmund explained, "lighted up by the sun frombehind. But, for the life of me, I cannot tell what those immense flamesmean. " He referred to a vast circle of many-colored spires that blazed andflickered like a burning rainbow at the inner edge of the ring of light. It was one of the most awful, and yet beautiful, sights that I had evergazed upon. "That's something altogether outside my calculations, " Edmund added. "Ican't account for it at all. " "Perhaps they are already celebrating our arrival with fireworks, "suggested Jack, always ready to take the humorous view of everything. "That's not fire, " Edmund responded earnestly. "But what it is I confessI can't imagine. We'll find out, however, for I haven't come all thisdistance to be scared off. " And here I must try to explain a very curious thing which had puzzled oursenses, though not our understanding (because Edmund had promptlyexplained it), throughout the voyage, and that was--levitation. On ourfirst day out from the earth, we began to notice the remarkable ease withwhich we handled things, and the strange tendency we had to bump into oneanother because we seemed to be all the time employing more strength thanwas necessary and almost to be able to walk on air. Jack declared that hefelt as if his head had become a toy balloon. "It's the lack of weight, " said Edmund. "Every time we double ourdistance from the earth we lose another three quarters of our weight. IfI had thought to bring along a spring dynamometer, I could have shownyou, Jack, that when we were 4, 000 miles above the earth's surface the200 good pounds with which you depress the scales at home had diminishedto 50, and that when we had passed about 150, 000 miles into space youweighed no more than a couple of ounces. From that point on, it has beenthe attraction of the sun to which we have owed whatever weight we had, and the floor of the car has been toward the sun, because, at thatdistance from the earth, the latter ceases to exercise the master force, and the pull of the sun becomes greater than the earth's. But as weapproach Venus the latter begins to restore our weight, and when wearrive on her surface we shall weigh about four fifths as much as when westarted from the earth. " "But I don't look as if I had lost any avoirdupois, " said Jack, glancingat his round limbs. "And when you give us a fling I seem to strike prettyhard, though in other respects I confess I do feel a good deal like anangel. " "Ah, " said Edmund, laughing, "that's the _inertia of mass_. Your mass isthe same, although your weight has almost disappeared. Weight dependsupon the distance from the attracting body, but mass is independent ofeverything. " "Do you mean to say that angels are massive?" "They may be as massive as they like provided they keep well away fromgreat centers of gravitation. " "But Venus is such a center--then there can't be any angels there. " "I hope to find something better than angels, " was Edmund's smilingreply. Now, as we drew near to Venus, the truth of Edmund's statements becameapparent. We felt that our weight was returning, and our muscularactivity sinking back to the normal again. We imagined that every minutewe could feel our feet pressing more heavily upon the floor. Our approach was so rapid that the immense black circle grew visiblyminute by minute. Soon it was so large that we could no longer see itsboundaries through the peephole in the floor. "We're now within a thousand miles, " said Edmund, "and must be close tothe upper limits of the atmosphere. I'll have to slow down, or else we'llbe burnt up by the heat of friction. " He proceeded to slow down a little more rapidly than was comfortable. Itwas jerk after jerk, as he dropped off the power, and put on the brakes, but at last we got down to the speed of a fast express train. Soon wewere so close that the surface of the planet became dimly visible, simplyfrom the starlight. We were now settling down very cautiously, andpresently we began to notice curious shafts of light which appeared toissue from the ground, as if the surface beneath us had been sprinkledwith iron founderies. "Aha!" cried Edmund, "I believe there _are_ inhabitants on this sideafter all. Those lights don't come from volcanoes. I'm going to make forthe nearest one, and we'll soon know what they are. " Accordingly we steered for one of the gleaming shafts. It was a thrillingmoment, I can tell you--that when we first saw another world than oursunder our feet! As we approached the light it threw a pale illuminationon the ground around. Everything appeared to be perfectly flat and level. It was like dropping down at night upon a vast prairie. But the featuresof the landscape were indistinguishable in the gloom. Edmund boldlycontinued to approach until we were within a hundred feet of the shaft oflight, which we could now perceive issued directly from the ground. Suddenly, with the slightest perceptible bump, we touched the soil, andthe car came to rest. We had landed on Venus! "It's unquestionably frightfully cold outside, " said Edmund, "and we'llnow put on these things. " He dragged out of one of his many lockers four suits of thick furgarments, and as many pairs of fur gloves, together with caps and shieldsfor the face, leaving only narrow openings for the eyes. When we had gotthem on we looked like so many Esquimaux. Finally Edmund handed each ofus a pair of small automatic pistols, telling us to put them where theywould be handy in our side pockets. "Boarders all!" cried the irrepressible Jack. "Pirates, do your duty!" Our preparations being made, we opened the door. The air that rushed inalmost hardened us into icicles! "It won't hurt you, " said Edmund in a whisper. "It can't be down toabsolute zero on account of the dense atmosphere. You'll get used to itin a few minutes. Come on. " His whispering gave us a sense of imminent danger, but nevertheless wefollowed as he led the way straight toward the shaft of light. On nearingit we saw that it came out of an irregularly round hole in the ground. When we got yet nearer we were astonished to see rough steps which leddown into the pit. The next instant we were frozen in our tracks! For amoment my heart stopped beating. Standing on the steps, just below the level of the ground, and intentlywatching us, with eyes as big and luminous as moons, was a creatureshaped like a man, but more savage than a gorilla! CHAPTER IV THE CAVERNS OF VENUS For two or three minutes the creature continued to stare at us, motionless; and we stared at him. It was so dramatic that it makes mynerves tingle now when I think of it. His eyes alone were enough toharrow up your soul. Huge beyond belief, round and luminous as fullmoons, they were filled with the phosphorescent greenish-yellow glarethat sometimes appears in the expanded pupils of a cat or a wild beast. The great hairy head was black, but the stocky body was as white as apolar bear. The arms were apelike and very long and muscular, and theentire aspect of the creature betokened immense strength and activity. Edmund was the first to recover from the stupor of surprise, andinstantly he did a thing so apparently absurd but so marvelous in itscalculated effect that no brain but his could have conceived it. Itshakes me at once with laughter and recollected terror when I recall it. "WELL, HELLO YOU!" he called out in a voice of such stentorian power thatwe jumped as at a thunderclap. The effect on the strange brute waselectric. A film shot across the big eyes, he leaped into the air, uttering a squeak that was ridiculous, coming from an animal of such sizeand strength, and instantly disappeared, tumbling down the steps. But we were as much frightened as the ugly monster himself. We stared atEdmund, speechless in our amazement. Never could I have believed itpossible for such a voice to issue from the human throat. It was not thevoice of our friend, nor the voice of a man at all, but an indescribableclangor; and the words I have quoted had been scarcely distinguishable, so shattered were they by the crash of sound that whirled them into ourastonished ears. Edmund, seeing us gaping in speechless wonder, laughedwith such an appearance of hearty enjoyment as I had never known him toexhibit--and his merriment produced another thunderous explosion thatshook the air. Then the truth burst upon me, and I exclaimed: "It's the atmosphere!" I had not spoken very loudly, but the words seemed to reverberate in mymouth, as if to testify to the correctness of my explanation. "Yes, " said Edmund, taking pains to moderate his voice, "you've hit it, it's the atmosphere. I had calculated on an effect of the kind, but thereality exceeds all that I had anticipated. Spectroscopic analysis aswell as telescopic appearances demonstrated long ago that the atmosphereof Venus was extraordinarily extensive and dense, from which fact Iinferred that we should encounter some wonderful acoustic phenomena here, and this was in my mind when, on stepping out of the car, I addressed youin a whisper. The reaction even of the whisper on my organs of speechtold me that I was right, and showed me what to expect if the full powerof the voice were used. When we caught sight of the creature at the topof the pit I had no desire to shoot him, and I saw that he was toopowerful to be captured alive. In a second I had decided what to do. Itran through my mind that, in a world where the density, and probablysomething also in the peculiar constitution of the air, had the effect ofvastly magnifying sound, the phonetic and acoustic organs of theinhabitants would be modified, and that the sounds uttered by them wouldbe much fainter than those that we are accustomed to hear from livingcreatures on the earth. That being so, I argued that a very great andheavy sound coming from a strange animal would produce in the creaturebefore us a paralyzing terror. You have seen that it did so. I expectthat this will give us an immense advantage to begin with. We havealready inspired so great a fear that I believe that we can now safelyfollow the creature into its habitation, and encounter without danger anyof its congeners that may be there. Nevertheless, I shall not ask you torun any risks, and I will alone descend into the pit. " "If you do, may I be hanged for sheep stealing!" You will guess at once that it was Jack who had spoken thus. "No, sir, " he continued, "if you go, we all go. Isn't that so, boys?" In answer to an appeal thus put, neither Henry nor myself could have hungback even if we had had the disposition to do so. But I believe that weall instinctively felt that our place was by Edmund's side, wherever hemight choose to go. "Go ahead, then, Edmund, " Jack added, seeing that we consented, "we'rewith you. " And then his enthusiasm taking fire, as usual, he exclaimed:"Hurrah! Columbus forever! We've conquered a hemisphere with a blankshot. " And so we began our descent into the mysterious pit. The strange lightthat came from it, and formed a shaft in the dense atmosphere above likesunlight in a haymow, was accompanied by a considerable degree of heat, which was very grateful to our lungs after the frigid plunge that we hadtaken from the comfortable car. As we descended, the temperaturecontinually rose until we were glad to throw off our Arctic togs, andleave them on a shelf of rock to await our return. But, fortunately, wedid not forget to take the pistols from the pockets before leaving thegarments. I am very uncertain what would have been the future course ofour history if we had neglected this precaution. It was an awful hole for depth. The steps, rudely cut, wound round andround the sides like those in a cathedral tower, but the pit was notperfectly circular. It looked like a natural formation, such as thevertical entrance to a limestone cavern, or the throat of a sleepingvolcano. But whatever the nature of the pit might be, I was convincedthat the steps were of artificial origin. They were reasonably regular inheight and broad enough for two, or even three, persons to go abreast. When we had descended perhaps as much as two hundred feet, we suddenlyfound ourselves in a broad cavern with a surprisingly level floor. Thetemperature had been steadily rising all the time, and here it was aswarm as in an ordinary living room. The cavern appeared to be abouttwenty yards broad and eight or ten feet in height, with a flat roof ofrock. It was dimly illuminated by a small heap of what seemed to be hardcoal, burning in a very roughly constructed brazier, which, as far aslooks went, one would have said was constructed of iron. You will imagine our surprise upon seeing these things. The appearance ofthe gorilla-like beast with the awful eyes had certainly not led us toanticipate the finding in his lair of any such evidences of humanintelligence, and we stood fast in our tracks for a minute or two, nobodyspeaking a word. Then Edmund said: "This is far better than I hoped. I had not thought about caverns, thoughI ought to have foreseen the probability of something of the kind. It ishard to drive out life as long as a world has solid foundations, and airfor breathing. I shall be greatly surprised now if these creatures do notturn out to be at least as intelligent as our African or Australiansavages. " "But, " said I, "the fellow that we saw surely cannot have moreintelligence than a beast. There must be some more highly developedcreatures living here. " "I'm not so sure of that, " Edmund responded. "Looks go for nothing insuch a case. He had arms and hands, and his brain may be well organized. " "If his brain is as big as his eyes, " Jack put in, "he ought to be ableto give odds to old Solomon and beat him easy. My, but I'd like to seetheir spectacles--if they ever wear any!" Jack's humor recalled us from our meditation, and we began to look aboutmore carefully. There was not a living creature in sight, but over in acorner I detected a broad hole, down which the steps continued todescend. "Here's the way, " said Edmund, discovering the steps at the same moment. "Down we go. " He again led the way, and we resumed the descent. As we stumbled alongdownward we began to talk of a strange but agreeable odor which we hadnoticed in the cavern. Edmund said that it was due, perhaps, to somepeculiar quality of the atmosphere. "I think, " he continued, "that it is heavily charged with oxygen. Youhave noticed that none of us feels the slightest fatigue, notwithstandingthe precipitancy of our long descent. " I reflected that this might also be the cause of our rising courage, forI was sure that not one of us felt the slightest fear in thus pushing ontoward dangers of whose nature we could form no idea. The steps, precisely like those above, wound round and round and led us down Ishould say as much as three hundred feet before we entered anothercavern, larger and loftier than the first. And there we found them! There was never another such sight! It made our blood run cold once more, rather with surprise than fear, though the latter quickly followed. Ranged along the farther side of the cavern, and visible in the light ofanother glowing heap in the center, were as many as thirty of those hugehairy creatures, standing shoulder to shoulder, their great eyes glaringlike bull's-eye lanterns. But the thing that filled us with terror wastheir motions. You have read, with thrilling nerves, how a huge cobra, reared on hiscoils, sways his terrible head from side to side before striking. Well, all those black heads before us were swaying in unison, but with asickening circular movement, which was regularly reversed in direction. Three times by the right and then three times by the left those headscircled, in rhythmic cadence, while the luminous eyes seemed to leavephosphorescent rings in the air, intersecting one another in consequenceof the rapidity of the motion. It was such a spectacle as I had never beheld in the wildest dream. Itwas baleful. It was the charm of the serpent fascinating his terrifiedprey. In an instant I felt my brain turning, and I staggered in spite ofmy utmost efforts. A kind of paralysis stiffened my limbs. Presently, all moving together, and uttering a hissing, whistling sound, they began slowly to approach us, keeping in line, each shaggy leg liftedat the same moment, like so many soldiers on parade, while the headscontinued to swing, and the glowing eyes to cut linked circles in theair. But for Edmund we should certainly have been lost. Standing a littleto the fore, he spoke to us over his shoulder, in a low voice: "Take out your pistols, but don't shoot unless they make a rush. Thenkill as many as you can. I'll knock over the leader in the center, and Ithink that will be enough. " We could as easily have stirred our arms if we had been marble statues, but he promptly raised his pistol, and the explosion followed on theinstant. The report was like an earthquake. It shocked us into our sensesand almost out of them again. The weight of the air and the confinementof the cavern magnified and concentrated the sound so that it was awfulbeyond belief. The fellow in the center was hurled back as if shot from acatapult, and the others fell at flat as he, and lay there groveling, their big eyes filming and swaying, but no longer in unison. The charm was broken, and as we saw our fearful enemies prostrate, ourcourage returned at a bound. "I thought as much, " said Edmund coolly. "But I'm sorry now that I aimedat that fellow; the sound alone would have sufficed. It was not necessaryto take life. However, we should probably have had to come to iteventually, and now we have them thoroughly cowed. Our safety consists inkeeping them terrified. " Thus speaking, Edmund boldly approached the groveling row, and pushedwith his foot the furry body of the one he had shot. The bullet had gonethrough his head. At Edmund's approach the creatures sank lower on therocky floor, and those nearest him turned up their moon eyes with anexpression of submission and supplication that was grotesque. He motionedus to join him and, imitating him, we began to pat and smooth theshrinking bodies until, understanding that we would not hurt them, theygradually acquired confidence. In the meantime the crowd in the cavern increased, others coming inthrough side passages, and exhibiting the utmost astonishment at thespectacle which greeted them. It was clear that those who had taken partin the opening scene imparted to the newcomers a knowledge of thesituation of affairs, and we could see that our prestige was thoroughlyestablished. It remained to utilize our advantage, and we looked toEdmund to show how it should be done. He was equal to the undertaking, but I shall not trouble you with the details of his diplomacy. Let itsuffice to say that by a combination of gentleness and firmness hequickly reduced almost the entire population of the caverns (for, as weafterwards discovered, there were a dozen or more of these undergrounddwellings connected by horizontal passages through the rocks) intosubjection to his will. I say "almost, " because, as you will see in alittle while, there were certain members of this extraordinary communitywho possessed a spirit of independence too strong to be so easilysubdued. As we became better acquainted with the cave dwellers we found that theywere by no means as savage as they looked. Their appearance was certainlygrotesque, and even unaccountable. Why, for instance, should their headshave been covered with coarse black disordered hair while their bodies, from the neck down, were almost beautiful with a natural raiment ofgolden white, as soft as silk and as brilliant as floss? I never couldexplain it, and Edmund was no less puzzled by this peculiarity. Theimmense size of their eyes did not seem astonishing after we began toreflect upon the consequences of the relative lack of light in theirworld. It was but a natural adjustment to their environment; with sucheyes they could see in the dark better than cats. Their feet were bareand covered on the soles with thick soft skin, while the insides of theirlong hands were almost as white and delicate as those of a human being. Their intelligence was sufficiently demonstrated by the construction ofthe hundreds of rocky steps leading from the caverns to the surface ofthe ground, and by their employment of fire, and manufacture of themetallic braziers which contained it. But this was not all. We found thatin some of the winding passages connecting the caverns they cultivatedfood. It consisted entirely of vegetables of various kinds, and allunlike any that I ever saw on the earth. Water dripped from the roofs ofthese particular passages, and the almost colorless vegetation thrivedthere with astonishing luxuriance. They had many simple ways of cookingtheir food, and it was evident that they possessed some form of salt, though we did not discover the deposit from which they must have drawnit. They collected water in cisterns hollowed in the rock. Although we still had abundance of food in the car, Edmund insisted ontrying theirs, and it proved to be very palatable. "This is fortunate, though hardly surprising, " said Edmund. "If we hadfound the food on Venus uneatable, we should indeed have been in a finefix. While we remain here we will eat as the natives eat, and save ourown supplies for future need. " The only brute animals that we saw in the caverns were some doglikecreatures, about as large as terriers, but very furry, which showed theutmost terror whenever we appeared. One of the first things that we discovered outside the main cavern wherewe had made our debut was the burial ground of the community. Thishappened when they came to dispose of the fellow that Edmund had shot. They formed a regular procession, which greatly impressed us, and wefollowed them as they bore the body through several winding ways into alarge cavern, at a considerable distance from any of the others. Herethey had dug a grave, and, to our astonishment, there appeared to besomething resembling a religious ceremony connected with the interment. And then, for the first time, we distinguished the females from theothers. But a still greater surprise awaited us. It was no less thanplain evidence of regular family relationship. As the body was lowered into the grave one of the females approached withevery sign of distress and sorrow. Jack declared that he saw tearsrunning down her hairy cheeks. She held two little ones by the hand, andthis spectacle produced an astonishing effect upon Edmund, revealing anentirely new side of his character. I have told you that he expressedregret for having killed the fellow in the cavern, but now, at the sightbefore him, he seemed filled with remorse. "I wish I had never come here!" he said bitterly. "The first thing I havedone is to kill an inoffensive and intelligent creature. " "Intelligent, perhaps, " said Jack, "but inoffensive--not by a long shot!Where'd we have been if you hadn't killed him? They'd have made mincemeatof us. " "No, " replied Edmund, sorrowfully shaking his head, "it wasn't necessary. The noise would have sufficed; and I ought to have known it. " "Why didn't you shout, then? That scared the first one, " put in Henry, whose soul, it must be said, was not overflowing with sympathy. "I did what I thought was best at the moment, " Edmund replied, with abroken voice. "They were so many and so threatening that I imagined myvoice alone might not be effective. But I'm sorry, sorry!" "Henry, you're a fool!" cried the sympathetic Jack. "Come now, Edmund, "he continued, kindly laying a hand on his shoulder, "what you did was theonly thing under heaven that could have been done. You're wrong to blameyourself. By Jo, if you hadn't done it I would!" But Edmund only shook his head, as if refusing to be comforted. It wasthe first sign of weakness that we had seen in our incomparable leader, but I am sure it only increased our respect for him--at least that's trueof Jack and me. After that I noticed that Edmund was far more gentle thanbefore in his relations with the people of the caverns. Not long after this painful incident we made a discovery of extremeinterest. It was nothing less than a big smithy! Edmund had foretold thatwe should find something of the kind. "Those braziers and cooking pots, " he had said, "and the tools that musthave been needed to build the steps and to dig their graves, prove thatthey know how to work in iron. If it is not done in these caverns, thenthey get it from some other similar community. But I think it likely thatwe shall come upon some signs of the work hereabouts. " "Maybe they import it from Pittsburg, " was the remark that fun-lovingJack could not refrain from making. "Well, you'll see, " said Edmund. And, as I have already told you, he was right. We did find the smithy, with several stout fellows pounding out rude tools with equally rudehammers of iron. Of course we could ask them no questions, for theirlanguage was only a kind of squeak, and they seemed to converse mostly bymeans of expressive signs. But Edmund was not long in drawing hisconclusions. "This, " he said, after closely examining the metal, "is native iron. There's nothing remarkable in the fact that it should be here. All thesolid planets, as you know" (turning to me), "are very largely composedof iron, and Venus, being nearer the center of the system, may haveproportionally more of it than the earth. And these fellows have foundout its usefulness, and how to work it. There's nothing surprising inthat, either, for some of our savages have done as much on the earth. NowI'll make another prediction--we are going to find coal here. That isinevitable, since we know that they burn it in the caverns. I shouldn'twonder if it were close at hand, from the look of these rocks. " He approached the wall of the cavern containing the smithy, andimmediately exclaimed: "Look here! Here it is!" And sure enough, on joining him we saw a seam of as fine anthracite asPennsylvania ever produced. "A Carboniferous Age on Venus!" Edmund continued. "What do you think ofthat? But, of course, it was sure to be so; all the planets that are oldenough have been through practically the same stages. Think of it! Theplants that gave origin to this coal must have flourished here when Venusstill rotated on her axis rapidly enough to have day and night succeedingone another on all sides of her, for now no vegetation except theinsignificant plants that grow in these caverns can live on thishemisphere. And think, too, of the countless ages that must have beenconsumed in slowing down her rotation by the friction of her oceantides. " "Has Venus got any oceans?" asked Jack. "I haven't a doubt of it; but we shall find none on this side, althoughthey must once have been here. " We all mused for a time on the subject that Edmund had started, whensuddenly his face lighted up with the greatest animation, and heexclaimed, but as if speaking to himself rather than to us: "Capital! It couldn't have happened better!" "What's capital?" drawled Jack. "Why, this smithy, and these Tubal Cains here. Unconsciously they havesolved for me a problem that has given me considerable trouble. Almost assoon as we got acquainted with the people of the caverns the ideaoccurred to me that I should like to take some of them with us when wevisit the other hemisphere. There are many interesting observations thattheir presence on that side of Venus would give rise to, and, besides, they might be of great use to us. Of course I meant to bring them back totheir home. But the puzzling question has been how to transport them. Thecar has a full load already. " "They've got good legs; make 'em walk, " said Jack. Edmund burst into a laugh. "Why, Jack, " he asked, "how far do you think it is to the other side ofVenus?" "I don't know, " said Jack, "but I suppose it's not very far round her. How far is it?" "Five thousand miles, at least, to the edge of the sunlit hemisphere. " Jack whistled. "By Jo! I wouldn't have believed it. " "Well, it's a fact, " said Edmund, "and of course I don't propose to takeseveral months to make the journey. Now the sight of these fellows atwork has shown me just how it can be done in short order. It's this way:I'll have iron sleds made, put the natives that I propose to take alongupon them, hitch them by wire cables, which luckily I've got, to the car, and away we'll spin. The power of the car is practically unlimited, and, as you have observed, the ground is as flat and smooth as a prairie, and, moreover, is coated with an icy covering. " Jack glowed with enthusiasm over this project, and was about to indulgein one of his characteristic outbreaks, when there came an interruptionwhich ended in a drama that put silver streaks among my coal-black locks!Some one came in where we were and called off the workmen, who went outwith the others in great haste. Of course we followed at their heels. Onreaching the principal cavern, we found a singular scene. Two natives, whom we had never seen before, were evidently in charge of some kind of aceremony. They wore tall, conical hats made of polished metal and coveredwith hieroglyphics, and carried staves of iron in their hands. "Priests, " Edmund immediately whispered. "Now we'll see somethinginteresting. " The "priests" marshaled all the others, numbering several hundreds, intoa long column, and then began a slow, solemn march up the steps. Theleaders produced a squeaking music by blowing into the ends of theirstaves. Women were mingled with men, and even the children were there, too. We followed at the tail of the procession, our curiosity at thehighest pitch. At the rate we went it must have taken nearly an hour tomount the steps, but at last all emerged in the open air, where the coldstruck to our marrow. The natives didn't seem to mind it, but we ran backand donned our furs. Then we re-ascended and stepped out into the Arcticnight, finding the crowd assembled not far from the entrance to thecavern. The frosty sky was ablaze with stars, and directly overhead shonea planet of amazing size and splendor with a little one beside it. "The earth and the moon!" exclaimed Edmund. I cannot describe the flood of feeling that went over me at that sight!But in a moment Edmund interrupted my meditation by saying, in a quick, nervous way: "_Look at that!_" The natives had formed themselves in a circle with the two priestsstanding alone in the center. All but these two had dropped on theirknees, while the leaders, elevating their long arms toward the zenith, gazed upward, uttering a kind of chant in their queer, squeaking voices. "Don't you see what they're about?" demanded Edmund, twitching meirritably by the sleeve. "They're worshipping the earth!" It was the truth--the amazing truth! They were worshipping our planet inthe sky! And, indeed, she looked worth worshipping. Never have I seen sosplendid a star. She was twenty times as bright as the most brilliantplanet that any terrestrial astronomer ever beheld; and the moon, glowingbeside her like an attendant, redoubled the beauty of the sight. "It's just the moment of the conjunction, " said Edmund. "This is theirreligion; the earth is their goddess, and when she is nearest andbrightest they perform this ceremony in her honor. I wouldn't have missedthis for a world. " Suddenly the two priests began to pirouette, and as they whirled more andmore rapidly, their huge glowing eyes made phosphorescent circles in thegloom like those that had so alarmed and fascinated us in the cavern. They gyrated round the ring of worshipers with accelerated speed, and allthose poor creatures fell under the fascination and drooped with heads tothe ground. Now for the first time I caught sight of an oblong objectrising a couple of feet above the ground in the center of the circle. Iwas wondering what it might be when the spinning priests, who hadgradually drawn closer to the ring of worshipers, dived into the circle, and, catching each a native in his arms, ran with their captives to thecurious object that I have just described. "It's a sacrificial stone!" exclaimed Edmund. "They're going to kill themas an offering to the earth and her child the moon. " I was frozen with horror at the sight, but just as the second priestreached the altar, where the first victim had already been pinned withthe sharp point of the sacrificial staff, his captive, suddenlyrecovering his senses, and terrified by the awful fate confronting him, uttered a cry, wrenched himself loose, and, running like the wind, leapedover the circle and disappeared in the darkness. The fugitive passedclose by us, and Jack shouted as he darted past: "Good boy!" The enraged priest was after him like lightning, and as he came near ushis awful eyes seemed to emit actual flames. But the runner had vanished. Without an instant's hesitation the priest shot out his great arm andcaught _me_ by the throat! In another second I felt myself carried in abound, as if a tiger had seized me, over the drooping heads of theworshipers and toward the horrible altar. CHAPTER V OFF FOR THE SUN LANDS Dreadful as the moment was, I did not lose my senses. On the contrary, mymind was fearfully clear and active. There was not a horror that Imissed. The strength and agility of my captor were astounding. I could nomore have struggled with him than with a lion. Only one thing flashedupon me to do; I yelled with all the strength of my lungs. But they hadbecome accustomed to our voices now, and the maddened creature was sointent upon his fell purpose that a cannon-shot would not have divertedhim from it. He got me to the altar, where the preceding victim already lay with hisheart torn out, and, pressing me against it with all his bestial force, raised the pointed staff to transfix me. With dying eyes I saw the earthgleaming, magnificent, directly over my head, and my heart bounded withunreasoning hope at the sight. It was my mother planet, powerful to save! All this passed in a second, while the dreadful spear was poised for itswork. Even in that fraction of time I noticed the bunching muscles of themurderer's hairy arm, and then I pressed my eyes shut. _Bang!_ Something touched me, and I felt the warm blood gushing. Then I knew nomore. * * * * * In the midst of a dream of boyhood scenes a murmur of familiar voicesawoke me. I opened my eyes, but as I could not make out where I was, closed them again. Then I heard Edmund saying: "He's coming out all right. " Thereupon, I reopened my eyes, but still the scene puzzled me. I sawEdmund's face, and behind those of Jack and Henry, wearing anxious looks. But this was not my room! It seemed to be a cave, with faint firelightreflections on the walls. "Where am I?" I asked. "Back in the cavern, and coming along all right, " said Edmund. Back in the cavern! What did he mean? Then, suddenly, memory returned. "So he didn't sacrifice me!" I cried. "Not on your life!" Jack's hearty voice responded. "Edmund was too quickfor that. " "But only by a fraction of a second!" said Edmund, smiling. "What happened, then?" I asked, my recollections coming back stronger andstronger. "A mighty good shot happened, " said Jack. "The best I ever saw. " I looked inquiringly at Edmund. He saw that I could bear it, and hebegan: "When that fellow snatched you up and leaped inside the circle I had myfurs wrapped so closely around me, not anticipating any danger, that forquite ten seconds I was unable to get out my pistol. I tore the garmentopen just in time, for already he was pressing you against the accursedaltar with his spear poised. I didn't waste any time finding my aim, buteven as it was the iron point had touched you when the bullet crashedthrough his brain. The shock swerved the weapon a little and you wereonly wounded in the shoulder. You got a scratch which might have beenserious but for your Arctic coat. The fellow fell dead beside you, andunder the circumstances I felt compelled to shoot the other one also, forhe was insane with the delirium of their bloody rite, and I knew that ourlives would never be safe if he remained ready for mischief. "I'm sorry to have had to begin killing right and left again, but I guessthat's the lot of all invaders, wherever they may go. It's the secondlesson for these savages, and I believe it will prove final. When theirpriests were dead and the others had no fight in them, even if they hadintended any harm to us. Nobody knows to what those chaps might have ledthem, and my conscience is easy this time. " "How long have I been here?" I asked. "Two days by the calendar clock?" replied Jack. "Yes, two days, " Edmund assented. "I never saw a man so knocked out by ashock, for the wound wasn't much; I fixed that up in five minutes. But Idon't blame you. In your place I should have been scared to the bottom ofmy soul also. But look at yourself. " He held a pocket mirror before me, and then I saw that my hair wasstreaked with gray! "But we haven't been idle in the meanwhile, " Edmund went on. "I've gottwo sleds nearly completed, and to-morrow at midnight--earth time--I meanto set out for the sunny lands of Venus. " "How in the world could you have worked so fast?" I asked in surprise. "Because I had certain tools in the car which vastly facilitated theoperation; but I must admit that the savage blacksmiths worked well, too, and showed surprising intelligence in comprehending my directions. Perhaps that was because I had learned their language. " "Learned their language!" I exclaimed, staring in amazement. "Well, perhaps that's putting it a little too strong; but I have learnedenough to establish a pretty good understanding with them. There'snothing like working together to make intelligent creatures comprehendone another. " "But what kind of a language is it, then?" I asked. "A language to make your hair stand on end, " put in Jack. "The languagethat ghosts speak, I reckon! Not that I understand the least little bitof it, but I judge from what Edmund says. " With increasing bewilderment I looked at our leader. He smiled, and thenlooked thoughtful for a moment before again speaking. At last he said: "It's a subject that I may be better able to discuss after I have learnedmore about it. All I can say at present is that it appears to be a kindof telepathy. You know that their voices seem hardly more cultivated, orcapable of regular articulation, than those of mere brutes; and, besides, they have a certain horror of sound. These smiths wear coverings overtheir ears to minify the noise of their hammering. Yet they are able toconverse, partly by physical signs, but more, I am sure, by some meanswhich they possess of transferring thought without the mediation of anysenses familiar to us. Sometimes I imagine that their extraordinary eyesplay a large part in the phenomenon. But, however that may be, theycertainly are able to read some of my thoughts, when we are in closerelations and working together. One of them is especially gifted in thisway, and what do you think? I have discovered his name!" "Now, Edmund--" I began incredulously. "Yes, " he persisted, "it's a fact. You are to remember that they dointerchange some of their ideas by means of sounds, and they have certainwords, among which I am disposed to think are their individualdesignations. One of these words particularly attracted my attentionbecause I observed that it was always addressed to the person I have justspoken of, and I finally concluded that it was his name. As near as I canimitate it, it sounds something like 'Juba. ' So that's what I call him, and he's going to be the chief of the party that I propose to take withus. His services may be invaluable to us. " A great deal more was said on this curious subject, but since we did notarrive at a complete understanding of it until after we had reached theother side of the planet, I shall postpone any further explanation to thechapters which will be devoted to our astonishing adventures on that partof Venus. My wound, as Edmund had said, was very slight, and the effects of theshock having passed off during the period of my unconsciousness, I wassoon busy with the others in making the final preparations for ourdeparture. The sleds were, of course, very rude affairs, but they werealso very strong. Among the innumerable stores which Edmund's foresighthad led him to put into the car were a number of exceedingly strong butlight metallic cables. With these the two sleds were hitched, one behindthe other, and a line about a hundred feet long connected them with thecar. The latter could thus rise to a considerable height without liftingthe sleds from the ground. The sleds were provisioned from the stores of the natives, and we alsotook some of their food in the car, not only to eke out our own butbecause we had come to like it. Edmund had already chosen the fellows who were to accompany us, and amongthem were two of the smiths besides Juba. In all they were eight. How hesucceeded in persuading them I do not know, but not the slightestobjection was apparent on their part, or on the part of their compatriotsin the caverns. We were all ready at the predetermined time, and thescene at our departure was a strange one. At least five hundred natives had assembled in a furry crowd around theentrance to the caverns to see us off. When we started, the fellows onthe sleds, being unused to the motion, clung together like so manyawkward white bears taking a ride in the circus. Their friends stoodabout the ill-omened sacrificial altar, waving their long arms, whiletheir huge eyes goggled in the starlight. Jack, in a burst of enthusiasm, fired four or five parting shots from hispistol. As the reports crashed through the heavy air, you should haveseen the crowd vanish down the hole! The sight made me wince, for theymust have gone down like a cataract, all heaped together. But they weretough, and I trust no heads were broken. The effect on the eight fellowson the sleds came near being disastrous. I expected to see them leap offand run, which no doubt they would have done if Edmund had not taken, forother reasons, the precaution to tie them fast. But they strained attheir bonds, and squealed in terror. "Give me your pistol!" commanded Edmund, in a voice of thunder, and withblazing eyes. Jack was almost twice his size, but he handed over the pistol with theair of a rebuked schoolboy. "When you learn how to use it, I'll give it back to you, " said Edmundsternly, and that closed the incident. Then we began gradually to put on speed, and as the ground was icy smoothand entirely unobstructed, we were soon traveling at the rate of sixtymiles an hour. The plan of the sleds worked like magic, and after theirfirst terror had passed away it was plain to be seen that the nativesenjoyed the new sensation immensely. And, indeed, it was a glorious spin! But in a little while a danger developed which we had not thought of. Itarose from the existence of other caverns whose mouths opened upon theplain. To have precipitated the sleds into these would have been fatal. Luckily, shafts of light issued from all of them, and warned by these, wemanaged to avoid the danger. But it was not entirely passed before we hadtraveled at least a hundred miles. It was like an immense city of prairiedogs without mounds. The cavern that we had discovered on our arrival wasevidently situated on the outskirts of the group, and now we were passingthrough the center of it. Occasionally we saw a huge white form disappearin one of the holes as we swiftly approached, but that was all we beheldof the inhabitants. But the spectacle of the shafts of light rising allaround us was amazing. When we were in the midst of it Edmund hesitatedfor a moment, muttering that we had been too hasty and should haveremained longer to study the peculiarities of this wonderful world ofnight; but finally he decided to keep on, and soon afterwards we saw thelast of the caverns. Then, as there appeared to be no obstructions of anykind, the speed was worked up to a hundred miles an hour. Going straightahead as we did, there was no danger of the sleds being overturned. Having, as Edmund had calculated, about five thousand miles to go beforereaching the edge of the sun-illuminated hemisphere, it was evident that, at our present rate of progress, we should arrive there in a little overtwo days by the calendar clock. We guided our course by the stars, andfor me one of the most interesting things was to see the earth sinkingtoward the horizon, accompanied by the stars, as if the heavens wererevolving in a direction opposed to our line of travel. We smoked andtalked and ate and slept in the old way, while the marvelous mouths inthe wall resumed their strange deglutition. Thus the time passed, withoutennui, until, unexpectedly, a new phenomenon captured our attention. Ahead, through the peephole, Edmund had descried again the flaming spireswhich had so astonished us on our approach to Venus. But now theirappearance was splendid and imposing beyond words. Above them rose an arcof pearly light which grew higher every hour. And with the arc of lightrose the flames also. At the same time they seemed to spread to the rightand the left, until they were simultaneously visible from both of theside windows of the car. Their colors were wonderful--red, green, purple, orange--all the hues of the prism. "There is the old mystery again, " exclaimed Edmund, "and I can no moreexplain it now than I could when we first saw it on nearing the planet. The arc of light above is natural enough; it's simply the dawn. The sunnever rises on this side of Venus, but it will rise for us because we areapproaching it, and the light is the first indication that we are gettingnear enough to the border between day and night for some of the sun'srays to be bent over the horizon by refraction. But those flames! See howsteady they are as a whole, and yet how they change color like a slowlyturning prism. " "Don't, for God's sake, run us into a conflagration, " said Jack. "I'mready to believe anything of this topsy-turvy old planet, and I shouldn'tbe surprised if the other side is all fire as this one is all frost. Ican stand these hairy beasts, but I'll be hanged if I want to beintroduced among salamanders. " "That's not real fire, " said Edmund. "When we get a little nearer we cansee what it is. In the meantime I'll try to think it out. " The result of Edmund's meditations, when he announced it to us, an hourlater, awoke as much amazement in our minds as anything that had yetoccurred. He had been sitting silent in his corner, occasionally taking aglimpse through the peephole, or one of the windows, when suddenly heslapped his thigh, and springing to his feet, exclaimed: "They're mountains of crystal!" "Mountains of crystal!" we echoed. "Nothing else in the world, and I am ashamed not to have foreseen thething. It's plain enough when you come to think about it. Remember thatVenus being a world lying half in the daylight and half in the night, isnecessarily as hot on one side as it is cold on the other. All of theclouds and floating vapors are on the day side, where the sunbeams act. The heated air charged with moisture rises over the sunward hemisphere, and flows off above, on all sides, toward the night side, while from thelatter cold air flows in beneath to take its place. Along the junction ofthe two hemispheres the clouds and moisture are condensed by the intensecold, and fall in ceaseless snowstorms. This snow descending for ages haspiled up in mountainous masses whose height may be increased in someplaces by real mountain ranges buried beneath. The atmospheric moisturecannot pass very far into the night hemisphere without being condensed, and so it is all arrested within a ring, or band, extending completelyaround the planet, and marking the division between perpetual day andperpetual night. The appearance of gigantic flames is produced by thesunbeams striking these mountains of ice and snow from behind andbreaking into prismatic fire. " We listened to this explanation, so simple and yet so wonderful, withmingled feelings of astonishment and admiration. And then we turned againto regard the phenomenon, which now, with our nearer approach, had becomesplendid and awful beyond description. In a few minutes Edmund addressed us again. "I foresee now, " he said, "considerable trouble for us. There has been a warning of that, too, if Ihad but heeded it. I've noticed for some time that a wind, gettinggradually stronger, has been following us, sometimes dying out and thencoming on again stronger than before. It is likely that this wind gets tobe a perfect hurricane in the neighborhood of those strange mountains. Itis the back suction, caused, as I have already told you, by the rising ofthe heated air on the sunny side of the planet. It may play the deucewith us when we get into the midst of it. I shall have to be cautious. " He immediately reduced the speed to not more than ten miles an hour, andat once we noticed the wind of which he had spoken. It came now in greatgusts from behind, rapidly increasing in frequency and fury. Soon it wasstrong enough to drive the sleds without any pull upon the cable, andsometimes they were forced directly under the car, and even ahead of it, the natives clinging to one another in the utmost terror. Edmund managedto govern the motions of the car for a time, holding it back against thestorm, but as he confessed, this was a contingency he had made noprovision for, and eventually we became almost as helpless as a ship in atyphoon. "Of course I could cut loose from the sleds and run right out of this, "said Edmund, "but that would never do. I've taken them into my serviceand I'm bound to look out for them. If there was room for them in the carit would be all right. Let's see. Yes! I've got it. I'll fetch up thesleds and fasten them underneath the car, like baskets to a balloon, andso carry the whole thing. There's plenty of power; it's only room that'swanting. " No sooner said than done with Edmund. By this time we were getting intothe ice, huge hills of which surrounded us. Edmund dropped the car in thelee of one of these strange hummocks. Here the force of the wind wasbroken, and the sky directly over us was free from clouds, but a shortdistance ahead we could see them whirling and tumbling in mighty massesof tumultuous vapor. Lashing the two sleds together we attached themabout ten feet below the bottom of the car. Then the natives, who hadbeen unbound, and had stood looking on in utter bewilderment, weresecurely fastened on the sleds. We entered the car and the power wasturned on. "We'll rise straight up, " said Edmund, "and as soon as we are out of thewind current we will sail over the mountains and come down on the otherside as nice as you please. Strange that I didn't think of carrying thesleds in this way to begin with. " It was a beautiful program that Edmund had outlined, and we had completeconfidence in our leader's ability to carry it through; but it didn'twork as expected. Even his genius had met its match this time. No sooner had we risen out of the protection of the hill of ice than thehurricane caught us. It was a blast of such power and ferocity that in aninstant it had the car spinning like a teetotum, and then it shot usahead, banging the sleds against the car as if they had been tassels. Itis a wonder of wonders that the poor creatures on them were not flungoff, but fortunately we had taken particular pains with their lashings, and as for knocks, they could stand them like so many bears. In the course of twenty minutes we must have traveled twice as manymiles, perfectly helpless to arrest our mad rush because, Edmund said, the atomic reaction partly refused to work, and he could not rise as hehad expected to do. We were pitched hither and thither, and weresprawling on the floor more than half the time. The noise was awful, andnobody tried to speak after Edmund had shouted his single communicationabout the power, which would have filled us with dismay if we had hadleisure to think. The shutters were open, and suddenly I saw through one of the windows asight which I thought must surely be my last. The car had been sweepingthrough a dense cloud of boiling vapors, and these had without warningsplit open before my eyes--and there, almost in contact with the car, wasa glittering precipice of solid ice, gleaming with wicked blue flashes, and we were rushing upon it as if shot out of a cannon! The next instant came a terrific shock, which I thought must have crushedthe car like an eggshell, and down we fell--down and down! CHAPTER VI LOST IN THE CRYSTAL MOUNTAINS If we had seen the danger earlier, and had not been so tumbled about bythe pitching of the car, it is possible that Edmund would have preventedthe collision, in spite of the partial disablement of his apparatus. Theblow against the precipice of ice was not as severe as it had seemed tome, and the car was not smashed; but the fall was terrible! There wasonly one thing which saved us from destruction. At the base of the mightycliff against which the wind had hurled the car an immense deposit ofsnow had collected, and into this we plunged. We were all thrown togetherin a heap, the car and the sleds being entangled with the wire ropes. Fortunately the stout glass windows were not broken, and after we hadstruggled to our feet Edmund managed to open the door. Before emerging hebade us put on our furs, but even with them we found the cold outside allbut unendurable. Yet the natives paid no attention to it. Not one of themwas seriously hurt, although they were firmly attached to the sleds, andunable to undo their fastenings. We set them loose, and then beganseriously to examine the situation. Above us towered the vertical precipice disappearing in the whirlingclouds, and the wind drove square against it with the roar of Niagara. The air was filled with snow and ice dust, and at intervals we could notsee objects three feet away from our noses. Our poor furry companionshuddled together, and being of no use to themselves or us, suffered morefrom the noise, and from the terror inspired by the snow than from anyinjuries that they had received. "We've got to get out of this mighty quick, " shouted Edward. "Hustle nowand repair ship. " We got to work at once, Juba aiding us a little under Edmund's direction, and soon we had the sleds out of the tangle and properly attached. Thenwe replaced the natives on their seats, and entered the car. Edmund beganto fumble with his apparatus. After some ten minutes' work he said, in anevasive way, that the damage was not serious enough to prevent theworking of the car, but I thought I caught an expression of extremeanxiety in his face. Still, his manner indicated that he consideredhimself master of the situation. "You notice, " he said, "that this wind is variable, and there lies ourchance. When the blasts weaken, the air springs back from the face of thecliff and then whirls round to the right. I've no doubt that there is apassage in that direction through which the wind finds its way behindthis icy mountain, and if we can get there, too, we shall undoubtedlyfind at least partial shelter. I'm going to take advantage of the firstlull. " It worked out just as he had predicted. As the wind surged back after aparticularly vicious rush against the great blue cliff, we cut loose andwent sailing up into it, rushing past the glittering wall so swiftly thatit made our heads swim. In two or three minutes we rounded a corner, andthen found ourselves in a kind of atmospheric eddy, where the car simplyspun round and round, with the sleds whirling below it. "Now for it!" shouted Edmund. "Hang on!" He touched a knob, and instantly we rose with immense speed. We must haveshot up a couple of thousand feet, when the wind, coming over the top ofthe icy barrier we had just flanked, caught us again, and swept us off ona horizontal course. Then, suddenly, the air cleared all round about, asif a magic broom had swept away the clouds. The spectacle that wasrevealed--but why try to describe it! No language could do it. Yet I musttell you what we saw. We were in the heart of the _Crystal Mountains!_ They towered round us onevery side, and stretched away in interminable ranges of shiningpinnacles. Such shapes! Such colors! Such flashing and blazing ofgigantic rainbows and prisms! There were mountains that looked to myamazed eyes as lofty as Mont Blanc, and as massive, every solid mile ofwhich was composed of crystalline ice, refracting and reflecting thesunbeams with iridescent splendor. For now we could begin to see a partof the orb of the sun itself, prodigious in size, and poised on the edgeof the gem-glittering horizon, where the jeweled summits split its beamsinto a thousand haloes. There was one mighty peak, still ahead of us, but toward which we wererushed sidewise by the wind, which surpassed all the others inmarvelousness. It towered majestically above our level--a superb, stupendous, coruscating _Alp of Light_! On every side it darted blindingrays of a hundred splendid hues, as if a worldful of emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds had been heaped together in one gigantic pile andtransfused with a sunburst. Even Edmund was for a moment speechless withastonishment at this wildly magnificent sight. But presently he spoke, very calmly, though what he said changed our amazement to terror. "The trouble with the apparatus is very serious. I am unable to make thecar rise higher. It will no longer react against an obstacle. We areentirely at the mercy of the wind. If it carries us against thatglittering devil no power under heaven can save us. " If my hair had not whitened before it surely would have whitened now! [Illustration: "We were in the heart of the _Crystal Mountains_!"] When we were swept against the first icy precipice the danger had comeunexpectedly, out of a concealing cloud, and anticipation was swallowedup in the event. But now we had to bear the fearful strain ofexpectation, with the paralyzing knowledge that nothing that we could docould aid us in the least. I thought that even Edmund's face paled withfear. On we rushed, still borne sidewise, so that the spectacle was burned intoour eyes, as, with the fascination of impending death, we gazed helplessout of the window. Now we were upon it! Instinctively I threw myselfbackward; but the blow did not come. Instead there was a wild rush of icecrystals sweeping the thick glass. "Look!" shouted Edmund. "We are safe! See how the particles of ice areswept from the face of the peak by the tempest. They leap toward us, andare then whirled round the mountain. The compacted air forms a buffer. Wemay yet touch the precipice, but the wind, having free vent on bothsides, will carry us one way or the other without a serious shock. " He had hardly finished speaking, in a voice that had risen to a shriekwith the effort to make himself heard, when the crisis came. We did justtouch a projecting ridge, but the wind, howling past it, carried us in aninstant round the obstruction. "Scared ourselves for nothing, " said Edmund, in a quieter voice, as theroar died down. "We were really as safe all the time as a boat in a deeprapid. The velocity of the current sheered us off. " Our hearts beat more steadily again, but there was a greater danger, ofwhich he had warned us, but which we had not had time to contemplate. I, at least, began to think of it with dismay when the scintillant peak wasleft behind, and I saw Edmund again working away at his machinery. Presently it was manifest that we were rapidly sinking. "What's the matter?" I cried. "We seem to be going down. " "So we are, " he replied quietly, "and I fear that we shall not go upagain very soon. The power is failing all the time. It will be prettyhard to have to stop indefinitely in this frightful place, but I amafraid that that is our destiny. " Lost and helpless in these mountains of ice and this world of gloom andstorm! The thought was too terrible to be entertained. Yet it was forcedinto our minds even more by our leader's manner than by his words. Notone of us failed to comprehend its meaning, and it was characteristicthat, while talkative Jack now said not a word, uncommunicative Henryburst into a brief fury of denunciation. I was startled by the energy ofhis words: "Edmund Stonewall, " he cried, agitating his arms, "you have brought me tomy death with your infernal invention! May you be--" But he never finished the sentence. His face turned as white as a sheet, and he sank in a heap upon the floor. "Poor fellow, " said Edmund, pityingly. "Would to God that he instead ofChurch had remained at home. But I'll get him and all of us out of thistrouble; only give me a little time. " In a few minutes Jack and I had restored Henry to his senses, but he wasas weak as a child, and remained lying on one of the cushioned benches. In the meantime the car descended until at last it rested upon the snowin a deep valley, where we were protected from the wind. In this profounddepression a kind of twilight prevailed, for the sun, which we hadglimpsed when we were on the level of the peaks, was at least thirtydegrees below our present horizon. Henry having recovered his nerve, weall got out of the car, unloosed the natives, and began to look about us. The scene was more disheartening than ever. All about towered the crystalmountains, their bases leaden-hued and formless in the ghostly gloom, while their middle parts showed deep gleams of ultramarine, brighteningto purple higher up, and a few aspiring peaks behind us sparkledbrilliantly where the sunlight touched them. It was such a spectacle asthe imagination could not have conceived, and I have often tried in vainto reproduce it satisfactorily in my own mind. Was there ever such a situation as ours? Cast away in a place wild andwonderful beyond description, millions of miles from all human aid andsympathy, millions of miles from the world that had given us birth! Icould, in bitterness of spirit, have laughed at the suggestion that therewas any hope for us. And yet, at that very moment, not only was therehope, but there was even the certainty of deliverance. But, unknown tous, it lay in the brain of the incomparable man who had brought ushither. I have told you that it was twilight in the valley where we lay. Butwhen, as frequently happened, tempests of snow burst over the mountains, and choked the air about us, the twilight turned to deepest night, and wehad to illumine the lamps in the car. By great good fortune, Edmund said, enough power remained to furnish us with light and heat, and now I lookedupon those mysterious black-tusked muzzles in the car with a newsentiment, praying that they would not turn to mouths of death. The natives, being used to darkness, needed no artificial illumination. In fact, we had observed that whenever the sunlight had streamed overthem their great eyes were almost blinded, and they suffered cruelly froman affliction so completely outside of all their experience. Edmund nowbegan to speak to us of this, saying that he ought to have foreseen andprovided against it. "I shall try to find some means of affording protection to their eyeswhen we arrive in the sunlit hemisphere, " he said. "It must be my firstduty. " We heard these words with a thrill of hope. "Then you think that we shall escape?" I asked. "Of course we shall escape, " he replied cheerfully. "I give you my wordfor it, but do not ask me for any particulars yet. The exact means I havenot yet found, but find them I will. We may have to stay where we are fora considerable time, and our companions must be made comfortable. Evenunder their furry skins they'll suffer from this kind of weather. " Following his directions we took a lot of extra furs from the car, andconstructed a kind of tent, under which the natives could huddle on thesleds. There being but little wind in the valley, this was not sodifficult an undertaking as it may seem. And the poor fellows were veryglad of the shelter, for some of them were shivering, since, not knowingwhat to do, they were less active than ourselves. No sooner were theyhoused than they fell to eating ravenously. Both the car and the sledshad been abundantly provisioned, so that there was no immediate fear of afamine among us. Inside the car we soon had things organized very much as they were duringour voyage from the earth. We read, talked, and smoked to our hearts'content, almost forgetting the icy mountains that tottered over us, andthe howling tempest which, with hardly an intermission, tore through thecloud-choked air a thousand or two thousand feet above our heads. Wetalked of our adventure with the meteors, which seemed an event of longago, and then we talked of home--home twenty-six million miles away! Infact, it may have been thirty millions by this time, for Edmund had toldus that Venus, having passed conjunction while we were at the caverns, was now receding from the earth. But while we thus strove to kill the time and banish thoughts of ouractual situation, Edmund sat apart much of the time absorbed in thought, and we respected his privacy, knowing that our only chance of escape layin him. One day (I speak always of "days, " because we religiously countedthe passage of time by our clock) he issued alone from the car and wasabsent a long time, so that we began to be concerned, and, going outsidelooked everywhere for signs of him. At length, to our infinite relief, heappeared stumbling and crawling along the foot of an icy mountain. As hedrew nearer we saw that he was smiling, and as soon as he was within easyearshot he called out: "It's all right. I've found the solution. " Then upon joining us he continued: "We'll get out all right, but we shall have to be patient for a whilelonger. " "What is it?" we asked eagerly. "What have you found out?" "Peter, " he said, turning to me, "you know what libration means; well, it's libration that is going to save us. As Venus travels round the sunshe turns just once on her axis in making a complete circuit, theconsequence being, as you already know, that she has one side on whichthe sun never rises while the other half is in perpetual daylight. But, since her orbit is not a perfect circle, she travels a little faster thanthe average during about half of her year and a little slower during theother half, but, at the same time, her steady rotation on her axis nevervaries. This produces the phenomenon that is called libration, the resultof which is that, along the border between the day and night hemispheresthere is a narrow strip where the sun rises and sets once in each of heryears, which are about two hundred and twenty-five of our days in length. Within this strip the sun shines continuously for about sixteen weeks, gradually rising during eight weeks and sinking during the followingeight. Then, during the next sixteen weeks, the strip lies in unceasingnight. "Now the kind fates have willed that we should fall just within thislucky strip. By the utmost good fortune after we passed the blazing peakwhich so nearly wrecked us, we were carried on by the wind so far, beforethe ascensional power of the car gave out, that we descended on thesunward side of the crest of the range. The sun is now just beginning torise on the part of the strip where we are, and it will get higher forseveral weeks to come. The result will be that a great melting of ice andsnow will occur here, and in this deep valley a river will form, flowingoff toward the sunward hemisphere, exactly where we want to go. I shalltake advantage of the torrent that will flow here and float down with ituntil we are out of the labyrinth. It's our only chance, for we couldn'tpossibly clamber over the hummocky ice and drag the car with us. " "Why not leave the car here?" asked Henry. Edmund looked at him and smiled. "Do you want to stay on Venus all your life?" he asked. "I thought youdidn't like it well enough for that. How could we ever get back to theearth without the car? I can repair the mechanism as soon as I can findcertain substances, which I am sure exist on this planet as well as onthe earth. But it is no use looking for them in this icy wilderness. No, we can never abandon the car. We must take it with us, and the onlypossible way to transport it is with the aid of the coming river. " "But how will you manage to float?" I asked. "The car, being air-tight, will float like a buoy. " "But the natives, will you abandon them?" "God forbid. I'll contrive a way for them. " The effects of libration on Venus were not new to me, but they were toJack and Henry, who had never studied such things, and they expressedmuch doubt about Edmund's plan, but I had confidence in it from thebeginning, and it turned out just as he had predicted, as things alwaysdid. Every twenty-four hours we saw, with thankful hearts, that the sunhad perceptibly risen, and as it rose, the sky gradually cleared, whilethe sunbeams, falling uninterruptedly, grew hotter and hotter. Soon we nolonger had any use for furs, or for artificial heat. At the same time themelting of the ice began. It formed, in fact, a new danger, by bringingdown avalanches into the valley, yet we watched the process joyously, since it fell so entirely within Edmund's program. While we were awaitingthe flood, Edmund had prepared screens to protect the eyes of thenatives. We were just at the bottom of the trough of the valley, near its head. Itwound away before us, turning out of sight beyond an icy bulwark. Streamswere soon pouring down from the heights all around, and uniting, theyformed a little torrent, which flowed swiftly over the smooth, hard ice. Edmund now completed his plan. "I'll take Juba in the car with us, " he said. "There's just room for him. As for the others, we'll fasten the sleds on each side of the car, whichwill be buoyant enough to float them, and they'll have to take theirchances outside. " We made the final arrangements while the little torrent was swelling to ariver. Before it became too broad and deep we managed to place the caracross the center of its course, the sleds forming outriders. Then alltook their places and waited. Higher and higher rose the waters, whileavalanches, continually increasing in size and number, thundered down theheights, and vast cataracts leaped and poured from the precipices. It wasa mercy that we were so situated that the avalanches could not reach thecar. But we received some pretty hard knocks before the stream becamedeep and steady enough to float us off. Shall I ever forget that moment? There came a sudden wave, forced onward by a great slide of ice, whichlifted car and sleds on its crest, and away we went! The car proved morebuoyant than I had believed possible. The sleds, fastened on each side, tended to give it extra stability, and it did not sink deeper than themiddle of the windows. The latter, though formed of very thick glass, might have been broken by the tossing ice if they had not been dividedinto small panes separated by bars of steel, which projected a few inchesoutside. "I made that arrangement for meteors, " said Edmund, "but I never thoughtthat they would have to be defended against ice. " The increasing force of the current sent us spinning down the valley withaccelerated speed. We swept round the nearest ice peak on the left, andas we passed under its projecting buttresses a fearful roar aboveinformed us that an avalanche of unexampled magnitude had been unchained. We could not withdraw our eyes from the window on that side of the car, and almost instantly immense masses of ice appeared crashing into thewater, throwing it over us in floods and half drowning the unfortunatewretches on the sleds. Still, they clung on, fastened together, and wecould do nothing to aid them. The uproar grew worse, and the ice cameplunging down faster and faster, accompanied with a deluge of water fromthe heights above. The car pitched and rolled until we were all flung offour feet. Poor Juba was a picture of abject terror. He hung moaning to abench, his huge eyes aglow with fright. Suddenly the car seemed to be lifted clear from the water, and then itfell back again and was submerged, so that we were buried in night. Slowly we rose to the surface, and Edmund, springing to a window, shouted: "They're gone! Heaven have pity on them--and on me!" In spite of their fastenings the water had swept every living soul fromthe sled on the left. We rushed to the other window. It was the samestory there--the sled on that side was also empty. I saw a furry bodytossed in the torrent alongside, but in a second it disappeared beneaththe raging water. At the same time Edmund exclaimed: "God forgive us for bringing those poor creatures here only to meet theirdeath!" CHAPTER VII THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN But the situation was too critical to permit us to think of theunfortunates whose death we had undoubtedly caused. There seemed lessthan an even chance of our getting through with our own lives. As wetossed and whirled onward the water rose yet higher, and blocks of iceassailed us on all sides. First the sled on the left was torn loose; thenthe other followed it, leaving the car to fight its battle alone. But theloss of the sleds was a good thing now that their occupants were gone, for it eased off the weight and the car rose much higher in the water. Moreover, it gave way more readily when pressed by the ice. To be sure, it rolled more than before, but still, being well ballasted, it did notturn turtle, and most of the time we were able to keep on our feet byholding fast to the inside window bars. Once we took a terrible plunge, over a vertical fall of not less thantwenty or thirty feet. But the water below the fall was very deep, aprofound hole having been quickly scooped out in the unfathomable icebeneath, so that we did not strike bottom, as I had feared, but camebobbing to the top again like a cork. Below this fall there was a verylong series of rapids, extending, it seemed, for miles upon miles, and weshot down them with the speed of an express train, lurching from side toside, and colliding with hundreds of ice floes. It must not be supposedthat we went through this experience without suffering any injuries. Onthe contrary, our hands were all bleeding, our faces cut, Henry had oneeye closed by a blow, and our clothing, for we were not wearing ourArctic outfit, was badly used up. Yet none of our injuries was reallyserious, although we looked as if we had just come out of the toughestkind of a street brawl. But there is no use in prolonging the story of this awful ride. It seemedto us to last for days upon days, though, in fact, the worst of it wasover within twelve hours after we were lifted from our moorings in thevalley. The tumbling stream gradually broadened out as it left the regionof the high mountains, and then we found ourselves in a district coveredwith icy hills of no great elevation. But we could still see, by glances, as the stream curved this way and that, the glittering peaks behind. Itwas an appalling thing to watch many of the nearer hills as they suddenlysank, collapsed, and disappeared, like pinnacles of loaf sugar meltingand falling to pieces in a basin of water. Edmund said that all of the ice-hills and mounds through which we werepassing no doubt owed their existence to pressure from behind, in thebelt where the sun never rose, and where the ice was piled up in actualmountains. These foothills were, in fact, enormous glaciers thrust outtoward the sunward hemisphere. After a long time the now broad river widened yet more until it became agreat lake, or bay. The surface of the planet around appeared nearlylevel, and, as far as we could see, was mostly covered by the water. Herevast fields of ice floated, and the water was not muddy, as it would havebeen if it had passed over soil, but of crystal purity and wonderfullyblue in places where shafts of sunlight penetrated to great depths--fornow the sun was high above the horizon ahead, and shining in an almostclear sky. Presently we began to notice the wind again. It came fitfully, first from one quarter and then another, rapidly increasing until, attimes, it rose into a tempest. It lifted the water in huge combing waves, but the car rode them like a lifeboat. "There is peril for us in this, " said Edmund, at last. "We are beingcarried by the current into a region where the contending winds may playhavoc. It is the place where the hot air from the sunward side begins tobe chilled and to descend, meeting the colder air from the night side. Itmust form a veritable belt of storms, which may be as difficult to pass, circumstanced as we are, as the crystal mountains themselves. " "Suppose it should turn out that there is nothing but an ocean on thisside of the planet, " I suggested. "That I believe to be impossible, " Edmund responded. "This hemispheremust be, as a whole, broken up into highlands and depressions. Thegeological formation of the other side, as far as I could make it outfrom the appearance of the rocks in the caverns, indicates that Venus hasundergone the same experience of upheavals and fracturings of the crustthat the earth has been through. If that is true of one side it must betrue of the other also, for during a large part of these geologicalchanges she undoubtedly rotated rapidly on her axis like the earth. " "But we traveled five thousand miles on the other side withoutencountering anything but a frozen prairie, " I objected. "True enough, and yet I would lay a wager that all of that side of theplanet is not equally level. Remember the vast plains of Russia andSiberia. " "Well, " put in Jack, whose spirits were beginning to revive, "if there'sa shore somewheres, let's find it. I want to see the other kind ofinhabitants. These that we've met don't accord with my ideas of Venus. " "We shall find them, " responded Edmund, "and I think I can promise youthat they will not disappoint your expectations. " Yet there seemed to be nothing in our present situation to warrant theconfidence expressed by our leader's words and manner. The current thathad carried us out of the crystal mountains gradually disappeared in avast waste of waters, and we were driven hither and thither by thetempestuous wind. Its force increased hour by hour, and at last the sky, which at brief intervals had been clear and exquisitely blue, becamechoked with black clouds, sweeping down upon the face of the waters, andoften whirled into great _trombes_ by the tornadic blasts. Several timesthe car was deluged by waterspouts, and once it was actually lifted upinto the air by the mighty suction. An ordinary vessel would not havelived five minutes in that hell of winds and waters. But the car, if ithad been built for this kind of navigation, could not have behavedbetter. I do not know how long all this lasted. It grew worse and worse. Sometimes a flood of rain fell, and then would come a storm of lightning, and a downpour of gigantic hailstones that rattled upon the steel shellof the car like a rain of bullets from a battery of machine guns. Halfthe time one window or the other was submerged by the waves, and when wegot an opportunity to glance out, we saw nothing but torn streamers ofcloud whipping the face of the waters. But when the change came at last, it was as sudden as the dropping of a curtain. The clouds broke away, asoft light filled the atmosphere, the waves ceased to break and rolled inlong undulations, and a marvelous dome appeared overhead. That dome, at its first dramatic appearance, was one of the mostastonishing things that we saw in the whole course of our adventures. Itwas not a cerulean vault like that which covers the earth in halcyonweather, but an indescribably soft, pinkish-gray concavity that seemednearer than the sky and yet farther than the clouds. Here and there, farbeneath it, but still at a vast elevation, floated delicate gauzycurtains, tinted like sheets of mother-of-pearl. The sun was no longervisible, but the air was filled with a delicious luminousness, whichbathed the eyes as if it had been an ethereal liquid. Below each window was a steel ledge, broad enough to stand on, withconvenient hold-fasts for the hands. These had evidently been preparedfor some such contingency, and Edmund, throwing open the windows, invitedus to go outside. We gladly accepted the invitation, and all, exceptJuba, issued into the open air. The temperature was that of an earlyspring day, and the air was splendidly fresh and stimulating. The rollingof the car had now nearly ceased, and we had no difficulty in maintainingour positions. For a long while we admired, and talked of, the great domeoverhead, which drew our attention, for the time, from the sea that hadso strangely brought us hither. "There, " said Edmund, pointing to the dome, "is the inside of the shellof cloud whose exterior, gleaming in the sunshine, baffles ourastronomers in their efforts to see the surface of Venus. I believe thatwe shall find the whole of this hemisphere covered by it. It is a shieldfor the inhabitants against the fervors of an unsetting sun. Its presenceprevents their real world from being seen from outside. " "Well, " said Jack, laughing, "I never heard before that Venus was fond ofa veil. " "Not only can they not be seen, " continued Edmund, "but they cannotthemselves see beyond the screen that covers them. " "Worse and worse!" exclaimed Jack. "The astronomers have certainly made amistake in naming this bashful planet Venus. " We continued for a long time to gaze at the great dome, admiring themagnificent play of iridescent colors over its vast surface, untilsuddenly Jack, who had gone to the other side of the car, called out tous: "Come here and tell me what this is. " We hurried to his side and were astonished to see a number of glitteringobjects which appeared to be floating in the atmosphere. They werearranged in an almost straight row, at an elevation of perhaps twothousand feet, and were apparently about three miles away. After a fewmoments of silence, Edmund said, in his quiet way: "Those are air ships. " "Air ships!" "Yes, surely. An exploring expedition, I shouldn't wonder. I anticipatedsomething of that kind. You know already how dense the atmosphere ofVenus is. It follows that balloons, and all sorts of machines for aerialnavigation, can float much more easily here than over the earth. I wasprepared to find the inhabitants of Venus skilled in such things, and I'mnot surprised by what we see. " "Venus with wings!" cried Jack. "Now, Edmund, that sounds more like it. Iguess we've struck the right planet after all. " "But, " I said, "you spoke of an exploring expedition. How in the world doyou make that out?" "It seems perfectly natural to me, " replied Edmund. "Remember the twosides of the planet, so wonderfully different from one another. If we onthe earth are so curious about the poles of our planet, simply becausethey are unlike other parts of the world, don't you think that theinhabitants of Venus should be at least equally curious concerning awhole hemisphere of their world, which differs _in toto_ from the half onwhich they live?" "That does seem reasonable, " I assented. "Of course it's reasonable, and I imagine that we, ourselves, are aboutto be submitted to investigation. " "By Jo!" exclaimed Jack, running his hands through his hair, andsmoothing his torn and rumpled garments, "then we must make ready forinspection. But I'm afraid we won't do much honor to old New York. Can Iget a shave aboard your craft, Edmund?" "Oh, yes, " Edmund replied, laughing. "I didn't forget soap and razors. " But Jack would have had no time to make his toilet even if he hadseriously thought of it. The strange objects in the air approached withgreat rapidity, and we soon saw that Edmund had correctly divined theirnature. They were certainly air ships, and I was greatly interested inthe observation that they seemed to be constructed somewhat upon theprinciples upon which our inventors were then working on the earth. Butthey were neither aeroplanes nor balloons. They bore a resemblance tomechanical birds, and seemed to be sustained and forced ahead by awing-like action. This, of course, did not escape Edmund's notice. "Look, " he said admiringly, "how easily and gracefully they fly. Perhapswith our relatively light atmosphere we shall never be able to do thaton the earth; but no matter, " he added, with a flush, "for with theinter-atomic energy at our command, we shall have no need to imitate thebirds. " "Perhaps they have made that discovery here, too, " I suggested. "No, it is evident that they have not, else they would not be employingmechanical means of flight. Once let me get the car fixed up and we'llgive them a surprise. " "Yes, and if you had used common sense, " growled Henry, nursing hisinjured eye, "you would not be here fooling away your time and ours, andrisking our lives every minute, but you'd be making millions andrevolutionizing life at home. " "And where'd the Columbus of Space be then?" demanded Jack. "Hanged ifEdmund is not right! I'd rather be here meeting these doves of Venus thangrinding out dollars on the earth. And can't we go back and scoop in themoney when we get ready?" The discussion went no further, for, by this time, two of the air shipswere close at hand. And now we perceived, for the first time, the beingsthat they carried. Our surprise at the sight was even greater than thatwhich we had experienced upon meeting the inhabitants of the darkhemisphere. The latter were extraordinary--but we were looking forextraordinary things. Indeed they were, except for certain peculiarities, much more like some members of our own race than we should have deemedpossible. How great, then, was our astonishment upon seeing the two airships apparently in charge of _real human beings_! At least that was our first impression. In the midst of the strangeapparatus, which evidently fulfilled the function of wings for the airships, we saw decks, spacious enough to contain twenty persons, andsurmounted with deck houses, and along the railings inclosing the deckswere gathered the crews, among whom we believed that we could recognizetheir officers. The two vessels had approached within a hundred yardsbefore being suddenly arrested. Then they settled gracefully down uponthe water, where they floated like swans. At first, as I have said, the resemblance of their crews to inhabitantsof the earth seemed complete. One would have said that we had met ayachting party, composed of tall, well-formed, light-complexioned, yellow-haired Englishmen, the pick of their race. At a distance theirdress alone appeared strange, though it, too, might easily be imitated onthe earth. As well as I can describe it, it bore some resemblance, ingeneral effect, to the draperies of a Greek statue, and it was speciallyremarkable for the harmonious blending of soft hues in its texture. During a space of at least five minutes we gazed at them, and they at us. Probably their surprise was greater than ours, because we had been on thelookout for strange sights, being, of our own volition, in a foreignworld, while they could have had no expectation of such an encounter, even if, as Edmund had conjectured, they were engaged in exploration. Wecould read their astonishment in their gesticulations. Slowly the car andthe nearer of the two air ships drifted closer together. When we werewithin less than fifty yards of one another, Jack suddenly called out: "A woman! By Jo, it's Venus herself!" His excited voice rang like a rattle of musketry in the heavy air, andthe beings on the air ship started back in alarm. But although, like theinhabitants of the dark hemisphere, they were, evidently, unaccustomedto hearing sounds of such forcefulness issue from a living creature nolarger than themselves, they were not faint-hearted, and the air ship didnot, as we half expected it would, take flight. The momentary commotionwas quickly quieted, and our visitors continued their inspection. All ofus immediately recognized the personage whom Jack had singled out as thesubject of his startling exclamation. It was clear that he had rightlyguessed her sex, and she appeared worthy of his admiring designation. Even at the distance of a hundred feet we could see that she was verybeautiful. Her complexion was light, with a flame upon the cheeks; herhair a chestnut blond; and her large, round eyes were sapphire blue, andseemed to radiate a light of their own. This last statement (about theeyes) must not be taken for a conventional exaggeration, such as writersof fiction employ in describing heroines who never existed. On thecontrary, it expresses a literal fact; and moreover, as the reader willsee further on, this peculiarity of the eyes was shared, in varyingdegrees, by all these people of Venus, and was connected with the mostamazing of all our discoveries on that planet. I should say here that, while the eyes of the inhabitants of the day side were larger than ours, they did not, in respect of size, resemble the extraordinary organs ofvision possessed by the compatriots of Juba. In a few minutes we became aware that the beautiful creature we had beenadmiring was not the only representative of the female sex on the airship. Several others surrounded her, and the fact quickly became manifestthat they recognized her as a superior. Still more surprising was thediscovery, which we were not long in making, that she was actually thecommander of the craft. We could see that the orders which determined itsmovements emanated from her. "Amazons!" exclaimed Jack, taking pains this time to moderate his voice. "And what a queen they've got!" During all this time the car and the air ship were slowly drifting nearerto one another, drawn by that strange attraction which seems to affectinanimate things when in close neighborhood, and when they were not morethan fifteen yards apart the personage we had been watching slowly liftedher arm, revealing a glittering bracelet, and, with an ineffably winningsmile, made a gesture which said plainer than any words could have done: "Welcome, strangers. " CHAPTER VIII LANGUAGE WITHOUT SPEECH "That breaks the ice, " said the irrepressible Jack. "We're introduced! Nowfor the conquest of Venus. " We had all instinctively returned the smile of our beautifulinterlocutor, with bows and gestures of amity, and it looked as though wemight soon be within touch of her hand, for the vessels continued todrift nearer, when suddenly Juba clambered out of the window and stoodbeside us, his moon eyes blinking in the unaccustomed light. The greatestagitation was immediately manifest among the crowd on the deck of the airship. They seemed to be even more startled than they had been by thesound of Jack's voice. They interchanged looks, and, apparently, a fewwords, spoken in very low voices, and glanced from Juba to us in a waywhich plainly showed that they were astonished at our being together. Edmund, whose perspicacity never deserted him, immediately penetratedtheir thoughts. "It is clear, " he said, "that these people recognize Juba as aninhabitant of the dark hemisphere, while, as to us, they are puzzled, andall the more so now that Juba has made his appearance. I think it certainthat they have never actually met any representative of Juba's racebefore, but no doubt he bears, to their eyes, ethnologicalcharacteristics which escape our discernment, and it is likely thattradition has handed down to them facts about the inhabitants of theother side of their planet which accord with his appearance. " "Then, they must conclude that we have come from the other side, andbrought Juba along as a captive, " I said. "Undoubtedly. " "And what must they think of us--that we are inhabitants of the darkhemisphere also?" "What else can they think?" I do not know into what train of speculation this might have led us if anew incident had not suddenly changed the current of our thoughts. Unnoticed by us the second air ship had drawn near. Signals wereinterchanged between it and the first, and we observed that she whoseemed to be the commander in chief gave orders that the second air shipshould lay us aboard. The order was no sooner given than executed, and wefound ourselves face to face with a dozen of the blond-haired natives, led by one who was clearly their captain. The deck of the air shiptouched the side of the car, and, as if instinctively recognizing ourleader, the captain laid his hand on Edmund's arm, but with a smile whichgave assurance that no violence was intended. "Come, " said Edmund, in a low voice, "it is best that we should go aboardtheir craft. We are in their hands, and luckily so, for they will take uswhere we want to go. " Accordingly, all, including Juba, passed upon the deck of the air ship. You will readily imagine the intensity of interest with which we studiedthe faces and forms of those whom I will call our captors. Now that wewere in contact with them we could better observe their resemblances to, and differences from, ourselves. In all the main features of body theywere human beings, but of a somewhat superior stature. Noses and mouthswere small and delicate; hair long, silken, and either light gold or richchestnut in color; skin white and smooth; ears small and peculiarlyformed, with a curious mobility; and eyes large, round, invariably lightblue, and possessing that strange luminousness of which I have alreadyspoken. One could not look directly into these eyes without a certainshrinking, for some wonderful power seemed to radiate from them, and onehad the feeling that the intelligence behind them could dip to the bottomof his mind. We were gently treated and could perceive no indication ofperil to ourselves. Nevertheless, we were glad to feel our pistols in ourpockets. There were seats on the deck to which we were civilly conducted, but Edmund refused to sit. "I must see the commander herself, " he whispered. "These are onlysubordinates, and I cannot deal with them. It will not do to leave thecar here at the mercy of the waves. I must find the means of making themunderstand that it is to go with us. " Accordingly, he approached the captain, and we watched him with beatinghearts, not being able to divine what an attempt to dictate terms on ourpart might lead to. Jack shook his head, and put his hand on his pistol, which Edmund had restored to him while we were in the ice mountains. "I'll drop the jackanapes in his tracks if he shows up ugly, " he said. "You'd better keep quiet, " I whispered, "and don't let them see yourweapon. They appear to have no arms, and you should trust to Edmund tomanage the affair. When he gives the word it will be time enough to beginshooting. " Jack grumbled, but kept the pistol in his pocket, although he did notwithdraw his hand from it. I have already told you how, at the caverns, Edmund had discovered thatthe inhabitants there possessed a means of converse which he likened totelepathy, and from what I had seen of the people here I was convincedthat they had the same mysterious power, and probably in a higher degree. To be sure, they used words occasionally, but for the most part theycommuned together in some other way. I felt sure that Edmund was nowabout to apply what he had learned, and his actions quickly demonstratedthat my conjecture was well founded. Just what he did, I do not know, butthe result of his conference was promptly apparent. The first air ship had withdrawn a short distance when the other boardedthe car, but now the two mutually approached until it was possible tostep from one deck to the other. As soon as they touched, Edmund wasconducted by the captain, at whose side he had remained standing, to thepresence of the important personage whom Jack had begun to designate asthe queen. We remained where we were, watching with all eyes, while Jackpersisted in keeping his hand on the pistol in his pocket. A crowdimmediately surrounded Edmund and we were unable to see exactly what wenton, a fact that rendered Jack so much the more impatient. But it turnedout that there was no cause for alarm. In about ten minutes the crowdopened and Edmund appeared. Uninterfered with, he came to the edge of thedeck, close by us, and said: "It is all arranged. The car will be towed by one of the air ships. I amto stay here and you will remain where you are until we reach ourdestination. " "Have you had a talk with her?" asked Jack. "Not in any language that you understand, " Edmund responded, smiling. "But I have made good use of what I learned in the caverns. These peopleare intellectually vastly superior to the others, and, as I guessed, theypossess a more perfect command of the sort of telepathy that I told youabout. I have not found much difficulty in making my wish understood, andyour amazon is a very obliging person. It is only necessary to bediscreet and we shall have no trouble. " "But why are you to be separated from us?" asked Jack anxiously. "Thatlooks bad, for it is exactly what they would do if they meant to kill usone at a time. " "Why should they kill us?" retorted Edmund. "And why should we be separated?" persisted Jack. "I tell you, Edmund, Idon't like it. " "Very well, then, " Edmund said, after a moment's thought; "if that's theway you feel about it, I'll see what I can do. It will be anotherexercise for me in this new kind of language. But, mark this, if Isucceed in persuading the chieftainess to keep us together, you will haveto acknowledge that your fears were groundless. Perhaps it's worth tryingon that very account. " He disappeared from our eyes again--for as soon as he approached theirleader the people of the air ship crowded close around as if to affordher protection--and, after another ten minutes' conference, came backsmiling to the edge of the deck. "Dismiss your fears, friend Jack, " he said cheerfully. "You are all tocome aboard here with me. So you see there could have been no thought oftreachery; but I'm glad that we are not to be separated, and I thank youfor your solicitude on my account. I'm sure that the originalarrangement was made only because of lack of room aboard this craft, andyou'll see that that was the reason. " He was right, for immediately half a dozen of the crew of the principalair ship were sent aboard ours while we were transferred to take theirplace. We now had an opportunity to study the countenance of the "amazon"commander, and we found her to be an even more remarkable personage thanshe had appeared at a distance. Of the beauty of her features and form Ishall say no more, but about her eyes I could write a chapter. Thepupils, widely expanded amidst their circles of sky-blue iris, seemed tospeak. I can describe the impression that they made in no other way. I nolonger wondered at Edmund's ability to converse with her, for I feltthat, with a little instruction, and more of our leader's mentalpenetration, I could do it myself. At times I shrank from encounteringher gaze, for I verily believed that she read my inmost thoughts. And Icould see that _thought came out of her eyes_, but it escaped all myefforts to grasp it; it was too evanescent, or I was too dull. SometimesI imagined that the meaning was at the threshold of comprehension, butyet it evaded me, like forgotten words whose general sense dimlyirradiates the mind, while they refuse to take a definite shape, and keepflitting just beyond the reach of memory. Still, charity and good willshone out so plainly that anybody could read them, and I do not know howto express the feeling that came over me at this evidence of friendlinessexhibited by an inhabitant of a world so far from our own. It was as if adim sense of ultimate fraternity bound her to us. Jack's enthusiasm, asyou may guess, was without bounds, and strangely enough it rendered himalmost speechless. "By Jo!" he kept repeating to himself in an undertone, without venturingupon any further expression of his feelings. Henry, as usual, was silent, but I know that he felt the influence noless than the rest of us. Edmund, too, said nothing, but it was plainthat he was continually studying the phenomenon, and I felt sure that hisanalytic mind would find a more complete explanation than we yetpossessed. Of course you are not to suppose that the power that I havebeen trying to describe was peculiar to this woman. On the contrary, as Ihave already intimated, it was common to all of them; but with her itseemed to have reached a higher development, and, what was of specialinterest, she alone exhibited a marked benevolence toward us. The car was attached by a cable to the air ship that we had just quitted, and our voyage into a new unknown began. The other air ships, which hadbeen hovering about, moved up into line, and, with the exception of theone which towed the car, all rose to an elevation of perhaps a thousandfeet, and moved rapidly away from a row of dark clouds which we could nowsee low on the horizon behind. We found the air ship splendidly fittedup, with everything that could contribute to the comfort of its inmates. And what a voyage it was! "Yachting on Venus, " as Jack called it. We saton the deck, with a pleasant breeze, produced by the swift, steadymotion, fanning our faces; the temperature was delightful; the air waswonderfully stimulating; the light, softly and evenly diffused from thegreat shell-like dome of the sky, seemed to bewitch the eyesight; and thesea beneath us, reflecting the dome, was a marvel of refluent colors. We had left the calendar clock in the car, but, with our watches, whichwe had never ceased to wind up regularly, we were able to measure thetime. The voyage lasted about seventy-two hours, but could, perhaps, havebeen performed in less time if we had not been somewhat delayed by thetowing of the car. They had on the air ship ingenious clocks, driven byweights, and governed by pendulums, but the divisions of time were unlikeours, and there was nothing corresponding to our days. This, of course, arose from the fact that there was never any night, and, being unable tosee either sun or stars, they had no measure of the year. With them timewas simply endless duration, with no return in cycles. "What interests me most, " said Edmund, "is the fact that they should haveestablished any chronological measure at all. It would puzzle some of ourmetaphysicians on the earth to account for the origin of their sense oftime. To me it seems evident that the consciousness of duration isfundamental in all intelligent life, and does not necessarily demandnatural recurrences, like the succession of day and night, and thepassage of sun and stars across the meridian, to give it birth. Did youever read St. Augustine's reply to the question, 'What is time'--'I knowif you don't ask me'?" "If they haven't any years, " said Jack, "how do they know when they areold enough to die?" "They have the years, but no measure for them, " replied Edmund, and thenadded quizzically, "Perhaps they _don't_ die. " "Well, I shouldn't wonder, " Jack returned, "for this seems to me to beParadise for sure. " When we felt sleepy, we imitated the natives themselves, and, just as wehad done during the voyage from the earth, created an artificial night byshutting ourselves up in the cabins that had been assigned to us. Restwas taken by all of them in this manner as regularly as it is taken atnight on the earth. One subject which we frequently discussed during the voyage was theastonishing resemblance of our hosts to the _genus homo_. Influenced byspeculations which I had read at home about the probable unlikeness toone another of the inhabitants of different planets, I was particularlyinsistent upon this point, and declared that the facts as we found themwere utterly inexplicable. "Not at all, " Edmund averred. "It is perfectly natural, and quite as Iexpected. Venus resembles the earth in composition, in form, in physicalconstitution, and in subordination to the sun, the great ruler of theentire system. Here are the same chemical elements, and the same laws ofmatter. The human type is manifestly the highest possible that could bedeveloped with such materials to work upon. Why, then, should you besurprised to find that it prevails here as well as upon our planet?Intelligent life could find no more suitable abode than in a human body. The details are simply varied in accordance with the environment--aprinciple that works on the earth also. " I was not altogether satisfied with the reasoning--but as to the facts, we had to believe our eyes. Palatable food was served to us, and during the waking time Edmund wasfrequently engaged in his mysterious conversation with the "queen. "Within forty-eight hours after we had set out in the air ship, he came tous, wearing one of his enigmatic smiles, and said: "I've got another aphroditic word for you to remember. It is the name ofour hostess--Ala. " We were not so much surprised by this news as we should have been but forwhat had occurred at the caverns, where he had discovered the patronymicof Juba. "Good!" cried Jack, "it's a fine name. I was going to call her Aphrodite, myself, but this is better as well as shorter. " "But, Edmund, " I said, "how does it happen that these people, if theyconverse by 'telepathy' as you say, and as I fully believe, neverthelessoccasionally use sounds and words? I should think it would be all onething or all the other. " "Think a moment, " he replied. "Is it so with us? Do we not use signs andgestures as well as words? And what do we mean by 'silent converse, ' whenmind speaks to mind and soul to soul without the intervention of spokenlanguage? We have the potentiality of telepathic intercommunication, butwe have not yet developed it into a kinetic form as these people havedone. Ah, when will men begin to appreciate _what mind means?_" I made no reply, and after a moment's musing, he continued: "I suspect that here, too, speech preceded the higher form of converse, and that the spoken language remains only as a survival, presentingcertain advantages for particular cases. But we shall learn more as timegoes on. " There was no disputing Edmund's conclusions. He was the greatest accepterand defender of facts as he found them that I have ever known. It was written that before this voyage ended we should have another phaseof language without speech presented for our wonderment. It came aboutnear the end of the trip. We were standing apart in a group, greatlyinterested and excited by the discovery, which had just been made, ofland ahead. Far in advance we could see a curving, yellow shore line, and, dim in the distance behind it, a range of mountains. Edmund had justcalled our attention to these, with the remark that now I must admit thathe had reasoned correctly about the existence of elevated regions on thisside of Venus, when Jack, always the first to note a new phenomenon, exclaimed: "Hurrah! Here they come! We're going to have a royal reception. " He pointed toward the land in a different direction from that in which wehad been gazing, and immediately we beheld an extraordinary assemblage ofair ships, perhaps ten miles off, but rapidly making toward us. More werecoming up from behind, as if rising out of the land, and soon theyresembled flocks of large birds all converging to a common center. In alittle while they became almost innumerable, but their number soon ceasedto be as great a cause of surprise to us as their peculiar appearance. Viewed with our binoculars they showed an infinite variety of shapes andsizes. Chinese kites could not, for a moment, be compared ingrotesqueness with the forms which many of them presented. Some soared invast circles at a great height, with the steady flight of eagles; othersspread out to right and left, as if to flank us on either hand; and inthe center, directly ahead, about a hundred advanced in column deployedin a semicircle, each keeping its place with the precision of a soldierin line of battle. As we continued to gaze, fascinated by the splendor and strangeness ofthe spectacle, suddenly the air was filled with fluttering colors. I donot mean flags and streamers, but _colors in the air itself_! Colors themost exquisite that ever the eye looked upon! They changed, flickered, melted, brightened, flowed over one another in iridescent waves, mingled, separated, turned the whole atmosphere into a spectral kaleidoscope. Andit was evident that, in some inexplicable way, the approaching squadronswere the sources of this marvelous display. Presently from the craft thatcarried us, answering colors flashed out, as if the air around us hadsuddenly been changed to crystal with a thousand quivering rainbows shotthrough it, their beautiful arches shifting and interchanging so rapidlythat the eye could not follow them. Then I began to notice that all this incessant play of colors was basedupon an unmistakable rhythm. I can think of no better way to describe itthan to say that it was as if a great organ should send forth from itskeys harmonic vibrations consisting not of concordant sounds but of evenmore perfectly related undulations of color. The permutations andcombinations of this truly chromatic scale were marvelous and magical intheir infinite variety. It thrilled us with awe and wonder. But none wasso rapt as Edmund himself. He gazed as if his soul were in his eyes, andfinally he turned to us, with a strange look, and said, almost under hisbreath: "This, too, is language, and more than that--it is music!" "Impossible!" I exclaimed. "No, not impossible, since it _is_. They are not only exchangingintelligence in this way, but we are being greeted with a great anthemplayed in the heaven itself!" There was the force of enthusiastic conviction in Edmund's words, and wecould only look at him, and at one another, in silent astonishment. "Oh, what a people! What a people!" he muttered. "And yet I am notsurprised. I dimly fore-read this in Ala's eyes. " Even Jack's levity was subdued for the time, but after a while he said tome with a shrug, half in earnest, half in derision: "Well, this Yankee-doodling in the air gets me! I'd prefer a little plainEnglish and the Old Folks at Home. " After about ten minutes the display ceased as suddenly as it had begun, and the nearer of the approaching air craft began to circle around us. Finally one of them ran so close alongside that an officer of high rank, for such he seemed to be, leaped aboard us, and was quickly at Ala'sside. There was a rapid interchange of communications between them, andthen the newcomer was, I may say, presented. Ala led him to where we werestanding, and I could read in his eyes the astonishment that the sight ofsuch strangers produced in him. CHAPTER IX AN AMAZING METROPOLIS If I should undertake to describe in detail all the events that nowfollowed in rapid succession, this history would take a lifetime towrite. I must choose only the more significant facts. The newcomer, whose remarkable face had immediately impressed me, and notaltogether favorably, proved to be a personage of very great importance, second only, as we could see, to Ala herself. And, what was particularlyimportant for us, he showed none of her friendly disposition. I do notmean to suggest that he seemed inclined to any active hostility, butevidently we were, in his eyes, no better than savages, and consequentlyentitled to no special consideration, and especially to no favors. Jack, who, with all his careless ways, had a penetrating mind for theperception of character, whispered to me, within five minutes after thefellow came aboard: "If that galoot had his way, we'd make our entry in irons. Mark my words, there's mischief in him. Hang him! I'm going to keep my pistol handy whenhe's around. " Edmund, who happened to overhear Jack's remark, interposed: "See here, Master Jack, this is no time to be talking of pistols. I trustthat we are done with shooting. " We were not done with it; but that comes later. It was not long before Edmund had discovered a name for the newcomeralso; he called him Ingra. It was singular, he said, that all the namesseemed to be characterized by the prevalence of vowels sounds, but hethought it likely that this arose from the greater ease with which theycould be enunciated. They were like Spanish words, which are the easiestof all for foreigners, and probably also for natives, to pronounce. After we reached the coast we descended to the ground, at Edmund'srequest, I believe, because he wished to superintend the loading of thecar upon one of the largest air ships, and it was an unforgettable sightto watch him managing the work as coolly and effectively as if he hadbeen in charge of a gang of workmen at home! And, while I looked, I foundmyself again doubting if, after all, this was not a dream. The workershurrying about, Edmund following them, pointing, objecting, urging anddirecting, with his derby hat, which had come through all our adventures(though somewhat damaged), stuck on the back of his head--and all this onthe planet Venus! No! I could not be awake. But yet I was. When we started again, we were escorted by a hundred air ships, forming acomplete circle about us. Now I noticed, what had escaped attentionduring the extraordinary atmospheric display, viz. , that these craft werepainted in colors that I should call gorgeous if they had not been soperfectly harmonious and pleasing. Every one looked like the carefulcreation of an artist, and the variety of tints exhibited was incredible. Our own air ship, and its consorts, on the other hand, were very plain intheir decorations. I called Edmund's attention to this and immediately hesaid: "Remember what I told you--this has been an exploring expedition, and thecraft taking part in it have been fitted up for rough work. That remindsme that I have not yet made the inquiries that I intended on thatsubject. I shall go to Ala now and see what I can learn. " She was standing on the deck near the other end, with Ingra beside her. As Edmund approached them, Jack nudged me: "Look at that fellow, " he said. "Wasn't I right?" There was no doubt about it; Ingra scowled and showed every sign ofdispleasure at Edmund's presence. But Ala greeted him graciously, and, apparently, Ingra did not dare to interfere. I could see that Jack wasgrasping his pistol again, but I did not anticipate that there would beany occasion to use it. Nevertheless, I watched them closely for a time, hoping to discover Edmund's method of reading her meaning; as to hercomprehension of his I had no question about that. But I got no light onthe subject, and, as it soon became evident, even to Jack, that there wasno danger this time, we fell to examining the land over which we werepassing. We flew at a height of about two thousand feet, so that the range ofvision was very wide. The sea behind us curved into the land in threegreat scallops, separated by acuminate promontories, whose terminalbluffs of sand were as yellow as gold. Away ahead the line of mountains, that we had noticed before, appeared as a dark sierra, and between it andthe sea the country seemed to be very little broken by hills. Largeforests were visible, but from our elevation it was impossible to tellwhether the trees composing them bore any resemblance to terrestrialforms. The open land was about equally divided in area between bareyellowish soil (or what we took to be soil) and bright green expanseswhose color suggested vegetation. Scattered here and there we saw whatappeared to be habitations, but we could not be sure of their nature;and, upon the whole, the land seemed to us to be very thinly populated. Many birds accompanied us in our flight, frequently alighting on the deckand other parts of the air ship. They were remarkably tame, allowing usto approach them closely, and we were delighted by their beautifulplumage and their singular forms. This reminds me to say that the motionof the craft was extremely curious--a kind of gentle rising and falling, which was very agreeable when once we were accustomed to it, and whichresembled what one would suppose to be the movement of a bird in flight. This, of course, arose from the structure of the air ship, which, as Ihave before said, seemed to be modeled, as far as its motive parts wereconcerned, upon the principle of wings rather than of simple aeroplanes. But the mechanism was very complicated, and I never arrived at a fullcomprehension of it. Edmund remained a long time in conference with Ala, Ingra stayingconstantly with them, and when he had apparently finished his"conversation" we were surprised to see them begin a tour of inspectionof the air ship, finally descending into the interior. This greatlyexcited Jack, who was for following them at once. "I can't be easy, " he declared. "Nobody can tell what may happen to himif they get him alone. " But I succeeded in persuading him that there could be no danger, and thatwe ought to trust to Edmund's discretion. They were gone so long, however, that at last I became anxious myself, and was on the point ofsuggesting to Jack that we try to find them, when they reappeared, andEdmund at once came to us, his face irradiated with smiles. "I have plenty of news for you, " he said, as soon as he had joined us. "Never in my life have I spent two hours more delightfully. In the firstplace, I have found out practically all that I wished to know about thisexpedition, and, second, I have thoroughly examined the mechanism of theship. Its complication is only apparent, and the management of it is sosimple that a single man can pilot it easily. I could do it myself. " We did not appreciate at the time what the knowledge that Edmund had thusacquired meant for us. "Well, what about the expedition?" asked Jack. "And where are we going?" "From what I can make out, " replied Edmund musingly, "Ala is really whatyou called her, Jack, a queen. But such a queen! If we had some like heron the earth, monarchy might not be such a bad thing after all. She is a_savant_. " "Bluestocking, " put in Jack. "This is a new kind of amazon. " Edmund did not smile. "I am in earnest, " he continued. "Of course you understand that most ofmy conclusions are really based upon inference. I cannot grasp all thatshe tries to tell me, but her gestures are so speaking, and her eyes sofull of a kind of meaning which seems to force its way into my mind, Icannot tell how, that I am virtually sure of the correctness of myinterpretation. The expedition, which I am certain was planned by her, was intended to explore the outskirts of the dark hemisphere. Perhapsthey meant to penetrate within it, but, if so, the stormy belt that wecrossed was too serious an obstacle for them to overcome. Ourencountering them was the greatest stroke of good fortune that we haveyet had. It places us right at the center of affairs. " "Where are they going now?" "Evidently back to their starting point; which is likely to be a greatcity--the capital and metropolis, most probably. The more I think of itthe stronger becomes my conviction that Ala is really, at least in powerand influence, a queen. And you can see for yourselves that it must be agreat and rich empire that she rules, for remember the extraordinaryreception with which she was greeted, the innumerable air ships, thesplendor of everything. " "But are we to be well treated? Is there no danger for us in accompanyingthem?" "If there were danger, it would be hard for us to escape from it now; butwhy should there be danger? We did not kill the Esquimaux that our polarexplorers brought from the Arctic regions, and for these people, we are agreater curiosity than ever the Esquimaux, or the Pygmies of Africa, werefor us. Instead of encountering any danger, I anticipate that we shall bevery well treated. " "Perhaps they'll put us in a cage, " said Jack, with a ludicrous grimace, "and tote us about as a great moral show for children. If there's aBarnum on Venus, our fate is sealed. " Jack's humorous suggestion struck home, for there seemed to beprobability behind it, and Henry groaned, while, for my part, I confessthat I felt rather uncomfortable over the prospect. But Edmund did notpursue the conversation, and soon we fell to regarding again thelandscape beneath and far around us. We were gradually nearing themountains, although they were still distant, and presently we caughtsight of what resembled, as much as anything, gigantic cobwebs glitteringwith dew, and rising out of the plain between us and the mountains. "There, Edmund, " said Jack, "there's another chance to exercise yourgenius for explaining mysteries. What are those things?" Edmund watched the objects for several minutes before replying. At lengthhe said, with the decision characteristic of him: "Palaces. " Jack burst out laughing. "Castles in Spain, I reckon, " he said. "But, really, Edmund, what do youthink they can be?" "I have already told you, palaces, or castles, if you prefer. " "You are serious?" I asked. "Perfectly so. They cannot be anything else. " Seeing our astonishment and incredulity, Edmund added: "Since they retain their places, it is evident that they are edifices ofsome kind, attached to the ground. But their great height and aerialstructure indicate that they are erected in the air--floating, I shouldsay, but firmly anchored at the bottom. Really, I cannot see anythingastonishing about it; it accords with everything else that we have seen. Your minds are too hidebound to terrestrial analogies, and you do notgive your imaginations sufficient play with the new materials that arehere offered. "This atmosphere, " he continued, after a pause, "is exactly suited forsuch things. It is a region of atmospheric calm. If we were not moving, you would hardly feel a breeze, and I doubt if there is ever a high windhere. To build their habitations in the air and make them float likegossamers--could any idea be more beautiful than that, or more in harmonywith the nature of this planet, which is the favorite of the sun, forfirst he inundates it with a splendor unknown to the earth, and thengenerously covers it with a gorgeous screen of cloud which cuts off hisscorching beams but suffers the light to pass, filtered to opalescentether?" When Edmund spoke like that, as he sometimes did, suffusing his wordswith the fervor of his imagination, even Henry, I believe, felt his soullifted to unaccustomed heights. We hung upon his lips, and, without aword, waited for him to continue. Presently he murmured, in an undertone: "Yes, all this I foresaw in my dream. A world of crystal, houses thatseemed not made with hands, reaching toward heaven, and a people, beautiful beyond compare, dwelling in the aerial home of birds"; andthen, addressing us, in his ordinary tones: "You will see that thecapital, which we are unquestionably approaching, is to a large extentcomposed of this airy architecture. " And it turned out to be as he had said--when, indeed, was it everotherwise? As we drew nearer, the aerial structures which we had firstseen began to tower up to an amazing height, just perceptibly swaying andundulating with the gentle currents of air that flowed through theirtraceried lattices, while behind them began to loom an immense number offloating towers, rising stage above stage, like the steel monsters of NewYork before they have received their outer coverings, but incomparablylighter in appearance, and more delicate and graceful; truly fairyconstructions, bespangled with countless brilliant points. Yet nearer, and we could see cables attached to the higher structures, and runningdownward as if anchored to the ground beneath, but the ground itself wecould not see, because now we had dropped lower in the air, and a longhill rose between us and the fairy towers, whose slight sinuous motion, affecting so many together, produced a trifling sense of dizziness as wegazed. Still nearer, and we believed that we could see people in thebuoyant towers. A minute later there was no doubt about their presence, for the _colors_ broke forth, and that marvelous interchange of chromaticsignals, which had so astonished us as we drew near the coast, wasresumed. "It is my belief, " said Edmund, "that, notwithstanding the buoyancy ofthe heavy atmosphere, those structures cannot be maintained at suchelevations without mechanical aid. You will see when we get nearer thatevery stage is furnished with some means of support, probably verticalscrews reacting upon the air. " Again he had guessed right, for in a little while we were near enough tosee the screws, working in a maze of motion, like the wings of amultitude of insects. The resemblance was increased by their gauzystructure, and, as they turned, they flashed and glittered as ifenameled. (The supernatant structures that they maintained were, as weafterwards ascertained, framed of hollow beams and trusses--a kind ofbamboo, of great strength and lightness. ) Now we rose over the intervening hill, and as we did so a cry burst fromour lips. A vast city made its appearance as by magic, a magnifiedcounterpart of the aerial city above it. Put all the glories ofConstantinople, Damascus, Cairo, and Bombay, with all their spires, towers, minarets, and domes together, and multiply their splendor athousand times, and yet your imagination will be unable to picture thescene of enchantment on which our eyes rested. "It is the capital of Venus, " exclaimed Edmund. "There can be nothinggreater than this!" It must, indeed, be the capital, for in the midst of it rose an edificeof unparalleled splendor, which could only be the palace of a mightymonarch. Above this magnificent building, which gleamed with metallicreflections, although it was as light and airy in construction asfrostwork, rose the loftiest of the aerial towers, a hundred, twohundred--I cannot tell you how many stories in height, for I neversucceeded in counting them. The other air ships now dropped back, and ours alone approached thisstupendous tower, making apparently for its principal landing stage. Along the sides of the tower a multitude of small air ships ran up anddown, stopping at various stages to discharge their living cargoes. "Elevators, " said Edmund. Glancing round we saw that similar scenes were occurring at all thetowers. They were filling up with people, and the continual rising anddescending of the little craft that bore them, the holiday aspect of thegay colors everywhere displayed, and the brilliancy of the wholespectacle moved us beyond words. But the most astonishing scene stillawaited us. Just before our vessel reached the landing stage, the enormous tower, from foot to apex, broke out with all the hues of the rainbow, like anenchanted rose tree covered with millions of brilliant flowers at thetouch of a wand. The effect was overwhelming. The air became tremulouswith rippling colors, whose vibrant waves, with quick succession ofconcordant tints afforded to the eye an exquisite pleasure akin to thatwhich the ear receives from a carillon of bells. Our companions, and thepeople crowded on the towers, seemed to be transported with ecstaticdelight. "Again the music of the spectrum!" cried Edmund. "The diapason of color!It is their national hymn, or the hymn of their race, written on aprismatic, instead of a sonometric, staff. And, mark me, this has asignificance beyond your conjectures!" I believe that our enjoyment of this astonishing spectacle was hardlyless than that of the natives themselves, but the pleasure was suddenlybroken off by a tragedy that struck cold to our hearts. We had nearly touched the landing, when we observed that a discussion wasgoing on between Ala and Ingra, and it quickly became evident that wewere the subject of it. Before we could exchange a word, they approachedus, and Ingra, in a threatening manner, laid his hand on Edmund'sshoulder. In a second Jack had his pistol covering Ingra. Edmund saw themotion, and struck Jack's arm aside, but the weapon exploded, and, clutching her breast, Ala fell at our feet! CHAPTER X IMPRISONMENT AND A WONDERFUL ESCAPE The shock of this terrible accident, the full import of which must haveflashed simultaneously through the mind of every one of us, drove theblood from Edmund's face, while Jack staggered, uttering a pitiful moan, Henry collapsed, and I stood trembling in every limb. The report of thepistol produced upon the natives the effect that was to have beenexpected. Ingra sprang backward with a cry like that of a startled beast, and many upon the deck fell prostrate, either through terror or theeffect of collision with one another in their wild flight. What occurredamong the waiting crowd on the tower I do not precisely know, but a windof fear seemed to pass through the air--a weird, heart-quaking _shadow ofsound_. For a few moments, I believe, no one but ourselves understood what hadhappened to Ala. Ingra may have thought, if he thought at all in histerror and surprise, that she had fallen as the result of nervous shock. This moment of paralysis on the part of those whom we had now to regardas our enemies, whatever they may have been before, afforded theopportunity for escape--if there had been any way to escape. But we werecompletely trapped; there was no direction in which we could flee. Yet Idoubt if the thought of flight occurred to any of us. Certainly it didnot to Edmund, who was the first to recover his self-command. "_We have shot down our only friend!_" he said with terrible emphasis, and, as he spoke, he lifted Ala in his arms and laid her on a seat. Herbreast was stained with blood. At the sight of this, a flash of comprehension passed over the featuresof Ingra; then, instantly, his face changed to a look of fury, and hesprang upon Edmund. With trembling hand, I tried to draw my pistol, butbefore I could get it from my pocket there was a rush, a hairy formdarted past me, and Ingra lay sprawling on his back. Over him, with footplanted on his breast, stood the burly form of Juba, with his musculararms uplifted, and his enormous eyes blazing fire! God only knows what would have happened next, but at this instant Ala--tomy amazement, for I had thought that the bullet had gone through herheart--rose to an upright posture, and made a commanding gesture, whicharrested those who were now hurrying to take a part in the scene. All, natives as well as ourselves, stood as motionless as stone. Her face waspale and her eyes were wonderful to look upon. With a gasp ofthankfulness, I noticed that the blood on her breast was but a narrowstreak Juba, staring at her, slowly withdrew his foot from his prostrateopponent, and Ingra first sat up, and then got upon his feet. Ala, whohad been seated, rose at the same moment, and looked Ingra straight inthe face. I saw Edmund glancing from one to the other, and I knew he wastrying to follow the communication that was taking place between them. The general sense of it I could follow, myself. Ingra, metaphorically, stormed and Ala commanded. That she was defending us was plain, and itwas but natural that my admiration for this wonderful woman should riseto the highest pitch. I thanked God, in my heart, that her wound could beno more than a scratch--and yet it was a wound, inflicted upon the personof her who, there could be no doubt, was the ruler of a powerful empire. It was less majesty, or worse, and she, herself, might not be able toprotect us against its consequences. At last, it became evident that a decision had been made. Ala turned tous with a smile, which we took for an assurance of encouragement, atleast, and started to leave the deck. Edmund instantly stepped in frontof her, and pointed to the stain of blood, with a gesture and a lookwhich meant, at the same time, an inquiry as to the nature of the woundand an expression of the wish to do something to repair the injury. Sheshook her head and smiled again, in a manner which clearly said that thehurt was not serious and that she understood that it was an accident. Then, surrounded by her female attendants, she passed out of our sight inthe crowd on the landing. Edmund turned to us: "We shall probably get out of it all right, " he said, "but not withoutsome difficulty. They will surely imprison us. Make no resistance. Leaveall to me. Jack's pistol will, no doubt, be seized, but if the rest ofyou keep yours concealed, they may not search for them, as they knownothing about the weapons. " Edmund had spoken hurriedly, and had hardly finished when a dozen stoutfellows, under Ingra's directions, took us in charge, Juba included, andwe were led from the deck, through the vast throng on the platform, whomade room for our passage, while devouring us with curious, thoughfrightened eyes. In a minute we embarked on one of the "elevators, " andmade a thrillingly rapid descent. Arrived at the bottom, we wereconducted, through long, stone-walled passages, into a veritable dungeon. And there they left us. I wondered if this had been done at Ala's order, or in defiance of her wishes. After all, I reflected, what claim have weupon her? In the absolute darkness where we now found ourselves, we remained silentfor a minute or two, feeling about for one another, until the quiet voiceof Edmund said: "Fortune still favors us. " As he spoke, a light dazzled our eyes. He had turned on a pocket electriclamp. We looked about and found that we were in a square chamber, aboutfifteen feet on a side, with walls of heavy stone. "They make things solid enough down here, " said Jack, with some return ofhis usual spirits, "however airy and fairy they may be above. " "All the better for us, " returned Edmund enigmatically. Henry sank upon the floor, the picture of dejection and despair. Iexpected another outbreak from him, but he spoke not a word. His heartwas too full for utterance, and I pitied him so much that I tried toreanimate his spirits. "Come, now, " I said, "don't take it this way, man. Have confidence inEdmund. He has never yet been beaten. " "I reckon he's got his hands full this time, " put in Jack. "What do youthink, Edmund, can your atomic energy bore a hole through these walls?" "If I had it here, you'd see, " Edmund replied. "But there's no occasionto worry, we'll come out all right. " It was his unfailing remark when in difficulties, and somehow it alwaysenheartened us. Juba, more accustomed to such situations, seemed theleast disturbed member of the party. He rolled his huge eyes around theapartment once or twice, and then lay down on the floor, and seemed atonce to fall asleep. "That's a good idea of Juba's, " said Edmund, smiling; "it's a long timesince we have had a nap. Let's all try a little sleep. I may dream ofsome way out of this. " It was a fact that we were all exhausted for want of sleep, and, in spiteof our situation, I soon fell into deep slumber, as peaceful as if I hadbeen in my bed at home. Edmund had turned out the lamp, and the silenceand darkness were equally profound. I dreamt that I was at the Olympus Club on the point of trumping an ace, when a flash of light in the eyes awoke me. I started up and found Edmundstanding over me. The others were all on their feet. Edmund immediatelywhispered: "Come quietly; I've found a way out. " "What have you found?" "Something extremely simple. This is no prison cell, but a part of whatappears to be the engine rooms--probably it is an unused storeroom. Theyhave put us here for convenience, trusting more to the darkness than tothe lock, for the corridors outside are as black as Erebus and as crookedas a labyrinth. " "How do you know?" "Because, while you were all asleep, I made an exploration. The lock wasnothing; the merest tyro could pick it. Fortunately they never guessedthat I had a lamp. In this world of daylight, it is not likely thatpocket lamps have ever been thought of. Just around the corner, there isanother door opening into a passage that leads by a power house. Thatpassage gives access to a sort of garage of air craft, and when I stoleinto it five minutes ago, there was not a soul in sight. We'll simplyslip in there, and if I can't run away with one of those fliers, then I'mno engineer. To tell the truth, I'm not altogether sure that it is wisefor us to escape, for I have a feeling that Ala will help us; still, whenProvidence throws one a rope, it's best, perhaps, to test its strength. Come on, now, and make no noise. " Accompanied by Juba, we stepped noiselessly outside, extinguishing thelight, and, led by Edmund, passed what he had called the power house, where we saw several fellows absorbed in their work, lighted somehow fromabove. Then we slipped into the "garage. " Here light entered fromwithout, through a large opening at the side. There may have been twentysmall air ships resting on cradles. Edmund selected one, which heappeared to have examined in advance, and motioning us to step upon itslittle deck, he began to manipulate the mechanism as confidently as if ithad been his own invention. "You see that I did not waste my time in examining the air ship thatbrought us, " he whispered, and never before had I admired and trusted himas I did now. In less than a minute after we had stepped aboard, we werecircling in the air outside. We rose with stunning rapidity, swoopingaway in a curve like an eagle. At this instant we were seen! There was a quick flashing of signals, and two air craft shot into sightabove us. "Now for a chase!" cried Edmund, actually laughing with exultation. We darted upward, curving aside to avoid the pursuers. And then theyswooped after us. We rose so rapidly that within a couple of seconds wewere skirting the upper part of the great tower. Then others saw us, andjoined in the chase. Jack's spirits soared with the excitement: "Sorry to take rogue's leave of these Venuses, " he exclaimed. "But nodungeons for us, if you please. " "We're not away, yet, " said Edmund over his shoulder; and, indeed, wewere not! The air ships swarmed out on every side like hornets; the atmosphereseemed full of them. I gave up all hope of escape, but Edmund was like aracer who hears the thud of hoofs behind him. He put on more and morespeed until we were compelled to hang on to anything within reach inorder to save ourselves from being blown off by the wind which we made, or whirled overboard on sharp turns. Crash! We had run straight into a huge craft that persisted in getting inour way. She dipped and rolled like a floating log. I saw the fellows onher tumble over one another, as we shot by, and I glanced anxiously tosee if any had gone overboard. We could afford to do no killing if wecould avoid it; for, in case of recapture, that would be anotherindictment against us. I saw no one falling from the discomfited airship, and I felt reassured. Occupied as he was, dodging and turning, Edmund did not cease to address a few words to us occasionally. "There's just one chance to beat them, " he said, "and only one. I'm goingto try it as soon as I can get out of this press. " I had no notion of what he meant, but a few minutes later I divined hisintention. I had observed that all the while he was working higher andhigher, and this, as you will presently see, was the key to his plan. Up and up we shot, Edmund making the necessary circles as short aspossible, and so recklessly did he turn on the speed that it really beganto look as if we might get away after all. Two thirds of our pursuerswere now far below our level, but none showed a disposition to give upthe chase, and those which were yet above tried to cross our bow. While Isaw that Edmund's idea was to hold a skyward course, I was far fromguessing the particular reason he had for doing so, and, finally, Jack, who comprehended it still less, exclaimed: "See here, Edmund, if you keep on going up instead of running off in onedirection or another, they'll corner you in the middle of the sky. Don'tyou see how they have circled out on all sides so as to surround us? Thenwhen we get as high as we can go, they'll simply close in, and we'll betrapped. " "Oh, no, we won't, " Edmund replied. "I don't see why. " "Because they can't go as high as we can. " "The deuce they can't! I guess they understand these ships as well as youdo. " "Can a fish live out of water?" asked Edmund, laughing. "What's that got to do with it?" "Why, it's plain enough. These people are used to breathing an atmospheresurcharged with oxygen and twice as dense as that of the earth. Itdoesn't trouble our breathing, simply giving us more energy; but we canlive where they would gasp for breath. Air impossibly rare for them isall right for us, and that's what I am in search of, and we shall find itif we can get high enough. " The beauty and simplicity of this unexpected plan struck us all withadmiration, and Jack, his doubts instantly turning to enthusiasm, cried: "By Jo, Edmund, you're a trump! I'd like to get a gaff into the gills ofthat catfish, Ingra, when he begins to blow. By Jo, I'd pickle him andmake a present of him to the Museum of Natural History. '_CatfishiaVenusensis_, presented by Jack Ashton, Esq. '--how'd that look on a label, hey?" And Jack hugged himself with delight over his conceit. In a short time the accuracy of Edmund's conjecture became apparent. Ourpursuers, one by one, dropped off. Their own strategy, to which Jack hadcalled attention, was simply a playing into our hands. They had reallythought to catch us in the center of a contracting circle, when, to theiramazement, we rose straight up into air so rare that they could not livein it. Edmund roared with laughter when he saw the assured success of hismaneuver. But there was one thing which even he had overlooked, and it struck toour hearts when we became aware of it. Poor, faithful Juba, who had sorecently proved his devotion to us, could endure this rare air no betterthan our pursuers. Already, unnoticed in the excitement, he had fallenupon the deck, where he lay gasping. "Good God, he's dying!" exclaimed Jack. "He shall not die!" responded Edmund, setting his lips, and turning tohis machinery. "But, you're not going back down there!" "I'll run beyond the edge of the circle, and drop down far enough torevive him. Then we can keep dodging up and down just out of their reach, and so be out of danger both ways. " No sooner said than done. We ran rapidly on a horizontal course until wehad cleared the air ships below, and then dropped like a shot. Juba cameto his senses in a few moments after we entered the denser air. But nowour pursuers, thinking, no doubt, that we had found it impracticable toremain where they knew they could not go, began to close in upon us. Ireflected that here was the only mistake that Edmund had made--I mean thebringing along with us of the natives of the dark hemisphere. It was onlytheir presence that had prevented us from sailing triumphantly over thecrystal mountains; it was because of them that we had wrecked the car;and now it was Juba who baffled our best chance of escape. And yet--and Iam glad to be able to say it--I could not regret his presence, for had henot made himself one of us; had he not proved himself entitled to all theprivileges of comradeship? But Henry (I am sorry to write it) did not share these feelings. "Edmund, " he said, "why do you insist upon endangering our lives for thesake of this--this--animal here?" Never have I beheld such a blaze of anger as that which burst fromEdmund's eyes as he turned upon Henry: "You cowardly brute!" he shouted. "I ought to throw you overboard!" He seemed about to execute his threat, dropping the controller from hishand as he spoke, and Henry, with ashen face, ran from him like a madman. I caught him in my arms, fearing that he would tumble overboard in hisfright, and Edmund, instantly recovering his composure, turned back tohis work. Finding Juba sufficiently recovered, although yet weak and almosthelpless, he rose again, but more cautiously than before. And now ourpursuers, plainly believing that these maneuvers could have but oneending, began to set their net, and I could not help admiring their plan, which would surely have succeeded if they had not made a fundamentalerror in their calculations, but one for which they were not to blame. There was such a multitude of their craft, fresh ones coming up all thewhile, that they were able to form themselves into the shape of a hugebag net, the edge of which was carried as high as they dared to go, whilethe sides and receding bottom were composed of air ships so numerous thatthey were packed almost as closely as meshes. Edmund laughed again as helooked down into this immense net. "No, no, " he shouted. "We're no gudgeons! You'll have to do better thanthat!" "See here, Edmund, " Jack suddenly exclaimed, "why don't you make off andleave them? By keeping just above their reach we could easily escape. " "_And leave the car?_" was the reply. "By Jo, " returned Jack, "I never thought of that. But, then, what did yourun away for at all?" "Because, " said Edmund quietly, "I thought it better to parley than tolie in prison. " "Parley! How are you going to parley?" "That remains to be seen; but I guess we'll manage it. " We were now, as far as I could estimate, five or six miles high. When wewere highest, the great cloud dome seemed to be but a little way aboveour heads, and I thought, at first, that Edmund intended to run up intoit and thus conceal our movements. The highest of our pursuers were abouthalf a mile below us. They circled about, and were evidently parleying ontheir own account, for waves of color flowed all about them, making aspectacle so brilliant and beautiful that sometimes I almost forgot ourcritical situation in watching it. "I suppose you'll play them a prismatic symphony, " said Henry mockingly. I looked at him in surprise. Evidently his fear of Edmund had vanished;no doubt because he knew in his heart the magnanimity of our greatleader. "Who knows?" Edmund replied. "I've no doubt the materials are aboard, andif I had been here a month, I'd probably try it. As things stand, weshall have to resort to other methods. " While we were talking, Edmund did not relax his vigilance, and two orthree times, when he had dropped to a lesser elevation for Juba's sake, he baffled a dash of the enemy. At last we noticed a movement in thecrowd which betokened something of importance, and in a moment we sawwhat it was. A splendid air ship, by far the most beautiful that we hadyet seen, was swiftly approaching from below. "It's the queen, " said Edmund. "I thought she'd come. " The approaching ship made its way straight toward us, and, without theslightest hesitation, Edmund dropped down to meet it. Those who had beenour pursuers now made no attempt to interfere with us; they recognizedthe presence of a superior authority. Soon we were so near that we couldrecognize Ala, who looked like Cleopatra in her barge on the charmedwaves of Cydnus. Beside her, to the intense disappointment of Jack andmyself, stood Ingra. "Confound him!" growled Jack. "He's always got to have his oar in thepuddle. Blamed if I'm not sorry Edmund spoiled my aim. I'd have had hisscalp to hang up at the Olympus to be smoked at!" Of what now occurred, I can give no detailed account, because it was allbeyond my comprehension. We approached almost within touch, and thenEdmund stood forth, fearless and splendid as Caesar, and conducted his"parley. " When it was over, there was a flashing of aerial colors betweenAla's ship and the others, and then all, including ours, set out toreturn to the capital. After a while Edmund, who had been verythoughtful, turned to us and said: "You can make your minds easy. Of course you'll understand there is acertain amount of guesswork in what I tell you, but you can depend uponthe correctness of my general conclusions. I believe that I have made itperfectly clear that we intended no harm, and that we are not dangerouscharacters. At least Ala understands it perfectly. As for Ingra, perhapshe doesn't want to understand it. I can't make out the cause of hisenmity, but it is certain that he doesn't like us, and if it all dependedupon him, it would go hard with us. I believe that we shall have to standa trial of some kind, but remember that we've got a powerful advocate. Idon't regret our running off, for, as I anticipated, it afforded us theopportunity to establish some sort of terms. The mere fact that we returnwillingly when they know that we might have fled beyond their reachshould count in our favor, for, as I have always insisted, these arehighly intelligent people, with civilized ideas. If I had not been sureof that I should have continued the flight and depended upon some othermeans of recovering the car--or constructing a new one. " We had become so much accustomed to accept Edmund's decisions as finalthat none of us thought of objecting to what he had done; unless it mighthave been Henry, but he kept his thoughts to himself. CHAPTER XI BEFORE THE THRONE OF VENUS While we were dropping down toward the city, with a great fleet of airships attending, Edmund opened his mind upon another curious difficultybesetting us. "You, of course, noted, " he said, "how close we approached at one time tothe cloud dome. The existence of that sky screen is a circumstance whichmay possibly be decisive in the determination of our fate. " "Favorable or unfavorable?" I asked. "Unfavorable, for this reason. If these people could be made tounderstand that we are visitors from another world, and not inhabitantsof the other side of their own planet, they might treat us with greaterconsideration, and even with a certain superstitious deference. Theimagination is doubtless as active with them as with terrestrial beings, and if you can once touch the imagination, even of the most intelligentand instructed persons, you can do almost anything you choose with them. But how am I to convey to them any idea of this kind? Seeing neither sun, nor moon, nor stars, they can have no conception of such a thing asanother world than their own. " "Couldn't you persuade them, " said Jack, "that we come from the upperside of the cloud dome? You could pretend that it's very fine living upthere--plenty of sunshine and good air. " Edmund laughed. "I'm afraid, Jack, that they are too intelligent to believe that a personof your avoirdupois could walk on the clouds. You're not quite angelicenough for that. I'm sure that they know perfectly well what the domeconsists of. " "The presence of Juba with us is another difficulty, " I suggested. "If, as you suppose, they recognize certain racial characteristics in him, which convince them that he belongs to the other side of Venus, then theyare sure to believe that we belong there, too. " "Certainly. But I must find some way round the difficulty. I depend uponthe intelligence of Ala. If she had been killed, nothing could have savedus. We have had an unpleasant escape from something too closelyresembling the misfortune of Oedipus. " In the meanwhile, we reached the capital and disembarked on the greattower. To our intense surprise and delight, instead of being reconductedto prison, we were led into a magnificent apartment, with open archesfacing toward the distant mountains, and a repast was spread before us. Juba, to our great contentment, was allowed to accompany us. I think thatJack was the most pleased member of the party at the sight of the food. We sat at a round table, and I observed that the eatables consisted, aswith Juba's people, exclusively of vegetables, except that there werebirds, of species unknown to us, but of most exquisite flavor, and alight, white wine, the most delicious that I ever tasted. When we had finished eating, we fell to admiring the view, and Jackpulled out his pipe, and, aided by Edmund's pocket lamp, which possessedan attachment for cigar lighting, began to smoke, leaning backluxuriously in his seat, with as much nonchalance as if he had been inthe smoking room at the Olympus. I think I may say that we all exhibiteda _sang froid_ amidst our novel surroundings that would have astonishedus if we had stopped to analyze our feelings, but in that respect Jackwas often the coolest member of the party, although he had not the ironnerves of Edmund. On this occasion, he was not long in producing asensation. No sooner had the smoke begun to curl from his lips than theattendants in the room were thrown into a state of laughableconsternation. Evidently they thought, like the servant of WalterRaleigh, that the smoke must come from an internal fire. Their looksshowed alarm as well as astonishment. "Keep your pipe concealed, " whispered Edmund. "Take a few strong whiffs, and hide it in your pocket before they observe whence the smoke reallycomes. This may do us some good; it will, at least, serve to awake theirimagination, and that is what we need. " Jack did as requested, first filling his mouth with smoke, and thenslowly letting it out in puffs that more and more astonished theonlookers, who kept at a respectful distance, and excitedly discussed thephenomenon. Suddenly, Jack, with characteristic mobility of thought, turned to Edmund and demanded: "Edmund, why didn't those fellows shoot us when we were running away?There were enough of them to bring us down with the wildest sort ofshooting. " "They didn't shoot, " was the reply, "because they had nothing to shootwith. I have made up my mind that they are an unwarlike people. I don'tbelieve that they have the slightest idea what a gun is. Yet they are nocowards, and they'll fight if there is need of fighting, and no doubtthey have weapons of some kind; only they are not natural slaughtererslike ourselves, and I shouldn't be surprised if war is unknown on Venus. "All the same, " said Jack, "I wish I had my pistol back. I tried to hideit, but those fellows had their eyes on it, and it's confiscated. I'mglad you think they don't know how to use it. " "And I'm glad, " returned Edmund, "that you haven't got your pistol. You've been altogether too handy with it. Now, " he continued, "let usconsider our situation. You see at a glance that we have gained a greatdeal as a result of the parley; the way we have just been treated hereshows plainly enough that we shall, at least, have a fair trial, and wecouldn't have counted on that before. You can never make people listen toreason against their inclination unless you hold certain advantages, andour advantage was that we clearly had it in our power to continue ourflight. My only anxiety now is in regard to the means of holding them tothe agreement--for agreement it certainly was--and of impressing them notonly with a conviction of our innocence but with a sense of our reservepower, and the more mysterious I can make that power seem to them, thebetter. That is why I welcomed even the incident of Jack's smoking. Weshall surely be arraigned before a court of some kind, and I imagine thatwe shall not have long to wait. What I wish particularly is that all ofyou shall desist from every thought of resistance, and follow strictlysuch instructions as I may have occasion to give you. " He had hardly ceased speaking when a number of official-looking personsentered the room where we were. "Here come the cops, " said Jack. "Now for the police court. " He was not very far wrong. We were gravely conducted to one of the littlecraft which served for elevators, and after a rapid descent, were ledthrough a maze of passages terminating in a vast and splendid apartment, apparently perfectly square in plan, and at least three hundred feet on aside. It was half filled with a brilliant throng, in which our entrycaused a sensation. Light entered through lofty windows on all foursides. The floor seemed to be of a rose-colored marble, with inlaiddiapering of lapis lazuli, and the walls and ceiling were equally rich. But that which absolutely fascinated the eye in this great apartment wasa huge circle high on the wall opposite the entrance door, like a greatclock face, or the rose window of a cathedral, from which pouredtrembling streams of colored light. "Chromatic music, once more, " said Edmund, in a subdued voice. "Do youknow, that has a strange effect upon my spirits, situated as we are. Itis a prelude that may announce our fate; it might reveal to us thecomplexion of our judges, if I could but read its meaning. " "It is too beautiful to spell tragedy, " I said. "Ah, who knows? What is so fascinating as tragedy for those who are onlylookers-on?" "But, Edmund, " I protested, "why do you, who are always the most hopeful, now fall into despondency?" "I am not desponding, " he replied, straightening up. "But this soundlessmusic thrills me with its mysterious power, and sometimes it throws meinto dejection, though I cannot tell why. To me, when what I firmlybelieve was the great anthem of this wonderful race, was played in thesky with spectral harmonies, there was, underlying all its mystic beauty, an infinite sadness, an impending sense of something tragic andterrible. " I was deeply surprised and touched by Edmund's manner, and would havequestioned him further, but we were interrupted by the officials, who nowled us across the vast apartment and to the foot of a kind of thronewhich stood directly under the great clock face. Then, for the firsttime, we recognized Ala, seated on the throne. Beside her was a person ofmajestic stature, with features like those of a statue of Zeus, and longcurling hair of snowy whiteness. The severity of his aspect struck coldto my heart, but Ala's countenance was smiling and full of encouragement. As we were led to our places a hush fell upon the throng of attendants, and the colors ceased to play from the circle. "Orchestra stopped, " whispered the irrepressible Jack. "Curtain rises. " The pause that followed brought a fearful strain upon my nerves, but in amoment it was broken by Ala, who fixed her eyes upon Edmund's face as hestood a little in advance of the rest of us. He returned her regardunflinchingly. Every trace of the feeling which he had expressed to mewas gone. He stood erect, confident, masterful, and as I looked, I felt athrill of pride in him, pride in his genius which had brought us hither, pride in our mother earth--for were we not her far-wandering children? [Illustration: "'Who and what are you, and whence do you come?'"] I summoned all my powers in the effort to understand the tonguelessspeech which I knew was issuing from Ala's eyes. And I did understand it!Although there was not a sound, I would almost have sworn that my earsheard the words: "Who and what are you, and whence do you come?" Breathlessly I awaited Edmund's answer. He slowly lifted his hand andpointed upward. He was, then, going at once to proclaim our origin fromanother world; to throw over us the aegis of the earth! The critical experiment had begun, and I shivered at the thought thathere they knew no earth; here no flag could protect us. I saw perplexityand surprise in Ala's eyes and in those of the stern Zeus beside her. Suddenly a derisive smile appeared on the latter's lips, while Ala'sconfusion continued. God! Were we to fail at the very beginning? Edmund calmly repeated his gesture, but it met with no response; noindication appeared to show that it awakened any feeling other thanuncomprehending astonishment in one of his judges and derision in theother. And then, with a start, I caught sight of Ingra, standing closebeside the throne, his face made more ugly by the grin which overspreadit. I was almost wild; I opened my mouth to cry I know not what, when therewas a movement behind, and Juba stepped to Edmund's side, dropped on hisknees, rose again, and fixed his great eyes upon the judges! My heart bounded at the thoughts which now raced through my brain. Jubabelonged to their world, however remote the ancestral connection mightbe; he possessed at least the elements of their unspoken language; and_it might be a tradition among his people, who we knew worshipped theearth-star, that it was a brighter world than theirs_. Had Edmund'sgesture suddenly suggested to his mind the truth concerning us--a truthwhich the others had not his means of comprehending--and could he nowbear effective testimony in our favor? With what trembling anxiety I watched his movements! Edmund, too, lookedat him with mingled surprise and interest in his face. Presently heraised his long arm, as Edmund had done, and pointed upward. A momentarychill of disappointment ran through me--could he do no more than that?But he _did_ more. Half unconsciously I had stepped forward where I couldsee his face. _His eyes were speaking. _ I knew it. And, thank God! therewas a gleam of intelligence answering him from the eyes of our judges. He had made his point; he had suggested to them a thought of which theyhad never dreamed! They did not thoroughly comprehend him; I could see that, for he musthave been for them like one speaking a different dialect, to say nothingof the fundamental difficulty of the idea that he was trying to convey, but yet the meaning did not escape, and as he continued his strangecommunication, the wonder spread from face to face, for it was not onlythe judges who had grasped the general sense of what he was telling them. Even at that critical moment there came over me a feeling of admirationfor a language like this; a truly universal language, not limited byrules of speech or hampered by grammatical structure. At length it becameevident that Juba had finished, but he continued standing at Edmund'sside. Ala and her white-headed companion looked at one another, and I tried toread their thoughts. In her face, I believed that I could detect everysign of hope for us. Occasionally she glanced with a smile at Edmund. Butthe old judge was more implacable, or more incredulous. There was nokindness in his looks, and slowly it became clear that Ala and he wereopposed in their opinion. Suddenly she placed her hand upon her breast, where the bullet must havegrazed her, and made an energetic gesture, including us in its sweep, which I interpreted to mean that she had no umbrage against those who hadunintentionally injured her. It was plain that she insisted upon thispoint, making it a matter personal to herself, and my hopes rose when Ithought that I detected signs of yielding on the part of the other. Atthis moment, when the decision seemed to hang in the balance, a newelement was introduced into the case with dramatic suddenness andoverwhelming force. For several minutes I had seen nothing of Ingra, but my thoughts had beentoo much occupied with more important things to take heed of hismovements. Now he appeared at the left of the throne, leading a file offellows bearing a burden. They went direct to the foot of the throne, anddeposited their burden within a yard of the place where Edmund wasstanding. They drew off a covering, and I could not repress a cry ofconsternation. It was the body of one of their compatriots, and a glance at it sufficedto show the manner in which death had been inflicted. It had been crushedin a way which could probably mean nothing else than a fearful fall. Thetruth flashed upon me like a gleaming sword. The victim must have beenprecipitated from the air ship which we had struck at the beginning ofour flight! And there stood our enemy, Ingra, with exultation written on hisfeatures. He had made a master stroke, like a skillful prosecutor. "Hang him!" I heard Jack mutter between his teeth. "Oh, if I only had mypistol!" "Then you would make matters a hundred times worse, " I whispered. "Keepyour head, and remember Edmund's injunction. " The behavior of the latter again awoke my utmost admiration. Contemptuously turning his back upon Ingra, he faced Ala and old Zeus, and as their regards mingled, I knew well what he was trying to express. This time, since his meaning involved no conception lying utterly beyondtheir experience, he was more successful. He told them that the death ofthis person was a fact hitherto unknown to us, and that, like the injuryto Ala, it had been inflicted without our volition. I believed that thisplea, too, was accepted as valid by Ala; but not so with the other. Heunderstood it perfectly, and he rejected it on the instant. My reasontold me that nothing else could have been expected of him, for, truly, this was drawing it rather strong--to claim twice in succession immunityfor evils which had undeniably originated from us. Our case looked blacker and blacker, as it became evident that theopposition between our two judges had broken out again, and was now moredecided than before. The features of the old man grew fearfully stern, and he rejected all the apparent overtures of Ala. He had been willing topardon the injury and insult to her person, since she herself insistedupon pardon, but now the affair was entirely different. Whether purposelyor not, we had caused the death of a subject of the realm, and he was notto be swerved aside from what he regarded as his duty. My nerves shook atthe thought that we knew absolutely nothing about the social laws of thispeople, and that, among them, the rule of an eye for an eye, and bloodfor blood, might be more inviolable than it had ever been on the earth. As the discussion proceeded, with an intensity which spoken words couldnot have imparted to it, Ala's cheeks began to glow, and her eyes toglitter with strange light. One could see the resistance in them risingto passion, and, at last, as the aged judge again shook his head, withgreater emphasis than ever, she rose, as if suddenly transformed. Themajestic splendor of her countenance was thrilling. Lifting her jeweledarm with an imperious gesture, she commanded the attendants to remove thebier, and was instantly obeyed. Then she beckoned to Edmund, and withoutan instant's hesitation, he stepped upon the lower stage of the throne. With the stride of a queen, she descended to his side, and, resting herhand on his shoulder, looked about her with a manner which said, as nowords could have done: "It is the power of my protection which encircles him!" CHAPTER XII MORE MARVELS It was not until long afterwards that we fully comprehended all that Alahad done in that simple act; but I will tell you now what it meant. Bythe unwritten law of this realm of Venus, she, as queen, had the right tointerpose between justice and its victim, and such interposition wasalways expressed in the way which we had witnessed. It was a right rarelyexercised, and probably few then present had ever before seen it put intoaction. The sensation which it caused was, in consequence, exceedinglygreat, and a murmur of astonishment arose from the throng in the greatapartment, and hundreds pressed around the throne, staring at us and atthe queen. The majestic look which had accompanied her act graduallyfaded, and her features resumed their customary expression of kindness. The old judge had risen as she stepped from her place beside him, and heseemed as much astonished as any onlooker. His hands trembled, he shookhis head, and a single word came from his mouth, pronounced with acurious emphasis. Ala turned to him, with a new defiance in her eyes, before which his opposition seemed to wither, and he sank back into hisseat. But there was at least one person present who accepted the decision witha bad grace--Ingra. He had been sure of victory in his incomprehensiblepersecution of us, he had played a master card, and now hisdisappointment was written upon his face. With surprise, I saw Alaapproach him, smiling, and I was convinced that she was trying topersuade him to cease his opposition. There was a gentleness in hermanner--almost a deference--which grated upon my feelings, while Jack'sdisgust could find no words sufficient to express itself: "Beauty and the beast!" he growled. "By Jo, if _he's_ got any influenceover her, I'm sorry for her. " "Well, well, don't worry about him, " I said. "He's played his hand andlost, and if you were in his place, you wouldn't feel any better aboutit. " "No, I'd go and hang myself, and that's what he ought to do. But isn't_she_ a queen, though!" Ala now resumed her place upon the throne, and issued orders whichresulted in our being conducted to apartments that were set aside for usin the palace. There were four connecting rooms, and Juba had one ofthem. But we immediately assembled in the chief apartment, which had beenassigned to Edmund. There was much more deference in the manner of ourattendants than we had observed before, and as soon as they left us wefell to discussing the recent events. Jack's first characteristic act wasjoyously to slap Juba on the back: "Bully old boy!" he exclaimed. "Edmund, where'd we have been withoutJuba?" "I ought to have foreseen that, " said Edmund. "If I had been as wise as Isometimes think myself, I'd have arranged the thing differently. Ofcourse it should have been obvious all the while that Juba would be ourtrump card. I dimly saw that, but I ought to have instructed him inadvance. As it was, his own intelligence did the business. He understoodmy claim to an origin outside this planet, when they could not. It musthave come over him all at a flash. " "But do you think that they understand it now?" I asked. "To a certain extent, yes. But it is an utterly new idea to them, and allthe better for us that it is so. It is so much the more mysterious; somuch the more effective with the imagination. But this is not the end ofit; they will want to know more--especially Ala--and now that Juba hasbroken the ice, it will be comparatively easy to fortify the new opinionwhich they have conceived of us. " "But Ingra nearly wrecked it all, " I remarked. "Yes, that was a stunning surprise. How devilish cunning the fellow is;and how inexplicable his antipathy to us. " "I believe that it is a kind of jealousy, " I said. "A kind of natural cussedness, _I_ guess, " put in Jack. "Why should he be jealous?" asked Edmund. "I don't know, exactly; but you know we are not simple barbarians intheir eyes, and Ingra may have conceived a prejudice against us, somehow, on that very account. " "Very unlikely, " Edmund returned, "but we shall find out all about it intime; in the meanwhile, do nothing to prejudice him further, for he is apower that we have got to reckon with. " The conversation then turned upon the mysterious language that had beenemployed at what we called the trial. I expressed the admiration which Ihad felt for such a means of communication when I had observed the effectthat Juba had been able to produce. "Yes, " said Edmund, "it seems as wonderful as it is beautiful, but thereis no reason why it should not have been acquired by the inhabitants ofthe earth. We have the elements, not merely in what we call telepathy, ormind reading, but in our everyday converse. Try it yourself, and you willbe astonished at what the eyes, the looks, are able to convey. Evenabstract ideas are not beyond their reach. Often we abandon speech forthis better method of conveying our meaning. How many a turn in thehistory of mankind has depended upon the unspoken diplomacy of the eyes;how many a crisis in our personal lives is determined, not by words, butby looks. " "That's right, " said Jack, "more matches are made with eyes than withlips. " Edmund smiled and continued: "There's nothing really mysterious about it. It has a purely physical basis, and only needs attention and developmentto become the most perfect mode of mental communication that intellectualbeings could possibly possess. " "And the music and language of color?" I asked. "How has that beendeveloped?" "As naturally as the silent speech. We have it, and we feel it, inpictures, in flower gardens, and in landscapes; only with us it is afrozen music. Living music exists on the earth only in the form ofsonorous vibrations because we have not developed our sense of theharmony of colors except when they lie dead and motionless before us. Agreat painting by Raphael or Turner is to one of these color hymns ofVenus like a printed score, which merely suggests its harmonies, comparedwith the same composition when poured forth from a perfect instrumentunder the fingers of a master player. " "Well, Edmund, " interposed Jack, "I've no doubt it's all as you say, andI'd like to know just enough of their speechless speech to tell Ingrawhat he ought to hear; and if I understood their music, I'd play him adead march, sure. " "But, " continued Edmund, disregarding Jack's interruption, "mark me, there's something else behind all this. I have a dim foreglimpse of it, and if we have luck, we'll know more before long. " I find that the enthusiasm which these wonderful memories arouse, as theyflood back into my mind, is leading me to dwell upon too many details, and I must sum up in fewer words the story of the events whichimmediately followed our acquittal, although it involves some of the mostastonishing discoveries that we made in the world of Venus. As Edmund had surmised, Ala lost no time in seeking more light upon themystery surrounding us. Within twenty-four hours after the dramatic scenein the hall of judgment, we were summoned before her, in a splendidapartment, which was apparently an audience chamber, where we found hersurrounded by several of her female attendants, as well as by what seemedto be high officers of the court; and among them, to our displeasure, wasIngra. He, in fact, appeared to be the most respected and importantpersonage there, next to the queen herself, and he kept close by herside. Edmund glanced at him, and half turning to us, shook his head. Itook his meaning to be that we were not to manifest any annoyance overIngra's presence. The queen was very gracious, and seats were offered to us. Immediatelyshe began to question Edmund, as I could see; but with all my efforts Icould make out nothing of what was "said. " But Juba evidently was able tofollow much of the conversation, in which he manifested the liveliestinterest. The conference lasted about an hour, and at its conclusion, weretired to our apartments. There we eagerly questioned Edmund concerningwhat had occurred. He seemed to be greatly impressed and pleased. He told us that he hadlearned more than he had communicated, but that he had succeeded, as hebelieved, in making clearer to Ala our celestial origin. Still, hedoubted if she fully comprehended it, while as for Ingra, he was surethat the fellow rejected our claim entirely, and persisted in regardingus as inhabitants of the dark hemisphere. "Bosh!" cried Jack. "He's too stupid to understand anything above thelevel of his nose, and I'd like to flatten that for him!" "No, " said Edmund, "he's not stupid, but I'm afraid he's malicious. If hewere a little more stupid, it would be the better for us. " "But does Ala comprehend the difference between us and Juba--I mean inregard to origin?" I asked. "I think so. In fact Juba bears unmistakable signs that he is of theirworld, although so different in physical appearance. His remarkablecomprehension of their method of mental communication is alone sufficientto stamp him as ancestrally one of them. And yet, " Edmund continued, musing, "think of the vast stretch of ages that separates the inhabitantsof the two sides of this planet, the countless eons of evolution thathave brought about the differences now existing! I am delighted tofind that Ala has some understanding of all this. She has had goodteachers--do not smile--for what you have seen of their mechanicalachievements proves that science exists and is cultivated here; and fromher savants she has learned--what our astronomers have deduced--thatformerly Venus turned rapidly on her axis, and had days and nightsswiftly succeeding one another. But they do not know the scientificreasons as completely as we do. With them this is knowledge based largelyupon tradition, 'ancestral voices' echoing down through periods of timeso vast that our most ancient legends seem but tales of yesterday. Whatever may be the measure of man's antiquity on the earth, I am certainthat here intellectual life has existed for millions upon millions ofyears, and its history stretches back beyond the time when the brake oftidal friction had so far destroyed the rotation of the planet that itssurface became permanently divided between the reigns of day and night. " I listened with amazement and could not help exclaiming: "But, Edmund, how could you learn all this in so short a time?" "Because, " he replied, smiling, "the language of the mind, unhampered bydragging words and blundering sentences, plays back and forth with thequickness of thought. There is another thing, too, which I have learned, a thing so amazing that it daunts me. I have found, I believe, theexplanation of that minor note of infinite sadness which, as I told you, I always feel, even in the most joyous-seeming paeans of their colormusic. I think it is due to their forereaching science, which assuresthem that this world has entered upon the last stage of its existencewhich began with the arrest of its axial rotation, and which will endwith the total extinction of life through the evaporation of all thewaters under the never-setting sun, and the consequent completedesiccation of this now so beautiful land. " "But, " I objected, "you have said that they never see the sun. " "That was, I believe, a mistake, I am sure that they never see the starsor the planets, but I think that sometimes they see the sun, or, at leastthat there is a tradition of its having been seen. The whole thing is yetobscure to me, but I have received an inkling of something very, verystrange in that regard. " "Then, Ala may think that it is from the sun that we claim to come, " Isaid, disregarding his last remark, which had a significance which evenhe could not then have appreciated. "I am not sure; we must wait for further light. But I have still anothercommunication not so instinct with mystery. We are to be shown thesources of their mechanical power--the means by which they run all theirmotors. " "Hurrah, " cried Jack. "Now, that's something I like! I can understand amachine--if you don't ask me to run it--but as for this talking throughthe eyes, and playing Jim Crow with rainbows, it's too much for me. " It was not many hours later when we were conducted by Ala, accompanied asusual by the inevitable Ingra, and a brilliant cortège of attendants, upon our first excursion through the capital. We embarked in a gorgeousair ship, and flying low at first, skirted the roofs of the innumerablehouses which constituted the bulk of the city resting on the ground. Theoriental magnificence of the views which we caught in the winding streetsand frequent squares crowded with people, excited our interest to theutmost. But we kept on without descending or stopping until, at length, we passed the limits of the immense metropolis, and, flying more rapidly, and at a greater elevation, soon approached what, at a distance, appearedto be a waterfall, greater than Niagara, pouring out of the air! "What marvel can this be?" I asked. "A fountain, " responded Edmund. "A cataract turned upside down, " exclaimed Jack. "Well, I've ceased to besurprised at anything I see here. I wouldn't be astonished now to findthat their whole old planet was hollow, and full of gnomes, or whateveryou call 'em. " When we got nearer we saw that Edmund's description was substantiallycorrect. The vast mass of water gushed from the top of a broad plateau, in the form of a gigantic vertical fountain, with a roar so stupendousthat Ala and her attendants immediately covered their ears withprotectors, and we should not have been sorry to follow their example, for our eardrums were almost burst by the billowing force of the soundwaves. The water shot upward four or five hundred feet with geyser-likeplumes reaching a thousand feet, and then descended in floods on allsides. But the slope of the ground was such that eventually it was allcollected in a river, which flowed away with great swiftness, past thedistant city, and disappeared in the direction of the sea from which wehad come. The solid column of rising water must have been, at its base, three hundred feet in diameter! But our amazement was redoubled when we recognized, at various points ofvantage, squat, metallic towers of enormous strength, which caught thedescending water, allowing it to issue in roaring torrents from theirbases. "Those, " shouted Edmund in our ears, "are power houses. I knew alreadythat these people had learned the mechanical uses of electricity; and ifwe have seen no electric lights as yet, it is because, in a world ofperpetual daylight, they have little or no use for them. They employ thepower for other purposes. " "But how do you account for this incredible fountain?" I asked. "It must be due to geological causes, if I may use a terrestrial term. You observe that the land all has a slope hitherward from the distantrange of mountains, and that between us and the sea there is a chain ofhills. The metropolis lies at the lower edge of a vast basin, and it mustbe that the relatively porous surface, over many thousands of squaremiles, is underlain by an almost unbroken shell of rock, impermeable towater. The result is that the drainage of this whole immense region, after being collected under ground, flows together to this point, wherethe existence of a huge vent in the upper layer offers it a way ofescape, and it comes spouting out of the great crater with theconsequences which you behold. " Many objections to Edmund's theory occurred to my mind; but he spoke soconfidently, the course of things on this strange planet had so oftenfollowed his indications, and I felt myself so incapable of suggesting amore satisfactory hypothesis, that I made no reply, as a geologist, perhaps, would have done. At any rate the wonderful phenomenon existedbefore our eyes, explanation or no explanation. We learned afterwardsthat the river formed by the giant fountain passed through a gap in thehills to the seaward, and the more I reflected upon Edmund's idea themore acceptable I found it. A great deal of the water was led away from the foot of the plateau outof which the fountain issued by ditches constructed to irrigate the richgardens surrounding the metropolis and the open agricultural country formany miles around. At the queen's invitation, although she did notaccompany us, we inspected one of the power houses, and Edmund found thegreatest delight in studying the details of the enormous dynamos and thesystem of cables by which, quite in our own manner, the electric powerwas conveyed to the city. We noticed that everywhere the most ingeniousdevices were employed for killing noise. "I knew we should find all this, " said Edmund--"although I did notprecisely anticipate the form that the natural supply of energy wouldtake--as soon as I saw the aerial screws that give buoyancy to the greattowers. In fact, I foresaw it as soon as I found, in inspecting themachinery of the air ship which brought us from the sea, that theirmotors were driven by storage batteries. It was obvious, then, that theyhad some extraordinary source of energy. " "Oh, of course, you knew it all!" muttered Henry under his breath. "Butif you were as omniscient as you think yourself, you'd not be in thisfool's paradise. " "What's that you're saying?" demanded Jack, partly catching the import ofHenry's remark, and beginning to ruffle his feathers. "Oh, nothing, " mumbled Henry, and I shook my head at Jack to keep quiet. We all felt at times Edmund's assumption of superiority, but Jack and Iwere willing to put up with it as one of the privileges of genius. IfEdmund had not believed in himself, he would never have brought usthrough. And besides, we always found that he was right, and if hesometimes spoke rather boastingly of his knowledge and foresight, atleast it was real knowledge and genuine foresight. CHAPTER XIII WE FALL INTO TROUBLE AGAIN It was not long after our visit to the marvelous fountain when Jackproposed to me that he and I should make a little excursion on our ownaccount in the city. Edmund was absent at the moment, engaged in someinquiries which interested him, under the guidance of Ala and hercustomary attendants. I forget why Jack and I had stayed behind, sinceboth Juba and Henry had accompanied Edmund, but it was probably becausewe wished to make some necessary repairs to our garments for I confessthat I shared a little of the coquettishness of Jack in that matter. Atany rate, we grew weary of being alone, and decided to venture just alittle way in search of adventure. We calculated that the tower of thepalace, which was so conspicuous, would serve us as a landmark, and thatthere was no danger of getting lost. Nobody interfered with us at our departure, as we had feared they might, and in a short time we had become so absorbed in the strange spectaclesof the narrow streets, lined with shops and filled with people on foot, while small air ships continually passed just above the roofs, that weforgot the necessity of keeping our landmark constantly in view, and werelost without knowing it. One thing which immediately struck us was the entire absence of beasts ofburden--nothing like horses or mules did we see. There were not evendogs, although, as I have told you, some canine-like animals dwelt withthe people of the caverns. Everybody went either on foot or in air ships. There were no carriages, except a kind of palanquin, some running onwheels and others borne by hand. "I should think they would have autos, " said Jack, "with all theirscience and ingenuity which Edmund admires so much. " But there was not a sign of anything resembling an auto; the silence ofthe crowded streets was startling, and made the scene more dreamlike. Everybody appeared to be shod with some noise-absorbing material. Westrolled along, turning corners with blissful carelessness, staring andbeing stared at (for, of course, everybody knew who we were), peeringinto open doors and the gaping fronts of bazaars, chattering like acouple of boys making their first visit to a city, and becoming everymoment more hopelessly, though unconsciously, lost, and more interestedby what we saw. The astonishing display of pleasing colors and thebrilliancy of everything fascinated us. I had never seen anythingcomparable to this in beauty, variety, and richness. We passed a marketwhere we saw some of the bright-plumaged birds that we had eaten at ourfirst repast hung up for sale. They had a way of serving these birds attable with the brilliant feathers of the head and neck still attached, asif they found a gratification even at their meals in seeing beautifulcolors before them. Other shops were filled with birds in gilded cages, which we should havetaken for songsters but for the fact that, although crowds gathered aboutand regarded them with mute admiration, not a sound issued from theirthroats--at least we heard none. A palanquin stopped at one of theseshops, and a lady alighted and bought three beautiful birds which shecarried away in their cages, watching them with every indication of theutmost pleasure, which we ascribed to the splendor of their plumage andthe gracefulness of their forms. As a crowd watched the transactionwithout interference on the part of the shopkeeper, or evidence ofannoyance on that of the lady, we took the liberty of a close lookourselves. Then we saw their money. "Good, yellow gold, " whispered Jack. Such, indeed, it seemed to be. The lady took the money, which consistedof slender rings, chased with strange characters, from a golden purse, and the whole transaction seemed so familiar that we might well havebelieved ourselves to be witnessing a purchase in a bazaar of Cairo orDamascus. This scene led to a desire on Jack's part to buy somethinghimself. "If I only had some of their money, " he said, "I'd like to get somecuriosities to carry home. I wonder if they'd accept these?" and he drewfrom his pocket some gold and silver coins. "No doubt they'd be glad to have a few as keepsakes, " I said. "By Jo! I think I'll try it, " said Jack, "but not here. I'm not a birdfancier myself. Let's look a little farther. " We wandered on, getting more and more interested, and followed by athrong of curious natives, who treated us, I must say, much morerespectfully than we should have been treated in similar circumstances athome. Many of the things we saw, I cannot describe, because there isnothing to liken them to, but all were as beautiful as they were strange. At last we found a shop whose contents struck Jack's fancy. The placediffered from any that we had yet seen; it was much larger, and morerichly fitted up than the others, and there were no counters, the thingsthat it contained being displayed on the inner walls, while a singlekeeper, of a grave aspect, and peculiarly attired, all in black, occupieda seat at the back. The objects on view were apparently ornaments to behung up, as we hang plaques on the wall. They were of both gold andsilver, and in some the two metals were intermixed, with pleasingeffects. What seemed singular was the fact that the _motif_ of theornaments was always the same, although greatly varied in details ofexecution. As near as I could make it out, the intention appeared to beto represent a sunburst. There was invariably a brilliant polished bossin the center, sometimes set with a jewel, and surrounding rays ofcrinkled form, which plunged into a kind of halo that encircled theentire work. The idea was commonplace, and it did not occur to me amidstmy admiration of the extreme beauty of the workmanship that there was anycause for surprise in the finding of a sunburst represented here. Jackwas enthusiastic. "That's the ticket for me, " he said. "How would one of those things lookhanging over the fireplace of old Olympus? You bet I'm going to persuadethe old chap to exchange one for a handful of good solid American money. " I happened to glance behind us while Jack was scooping his pocket, andwas surprised to see that the crowd of idlers, which had been followingus, had dispersed. Looking out of the doorway, I saw some of themfurtively regarding us from a respectful distance. I twitched Jack by thesleeve: "See here, " I said, "there's some mistake about this. I don't believethat this is a shop. You'd better be careful, or we may make a badbreak. " "Oh, pshaw!" he replied; "it's a shop all right, or if it isn't exactly ashop that old duffer will be glad to get a little good money for one ofhis gimcracks. " My suspicion that all was not right was not allayed when I noticed thatthe old man, whose complexion differed from the prevailing tone here, andwho was specially remarkable by the possession of an eagle-beaked nose, apeculiarity that I had not before observed among these people, began tofrown as Jack brusquely approached him. But I could not interfere beforeJack had thrown a handful of coin in his lap, and, reaching up, had puthis hand upon one of the curious sunbursts, saying: "I guess this will suit; what do you say, Peter?" Instantly the old fellow sprang to his feet, sending the coins rollingover the polished floor, and with eyes ablaze with anger, seized Jack bythe throat. I sprang to his aid, but in a second four stout fellows, darting out of invisible corners, grappled us, and before we could makeany effective resistance, they had our arms firmly bound behind ourbacks! Jack exerted all his exceptional strength to break loose, but invain. "I tried to stop you, Jack--" I began, in a tone of annoyance, butimmediately he cut me off: "This is on _me_, Peter; don't you worry. _You_ haven't done anything. " "I'm afraid it's on all of us, " I replied. "The whole party, Edmund andall, may have to suffer for our heedlessness. " "Fiddlesticks, " he returned. "I haven't got his old ornament, but he'sgot my coin. This looks like a skin game to me. What in thunder did hehang the things up for if he didn't want to sell 'em?" "But I told you this wasn't a shop. " "No, I see it isn't; it's a trap for suckers, I guess. " Jack's indignation grew hotter as we were dragged out into the street, and followed by a crush of people drawn to the scene, were hurried along, we knew not whither. In fact, his indignation swallowed up the alarmwhich he ought to have experienced, and which I felt in full force. Ibeat my brains in vain to find some explanation for the mercilessseverity with which we were treated so out of all proportion to thevenial fault that had unconsciously been committed, and my perplexitygrew when I saw in the faces of the crowd surrounding us, and running tokeep up, a look of horror, as if we had been guilty of an unspeakablecrime. We were too much hurried and jolted by our captors to address oneanother, and in a short time we were widely separated, Jack being led, orrather dragged, ahead, as if to prevent any communication between us. Once in a while, to my regret, I observed him exerting all his force tobreak his bonds and slinging his custodians about; but he could not getaway, and at last, to my infinite comfort, he ceased to struggle, andwent along as quietly as the rapid pace would permit. Presently an air ship swooped down from above, and alighted in a littlesquare which we had just entered. Immediately we were taken aboard, withsmall regard to our comfort, and the air ship rose rapidly, and bore offin the direction of the great tower of the palace which we could now see. Upon our arrival we were taken through the inevitable labyrinth ofcorridors, and finally found ourselves in a place that was entirely newto us. It was a round chamber, perhaps two hundred feet in diameter, lighted, like the Roman Pantheon, by a huge circular opening in the vaulted roof, through which I caught a glimpse of the pearl-tinted cloud dome, whichseemed infinitely remote. No opposition was made when I pushed ahead inorder to be at Jack's side, and as a throng quickly hedged us round, ourconductors released their hold, although our arms remained bound. When atlast we stood fast we were in front of a rich dais, containing athronelike seat occupied by a personage attired in black, the firstglimpse of whose face gave me such a shock as I had not experienced sincethe priest of the earth-worshipers seized me for his prey. I have neverseen anything remotely resembling that face. It was without beard, and ofa ghastly paleness. It was seen only in profile, except when, with alightning-like movement, it turned, for the fraction of a second, towardus, and was instantly averted again. It made my nerves creep to look atit. The nose was immense, resembling a huge curved beak, and the eyes, asblack and glittering as jet, were roofed with shaggy brows, and seemedcapable of seeing crosswise. Sometimes one side of the face and sometimes the other was presented, thetransition being effected by two instantaneous jerks, with a slight pausebetween, during which the terrible eyes transfixed us. At such momentsthe creature--though he bore the form of a man--seemed to project hisdreadful countenance toward the object of his inspection like a monstrousbird stretching forth its neck toward its prey. The effect wasindescribable, terrifying, paralyzing! The eyes glowed like fannedembers. "In God's name, " gasped Jack, leaning his trembling shoulder upon me, "what is it?" I was, perhaps, more unmanned than he, and could make no reply. Then there was a movement in the throng surrounding us, and the old manof the sunbursts appeared before the throne, and, after dropping on hisknees and rising again, indicated us with his long finger, and, as wasplain, made some serious accusation. The face turned upon us again with alonger gaze than usual, and we literally shrank from it. Then its ownerrose from his seat, towering up, it seemed, to a height of full sevenfeet, shot his hand out with a gesture of condemnation, and instantly satdown again and averted his countenance. There seemed to have been a worldof meaning in this brief act to those who could comprehend it. We wereseized, even more roughly than before, and dragged from the chamber, andat the end of a few minutes found ourselves thrown into a dungeon, wherethere was not the slightest glimmer of light, and the door was lockedupon us. It was a long time before either of us summoned up the courage to speak. At length I said faintly: "Jack, I'm afraid it's all over with us. We must have done somethingterrible, though I cannot imagine what it was. " But Jack, after his manner, was already recovering his spirits, and hereplied stoutly: "Nonsense, Peter, we're all right, as Edmund says. Wait till he comes andhe'll fix it. " "But how can he know what has happened? And what could he do if he did?More likely they will all be condemned along with us. " Jack felt around in the dark and got me by the hand, giving it a heartypressure. "Remember Ala, " he said. "She's our friend, or Edmund's, and they'llbring us out of this. You want to brace up. " "Remember Ingra!" I responded with a shiver, and I could feel Jack startat the words. "Hang him!" he muttered. "If I'd only finished him when I had the drop!" After that neither spoke. If Jack's thoughts were blacker than mine hemust have wished for his pistol to blow out his own brains. At no timesince our arrival on the planet had I felt so depressed. I had no courageleft; could see no lightening of the gloom anywhere. In the horror of thedarkness which enveloped us, the _horror of space_ came over my spirit. One feels a little of that sometimes when the breadth of an oceanseparates him from home, and from all who really care for him--but whatis the Atlantic or the Pacific to millions upon millions of leagues ofinterplanetary space! To be cast away among the inhabitants of anotherworld than one's own! To have lost, as we had done (for in that moment ofdespair I was _sure_ Edmund could never repair the car), the onlypossible means of return! To have offended, just _because_ we werestrangers, and _could_ not know better, some incomprehensible social lawof this strange people, who owned not a drop of the blood of our race, orof any race whatsoever dwelling on the earth! To lie under thecondemnation of that goblin face, without the possibility of pleadingeven the mercy that our hearts instinctively grant to the smallest miteof fellow life on our own planet! To be alone! friendless! forsaken!condemned!--in a far-off, kinless world! I could have fallen down inidolatry before a grain of sand from the shore of the Atlantic! In the murkiest depth of my despair a sound roused me with a shock thatmade my heart ache. In a moment the door opened, light streamed in, andEdmund stood there. CHAPTER XIV THE SUN GOD Strangely enough, I, who have an exceptional memory for spoken words, cannot, by any effort, recall what Edmund said, as his face beamed inupon us. I have only a confused recollection that he spoke, and that hiswords had a marvelous effect upon my broken spirit. But I can see, as ifit were yet before me, the smile that illumined his features. My heartbounded with joy, as if a messenger had come straight from the earthitself, bearing a reprieve whose authority could not be called inquestion. Jack's joy was no less than mine, although he had not suffered mentallyas I had done. And the sight of Ala was hardly less reassuring to us, butto find Ingra, too, present was somewhat of a shock to our confidence inspeedy delivery from trouble. And, in fact, we were not at oncedelivered. We had to spend many weary hours yet in our dark prison, butthey were rendered less gloomy by Edmund's assurance that he would saveus. The confidence that he always inspired seems to me to have beenanother mark of his genius. We had an instinct that he could do in anycircumstances what was impossible to ordinary men. At last the welcome moment came, and we were led forth, free, andrejoined Edmund, Henry, and Juba in our apartments. Then, for the first, we learned what we had done, and how narrow had been our escape from aterrible doom. It was a new chapter of wonder that Edmund opened beforeus. I shall tell it in his own words. "When I returned to the palace and found you missing I was greatlywrought up. Immediately I applied to Ala for aid in finding you. She wasquickly informed of all the circumstances of your arrest, and I saw atonce, by the expression of her features, that it was a matter of theutmost gravity. I was not reassured by Ingra's evident joy. I could readin his face the pleasure that the news gave him, and I perceived thatthere was again opposition between him and Ala, and that she was trying, with less success than I hoped for, to bring him round to her view. "With no little trouble I finally discovered the nature of your offense. I understood it the more readily because I had already begun to suspectthe existence among these people of a strange form of idolatry, in somerespects akin to the earth-worship of the cavern dwellers. I have toldyou that certain things had led me to think that they occasionally seethe sun here. It is a phenomenon of excessive rarity, and wholegenerations sometimes pass without its recurrence. It is due to anopening which at irregular periods forms for a brief space of time in thecloud dome. I imagine that it may be in some way connected with sunspots, but here they have no notion of its cause, and look upon it as entirelymiraculous. "Whenever this rare event occurs it gives rise to extraordinary religiousexcitement, and ceremonies concerning which there is some occult mysterythat I have not yet penetrated. I suspect that the ceremonies are notaltogether unlike the Bacchanalian festivals of ancient Greece. At anyrate the momentary appearance of the sun at these times is regarded asthe avatar of a supreme god, and their whole religious system is basedupon it. So universal and profound is the superstition to which it givesrise that the most instructed persons among them are completely under itsdominion. The eagle-beaked individual who condemned you, and whom I havesince seen, is the chief priest of this superstition, and within hissphere his power is unlimited. It is solely to the belief--which, throughAla, I have succeeded in impressing upon him--that we are _children ofthe sun_ that I owe the success of my efforts in your behalf. Withoutthat you would surely have been sacrificed, and we with you. "One of the forms which this superstition takes is a belief that theanger of the sun god can be mollified by offerings of images, made in hislikeness, which are first consecrated by the chief priest, and then hungup on the walls of certain small temples, which are scattered through thecity, and are always kept open to the air under the guard of a minorpriest and his attendants. A whole family, as I understand it, deemsitself protected by one of these images, which are made by artists whonever touch any other work, and which are only granted to those who haveundergone a painful series of purifications in the great temple. Thepreliminary ceremonies finished, the images are suspended, and at certaintimes those to whom they belong go and kneel and pray before them, asbefore their guardian saints. " "What a fool I was not to understand it, " I murmured. "You will understand now, " Edmund continued, "how serious was Jack'soffense in insulting a priest, and laying impious hands upon a sacredimage, belonging, no doubt, to a family whose antiquity of descent wouldmake our oldest pedigrees on the earth seem as ephemeral as the existenceof a May fly; for I am convinced that here life has gone on, uninterrupted by wars and changes of dynasty, for untold ages. "It is a marvel that you escaped, for already they were preparing theawful sacrifice. The chief priest was amazed when an interposition wasmade on your behalf. Such a thing had never been known, and, as I havesaid, it was only by acting upon his superstition that I succeeded, withAla's assistance, in obtaining a reprieve. As the case stands, we findourselves occupying a dangerous eminence, which it may be difficult forus to maintain. I must beseech you to be on your guard, and to act onlyunder my direction. It is all the more serious for us because I amconvinced that Ingra has no faith whatever in the legend which protectsus. He persists in believing that we are simply interlopers from the darkhemisphere, and the opposition between him and Ala has now become sosharp that he would gladly witness our destruction. I am sure that hewill do his utmost to unmask us, and thus send us to our death. " "But--" I began. "Wait a moment, " said Edmund, "I have not yet finished. I must now tellyou who Ingra is. _He is the destined consort of Ala. _ That explains hisinfluence over her. From what I can make out, it appears that he is ofthe royal blood, and that the marriage of the queen is arranged, not byher preference, but by an unwritten law, administered by the chiefpriest. She has no choice in the matter. " "I should say not, " broke in Jack. "She never would have chosen thatjackanapes! If you hadn't spoiled my aim I'd have relieved her of theburden. " "Not another word of that!" said Edmund severely. "In no manner, not evenby a look, are you ever to express your dislike of him. And remember, youmust govern your very thoughts, for here they lie open, as legible asprint. " "Hang me, " growled Jack, "if I like a world where a man can't even thinkhis own thoughts because his mind goes bare! Take me back where you haveto speak before you are understood. " "When you have wicked thoughts don't look them in the eyes, " said Edmund, half smiling, "and then you will run no danger. It is through the eyesthat they read. Now, to resume what I was saying, I am more than everanxious to recover the car, and to find the materials that will enable meto repair its machinery. With it in our possession, and in good shape, weshall be in a position to run away whenever it may seem necessary to doso, and in the meantime to impose our legend upon them by the possessionof so apparently miraculous a means of conveying ourselves through space. It will be overwhelming proof of the truth of our assertion of an originoutside their world, and perhaps, upon the whole, it is just as well thatthey should think that we belong to the sun, of whose existence they havesome knowledge, rather than to the earth, of which they know nothing, inspite of the inkling that Juba succeeded in conveying to them. " "The car is here, isn't it?" I asked. "Yes, it is in the great tower, but it is useless in its presentcondition. " "And what materials do you want to find?" "Primarily nothing but uranium. They understand chemistry here. They havethe apparatus that I need, but they do not know how to use it as I do. The uranium certainly exists somewhere. They mine gold and silver, andother things, and when I can find their mines, without exciting theirsuspicion, and can get the use of a laboratory in secret, I shall soonhave what I need. But I must be very circumspect, for it would not do tolet them perceive that chemistry really lies at the basis of our miracle. It is this necessity for secrecy which troubles me most. But I shall finda way. " "For God's sake, find it quick, " Henry burst out. "And then get away fromthis accursed planet. " Edmund looked at him a moment before replying: "We shall go when the necessity for going arises, and not before. We havenot yet seen all the interesting things of this world. " I believe that even Jack and I shared to some extent Henry'sdisappointment on hearing this announcement. We should have been glad toknow that we were to start on the return journey as soon as the car wasin shape to transport us. But the event proved that Edmund's instinctwas, as usual, right, and that the things which were yet to be seen andexperienced were well worth the fearful risk we ran in remaining. While Edmund undertook the delicate inquiries which were necessary inorder to determine the direction that his search for uranium should take, and to enable him to conduct his chemical processes without awakingsuspicion as to his real purpose, we were left much of the time in chargeof a party of attendants who, by his intercession, had been selected toact as our guides when we wished to examine the wonders of the palace andthe capital. Sometimes he accompanied us; but more often he was with Alaand her suite, including her uneludable satellite, Ingra. "I bless my stars that he doesn't favor _us_ with his delightfulcompany, " was Jack's comment, when he saw Ingra tagging along after Alaand Edmund. I privately believed that Ingra had his spies among our attendants, but Iwas careful not to mention my suspicions to Jack. But, oh, the delight of those excursions! Those streets; and those aerialtowers, which rose like forests of coral in a gulf of liquid ether! Theyshine often in my dreams. A thousand times I have tried to put intowords, simply for my own satisfaction, a description of the things thatwe saw, and the impressions that they made on my mind--but it isimpossible. I understand now why the tales of travelers into strangelands never convey a tithe of what is in the writers' minds; theysimply cannot; the necessary words and analogies do not exist. I can onlyuse general terms, ransacking the vocabulary of adjectives--"beautiful, ""wonderful, " "fascinating, " "marvelous, " "indescribable, " "magical, ""enchanting, " "amazing, " "inexplicable, " "_sans pareil_"--what youwill--but all that says nothing except to my own mind. Only the languageof Venus could describe the charms and the wonders of Venus! There was one thing, however, which was sufficiently comprehensible--_thegreat library_. Edmund was not with us when we paid our first visit toit; but he had predicted its existence during one of our conversations, when we were talking of the silent language. "This people, " he had said, "has a great history behind it, extendingover periods which would amaze our disinterrers of human antiquity, butan intelligent race cannot make history without also keeping records ofit. Tradition alone, handed on from mind to mind, would not answer theirrequirements. The possession of the power to communicate thought withoutspoken language does not presuppose a power of memory any more perfectthan we have. The brain forgets, the imagination misleads, with them aswith us, and consequently they must have books of some kind--whichimplies a written or printed language. It is probable that this languagedoes not correspond with the very meager one of which we occasionallyhear them pronounce a few words. The latter is, I am convinced, used onlyfor names and interjections, and sometimes to call the attention of theperson addressed, while the former must be a rich and carefullyelaborated system of literary expression, which may not be phonetic atall. We shall find that this is so; and there are unquestionablylibraries--probably a great imperial library--devoted to history andscience. There must be schools also. " Thus Edmund had spoken, and thus we found it to be. The great library wasin a building separate from the palace. It was admirably lighted fromwithout, and its nature was apparent the moment we were led into it. The"books" were long scrolls, which might have been taken for parchment orpapyrus, and the characters written on them resembled those of theChinese language, but worked out in exquisite colors, which mightthemselves have had a meaning. The rolls were kept in proper receptaclesunder the charge of librarians, and we saw many grave persons at desksporing over them. Absolute silence reigned, and as I gazed at the scene Ifound admiration for this extraordinary people taking the place of theprejudice which I had recently been led to feel against them. Jack, unusually impressed, whispered to me that Edmund must have beenplaying us some Hindoo bedevilment trick, for he could not believe thatwe were actually in a foreign world. The same impression came over me. This was too earthlike; too much as if, instead of being on the planetVenus, we had been transported to some land of antique civilization inour own world. But, after all, we _knew where we were_, and as therealization of that fact came to us we could only stare with increasingastonishment at the scene before us. I may say here that Edmundsubsequently visited this great library, and also some of the schools, and I know that he made notes of what he discovered and learned in them, with the purpose, as I supposed, of writing upon the subject after hisreturn. But the expected book, which would have supplemented andclarified much of what I have undertaken to tell, with but a halfunderstanding of what we saw, never appeared. Our wonderful excursions came to an end when Edmund at length announcedthat he had obtained the information he needed, and that we were about tomake a trip to some of the mines of Venus. "I have discovered, " he said, "that Venus is exceedingly rich in theprecious metals, as well as in iron and lead. They mine them all, andwe shall visit the mines under Ala's escort. My real purpose, ofcourse, is to find uranium, of whose properties, strangely--and for usluckily--enough, they seem to have no knowledge. Nevertheless, they arecapital chemists as far as they go, and possess laboratories providedwith all that I shall need. They refine the metals at the minesthemselves, so that I am sure of finding everything necessary to do mywork right on the ground. The substance which I obtain from uranium is soconcentrated that I can carry in my pocket all that will be required torepair the damage done to the transformers in the car. A carefulexamination, which I have made of the car, proves that the terrificshocks the machinery suffered in the crystal mountains caused an atomicreadjustment which destroyed the usefulness of the material in thetransformers, and while I might, by laboratory treatment, possiblyrestore its properties, I think it safer to obtain an entirely freshsupply. We shall start with the queen's ship within a few hours; so youhad better make your preparations at once. " CHAPTER XV AT THE MERCY OF FEARFUL ENEMIES If we could have foreseen what was to happen during this trip, evenEdmund, I believe, would have shrunk from undertaking it. But we allembarked upon it gladly, because we had conceived the highestexpectations of the delight that it would afford us; and at the news thatwe were to visit mines of gold richer than any on the earth, Henryexhibited the first enthusiasm that he had shown since our departure fromhome. Embarked on Ala's splendid "yacht, " as Jack called it, and attended byher usual companions, we rapidly left the city behind, and sped awaytoward the purple mountains, so often seen in the distance. The voyagewas a long one, but at length we drew near the foothills, and beheld themountains towering into peaks behind. Lofty as they looked, there was nosnow on their summits. We now descended where plumes of smoke had forsome time attracted our attention, and found ourselves at one of themines. It was a gold mine. The processes of extracting the ore, separating the metal, etc. , were conducted with remarkable silence, butthey showed a knowledge of metallurgy that would have amazed us if we hadnot already seen so much of the capacity of this people. Yet similarly tothe scene in the library, its earth-likeness was startling. "This sort of thing is uncanny, " said Jack, as we were led through theworks. "It makes me creep to see them doing things just as we do them athome, except that they are so quiet about it. If everything was differentfrom our ways it would seem more natural. " "Anyhow, " I replied, "we may take it as a great compliment to ourselves, for it shows that we have found out ways of doing things which cannot beimproved even in Venus. " I should like to describe in detail the wonders of this mine, but I havespace for only a few words about it. It was, Edmund learned, the richeston the planet, and was the exclusive property of the government, furnishing the larger part of its revenues, which were not comparablewith those of a great terrestrial nation because of the absence of allthe expenditures required by war. No fleets and no armies existed here, and no tariffs were needed where commerce was free. This great mine wasthe Laurium of Venus. The display of gold in the vaults connected with itexceeded a hundredfold all that the most imaginative historian has everwritten of the treasures of Montezuma and Atahualpa. Henry's eyes fairlyshone as he gazed upon it, and he could not help saying to Edmund: "You might have had riches equal to this if you had stayed at home anddeveloped your discovery. " Edmund contemptuously shrugged his shoulders, and turned away without aword. We were afterwards conducted to a silver mine, which we also inspected, and finally to a lead mine in another part of the hills. This was inreality the goal at which Edmund had been aiming, for he had told us thaturanium was sometimes found in association with lead. Our joy was verygreat when, after a long inspection, he informed us that he haddiscovered uranium, and that it now remained only to submit it to certainoperations in a laboratory in order to prepare the substance that was togive renewed life to those lilliputian monsters in the car, which fedupon men's breath and begot power illimitable. "I must now contrive, " said Edmund, "to get admission to the laboratoryconnected with the mine, and to do my work without letting them suspectwhat I am about. " He managed it somehow, as he managed all things that he undertook, andwithin forty-eight hours after our arrival he was hard at work, evidentlyexciting the admiration of the native chemists by the knowledge and skillwhich he displayed. At first they crowded around him so that he washampered in his efforts to conceal the real object of his labors; but atlast they left him comparatively alone, and I could see by his expressionwhenever I visited the laboratory that things were going to his liking. But the work was long and delicate. Edmund had to fabricate secretly someof the chemical apparatus he needed, destroying it as fast as it servedits purpose, so that weeks of time rolled by before he had what he calledthe "thimbleful of omnipotence" that was to make us masters of our fate. As fast as he produced it he put it in a metal box, shaped like asnuffbox, and covertly he showed it to us. It consisted of brilliantblack grains, finer than millet seeds. "Every one of those minute grains, " he told us, "is packed with as muchpotential energy as that of a ton's weight suspended a mile above theearth. " But while the little box was being gradually filled with crystallizedpowder, we, who could lend no aid in the fabrication of Edmund's miracle, improved the opportunity to make acquaintance with the beauties of thesurrounding country. Ala had returned to the capital, leaving an air shipat our disposal, and, of all persons in the world, _Ingra in command_! Werefused all invitations to accompany him in the air ship, preferring tomake our excursions on foot, accompanied at first by some of theattendants that Ala had left. Edmund did not share our fears that Ingrameditated mischief. "He doesn't dare, " was his reply to all our representations. But nothingcould induce Jack and me to trust to Ingra's tender mercies. Among the favorite spots which we had found to visit in the neighborhoodof the mine was a little knoll crowned with a group of the most beautifultrees that I ever saw, and washed at its base by a brook of exquisitelytransparent water which tinkled over a bed of white and clear-yellowpebbles, sparkling like jewels. More than once at the beginning I fishedsome of them out in the belief that they were nuggets of pure goldpolished by the water. In a pool under the translucent shadow of theoverhanging trees played small fish so splendid in their varied hues thatthey looked like miniature rainbows darting about beneath the water. Birds of vivid color sometimes flitted among the branches overhead. Therewas but one "rainy day" while we were at the mine; all the rest of thetime not a cloud appeared under the great dome, and a scented zephyrcontinually drew down from the mountains and fanned us. Here, then, wepassed many hours and many days, chatting of our adventures and ourchances, drowsily happy in the pure physical enjoyment which thischarming spot afforded. When at last Edmund informed us that his box was full, and he was readyto return to the capital, we would not let him go without firstconducting him to our little paradise. All together, then, with theexception of Juba, who, by some interference of an overlookingprovidence, was left at the mine, we set out in the highest spirits to befor once our leader's leaders in the exploration of some of the charms ofVenus. Edmund was no less delighted than we had been with the place, andyielding to its somnolent influences we were soon stretched side by sideon the spreading roots of a giant tree, and sleeping the sleep ofsensuous languor. Our waking was as terrible as it was sudden. I heard a cry, and at thesame instant felt an irresistible hand grasping me by the throat. As Iopened my eyes I saw that the whole party were prisoners. Nearby an airship was quivering, as, held in leash, it lightly touched the ground; anda dozen gigantic fellows, whipping our hands behind our backs, hurried usaboard, the great mechanical bird, which instantly rose, describing acircle that carried us above the treetops. I did not try to struggle, forI felt how vain would be any effort that I could make. Glancing about me, the very first features I recognized were those ofIngra. At last he had us in his power! I looked at Edmund, but his face was set in thought, and he did notreturn my glance. Henry, as usual, had plunged into silent hopelessness, and Jack was a picture of mingled rage and despair. Although we wereloosely fastened side by side to a rail on the deck, neither of us spokefor perhaps half an hour. In the meantime the air ship rose to a heightgreater than that of the nearby mountains, and then more slowlyapproached them. At last it began to circle, as if an uncertaintyconcerning the route to be chosen had arisen, and I observed, for wecould look all about in spite of our bonds, that Ingra and one whoappeared to be his lieutenant were engaged in an animated discussion. They pointed this way and that, and the debate grew every moment moreearnest. This continued for a long time, while the ship hovered, runningslowly in the wide circles. We could not then know how much thishesitation meant for us. If Ingra had been as rapid in his decision nowas he was in the act of taking us prisoners, this history would neverhave been written. I watched Edmund, and saw that his attention wasabsorbed by what our captors were about, and even in that emergency Ifelt a touch of comfort through my unfailing confidence in our leader. Finally a decision seemed to have been reached, and we set off over thecrest of the range. As its huge peaks towered behind us and we descendednearer the ground, my heart sank again, for now we were cut off from theworld beyond, and in the improbable event of any pursuit, how could thepursuers know what course we had taken, or where to look for us? And, then, who would pursue? Juba could do nothing, Ala was far away at thecapital, even supposing that she should be disposed to set out in searchof us, and hours, perhaps days, must elapse before she could be informedof what had happened. Not even when Jack and I were in the dungeon hadour case seemed so desperate. But how the gods repent when they have sunk men in the blackest pit ofdespair, sending them a messenger of hope to steady their hearts! Good fortune had willed that we should be so placed upon the deck that wefaced most easily sternward. Suddenly, as I gazed despondently at theserrated horizon receding in the distance, a thrill ran through my nervesat the sight of a dark speck in the sky, which seemed to float over oneof the highest peaks. A second look assured me that it was moving; athird gave birth to the wild thought that it was in chase. Then I turnedto Edmund and whispered: "There is something coming behind us. " "Very well, do nothing to attract attention, " he returned. "I have seenit. They are following us. " I said nothing to Jack or Henry, who had not yet caught sight of theobject; but I could not withdraw my eyes from it. Sometimes I persuadedmyself that it was growing larger, and then, with the intensity of mygaze, it blurred and seemed to fade. At last Jack spied it, andinstantly, in his impetuous way, he exclaimed: "Edmund! Look there!" His voice drew Ingra's attention, and immediately the latter observed thedirection of our glances, and himself saw the growing speck. He turnedwith flushed face to his lieutenant and in a trice the vessel beganfairly to leap through the air. "Ah, Jack, " said Edmund reproachfully, but yet kindly, "if only you couldalways think before you speak! It is certain from Ingra's alarm that weare pursued by somebody whom he does not wish to meet. Most likely it isthe queen, although it seems impossible that she could so quickly havelearned of our mishap. Peter and I have been watching that object, whichis unquestionably an air ship, in silence for the last twenty minutes, during which it has perceptibly gained upon us. But for your lack ofcaution it might have come within winning distance before it wasdiscovered by Ingra, but now--" The rebuke was deserved, perhaps, but yet I wished that Edmund had notgiven it, so painful was the impression that it made upon Jack'sgenerous heart. His countenance was convulsed, and a tear rolled down hischeek--all the more pitiful to see because his arms were pinioned, and hecould do nothing to conceal his agitation. Edmund was stricken withremorse when he saw the effect of his words. "Jack, " he said, "forgive me; I am sorry from the bottom of my heart. Ishould not have blamed you for a little oversight, when I alone am toblame for the misfortunes of us all. " "All right, Edmund, all right, " returned Jack in his usual cheerfultones. "But, see here, I don't admit that you are to blame for anything. We're all in this boat together and hanged if we won't get out of ittogether, too, and you'll be the man to fetch us out. " Edmund smiled sadly, and shook his head. Meanwhile Ingra, with the evident intention of concealing the movementsof the vessel, dropped her so low that we hardly skipped the tops of thetrees that we were passing over, for now we had entered a wide region ofunbroken forest. Still that black dot followed straight in our wake, andI easily persuaded myself that it was yet growing larger. Edmund declaredthat I was right, and expressed his surprise, for we were now flying atthe greatest speed that could be coaxed out of the motors. Suddenly ashocking thought crossed my mind. I tried to banish it, fearing thatIngra might read it in my eyes, and act upon it. Suppose that he shouldhurl us overboard! It was in his power to do so, and it seemed a quickand final solution. But he showed no intention to do anything of thekind. He may have had good reasons for refraining, but, at the time Icould only ascribe his failure to take a summary way out of hisdifficulty to a protecting hand which guarded us even in this extremity. On we rushed through the humming air, and still the pursuing speck chasedus. And minute by minute it became more distinct against the backgroundof the great cloud dome. Presently Edmund called our attention tosomething ahead. "There, " he said, "is Ingra's hope and our despair. " I turned my head and saw that in front the sky was very dark. Vast cloudsseemed to be rolling up and obscuring the dome. Already there was atwilight gloom gathering about us. "This, " said Edmund, "is apparently the edge of what we may call thetemperate zone, which must be very narrow, surrounding in a circle thegreat central region that lies under the almost vertical sun. The cloudsahead indicate the location of a belt of contending air currents, resembling that which we crossed after floating out of the crystalmountains. Having entered them, we shall be behind a curtain where ourenemy can work his will with us. " Was it knowledge of this fact which had restrained Ingra from throwing usoverboard? Was he meditating for us a more dreadful fate? It was, indeed, a land of shadow which we now began to enter, and wecould see that ahead of us the general inclination of the ground wasdownward. I eagerly glanced back to see if the pursuers were yet insight. Yes! There was the speck, grown so large now that there could beno doubt that it was an air ship, driven at its highest speed. But we hadentered so far under the curtain that the greater part of the dome wasconcealed, the inky clouds hanging like a penthouse roof far behind. Wecould plainly perceive the chasers; but could they see us? I tried tohope that they could, but reason was against it. Still they wereevidently holding the course. But even this hope faded when Ingra cunningly changed our course, turningabruptly to the left in the gloom. He knew, then, that we were invisibleto the pursuers. But not content with one change, he doubled like ahunted fox. We watched for the effect of these maneuvers upon thosebehind us, and to our intense disappointment, though not to our surprise, we saw that they were continuing straight ahead. They surely could nothave seen us, and even if they anticipated Ingra's ruse, how could theybaffle it, and find our track again? At last the spreading darknessswallowed up the arc of illuminated sky behind, and then we were alone inthe gloom. This, you will understand, was not the deep night of the other side ofthe planet; it was rather a dusky twilight, and as our eyes becameaccustomed to it, we could begin to discern something of the character ofour surroundings. We flew within a hundred yards of the ground, whichappeared to be perfectly flat, and soon we were convinced by thepitchy-black patches which frequently interrupted the continuity of theumbrageous surface beneath, that it was sprinkled with small bodies ofwater--in short, a gigantic Dismal Swamp, or Everglade. I need hardly saythat it was Edmund who first drew this inference, and when its fullmeaning burst upon my mind I shuddered at the hellish design which Ingraevidently entertained. Plainly, he meant to throw us into the morass, either to drown in the foul water, whose miasma now assailed ournostrils, or to starve amidst the fens! But his real intention, as youwill perceive in a little while, was yet more diabolical. The bird ship stooped lower, just skimming the tops of strange trees, themost horrible vegetable forms that I have ever beheld. And then, withoutwarning, we were seized and pushed overboard, while the vessel, making abroad swoop, quickly disappeared. Henry alone uttered a loud cry as wefell. We crashed through the clammy branches and landed close together in aswamp. Fortunately the water was not deep, and we were able to struggleupon our feet and make our way to a comparatively dry open place, perhapshalf an acre in extent. No sooner were we all safe on the land than Inoticed Edmund struggling violently and then he exclaimed: "Here, quick! Hold a hand here!" As he spoke he backed up to me. "Take a match from this box which I have twisted out of my pocket, andwhile I hold the box, scratch it, and hold the flame against the bondsaround my wrists. " I managed to get out a match, and scratched it. But the match broke. Edmund, with the skill of a prestidigitator, got out another match, andpushed it into my fingers. It failed again. "It's got to be done!" he said. "Here, Jack, you try. " Again he extracted a match, as Jack backed up in my place. Whether hishands happened to be less tightly bound, or whether luck favored him, Jack, on a second attempt, succeeded in illuminating a match. "Don't lose it, " urged Edmund, as the light flashed out; "burn the cord. " Jack tried. The smell of burning flesh arose, but Edmund did not wince. In a few seconds the match went out. "Another!" said Edmund, and the operation was repeated. A dozen separateattempts of this kind had been made, and I believe that I felt the paininflicted by them more than Edmund did, when, making a tremendous effort, he burst the charred cord. His hands and wrists must have been fearfullyburned, but he paid no attention to that. In a flash he had out his knifeand cut us all loose. It was a mercy that they had not noticed the flameof the matches from the air ship, for if they had, unquestionably Ingrawould have returned and made an end of us. After our release we stood a few moments in silence, awaiting ourleader's next move. Presently a sonorous sign startled us, followed by asticky, tramping sound. "In God's name, what's that?" exclaimed Jack. [Illustration: "It curled itself over the edge of the hovering air shipand drew it down. "] "We'll see, " said Edmund quietly, and threw open his pocket lantern. As the light streamed out there was a rustle in the branches above us, and the form of an air ship pushed into view. Ingra! No, it was not Ingra! Thank God, there was the bushy head of Juba visibleon the deck as the ship drifted over us! And near him stood Ala and ahalf dozen attendants. As one man we shouted, but the sound had not ceased to echo when, out ofthe horrible tangle about us, rose, with a swift, sinuous motion, amonstrous anacondalike arm, flesh pink in the electric beam, but coveredwith spike-edged spiracles! It curled itself over the edge of thehovering air ship and drew it down. CHAPTER XVI DREADFUL CREATURES OF THE GLOOM The deck of the air ship was tipped up at an angle of forty-five degreesby the pressure, and with inarticulate cries most of those on boardtumbled off, some falling into the water and some disappearing amidst thetangled vegetation. Ala was visible, as the machine sank lower, andcrashed through the branches, clinging to an upright on the sloping deck, while Juba, who hung on like a huge baboon, was helping her to maintainher place. Almost at the same moment I caught sight of the head of the monstrousanimal which had caused the disaster. It was as massive as that of anelephant or mammoth; and the awful arm resembled a trunk, but was ofincredible size. Moreover, it was covered with sucking mouths or disks. The creature apparently had four eyes ranged round the conical front ofthe head where it tapered into the trunk, and two of these were visible, huge, green, and deadly bright in the gleam of the lantern. For a moment we all stood as if petrified; then the great arm was thrownwith a movement quick as lightning round both Ala and Juba as they clungto the upright! My heart shot into my mouth, but before the animal couldhaul in its prey, a series of terrific reports rattled like the dischargeof a machine gun at my ear. The monstrous arm released the victims, andwaved in agony, breaking the thick, clammy branches of the vegetation, and the vast head disappeared. Edmund had fired all the ten shots in hisautomatic pistol with a single pressure of the double trigger and anunvarying aim, directed, no doubt, at one of the creature's eyes. "Quick!" he shouted, as the air ship, relieved from the stress, righteditself; "climb aboard. " The vessel had sunk so low, and the vegetation was so crowded about it, that we had no great difficulty in obeying his commands. He was the lastaboard, and instantly he grasped the controlling apparatus, and we roseout of the tangle. We could hear the wounded monster thrashing in theswamp, but saw only the reflection of its movements in the commotion ofthe branches. I had expected that Edmund would immediately fly at top speed away fromthe dreadful place, but, instead, as soon as we were at a safe elevation, he brought the air ship to a hover, circling slowly above thecomparatively open spot of dry ground at the edge of the swamp. "We cannot leave the poor fellows who have fallen overboard, " he said, asquietly as if he had been safely aboard his own car. "We must stay hereand find them. " Soon their cries came to our ears, and turning down the light of thelantern we saw five of them collected together on the solid ground, andgesticulating to us in an agony of terror. Edmund swept the ship arounduntil we were directly over the poor fellows, and then allowed it tosettle until it rested on the ground beside them. I trembled withapprehension at this bold maneuver, but Edmund was as steady as a rock. Ala instantly comprehended his intention, and encouraged her followers, who were all but paralyzed with fright, to clamber aboard. A momentarycommunication of the eyes took place between Edmund and Ala, and Iunderstood that he was demanding if all had been found. There was another--and not a trace of him could be seen. "We must wait a moment, " said Edmund, reloading the chamber of his pistolwhile he spoke. "I'll look about for him. " "In God's name, Edmund! You don't think of going down there!" "But I do, " he said firmly, and before I could put my hand on his arm hehad dropped from the deck. The gigantic creature that he had wounded wasstill thrashing about a little distance off, occasionally making horriblesounds, but Edmund seemed to have no fear. We saw him, with amazement, walk collectedly round the ground encircled by the swamp, peering intothe tangle, and frequently uttering a call. But his search was vain, andafter five minutes of the most intense nervous strain that I everendured, I thanked Heaven for seeing him return in safety, and comeslowly aboard. There was another consultation with Ala, which evidentlyrelated to the ability of the engineer of the ship to resume hisfunctions. This had a satisfactory result, for the fellow took his place, and the vessel finally quitted the ground. But, at Edmund's request, itrose only to a moderate height, and then began again to circle about. Hewould not yet give up the search. We flew in widening circles, Edmund keeping his lantern directed towardthe ground, and the full horror of these interminable morasses now becameplain. I was in a continual shudder at the evidence of Ingra's pitilessscheme for our destruction. He had meant that we should be the prey ofthe unspeakable inhabitants of the fens, and had believed that there wasno possibility of escape from them. We became aware that there was agreat variety of them in the swamps and thickets beneath through thenoises that they made--heart-quaking cries, squealing sounds, gruntings, and, most trying of all, a loud, piercing whistle whose sibilantpulsations penetrated the ear like thrusts of a needle. I pictured tomyself a colossal serpent as the most probable author of this terrifyingsound, but the error of my fancy was demonstrated by a tragedy whichshook even Edmund's iron nerves. Always circling, and always watching what was below by the light of thelantern, which was of extraordinary power for so small an instrument, wesaw occasionally a curling trunk uplifted above the vegetation, as if itsowner imagined that the strange light playing on the branches was somedelicate prey that could be grasped, and sometimes a gliding form whosedetails escaped detection, when, upon passing over a relatively openplace, like that where our adventure had occurred, a blood-curdling sightmet our eyes. Directly ahead, in the focus of the reflector of the lantern, and notmore than a hundred feet distant, stood a prodigious black creature, oneight legs, rolling something in its mandibles, which were held close towhat seemed to be its mouth. "Good Lord!" cried Jack. "It's a tarantula as big as a buffalo!" "It has caught the missing man!" said Edmund. "Look!" He pointed to a shred of garment dangling on a thorny branch. I felt sickat heart, and I heard a groan from Jack. After all, these people werelike us, and our feelings would not have been more keenly agitated if thevictim had been a descendant of Adam. "He is beyond all help, " I faltered. "But he can be avenged, " said Edmund, in a tone that I had never heardhim use before. As he spoke he whipped out his pistol, and crash! crash! crash! soundedthe hurrying shots. As their echo ceased, the giant arachnid dropped hisprey, and then there came from him--clear, piercing, quivering throughour nerves--that arrowy whistle that had caused us to shudder as weunwillingly listened to it darting out of the gloom of the impenetrablethickets. Then, to our horror, the creature, which, if touched at all by the shots, had not been seriously injured, picked up its prey and bounded away inthe darkness. Edmund instantly turned to Ala, and I knew as well as if hehad spoken, what his demand was. He wished to follow, and his wish wasobeyed. We swooped ahead, and in a minute we saw the creature again. Ithad stopped on another oasis of dry land, and it still carried itsdreadful burden. Its head was toward us, and it appeared to be watchingour movements. Its battery of eyes glittered wickedly, and I noticed thebristle of stiff hairs, like wires, that covered its body and legs. Again Edmund fired upon it, and again it uttered its stridulous pipe ofdefiance, or fear, and leaped away in the tangle. We sped in pursuit, andwhen we came upon it for the third time it had stopped in an opening sonarrow that the bow of the air ship almost touched it before we wereaware of its presence. This time its prey was no longer visible. Therewas no question now that its attitude meant defiance. Cold shivers ranall over me as, with fascinated eyes, I gazed at its dreadful form. Itseemed to be gathering itself for a spring, and I shrank away in terror. Crash! bang! bang! bang! sounded the shots once more, and in the midst ofthem there came a blinding tangle of bristled, jointed legs that thrashedthe deck, a thud that shook the air ship to its center, and a cry fromJack, who fell on his back with a crimson line across his face. "Give me your pistol!" shouted Edmund, snatching my arm. I hardly know how I got it out of my pocket, I was so unnerved, but itwas no sooner in Edmund's hand than he was leaning over the side of thedeck and pouring out the shots. When the pistol was emptied hestraightened up, and said simply: "_That_ devil is ended. " Then he turned to where Jack lay on the deck. We all bent over him withanxious hearts, even Ala sharing our solicitude. He had lost his senses, but a drop from Edmund's flask immediately brought him round, and he roseto his feet. "I'm all right, " he said, with a rather sickly smile; "but, " drawing hishand across his brow and cheek, "he got me here, and I thought it was ahot iron. Where is he now?" "Dead, " said Edmund. "Jo, I'd have liked to finish him myself!" We were worried by the appearance of the wound, like a long, deepscratch, on Jack's face, but, of course, we said nothing about ourworriment to him. Edmund bound it up, as best he could, and it afterwardshealed, but it took a long time about it, and left a mark that neverdisappeared. There was probably a little poison in it. Edmund himself needed the attention of a surgeon, for his wrists had beencruelly burned by the matches, but he would not allow us to speak of hissufferings, and putting on some slight bandages, he declared that it wastime now to get out of this wilderness of horrors. He communicated withAla, and in a few minutes we were speeding, at a high elevation, towardthe land of the opaline dome. So far above the morasses we no longerheard the brute voices of its terrible inhabitants, nor saw the swayingof the branches as they looked about in search of prey. "This, " said Edmund, "exceeds everything that I could have imagined. I donot know in what classification to put any of the strange beasts that wehave seen. They can only be likened to the monsters of the early dawn onthe earth, in the age of the dinosaurs. But they are _sui generis_, andwould make our anatomists and paleontologists stare. I am only surprisedthat we have encountered no flying dragons here. " "But was it really a--a giant spider that captured Ala's man?" I askedwith a shudder. "God knows what it was! It had the form of a spider, and it leaped likeone. If it had been armored I could never have killed it. I think theshock of its impact against the air ship helped to finish it. " It was only after we had issued from under the curtain of twilight thatwe learned the story of the chase which had brought our salvation. Edmundfirst obtained it from Ala and Juba, filling out the outlines of theirwordless narrative with his ready power of interpretation, and then hetold it to us. " "We owe our lives to Juba, " he said. "Ala had just returned to the minefrom the capital when our abduction took place. Juba, who had wanderedout on our track, saw from a distance the seizure, and a few minutesafterwards Ala's air ship arrived. He instantly communicated the facts toher, and without losing an instant the chase was begun. Ingra's delay inchoosing his course was the thing that saved us. They knew that they mustnot lose sight of us for an instant, and their motors were driven totheir highest capacity. Fortunately, Ala's vessel is one of thespeediest, and they were able to gain on us from the start. Slowly theydrew up until the border of the twilight zone was reached. Then as weentered under the clouds we were swallowed from the sight of all exceptJuba. But for his wonderful eyes, there would have been no hope ofcontinuing the chase. He had lived all his life in a land of darkness andnow he began to feel himself at home. Throwing off the shades which hehas worn since our arrival, he had no difficulty in following themovements of Ingra, even after our vessel had completely faded from theview of all the others. So, without abating their fearful speed, theyplunged into the gloom straight upon our track. The nose of thebloodhound is not more certain in the chase than were Juba's eyes in thatterrible flight through the darkness. When Ingra changed his course anddoubled, Juba saw the maneuver and turned the dodge against its inventor, for now Ingra could not see them, and did not know that they were stillon his track. They cut off the corners, and gained so rapidly that theywere close at hand when Ingra rose from the swamp after pitching usoverboard. They had heard Henry's cry, which served to tell them what hadhappened, and to direct them to the spot. But even Juba could not discernus in the midst of the vegetation, and it was the sudden flashing out ofour lamp which revealed our location when they were about to passdirectly over us. " I need not say with what breathless attention we listened to thisremarkable story, which Edmund's scientific imagination had constructedout of the bones of fact that he had been able to gather. "Jo, " said Jack, "our luck is simply outlandish!" Then he broke out in one of his fits of enthusiasm. Slapping Juba on theshoulder, he danced around him, laughing joyously, and exclaiming: "Bully old boy! Oh, you're a trump! Wait till I get you in New York, andI'll give you the time of your life! Eh, Edmund, won't we make him amember of Olympus? Golly, won't he make a sensation!" And Jack hugged himself again with delight. His reference to home threwus into a musing. At length I asked: "Shall we ever see the earth again, Edmund?" "Why, of course we shall, " he replied heartily. "I have the material Ineed, and it only remains to repair the car. I shall set about it themoment we reach the capital. Do you know, " he continued, "this adventurehas undoubtedly been a benefit to us. " "How so?" "By increasing our prestige. They have seen the terrible power of thepistols. They have seen us conquer monsters that they must have regardedas invincible. When they see what the car can do, even Ingra will beginto fear us, and to think that we are more than mortal. " "But what will Ala think of Ingra now?" "Ah, I cannot tell; but, at any rate, he cannot have strengthened himselfin her regard, for it is plain that she, at least, has no desire to seeus come to harm. But he is a terrible enemy still, and we must continueto be on our guard against him. " "I should think that he would hardly dare to show himself now, " Iremarked. "Don't be too sure of that. After all, we are interlopers here, and hehas all the advantages of his race and his high rank. Ala is interestedin us because she has, I believe I may say, a philosophical mind, with agreat liking for scientific knowledge. It was she who planned andpersonally conducted the expedition toward the dark hemisphere. From meshe has learned a little. She appreciates our knowledge and our powers, and would ask nothing better than to learn more about us and from us. Herprompt pursuit and interference to save us when she must have understood, perfectly, Ingra's design, shows that she will go far to protect us; butwe must not presume too much on her ability to continue her protection, nor even on her unvarying disposition to do so. For the present, however, I think that we are safe, and I repeat that our position has beenstrengthened. Ingra made a great mistake. He should have finished us outof hand. " "His leaving us to be devoured by those fearful creatures showed aninexplicable cruelty on his part; he chose the most horrible death hecould think of for us, " I said. "Oh, I don't know, " replied Edmund. "Did you ever see a laughing boythrow flies into a spider's den? It is my idea that he simply wished tohave us disappear mysteriously, and then _he_ would never have offered anexplanation, unless it might have been the malicious suggestion that wehad suddenly decamped to return to the world we pretended to have comefrom. And but for Ala's unexpected return to the mine he would havesucceeded. No doubt his crew were pledged to secrecy. " CHAPTER XVII EARTH MAGIC ON VENUS We were no sooner installed again at the capital than Edmund began his"readjustment of the atomic energies. " "Blessed if I know what he means, " said Jack; "but he gets the goods, andthat's enough for me. " In reality I did not understand it any better than Jack did, only I hadmore knowledge than he of the nature of the forces that Edmund employed. We went with him to the place in the great tower where the car had beenstored, and where it seemed to be regarded with a good deal ofsuperstitious awe. But they had not yet the least idea of its marvelouspowers. We were preparing for them the greatest surprise of their lives, and our impatience to see the effect that would be produced when we madeour first flight grew by day, while Edmund, shut up alone in the car, labored away at his task. "I wonder what they think he is doing in there, " I said, the third dayafter our return, as we sat on a balcony of the floating tower, with ourfeet nonchalantly elevated on a railing, and our eyes drinking in themagnificent prospect of the vast city, as brilliant in variegated colorsas a flower garden, while a soft breeze, that gently swayed the giganticgossamer, soothed us like a perfumed fan. "Worshipping the sun god, I reckon, " laughed Jack. "But, see here, Peter, what do you make of this religion of theirs, anyway?" "I don't know what to make of it, " I replied. "But if the sun really doesappear to them once in a lifetime, or so, as Edmund thinks, it seems tome natural enough that they should worship it. We have done moresurprising things of the kind on the earth. " "Not civilized people like these. " "Oh, yes. The Egyptians were civilized, and the Romans, and theyworshipped all sorts of strange things that struck their fancy. And whatcan you say to the Greeks--they were civilized enough, and look what acollection of gods they had. " "But the wise heads among them didn't really believe in their gods. " "I'm not sure of that; at any rate they had to pretend that theybelieved. No doubt there were some who secretly scoffed at the popularbelief, and it may be the same here. I shouldn't wonder if Ingra were oneof the scoffers. Edmund has a great opinion of his intelligence, and ifhe really doesn't believe in the thing, he is all the more dangerous forus, because you know that now we are depending a good deal on theirsuperstition for our safety. " "But Ala is very intelligent, a regular wonder, I should think, from whatEdmund says; and yet she accepts their superstition as gospel. " "Lucky for us that she does believe, " I said. "But there's some greatmystery behind all this; Edmund has convinced me of that. We don't beginto understand it yet, and there are moments when I think that Edmund isafraid of the whole thing. He seems dimly to foresee some catastropheconnected with it, though what it may be I cannot imagine, and I think hedoesn't know himself. " Henry listened to our conversation without proffering a remark--quite theregular thing with him--and at this point Jack, yielding to theoverpowering sense of well-being, and the soothing influence of thedelicious air and delightful view, closed his eyes for a nap. Presently Edmund came and roused us all up with the remark that he hadfinished his work. Jack was instantly on his feet: "Hurrah!" he exclaimed. "Now for another trip that will open the eyes ofthese Venusians. Where shall we go, Edmund?" "We shall go nowhere just at present. I want first to make sure by atrial trip that everything is in perfect shape. For that purpose I shallwait for the hours of repose when there will be nobody to watch us. " I must here explain more fully what I have already said--that in thisland of unceasing daylight, everybody took repose as regularly as on theearth. That is a necessity for all physical organisms. When they slept, they retired into darkened chambers, and passed several hours in peacefulslumber. We had learned the time when this periodical need for sleepseized upon the entire population, and although, naturally, there were afew wide-awakes who kept "late hours, " yet within a certain time afterthe habitual hour for repose had arrived it was a rare thing to seeanybody stirring. We had, then, only to wait until "the solemn dead ofnight" came on in order that Edmund might try his experiment with almosta certainty of not being observed. This was the easier, since latterlythere had been no guard kept over our movements. We were not confined inany way, and could go and come as we pleased. Evidently, if anybodythought of such a thing as an attempt to escape on our part, they trustedto the fact that we had no means of getting away, for after our firstexploit of that kind, all the air ships were carefully guarded, andplaced beyond our reach. As to the car, there was nothing about it tosuggest that it could fly, and probably they took it simply for some kindof boat, since they had seen us employ it only in navigating the sea. Ihave often thought, with wonder, of their unsuspiciousness in permittingEdmund to spend so much time alone and undisturbed in the car. Possibly, there was something in Jack's suggestion, that they supposed it to beconnected with our religious observances. Anyhow, so it was; and I canonly ascribe the fact to the kindness of that overlooking Power which sooften interfered in our behalf, making it no disparagement of our claimupon its protection that we had abandoned our mother earth and venturedso far away into space! One thing decidedly in our favor was that, since our return from the mine(the adventure in the land of bogs and monsters was, as far as Edmundcould ascertain, unknown at the capital, except by those who had takenpart in it), we had been accustomed to pass the hours of repose in thetower. We should thus be close to the car when we got ready to start. Another equally favorable circumstance--and perhaps it was even moreimportant--was the absence of Ingra, who, either because he did not carejust now to face Ala, or because he had gone off somewhere after throwingus to the animals and was not yet aware of our escape, had not shownhimself. If he had been present it might not have been so easy for Edmundto make his preparations. Never had the great city seemed to me so long in quieting down for itsperiodical rest as on this occasion. After all was deserted in thestreets below, people were still moving about on the tower, and it didseem as if they had taken a fit of wakefulness expressly to annoy us andinterfere with our plans. We kept stealing out of our sleeping room, andlooking cautiously about, for at least two hours, but always there wassome one stirring in the immediate neighborhood. At last a tall fellow, who had been standing an interminable time at the rail directly in frontof the storage place of the car, and whom Jack had half seriouslythreatened to throttle if he stood there any longer, turned and wentyawning away. No sooner was he out of sight than Edmund led the way, andwith the slightest possible noise, aided by Juba, who was as strong asthree men, we got the car out on the platform. I was in a fever lestthere should be a squeak from the little wheels that carried it. But theyran as still as rubber. "Get in, " whispered Edmund; and we obeyed him with alacrity. Would it go? Even Edmund could not answer that question. He pulled a knob, and I heldmy breath. There was the slightest perceptible tremor. Was it going tobalk? No, thank Heaven! It was under way. In a few seconds we were offthe tower in the free air. Edmund pressed a button, and the speedinstantly increased. The gorgeous tower seemed to be flying away from uslike a soap bubble. Jack, in ecstasy, could hardly repress a cheer. "Hurrah, if you want to, "' said Edmund. "They won't hear you, and now I don't care if they do. The apparatus isall right, and we'll give them something to wake up for. My only anxietywas lest they should witness a failure, which might have led todisagreeable consequences. There must be no dropping of knives in ourjuggling. " "Good!" cried Jack. "Then let's give 'em a salute. " Edmund smiled and nodded his head: "The guns are in the locker, " he said. Jack had one of the automatic rifles out in a hurry. "Shoot high, " said Edmund, "and off toward the open country. Theprojectiles fly far, and I guess we can take the risk. " He threw both windows open, and Jack aimed skyward and began to pull thetrigger. Bang! bang! bang! Heavens, what a noise it was! The car must have seemeda flying volcano. And it woke them up! The sleeping city poured forth itsmillions to gaze and wonder. Surely they had never heard such athundering. Within five minutes we saw them on the roofs and in thetowers. Many were staring at us through a kind of opera glasses whichthey had. Then from a dozen aerial pavilions the colors broke forth andquivered through the air. "Saluting us!" exclaimed Jack, delighted. "Asking one another questions, rather, " said Edmund. They certainly asked enough of them, and I wondered what answers theyreturned. "Probably they think we're off for good, " said I. "And aren't we?" asked Henry anxiously. "Not yet, " Edmund replied, and Henry's countenance fell. The car turned and approached the great tower again. We swept round itwithin a hundred yards, and could see the amazement in the faces thatwatched us. But if they were astonished they were not terror-stricken. Within ten minutes twenty air ships were swiftly approaching us. Edmundallowed them to come within a few yards, and then darted away, rushedround the whole city like a flying cloud, and finally rose straight upwith dizzying velocity, which made the vast metropolis shrink to acolored patch, as if we had been viewing it through the wrong end of atelescope. "I'll go right up through the cloud dome now, " he said. "Nothing couldmore impress them with a sense of our power than that; and when we comeback again they will know that we have no fear, and the very act will bea proof of origin from the sky. " When we were in the midst of the mighty curtain of vapor, I wasinterested in noticing the peculiar quality of the light that surroundedus. We seemed to be immersed in a rose-pink mist. "I do not understand, " I said to Edmund, "how this dome is maintained atso great an elevation, and in apparent independence of the rain cloudswhich sometimes form beneath. No rain ever falls from the dome itself, and yet it consists of true clouds. " "I think, " he replied, "that the dome is due to vapors which assemble ata general level of condensation, and do not form raindrops, partlybecause of the absence of dust to serve as nuclei at this great height, and partly because of some peculiar electrical condition of the air, arising from the relative nearness of Venus to the sun, which preventsthe particles of vapor from gathering into drops heavy enough to fall. You will observe that there is a peculiar inner circulation in the vaporsurrounding us, marked by ascending and descending currents which aredoubtless limited by the upper and lower surfaces of the dome. The truerain clouds form in the space beneath the dome, where there seems to bean independent circulation of the winds. " On entering the cloud vault Edmund had closed the windows, explainingthat it was not merely the humidity which led him to do so, but thediminishing density of the air which, when we had risen considerablyabove the dome, would become too rare for comfortable breathing. In alittle while his conjecture about a peculiar electrical condition wasjustified by a pale-blue mist which seemed to fill the air in the car;but we felt no effects and the mechanism was not disturbed. Owing to ourlocation on Venus, still at a long distance from the center of thesunward hemisphere, the sun was not directly overhead, but inclined at alarge angle to the vertical, so that when we began to approach the uppersurface of the vault, and the vapor thinned out, we saw through one ofthe windows a pulsating patch of light, growing every moment brighter andmore distinct, until as we shot out of the clouds it instantly sharpenedinto a huge round disk of blinding brilliance. "The sun! The sun!" we cried. We had not seen it for months. When it had gleamed out for a short timeduring our drift across the water from the land of ice into the belt oftempests, we had been too much occupied with our safety to pay attentionto it; but now the wonder of it awed us. Four times as large and fourtimes as bright and hot as it appears from the earth, its rays seemed tosmite with terrific energy. Juba, wearing his eye shades, shrank into acorner and hid his face. "It is well that we are protected by the walls of the car and the thickglass windows, " said Edmund, "for I do not doubt that there are solarradiations in abundance here which scarcely affect us on the earth, butwhich might prove dangerous or even mortal if we were exposed to theirfull force. " Even at the vast elevation which we had now attained there was stillsufficient air to diffuse the sunlight, so that only a few of thebrightest stars could be glimpsed. Below us the spectacle was magnificentand utterly unparalleled. There lay the immense convex shield of Venus, more dazzling than snow, and as soft in appearance as the finest wool. Wegazed and gazed in silent admiration, until suddenly Henry, who had shownless enthusiasm over the view than the rest of us, said, in a dolefulvoice: "And now that we are here--free, free, where we can do as we like--withall means at our command--oh! why will you return to that accursedplanet? Edmund, in the name of God, I beseech you, go back to the earth!Go now! For the love of Heaven do not drag us into danger again! Go home!Oh, go home!" The appeal was pitiful in its intensity of feeling, and a shade ofhesitation appeared on Edmund's face. If it had been Jack or I, I believethat he would have yielded. But he slowly shook his head, saying in asympathetic tone: "I am sorry, Henry, that you feel that way. But I _cannot_ leave thisplanet yet. Have patience for a little while and then we will go home. " I doubt whether afterwards, Edmund himself did not regret that he hadrefused to grant Henry's prayer. If we had gone now when it was in ourpower to go without interference, we should have been spared the mosttragic and heart-rending event of all that occurred during the course ofour wandering. But Edmund seemed to feel the fascination of Venus as amoth feels that of the candle flame. When we emerged again on the lower side of the dome we were directly overthe capital. We had been out of view for at least three hours, but manywere still gazing skyward, toward the point where the car haddisappeared, and when we came into sight once more there were signs ofthe utmost agitation. The prismatic signals began to flash from tower totower, conveying the news of the reappearance of the car, and as we drewnear we saw the crowds reassembling on every point of vantage. We wentout on the window ledges to watch the display. "Perhaps they think that we have been paying a visit to the sun, " Isuggested. "Well, if they do I shall not undeceive them, " said Edmund, "although itgoes against the grain to make any pretense of the kind. Ala, particularly, is so intelligent, and has so genuine a desire forknowledge, that if I could only cause her to comprehend the real truth itwould afford me one of the greatest pleasures of my life. " "I hope old Beak Nose is getting his fill of this show, " put in Jack. "He'll be likely to treat us with more respect after this. By the way, Iwonder what's become of my money. I think I'll sue out a writ of replevinin the name of the sun to recover it. " Nobody replied to Jack's sally, and the car rapidly approached the greattower. "Are you going to land there?" I asked. "I certainly shall, " Edmund responded with decision. "But they'll seize the car!" exclaimed Henry in affright. "No, they won't. They are too much afraid of it. " Any further discussion was prevented by a sight which arrested the eyesof all of us. On the principal landing of the tower, whence we haddeparted with the car, stood Ala with her suite, and by her side wasIngra! His sudden apparition was a great surprise, as well as a greatdisappointment, for we had felt sure that he was not in the city, and I, at least, had persuaded myself that he might be in disgrace for hisattempt on our lives. Yet here he was, apparently on terms of confidencewith her whom we had regarded as our only sure friend. "Hang him!" exclaimed Jack. "There he is! By Jo, if Edmund had onlyinvented a noiseless gun of forty million atom power, I'd rid Venus of_him_, in the two-billionth part of a second!" "Keep quiet, " said Edmund, sternly, "and remember what I now tell you; inno way, by look or act, is any one of us to indicate to him the slightestresentment for what he did. Ignore him, as if you had never seen him. " By this time the car had nearly touched the landing. Edmund steppedinside a moment and brought it completely to rest, anchoring it, as hewhispered to me, by "atomic attraction. " When the throng on the tower sawthe car stop dead still, just in contact with the landing, but manifestlysupported by nothing but the air--no wings, no aeroplanes, no screws, nomechanism of any kind visible--there arose the first _voice of a crowd_that we had heard on the planet. It fairly made me jump, so unexpected, and so contrary to all that we had hitherto observed, was the sound. Andthis multitudinous voice itself had a quality, or timbre, that was unlikeany sound that had ever entered my ears. Thin, infantine, low, yetmultiplied by so many mouths to a mighty volume, it was fearful to listento. But it lasted only a moment; it was simply a universal ejaculation, extorted from this virtually speechless people by such a marvel as theyhad never dreamed of looking upon. But even this burst of astonishment, as Edmund afterwards pointed out, was really a tribute to theirintelligence, since it showed that they had instantly appreciated boththe absence of all mechanical means of supporting the car and the factthat here was something that implied a power infinitely exceeding anythat they possessed. And to have produced in a world where aerialnavigation was the common, everyday means of conveyance, such a sensationby a performance in the _air_ was an enormous triumph for us! No sooner had we gathered at the door of the car to step out upon theplatform than an extraordinary thing occurred. The front of the crowdreceded into the form of a semicircle, of which the point where we stoodmarked the center, and in the middle of the curve, slightly in advance ofthe others, stood forth the tall form of the eagle-beaked high priestwith the terrible face, flanked on one side by Ala and on the other bythe Jovelike front of the aged judge before whom our first arraignmenthad taken place. Directly behind Ala stood Ingra. The contrast betweenthe three principal personages struck my eye even in that moment ofbewilderment--Ala stately, blonde, and beautiful as a statue of her ownVenus; the high priest ominous and terrifying in aspect, even now when wefelt that he was honoring us; and the great judge, with his snow-whitehair and piercing eyes, looking like a god from Olympus. "Do you note the significance of that arrangement?" Edmund asked, nudgingme. "Ala, the queen, yields the place of honor to the high priest. Thatindicates that our reception is essentially a religious one, and provesthat our flight sunward has had the expected effect. Now we have the headof the religious order on our side. Human nature, if I may use such aterm, is the same in whatever world you find it. Touch the imaginationwith some marvel and you awaken superstition; arouse superstition and youcan do what you like. " It would be idle for me to attempt to describe our reception becauseEdmund himself could only make shrewd guesses as to the meaning of whatwent on, and you would probably not be particularly interested in hisconjectures. Suffice it to say that when it was over, we felt that, for atime at least, we were virtually masters of the situation. Only one thing troubled my mind--what did Ingra think and what would hedo? At any rate, he, too, for the time being, seemed to have been carriedaway with the general feeling of wonder, and narrowly as I watched him Icould detect in his features no sign of a wish to renew his persecution. CHAPTER XVIII WILD EDEN The next day after our return from the trip above the cloud dome, and ourastonishing reception (you will, of course, understand the sense in whichI use the term "day"), Edmund sprang another surprise upon us. "I have persuaded Ala, " he said, "to make a trip in the car. " "You don't mean it!" "Oh, yes, and I am sure she will be delighted. " "But she is not going alone?" "Surely no; she will be accompanied by one of her women--and by Ingra. " "_Ingra_!" "Of course. Did you suppose that he would consent to be left behind? Alaherself would refuse to go without him. " "Then, " I said, with deep disappointment, "he has resumed all hisinfluence over her. " "I'm not sure he ever lost it, " returned Edmund. "You forget his rank, and his position as her destined consort. Whatever we do we have got tocount him in. " Jack raged inwardly, but said nothing. For my part, I almost wishedJack's bullet had not gone astray at that first memorable shooting. "Now, " Edmund continued, "the car, as you know, has but a limited amountof room. I do not wish to crowd it uncomfortably, but I can take sixpersons. Ala's party comprises three, so there is room for just twobesides myself. You will have to draw lots. " "Is Juba included in the drawing?" "Yes, and I'm half inclined to take him anyway, and let you three drawfor the one place remaining. " "You can count me out, " said Henry. "If there is another to stay with meI prefer to remain. " "Very well, " said Edmund, "then Peter and Jack can draw lots. " "Since we can't all go, " said Jack, "and since that fellow is to be ofthe party, I'll stay with Henry. " So it was settled without an appeal to chance, and I went with Edmund andJuba. As usual Edmund immediately put his project into execution. Itshowed an astonishing confidence in us that Ala should consent to makesuch a trip, and that her people, and especially Ingra, should assent toit, and I could not sufficiently wonder at the fact. But we were now atthe summit of favor and influence, and it is impossible to guess whatthoughts may have been in their minds. At any rate, it showed howcompletely Edmund had established himself in Ala's esteem, and I suspectthat her woman's curiosity had played a large part in the decision. Therewas another thing which astonished me yet more, and, in fact, awakened agood deal of apprehension in my mind. I could not but wonder that Edmund, after all the precautions that he had previously taken, should now thinkof admitting these people into the car, where they could witness hismanipulations of the mechanism. I spoke to him about it. "Rest your mindeasy about that, " he said. "Now that everything goes like a charm, theywill suspect nothing. It will be all a complete mystery to them. Even thegods used natural agencies when they visited the earth without shakingthe belief of mankind in them. I employ no force of which they have theleast idea, and if they see me touch a button, or pull a knob, what canthat convey to their minds except an impression of mysterious power?" I said no more, but I was not convinced, and the sequel proved that, foronce, Edmund had made a serious mistake, the more amazing because he hadbeen the first to detect the exceptional intelligence and shrewdness ofIngra. But, no doubt, in the exultation of his recent triumph, he countedupon the strength of the superstitious regard in which we were held. Our departure from the tower was the signal for the assembling of greatcrowds of spectators again, and we sailed away with the utmost _éclat_. Ala at once showed all the eager excitement of a child over so novel andenjoyable an experience. The motion of the car was entirely unlike thatof the air ships. Perfectly steady, it skimmed along at a speed whichfilled her with amazement and delight. The city, with its towers, seemedto fly away from us by magic, and the trees and fields beneath ran intostreaming lines. The windows were thrown wide open, and all stood bythem, watching the scene. Finally Ala wished to go out on the windowledges, where one was perfectly secure if he kept a firm hold on thesupports. Edmund was most of the time with us outside, only steppingwithin when he wished to change the course. I thought that he showed adisposition to conceal his manipulations as much as possible, as if whatI had said had made an impression. But all were so much occupied withtheir novel sensations that, for the time at least, there was no dangerof their taking note of anything else. I believe that it must have been some intimation from Ala which finallyled Edmund to hold his course toward the mountains, but in a directiondifferent from that which led to the mines. When he had once chosen thisdirection he worked up the speed to fully a hundred miles an hour, andall were compelled to go inside on account of the wind created by ourrush through the air. We held on thus for five hours. During this timeEdmund spread a repast made up of dishes chosen from the supplies in thecar, and, of course, utterly strange to our guests. They found them totheir taste, however, and were delighted with Edmund's entertainment. Wespent a long time at our little table, and I was surprised at the varietyof delicious things which Edmund managed to extract from his stores. There was even some champagne, and I noticed that Edmund urged it uponIngra, who, nothing loth, drank enough to make him decidedly tipsy, afact which was not surprising since we had found that the wines of Venuswere very light, and but slightly alcoholized. At length we began to approach what proved to be the goal of our journey. Before us spread a vast extent of forest composed of trees of the mostbeautiful forms and foliage. Some towered up to a great height, spreadingtheir pendulous branches over the less aspiring forms, like New Englandelms; others were low and bushy, and afire with scarlet blossoms, whoseperfume filled the air; a few resembled gigantic grasses or great timothystems, surmounted with nodding plumes of golden leaves, streaming outlike gilt gonfalons in the breeze; but there was one species, as tall andmassive as oaks, and scattered everywhere through the forest, that Icould liken to nothing but enormous rose bushes in the full bloom ofJune. When we began to pass above this strange woodland, Ala made somecommunication to Edmund which caused him to slow down the movement of thecar. By almost imperceptible touches he controlled the motive power, andpresently we came to rest above a delightful glade, where a small streamran at the foot of a gravelly slope, crowned with grass and overhung bytrees. Here the car was allowed to settle gently upon the ground, and allalighted. Ingra, over whom the influence of the champagne had beengrowing, tottered on his legs in a way that would have filled Jack withuncontrollable delight, but Edmund gravely helped him out of the car andsteadied him to a seat on the soft turf under the tree. I saw Alaregarding Ingra with a puzzled look, and no wonder, for Edmund had beencareful that no one else should take enough of the wine to produce morethan the slightest exhilaration of spirits. It is possible that Edmundhad plied Ingra with the idea of rendering him less observant, and itprobably had that effect; but it resulted, as you will see presently, ina revelation which finally put Edmund on guard against the very danger towhich he had seemed so insensible when I mentioned it to him before ourstart. The place where we now were was, beyond comparison, the most charmingthat we had yet seen. A very Eden it seemed, wild, splendid, and remotefrom all cultivation. The air was loaded with indescribable fragranceshed from the thousands of strange blossoms that depended from trees andshrubs, and starred the rich grass. I learned afterwards from Edmund, whohad it from Ala, that the spot was famous for its beauty and otherattractions, and was sometimes visited in air ships from the capital. Butfor them, what took us but a few hours was a trip extending over severaldays of time. One would have said that the forest was imbedded in agarden of the most extraordinary orchids. The shapes of some of theflowers were so fantastic that it seemed impossible that Nature couldhave produced them. And their colors were no less unparalleled, inimitable, and incredible. The flowery bank on which we had chosen our resting place was removed afew yards from the spot where the car rested, and the latter was hiddenfrom view by intervening branches and huge racemes of gorgeous flowers, hanging like embroidered curtains about us. A peculiarity of the placewas that little zephyr-like breezes seemed to haunt it, coming one couldnot tell whence, and they stirred the hanging blossoms, keeping them inalmost continual rhythmic motion. The effect was wonderfully charming, but I observed that Ala was especially influenced by it. She sat with hermaid beside her, and fixed her eyes, with an expression of ecstasy, uponthe swinging flowers. I whispered to Edmund to regard her singularabsorption. But he had already noticed it, and seemed to be puzzling hisbrain with thoughts that it suggested to him. Thus as we sat, the leaves of a tree over our heads were lightly stirred, and a bird, adorned with long plumes more beautiful than those of a birdof paradise, alighted on a branch, and began to ruffle its iridescentfeathers in a peculiar way. With every movement waves of color seemed toflow over it, merging and dissolving in the most marvelous manner. Assoon as this bird appeared, Ala gave it all her attention, and thepleasure which she experienced in watching it was reflected upon hercountenance. She seemed positively enraptured. After a few moments theconviction came to me that she was _listening!_ Her whole attitudeexpressed it. And yet not an audible sound came from the bird. At last Iwhispered to Edmund: "Edmund, I believe that Ala hears something which we do not. " "Of course she does, " was his reply. "There is music here, such music aswas never heard on earth. That bird is _singing_, but our ears are notattuned to its strain. You know the peculiarity of this atmosphere withregard to sound, and that all of these people have a horror of loudnoises. But their ears detect sounds which are beyond the range of thevibrations that affect ours. If you will observe the bird closely youwill perceive that there is a slight movement of its throat. But that isnot the greatest wonder, by any means. I am satisfied that there is _adirect relation here between sounds and colors_. The swaying of theflowers in the breeze and the rhythmic motion of the bird's plumageproduce harmonious combinations and recombinations of colors which aretransformed into sounds as exquisite as those of the world of insects. Acluster of blossoms, when the wind stirs them, shake out a kind ofaeolian melody, and it was that which so entranced Ala a few moments ago. She hears it still, but now it is mastered by the more perfect harmoniesthat come from the bird, partly from its throat but more from theagitation of its delicate feathers. " You may imagine the wonder with which I listened to this. It immediatelyrecalled what Jack and I had observed at the shop of the bird fancier, and when the lady carried off her seemingly mute pets in the palanquin. "But, " I said, after a moment of reflection, "how can such a thing be? Tome it seems surely impossible. " "I can only try to explain it by an analogy, " said Edmund. "You know how, by a telephone, sounds are first transmuted into electric vibrations andafterwards reshaped into sonorous waves. You know, also, that we haveused a ray of light to send telephonic messages, through thesensitiveness of a certain metal which changes its electric resistance inaccord with the intensity of the light that strikes it. Thus with a beamof light we can reproduce the human voice. Well, what we have doneawkwardly and tentatively by the aid of imperfect mechanicalcontrivances, Nature has here accomplished perfectly through the peculiarcomposition of the air and some special adjustment of the auditoryapparatus of this people. "Light and sound, color and music, are linked for them in a mannerentirely beyond our comprehension. It is plain to me now that the musicof color which we witnessed at the capital, was something far morecomplete and wonderful than I then imagined. Together with the pleasurewhich they derive from the harmonic combinations of shifting hues, theydrink in, at the same time, the delight arising from sounds which areassociated with, and, in many cases, awakened by, those very colors. Itis probable that all their senses are far more fully, though moredelicately, developed than ours. The perfume of these wonderful flowersis probably more delightful to Ala than to us. As there are sounds whichthey hear though inaudible to us, and colors visible to them which liebeyond the range of our vision, so there may be vibrations affecting theolfactory nerves which make no impression upon our sense of smell. " "Well, well, " I exclaimed, "this seems appropriate to Venus. " "Yes, " said Edmund with a smile, "it is appropriate; and yet I am notsure that some day we may not arrive at something of the kind on theearth. " I was about to ask him what he meant when there came an excitinginterruption. Ingra, who had fallen more and more under the influence ofthe champagne, had stumbled to the other side of the little glade, virtually unnoticed, and Juba had wandered out of sight. Suddenly therecame from the direction of the car the sound of a struggle mingled withinarticulate cries. We sprang to our feet, and, running to the car, foundboth Ingra and Juba inside it. The former had his hands on one of theknobs controlling the mechanism, and Juba had grasped him round the waistand was trying to drag him away. Ingra was resisting with all hisstrength, and uttering strange noises, whose sense, if they had any, we, of course, did not comprehend. Just as we reached the door, Jubasucceeded in wrenching his opponent from his hold, and immediately gavehim a fling which sent him clear out of the car, tumbling in a heap atour feet. Juba's eyes were ablaze with a dangerous light, but the momenthe encountered Edmund's gaze he quietly walked away and sat down on thebank. Ala was immediately by our side, and I thought that I could readembarrassment as well as surprise in her looks. Fortunately the knob thatIngra had grasped had been thrown out of connection; else he and Jubamight have made an involuntary voyage through space. We picked up Ingra, found a seat for him, and Edmund, going down to thebrook, filled a pocket flask with water and flung it in the fellow'sface. This was repeated several times with the effect of finallystraightening out his muddled senses sufficiently to warrant us inembarking for the return trip. All the way home Ingra was in a sulkymood, like any terrestrial drunkard after a debauch, but he kept his eyeson all Edmund's movements with an expression of cunning, which he had notsufficient self-command to conceal, and which could leave no doubt in ourminds as to the nature of the quest which had led him into the car. As toJuba--although his interference had been of no practical benefit, sinceIngra, especially in his present state, could surely have made nodiscovery of any importance--the devotion which he had again shown to ourinterests endeared him the more to us. Ala's manner showed that she wasdeeply chagrined, and thus our trip, which had opened so joyously, endedin gloom, and we were glad when the car again touched the platform, andour guests departed. CHAPTER XIX THE SECRET OF THE CAR Jack and Henry were overjoyed to see us again, for after our departurethey had fallen into a despondent mood, and began to imagine all sorts ofevil. "Jo!" was Jack's greeting; "I never was so glad to see anybody in mylife. Edmund, don't you ever go off and leave any of us alone again. " "I'll never leave you again, " responded Edmund. "You can count on that. " Then we told them the story of what we had seen, and of what had happenedin the wild Eden that we had visited. They were not so much interested inthe most wonderful thing of all--the combination of sound and color--asthey were in the conduct of Ingra. Jack laughed until he was tired overIngra's drunkenness, but he drew a long face when he heard of theadventure in the car. "Edmund, " he said earnestly, "I am beginning to be of Henry's opinion;you had better get away from here without losing a moment. " "No, " said Edmund, "we'll not go yet. The time hasn't come to run away. What difference does it make even if Ingra does suspect that the car ismoved by some mechanism instead of by pure magic? He could not understandit if I should explain it to him. " "But you have said that he is extraordinarily intelligent. " "So he is, but his intelligence is limited by the world he lives in, andwhile there are many marvelous things here, nobody has the slightestconception of inter-atomic force. They have never heard even ofradioactivity. At the same time I don't mean that they shall go nosingabout the car. I'll take care of that. " "But, " said Jack, "it grinds me to see that brute Ingra get off scot-freeafter trying to murder us. And what has he got against us, anyway? Butfor him we should never have had any trouble. He was against us from thebeginning. " "I don't think he was particularly _against_ us at the start, " saidEdmund. "Only he was for treating us with less consideration than Ala wasdisposed to show. But after the first accidental shooting, and thedrubbing that Juba gave him, naturally his prejudices were aroused, andhe could hardly be blamed for thinking us dangerous. Then, when he foundhimself defeated, and his wishes disregarded, on all sides, he began tohate us. It is easy enough to account for his feelings. Now, since ourrecent astonishing triumph, being himself incredulous about our celestialorigin, he will try to undermine us by showing that our seeming miracleis no miracle at all. " "And you gave him the chance by taking him in the car!" I could not helpexclaiming. "Yes, " said Edmund, with a smile. "I admit that I made a mistake. Icounted too much upon the influence of the sense of mystery. But it willcome out all right. " "I doubt it, " I persisted. "He will never rest now until he has found outthe secret. " Nothing more was said on the subject, but Edmund was careful not to leavethe car unguarded. It was always kept afloat, though in contact with thelanding. The expenditure of energy needed to keep it thus anchoredwithout support was, Edmund assured us, insignificant in comparison withthe quantity stored in his mysterious batteries. We were not long in finding, on all sides, evidence that our trip upthrough the cloud dome had been a master stroke, and that the presumableincredulity of Ingra with regard to our claims was not shared by others. He might have his intimates, who entertained prejudices against usresembling his own, but if so we saw nothing of them. In fact, Ingra wasmuch less in evidence than before, but I did not feel reassured by that;on the contrary, it made me all the more fearful of some plot on hispart, and Jack was decidedly of my opinion. "Hang him!" he said, "he's up to some mischief, and I know it. Much as Idetest him, I'd rather have him _in_ sight than _out_, just now. He makesme feel like a snake in a bush; if he'd only show his ugly head, orspring his rattle, I'd be more comfortable. " But the kindness and deference with which we were treated, and the newwonders that were shown to us in the capital, gradually drove Ingra fromour minds. Now we were permitted to enter the temples without opposition, our presence there according with our new character of "children of thesun. " We saw the worship that was offered before the solar images byfamily parties, and attended, as favored guests, the periodicalceremonies in the great temple. Edmund confessed that the high priestgreatly embarrassed him by staring into his eyes, and plainly assumingthat he knew things of which he was profoundly ignorant. "The hardest thing I ever undertook, " he said, "is to hold my mind insuspense during these trying interviews, when he endeavors to read thedepths of my soul, and I to throw a veil over them which he cannotpenetrate. " In some way, Edmund discovered that the high priest and all the priestsconnected with the sun worship (and they certainly bore a familylikeness) belonged to a special race, whose roots ran back into the mostremote antiquity, and about whose persons clung a sacredness that placedthem, in some respects, above the royal family itself. We frequentlyvisited the great library, where Edmund undertook a study of the languageof the printed rolls, though what he made of it I never clearlyunderstood. I do not think that he succeeded in deciphering any of it. Healso spent much time studying their mechanics and engineering, for whichhe professed great admiration. But most interesting of all to us was what Edmund himself accomplished. Ihave told you of his remark about the color-sound music, viz. , that hethought it not impossible that even human senses might be enabled toappreciate it. Well, he actually realized that wildly improbable dream!He fitted up a laboratory of his own in which he labored sometimes fortwenty hours at a stretch, and at last he brought to us the astonishinginvention he had made. I can make no pretense of understanding it; although Edmund declaredthat, in substance, it was no more wonderful than a telephone. Themachine consisted of a little metal box. (He made three of them, and Ihave mine yet, but it will not work on the earth, and it lies on my tableas I write, serving for the most wonderful paper weight that a man everpossessed. ) When this box was pressed against the ear in front of one ofthe revolving disks that threw out blending colors, or in the presence ofa "singing" bird, the most divine harmonies seemed to awake _in thebrain_. I cannot make the slightest approach to a description of themarvelous phenomenon. One felt his whole being infused with ecstaticjoy. It was the very soul of music itself, celestial, ineffable! Thewonder-box also enabled us to catch many sounds peculiar to theatmosphere of Venus, formed of vibrations, as Edmund had explained, thatlie outside our gamut. But to these, apart from the music, I could neverlisten. They were _too_ abnormal, filling one with inexplicable terror, as if he had been snatched out of nature and compelled to listen to thesounds of a preternatural world. The only sound that I ever heard with mynatural ear which bore the slightest resemblance to these was the awfulpiercing whistle of the monster that killed Ala's man. Yet we derived immense pleasure from the possession of those littleboxes. With their aid, we could appreciate the exquisite melodies thatwere played everywhere--in great halls where thousands were assembled, inthe temples great and small, and in the homes of the people, to which wewere often admitted. In every house there was on one of the walls a"musical rose, " whose harmonies entranced the visitor. And the variety ofmusical _motifs_ seemed to be absolutely without limit. One was nevertired of the entertainment because there was so little repetition. On one ever-memorable occasion we heard the great national, or, as Edmundpreferred to call it, "racial" hymn, played in the air from the principaltower. When we had only beheld the play of colors characterizing thiscomposition we had found it altogether delightful, although, as I havesaid, Edmund detected, even then, some underlying tone of sadness ordespair; but when its _sounds_ broke into the brain the effect wasoverwhelming. The entire thing seemed to have been "written in a minorkey, " of infinite world-embracing pathos. The listener was plunged intodepths of feeling that seemed unfathomable, eternal--and unendurable. "Heavens!" whispered Jack to me in an awed voice, dropping the box fromhis ear, "I can't _stand_ it!" I saw tears running down his face, and felt them on my own. Edmund andHenry were equally affected, and could not continue to listen. Edmundsaid nothing, but I recalled his words about the traditional belief ofthis people that their world had entered upon the last stage of itsexistence. Then I watched the countenances about us; they wore anexpression of solemnity, and yet there was something which spoke of anuplifting pride, awakened by the great paean, and swelling the heart withmemories of interminable ages of past glory. "Come, " said Edmund at last, turning away, "this is not for us. Themeasureless sadness we feel, but the triumphant reflection of ancestralgreatness is for them alone. Heavens! what an artist he must have beenwho composed this!--if it be not like the Iliad, the work of an agerather than of a man. " We almost forgot the passage of time in the enjoyment of our nowdelightful and untroubled existence, but there came at last a rudeawakening from this life, which had become for us like a dream. As I have said, we had ceased to worry about Ingra, whom we seldom saw, and who, when we did see him, gave no indication of continued enmity. Atfirst we had kept the car under continual surveillance, but as time wenton we became careless in this respect, and at last we did not guard it atall. One day, during the time of repose, I happened to be, with Juba, in ourroom on that stage of the great tower where the car was anchored, whileEdmund and the others were below in the palace. Juba was already asleep, and I was lying down and courting drowsiness, when a slight noise outsideattracted my attention. I stepped softly to the door and looked out. Thedoor of the car was open! Supposing that Edmund was there I approached tospeak to him. By good fortune I was wearing the soft slippers worn byeverybody here, and which we had adopted, so that my footsteps made nosound. As I reached the car door and looked in, I nearly dropped in theintensity of my surprise and consternation. There, at the farther end, was Ingra, on his knees before the mechanical mouths which swallowed theinvisible elements of power from the air; and beside him was another, also on his knees, and busy with tools, apparently trying to detach thethings. The explanation flashed over my mind; Ingra had brought a skilledengineer to aid him in discovering the secret of the car, and, no doubt, to rob it of its mysterious mechanism. They seemed to fear nointerruption, because Ingra had undoubtedly informed himself of the factthat for a day or two past we had abandoned the use of our room in thetower, and taken our repose in our apartments in the palace. It was bymere chance that Juba and I had, on this occasion, remained so long aloftthat I had decided to take our sleep in the tower room. Anticipating no surveillance, Ingra was not on his guard, and had no ideathat I was behind him. Instinctively I grasped for my pistol butinstantly remembered that it was with my coat in the room. I tiptoedback, awoke Juba, making him a sign to be noiseless, got the pistol, andreturned, without a sound, to the open door of the car with Juba at myheels. They were yet on their knees, with their heads under the shelf, and I heard the slight grating made by the tool that Ingra's assistantwas using. The pistol was in my hand. What should I do? Shoot him downwithout warning, or trust to the strength of Juba to enable us toovercome them both and make them prisoners? While I hesitated, and it was but a moment, Ingra suddenly rose to hisfeet and confronted us. An exclamation burst from his lips, and the othersprang up. I covered Ingra with the pistol and pulled the trigger. Therewas not a sound! The sickening remembrance then burst over me that I hadnot reloaded the pistol since Edmund had emptied its whole chamber in theclosing fight with the tarantula of the swamps. Ingra, followed by hisman, sprang upon me like a tiger. In a twinkling I lay on my back, andbefore I could recover my feet, I saw Juba and Ingra in a deadlystruggle, while the other ran away and disappeared. Jumping up I ran toJuba's assistance, but the fight was so furious, and the combatantswhirled so rapidly, that I could get no hold. I saw, however, that Jubawas more than a match for his opponent, and I darted into the car to getone of the automatic rifles, thinking that I could use it as a club toput an end to the struggle if the opportunity should offer. But thelocker was firmly closed and I could not open it. After a minute of vainefforts I returned to the combatants and found that Juba had nearlycompleted his mastery. He had Ingra doubled over his knee and wasendeavoring to pinion his hands. At this instant, when the victory seemed complete, and our enemy in ourpower, Juba uttered a faint cry and fell in a heap. Blood instantlystained the floor around him, and Ingra, with a bound, dropping a longknife, attained the door of a nearby chamber, and was out of sight beforeI could even start to pursue him. Nevertheless, I ran after him, butquickly became involved in a labyrinth where it was useless to continuethe search, and where I nearly lost my way. I then returned to see how seriously Juba had been wounded. He hadcrawled into the car. I bent over him--he was dead! The knife hadinflicted a fearful wound, and it seemed wonderful that he could havemade his way unassisted even over the short distance from where he wasstruck down to the door of the car. _Juba dead!_ I felt faint and sick! But the critical nature of theemergency helped to steady my nerves by giving me something else to thinkof and to do. Edmund must be called at once. There were no "elevators"running regularly during the general hours of repose, and I did not knowthe way up and down the tower by the ladder-like stairways whichconnected the stages. But there were signals by which the little craftthat served as elevators could be summoned in case of necessity, and Ipulled one of the signal cords. It seemed an age before the air shipcame, and another before I could reach Edmund. His great self-control enabled him to conceal his grief at my news, butJack was overcome. He had really loved Juba almost as if he had beenhuman and a brother. The big-hearted fellow actually sobbed as if hisheart would break. Then came the reaction, and I should never havebelieved that Jack Ashton could exhibit such malevolent ferocity. Hislips all but foamed, as he fairly shouted, striking his big fiststogether: "This'll be _my_ job! Edmund! Peter! You hear me! Don't either of youdare to lay a hand on _that devil!_ He's _mine!_ Oh! I'll--" But he couldnot finish his sentence for gnashing his teeth. We calmed him as best we could and then summoned an air ship. While wewaited, Edmund suddenly put his hand in his pocket, and withdrawing itquickly, said, with a bitter smile: "What a fool I have been in my carelessness. Ingra has had the keyabstracted from my pocket by some thief. That explains how he got the caropen. " The moment the ship came we hurriedly ascended to the platform. WhenEdmund saw poor Juba's body lying in the car and learned how he had madehis way there to die, he was more affected than when he first heard ofhis death. "He has died for us, " he said solemnly; "he has crawled here as to arefuge, and here he shall remain until I can bury him among his people inhis old home. Would to God I had never taken him from it!" "Then you will start at once for the dark hemisphere?" I asked. "At the earliest possible moment; and it shall be on the way to our ownhome. " But we were not to depart before even a more terrible tragedy haddarkened over us, for now the tide of fate was suddenly running at flood. CHAPTER XX THE CORYBANTIA OF THE SUN I have several times mentioned Edmund's half-formed impression that therewas some very remarkable ceremony connected with the cyclical apparitionof the sun before the eyes of its worshipers. He had said, you mayrecall, that it seemed probable that the religious rites on these rareoccasions bore some resemblance to the _bacchanalia_, or _dionysia_, ofancient Greece. How he had derived that idea I do not know, but it provedto have been but too well founded---only he had not guessed the fulltruth. The followers of Dionysus made themselves drunken with the wine oftheir god and then indulged in the wildest excesses. Here, as we were nowto learn, the worshipers of the sun were seized with another kind ofmadness, leading to scenes that I believe, and hope, have never had theirparallel upon the earth. With our hearts sore for Juba, we had completed our preparations fordeparture within six hours after his tragic death. Ala had been informedof the tragedy, and had visited the car and looked upon the dead form, which I thought greatly affected her. Edmund held little communicationwith her, but it was evidently with her cooperation that he was able toprocure a kind of coffin, in which we placed Juba's body. I do not knowwhether Edmund informed her of his purpose to quit the planet, but shemust have known that we were going to convey our friend somewhere forinterment. We were actually on the point of casting loose the car, Ala and a crowdof attendants watching our movements, when there came the second greatsound of united voices which we had heard in this speechless world. Itrose like a sudden wail from the whole city. There was a rushing to andfro, Ala's face grew as pale as death, and her attendants fell upon theirknees and began to lift their hands heavenward, with an expression ofterror and wild appeal. At the same time we noticed a sudden brightening about us, and Edmundstepping out on the platform, immediately beckoned, with the first signsof uncontrollable excitement that I had ever seen him display. I wasinstantly at his side, and a single glance told the story. High in the heavens, the sun had burst forth in all its marveloussplendor! A vast rift was open in the cloud dome, through which the gigantic god ofday poured down his rays with a fierceness that was inconceivable. Theheat was like the blast of a furnace, and I felt my head beginning toswim. "Quick!" cried Edmund, grasping my sleeve and pulling me into the car. "These rays are fatal! My God, what a sight!" As by magic the atmosphere had become crowded with air ships, and throngsof thousands were pouring from them upon the great platform and the otherstages, as well as upon the surrounding towers. Every available space wasfilling up with people hastening from below. As fast as they arrived theythrew themselves into the most extraordinary postures of adoration, lifting hands and eyes to the sun. I remember thinking, in a flash, thatthe intense glare of light must burn to the very sockets of theireyes--but they did not flinch. It was evident, however, that those wholooked directly in the sun's face were blinded. I looked round for Ala, and noticed with a thrill that her beautiful eyeswere wide open and glancing with an expression that I cannot describe, over her kneeling people. Beside her was the towering form of the greatpriest, who was staring straight at the sun--and yet, although his eyeswere open, it was evident that they were not rendered altogethersightless even by that awful light. They burned like coals. He was makingstrange gestures with his long arms, and in unison with his everymovement a low, heart-thrilling sound came from the throats of themultitude. Edmund, at my shoulder, muttered under his breath: "Shall I try to save her from this?--But to what good?" For a moment he seemed to hesitate, and I thought that he was about torush out upon the platform and seize Ala in order to rescue her from somedanger that he foresaw; when, all at once, the multitude rose to itsfeet, staggering, and began to rush to and fro, colliding with oneanother, falling, rising again, grappling, struggling, uttering terriblecries--and then I saw the flash of knives. "Good heavens!" shouted Edmund. "It is the ultraviolet rays! They havegone mad!" In the meantime the gigantic high priest whirled upon his heel, swinginghis arms abroad and uttering a kind of chant which was audible above thedreadful clamor of the rabid multitude. Though he had no weapon, heseemed the inspirer of this Aceldama, and around him its fury raged. Presently he drew close to Ala, who still stood motionless, as ifpetrified by the awful scene. I felt Edmund give a violent start, andbefore I comprehended his intention, he had dashed from the car, and wasforcing his way through the struggling throng toward the queen. "Edmund!" I shouted. "For God's sake, come back!" Jack started to follow him, but I held him back with all my strength. "Let me go!" he yelled. "Edmund will be killed!" "And you, too!" I answered. "Break open the locker and get the guns!" Jack threw himself upon the door of the locker, and strove to wrench itopen. Meanwhile, half paralyzed with excitement, I remained standing atthe door. I saw Edmund hurl aside those who attacked him, and push ontoward his goal. But a minute later a knife reached him, and he fell. "Quick, Jack, quick!" I shouted; "Edmund is down!" He had not got the locker open, but he darted to my side, and together werushed out into the press. Shall I ever forget that moment! We werepushed, hustled, struck, hurled to and fro; but we had only a few stepsto go, and we reached our leader where he lay. Seizing him, we succeededsomehow in carrying him into the car. Our clothes were torn, our handsand faces were bleeding, and there was blood on Jack's shoulder. Edmundwas alive. We placed him on a bench, and then the fascination of thespectacle without again enchained us. Suddenly my eyes fell upon Ingra, who had not previously made hisappearance. He was as insane as the others, and like many of them had aknife in his hand. In a moment he pushed his way toward Ala, and my heartrose in my throat, for I did not know what mad thought might be in hismind. If I had had a weapon, I believe I should have shot him, but beforehe had arrived within three yards of the queen there came an explosion offlame--I do not know how else to describe it, for it was so sudden--andthe great platform was instantly wrapped in licking tongues of fire. The wickerwork caught like tinder, and the gauzy screws threw off streamsof sparks like so many Fourth of July pinwheels. The gush of heat fromthe conflagration was terrible, and I turned my eyes in horror from thestricken multitude which seemed to have been shocked back into sanity bythe sudden universal danger only to find itself a helpless prey to theflames. "It's all over with them!" cried Jack. His words awoke me to our own danger. We must get away instantly. Knowingthe proper button to touch to throw the mechanism into action, I pushedit forcibly and pulled out a knob which I had often seen Edmundmanipulate in starting the car. It responded immediately, and in a secondwe were afloat, and clear of the tower. Seeing that the direction whichthe car was taking would remove us from the reach of the flames, and thatthere was nothing ahead to obstruct its progress, and knowing that Edmundoften left it to run of itself when the speed was slow, and there was nooccasion to change its course, I now hurried with Jack to Edmund's side. Henry all this time had been lying on a bench like one in a trance. Jack and I stripped off Edmund's coat, and at once saw the nature of hiswound. A knife had penetrated his side, and there was considerableeffusion of blood, but I was surgeon enough to feel sure that the woundwas not mortal. He roused up as he felt us working over him, and openinghis eyes, said faintly: "You will find bandages under the locker. What has happened? We aremoving. " "The tower is all in flames!" exclaimed Jack, before I could interrupthim, for I should have preferred not to tell Edmund the real situationjust at that moment. Jack's words roused him like an electric shock. He pushed us aside, andstruggled to his feet. Then he sprang to a knob, and brought the car torest. We had been moving slowly, and had not gone more than a quarter of a milefrom the tower. The car had swung round so that the fire was not visiblefrom the open door, but now, as Edmund arrested its progress, it swayedback again and the spectacle burst into view. The heat smote us in theface even at this distance. In the few minutes since I had last seen thetower the flames had made incredible progress. The whole of the immensestructure was blazing. Spires of flame leaped and swayed from its summit, partitions were falling, platforms giving way, and hundreds of air shipscaught by the sheets of fire were crumpling and falling in swoopingcurves like birds whose wings had been seared. I was thankful that wecould not see the unfortunates who were perishing in that furnace. It wasbut too evident that not a soul on the tower could have escaped. I glanced at Edmund's face. It was pale and set--the face of a man gazingupon an awful tragedy with which he is absolutely powerless to interfere. His breath came quick, but he did not utter a word. Then came thereaction, and, staggering, he leaned on my shoulder, and I led him to thebench from which he had risen. For a moment I thought he had fainted, butwhen I put a flask to his lips he swallowed a mouthful and immediatelyrecovered sufficient strength to sit up, resting his head on his hand. "Had we not better go on?" I asked. "Ye-es, " he replied, after a moment's hesitation. "We can do nothing. They are all gone; the queen has perished with the rest! Pull out thatknob on the right, but gently, and then push this button. We must circleround the outskirts until we see whether the fire will seize upon theother towers and extend to the city below. " I followed his directions, and, as we started our circuit, the vast towersuddenly swayed aside, and then, tumbling in upon itself, it went down ina whirl of smoke and eddying sparks. As far as we could see none of the other aerial structures had caughtfire. The entire absence of wind was no doubt the favorable circumstancethat saved them. But all the towers were swaying under the impulseimparted to them by the excited multitudes that crowded their platforms. Although the light of the conflagration faded as soon as the principaltower fell, the others continued to shine brilliantly in the solar rays, but suddenly, as we watched, the splendor failed, and the subduedillumination characteristic of the endless daylight under the great dometook its place. The rift in the clouds above had closed as unexpectedlyas it had recently opened, and the sun was no longer visible. It had beenin view less than an hour, but in that brief space what scenes had beenenacted! Presently Edmund, shaking his head sadly, said: "It is useless to stay longer. Even if the conflagration should spread wecould do nothing to help the unfortunates. They must depend uponthemselves. " He then gave me directions for changing our course to a direct line awayfrom the city, at the same time increasing the speed. In the meantime hehimself aided in binding up his wound. "If there were the slightest chance that Ala could have escaped, " hesaid, after a few minutes, "I would remain here, and search for her, butit is only too clear what her fate has been. She was really our onlyfriend, and now that she is gone, we must get away from the sight andmemory of these things as quickly as possible. " Seeing that his strength was gradually coming back to him, and secretlyrejoicing that he bore this terrible blow so stoically, I felt that wemight now converse about the catastrophe which we had witnessed. "What do you think was the cause of the sudden outburst of fire?" Iasked. "It could hardly have been the direct action of the sunlight, " hereplied. "It must have resulted from some accidental concentration of thesolar rays upon an inflammable substance by a mirror. " "I recall seeing a large concave glass on the principal platform in whichthey were fond of looking at their magnified images, " I said. "Yes, and no doubt that was the instrument chosen by fate to bring aboutthis terrible end. The power of the sunbeams is twice as great here asupon the earth, and the heat in the focus of a mirror a couple of feet indiameter would suffice to set fire to the flimsy materials which aboundedon the tower. Once started in such a place it ran like sparks in a trainof gunpowder. " "But the madness that seized the multitude before the catastrophe--whatdid you mean by saying that it was the ultraviolet rays?" "I used the term, " Edmund replied slowly, "without attaching a very clearmeaning to it. It simply expressed the general thought that was in mymind. It may be some other form of solar radiation to which we are notaccustomed on the earth, but which is specially effective here when thesun is uncovered because of the greater nearness of Venus. Thisatmosphere, notwithstanding its density, may well be diaphanous to theultraviolet rays, owing to some peculiarity in its composition which Ihave not had time to study. At any rate, it is evident, from what we haveseen, that the rays of the unclouded sun almost instantly affect thebrain. I, myself, felt them as if a thousand needles had been thrustthrough my skull; and I believe that they are responsible, rather thanthe shock of the wound in my side, for my present weakness. " "And did you foresee the consequences of the uncovering of the sun?" "Not altogether. I had been led to think that something extraordinarymust accompany the periodical appearances of the great orb, and if Icould have known that an apparition was at hand I might have madepreparations for it and we might have been able to save Ala. When I sawwhat was going on, I tried to reach her, and you know the result. " "But is it not incredible that a people of so peaceable a dispositionshould be seized with such murderous instincts when driven out of theirsenses by the effect of the rays?" "No, it does not seem so to me. You know the general tendency of suddenmadness, which usually produces a complete reversal of the ordinaryinstincts of the demented persons, making them dangerous to their dearestfriends. But why talk longer of this? It is too painful--toooverwhelming. What can man do against the great forces of Nature? At thismoment I solemnly declare to you that I regret that I ever entered uponthis expedition. " While we had been talking, the car had receded to a great distance fromthe city, and now all but the tops of a few of the airy pinnacles werelost to our sight forever. But as we gazed, straining our sight for alast look, we perceived a familiar flickering of prismatic lightning onthe horizon. We glanced at each other meaningly. It was the color speechagain. But, oh, what must be the burden of their communications now!Suddenly, Edmund, whose eyes were fixed with intensity upon the scene, remarked, half shuddering: "It is the great Paean. " Seized with curiosity, I pressed the magic box to my ear, and faintlythere echoed in my brain a few disconnected strains of that solemn music. But now, more than ever, it was insufferable to me, and I dropped the boxwith a crash. As Edmund recovered his strength he once more took charge of the car, andin a little while he had risen to a great height in order to takeadvantage of the easier going in the lighter atmosphere above. Thus weran on for several hours until we began to catch sight of the sea, whichwas soon beneath us, while far ahead we saw the tumbling clouds markingthe location of the belt of tempests behind which we knew lay the rangeof the crystal mountains. At length we issued from beneath the clouddome, and then we saw the sun again, and the storms whipping the waters, whose waves occasionally flashed up at us through rifts in the streamingclouds beneath. And at last the icy peaks began to glitter on thehorizon, and we knew that we were nearing the world of eternal night andfrost. It was with strange feelings that we once more beheld the crystalmountains, for our minds were filled with the recollection of the scenesthat had occurred among them when we were helpless in the grasp of theirtempests. But now there was a certain exhilaration in the thought thatthis time we could safely sail over their summits. As we passed over themwe looked eagerly for landmarks that might show where our former passagehad occurred, and as Edmund purposely dropped as close to their summitsas it was safe to go, I at last believed that I recognized the mightypeak of rainbows that had so nearly wrecked us. When we had left the mountains behind and entered into the region ofnight, I asked Edmund how he would proceed in order to find the locationof the caverns. "I shall go by the stars, " he said. "I noted the bearing of the place, and I have no doubt that I can find it again. " CHAPTER XXI THE EARTH Edmund's reference to the stars instantly drew my attention to theheavens. They were ablaze with amazing gems, but at first I could not seethe earth among them. "I know what you are looking for, " said Edmund. "Here, look through thepeephole in the bow. From our present position the earth appears butlittle elevated above the horizon, but when we reach the caverns, whichare in the center of the dark hemisphere, we shall see her overhead. " I knelt at the peephole, and my heart was in my throat. There was ourglorious planet, oh, so bright! and close beside her the moon. At thesight, an irrepressible longing arose in me to be once more at home. Jackand Henry took their turns at looking, and they were no less affectedthan I had been. But Edmund retained a perfect self-command: "Do you know, " he asked with an odd smile (for now the lamps wereglowing, and we had plenty of light in the car), "how long we have beenabsent from home?" Not one of us had kept a record. "It is just six hundred and four days, " he continued, "since we left NewYork. We were sixteen days on our way to Venus; six days after ourarrival at the caverns occurred the conjunction of the earth, and theceremonies that Peter will not forget as long as he refrains from hairdye; two days later we departed for the sun lands; and since then fivehundred and eighty days have passed. Now, between one conjunction of theearth and Venus to the next, five hundred and eighty-four days elapse. Already five hundred and eighty-two of those days have passed, so thatwithin two days another conjunction will occur, and if we are then at thecaverns we shall doubtless witness another sacrifice to the earth and themoon. " "God forbid!" I exclaimed. "I feel as you do, " said Edmund. "We have seen enough of such things. Inorder, then, to hasten our arrival at the caverns, where we must buryJuba, for on that I insist, I am going to rise up out of the atmosphere, in order that we may fly with planetary speed. We can thus reach thecaverns, traversing the five thousand miles of distance that yet remain, in something like an hour, for some time must be lost in rising out ofand returning into the atmosphere, and in the meantime I must makeobservations to determine our location. Having found the caverns we willcomplete our rites at Juba's grave, and get away for good before thesacrificial ceremonies begin. " It was a programme that suited us all, and it was quickly carried out. Ihad not thought that my admiration of Edmund's ability could beincreased, but it was carried a notch higher when I saw how easily, guiding himself by the ever-visible stars, he located the caverns. Whenhe knew that he was directly over them he dropped the car swiftly, and wecould not repress a cry as we saw directly beneath us the familiar shaftsof light issuing from the ground. "We may have to do a little searching, " said Edmund, as we approached thelights, "for, of course, my observations are not accurate enough toenable me to locate the exact spot where we landed before. " But fortune favored us marvelously, and the very first opening that weapproached was at once recognized, for there stood the sacrificial altar. We anchored the car near the shaft, and carried out Juba's coffin. "Wait here, " said Edmund, "while I descend. " "No, you're not going alone, " exclaimed Jack. "I'll go with you. " Edmund made no objection and he and Jack descended the steps. Half anhour elapsed before they returned, accompanied by a dozen of the natives, stolid, and not exhibiting the signs of surprise over our return which Ihad expected to see. Edmund had now made so much progress in theirstrange means of communication that he had little difficulty in causingthem to comprehend what was wanted. They easily carried the coffin, andall of us followed down into the depths. It was the strangest funeralprocession that ever a man saw! While the grave was being prepared in the underground cemetery where wehad witnessed the interment of the first victim of our pistols, Henry andI remained as a sort of guard of honor for Juba in the lower of the twogreat chambers which have been described in the earlier chapters of thishistory, and there a most singular thing occurred. We were startled by alow whining, and looking about saw one of the doglike creatures whichappeared to be the only inhabitants of the caverns except the nativesseated on its haunches close to the coffin, and exhibiting exactly thesigns of distress that a dog sometimes displays over its dead master. That we were taken aback by this scene I need not assure you. We hadnever observed, during our former visit, that either Juba or any of hispeople was followed by these creatures; in fact, they had always fled atour approach, and we had paid little attention to them. But now, if the poor animal could have spoken, he could not more plainlyhave told us that, by means of the mysterious instinct which beings ofhis kind possess, he had recognized the presence of his old master, andwas mourning for him. It was truly a touching spectacle, and Henry washardly less moved by it than I. When Edmund and Jack came back, havingsuperintended the preparations, Jack was cut to the heart by the sight. Immediately he declared that the "dog" must accompany us in the car, andEdmund assented by a grave inclination of the head. The animal followedus to the grave, and remained there watching us intently. He seemed tohave dismissed his fear, as if he comprehended that we were friends ofhis master. There were not more than twenty of the natives present at the interment, and none of them showed signs of sorrow. And when the grave was closedand we turned away, the little creature followed at our heels. Edmund hadcarved on a flat stone the word "JUBA, " and left it lying on the grave, and Jack, having nothing else, threw a silver dollar on top of it. Thenatives probably regarded these things as talismans, or religioussymbols, for they treated them with the greatest deference, and no doubtthey lie there yet, and will continue to lie there through all the eons, for in those dry caverns the progress of decay can hardly be perceptibleeven after the passage of ages. It was a singular fact, noted by Edmund, that the natives exhibited not the slightest curiosity concerning theircomrades who had been lost in the crystal mountains, and I really doubtwhether they knew what the coffin contained. When we had paid the last honors to Juba, we began to think of our finaldeparture. This place had become disagreeable to us. After the brilliantscenes that we had witnessed on the other side of the planet, the gloomhere, and the absence of all that had made the land of perpetual daylightseem a paradise of beauty, were intensely oppressive to our spirits. ButEdmund still wished to make some investigations, and we were compelled toawait his movements. What the nature of his investigations was I do notknow, for I was devoured by the desire to get away, and did not inquire. But fully twenty-four hours had elapsed before our leader was ready todepart. In the meanwhile "Juba's dog" had become firmly attached to Jack, who petted it as probably no creature of its race had ever been pettedbefore. It was a strange-looking animal; about as large as a terrier, with a big square head, covered with long black hair, while, in startlingimitation of the hirsute adornment of the natives themselves, its bodywas clothed with a golden-white pelt of silky texture. It would eatanything we offered it, and seemed immensely pleased with its new master, as it had every reason for being. During the last hours of our stay we noticed unmistakable indications ofpreparation for the dreaded ceremonies of the conjunction, and ourdeparture was hastened on that account. The priests, whom Edmund had beencompelled to put out of the way of further mischief on the formeroccasion, had been replaced by others, and we thought that, perhaps, thisbeing the first opportunity for the display of their functions, theywould try to make it memorable--which presented a still stronger reasonwhy we should not delay. But, with one thing and another, we were heldback until the very eve of the ceremonies. When we finally stood ready to enter the car, with Juba's dog at Jack'sheels, the procession up the steps had already begun. Edmund decided towait until the multitude had all assembled. They came trooping up intothe starlight, and I am sure that they had no idea of what we intended todo. Undoubtedly they must have recalled what had happened on the otheroccasion, but they showed no sign of either regret or anxiety on thataccount. They arranged themselves in a dense circle, as before, and thepriests took their place in the center. At this moment Edmund gave theword to enter the car. We sprang into it, and immediately Jack and I wentout on a window ledge in order to get a better view of the scene. Edmundstarted the car, and we rose straight toward the earth which glowed inthe zenith. Our movement was unexpected, and we at once arrested theattention even of the priests. The beginning of the ceremony was stoppedshort. All eyes were evidently drawn to us, and when they saw thedirection that we were taking a low murmur arose. "Let me give them a parting salute, " said Jack. Edmund thought a moment, and then said: "Very well, take a gun, but don't fire at them. If it terrifies them intoabandoning their sacrifice we shall have done one good thing in thisworld. " Jack instantly had the gun roaring, and although we were now high abovetheir heads, we could see that they were seized with consternation, rising from their knees, and running wildly about. Whether the noise andthe sight of us flying toward the earth, had the effect which Edmund hadhoped for, will never be known; but the last sight we had of livingbeings on Venus was the spectacle of those white forms darting about inthe starry gloom. Our long journey home was interrupted by one more almost tragic episode. When we had been ten days in flight, and the earth had become like around moon of dazzling brilliance, Juba's dog, which had grown feeble andrefused to eat, died. Jack was broken-hearted, and protested when Edmundsaid that the body of the animal must be thrown out. He would have likedto try to stuff the skin, but Edmund was firm. "But if you open a window, " I said, "the air will escape. " "Some of it will undoubtedly escape, " Edmund replied. "But, luckily, thisis the air of Venus which we are carrying, and being very dense, we canspare a little of it without serious results. I shall be quick, and therewill be no danger. " It was as he had said. When the window was partially opened, for only asecond or two, we distinctly felt a lowering of the atmospheric pressurethat made us gasp for a moment, but instantly Edmund had the windowclosed again, and we were all right. As we shot away we saw the littlewhite body gleaming in the sunlight like a thistledown, and then itdisappeared forever. "It is a new planet born, " said Edmund, "and the law of gravitation willpay it as much attention as if it were a Jupiter. It may wander in spacefor untold ages, and sometime it may even fall within the sphere of theearth's attraction, and then Jack's wish will have been fulfilled; but itwill be but a flying spark, flashing momentarily in the heavens as itshoots through the air. " * * * * * Our home-coming was a strange one. For some reason of his own Edmund didnot wish to take the car to New York. He landed in the midst of theAdirondack woods, far from any habitation, and there, concealed in aswamp, he insisted upon leaving the car. We made our way out of thewilderness to the nearest railway station, and our first care was tovisit a barber and a clothing merchant. Probably, as we carried some ofthe guns, they took us for a party of hunters who wished to furbish upbefore revisiting civilization. On reaching New York, we went, in the evening, straight to the OlympusClub, where our arrival caused a sensation. We found Church in the oldcorner, staring dejectedly at a newspaper. He did not see who wasapproaching him. Jack slapped him on the shoulder, and as he looked upand recognized us he fell back nearly fainting, and with mouth open, unable to utter a word. "Come, old man, " said Jack, "so we've found you! What did you run awayfor? Let me introduce you to the Columbus of Space, and don't you forgetthat I'm one of his lieutenants. " I don't think that Church has ever fully believed our story. He thinks, to this day, that we lost our "balloon, " as he calls it, and invented therest. We purposely allowed the newspaper reporters to take the same viewof the case, but when we four were alone we unburdened our hearts, andrelived the marvelous life of Venus. I use the past tense, because I haveyet to tell you most disquieting news. Edmund has disappeared. Within three months after our return he bade us good night at anunusually early hour and we have never seen him since, although more thana year has now elapsed since he went out of the room at the Olympus. Jackand I have made every effort to find a trace of him, without avail. Ledby a natural suspicion, we have ransacked the Adirondack woods, but wecould never satisfy ourselves that we had found the place where the carwas left. Henry persists in the belief that Edmund is trying in secret todevelop his invention, with the intention of "revolutionizing industryand making himself a multibillionaire. " But Jack and I know better!Wherever he may be, whatever may occupy his wonderful powers, we feelthat the ordinary concerns of the earth have no interest for him. Yet weare sure that if he is alive he often thinks of us. Last night as Jack and I were walking to the club with my completedmanuscript under my arm, a falling star shot across the sky. "Do you know what that recalls to me?" asked Jack, with a far-offexpression in his eyes. "What?" "Juba's dog. " Neither of us spoke again before we reached the clubhouse steps, but I amcertain that through both our minds there streamed a glitteringprocession of such memories as life on this planet could never give birthto. And they ended with a sigh. THE END