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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +This etext was prepared with the use of Calera WordScan Plus 2.0 + + + + + +A JOURNEY +IN OTHER WORLDS +A ROMANCE OF THE FUTURE + +BY JOHN JACOB ASTOR + + + + +PREFACE. + + + +The protracted struggle between science and the classics appears +to be drawing to a close, with victory about to perch on the +banner of science, as a perusal of almost any university or +college catalogue shows. While a limited knowledge of both Greek +and Latin is important for the correct use of our own language, +the amount till recently required, in my judgment, has been +absurdly out of proportion to the intrinsic value of these +branches, or perhaps more correctly roots, of study. The +classics have been thoroughly and painfully threshed out, and it +seems impossible that anything new can be unearthed. We may +equal the performances of the past, but there is no opportunity +to surpass them or produce anything original. Even the +much-vaunted "mental training" argument is beginning to pall; for +would not anything equally difficult give as good developing +results, while by learning a live matter we kill two birds with +one stone? There can be no question that there are many forces +and influences in Nature whose existence we as yet little more +than suspect. How much more interesting it would be if, instead +of reiterating our past achievements, the magazines and +literature of the period should devote their consideration to +what we do NOT know! It is only through investigation and +research that inventions come; we may not find what we are in +search of, but may discover something of perhaps greater moment. +It is probable that the principal glories of the future will be +found in as yet but little trodden paths, and as Prof. Cortlandt +justly says at the close of his history, "Next to religion, we +have most to hope from science." + + + + CONTENTS. + + + BOOK I. +CHAPTER + I.-JUPITER. + II.-ANTECEDENTAL + III.-PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH + IV.-PROF. CORTLANDT'S HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE WORLD + IN A.D. 2000 + V.-DR. CORTLANDT'S HISTORY CONTINUED + VI.-FAR-REACHING PLANS + VII.-HARD AT WORK + VIII.-GOOD-BYE + + BOOK II. + I.-THE LAST OF THE EARTH + II.-SPACE AND MARS + III.-HEAVENLY BODIES + IV.-PREPARING TO ALIGHT + V.-EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT + VI.-MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE-WISP + VII.-AN UNSEEN HUNTER + VIII.-SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES + IX.-THE HONEY OF DEATH + X.-CHANGING LANDSCAPES + XI.-A JOVIAN NIAGARA + XII.-HILLS AND VALLEYS + XIII.-NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES + XIV.-THE SCENE SHIFTS + + BOOK III. + I-SATURN + II.-THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT + HI.-DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY + IV.-A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION + V.-AYRAULT'S VISION + VI.-A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING + VII.-THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT + VIII.-CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY + IX.-DR. CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE + X.-AYRAULT + XI.-DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND + XII.-SHEOL + XIII.-THE PRIEST'S SERMON + XIV.-HIC ILLE JACET + XV.-MOTHER EARTH + + + + + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, + + INCLUDING NINE DRAWINGS BY MR. DAN. BEARD, + AND A DIAGRAM. + ---- + +The Callisto and the Comet +The Callisto was going straight up +The Signals from the Arctic Circle +Diagram of the Comparative Sizes of the Planets +The Ride on the Giant Tortoise +A Battle Royal on Jupiter +The Combat with the Dragons +Ayrault's Vision +They look into the Future +The Return + + + BOOK I. + + A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS. + ---- + + + CHAPTER 1. + + JUPITER. + + Jupiter--the magnificent planet with a diameter of 86,500 +miles, having 119 times the surface and 1,300 times the volume of +the earth--lay beneath them. + +They had often seen it in the terrestrial sky, emitting its +strong, steady ray, and had thought of that far-away planet, +about which till recently so little had been known, and a burning +desire had possessed them to go to it and explore its mysteries. +Now, thanks to APERGY, the force whose existence the ancients +suspected, but of which they knew so little, all things were +possible. + +Ayrault manipulated the silk-covered glass handles, and the +Callisto moved on slowly in comparison with its recent speed, +and all remained glued to their telescopes as they peered through +the rushing clouds, now forming and now dissolving before their +eyes. What transports of delight, what ecstatic bliss, was +theirs! Men had discovered and mastered the secret of apergy, +and now, "little lower than the angels," they could soar through +space, leaving even planets and comets behind. + +"Is it not strange," said Dr. Cortlandt, "that though it has been +known for over a century that bodies charged with unlike +electricities attract one another, and those charged with like +repel, no one thought of utilizing the counterpart of +gravitation? In the nineteenth century, savants and Indian +jugglers performed experiments with their disciples and masses of +inert matter, by causing them to remain without visible support +at some distance from the ground; and while many of these, of +course, were quacks, some were on the right track, though they +did not push their research." + +President Bearwarden and Ayrault assented. They were steering +for an apparently hard part of the planet's surface, about a +degree and a half north of its equator. + +"Since Jupiter's axis is almost at right angles to the plane of +its orbit," said the doctor, "being inclined only about one +degree and a half, instead of twenty-three and a half, as was the +earth's till nearly so recently, it will be possible for us to +have any climate we wish, from constantly warm at the equator to +constantly cool or cold as we approach the poles, without being +troubled by extremes of winter and summer." + +Until the Callisto entered the planet's atmosphere, its five +moons appeared like silver shields against the black sky, but now +things were looking more terrestrial, and they began to feel at +home. Bearwarden put down his note-book, and Ayrault returned a +photograph to his pocket, while all three gazed at their new +abode. Beneath them was a vast continent variegated by chains of +lakes and rivers stretching away in all directions except toward +the equator, where lay a placid ocean as far as their telescopes +could pierce. To the eastward were towering and massive +mountains, and along the southern border of the continent smoking +volcanoes, while toward the west they saw forests, gently rolling +plains, and table-lands that would have satisfied a poet or set +an agriculturist's heart at rest. "How I should like to mine +those hills for copper, or drain the swamps to the south!" +exclaimed Col. Bearwarden. "The Lake Superior mines and the +reclamation of the Florida Everglades would be nothing to this." + +"Any inhabitants we may find here have so much land at their +disposal that they will not need to drain swamps on account of +pressure of population for some time," put in the doctor. + +"I hope we may find some four-legged inhabitants," said Ayrault, +thinking of their explosive magazine rifles. "If Jupiter is +passing through its Jurassic or Mesozoic period, there must be +any amount of some kind of game." Just then a quiver shook the +Callisto, and glancing to the right they noticed one of the +volcanoes in violent eruption. Smoke filled the air in clouds, +hot stones and then floods of lava poured from the crater, while +even the walls of the hermetically sealed Callisto could not +arrest the thunderous crashes that made the interior of the car +resound. + +"Had we not better move on?" said Bearwarden, and accordingly +they went toward the woods they had first seen. Finding a firm +strip of land between the forest and an arm of the sea, they +gently grounded the Callisto, and not being altogether sure how +the atmosphere of their new abode would suit terrestrial lungs, +or what its pressure to the square inch might be, they cautiously +opened a port-hole a crack, retaining their hold upon it with its +screw. Instantly there was a rush and a whistling sound as of +escaping steam, while in a few moments their barometer stood at +thirty-six inches, whereupon they closed the opening. + +"I fancy," said Dr. Cortlandt, "we had better wait now till we +become accustomed to this pressure. I do not believe it will go +much higher, for the window made but little resistance when we +shut it." + +Finding they were not inconvenienced by a pressure but little +greater than that of a deep coal-mine, they again opened the +port, whereupon their barometer showed a further rise to +forty-two, and then remained stationary. Finding also that the +chemical composition of the air suited them, and that they had no +difficulty in breathing, the pressure being the same as that +sustained by a diver in fourteen feet of water, they opened a +door and emerged. They knew fairly well what to expect, and were +not disturbed by their new conditions. Though they had +apparently gained a good deal in weight as a result of their +ethereal journey, this did not incommode them; for though +Jupiter's volume is thirteen hundred times that of the earth, on +account of its lesser specific gravity, it has but three hundred +times the mass--i. e., it would weigh but three hundred times as +much. Further, although a cubic foot of water or anything else +weighs 2.5 as much as on earth, objects near the equator, on +account of Jupiter's rapid rotation, weigh one fifth less than +they do at the poles, by reason of the centrifugal force. +Influenced by this fact, and also because they were 483,000,000 +miles from the sun, instead of 92,000,000 as on earth, they had +steered for the northern limit of Jupiter's tropics. And, in +addition to this, they could easily apply the apergetic power in +any degree to themselves when beyond the limits of the Callisto, +and so be attracted to any extent, from twice the pull they +receive from gravitation on earth to almost nothing. + +Bearwarden and Ayrault shouldered their rifles, while Dr. +Cortlandt took a repeating shot-gun with No. 4 shot, and, having +also some hunting-knives and a sextant, all three set out in a +northwesterly direction. The ground was rather soft, and a warm +vapor seemed to rise from it. To the east the sky was veiled by +dense clouds of smoke from the towering volcanoes, while on their +left the forest seemed to extend without limit. Clumps of huge +ferns were scattered about, and the ground was covered with +curious tracks. + +"Jupiter is evidently passing through a Carboniferous or Devonian +period such as existed on earth, though, if consistent with its +size, it should be on a vastly larger scale," said the doctor. +"I never believed in the theory," he continued, "that the larger +the planet the smaller should be its inhabitants, and always +considered it a makeshift, put forward in the absence of definite +knowledge, the idea being apparently that the weight of very +large creatures would be too great for their strength. Of the +fact that mastodons and creatures far larger than any now living +on earth existed there, we have absolute proof, though +gravitation must have been practically the same then as now." + +Just here they came upon a number of huge bones, evidently the +remains of some saurian, and many times the size of a grown +crocodile. On passing a growth of most luxuriant vegetation, +they saw a half-dozen sacklike objects, and drawing nearer +noticed that the tops began to swell, and at the same time became +lighter in colour. Just as the doctor was about to investigate +one of them with his duck-shot, the enormously inflated tops of +the creatures collapsed with a loud report, and the entire group +soared away. When about to alight, forty yards off, they +distended membranous folds in the manner of wings, which checked +their descent, and on touching the ground remained where they +were without rebound. + +"We expected to find all kinds of reptiles and birds," exclaimed +the doctor. "But I do not know how we should class those +creatures. They seem to have pneumatic feet and legs, for their +motion was certainly not produced like that of frogs." + +When the party came up with them the heads again began to swell. + +"I will perforate the air-chamber of one," said Col. Bearwarden, +withdrawing the explosive cartridge from the barrel of his rifle +and substituting one with a solid ball. "This will doubtless +disable one so that we can examine it." + +Just as they were about to rise, he shot the largest through the +neck. All but the wounded one, soared off, while Bearwarden, +Ayrault, and Cortlandt approached to examine it more closely. + +"You see," said Cortlandt, "this vertebrate--for that is as +definitely as we can yet describe it--forces a great pressure of +air into its head and neck, which, by the action of valves, it +must allow to rush into its very rudimentary lower extremities, +distending them with such violence that the body is shot upward +and forward. You may have noticed the tightly inflated portion +underneath as they left the ground." + +While speaking he had moved rather near, when suddenly a +partially concealed mouth opened, showing the unmistakable tongue +and fangs of a serpent. It emitted a hissing sound, and the +small eyes gleamed maliciously. + +"Do you believe it is a poisonous species?" asked Ayrault. + +"I suspect it is," replied the doctor; "for, though it is +doubtless able to leap with great accuracy upon its prey, we saw +it took some time to recharge the upper air-chamber, so that, +were it not armed with poison glands, it would fall an easy +victim to its more powerful and swifter contemporaries, and would +soon become extinct." + +"As it will be unable to spring for some time," said Bearwarden, +"we might as well save it the disappointment of trying," and, +snapping the used shell from his rifle, he fired an explosive +ball into the reptile, whereupon about half the body disappeared, +while a sickening odour arose. Although the sun was still far +above the horizon, the rapidity with which it was descending +showed that the short night of less than five hours would soon be +upon them; and though short it might be very dark, for they were +in the tropics, and the sun, going down perpendicularly, must +also pass completely around the globe, instead of, as in northern +latitudes on earth in summer, approaching the horizon obliquely, +and not going far below it. A slight and diffused sound here +seemed to rise from the ground all about them, for which they +could not account. Presently it became louder, and as the sun +touched the horizon, it poured forth in prolonged strains. The +large trumpet-shaped lilies, reeds, and heliotropes seemed fairly +to throb as they raised their anthem to the sky and the setting +sun, while the air grew dark with clouds of birds that gradually +alighted on the ground, until, as the chorus grew fainter and +gradually ceased, they flew back to their nests. The three +companions had stood astonished while this act was played. The +doctor then spoke: + +"This is the most marvellous development of Nature I have seen, +for its wonderful divergence from, and yet analogy to, what takes +place on earth. You know our flowers offer honey, as it were, as +bait to insects, that in eating or collecting it they may catch +the pollen on their legs and so carry it to other flowers, +perhaps of the opposite sex. Here flowers evidently appeal to +the sense of hearing instead of taste, and make use of birds, of +which there are enormous numbers, instead of winged insects, of +which I have seen none, one being perhaps the natural result of +the other. The flowers have become singers by long practice, or +else, those that were most musical having had the best chance to +reproduce, we have a neat illustration of the 'survival of the +fittest.' The sound is doubtless produced by a shrinking of the +fibres as the sun withdraws its heat, in which case we may expect +another song at sunrise, when the same result will be effected by +their expanding." + +Searching for a camping-place in which to pass the coming hours, +they saw lights flitting about like will-o'-the-wisps, but +brighter and intermittent. + +"They seem to be as bright as sixteen-candle-power lamps, but the +light is yellower, and appears to emanate from a comparatively +large surface, certainly nine or ten inches square," said the +doctor. + +They soon gave up the chase, however, for the lights were +continually moving and frequently went out. While groping in the +growing darkness, they came upon a brown object about the size of +a small dog and close to the ground. It flew off with a humming +insect sound, and as it did so it showed the brilliant +phosphorescent glow they had observed. + +"That is a good-sized fire-fly," said Bearwarden. "Evidently the +insects here are on the same scale as everything else. They are +like the fire-flies in Cuba, which the Cubans are said to put +into a glass box and get light enough from to read by. Here they +would need only one, if it could be induced to give its light +continuously." + +Having found an open space on high ground, they sat down, and +Bearwarden struck his repeater, which, for convenience, had been +arranged for Jupiter time, dividing the day into ten hours, +beginning at noon, midnight being therefore five o'clock. + +"Twenty minutes past four," said he, "which would correspond to +about a quarter to eleven on earth. As the sun rises at +half-past seven, it will be dark about three hours, for the time +between dawn and daylight will, of course, be as short as that we +have just experienced between sunset and night." + +"If we stay here long," said the doctor, "I suppose we shall +become accustomed, like sailors, to taking our four, or in this +case five, hours on duty, and five hours off." + +"Or," added Ayrault, "we can sleep ten consecutive hours and take +the next ten for exploring and hunting, having the sun for one +half the time and the moons for the other." + +Bearwarden and Cortlandt now rolled themselves in their blankets +and were soon asleep, while Ayrault, whose turn it was to watch +till the moons rose--for they had not yet enough confidence in +their new domain to sleep in darkness simultaneously--leaned his +back against a rock and lighted his pipe. In the distance he saw +the torrents of fiery lava from the volcanoes reflected in the +sky, and faintly heard their thunderous crashes, while the +fire-flies twinkled unconcernedly in the hollow, and the night +winds swayed the fernlike branches. Then he gazed at the earth, +which, but little above the horizon, shone with a faint but +steady ray, and his mind's eye ran beyond his natural vision +while he pictured to himself the girl of his heart, wishing that +by some communion of spirits he might convey his thoughts to her, +and receive hers. It was now the first week of January on earth. +He could almost see her house and the snow-clad trees in the +park, and knew that at that hour she was dressing for dinner, and +hoped and believed that he was in her heart. While he thus +mused, one moon after another rose, each at a different phase, +till three were at once in the sky. Adjusting the electric +protection- wires that were to paralyze any creature that +attempted to come within the circle, and would arouse them by +ringing a bell, he knocked the ashes from his pipe, rolled +himself in a blanket, and was soon asleep beside his friends. + + + + CHAPTER II. + + + ANTECEDENTAL. + +"Come in!" sounded a voice, as Dr. Cortlandt and Dick Ayrault +tapped at the door of the President of the Terrestrial Axis +Straightening Company's private office on the morning of the 21st +of June, A. D. 2000. Col. Bearwarden sat at his capacious desk, +the shadows passing over his face as April clouds flit across the +sun. He was a handsome man, and young for the important post he +filled--being scarcely forty--a graduate of West Point, with +great executive ability, and a wonderful engineer. "Sit down, +chappies," said he; "we have still a half hour before I begin to +read the report I am to make to the stockholders and +representatives of all the governments, which is now ready. I +know YOU smoke," passing a box of Havanas to the professor. + +Prof. Cortlandt, LL. D., United States Government expert, +appointed to examine the company's calculations, was about fifty, +with a high forehead, greyish hair, and quick, grey eyes, a +geologist and astronomer, and altogether as able a man, in his +own way, as Col. Bearwarden in his. Richard Ayrault, a large +stockholder and one of the honorary vice-presidents in the +company, was about thirty, a university man, by nature a +scientist, and engaged to one of the prettiest society girls, who +was then a student at Vassar, in the beautiful town of +Poughkeepsie. + +"Knowing the way you carry things in your mind, and the +difficulty of rattling you," said Cortlandt, "we have dropped in +on our way to hear the speech that I would not miss for a +fortune. Let us know if we bother you." + +"Impossible, dear boy," replied the president genially. "Since I +survived your official investigations, I think I deserve some of +your attention informally." + +"Here are my final examinations," said Cortlandt, handing +Bearwarden a roll of papers. "I have been over all your figures, +and testify to their accuracy in the appendix I have added." + +So they sat and chatted about the enterprise that interested +Cortlandt and Ayrault almost as much as Bearwarden himself. As +the clock struck eleven, the president of the company put on his +hat, and, saying au revoir to his friends, crossed the street to +the Opera House, in which he was to read a report that would be +copied in all the great journals and heard over thousands of +miles of wire in every part of the globe. When he arrived, the +vast building was already filled with a distinguished company, +representing the greatest intelligence, wealth, and powers of the +world. Bearwarden went in by the stage entrance, exchanging +greetings as he did so with officers of the company and directors +who had come to hear him. Cortlandt and Ayrault entered by the +regular door, the former going to the Government representatives' +box, the latter to join his fiancee, Sylvia Preston, who was +there with her mother. Bearwarden had a roll of manuscript at +hand, but so well did he know his speech that he scarcely glanced +at it. After being introduced by the chairman of the meeting, +and seeing that his audience was all attention, he began, holding +himself erect, his clear, powerful voice making every part of the +building ring. + + + + CHAPTER III. + + PRESIDENT BEARWARDEN'S SPEECH. + +"To the Bondholders and Stockholders of the Terrestrial Axis +Straightening Company and Representatives of Earthly Governments. + +"GENTLEMEN: You know that the objects of this company are, to +straighten the axis of the earth, to combine the extreme heat of +summer with the intense cold of winter and produce a uniform +temperature for each degree of latitude the year round. At +present the earth's axis--that is, the line passing through its +centre and the two poles--is inclined to the ecliptic about +twenty-three and a half degrees. Our summer is produced by the +northern hemisphere's leaning at that angle towards the sun, and +our winter by its turning that much from it. In one case the +sun's rays are caused to shine more perpendicularly, and in the +other more obliquely. This wabbling, like that of a top, is the +sole cause of the seasons; since, owing to the eccentricity of +our orbit, the earth is actually fifteen hundred thousand miles +nearer the sun during our winter, in the northern hemisphere, +than in summer. That there is no limit to a planet's +inclination, and that inclination is not essential, we have +astronomical proof. Venus's axis is inclined to the plane of her +orbit seventy-five degrees, so that the arctic circle comes +within fifteen degrees of the equator, and the tropics also +extend to latitude seventy-five degrees, or within fifteen +degrees of the poles, producing great extremes of heat and cold. + +"Venus is made still more difficult of habitation by the fact +that she rotates on her axis in the same time that she revolves +about the sun, in the same way that the moon does about the +earth, so that one side must be perpetually frozen while the +other is parched. + +"In Uranus we see the axis tilted still further, so that the +arctic circle descends to the equator. The most varied climate +must therefore prevail during its year, whose length exceeds +eighty-one of ours. + +The axis of Mars is inclined about twenty-eight and two thirds +degrees to the plane of its orbit; consequently its seasons must +be very similar to ours, the extremes of heat and cold being +somewhat greater. + +"In Jupiter we have an illustration of a planet whose axis is +almost at right angles to the plane of its orbit, being inclined +but about a degree and a half. The hypothetical inhabitants of +this majestic planet must therefore have perpetual summer at the +equator, eternal winter at the poles, and in the temperate +regions everlasting spring. On account of the straightness of +the axis, however, even the polar inhabitants--if there are +any--are not oppressed by a six months' night, for all except +those at the VERY pole have a sunrise and a sunset every ten +hours--the exact day being nine hours, fifty five minutes, and +twenty-eight seconds. The warmth of the tropics is also tempered +by the high winds that must result from the rapid whirl on its +axis, every object at the equator being carried around by this at +the rate of 27,600 miles an hour, or over three thousand miles +farther than the earth's equator moves in twenty-four hours. + +"The inclination of the axis of our own planet has also +frequently considerably exceeded that of Mars, and again has been +but little greater than Jupiter's at least, this is by all odds +the most reasonable explanation of the numerous Glacial periods +through which our globe has passed, and of the recurring mild +spells, probably lasting thousands of years, in which elephants, +mastodons, and other semi-tropical vertebrates roamed in Siberia, +some of which died so recently that their flesh, preserved by the +cold, has been devoured by the dogs of modern explorers. + +"It is not to be supposed that the inclining of the axes of +Jupiter, Venus, the Earth, and the other planets, is now fixed; +in some cases it is known to be changing. As long ago as 1890, +Major-Gen. A. W. Drayson, of the British Army, showed, in a work +entitled Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geology, that, as a +result of the second rotation of the earth, the inclination of +its axis was changing, it having been 23@ 28' 23" on January 1, +1750, 23@ 27' 55.3" on January 1, 1800, and 23@ 27' 30.9" on +January 1, 1850; and by calculation one hundred and ten years ago +showed that in 1900 (one hundred years ago) it would be 23@ 27' +08.8". This natural straightening is, of course, going on, and +we are merely about to anticipate it. When this improvement was +mooted, all agreed that the EXTREMES of heat and cold could well +be spared. 'Balance those of summer against those of winter by +partially straightening the axis; reduce the inclination from +twenty-three degrees, thirty minutes, to about fifteen degrees, +but let us stop there,' many said. Before we had gone far, +however, we found it would be best to make the work complete. +This will reclaim and make productive the vast areas of Siberia +and the northern part of this continent, and will do much for the +antarctic regions; but there will still be change in temperature; +a wind blowing towards the equator will always be colder than one +blowing from it, while the slight eccentricity of the orbit will +supply enough change to awaken recollections of seasons in our +eternal spring. + +"The way to accomplish this is to increase the weight of the pole +leaving the sun, by increasing the amount of material there for +the sun to attract, and to lighten the pole approaching or +turning towards the sun, by removing some heavy substance from +it, and putting it preferably at the opposite pole. This +shifting of ballast is most easily accomplished, as you will +readily perceive, by confining and removing water, which is +easily moved and has a considerable weight. How we purpose to +apply these aqueous brakes to check the wabbling of the earth, by +means of the attraction of the sun, you will now see. + +"From Commander Fillmore, of the Arctic Shade and the Committee +on Bulkheads and Dams, I have just received the following by +cable telephone: 'The Arctic Ocean is now in condition to be +pumped out in summer and to have its average depth increased one +hundred feet by the dams in winter. We have already fifty +million square yards of windmill turbine surface in position and +ready to move. The cables bringing us currents from the dynamos +at Niagara Falls are connected with our motors, and those from +the tidal dynamos at the Bay of Fundy will be in contact when +this reaches you, at which moment the pumps will begin. In +several of the landlocked gulfs and bays our system of confining +is so complete, that the surface of the water can be raised two +hundred feet above sea- level. The polar bears will soon have to +use artificial ice. Perhaps the cheers now ringing without may +reach you over the telephone.'" + +The audience became greatly interested, and when the end of the +telephone was applied to a microphone the room fairly rang with +exultant cheers, and those looking through a kintograph (visual +telegraph) terminating in a camera obscura on the shores of +Baffin Bay were able to see engineers and workmen waving and +throwing up their caps and falling into one another's arms in +ecstasies of delight. When the excitement subsided, the +president continued: + +"Chairman Wetmore, of the Committee on Excavations and +Embankments in Wilkesland and the Antarctic Continent, reports: +'Two hundred and fifty thousand square miles are now hollowed out +and enclosed sufficiently to hold water to an average depth of +four hundred feet. Every summer, when the basin is allowed to +drain, we can, if necessary, extend our reservoir, and shall have +the best season of the year for doing work until the earth has +permanent spring. Though we have comparatively little water or +tidal power, the earth's crust is so thin at this latitude, on +account of the flattening, that by sinking our tubular boilers +and pipes to a depth of a few thousand feet we have secured so +terrific a volume of superheated steam that, in connection with +our wind turbines, we shall have no difficulty in raising half a +cubic mile of water a minute to our enclosure, which is but +little above sea-level, and into which, till the pressure +increases, we can fan or blow the water, so that it can be full +three weeks after our longest day, or, since the present +unimproved arrangement gives the indigenes but one day and night +a year, I will add the 21st day of December. + +"'We shall be able to find use for much of the potential energy +of the water in the reservoir when we allow it to escape in June, +in melting some of the accumulated polar ice-cap, thereby +decreasing still further the weight of this pole, in lighting and +warming ourselves until we get the sun's light and heat, in +extending the excavations, and in charging the storage batteries +of the ships at this end of the line. Everything will be ready +when you signal "Raise water."'" + +"Let me add parenthetically," said Bearwarden, "that this means +of obtaining power by steam boilers sunk to a great depth is much +to be commended; for, though the amount of heat we can withdraw +is too small to have much effect, the farther towards the centre +our globe can be cooled the deeper will the water of the oceans +be able to penetrate--since it is its conversion into steam that +prevents the water from working its way in farther--and the more +dry land we shall have." + +"You see," the president continued, "the storage capacity at the +south pole is not quite as great as at the north, because it is +more difficult to excavate a basin than to close the exits of one +that already exists, which is what we have done in the arctic. +The work is also not so nearly complete, since it will not be +necessary to use the southern reservoir for storing weight for +six months, or until the south pole, which is now at its maximum +declination from the sun, is turned towards it and begins to move +away; then, by increasing the amount of matter there, and at the +same time lightening the north pole, and reversing the process +every six months, we decrease the speed at which the departing +pole leaves the sun and at which the approaching pole advances. +The north pole, we see, will be a somewhat more powerful lever +than the south for working the globe to a straight position, but +we may be sure that the latter, in connection with the former, +will be able to hold up its end." + +[The building here fairly shook with applause, so that, had the +arctic workers used the microphone, they might have heard in the +enthusiastic uproar a good counterpart of their own period.] + +"I only regret," the president continued, "that when we began +this work the most marvellous force yet discovered--apergy--was +not sufficiently understood to be utilized, for it would have +eased our labours to the point of almost eliminating them. But +we have this consolation: it was in connection with our work that +its applicability was discovered, so that had we and all others +postponed our great undertaking on the pretext of waiting for a +new force, apergy might have continued to lie dormant for +centuries. With this force, obtained by simply blending negative +and positive electricity with electricity of the third element or +state, and charging a body sufficiently with this fluid, +gravitation is nullified or partly reversed, and the earth repels +the body with the same or greater power than that with which it +still attracts or attracted it, so that it may be suspended or +caused to move away into space. Sic itur ad astra, we may say. +With this force and everlasting spring before us, what may we not +achieve? We may some day be able to visit the planets, though +many may say that, since the axes of most of those we have +considered are more inclined than ours, they would rather stay +here. 'Blessed are they that shall inherit the earth,'" he went +on, turning a four-foot globe with its axis set vertically and at +right angles to a yellow globe labelled "Sun"; and again waxing +eloquent, he added: "We are the instruments destined to bring +about the accomplishment of that prophecy, for never in the +history of the world has man reared so splendid a monument to his +own genius as he will in straightening the axis of the planet. + +"No one need henceforth be troubled by sudden change, and every +man can have perpetually the climate he desires. Northern Europe +will again luxuriate in a climate that favoured the elephants +that roamed in northern Asia and Switzerland. To produce these +animals and the food they need, it is not necessary to have great +heat, but merely to prevent great cold, half the summer's sun +being absorbed in melting the winter's accumulation of ice. + +"When the axis has reached a point at which it inclines but about +twelve degrees, it will become necessary to fill the antarctic +reservoir in June and the Arctic Ocean in December, in order to +check the straightening, since otherwise it might get beyond the +perpendicular and swing the other way. When this motion is +completely arrested, I suggest that we blow up the Aleutian Isles +and enlarge Bering Strait, so as to allow what corresponds to the +Atlantic Gulf Stream in the Pacific to enter the Arctic +Archipelago, which I have calculated will raise the average +temperature of that entire region about thirty degrees, thereby +still further increasing the amount of available land. + +"Ocean currents, being the result of the prevailing winds, which +will be more regular than at present, can be counted upon to +continue practically as they are. It may not be plain to you why +the trade winds do not blow towards the equator due south and +north, since the equator has much the same effect on air that a +stove has in the centre of a room, causing an ascending current +towards the ceiling, which moves off in straight lines in all +directions on reaching it, its place being taken by cold currents +moving in opposite directions along the floor. Picture to +yourselves the ascending currents at the equator moving off to +the poles from which they came. As they move north they are +continually coming to parts of the globe having smaller circles +of latitude than those they have left, and therefore not moved +forward as rapidly by the earth's daily rotation as the latitudes +nearer the equator. The winds consequently run ahead of the +surface, and so move east of north--the earth turning towards the +east--while the heavier colder surface currents, rushing towards +the equator to take the place of the ascending column, coming +from regions where the surface whirls comparatively slowly to +those where it is rotating faster, are continually left behind, +and so move southwest; while south of the equator a corresponding +motion results. Though this is not the most exact explanation, +it may serve to make the action clear. I will add, that if any +one prefers a colder or a warmer climate than that of the place +in which he lives, he need only go north or south for an hour; +or, if he prefers his own latitude, he can rise a few thousand +feet in the air, or descend to one of the worked-out coal-mines +which are now used as sanitariums, and secure his object by a +slight change of altitude. Let us speed the departure of racking +changes and extremes of climate, and prepare to welcome what we +believe prevails in paradise--namely, everlasting spring." + +Appended to the address was the report of the Government +Examining Committee, which ran: "We have critically examined the +Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company's figures and +calculations, also its statements involving natural philosophy, +physics, and astronomy, all of which we find correct, and hereby +approve. + +[Signed] "For the Committee: + + "HENRY CHELMSFORD CORTLANDT, + + "Chairman." + + +The Board of Directors having ratified the acts of its officers, +and passed congratulatory resolutions, the meeting adjourned sine +die. + + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PROF. CORTLANDT'S HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE WORLD + + IN A. D. 2000. + + +Prof. Cortlandt, preparing a history of the times at the +beginning of the great terrestrial and astronomical change, wrote +as follows: "This period--A.D. 2000--is by far the most +wonderful the world has as yet seen. The advance in scientific +knowledge and attainment within the memory, of the present +generation has been so stupendous that it completely overshadows +all that has preceded. All times in history and all periods of +the world have been remarkable for some distinctive or +characteristic trait. The feature of the period of Louis XIV was +the splendour of the court and the centralization of power in +Paris. The year 1789 marked the decline of the power of courts +and the evolution of government by the people. So, by the spread +of republican ideas and the great advance in science, education +has become universal, for women as well as for men, and this is +more than ever a mechanical age. + +"With increased knowledge we are constantly coming to realize how +little we really know, and are also continually finding +manifestations of forces that at first seem like exceptions to +established laws. This is, of course, brought about by the +modifying influence of some other natural law, though many of +these we have not yet discovered. + +"Electricity in its varied forms does all work, having superseded +animal and manual labour in everything, and man has only to +direct. The greatest ingenuity next to finding new uses for this +almost omnipotent fluid has been displayed in inducing the forces +of Nature, and even the sun, to produce it. Before describing +the features of this perfection of civilization, let us review +the steps by which society and the political world reached their +present state. + +"At the close of the Franco-Prussian War, in 1871, Continental +Europe entered upon the condition of an armed camp, which lasted +for nearly half a century. The primary cause of this was the +mutual dislike and jealousy of France and Germany, each of which +strove to have a larger and better equipped national defence than +the other. There were also many other causes, as the ambition of +the Russian Czar, supported by his country's vast though +imperfectly developed resources and practically unlimited supply +of men, one phase of which was the constant ferment in the Balkan +Peninsula, and another Russia's schemes for extension in Asia; +another was the general desire for colonies in Africa, in which +one Continental power pretty effectually blocked another, and the +latent distrust inside the Triple Alliance. England, meanwhile, +preserved a wise and profitable neutrality. + +"These tremendous sacrifices for armaments, both on land and +water, had far-reaching results, and, as we see it now, were +clouds with silver linings. The demand for hardened steel +projectiles, nickel-steel plates, and light and almost +unbreakable machinery, was a great incentive to improvement in +metallurgy while the necessity for compact and safely carried +ammunition greatly stimulated chemical research, and led to the +discovery of explosives whose powers no obstacle can resist, and +incidentally to other more useful things. + +"Further mechanical and scientific progress, however, such as +flying machines provided with these high explosives, and +asphyxiating bombs containing compressed gas that could be fired +from guns or dropped from the air, intervened. The former would +have laid every city in the dust, and the latter might have +almost exterminated the race. These discoveries providentially +prevented hostilities, so that the 'Great War,' so long expected, +never came, and the rival nations had their pains for nothing, +or, rather, for others than themselves. + +"Let us now examine the political and ethnological results. +Hundreds of thousands, of the flower of Continental Europe were +killed by overwork and short rations, and millions of desirable +and often--unfortunately for us--undesirable people were driven +to emigration, nearly all of whom came to English-speaking +territory, greatly increasing our productiveness and power. As, +we have seen, the jealousy of the Continental powers for one +another effectually prevented their extending their influence or +protectorates to other continents, which jealousy was +considerably aided by the small but destructive wars that did +take place. High taxes also made it more difficult for the +moneyed men to invest in colonizing or development companies, +which are so often the forerunners of absorption; while the +United States, with her coal--of which the Mediterranean states +have scarcely any--other resources, and low taxes, which, though +necessary, can be nothing but an evil, has been able to expand +naturally as no other nation ever has before. + +"This has given the English-speakers, especially the United +States, a free hand, rendering enforcement of the Monroe doctrine +easy, and started English a long way towards becoming the +universal language, while all formerly unoccupied land is now +owned by those speaking it. + +"At the close of our civil war, in 1865, we had but 3,000,000 +square miles, and a population of 34,000,000. The country +staggered beneath a colossal debt of over $4,000,000,000, had an +expensive but essentially perishable navy, and there was an +ominous feeling between the sections. The purchase of Alaska in +1867, by which we added over half a million square miles to our +territory, marked the resumption of the forward march of the +United States. Twenty-five years later, at the presidential +campaign of 1892, the debt had been reduced to $900,000,000, +deducting the sinking fund, and the charge for pensions had about +reached its maximum and soon began to decrease, though no one +objected to any amount of reward for bona fide soldiers who had +helped to save the country. The country's wealth had also +enormously increased, while the population had grown to +65,000,000. Our ancestors had, completed or in building, a navy +of which no nation need be ashamed; and, though occasionally +marred by hard times, there was general prosperity. + +"Gradually the different States of Canada--or provinces, as they +were then called--came to realize that their future would be far +grander and more glorious in union with the United States than +separated from it; and also that their sympathy was far stronger +for their nearest neighbours than for any one else. One by one +these Northern States made known their desire for consolidation +with the Union, retaining complete control of their local +affairs, as have the older States. They were gladly welcomed by +our Government and people, and possible rivals became the best of +friends. Preceding and also following this, the States of +Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America, tiring of +the incessant revolutions and difficulties among themselves, +which had pretty constantly looked upon us as a big brother on +account of our maintenance of the Monroe doctrine, began to +agitate for annexation, knowing they would retain control of +their local affairs. In this they were vigorously supported by +the American residents and property-holders, who knew that their +possessions would double in value the day the United States +Constitution was signed. + +"Thus, in the first place, by the encouragement of our people, +and latterly, apparently, by its own volition, the Union has +increased enormously in power, till it now embraces 10,000,000 +square miles, and has a free and enlightened population of +300,000,000. Though the Union established by Washington and his +contemporaries has attained such tremendous proportions, its +growth is by no means finished; and as a result of modern +improvements, it is less of a journey now to go from Alaska to +the Orinoco than it was for the Father of his Country to travel +from New York or Philadelphia to the site of the city named in +his honour. + + +"Adequate and really rapid transportation facilities have done +much to bind the different parts of the country together, and to +rub off the edges of local prejudice. Though we always favour +peace, no nation would think of opposing the expressed wishes of +the United States, and our moral power for good is tremendous. +The name Japhet means enlargement, and the prophecy seems about +to be literally fulfilled by these his descendants. The bankrupt +suffering of so many European Continental powers had also other +results. It enabled the socialists--who have never been able to +see beyond themselves--to force their governments into selling +their colonies in the Eastern hemisphere to England, and their +islands in the Western to us, in order to realize upon them. +With the addition of Canada to the United States and its loss to +the British Empire, the land possessions of the two powers became +about equal, our Union being a trifle the larger. All danger of +war being removed by the Canadian change, a healthful and +friendly competition took its place, the nations competing in +their growth on different hemispheres. England easily added +large areas in Asia and Africa, while the United States grew as +we have seen. The race is still, in a sense, neck-and-neck, and +the English-speakers together possess nearly half the globe. The +world's recent rate of progress would have been impossible +without this approximation to a universal language. The causes +that checkmated the Continental powers have ceased to exist. +Many millions of men whose principal thought had been to destroy +other members of the race became producers, but it was then too +late, for the heavy armaments had done their work. + +"Let us now glance at the times as they are, and see how the +business of life is transacted. Manhattan Island has something +over 2,500,000 inhabitants, and is surrounded by a belt of +population, several miles wide, of 12,000,000 more, of which it +is the focus, so that the entire city contains more than +14,500,000 souls. The several hundred square miles of land and +water forming greater New York are perfectly united by numerous +bridges, tunnels, and electric ferries, while the city's great +natural advantages have been enhanced and beautified by every +ingenious device. No main avenue in the newer sections is less +than two hundred feet wide, containing shade and fruit trees, a +bridle-path, broad sidewalks, and open spaces for carriages and +bicycles. Several fine diagonal streets and breathing-squares +have also been provided in the older sections, and the existing +parks have been supplemented by intermediate ones, all being +connected by parkways to form continuous chains. + +"The hollow masts of our ships--to glance at another phase en +passant--carry windmills instead of sails, through which the wind +performs the work, of storing a great part of the energy required +to run them at sea, while they are discharging or loading cargo +in port; and it can, of course, work to better advantage while +they are stationary than when they are running before it. These +turbines are made entirely of light metal, and fold when not in +use, so that only the frames are visible. Sometimes these also +fold and are housed, or wholly disappear within the mast. +Steam-boilers are also placed at the foci of huge concave +mirrors, often a hundred feet in diameter, the required heat +being supplied by the sun, without smoke, instead of by bulky and +dirty coal. This discovery gave commercial value to Sahara and +other tropical deserts, which are now desirable for mill-sites +and for generating power, on account of the directness with which +they receive the sun's rays and their freedom from clouds. Mile +after mile Africa has been won for the uses of civilization, till +great stretches that were considered impassible are as productive +as gardens. Our condensers, which compress, cool, and rarefy +air, enabling travellers to obtain water and even ice from the +atmosphere, are great aids in desert exploration, removing +absolutely the principal distress of the ancient caravan. The +erstwhile 'Dark Continent' has a larger white population now than +North America had a hundred years ago, and has this advantage for +the future, that it contains 11,600,000 square miles, while North +America has less than 9,000,000. Every part of the globe will +soon sustain about as large and prosperous a population as the +amount of energy it receives from the sun and other sources will +warrant; public debts and the efficiency of the governments being +the variable elements. + +"The rabbits in Australia, and the far more objectionable +poisonous snakes in South America and India, have been +exterminated by the capture of a few dozen of the creatures in +the infested districts, their inoculation with the virus similar +to the murus tiphi, tuberculosis or any other contagious-germ +complaint to which the species treated was particularly +susceptible, and the release of these individuals when the +disease was seen to be taking hold. The rabbits and serpents +released at once returned to their old haunts, carrying the +plague far and wide. The unfortunate rabbits were greatly +commiserated even by the medicos that wielded the death-dealing +syringe; but, fortunately for themselves, they died easily. The +reptiles, perhaps on account of the wider distribution of the +nerve centres, had more lingering but not painful deaths, often, +while in articulo mortis, leaving the holes with which they +seemed to connect their discomfort, and making a final struggle +along the ground, only to die more quickly as a result of their +exertions. We have applied this also to the potato-bug, locust, +and other insect pests, no victim being too small for the +ubiquitous, subtle germ, which, properly cultivated and utilized, +has become one of man's best friends. + +"We have microbe tests that show us as unmistakably whether the +germs of any particular disease--like malaria, typhoid, or +scarlet fever--are present in the air, as litmus-paper shows +alkalinity of a solution. We also inoculate as a preventive +against these and almost all other germ diseases, with the same +success that we vaccinate for smallpox. + +"The medicinal properties of all articles of food are so well +understood also, that most cures are brought about simply by +dieting. This, reminds me of the mistakes perpetrated on a +friend of mine who called in Dr. Grave-Powders, one of the +old-school physicians, to be treated for insomnia and dyspepsia. +This old numskull restricted his diet, gave him huge doses of +medicine, and decided most learnedly that he was daily growing +worse. Concluding that he had but a short time to live, my +friend threw away the nauseating medicines, ate whatever he had a +natural desire for, and was soon as well as ever--the obvious +moral of which is, that we can get whatever treatment we need +most beneficially from our food. Our physicians are most serious +and thoughtful men. They never claim to be infallible, but study +scientifically to increase their knowledge and improve the +methods of treatment. As a result of this, fresh air, regular +exercise for both sexes, with better conditions, and the +preservation of the lives of children that formerly died by +thousands from preventable causes, the physique, especially of +women, is wonderfully improved, and the average longevity is +already over sixty. + +"Our social structure, to be brief, is based on science, or the +conservation of energy, as the Greek philosophers predicted. It +was known to them that a certain amount of power would produce +only a certain amount of work--that is, the weight of a clock in +descending or a spring in uncoiling returns theoretically the +amount of work expended in raising or coiling it, and in no +possible way can it do more. In practice, on account of +friction, etc., we know it does less. This law, being +invariable, of course limits us, as it did Archimedes and +Pythagoras; we have simply utilized sources of power that their +clumsy workmen allowed to escape. Of the four principal +sources--food, fuel, wind, and tide--including harnessed +waterfalls, the last two do by far the most work. Much of the +electrical energy in every thunderstorm is also captured and +condensed in our capacious storage batteries, as natural hygeia +in the form of rain was and is still caught in our country +cisterns. Every exposed place is crowned by a cluster of huge +windmills that lift water to some pond or reservoir placed as +high as possible. Every stiff breeze, therefore, raises millions +of tons of water which operate hydraulic turbines as required. +Incidentally these storage reservoirs, by increasing the surface +exposed to evaporation and the consequent rainfall, have a very +beneficial effect on the dry regions in the interior of the +continent, and in some cases have almost superseded irrigation. +The windmill and dynamo thus utilize bleak mountain-tops that, +till their discovery, seemed to be but indifferent successes in +Dame Nature's domain. The electricity generated by these, in +connection with that obtained by waterfalls, tidal dynamos, +thunderstorms, chemical action, and slow-moving +quadruple-expansion steam engines, provides the power required to +run our electric ships and water-spiders, railways, and +stationary and portable motors, for heating the cables laid along +the bottom of our canals to prevent their freezing in winter, and +for almost every conceivable purpose. Sometimes a man has a +windmill on his roof for light and heat; then, the harder the +wintry blasts may blow the brighter and warmer becomes the house, +the current passing through a storage battery to make it more +steady. The operation of our ordinary electric railways is very +simple: the current is taken from an overhead, side, or +underneath wire, directly through the air, without the +intervention of a trolley, and the fast cars, for they are no +longer run in trains, make five miles a minute. The entire +weight of each car being used for its own traction, it can ascend +very steep grades, and can attain high speed or stop very +quickly. + +"Another form is the magnetic railway, on which the cars are +wedge-shaped at both ends, and moved by huge magnets weighing +four thousand tons each, placed fifty miles apart. On passing a +magnet, the nature of the electricity charging a car is +automatically changed from positive to negative, or vice versa, +to that of the magnet just passed, so that it repels while the +next attracts. The successive magnets are charged oppositely, +the sections being divided halfway between by insulators, the +nature of the electricity in each section being governed by the +charge in the magnet. To prevent one kind of electricity from +uniting with and neutralizing that in the next section by passing +through the car at the moment of transit, there is a "dead +stretch" of fifty yards with rails not charged at all between the +sections. This change in the nature of the electricity is +repeated automatically every fifty miles, and obviates the +necessity of revolving machinery, the rails aiding communication. + +"Magnetism being practically as instantaneous as gravitation, the +only limitations to speed are the electrical pressure at the +magnets, the resistance of the air, and the danger of the wheels +bursting from centrifugal force. The first can seemingly be +increased without limit; the atmospheric resistance is about to +be reduced by running the cars hermetically sealed through a +partial vacuum in a steel and toughened glass tube; while the +third has been removed indefinitely by the use of galvanized +aluminum, which bears about the same relation to ordinary +aluminum that steel does to iron, and which has twice the tensile +strength and but one third the weight of steel. In some cases +the rails are made turned in, so that it would be impossible for +a car to leave the track without the road-bed's being totally +demolished; but in most cases this is found to be unnecessary, +for no through line has a curve on its vast stretches with a +radius of less than half a mile. Rails, one hundred and sixty +pounds to the yard, are set in grooved steel ties, which in turn +are held by a concrete road-bed consisting of broken stone and +cement, making spreading rails and loose ballast impossible. A +large increase in capital was necessary for these improvements, +the elimination of curves being the most laborious part, +requiring bridges, cuttings, and embankments that dwarf the +Pyramids and would have made the ancient Pharaohs open their +eyes; but with the low rate of interest on bonds, the slight cost +of power, and great increase in business, the venture was a +success, and we are now in sight of further advances that will +enable a traveller in a high latitude moving west to keep pace +with the sun, and, should he wish it, to have unending day." + + + + CHAPTER V. + + DR. CORTLANDT'S HISTORY CONTINUED. + +"In marine transportation we have two methods, one for freight +and another for passengers. The old-fashioned deeply immersed +ship has not changed radically from the steam and sailing vessels +of the last century, except that electricity has superseded all +other motive powers. Steamers gradually passed through the five +hundred-, six hundred-, and seven hundred-foot-long class, with +other dimensions in proportion, till their length exceeded one +thousand feet. These were very fast ships, crossing the Atlantic +in four and a half days, and were almost as steady as houses, in +even the roughest weather. + +"Ships at this period of their development had also passed +through the twin and triple screw stage to the quadruple, all +four together developing one hundred and forty thousand indicated +horse-power, and being driven by steam. This, of course, +involved sacrificing the best part of the ship to her engines, +and a very heavy idle investment while in port. Storage +batteries, with plates composed of lead or iron, constantly +increasing in size, had reached a fair state of development by +the close of the nineteenth century. + +"During the second decade of the twentieth century the engineers +decided to try the plan of running half of a transatlantic +liner's screws by electricity generated by the engines for +driving the others while the ship was in port, this having been a +success already on a smaller scale. For a time this plan gave +great satisfaction, since it diminished the amount of coal to be +carried and the consequent change of displacement at sea, and +enabled the ship to be worked with a smaller number of men. The +batteries could also, of course, be distributed along the entire +length, and placed where space was least valuable. + +"The construction of such huge vessels called for much +governmental river and harbour dredging, and a ship drawing +thirty-five feet can now enter New York at any state of the tide. +For ocean bars, the old system of taking the material out to sea +and discharging it still survives, though a jet of water from +force-pumps directed against the obstruction is also often +employed with quick results. For river work we have discovered a +better method. All the mud is run back, sometimes over a mile +from the river bank, where it is used as a fertilizer, by means +of wire railways strung from poles. These wire cables combine in +themselves the functions of trolley wire and steel rail, and +carry the suspended cars, which empty themselves and return +around the loop for another load. Often the removed material +entirely fills small, saucer-shaped valleys or low places, in +which case it cannot wash back. This improvement has ended the +necessity of building jetties. + +"The next improvement in sea travelling was the 'marine spider.' +As the name shows, this is built on the principle of an insect. +It is well known that a body can be carried over the water much +faster than through it. With this in mind, builders at first +constructed light framework decks on large water-tight wheels or +drums, having paddles on their circumferences to provide a hold +on the water. These they caused to revolve by means of machinery +on the deck, but soon found that the resistance offered to the +barrel wheels themselves was too great. They therefore made them +more like centipeds with large, bell-shaped feet, connected with +a superstructural deck by ankle-jointed pipes, through which, +when necessary, a pressure of air can be forced down upon the +enclosed surface of water. Ordinarily, however, they go at great +speed without this, the weight of the water displaced by the bell +feet being as great as that resting upon them. Thus they swing +along like a pacing horse, except that there are four rows of +feet instead of two, each foot being taken out of the water as it +is swung forward, the first and fourth and second and third rows +being worked together. Although, on account of their size, which +covers several acres, they can go in any water, they give the +best results on Mediterraneans and lakes that are free from ocean +rollers, and, under favourable conditions, make better speed than +the nineteenth-century express trains, and, of course, going +straight as the crow flies, and without stopping, they reach a +destination in considerably shorter time. + +Some passengers and express packages still cross the Atlantic on +'spiders,' but most of these light cargoes go in a far pleasanter +and more rapid way. The deep-displacement vessels, for heavy +freight, make little better speed than was made by the same class +a hundred years ago. But they are also run entirely by +electricity, largely supplied by wind, and by the tide turning +their motors, which become dynamos while at anchor in any stream. +They therefore need no bulky boilers, engines, sails, or +coal-bunkers, and consequently can carry unprecedentedly large +cargoes with comparatively small crews. The officers on the +bridge and the men in the crow's nest--the way to which is by a +ladder INSIDE the mast, to protect the climber from the +weather--are about all that is needed; while disablement is made +practically impossible, by having four screws, each with its own +set of automatically lubricating motors. + +"This change, like other labour-saving appliances, at first +resulted in laying off a good many men, the least satisfactory +being the first to go; but the increase in business was so great +that the intelligent men were soon reemployed as officers at +higher rates of pay and more interesting work than before, while +they as consumers were benefited as much as any one else by the +decreased cost of production and transportation. + +"With a view to facilitating interchange still further, our +Government has gradually completed the double coast-line that +Nature gave us in part. This was done by connecting islands +separated from shore by navigable water, and leaving openings for +ingress and exit but a few hundred yards wide. The breakwaters +required to do this were built with cribbing of incorrodible +metal, affixed to deeply driven metallic piles, and filled with +stones along coasts where they were found in abundance or excess. +This, while clearing many fields and improving them for +cultivation, provided just the needed material; since irregular +stones bind together firmly, and, while also insoluble, combine +considerable bulk with weight. South of Hatteras, where stones +are scarce, the sand dredged from parts of the channel was filled +into the crib, the surface of which has a concave metallic cover, +a trough of still water being often the best barrier against the +passage of waves. This double coast-line has been a great +benefit, and propelled vessels of moderate draught can range in +smooth water, carrying very full loads, from Labrador to the +Orinoco. The exits are, of course, protected by a line of +cribbing a few hundred feet to seaward. + +"The rocks have been removed from all channels about New York and +other commercial centres, while the shallow places have been +dredged to a uniform depth. This diminishes the dangers of +navigation and considerably decreases the speed with which the +tides rush through. Where the obstructions consisted of reefs +surrounded by deep water, their removal with explosives was easy, +the shattered fragments being allowed to sink to the bottom and +remain there beneath the danger line. + +"Many other great works have also been completed. The canals at +Nicaragua have been in operation many years, it having been found +best to have several sizes of locks, and to use the large ones +only for the passage of large vessels. The improved Erie and +Champlain Canals also enable ships four hundred feet long to +reach New York from the Great Lakes via the Hudson River. + +"For flying, we have an aeroplane that came in when we devised a +suitable motor power. This is obtained from very light +paper-cell batteries that combine some qualities of the primary +and secondary type, since they must first be charged from a +dynamo, after which they can supply full currents for one hundred +hours--enough to take them around the globe--while partly +consuming the elements in the cells. The power is applied +through turbine screws, half of which are capable of propelling +the flat deck in its inclined position at sufficient speed to +prevent its falling. The moving parts have ball bearings and +friction rollers, lubrication being secured automatically, when +required, by a supply of vaseline that melts if any part becomes +hot. All the framing is of thin but very durable galvanized +aluminum, which has superseded steel for every purpose in which +weight is not an advantage, as in the permanent way on railways. +The air ships, whose length varies from fifty to five hundred +feet, have rudders for giving a vertical or a horizontal motion, +and several strengthening keels that prevent leeway when turning. +They are entirely on the principle of birds, maintaining +themselves mechanically, and differing thus from the unwieldy +balloon. Starting as if on a circular railway, against the wind, +they rise to a considerable height, and then, shutting off the +batteries, coast down the aerial slope at a rate that sometimes +touches five hundred miles an hour. When near the ground the +helmsman directs the prow upward, and, again turning on full +current, rushes up the slope at a speed that far exceeds the +eagle's, each drop of two miles serving to take the machine +twenty or thirty; though, if the pilot does not wish to soar, or +if there is a fair wind at a given height, he can remain in that +stratum of the atmosphere by moving horizontally. He can also +maintain his elevation when moving very slowly, and though the +headway be entirely stopped, the descent is gradual on account of +the aeroplane's great spread, the batteries and motors being +secured to the under side of the deck. + +"The motors are so light that they develop two horse power for +every pound of their weight; while, to keep the frames thin, the +necessary power is obtained by terrific speed of the moving +parts, as though a steam engine, to avoid great pressure in its +cylinders, had a long stroke and ran at great piston speed, +which, however, is no disadvantage to the rotary motion of the +electric motor, there being no reciprocating cranks, etc., that +must be started and stopped at each revolution. + +"To obviate the necessity of gearing to reduce the number of +revolutions to those possible for a large screw, this member is +made very small, and allowed to revolve three thousand times a +minute, so that the requisite power is obtained with great +simplicity of mechanism, which further decreases friction. The +shafts, and even the wires connecting the batteries with the +motors, are made large and hollow. Though the primary battery +pure and simple, as the result of great recent advances in +chemistry, seems to be again coming up, the best aeroplane +batteries are still of the combination- storage type. These have +been so perfected that eight ounces of battery yield one horse +power for six hours, so that two pounds of battery will supply a +horse power for twenty-four hours; a small fifty-horse-power +aeroplane being therefore able to fly four days with a battery +weight of but four hundred pounds. + +"Limestone and clarified acid are the principal parts of these +batteries. It was known long ago that there was about as much +imprisoned solar energy in limestone as in coal, but it was only +recently that we discovered this way of releasing and using it. + +"Common salt plays an important part in many of our chemical +reactions. By combining it with limestone, and treating this +with acid jelly, we also get good results on raising to the +boiling-point. + +"However enjoyable the manly sport of yachting is on water, how +vastly more interesting and fascinating it is for a man to have a +yacht in which he can fly to Europe in one day, and with which +the exploration of tropical Africa or the regions about the poles +is mere child's play, while giving him so magnificent a +bird's-eye view! Many seemingly insoluble problems are solved by +the advent of these birds. Having as their halo the enforcement +of peace, they have in truth taken us a long step towards heaven, +and to the co-operation and higher civilization that followed we +shall owe much of the success of the great experiment on Mother +Earth now about to be tried. + +"Another change that came in with a rush upon the discovery of a +battery with insignificant weight, compact form, and great +capacity, was the substitution of electricity for animal power +for the movement of all vehicles. This, of necessity brought in +good roads, the results obtainable on such being so much greater +than on bad ones that a universal demand for them arose. This +was in a sense cumulative, since the better the streets and roads +became, the greater the inducement to have an electric carriage. +The work of opening up the country far and near, by straightening +and improving existing roads, and laying out new ones that +combine the solidity of the Appian Way with the smoothness of +modern asphalt, was largely done by convicts, working under the +direction of State and Government engineers. Every State +contained a horde of these unprofitable boarders, who, as they +formerly worked, interfered with honest labour, and when idle got +into trouble. City streets had been paved by the municipality; +country roads attended to by the farmers, usually very +unscientifically. Here was a field in which convict labour would +not compete, and an important work could be done. When once this +was made the law, every year showed improvement, while the +convicts had useful and healthful occupation. + +"The electric phaetons, as those for high speed are called, have +three and four wheels, and weigh, including battery and motor, +five hundred to four thousand pounds. With hollow but immensely +strong galvanically treated aluminum frames and pneumatic or +cushion tires, they run at thirty-five and forty miles an hour on +country roads, and attain a speed over forty on city streets, and +can maintain this rate without recharging for several days. They +can therefore roam over the roads of the entire hemisphere, from +the fertile valley of the Peace and grey shores of Hudson Bay, to +beautiful Lake Nicaragua, the River Plate, and Patagonia, +improving man by bringing him close to Nature, while they combine +the sensations of coasting with the interest of seeing the +country well. + +"To recharge the batteries, which can be done in almost every +town and village, two copper pins attached to insulated copper +wires are shoved into smooth-bored holes. These drop out of +themselves by fusing a small lead ribbon, owing to the increased +resistance, when the acid in the batteries begins to 'boil,' +though there is, of course, but little heat in this, the function +of charging being merely to bring about the condition in which +part of the limestone can be consumed, the batteries themselves, +when in constant use, requiring to be renewed about once a month. +A handle at the box seat turns on any part of the attainable +current, for either going ahead or reversing, there being six or +eight degrees of speed for both directions, while the steering is +done with a small wheel. + +"Light but powerful batteries and motors have also been fitted on +bicycles, which can act either as auxiliaries for hill-climbing +or in case of head wind, or they can propel the machine +altogether. + +"Gradually the width of the streets became insufficient for the +traffic, although the elimination of horses and the consequent +increase in speed greatly augmented their carrying capacity, +until recently a new system came in. The whole width of the +avenues and streets in the business parts of the city, including +the former sidewalks, is given up to wheel traffic, an iron ridge +extending along the exact centre to compel vehicles to keep to +the right. Strips of nickel painted white, and showing a bright +phosphorescence at night, are let into the metal pavement flush +with the surface, and run parallel to this ridge at distances of +ten to fifteen feet, dividing each half of the avenue into four +or five sections, their width increasing as they approach the +middle. All trucks or drays moving at less than seven miles an +hour are obliged to keep in the section nearest the building +line, those running between seven and fifteen in the next, +fifteen to twenty-five in the third, twenty-five to thirty-five +in the fourth, and everything faster than that in the section +next the ridge, unless the avenue or street is wide enough for +further subdivisions. If it is wide enough for only four or +less, the fastest vehicles must keep next the middle, and limit +their speed to the rate allowed in that section, which is marked +at every crossing in white letters sufficiently large for him +that runs to read. It is therefore only in the wide +thoroughfares that very high speed can be attained. In addition +to the crank that corresponds to a throttle, there is a gauge on +every vehicle, which shows its exact speed in miles per hour, by +gearing operated by the revolutions of the wheels. + +"The policemen on duty also have instantaneous kodaks mounted on +tripods, which show the position of any carriage at half- and +quarter-second intervals, by which it is easy to ascertain the +exact speed, should the officers be unable to judge it by the +eye; so there is no danger of a vehicle's speed exceeding that +allowed in the section in which it happens to be; neither can a +slow one remain on the fast lines. + +"Of course, to make such high speed for ordinary carriages +possible, a perfect pavement became a sine qua non. We have +secured this by the half-inch sheet of steel spread over a +carefully laid surface of asphalt, with but little bevel; and +though this might be slippery for horses' feet, it never +seriously affects our wheels. There being nothing harder than +the rubber ties of comparatively light drays upon it--for the +heavy traffic is carried by electric railways under ground--it +will practically never wear out. + +"With the application of steel to the entire surface, car-tracks +became unnecessary, ordinary wheels answering as well as those +with flanges, so that no new tracks were laid, and finally the +car companies tore up the existing ones, selling them in many +instances to the municipalities as old iron. Our streets also +need but little cleaning; neither is the surface continually +indented, as the old cobble-stones and Belgian blocks were, by +the pounding of the horses' feet, so that the substitution of +electricity for animal power has done much to solve the problem +of attractive streets. + +"Scarcely a ton of coal comes to Manhattan Island or its vicinity +in a year. Very little of it leaves the mines, at the mouths of +which it is converted into electricity and sent to the points of +consumption by wire, where it is employed for all uses to which +fuel was put, and many others. Consequently there is no smoke, +and the streets are not encumbered with coal-carts; the entire +width being given up to carriages, etc. The ground floors in the +business parts are used for large warehouses, trucks running in +to load and unload. Pedestrians therefore have sidewalks level +with the second story, consisting of glass floors let into +aluminum frames, while all street crossings are made on bridges. +Private houses have a front door opening on the sidewalk, and +another on the ground level, so that ladies paying visits or +leaving cards can do so in carriages. In business streets the +second story is used for shops. In place of steel covering, +country roads have a thick coating of cement and asphalt over a +foundation of crushed stone, giving a capital surface, and have a +width of thirty-three feet (two rods) in thinly settled +districts, to sixty-six feet (four rods) where the population is +greater. All are planted with shade and fruit trees, while the +wide driveways have one or two broad sidewalks. The same rule of +making the slow-moving vehicles keep near the outside prevails, +though the rate of increase in speed on approaching the middle is +more rapid than in cities, and there is usually no dividing +ridge. On reaching the top of a long and steep hill, if we do +not wish to coast, we convert the motors into dynamos, while +running at full speed, and so change the kinetic energy of the +descent into potential in our batteries. This twentieth-century +stage-coaching is one of the delights to which we are heirs, +though horses are still used by those that prefer them. + +We have been much aided in our material progress by the facility +with which we obtain the metals. It was observed, some time ago, +that when artesian and oil wells had reached a considerable +depth, what appeared to be drops of lead and antimony came up +with the stream. It finally occurred to a well-borer that if he +could make his drill hard enough and get it down far enough, +keeping it cool by solidified carbonic acid during the +proceeding, he would reach a point at which most of the metals +would be viscous, if not actually molten, and on being freed from +the pressure of the crust they would expand, and reach the +surface in a stream. This experiment he performed near the hot +geysers in Yellowstone Park, and what was his delight, on +reaching a depth scarcely half a mile beyond his usual stopping- +place, to be rewarded by a stream of metal that heralded its +approach by a loud explosion and a great rush of superheated +steam! It ran for a month, completely filling the bed of a +small, dried-up river, and when it did stop there were ten +million tons in sight. This proved the feasibility of the +scheme, and, though many subsequent attempts were less +successful, we have learned by experience where it is best to +drill, and can now obtain almost any metal we wish. + +"'Magnetic eyes' are of great use to miners and Civil engineers. +These instruments are something like the mariner's compass, with +the sensitiveness enormously increased by galvanic currents. The +'eye,' as it were, sees what substances are underground, and at +what distances. It also shows how many people are in an +adjoining room--through the magnetic properties of the iron in +their blood--whether they are moving, and in what directions and +at what speed they go. In connection with the phonograph and +concealed by draperies, it is useful to detectives, who, through +a registering attachment, can obtain a record of everything said +and done. + +"Our political system remains with but little change. Each State +has still two United States Senators, though the population +represented by each representative has been greatly increased, so +that the Senate has grown numerically much more than the House. +It is the duty of each member of Congress to understand the +conditions existing in every other member's State or district, +and the country's interest always precedes that of party. We +have a comprehensive examination system in the civil service, and +every officeholder, except members of the Cabinet, retains his +office while efficiently performing his duty, without regard to +politics. The President can also be re-elected any number of +times. The Cabinet members, as formerly, usually remain in +office while he does, and appear regularly in Congress to defend +their measures. + +"The really rapid transit lines in New York are underground, and +have six tracks, two being used for freight. At all stations the +local tracks rise several feet towards the street and slope off +in both directions, while the express tracks do this only at +stations at which the faster trains stop. This gives the +passengers a shorter distance to descend or rise in the +elevators, and the ascent before the stations aids the brakes in +stopping, while the drop helps the motors to start the trains +quickly in getting away. + +"Photography has also made great strides, and there is now no +difficulty in reproducing exactly the colours of the object +taken. + +"Telephones have been so improved that one person can speak in +his natural voice with another in any part of the globe, the wire +that enables him to hear also showing him the face of the speaker +though he be at the antipodes. All telephone wires being +underground and kept by themselves, they are not interfered with +by any high-tension electric-light or power wires, thunderstorms, +or anything else. + +"Rain-making is another subject removed from the uncertainties, +and has become an absolute science. We produce clouds by +explosions in the atmosphere's heights and by surface air forced +by blowers through large pipes up the side of a mountain or +natural elevation and there discharged through an opening in the +top of a tower built on the highest part. The aeriduct is +incased in a poor heat-conductor, so that the air retains its +warmth until discharged, when it is cooled by expansion and the +surrounding cold air. Condensation takes place and soon serves +to start a rain. + +"Yet, until the earth's axis is straightened, we must be more or +less dependent on the eccentricities of the weather, with +extremes of heat and cold, droughts and floods, which last are of +course largely the result of several months' moisture held on the +ground in the form of snow, the congestion being relieved +suddenly by the warm spring rains. + +"Medicine and surgery have kept pace with other +improvements--inoculation and antiseptics, as already seen, +rendering most of the germ diseases and formerly dreaded +epidemics impotent; while through the potency of electrical +affinity we form wholesome food-products rapidly, instead of +having to wait for their production by Nature's slow processes. + +"The metric system, now universal, superseded the old-fashioned +arbitrary standards, so prolific of mistakes and confusion, about +a century ago. + +"English, as we have seen, is already the language of 600,000,000 +people, and the number is constantly increasing through its +adoption by the numerous races of India, where, even before the +close of the last century, it was about as important as Latin +during the greatness of Rome, and by the fact that the Spanish +and Portuguese elements in Mexico and Central and South America +show a constant tendency to die out, much as the population of +Spain fell from 30,000,000 to 17,000,000 during the nineteenth +century. As this goes on, in the Western hemisphere, the places +left vacant are gradually filled by the more progressive +Anglo-Saxons, so that it looks as if the study of ethnology in +the future would be very simple. + +"The people with cultivation and leisure, whose number is +increasing relatively to the population at each generation, spend +much more of their year in the country than formerly, where they +have large and well-cultivated country seats, parts of which are +also preserved for game. This growing custom on the part of +society, in addition to being of great advantage to the +out-of-town districts, has done much to save the forests and +preserve some forms of game that would otherwise, like the +buffalo, have become extinct. + +"In astronomy we have also made tremendous strides. The +old-fashioned double-convex lens used in telescopes became so +heavy as its size grew, that it bent perceptibly from its own +weight, when pointed at the zenith, distorting the vision; while +when it was used upon a star near the horizon, though the glass +on edge kept its shape, there was too much atmosphere between it +and the observed object for successful study. Our recent +telescopes have, therefore, concave plate-glass mirrors, twenty +metres in diameter, like those used for converging the sun's rays +in solar engines, but with curves more mathematically exact, +which collect an immense amount of light and focus it on a +sensitive plate or on the eye of the observer, whose back is +turned to the object he is studying. An electrical field also +plays an important part, the electricity being as great an aid to +light as in the telephone it is to sound. With these placed +generally on high mountain peaks, beyond the reach of clouds, we +have enormously increased the number of visible stars, though +there are still probably boundless regions that we cannot see. +These telescopes have several hundred times the power of the +largest lenses of the nineteenth century, and apparently bring +Mars and Jupiter, when in opposition, within one thousand and ten +thousand miles, respectively, so that we study their physical +geography and topography; and we have good maps of Jupiter, and +even of Saturn, notwithstanding their distance and atmospheric +envelopes, and we are able to see the disks of third-magnitude +stars. + +"It seems as if, when we wish any particular discovery or +invention, in whatever field, we had but to turn our efforts in +its direction to obtain our desire. We seem, in fact, to have +awakened in the scenes of the Arabian Nights; yet the mysterious +genius which we control, and which dims Aladdin's lamp, is the +gift of no fairy godmother sustained by the haze of dreams, but +shines as the child of science with fadeless and growing +splendour, and may yet bring us and our little planet much closer +to God. + +"We should indeed be happy, living as we do at this apex of +attained civilization, with the boundless possibilities of the +future unfolding before us, on the horizon of which we may fairly +be said to stand. + +"We are freed from the rattling granite pavement of only a +century ago, which made the occupant of an omnibus feel like a +fly inside of a drum; from the domination of our local politics +by ignorant foreigners; and from country roads that either filled +the eyes, lungs, and hair of the unfortunates travelling upon +them with dust, or, resembling ploughed and fertilized fields, +saturated and plastered them with mud. These miseries, together +with sea-sickness in ocean travelling, are forever passed, and we +feel that 'Excelsior!' is indeed our motto. Our new and +increasing sources of power have so stimulated production and +manufacturing that poverty or want is scarcely known; while the +development of the popular demand, as a result of the supplied +need, is so great that there is no visible limit to the +diversification of industry or the possibilities of the arts. + +"It may seem strange to some that apparently so disproportionate +a number of inventions have been made in the last century. There +are several reasons. Since every discovery or advance in +knowledge increases our chance of obtaining more, it becomes +cumulative, and our progress is in geometric instead of +arithmetical ratio. Public interest and general appreciation of +the value of time have also effectively assisted progress. At +the beginning of each year the President, the Governors of the +States, and the Mayors of cities publish a prospectus of the +great improvements needed, contemplated, and under way within +their jurisdiction--it may be planning a new boulevard, a new +park, or an improved system of sewers; and at the year's end they +issue a resume of everything completed, and the progress in +everything else; and though there is usually a great difference +between the results hoped for and those attained, the effect is +good. The newspapers publish at length the recommendations of +the Executives, and also the results obtained, and keep up public +interest in all important matters. + +"Free to delve in the allurement and fascination of science, +emancipated man goes on subduing Nature, as his Maker said he +should, and turning her giant forces to his service in his +constant struggle to rise and become more like Him who gave the +commandments and showed him how he should go. + +"Notwithstanding our strides in material progress, we are not +entirely content. As the requirements of the animal become fully +supplied, we feel a need for something else. Some say this is +like a child that cries for the moon, but others believe it the +awakening and craving of our souls. The historian narrates but +the signs of the times, and strives to efface himself; yet there +is clearly a void, becoming yearly more apparent, which +materialism cannot fill. Is it some new subtle force for which +we sigh, or would we commune with spirits? There is, so far as +we can see, no limit to our journey, and I will add, in closing, +that, with the exception of religion, we have most to hope from +science." + + + CHAPTER VI. + + FAR-REACHING PLANS. + +Knowing that the rectification of the earth's axis was +satisfactorily begun, and that each year would show an increasing +improvement in climate, many of the delegates, after hearing +Bearwarden's speech, set out for their homes. Those from the +valley of the Amazon and the eastern coast of South America +boarded a lightning express that rushed them to Key West at the +rate of three hundred miles an hour. The railroad had six +tracks, two for through passengers, two for locals, and two for +freight. There they took a "water-spider," six hundred feet long +by three hundred in width, the deck of which was one hundred feet +above the surface, which carried them over the water at the rate +of a mile a minute, around the eastern end of Cuba, through +Windward Passage, and so to the South American mainland, where +they continued their journey by rail. + +The Siberian and Russian delegates, who, of course, felt a keen +interest in the company's proceedings, took a magnetic +double-ender car to Bering Strait. It was eighteen feet high, +one hundred and fifty feet long, and had two stories. The upper, +with a toughened glass dome running the entire length, descended +to within three feet of the floor, and afforded an unobstructed +view of the rushing scenery. The rails on which it ran were ten +feet apart, the wheels being beyond the sides, like those of a +carriage, and fitted with ball bearings to ridged axles. The +car's flexibility allowed it to follow slight irregularities in +the track, while the free, independent wheels gave it a great +advantage in rounding curves over cars with wheels and axle in +one casting, in which one must slip while traversing a greater or +smaller arc than the other, except when the slope of the tread +and the centrifugal force happen to correspond exactly. The fact +of having its supports outside instead of underneath, while +increasing its stability, also enabled the lower floor to come +much nearer the ground, while still the wheels were large. +Arriving in just twenty hours, they ran across on an electric +ferry-boat, capable of carrying several dozen cars, to East Cape, +Siberia, and then, by running as far north as possible, had a +short cut to Europe. + +The Patagonians went by the all-rail Intercontinental Line, +without change of cars, making the run of ten thousand miles in +forty hours. The Australians entered a flying machine, and were +soon out of sight; while the Central Americans and members from +other States of the Union returned for the most part in their +mechanical phaetons. + +"A prospective improvement in travelling," said Bearwarden, as he +and his friends watched the crowd disperse, "will be when we can +rise beyond the limits of the atmosphere, wait till the earth +revolves beneath us, and descend in twelve hours on the other +side." + +"True," said Cortlandt, "but then we can travel westward only, +and shall have to make a complete circuit when we wish to go +east." + +A few days later there was a knock at President Bearwarden's +door, while he was seated at his desk looking over some papers +and other matters. Taking his foot from a partly opened desk +drawer where it had been resting, he placed it upon the handle of +a handsome brass-mounted bellows, which proved to be +articulating, for, as he pressed, it called lustily, "Come in!" +The door opened, and in walked Secretary of State Stillman, +Secretary of the Navy Deepwaters, who was himself an old sailor, +Dr. Cortlandt, Ayrault. Vice-President Dumby, of the T. A. S. +Co., and two of the company's directors. + +"Good-morning," said Bearwarden, as he shook hands with his +visitors. "Charmed to see you." + +"That's a great invention," said Secretary Stillman, examining +the bellows. "We must get Congress to make an appropriation for +its introduction in the department buildings in Washington. You +have no idea how it dries my throat to be all the time shouting, +'Come in!'" + +"Do you know, Bearwarden," said Secretary Deepwaters, "I'm afraid +when we have this millennium of climate every one will be so well +satisfied that our friend here (pointing to Secretary Stillman +with his thumb) will have nothing to do." + +"I have sometimes thought some of the excitement will be gone, +and the struggle of the 'survival of the fittest' will become +less problematical," said Bearwarden. + +"The earth seems destined to have a calm old age," said +Cortlandt, "unless we can look to the Cabinet to prevent it." + +"This world will soon be a dull place. I wish we could leave it +for a change," said Ayrault. "I don't mean forever, of course, +but just as people have grown tired of remaining like plants in +the places in which they grew. Alan has been a caterpillar for +untold ages; can he not become the butterfly?" + +"Since we have found out how to straighten the axis," said +Deepwaters, "might we not go one better, and improve the orbit as +well?--increase the difference between aphelion and perihelion, +and give those that still like a changing climate a chance, while +incidentally we should see more of the world--I mean the solar +system--and, by enlarging the parallax, be able to measure the +distance of a greater number of fixed stars. Put your helm hard +down and shout 'Hard-a-lee!' You see, there is nothing simpler. +You keep her off now, and six months hence you let her luff." + +"That's an idea!" said Bearwarden. "Our orbit could be enough +like that of a comet to cross the orbits of both Venus and Mars; +and the climatic extremes would not be inconvenient. The whole +earth being simultaneously warmed or cooled, there would be no +equinoctials or storms resulting from changes on one part of the +surface from intense heat to intense cold; every part would have +a twelve-hour day and night, and none would be turned towards or +from the sun for six months at a time; for, however eccentric the +orbit, we should keep the axis absolutely straight. At +perihelion there would simply be increased evaporation and clouds +near the equator, which would shield those regions from the sun, +only to disappear again as the earth receded. + +"The only trouble," said Cortlandt, "is that we should have no +fulcrum. Straightening the axis is simple enough, for we have +the attraction of the sun with which to work, and we have but to +increase it at one end while decreasing it at the other, and +change this as the poles change their inclination towards the +sun, to bring it about. If a comet with a sufficiently large +head would but come along and retard us, or opportunely give us a +pull, or if we could increase the attraction of the other planets +for us, or decrease it at times, it might be done. If the force, +the control of which was discovered too late to help us +straighten the axis, could be applied on a sufficiently large +scale; if apergy----" + +"I have it!" exclaimed Ayrault, jumping up. "Apergy will do it. +We can build an airtight projectile, hermetically seal ourselves +within, and charge it in such a way that it will be repelled by +the magnetism of the earth, and it will be forced from it with +equal or greater violence than that with which it is ordinarily +attracted. I believe the earth has but the same relation to +space that the individual molecule has to any solid, liquid, or +gaseous matter we know; and that, just as molecules strive to fly +apart on the application of heat, this earth will repel that +projectile when electricity, which we are coming to look upon as +another form of heat, is properly applied. It must be so, and it +is the manifest destiny of the race to improve it. Man is a +spirit cursed with a mortal body, which glues him to the earth, +and his yearning to rise, which is innate, is, I believe, only a +part of his probation and trial." + +"Show us how it can be done," shouted his listeners in chorus. + +"Apergy is and must be able to do it," Ayrault continued. +"Throughout Nature we find a system of compensation. The +centripetal force is offset by the centrifugal; and when, +according to the fable, the crystal complained of its hard lot in +being unable to move, while the eagle could soar through the +upper air and see all the glories of the world, the bird replied, +'My life is but for a moment, while you, set in the rock, will +live forever, and will see the last sunrise that flashes upon the +earth.' + +"We know that Christ, while walking on the waves, did not sink, +and that he and Elijah were carried up into heaven. What became +of their material bodies we cannot tell, but they were certainly +superior to the force of gravitation. We have no reason to +believe that in miracles any natural law was broken, or even set +aside, but simply that some other law, whose workings we do not +understand, became operative and modified the law that otherwise +would have had things its own way. In apergy we undoubtedly have +the counterpart of gravitation, which must exist, or Nature's +system of compensation is broken. May we not believe that in +Christ's transfiguration on the mount, and in the appearance of +Moses and Elias with him--doubtless in the flesh, since otherwise +mortal eyes could not have seen them--apergy came into play and +upheld them; that otherwise, and if no other modification had +intervened, they would have fallen to the ground; and that apergy +was, in other words, the working principle of those miracles?" + +"May we not also believe," added Cortlandt, "that in the +transfiguration Christ's companions took the substance of their +material bodies--the oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon--from +the air and the moisture it contained; for, though spiritual +bodies, be their activity magnetic or any other, could of course +pass the absolute cold and void of space without being affected, +no mortal body could; and that in the same manner Elijah's body +dissolved into air without the usual intervention of +decomposition; for we know that, though matter can easily change +its form, it can never be destroyed." + +All assented to this, and Ayrault continued: "If apergy can +annul gravitation, I do not see why it should not do more, for to +annul it the repulsion of the earth that it produces must be as +great as its attraction, unless we suppose gravitation for the +time being to be suspended; but whether it is or not, does not +affect the result in this case, for, after the apergetic +repulsion is brought to the degree at which a body does not fall, +any increase in the current's strength will cause it to rise, and +in the case of electro-magnets we know that the attraction or +repulsion has practically no limit. This will be of great +advantage to us," he continued, "for if a projectile could move +away from the earth with no more rapid acceleration than that +with which it approaches, it would take too long to reach the +nearest planet, but the maximum repulsion being at the start by +reason of its proximity to the earth--for apergy, being the +counterpart of gravitation, is subject to Newton's and Kepler's +laws--the acceleration of a body apergetically charged will be +greatest at first. Two inclined planes may have the same fall, +but a ball will reach the bottom of one that is steepest near the +top in less time than on any other, because the maximum +acceleration is at the start. We are all tired of being stuck to +this cosmical speck, with its monotonous ocean, leaden sky, and +single moon that is useless more than half the time, while its +size is so microscopic compared with the universe that we can +traverse its great circle in four days. Its possibilities are +exhausted; and just as Greece became too small for the +civilization of the Greeks, and as reproduction is growth beyond +the individual, so it seems to me that the future glory of the +human race lies in exploring at least the solar system, without +waiting to become shades." + +"Should you propose to go to Mars or Venus?" asked Cortlandt. + +"No," replied Ayrault, "we know all about Mars; it is but one +seventh the size of the earth, and as the axis is inclined more +than ours, it would be a less comfortable globe than this; while, +as our president here told us in his T. A. S. Company's report, +the axis of Venus is inclined to such a degree that it would be +almost uninhabitable for us. It would be as if colonists tried +to settle Greenland, or had come to North America during its +Glacial period. Neither Venus nor Mars would be a good place +now." + +"Where should you propose to go?" asked Stillman. + +"To Jupiter, and, if possible, after that to Saturn," replied +Ayrault; "the former's mean distance from the sun is 480,000,000 +miles; but, as our president showed us, its axis is so nearly +straight that I think, with its internal warmth, there will be +nothing to fear from cold. Though, on account of the planet's +vast size, objects on its surface weigh more than twice as much +as here, if I am able to reach it by means of apergy, the same +force will enable me to regulate my weight. Will any one go with +me?" + +"Splendid!" said Bearwarden. "If Mr. Dumby, our vice-president, +will temporarily assume my office, nothing will give me greater +pleasure." + +"So will I go, if there is room for me," said Cortlandt. "I will +at once resign my place as Government expert, and consider it the +grandest event of my life." + +"If I were not afraid of leaving Stillman here to his own +devices, I'd ask for a berth as well," said Deepwaters. + +"I am afraid," said Stillman, "if you take any more, you will be +overcrowded." + +"Modesty forbids his saying," said Deepwaters, "that it wouldn't +do for the country to have all its eggs in one basket." + +"Are you not afraid you will find the surface hot, or even +molten?" asked Vice-President Dumby. "With its eighty-six +thousand five hundred mile diameter, the amount of original +internal heat must have been terrific." + +"No, said Cortlandt, "it cannot be molten, or even in the least +degree luminous, for, if it were, its satellites would be visible +when they enter its shadow, whereas they entirely disappear." + +"I do not believe Jupiter's surface is even perceptibly warm," +said Bearwarden. "We know that Algol, known to the ancients as +the 'Demon Star,' and several other variable stars, are +accompanied by a dark companion, with which they revolve about a +common centre, and which periodically obscures part of their +light. Now, some of these non-luminaries are nearly as large as +our sun, and, of course, many hundred times the size of Jupiter. +If these bodies have lost enough heat to be invisible, Jupiter's +surface at least must be nearly cold." + +"In the phosphorescence of seawater," said Cortlandt, "and in +other instances in Nature, we find light without heat, and we may +soon be able to produce it in the arts by oxidizing coal without +the intervention of the steam engine; but we never find any +considerable heat without light." + +"I am convinced," said Bearwarden, "that we shall find Jupiter +habitable for intelligent beings who have been developed on a +more advanced sphere than itself, though I do not believe it has +progressed far enough in its evolution to produce them. I expect +to find it in its Palaeozoic or Mesozoic period, while over a +hundred years ago the English astronomer, Chambers, thought that +on Saturn there was good reason for suspecting the presence of +snow." + +"What sort of spaceship do you propose to have?" asked the +vice-president. + +"As you have to pass through but little air," said Deepwaters, "I +should suggest a short-stroke cylinder of large diameter, with a +flat base and dome roof, composed of aluminum, or, still better, +of glucinum or beryllium as it is sometimes called, which is +twice as good a conductor of electricity as aluminum, four times +as strong, and is the lightest of all known metals, having a +specific gravity of only two, which last property will be of +great use to you, for of course the more weight you have to +propel the more apergetic repulsion you will have to develop." + +"I will get some drawing-paper I left outside in my trap," said +Ayrault, "when with your ideas we may arrive at something +definite," saying which, he left the room. + +"He seems very cynical in his ideas of life and the world in +general," said Secretary Stillman, "for a man of his age, and one +that is engaged." + +"You see," replied Bearwarden, "his fiancee is not yet a senior, +being in the class of two thousand and one at Vassar, and so +cannot marry him for a year. Not till next June can this sweet +girl graduate come forth with her mortar-board and sheepskin to +enlighten the world and make him happy. That is, I suspect, one +reason why he proposed this trip." + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + HARD AT WORK. + + +In a few moments Ayrault returned with pencils, a pair of +compasses, and paper. + +"Let us see, in the first place," said Deepwaters, "how long the +journey will take. Since a stone falls 16.09 feet the first +second, and 64+ feet the next, it is easy to calculate at what +rate your speed would increase with the repulsion twice that of +the ordinary traction. But I think this would be too slow. It +will be best to treble or quadruple the apergetic charge, which +can easily be done, in which case your speed will exceed the +muzzle-velocity of a projectile from a long-range gun, in a few +seconds. As the earth's repulsion decreases, the attraction of +mars and Jupiter will increase, and, there being no resistance, +your gait will become more and more rapid till it is necessary to +reverse the charge to avoid being dashed to pieces or being +consumed like a falling star by the friction in passing through +Jupiter's atmosphere. You can be on the safe side by checking +your speed in advance. You must, of course, be careful to avoid +collisions with meteors and asteroids but if you do, they will be +of use to you, for by attracting or repelling them you can change +your course to suit yourself, and also theirs in inverse ratio to +their masses. Jupiter's moons will be like head and stern lines +in enabling you to choose the part of the surface on which you +wish to land. With apergy it is as essential to have some heavy +body on which to work, within range, as to have water about a +ship's propellers. Whether, when apergy is developed, +gravitation is temporarily annulled, or reversed like the late +attraction of a magnet when the current is changed, or whether it +is merely overpowered, in which case your motion will be the +resultant of the two, is an unsettled and not very important +point; for, though we know but little more of the nature of +electricity than was known a hundred years ago, this does not +prevent our producing and using it." + +"Jupiter, when in opposition," he continued, "is about +380,000,000 miles from us, and it takes light, which travels at +the rate of 190,000 miles a second, just thirty-four minutes to +reach the earth from Jupiter. If we suppose the average speed of +your ship to be one- five-hundredth as great, it will take you +just eleven days, nineteen hours and twenty minutes to make the +journey. You will have a fine view of Mars and the asteroids, +and when 1,169,000 miles from Jupiter, will cross the orbit of +Callisto, the fifth moon in distance from the giant planet. That +will be your best point to steer by." + +"I think," said Ayrault, "as that will be the first member of +Jupiter's system we pass, and as it will guide us into port, it +would be a good name for our ship, and you must christen her if +we have her launched." + +"No, no," said Deepwaters, "Miss Preston must do that; but we +certainly should have a launch, for you might have to land in the +water, and you must be sure the ship is tight." + +"Talking of tight ships," said Bearwarden, passing a decanter of +claret to Stillman, "may remind us that it is time to splice the +'main brace.' There's a bottle of whisky and some water just +behind you," he added to Deepwaters, "while three minutes after I +ring this bell," he said, pressing a button and jerking a handle +marked '8,' "the champagne cocktails will be on the desk." + +"I see you know his ways," said Stillman to Bearwarden, drooping +his eyes in Deepwaters's direction. + +"Oh, yes, I've been here before," replied Deepwaters. "You see, +we navy men have to hustle now-a-days, and can't pass our time in +a high-backed chair, talking platitudes." + +At this moment there was a slight rumbling, and eight champagne +cocktails, with the froth still on, and straws on a separate +plate, shot in and landed on a corner of the desk. + +"Help yourselves, gentlemen," said Bearwarden, placing them on a +table; "I hope we shall find them cold." + +"Do you know," said Deepwaters to Ayrault, while rapidly making +his cocktail disappear, "the Callisto's cost with its outfit will +be very great, especially if you use glucinum, which, though the +ideal metal for the purpose, comes pretty high? I suggest that +you apply to Congress for an appropriation. This experiment +comes under the 'Promotion of Science Act,' and any bill for it +would certainly pass." + +"No, indeed," replied Ayrault; "the Callisto trip will be a +privilege and glory I would not miss, and building her will be a +part of it. I shall put in everything conducive to success, but +will come to the Government only for advice." + +"I will send a letter to all our ambassadors and consuls," said +Stillman, "to telegraph the department anything they may know or +learn that will be of use in adjusting the batteries, controlling +the machine, or anything else, and will turn over to you in a +succinct form all information that may be relevant, for without +such sorting you would be overwhelmed." + +"And I," said Deepwaters, "will order the commanders of our +vessels to give you a farewell salute at starting, and to pick +you up in case you fail. When you have demonstrated the +suitability of apergy," he continued, "and the habitability of +Jupiter and Saturn--,which, with their five and eight moons, +respectively, and rings thrown in, must both be vastly superior +to our little second-rate globe--we will see what can be done +towards changing our orbit, and if we cannot swing a little +nearer to our new world or worlds. Then we'll lower, or rather +raise, the boats in the shape of numerous Callistos, and have a +landing-party ready at each opposition, while a man or two can be +placed in charge of each projectile to bring it back in ballast. +Thus we may soon have regular interplanetary lines." + +"As every place seems to have been settled from some other," said +Cortlandt, "I do not see why, with increased scientific +facilities, history should not repeat itself, and this be the +point from which to colonize the solar system; for, for the +present at least, it would seem that we could not get beyond +that." + +"As it will be quite an undertaking to change the orbit, said +Deepwaters, "we shall have time meanwhile to absorb or run out +all inferior races, so that we shall not make the mistake of +extending the Tower of Babel." + +"He is putting on his war-paint," said Stillman, "and will soon +want a planet to himself." + +"I see no necessity for even changing the orbit," said +Bearwarden, "except for the benefit of those that remain. If +this attempt succeeds, it can doubtless be repeated. An increase +in eccentricity would merely shorten the journey, if aphelion +always coincided with opposition, which it would not." + +"Let us know how you are getting on," said Deepwaters to Ayrault, +"and be sure you have the Callisto properly christened. Step +lively there, landlubbers!" he called to Stillman; "I have an +appointment at Washington at one, and it is now twenty minutes +past twelve. We can lunch on the way." + +Ayrault immediately advertised for bids for the construction of a +glucinum cylinder twenty-five feet in diameter, fifteen feet high +at the sides, with a domed roof, bringing up the total height to +twenty-one feet, and with a small gutter about it to catch the +rain on Jupiter or any other planet they might visit. The sides, +roof, and floor were to consist of two sheets, each one third of +an inch thick and six inches apart, the space between to be +filled with mineral wool, as a protection against the intense +cold of space. There were also to be several keels and supports +underneath, on which the car should rest. Large, toughened +plate-glass windows were to be let into the roof and sides, and +smaller ones in the floor, all to be furnished with thick shades +and curtains. Ayrault also decided to have it divided into two +stories, with ceilings six and a half to seven and a half feet +high, respectively, with a sort of crow's nest or observatory at +the top; the floors to be lattice- work, like those in the +engine-room of a steamer, so that when the carpets were rolled up +they should not greatly obstruct the view. The wide, flat base +and the low centre of gravity would, he saw, be of use in +withstanding the high winds that he knew often prevailed on +Jupiter. + +As soon as possible he awarded the contract, and then entering +his smart electric trap, steered for Vassar University along what +was the old post-road--though its builders would not have +recognized it with its asphalt surface, straightened curves, and +easy grades--to ask his idol to christen the Callisto when it +should be finished. + +Starting from the upper end of Central Park, he stopped to buy +her a bunch of violets, and then ran to Poughkeepsie in two +hours. + +Sylvia Preston was a lovely girl, with blue eyes, brown hair, and +perfect figure, clear white skin, and just twenty. She was +delighted to see him, and said she would love to christen the +Callisto or do anything else that he wished. "But I am so sorry +you are going away," she went on. "I hate to lose you for so +long, and we shall not even be able to write." + +"Why couldn't we be married now," he asked, "and go to Jupiter +for our honeymoon?" + +"I'm afraid, dear," she answered, "you would be sorry a few years +hence if I didn't take my degree; and, besides, as you have asked +those other men, there wouldn't be room for me." + +"We could have made other arrangements," he replied, "had I been +able to persuade you to go." + +"Won't you dine with us at Delmonico's this evening, and go to +the play?" she asked. "Papa has taken a box." + +"Of course I will," he said, brightening up. "What are you going +to wear?" + +"Oh, I suppose something light and cool, for it's so hot," she +answered. + +"I'll go now, so as to be ready," he said, getting up and going +towards the door to which Sylvia followed him. + +A man in livery stood at the step of the phaeton. Ayrault got in +and turned on the current, and his man climbed up behind. + +On turning into the main road Ayrault was about to increase his +speed, when Sylvia, who had taken a short cut appeared at the +wayside carrying her hat in one hand and her gloves in the other. + +"I couldn't let you go all by yourself," she said. "The fact is, +I wanted to be with you." + +"You are the sweetest thing that ever lived, and I'll love you +all my days," he said, getting down and helping Sylvia to the +seat beside him. "What a nuisance this fellow behind is!" he +continued--referring to the groom-- "for, though he is a Russian, +and speaks but little English, it is unpleasant to feel he is +there." + +"You'll have to write your sweet nothings, instead of saying +them," Sylvia replied. + +"For you to leave around for other girls to see," answered +Ayrault with a smile. + +"I don't know what your other girls do," she returned, "but with +me you are safe." + +Ayrault fairly made his phaeton spin, going up the grades like a +shot and down like a bird. On reaching New York, he left Sylvia +at her house, then ran his machine to a florist's, where he +ordered some lilies and roses, and then steered his way to his +club, where he dressed for dinner. Shortly before the time he +repaired to Delmonico's--which name had become historical, though +the founders themselves were long dead--and sat guard at a table +till Sylvia, wearing his flowers and looking more beautiful than +any of them, arrived with her mother and father, and Bearwarden, +whom they knew very well. + +"How are the exams getting on, Miss Preston?" Bearwarden asked. + +"Pretty well," she replied, with a smile. "We had English +literature yesterday, and natural history the day before. Next +week we have chemistry and philosophy." + +"What are you taking in natural history?" asked Bearwarden, with +interest. + +"Oh, principally physical geography, geology, and meteorology," +she replied. "I think them entrancing." + +"It must be a consolation," said Ayrault, "when your best hat is +spoiled by rain, to know the reason why. Your average," he +continued, addressing Sylvia, "was ninety in the semi-annuals, +and I haven't a doubt that the finals will maintain your record +for the year." + +"Don't be too sure," she replied. "I have been loafing awfully, +and had to engage a 'grind' as a coach." + +After dinner they went to the play, where they saw a presentation +of Society at the Close of the Twentieth Century, which Sylvia +and Ayrault enjoyed immensely. + +A few days after the Delmonico dinner, while Bearwarden, +Cortlandt, and Ayrault sat together discussing their plans, the +servant announced Ayrault's family physician, Dr. Tubercle +Germiny, who had been requested to call. + +"Delighted to see you, doctor," said Ayrault, shaking hands. +"You know Col. Bearwarden, our President, and Dr. Cortlandt--an +LL. D., however, and not a medico." + +"I have had the pleasure," replied Dr. Germiny, shaking hands +with both. + +"As you may be aware, doctor," said Ayrault, when they were +seated, "we are about to take a short trip to Jupiter, and, if +time allows, to Saturn. We have come to you, as one familiar +with every known germ, for a few precautionary suggestions and +advice concerning our medicine-chest." + +"Indeed!" replied Dr. Germiny, "a thorough knowledge of +bacteriology is the groundwork of therapeutics. It is +practically admitted that every ailment, with the exception of +mechanical injuries, is the direct result of a specific germ; and +even in accidents and simple fractures, no matter what may be the +nature of the bruise, a micro-organism soon announces its +presence, so that if not the parent, it is the inseparable +companion, in fact the shadow, of disease. Now, though not the +first cause in this instance, it has been indubitably proved, +that much of the effect, the fever and pain, are produced and +continued by the active, omnipresent, sleepless sperm. Either +kill the micrococcus or heal the wound, and you are free from +both. It being, therefore, granted that the ills of life are in +the air, we have but to find the peculiar nature of the case in +hand, its habits, tastes, and constitution, in order to destroy +it. Impoverish the soil on which it thrives, before its arrival, +if you can foresee the nature of the inoculation to which you +will be exposed, by a dilute solution of itself, and supply it +only with what it particularly dislikes. For an already +established tubercle requiring rapid action of the blood, such as +may well exist among the birds and vertebrates of Jupiter and +Saturn, I suggest a hypodermic rattlesnake injection, while +hydrocyanic acid and tarantula saliva may also come in well. The +combinations that so long destroyed us have already become our +panacea." + +"I see you have these poisons at your fingers' ends," said +Ayrault, "and we shall feel the utmost confidence in the remedies +and directions you prescribe." + +They found that, in addition to their medicine-chest, they would +have to make room for the following articles, and also many more: +six shot-guns (three double-barrel 12-bores, three magazine +10-bores,) three rifles, three revolvers; a large supply of +ammunition (explosive and solid balls), hunting-knives, +fishing-tackle, compass, sextant, geometrical instruments, canned +food for forty days, appliance for renewing air, clothing, rubber +boots, apergetic apparatus, protection-wires, aneroid barometer, +and kodaks. + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + GOOD-BYE. + +At last the preparations were completed, and it was arranged that +the Callisto should begin its journey at eleven o'clock A. M., +December 21st--the northern hemisphere's shortest day. + +Though six months' operations could hardly be expected to have +produced much change in the inclination of the earth's axis, the +autumn held on wonderfully, and December was pronounced very +mild. Fully a million people were in and about Van Cortlandt +Park hours before the time announced for the start, and those +near looked inquiringly at the trim little air-ship, that, having +done well on the trial trip, rested on her longitudinal and +transverse keels, with a battery of chemicals alongside, to make +sure of a full power supply. + +The President and his Cabinet--including, of course, the shining +lights of the State and Navy Departments--came from Washington. +These, together with Mr. and Mrs. Preston, and a number of people +with passes, occupied seats arranged at the sides of the +platform; while sightseers and scientists assembled from every +part of the world. + +"There's a ship for you!" said Secretary Stillman to the +Secretary of the Navy. "She'll not have to be dry-docked for +barnacles, neither will the least breeze make the passengers +sick." + +"That's all you landlubbers think of," replied Deepwaters. "I +remember one of the kings over in Europe said to me, as he +introduced me to the queen: 'Your Secretary of State is a great +man, but why does he always part his hair in the middle?' + +"'So that it shall not turn his head,' I replied. + +"'But with so gallant and handsome an officer as you to lean +upon,' he answered, 'I should think he could look down on all the +world.' Whereupon I asked him what he'd take to drink." + +"Your apology is accepted," replied Secretary Stillman. + +Cortlandt also came from Washington, where, as chief of the +Government's Expert Examiners Board, he had temporary quarters. +Bearwarden sailed over the spectators' heads in one of the +Terrestrial Axis Straightening Company's flying machines, while +Ayrault, to avoid the crowd, had come to the Callisto early, and +was showing the interior arrangements to Sylvia, who had +accompanied him. She was somewhat piqued because at the last +moment he had not absolutely insisted on carrying her off, or +offered, if necessary, to displace his presidential and +Doctor-of-Laws friends in order to make room. + +"You will have an ideal trip," she said, looking over some +astronomical star-charts and photographic maps of Jupiter and +Saturn that lay on the table, with a pair of compasses, "and I +hope you won't lose your way." + +"I shall need no compass to find my way back," replied Ayrault, +"if I ever succeed in leaving this planet; neither will +star-charts be necessary, for you will be a magnet stronger than +any compass, and, compared with my star, all others are dim." + +"You should write a book," said Sylvia, "and put some of those +things in it." She was wearing a bunch of forget-me-nots and +violets that she had cut from a small flower-garden of potted +plants Ayrault had sent her, which she had placed in her father's +conservatory. + +At this moment the small chime clock set in the Callisto's +wood-work rang out quarter to eleven. As the sounds died away, +Sylvia became very pale, and began to regret in her womanly way +that she had allowed her hero to attempt this experiment. + +"Oh," she said, clinging to his arm, "it was very wrong of me to +let you begin this. I was so dazzled by the splendour of your +scheme when I heard it, and so anxious that you should have the +glory of being the first to surpass Columbus, that I did not +realize the full meaning. I thought, also, you seemed rather +ready to leave me," she added gently, "and so said little; you do +not know how it almost breaks my heart now that I am about to +lose you. It was quixotic to let you undertake this journey." + +"An undertaker would have given me his kind offices for one even +longer, had I remained here," replied Ayrault. "I cannot live in +this humdrum world without you. The most sustained excitement +cannot even palliate what seems to me like unrequited love." + +"O Dick!" she exclaimed, giving him a reproachful glance, "you +mustn't say that. You know you have often told me my reason for +staying and taking my degree was good. My lot will be very much +harder than yours, for you will forget me in the excitement of +discovery and adventure; but I--what can I do in the midst of all +the old associations?" + +"Never mind, sweetheart," he said, kissing her hand, "I have +seemed on the verge of despair all the time." + +Seeing that their separation must shortly begin, Ayrault tried to +assume a cheerful look; but as Sylvia turned her eyes away they +were suspiciously moist. + +Just one minute before the starting-time Ayrault took Sylvia back +to her mother, and, after pressing her hand and having one last +long look into her--or, as he considered them, HIS--deep-sea +eyes, he returned to the Callisto, and was standing at the foot +of the telescopic aluminum ladder when his friends arrived. As +all baggage and impedimenta bad been sent aboard and properly +stowed the day before, the travellers had not to do but climb to +and enter by the second-story window. It distressed Bearwarden +that the north pole's exact declination on the 21st day of +December, when the axis was most inclined, could not be figured +out by the hour at which they were to start, so as to show what +change, if any, had already been brought about, but the +astronomers were working industriously, and promised that, if it +were finished by midnight, they would telegraph the result into +space by flash-light code. + +Raising his hat to his fiancee and his prospective +parents-in-law, Ayrault followed them up. To draw in and fold +the ladder was but the work of a moment. As the clocks in the +neighbouring steeples began to strike eleven, Ayrault touched the +switch that would correspond to the throttle of an engine, and +the motors began to work at rapidly increasing speed. Slowly the +Callisto left her resting-place as a Galatea might her pedestal, +only, instead of coming down, she rose still higher. + +A large American flag hanging from the window, which, as they +started, fluttered as in a southern zephyr, soon began to flap as +in a stiff breeze as the car's speed increased. With a final +wave, at which a battery of twenty-one field-pieces made the air +ring with a salute, and the multitude raised a mighty cheer, they +drew it in and closed the window, sealing it hermetically in +order to keep in the air that, had an opening remained, would +soon have become rarefied. + +Sylvia had waved her handkerchief with the utmost enthusiasm, in +spite of the sadness at her heart. But she now had other use for +it in trying to hide her tears. The Callisto was still going +straight up, with a speed already as great as a cannon ball's, +and was almost out of sight. The multitude then began to +disperse, and Sylvia returned to her home. + +Let us now follow the Callisto. The earth and Jupiter not being +exactly in opposition, as they would be if the sun, the earth, +and Jupiter were in line, with the earth between the two, but +rather as shown in the diagram, the Callisto's journey was +considerably more than 380,000,000 miles, the mean opposition +distance. As they wished to start by daylight--i. e., from the +side of the earth turned towards the sun--they could not steer +immediately for Jupiter, but were obliged to go a few hundred +miles in the direction of the sun, then change their course to +something like a tangent to the earth, and get their final right +direction in swinging near the moon, since they must be +comparatively near some material object to bring apergy into +play. + +The maximum power being turned on, the projectile shot from the +earth with tremendous and rapidly increasing speed, by the +shortest course--i. e., a straight line--so that for the present +it was not necessary to steer. Until beyond the limits of the +atmosphere they kept the greatest apergetic repulsion focused on +the upper part of their cylinder, so that its point went first, +and they encountered least possible resistance. Looking through +the floor windows, therefore, the travellers had a most superb +view. The air being clear, the eastern border of North America +and the Atlantic were outlined as on a map, the blue of the ocean +and brownish colour of the land, with white snow- patches on the +elevations, being very marked. The Hudson and the Sound appeared +as clearly defined blue ribbons, and between and around the two +they could see New York. They also saw the ocean dotted for +miles with points in which they recognized the marine spiders and +cruisers of the North Atlantic squadron, and the ships on the +home station, which they knew were watching them through their +glasses. + +"I see," said Cortlandt, "that Deepwaters has been as good as his +word, and has his ships on the watch to rescue us in case we +fail." + +"Yes," replied Bearwarden, "he is the right sort. When he gave +that promise I knew his men would be there." + +They soon perceived that they had reached the void of space, for, +though the sun blazed with a splendour they had never before +seen, the firmament was intensely black, and the stars shone as +at midnight. Here they began to change their course to a curve +beginning with a spiral, by charging the Callisto apergetically, +and directing the current towards the moon, to act as an aid to +the lunar attraction, while still allowing the earth to repel, +and their motion gradually became the resultant of the two +forces, the change from a straight line being so gradual, +however, that for some minutes they scarcely perceived it. The +coronal streamers about the sun, such as are visible on earth +during a total eclipse, shone with a halo against the +ultra-Cimmerian background, bursting forth to a height of twenty +or thirty thousand miles above the surface in vast cyclonic +storms, producing so rapid a motion that a column of incandescent +gas may move ten thousand miles in less than ten minutes. +Whether these great streaks were in part electrical phenomena +similar to the aurora borealis, or entirely of intensely heated +material thrown up by explosions within the sun's mass, they +could not tell even from their point of vantage. + +"I believe," said Cortlandt, pointing to the streamers, "that +they are masses of gas thrown beyond the sun's atmosphere, which +expand enormously when the pressure to which they are subjected +in the sun is removed--for only in space freed from resistance +could they move at such velocities, and that their brilliancy is +increased by great electrical disturbance. If they were entirely +the play of electrical forces, their change of place would be +practically instantaneous, which, however rapid their movement, +is not the case." + + + BOOK II. + + + CHAPTER I. + + THE LAST OF THE EARTH. + +Finding that they were rapidly swinging towards their proper +course, and that the earth in its journey about the sun would +move out of their way, they divided their power between repelling +the body they had left and increasing the attraction of the moon, +and then set about getting their house in order. + +Bearwarden, having the largest appetite, was elected cook, the +others sagely divining that labour so largely for himself would +be no trial. Their small but business- like-looking electric +range was therefore soon in full blast, with Bearwarden in +command. It had enough current to provide heat for cooking for +four hundred hours, which was an ample margin, and it had this +advantage, that, no matter how much it was used, it could not +exhaust the air as any other form of heat would. + +There were also a number of sixteen-candle-power incandescent +lamps, so that when passing through the shadow of a planet, or at +night after their arrival on Jupiter, their car would be brightly +illuminated. They had also a good search-light for examining the +dark side of a satellite, or exploring the spaces in Saturn's +rings. Having lunched sumptuously on canned chicken soup, beef +a la jardiniere, and pheasant that had been sent them by some of +their admirers that morning, they put the bones and the glass can +that had contained the soup into the double-doored partition or +vestibule, placing a large sheet of cardboard to act as a wad +between the scraps and the outside door. By pressing a button +they unfastened the outside door, and the articles to be disposed +of were shot off by the expansion of the air between the +cardboard disk and the inside door; after which the outside door +was drawn back to its place by a current sent through a magnet, +but little power being required to reclose it with no resisting +atmospheric pressure. As the electricity ran along a wire +passing through a hermetically sealed opening in the floor, there +was no way by which more air than that in the vestibule could +escape; and as the somewhat flat space between the doors +contained less than one cubic foot, the air- pressure inside the +Callisto could not be materially lessened by a few openings. + +"By filling the vestibule as full as possible," said Bearwarden, +"and so displacing most of its air, we shall be able to open the +outside door oftener without danger of rarefaction." + +The things they had discharged flew off with considerable speed +and were soon out of sight; but it was not necessary for them to +move fast, provided they moved at all, for, the resistance being +nil, they would be sure to go beyond the range of vision, +provided enough time was allowed, even if the Callisto's speed +was not being increased by apergy, in which case articles outside +and not affected would be quickly left behind. + +The earth, which at first had filled nearly half their sky, was +rapidly growing smaller. Being almost between themselves and the +sun, it looked like a crescent moon; and when it was only about +twenty times the size of the moon they calculated they must have +come nearly two hundred thousand miles. The moon was now on what +a sailor would call the starboard bow--i. e., to the right and +ahead. Being a little more than three quarters full, and only +about fifty thousand miles off, it presented a splendid sight, +brilliant as polished silver, and about twenty-five times as +large as they had ever before seen it with the unaided eye. + +It was just ten hours since they had started, and at that moment +9 A. M. in New York; but, though it was night there, the Callisto +was bathed in a flood of sunlight such as never shines on earth. +The only night they would have was on the side of the Callisto +turned away from the sun, unless they passed through some shadow, +which they intended to avoid on account of the danger of +colliding with a meteor in the dark. The moon and the Callisto +were moving on converging lines, the curve on which they had +entered having swung them to the side nearest the earth; but they +saw that their own tremendous and increasing speed would carry +them in front of the moon in its nearly circular orbit. Wishing +to change the direction of their flight by the moon's attraction, +they shut off the power driving them from the earth, whereupon +the Callisto turned its heavy base towards the moon. They were +already moving at such speed that their momentum alone would +carry them hundreds of thousands of miles into space, and were +then almost abreast of the earth's satellite, which was but a few +thousand miles away. The spectacle was magnificent. As they +looked at it through their field glasses or with the unaided eye, +the great cracks and craters showed with the utmost clearness, +sweeping past them almost as the landscape flies past a railway +train. There was something awe-inspiring in the vast antiquity +of that furrowed lunar surface, by far the oldest thing that +mortal eye can see, since, while observing the ceaseless +political or geological changes on earth, the face of this dead +satellite, on account of the absence of air and water and +consequent erosion, has remained unchanged for bygone ages, as it +doubtless will for many more. + +They closely watched the Callisto's course. At first it did not +seem to deflect from a straight line, and they stood ready to +turn on the apergetic force again, when the car very slowly began +to show the effect of the moon's near pull; but not till they had +so far passed it that the dark side was towards them were they +heading straight for Jupiter. Then they again turned on full +power and got a send-off shove on the moon and earth combined, +which increased their speed so rapidly that they felt they could +soon shut off the current altogether and save their supply. + +"We must be ready to watch the signals from the arctic circle," +said Bearwarden. "At midnight, if the calculations are finished, +the result will be flashed by the searchlight." It was then ten +minutes to twelve, and the earth was already over four hundred +thousand miles away. Focusing their glasses upon the region near +the north pole, which, being turned from the sun, was towards +them and in darkness, they waited. + +"In this blaze of sunlight," said Cortlandt, "I am afraid we can +see nothing." + +Fortunately, at this moment the Callisto entered the moon's +tapering shadow. + +"This," said Ayrault, "is good luck. We could of course have +gone into the shadow; but to change our course would have delayed +us, and we might have lost part of the chance of increasing our +speed." + +"There will be no danger from, meteors or sub-satellites here," +said Bearwarden, "for anything revolving about the moon at this +distance would be caught by the earth." + +The sun had apparently set behind the moon, and they were +eclipsed. The stars shone with the utmost splendour against the +dead-black sky, and the earth appeared as a large crescent, still +considerably larger than the satellite to which they were +accustomed. Exactly at midnight a faint phosphorescent light, +like that of a glow-worm, appeared in the region of Greenland on +the planet they had left. It gradually increased its strength +till it shone like a long white beam projected from a lighthouse, +and in this they beheld the work of the greatest search-light +ever made by man, receiving for a few moments all the electricity +generated by the available dynamos at Niagara and the Bay of +Fundy, the steam engines, and other sources of power in the +northern hemisphere. The beam lasted with growing intensity for +one minute; it then spelled out with clean-cut intervals, +according to the Cable Code: "23@ no' 6". The southern +hemisphere pumps are now raising and storing water at full blast. +We have already begun to lower the Arctic Ocean." + +"Victory!" shouted Bearwarden, in an ecstasy of delight. "Nearly +half a degree in six months, with but one pole working. If we +can add at this rate each time to the speed of straightening +already acquired, we can reverse our engines in five years, and +in five more the earth will be at rest and right." + +"Look!" said Ayrault, "they are sending something else." The +flashes came in rapid succession, reaching far into space. With +their glasses fixed upon them, they made out these sentences: +"Our telescopes, in whatever part of the earth was turned towards +you, have followed you since you started, and did not lose sight +of you till you entered the moon's shadow. On your present +course you will be in darkness till 12.16, when we shall see you +again." + +On receiving this last earthly message, the travellers sprang to +their searchlight, and, using its full power, telegraphed back +the following: "Many thanks to you for good news about earth, +and to Secretary Deepwaters for lending us the navy. Result of +work most glorious. Remember us to everybody. Shadow's edge +approaching." + +This was read by the men in the great observatories, who +evidently telephoned to the arctic Signal Light immediately, for +it flashed back: "Got your message perfectly. Wish you greatest +luck. The T. A. S. Co. has decked the Callisto's pedestal with +flowers, and has ordered a tablet set up on the site to +commemorate your celestial journey." + +At that moment the shadow swept by, and they were in the full +blaze of cloudless day. The change was so great that for a +moment they were obliged to close their eyes. The polished sides +of the Callisto shone so brightly that they knew they were easily +seen. The power temporarily diverted in sending them the message +then returned to the work of draining the Arctic Ocean, which, as +the north pole was now returning to the sun, was the thing to do, +and the travellers resumed their study of the heavenly bodies. + + + + CHAPTER II. + + SPACE AND MARS. + +Never before had the travellers observed the stars and planets +under such favourable conditions. No air or clouds intervened, +and as the Callisto did not revolve on its axis there was no +necessity for changing the direction of the glasses. After an +hour of this interesting work, however, as it was already late at +the longitude they had left on earth, and as they knew they had +many days in space before them, they prepared to go to bed. When +ready, they had only to pull down the shades; for, as apergy was +not applied to them, but only to the Callisto, they still looked +upon the floor as down, and closed the heavy curtains to have +night or darkness. They found that the side of the Callisto +turned constantly towards the sun was becoming very warm, the +double-toughened glass windows making it like a greenhouse; but +they consoled themselves with the thought that the sun's power on +them was hourly becoming less, and they felt sure the double +walls and thick upholstery would protect them almost anywhere +within the solar system from the intense cold of space. + +"We could easily have arranged," said Ayrault, for night and day +on alternate sides of the Callisto by having strips of metal +arranged spirally on the outside as on the end of an arrow. +These would have started us turning as slowly as we like, since +we passed through the atmosphere at a comparatively low rate of +speed." + +"I am afraid," said Cortlandt, "the motion, however slow, would +have made us dizzy. It would be confusing to see the heavens +turning about us, and it would interfere with using the glasses." + +The base and one side of the Callisto had constant sunshine, +while the other side and the dome were in the blackest night. +This dome, on account of its shape, sky windows, and the +completeness with which it could be isolated, was an ideal +observatory, and there was seldom a time during their waking +hours for the rest of the journey when it was not occupied by +one, two, or all the observers. + +"There is something marvellous," said Cortlandt, "about the +condition of space. Its absolute cold is appalling, apparently +because there is nothing to absorb heat; yet we find the base of +this material projectile uncomfortably warm, though, should we +expose a thermometer in the shade in front, we know it would show +a temperature of three hundred to four hundred degrees below +zero--were the instrument capable of recording it." + +Artificial darkness having been obtained, the travellers were +soon asleep, Bearwarden's dreams being regaled with thoughts of +his company's triumph; Ayrault's, naturally, with visions of +Sylvia; while Cortlandt frequently started up, thinking he had +already made some great astronomical discovery. + +About 9 A. M., according to seventy-fifth meridian time, the +explorers awoke feeling greatly refreshed. The tank in which the +liquefied oxygen was kept automatically gave off its gas so +evenly that the air remained normal, while the lime contained in +cups absorbed the carbon dioxide as fast as they exhaled it. +They had darkened those windows through which the sun was +actually pouring, for, on account of the emptiness of the +surrounding ether and consequent absence of diffusion of light, +nothing but the inky blackness of space and the bright stars +looked in at the rest. On raising the shades they got an idea of +their speed. A small crescent, smaller than the familiar moon, +accompanied by one still tinier, was all that could be seen of +the earth and its satellite. + +"We must," said Bearwarden, "be moving at the rate of nearly a +million miles an hour, from the way we have travelled." + +"We must be doing fully a million," replied Cortlandt, "for by +this time we are pretty well in motion, having got a tremendous +start when so near the moon, with it and the earth in line." + +By steering straight for Jupiter, instead of for the place it +would occupy ten days later, they knew they would swing past, for +the giant planet, being in rapid motion, would advance; but they +did not object to this, since it would give them a chance to +examine their new world in case they wished to do so before +alighting; while, if they preferred to land at once, they could +easily change their course by means of the moons, the fourth, +from which their car was named, being the one that they knew +would be of most use. Their tremendous speed showed them they +should have time for exploration on their arrival, and that they +would reach their destination sooner than they had expected. The +apergetic force being applied, as we have seen, only to the +Callisto, just as power in starting is exerted on a carriage or +railway car and only through it to the passengers, Ayrault and +his companions had no unusual sensation except loss of weight, +for, when they were so far from the earth, its attraction was +very slight, and no other planet was near enough to take its +place. After breakfast, wishing to reach the dome, and realizing +that it would be unnecessary to climb, each in turn gave a slight +spring and was obliged to put up his hands to avoid striking the +roof. In the cool quiet of the dark dome it was difficult to +believe that only twenty feet away the sun was shining with such +intensity upon the metal base as to make it too hot on the inside +to touch without gloves. + +The first thing that attracted their attention was the size and +brilliance of Mars. Although this red planet was over forty +million miles from the earth when they started, they calculated +that it was less than thirty million miles from them now, or five +millions nearer than it had ever been to them before. This +reduction in distance, and the clearness of the void through +which they saw it, made it a splendid sight, its disk showing +clearly. From hour to hour its size and brightness increased, +till towards evening it looked like a small, full moon, the sun +shining squarely upon it. They calculated that on the course +they were moving they should pass about nine hundred thousand +miles to the right or behind it, since it was moving towards +their left. They were interested to see what effect the mass of +Mars would have on the Callisto, and saw here a chance of still +further increasing their speed. Notwithstanding its tremendous +rate, they expected to see the Callisto swerve from its straight +line and move towards Mars, whose orbital speed of nine hundred +miles a minute they thought would take it out of the Callisto's +way, so that no actual collision would occur even if their +air-ship were left to her own devices. + +Towards evening they noticed through their glasses that several +apparently island peaks in the southern hemisphere, which was +turned towards them, became white, from which they concluded that +a snow-storm was in progress. The south polar region was also +markedly glaciated, though the icecap was not as extensive as +either of those at the poles of the earth. + +"As the Martian winters must be fully as severe as ours," said +Cortlandt, "on account of their length, the planet's distance +from the sun, and the twenty-seven and a half degrees inclination +of its axis, we can account for the smallness of its ice-caps +only by the fact that its oceans cover but one fourth of its +surface instead of three quarters, as on the earth, and there is +consequently a smaller evaporation and rain and snow-fall." + +They were too much interested to think of sleeping that night, +and so, after dining comfortably returned to their observatory. +When within four million miles of Mars the Callisto began to +swerve perceptibly, its curve, as when near the moon beginning +with a spiral. They swung on unconcernedly, however, knowing +they could check their approach at any time. Soon Mars appeared +to have a diameter ten times as great as that of the moon, and +promised shortly to occupy almost one side of their sky. + +"We must be on the lookout for the satellites," said Cortlandt; +"a collision with either would be worse than a wreck on a desert +island." + +They therefore turned their glasses in the direction of the +satellites. + +"Until Prof. Hall, at Washington, discovered the two satellites +in 1877," he continued, "Mars was supposed to be without moons. +The outer one, Deimos, is but six miles in diameter, and revolves +about its primary in thirty hours and eighteen minutes, at a +distance of fourteen thousand six hundred miles. As it takes but +little longer to complete a revolution than Mars does to rotate +on its axis, it remains in the Martial sky one hundred and +thirty-two hours between rising and setting, passing through all +the phases from new moon to full and back again four times; that +is, it swings four times around Mars before going below the +horizon. It is one of the smallest bodies discovered with a +telescope. The inner one, Phobos, is considerably larger, having +a diameter of about twenty miles. It is but twenty-seven hundred +miles from Mars's surface, and completes its revolution in seven +hours and thirty-eight minutes, which is shorter than any other +known period, Jupiter's nearest moon being the next, with eleven +hours and fifty- nine minutes. It thus revolves in less than a +third of the time Mars takes to rotate, and must consequently +rise in the west and set in the east, as it is continually +running ahead of the surface of the planet, though the sun and +all the other stars rise and set on Mars in the same way as on +the earth." + +When about fifteen thousand miles from Mars, they sighted Deimos +directly ahead, and saw that they should pass on its left--i. e., +behind--for it was moving across them. The sun poured directly +upon it, making it appear full and showing all its features. +There were small unevennesses on the surface, apparently seventy +or a hundred feet high, which were the nearest approach to +mountains, and they ran in ridges or chains. There were also +unmistakable signs of volcanic action, the craters being large +compared with the size of the planet, but shallow. They saw no +signs of water, and the blackness of the shadows convinced them +there was no air. They secured two instantaneous photographs of +the little satellite as the Callisto swept by, and resumed their +inspection of Mars. They noticed red and brownish patches on the +peaks that had that morning turned white, from which they +concluded that the show had begun to melt under the warm spring +sun. This strengthened the belief they had already formed, that +on account of its twenty-seven and a half degrees inclination the +changes in temperature on Mars must be great and sudden. So +interested were they with this, that they did not at first see a +large and bright body moving rapidly on a course that converged +with theirs. + +"We must be ready to repel boarders," said Bearwarden, observing +it for the first time and fixing his glass upon it. "That must +be Phobos." + +Not ten miles off they beheld Mars's inner moon, and though their +own speed caused them to overtake and rush by it like a +whirlwind, the satellite's rapid motion in its orbit, in a course +temporarily almost parallel with theirs, served to give them a +chance the better to examine it. Here the mountain ranges were +considerably more conspicuous than on Deimos, and there were +boulders and loose stones upon their slopes, which looked as if +there might at some time have been frost and water on its +surface; but it was all dry now, neither was there any air. The +evidences of volcanic action were also plainly visible, while a +noticeable flattening at the poles showed that the little body +had once rotated rapidly on its axis, though whether it did so +still they had not time to ascertain. When abreast of it they +were less than two miles distant, and they secured several +instantaneous impressions, which they put aside to develop later. +As the radius of Phobos's circle was far shorter than that of the +parabolic curve they were making, it began to draw away, and was +rapidly left behind. Applying the full apergetic force to Mars +and the larger moon, they shot away like an arrow, having had +their speed increased by the planet's attraction while +approaching it, and subsequently by repulsion. + +"Either of those," said Bearwarden, looking back at the little +satellites, "would be a nice yacht for a man to explore space on. +He would also, of course, need a sun to warm him, if he wished to +go beyond this system, but that would not have to be a large +affair--in fact, it might be smaller than the planet, and could +revolve about it like a moon." + +"Though a sun of that size," replied Cortlandt, "might retain its +heat for the time you wished to use it, the planet part would be +nothing like as comfortable as what we have here, for it would be +very difficult to get enough air-pressure to breathe on so small +a body, since, with its slight gravitation-pull, to secure +fifteen pounds to the square inch, or anything like it, the +atmosphere would have to extend thousands of miles into space, so +that on a cloudy day you would be in darkness. It would be +better, therefore, to have such a sun as you describe and +accompany it in a yacht or private car like this, well stocked +with oxygen and provisions. When passing through meteoric swarms +or masses of solid matter, collision with which is the most +serious risk we run, the car could follow behind its sun instead +of revolving around it, and be kept from falling into it by +partially reversing the attraction. As the gravitation of so +small a sun would be slight, counteracting it for even a +considerable time would take but little from the batteries." + +"There are known to be several unclaimed masses," added Ayrault, +"with diameters of a few hundred yards, revolving about the earth +inside the orbit of the moon. If in some way two of these could +be brought into sufficiently violent collision, they would become +luminous and answer very well; the increase in bulk as a result +of the consolidation, and the subsequent heat, about serving to +bring them to the required size. Whenever this sun showed spots +and indications of cooling, it could be made to collide with the +solid head of some comet, or small asteroid, till its temperature +was again right; while if, as a result of these accretions, it +became unwieldy, it could be caused to rotate with sufficient +rapidity on its axis to split, and we should have two suns +instead of one." + +"Bravo!" said Bearwarden. "There is no limit to what can be +done. The idea of our present trip would have seemed more +chimerical to people a hundred years ago than this new scheme +appears now." + +Thus they sat and talked, or studied maps and star- charts, or +the stars themselves, while the hours quickly passed and they +shot through space. They had now a straight stretch of over +three hundred million miles, and had to cross the orbits of +innumerable asteroids on the way. The apparent size of the sun +had by this time considerably decreased, and the interior of the +Callisto was no longer uncomfortably warm. They divided the day +into twenty-four hours from force of habit, and drew the shades +tightly during what they considered night, while Bearwarden +distinguished himself as a cook. + + + + CHAPTER III. + + HEAVENLY BODIES. + +The following day, while in their observatory, they saw something +not many miles ahead. They watched it for hours, and in fact all +day, but notwithstanding their tremendous speed they came but +little nearer. + +"They say a stern chase is a long one," said Bearwarden; but that +beats anything I have ever seen." + +After a while, however, they found they WERE nearer, the time +taken having been in part due to the deceptive distance, which +was greater than they supposed. + +"A comet!" exclaimed Cortlandt excitedly. "We shall really be +able to examine it near." + +"It's going in our direction," said Ayrault, "and at almost +exactly our speed." + +While the sun shone full upon it they brought their camera into +play, and again succeeded in photographing a heavenly body at +close range. The nucleus or head was of course turned towards +the sun; while the tail, which they could see faintly, preceded +it, as the comet was receding towards the cold and dark depths of +space. The head was only a few miles in diameter, for it was a +small comet, and was composed of grains and masses of stone and +meteoric iron. Many of the grains were no larger than peas or +mustard-seeds; no mass was more than four feet in diameter, and +all of them had very irregular shapes. The space between the +particles was never less than one hundred times their masses. + +"We can move about within it," said Ayrault, as the Callisto +entered the aggregation of particles, and moved slowly forward +among them. + +The windows in the dome, being made of toughened glass, set +somewhat slantingly so as to deflect anything touching them, and +having, moreover, the pressure of the inside air to sustain them, +were fairly safe, while the windows in the sides and base were +but little exposed. Whenever a large mass seemed dangerously +near the glass, they applied an apergetic shock to it and sent it +kiting among its fellows. At these times the Callisto recoiled +slightly also, the resulting motion in either being in inverse +ratio to its weight. There was constant and incessant movement +among the individual fragments, but it was not rotary. Nothing +seemed to be revolving about anything else; all were moving, +apparently swinging back and forth, but no collisions took place. +When the separate particles got more than a certain distance +apart they reapproached one another, but when seemingly within +about one hundred diameters of each other they swung off in some +other direction. The motion was like that of innumerable +harp-strings, which may approach but never strike one another. +After a time the Callisto seemed to become endowed with the same +property that the fragments possessed; for it and they repelled +one another, on a near approach, after which nothing came very +near. + +Much of the material was like slag from a furnace, having +evidently been partly fused. Whether this heat was the result of +collision or of its near approach to the sun at perihelion, they +could not tell, though the latter explanation seemed most simple +and probable. When at about the centre of the nucleus they were +in semi-darkness--not twilight, for any ray that succeeded in +penetrating was dazzlingly brilliant, and the shadows, their own +included, were inky black. As they approached the farther side +and the sunlight decreased, they found that a diffused luminosity +pervaded everything. It was sufficiently bright to enable them +to see the dark side of the meteoric masses, and, on emerging +from the nucleus in total darkness, they found the shadow +stretching thousands of miles before them into space. + +"I now understand," said Bearwarden, "why stars of the sixth and +seventh magnitude can be seen through thousands of miles of a +comet's tail. It is simply because there is nothing in it. The +reason ANY stars are obscured is because the light in the tail, +however faint, is brighter than they, and that light is all that +the caudal appendage consists of, though what produces it I +confess I am unable to explain. I also see why the tail always +stretches away from the sun, because near by it is overwhelmed by +the more powerful light; in fact, I suspect it is principally in +the comet's shadow that the tail is visible. It is strange that +no one ever thought of that before, or that any one feared the +earth's passing through the tail of a comet. It is obvious to me +now that if there were any material substance, any gas, however +rarefied, in this hairlike[1] accompaniment, it would immediately +fall to the comparatively heavy head, +and surround that as a centre." + +[1] Comet means literally a hair. + + +"How, then," asked Cortlandt, "do you account for the spaces +between those stones? However slight gravitation might be +between some of the grains, if it existed at all, or was +unopposed by some other force, with sufficient time--and they +have eternity--every comet would come together like a planet into +one solid mass. Perhaps some similar force maintains gases in +the distended tail, though I know of no such, or even any +analogous manifestation on earth. If the law on which we have +been brought up, that 'every atom in the universe attracts every +other atom,' were without exceptions or modifications, that comet +could not continue to exist in its present form. Until we get +some additional illustration, however, we shall be short of data +with which to formulate any iconoclastic hypothesis. The source +of the light, I must admit, also puzzles me greatly. There is +certainly no heat to which we can attribute it." + +Having gone beyond the fragments, they applied a strong repulsion +charge to the comet, creating thereby a perfect whirlpool among +its particles, and quickly left it. Half an hour later they +again shut off the current, as the Callisto's speed was +sufficient. + +For some time they had been in the belt of asteroids, but as yet +they had seen none near. The morning following their experience +with the comet, however, they went to their observatory after +breakfast as usual, and, on pointing their glasses forward, +espied a comparatively large body before them, a little to their +right. + +"That must be Pallas," said Cortlandt, scrutinizing it closely. +"It was discovered by Olbers, in 1802, and was the second +asteroid found, Ceres having been the first, in 1801. It has a +diameter of about three hundred miles, being one of the largest +of these small planets. The most wonderful thing about it is the +inclination of its orbit--thirty-five degrees--to the plane of +the ecliptic; which means that at each revolution in its orbit, +it swings that much above and below the imaginary plane cutting +the sun at its equator, from which the earth and other larger +planets vary but little. This no doubt is due to the near +approach and disturbing attraction of some large comet, or else +it was flung above or below the ordinary plane in the catastrophe +that we think befell the large planet that doubtless formerly +existed where we now find this swarm. You can see that its path +makes a considerable angle to the plane of the ecliptic, and that +it is now about crossing the line." + +It soon presented the phase of a half moon, but the waviness of +the straight line, as in the case of Venus and Mercury, showed +that the size of the mountains must be tremendous compared with +the mass of the body, some of them being obviously fifteen miles +high. The intense blackness of the shadows, as on the moon, +convinced them there was no trace of atmosphere. + +"There being no air," said Cortlandt, "it is safe to assume there +is no water, which helps to account for the great inequalities on +the body's surface, since the mountains will seem higher when +surrounded by dry ocean- bottom than they would if water came +halfway up their sides. Undoubtedly, however, the main cause of +their height is the slight effect of gravitation on an asteroid, +and the fact that the shrinking of the interior, and consequent +folding of the crust in ridges, may have continued for a time +after there was no longer water on the surface to cut them down. + +"The temperature and condition of a body," continued Cortlandt, +"seem to depend entirely on its size. In the sun we have an +incandescent, gaseous star, though its spots and the colour of +its rays show that it is becoming aged, or, to be more accurate, +advanced in its evolutionary development. Then comes a great +jump, for Jupiter has but about one fourteen-hundredth of the +mass of the sun, and we expect to find on it a firm crust, and +that the planet itself is at about the fourth or fifth period of +development, described by Moses as days. Saturn is doubtless +somewhat more advanced. The earth we know has been habitable +many hundreds of thousands or millions of years, though three +fourths of its surface is still covered by water. In Mars we see +a further step, three fourths of its surface being land. In +Mercury, could we study it better, or in the larger satellites of +Jupiter or Saturn, we might find a stepping-stone from Mars to +the moon, perhaps with no water, but still having air, and being +habitable in all other respects. In our own satellite we see a +world that has died, though its death from an astronomical point +of view is comparatively recent, while this little Pallas has +been dead longer, being probably chilled through and through. +From this I conclude that all bodies in the solar system had one +genesis, and were part of the same nebulous mass. But this does +not include the other systems and nebulae; for, compared with +them, our sun, as we have seen, is itself advanced and small +beside such stars as Sirius having diameters of twelve million +miles." + +As they left Pallas between themselves and the sun, it became a +crescent and finally disappeared. + +Two days later they sighted another asteroid exactly ahead. They +examined it closely, and concluded it must be Hilda, put down in +the astronomies as No. 153, and having almost the greatest mean +distance of any of these small bodies from the sun. + +When they were so near that the disk was plainly visible to the +unaided eye, Hilda passed between them and Jupiter, eclipsing it. +To their surprise, the light was not instantly shut off, as when +the moon occults a star, but there was evident refraction. + +"By George!" said Bearwarden, "here is an asteroid that HAS an +atmosphere." + +There was no mistaking it. They soon discovered a small ice-cap +at one pole, and then made out oceans and continents, with +mountains, forests, rivers, and green fields. The sight lasted +but a few moments before they swept by, but they secured several +photographs, and carried a vivid impression in their minds. +Hilda appeared to be about two hundred miles in diameter. + +"How do you account for that living world," Bearwarden asked +Cortlandt, "on your theory of size and longevity?" + +"There are two explanations," replied Cortlandt, "if the theory, +as I still believe, is correct. Hilda has either been brought to +this system from some other less matured, in the train of a +comet, and been captured by the immense power of "Jupiter, which +might account for the eccentricity of its orbit, or some accident +has happened to rejuvenate it here. A collision with another +minor planet moving in an orbit that crossed its own, or with the +head of a large comet, would have reconverted it into a star, +perhaps after it had long been cold. A comet may first have so +changed the course of one of two small bodies as to make them +collide. This seems to me the most plausible theory. Over a +hundred years ago the English astronomer, Chambers, wrote of +having found traces of atmosphere in some of these minor planets, +but it was generally thought he was mistaken. One reason we know +so little about this great swarm of minor planets is, that till +recently none of them showed a disk to the telescope. Inasmuch +as only their light was visible, they were indistinguishable from +stars, except by their slow motion. A hundred years ago only +three hundred and fifty had been discovered; our photographic +star-charts have since then shown the number recorded to exceed +one thousand." + + + CHAPTER IV. + + PREPARING TO ALIGHT. + +That afternoon Ayrault brought out some statistical tables he had +compiled from a great number of books, and also a diagram of the +comparative sizes of the planets. "I have been not a little +puzzled at the discrepancies between even the best authors," he +said, "scarcely any two being exactly alike, while every decade +has seen accepted theories radically changed." Saying which, he +spread out the result of his labours (shown on the following +pages), which the three friends then studied. + +----------------------------------------------------------------- + +(1) Mean distance from sun in millions of miles +(2) Semimajor axis of orbit, earth's distance as 1 +(3) Eccentricity of orbit +(4) Planets inclination of orbit to elliptic +(5) Light at perihelion +(6) Light at apehelion +(7) Heat, earth as 1 + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) + +Mercury... 36.0 0.387 0.2056 7@0'8" 10.58 4.59 6.67 + +Venus..... 67.2 0.723 0.0068 3@23'35" 1.94 1.91 1.91 + +The Earth. 92.9 1.000 0.068 0@0'0" 1.03 0.997 1.00 + +Mars......141.5 1.524 0.0933 1@51'2" 0.52 0.360 1.43 + +Asteroids 204.4 to 2.200 0.4 to 5@-35@ 325.2 to 3.500 0.34 + +Jupiter.. 483.3 5.203 0.0483 1@18'41" 0.04 0.034 0.037 + +Saturn... 886.0 9.539 0.0561 2@29'40" 0.012 0.0099 0.011 + +Uranus.. 1781.9 19.183 0.0463 0@46'20" 0.0027 0.0025 0.003 + +Neptune. 2791.6 30.055 0.0090 1@47'2" 0.0011 0.0011 0.001 +----------------------------------------------------------------- + +(1) MOVEMENT IN ORBIT. Velocity compared with earth as 1. +(2) MOVEMENT IN ORBIT. Period of revolution in years and days. +(3) MOVEMENT IN ORBIT. Orbital velocity in miles per second. +(4) Mean diameter in miles +(5) Surface compared with earth as 1. +(6) Volume compared with earth as 1. +(7) Mass compared with earth as 1. + + Planets (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) + + +Mercury..... 0.88 23 to 35 1.6 3,000 0.14 0.056 0.13 + +Venus.....0.224 1/2 21.9 1.17 7,700 0.94 0.92 0.78 + +The Earth... 1.00 18.5 1.0 7,918 1.00 1.00 1.00 + +Mars........ 1.88 15.0 0.81 4,230 0.28 0.139 0.124 + +Asteroids... 3.29 .... .... From a few to 6.56 + miles to 300 + +Jupiter..... 11.86 8.1 0.44 86,500 118.3 1309.00 316.0 + +Saturn...... 29.46 6.0 0.32 1,000 0.4 760.0 95.0 + +Uranus...... 84.02 4.2 0.23 31,900 16.3 65.0 14.7 + +Neptune.... 164.78 3.4 0.18 34,800 19.3 90.0 17.1 + +----------------------------------------------------------------- +(1) Length of day. hrs. min. sec. +(2) Length of seasons +(3) DENSITY Compared with earth as 1 +(4) DENSITY Compared with water as 1 +(5) FORCE OF GRAVITY AT SURFACE OF PLANET Compared with earth as +1. +(6) FORCE OF GRAVITY AT SURFACE OF PLANET Bodies fall in one +second. +(7) Inclination of axis. + + +Planets (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) + +Mercury. ........ ......... 1.24 7.17 0.85 13.7 ..... + +Venus... 23 21 22 ........ 0.92 5.21 0.83 13.4 53+ + +The Earth. ..... Spring, 93 1.00 5.67 1.00 16.09 23 1/2 + Summer, 93 +Terrestrial days Autumn, 90 + Winter,89 + +Mars... 24 37 23 Spring, 191 0.96 2.54 0.38 6.2 27 1/2 + Summer, 181 + Martian days Autumn, 149 + Winter, 147 + +Asteroids........................................................ + +Jupiter. 9 55 28 ......... 0.22 1.29 2.55 40.98 1 1/2 + +Saturn..10 29 17 ......... 0.13 0.63 1.15 18.53 27 + +Uranus. ....... ......... 0.18 1.41 0.91 14.6 102(?) + +Neptune......... ......... 0.20 0 0.88 14.2 ..... + +----------------------------------------------------------------- + +"You see," Ayrault explained, "on Jupiter we shall need our +apergetic outfits to enable us to make long marches, while on +Saturn they will not be necessary, the increase in our weight as +a result of that planet's size being considerably less than the +usual load carried by the Roman soldier." + +"I do not imagine," said Cortlandt, "we should long be troubled +by gravitation without our apergetic outfits even on Jupiter, +for, though our weight will be more than doubled, we can take off +one quarter of the whole by remaining near the equator, their +rapid rotation having apparently been given providentially to all +the large planets. Nature will adapt herself to this change, as +to all others, very readily. Although the reclamation of the +vast areas of the North American Arctic Archipelago, Alaska, +Siberia, and Antarctic Wilkes Land, from the death-grip of the +ice in which they have been held will relieve the pressure of +population for another century, at the end of that time it will +surely be felt again; it is therefore a consolation to feel that +the mighty planets Jupiter and Saturn, which we are coming to +look upon as our heritage, will not crush the life out of any +human beings by their own weight that may alight upon them." + +Before going to bed that evening they decided to be up early the +next day, to study Jupiter, which was already a brilliant object. + +The following morning, on awakening, they went at once to their +observatory, and found that Jupiter's disk was plainly visible to +the naked eye, and before night it seemed as large as the full +moon. + +They then prepared to check the Callisto's headlong speed, which +Jupiter's attraction was beginning to increase. When about two +million miles from the great planet, which was considerably on +their left, they espied Callisto ahead and slightly on their +right, as Deepwaters had calculated it would be. Applying a mild +repulsion to this--which was itself quite a world, with its +diameter of over three thousand miles, though evidently as cold +and dead as the earth's old moon--they retarded their forward +rush, knowing that the resulting motion towards Jupiter would be +helped by the giant's pull. Wishing to be in good condition for +their landing, they divided the remainder of the night into +watches, two going to sleep at a time, the man on duty standing +by to control the course and to get photographic negatives, on +which, when they were developed, they found two crescent-shaped +continents, a speckled region, and a number of islands. By 7 A. +M., according to Eastern standard time, they were but fifty +thousand miles from Jupiter's surface, the gigantic globe filling +nearly one side of the sky. In preparation for a sally, they got +their guns and accoutrements ready, and then gave a parting +glance at the car. Their charge of electricity for developing +the repulsion seemed scarcely touched, and they had still an +abundant supply of oxygen and provisions. The barometer +registered twenty-nine inches, showing that they had not lost +much air in the numerous openings of the vestibule. The pressure +was about what would be found at an altitude of a few hundred +feet, part of the rarefaction being no doubt due to the fact that +they did not close the windows until at a considerable height +above Van Cortlandt Park. + +They saw they should alight in a longitude on which the sun had +just risen, the rocky tops of the great mountains shining like +helmets in its rays. Soon they felt a sharp checking of their +forward motion, and saw, from the changed appearance of the stars +and the sun, that they had entered the atmosphere of their new +home. + +Not even did Columbus, standing at the prow of the Santa Maria, +with the New World before him, feel the exultation and delight +experienced by these latter-day explorers of the twenty-first +century. Their first adventures on landing the reader already +knows. + + + + CHAPTER V. + + EXPLORATION AND EXCITEMENT. + +When they awoke, the flowers were singing with the volume of a +cathedral organ, the chant rising from all around them, and the +sun was already above the horizon. Finding a deep natural +spring, in which the water was at about blood-heat, they prepared +for breakfast by taking a bath, and then found they had brought +nothing to eat. + +"It was stupid of us not to think of it," said Bearwarden, "yet +it will be too much out of our way to return to the Callisto." + +"We have two rifles and a gun," said Ayrault, "and have also +plenty of water, and wood for a fire. All we need is game." + +"The old excuse, that it has been already shot out, cannot hold +here," said Cortlandt. + +"Seeing that we have neither wings nor pneumatic legs, and not +knowing the advantage given us by our rifles," added Bearwarden, +"it should not be shy either. So far," he continued, "we have +seen nothing edible, though just now we should not be too +particular; but near a spring like this that kind must exist." + +"The question is," said the professor, "whether the game like +warm water. If we can follow this stream till it has been on the +surface for some time, or till it spreads out, we shall doubtless +find a huntsman's paradise." + +"A bright idea," said Bearwarden. "Let's have our guns ready, +and, as old Deepwaters would say, keep our weather eye open." + +The stream flowed off in a southeasterly direction, so that by +following it they went towards the volcanoes. + +"It is hard to realize," said the professor, "that those +mountains must be several hundred miles away, for the reason that +they are almost entirely above the horizon. This apparent +flatness and wide range of vision is of course the result of +Jupiter's vast size. With sufficiently keen sight, or aided by a +good glass, there is no reason why one should not see at least +five hundred miles, with but a slight elevation." + +"It is surprising," said Ayrault, "that in what is evidently +Jupiter's Carboniferous period the atmosphere should be so clear. +Our idea has been that at that time on earth the air was heavy +and dense." + +"So it was, and doubtless is here," replied Cortlandt; "but you +must remember that both those qualities would be given it by +carbonic-acid gas, which is entirely invisible and transparent. +No gas that would be likely to remain in the air would interfere +with sight; water vapour is the only thing that could; and though +the crust of this planet, even near the surface, is still hot, +the sun being so distant, the vapour would not be, raised much. +By avoiding low places near hot springs, we shall doubtless have +very nearly as clear an atmosphere as on earth. What does +surprise me is the ease with which we breathe. I can account for +it only by supposing that, the Carboniferous period being already +well advanced, most of the carbonic acid is already locked up in +the forests or in Jupiter's coal-beds." + +"How, asked Bearwarden, "do you account for the 'great red spot' +that appeared here in 1878, lasted several years, and then +gradually faded? It was taken as unmistakable evidence that +Jupiter's atmosphere was filled with impenetrable banks of cloud. +In fact, you remember many of the old books said we had probably +never seen the surface." + +"That has puzzled me very much," replied Cortlandt, "but I never +believed the explanation then given was correct. The +Carboniferous period is essentially one of great forest growth; +so there would be nothing out of the way in supposing the spot, +notwithstanding its length of twenty-seven thousand miles and its +breadth of eight thousand miles, to have been forest. It +occurred in what would correspond to the temperate region on +earth. Now, though the axis of this planet is practically +straight, the winds of course change their direction, and so the +temperature does vary from day to day. What is more probable +than that, owing perhaps to a prolonged norther or cold spell, a +long strip of forest lying near the frost line was brought a few +degrees below it, so that the leaves changed their colours as +they do on earth? It would, it seems to me, be enough to give +the surface a distinct colour; and the fact that the spot's +greatest length was east and west, or along the lines of +latitude, so that the whole of that region might have been +exposed to the same conditions of temperature, strengthens this +hypothesis. The strongest objection is, that the spot is said to +have moved; but the motion--five seconds--was so slight that it +might easily have been an error in observation, or the first area +affected by the cold may have been enlarged on one side. It +seems to me that the stability the spot DID have would make the +cloud theory impossible on earth, and much more so here, with the +far more rapid rotation and more violent winds. It may also have +been a cloud of smoke from a volcano in eruption, such as we saw +on our arrival, though it is doubtful whether in that case it +would have remained nearly stationary while going through its +greatest intensity and fading, which would look as though the +turned leaves had fallen off and been gradually replaced by new +ones; and, in addition to this, the spot since it was first +noticed has never entirely disappeared, which might mean a +volcanic region constantly emitting smoke, or that the surface, +doubtless from some covering whose colour can change, is normally +of a different shade from the surrounding region. In any case, +we have as yet seen nothing that would indicate a permanently +clouded atmosphere." + +Though they had walked a considerable distance, the water was not +much cooled; and though the stream's descent was so slight that +on earth its current would have been very slow, here it rushed +along like a mountain torrent, the reason, of course, being that +a given amount of water on Jupiter would depress a spring balance +2.55 times as much as on the earth. + +"It is strange," said Ayrault, "that, notwithstanding its great +speed, the water remains so hot; you would think its motion would +cool it." + +"So it does," answered the professor. "It of course cools +considerably more in a given period--as, for instance, one +minute--than if it were moving more slowly, but on account of its +speed it has been exposed to the air but a very short time since +leaving the spring." + +Just before them the stream now widened into a narrow lake, which +they could see was straight for some distance. + +"The fact is," said Bearwarden, "this water seems in such haste +to reach the ocean that it turns neither to right nor to left, +and does not even seem to wish to widen out." + +As the huge ferns and palms grew to the water's edge, they +concluded the best way to traverse the lake would be on a raft. +Accordingly, choosing a large overhanging palm, Bearwarden and +Ayrault fired each an explosive ball into its trunk, about +eighteen inches from the ground. One round was enough to put it +in the water, each explosion removing several cubic feet of wood. +By repeating this process on other trees they soon had enough +large timber for buoyancy, so that they had but to superimpose +lighter cross-logs and bind the whole together with pliable +branches and creepers to form a substantial raft. The doctor +climbed on, after which Bearwarden and Ayrault cast off, having +prepared long poles for navigating. With a little care they kept +their bark from catching on projecting roots, and as the stream +continued to widen till it was about one hundred yards across, +their work became easy. Carried along at a speed of two or three +miles an hour, they now saw that the water and the banks they +passed were literally alive with reptiles and all sorts of +amphibious creatures, while winged lizards sailed from every +overhanging branch into the water as they approached. They +noticed also many birds similar to storks and cranes, about the +size of ostriches, standing on logs in the water, whose bills +were provided with teeth. + +"We might almost think we were on earth," said Ayrault, "from the +looks of those storks standing on one leg, with the other drawn +up, were it not for their size." + +"How do you suppose they defend themselves," asked Bearwarden, +"from the snakes with which the water is filled?" + +"I suspect they can give a pretty good account of themselves," +replied Cortlandt, "with those teeth. Besides, with only one leg +exposed, there is but a very small object for a snake to strike +at. For their number and size, I should say their struggle for +existence was comparatively mild. Doubtless non-poisonous, or, +for that matter, poisonous snakes, form a great part of their +diet." + +On passing the bend in the lake they noticed that the banks were +slightly higher, while palms, pine-trees, and rubber plants +succeeded the ferns. In the distance they now heard a tremendous +crashing, which grew louder as the seconds passed. It finally +sounded like an earthquake. Involuntarily they held their breath +and grasped their weapons. Finally, at some distance in the +woods they saw a dark mass moving rapidly and approaching the +river obliquely. Palms and pine-trees went down before it like +straws, while its head was continually among the upper branches. +As the monster neared the lake, the water at the edges quivered, +showing how its weight shook the banks at each stride, while +stumps and tree-trunks on which it stepped were pressed out of +sight in the ground. A general exodus of the other inhabitants +from his line of march began; the moccasins slid into the water +with a low splash, while the boa-constrictors and the tree-snakes +moved off along the ground when they felt it tremble, and a +number of night birds retreated into the denser woods with loud +cries at being so rudely disturbed. The huge beast did not stop +till he reached the bank, where lie switched his tail, raised his +proboscis, and sniffed the air uneasily, his height being fully +thirty feet and his length about fifty. On seeing the raft and +its occupants, he looked at them stupidly and threw back his +head. + +"He seems to be turning up his nose at us," said Bearwarden. +"All the same, he will do well for breakfast." + +As the creature moved, his chest struck a huge overhanging palm, +tearing it off as though it had been a reed. Brushing it aside +with his trunk, he was about to continue his march, when two +rifle reports rang out together, rousing the echoes and a number +of birds that screeched loudly. + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + MASTODON AND WILL-O'-THE WISPS. + +Bearwarden's bullet struck the mammoth in the shoulder, while +Ayrault's aim was farther back. As the balls exploded, a +half-barrelful of flesh and hide was shot from each, leaving two +gaping holes. Instantly he rushed among the trees, making his +course known for some time by his roars. As he turned, +Bearwarden fired again, but the hall flew over him, blowing off +the top of a tree. + +"Now for the chase!" said Ayrault. "There would be no excuse for +losing him." + +Quickly pushing their raft to shore and securing it to the bank, +the three jumped off. Thanks to their rubber boots and galvanic +outfits which automatically kept them charged, they were as spry +as they would have been on earth. The ground all about them, and +in a strip twelve feet wide where the mammoth had gone, was torn +up, and the vegetation trodden down. Following this trail, they +struck back into the woods, where in places the gloom cast by the +thick foliage was so dense that there was a mere twilight, +startling as they went numbers of birds of grey and sombre +plumage, whose necks and heads, and the sounds they uttered, were +so reptilian that the three terrestrials believed they must also +possess poison fangs. + +"The most highly developed things we have seen here," said +Bearwarden, "are the flowers and fireflies, most of the birds and +amphibians being simply loathsome." + +As they proceeded they found tracks of blood, which were rapidly +attracting swarms of the reptile birds and snakes, which, +however, as a rule, fled at their approach. + +"I wonder what can have caused that mammoth to move so fast, and +to have seemed so ill at ease?" said the doctor. "His motive +certainly was not thirst, for he did not approach the water in a +direct line, neither did he drink on reaching it. One would +think nothing short of an earthquake or a land-slide could +trouble him." + +"There can be no land-slide here," said Ayrault, for the country +is too flat." + +"And after yesterday's eruptions," added Bearwarden, "it would +seem as though the volcanoes could have scarcely enough steam +left to make trouble." + +The blood-tracks, continuing to become fresher, showed them they +were nearing the game, when suddenly the trail took a sharp turn +to the right, even returning towards the lake. A little farther +it took another sharp turn, then followed a series of doublings, +while still farther the ground was completely denuded of trees, +its torn-up and trampled condition and the enormous amount of +still warm blood showing how terrific a battle had just taken +place. + +While they looked about they saw what appeared to be the trunk of +a tree about four feet in diameter and six feet long, with a +slight crook. On coming closer, they recognized in it one of the +forefeet of the mammoth, cut as cleanly as though with a knife +from the leg just above the ankle, and still warm. A little +farther they found the huge trunk cut to slivers, and, just +beyond, the body of the unfortunate beast with three of its feet +gone, and the thick hide cut and slashed like so much paper. It +still breathed, and Ayrault, who had a tender heart, sent an +explosive ball into its skull, which ended its suffering. + +The three hunters then surveyed the scene. The largest and most +powerful beast they had believed could exist lay before them +dead, not from the bite of a snake or any other poison, but from +mechanical injuries of which those they had inflicted formed but +a very small part, and literally cut to pieces. + +"I am curious to see the animal," said Cortlandt, "capable of +doing this, though nothing short of dynamite bombs would protect +us from him." + +"As he has not stopped to eat his victim," said Bearwarden, "it +is fair to suppose he is not carnivorous, and so must have had +some other motive than hunger in making the attack; unless we can +suppose that our approach frightened him away, which, with such +power as he must possess, seems unlikely. Let us see," he +continued, "parts of two legs remain unaccounted for. Perhaps, +on account of their shape, he has been able the more easily to +carry or roll them off, for we know that elephant foot makes a +capital dish." + +"From the way you talk," said Cortlandt, "one would suppose you +attributed this to men. The Goliath we picture to ourselves +would be a child compared to the man that could cut through these +legs, though the necessity of believing him to have merely great +size does not disprove his existence here. I think it probable +we shall find this is the work of some animal with incisors of +such power as it is difficult for us to conceive of." + +"There is no indication here of teeth," said Bearwarden, "each +foot being taken off with a clean cut. Besides, we are coming to +believe that man existed on earth during the greater part, if not +the whole, of our Carboniferous period." + +"We must reserve our decision pending further evidence," said +Cortlandt. + +"I vote we take the heart," said Ayrault, "and cook it, since +otherwise the mammoth will be devoured before our eyes." + +While Bearwarden and Ayrault delved for this, Cortlandt, with +some difficulty, parted the mammoth's lips and examined the +teeth. "From the conical projections on the molars," said he, +"this should be classed rather as a mastodon than as a mammoth." + +When the huge heart was secured, Bearwarden arranged slices on +sharpened sticks, while Ayrault set about starting a fire. He +had to use Cortlandt's gun to clear the dry wood of snakes, +which, attracted doubtless by the dead mastodon, came in such +numbers that they covered the ground, while huge pterodactyls, +more venomous-looking than the reptiles, hovered about the +opening above. + +Arranging a double line of electric wires in a circle about the +mastodon and themselves, they sat down and did justice to the +meal, with appetites that might have dismayed the waiting throng. +Whenever a snake's head came in contact with one wire, while his +tail touched the other, he gave a spasmodic leap and fell back +dead. If he happened to fall across the wires, lie immediately +began to sizzle, a cloud of smoke arose, and lie was reduced to +ashes. + +"Any time that we are short of mastodon or other good game," said +Ayrault, "we need not hunger if we are not above grilled snake." + +All laughed at this, and Bearwarden, drawing a whiskey-flask from +his pocket, passed it to his friends. + +"When we rig our fishing-tackle," he continued, "and have fresh +fish for dinner, an entree of rattlesnake, roast mastodon for the +piece de resistance, and begin the whole with turtle soup and +clams, of which there must be plenty on the ocean beach, we shall +want to stay here the rest of our lives." + +"I suspect we shall have to," replied Ayrault "for we shall +become so like Thanksgiving turkeys that the Callisto's door will +be too small for us." + +While they sat and talked, the flowers and plants about them +softly began their song, and, as a visual accompaniment, the +fire-flies they had not before noticed twinkled through the +forest. + +"My goodness! " exclaimed Cortlandt, "how time goes here! We +started to get breakfast, and now it's growing dark." + +Hastily cutting some thick but tender slices from the mastodon, +and impaling them with the remains of the heart on a sharpened +stake, they took up the wires, and the battery that had been +supplying the current, and retraced their steps by the way they +had come. Their rubber-lined cowhide boots protected them from +all but the largest snakes, and as these were for the most part +already enjoying their gorge, they trampled with impunity on +those that remained in their path. When they had covered about +half the distance to the raft, a huge boa-constrictor, which they +had mistaken for a branch, fell upon Cortlandt, pinioning his +arms and bearing him to the ground. Dropping their loads, +Bearwarden and Ayrault threw themselves upon the monster with +their hunting-knives with such vim that in a few seconds it beat +a hasty retreat, leaving, as it did so, a wake of phosphorescent +light. + +"Are you hurt?" asked Bearwarden, helping him up. + +"Not in the least," replied Cortlandt. "What surprises me is +that I am not. The weight of that boa-constrictor would be very +great on earth, and here I should think it would be simply +crushing." + +Groping their way through the rapidly growing darkness, they +reached the raft without further adventure, and, once on the +lake, had plenty of light. Two moons, one at three quarters and +the other full, shone brightly, while the water was alive with +gymnotuses and other luminous creatures. Sitting and living upon +the cross-timbers, they looked up at the sky. The Great Bear and +the north star had exactly the same relation to each other as +when seen from the earth, while the other constellations and the +Milky Way looked identically as when they had so often gazed at +them before, and some idea of the immensity of space was conveyed +to them. Here was no change; though they had travelled three +hundred and eighty million miles, there was no more perceptible +difference than if they had not moved a foot. Perhaps, they +thought, to the telescopes--if there are any--among the stars, +the sun was seen to be accompanied by two small, dark companions, +for Jupiter and Saturn might be visible, or perhaps it seemed +merely as a slightly variable star, in years when sun-spots were +numerous, or as the larger planets in their revolutions +occasionally intercepted a part of its light. As they floated +along they noticed a number of what they took to be +Will-o'-the-wisps. Several of these great globules of pale flame +hovered about them in the air, near the surface of the water, and +anon they rose till they hung above the trees, apparently having +no forward or horizontal motion except when taken by the gentle +breeze, merely sinking and rising. + +"How pretty they are!" said Cortlandt, as they watched them. +"For bodies consisting of marsh gas, they hold together +wonderfully." + +Presently one alighted on the water near them. It was +considerably brighter than any glow-worm, and somewhat larger +than an arc lamp, being nearly three feet in diameter; it did not +emit much light, but would itself have been visible from a +considerable distance. Cortlandt tried to touch it with a +raft-pole, but could not reach far enough. Presently a large +fish approached it, swimming near the surface of the water. When +it was close to the Jack-o'-lantern, or whatever it was, there +was a splash, the fish turned up its white under side, and, the +breeze being away from the raft, the fire-ball and its victim +slowly floated off together. There were frequently a dozen of +these great globules in sight at once, rising and descending, the +observers noticing one peculiarity, viz., that their brightness +increased as they rose, and decreased as they sank. + +About two and a half hours after sunset, or midnight according to +Jupiter time, they fell asleep, but about an hour later Cortlandt +was awakened by a weight on his chest. Starting up, he perceived +a huge white-faced bat, with its head but a few inches from his. +Its outstretched wings were about eight feet across, and it +fastened its sharp claws upon him. Seizing it by the throat, he +struggled violently. His companions, awakened by the noise, +quickly came to his rescue, grasping him just as he was in danger +of being dragged off the raft, and in another moment Bearwarden's +knife had entered the creature's spine. + +"This evidently belongs to the blood-sucking species," said +Cortlandt. "I seem to be the target for all these beasts, and +henceforth shall keep my eyes open at night." + +As day would break in but little over an hour, they decided to +remain awake, and they pushed the dead bat overboard, where it +was soon devoured by fishes. A chill had come upon the air, and +the incessant noise of the forms of life about them had in a +measure ceased. + +Cortlandt passed around a box of quinine as a preventive against +malaria, and again they lay back and looked at the stars. The +most splendid sight in their sky now was Saturn. At the +comparatively short distance this great planet was from them, it +cast a distinct shadow, its vast rings making it appear twice its +real size. With the first glimmer of dawn, the fire-balls +descended to the surface of the water and disappeared within it, +their lights going out. With a suddenness to which the explorers +were becoming accustomed, the sun burst upon them, rising as +perpendicularly as at the earth's equator, and more than twice as +fast, having first tinged the sky with the most brilliant hues. + +The stream had left the forest and swamp, and was now flowing +through open country between high banks. Pushing the raft +ashore, they stepped off on the sand, and, warming up the remains +of the mastodon's heart, ate a substantial breakfast. + +While washing their knives in the stream preparatory to leaving +it--for they wished to return to the Callisto by completing the +circle they had begun--they noticed a huge flat jelly-fish in +shallow water. It was so transparent that they could see the +sandy bottom through it. As it seemed to be asleep, Bearwarden +stirred up the water around it and poked it with a stick. The +jelly- fish first drew itself together till it touched the +surface of the water, being nearly round, then it slowly left the +stream and rose till it was wholly in the air, and, +notwithstanding the sunlight, it emitted a faint glow. + +"Ah!" exclaimed Bearwarden, "here we have one of our +Jack-o'-lanterns. Let us see what it is going to do." + +"It is incomprehensible to me," said Cortlandt, "how it maintains +itself; for it has neither wings nor visible means of support, +yet, as it was able to immerse itself in the stream, thereby +displacing a volume of liquid equivalent to its bulk, it must be +at least as heavy as water." + +The jelly-fish remained poised in the air until directly above +them, when it began to descend. + +"Stand from under!" cried Bearwarden, stepping back. "I, for one, +should not care to be touched." + +The great soft mass came directly over the spot on which they had +been standing, and stopped its descent about three feet from the +ground, parallel to which it was slowly carried by the wind. A +few yards off, in the direction in which it was moving, lay a +long black snake asleep on the sand. When directly over its +victim the jelly globule again sank till it touched the middle of +the reptile's back. The serpent immediately coiled itself in a +knot, but was already dead. The jellyfish did not swallow, but +completely surrounded its prey, and again rose in the air, with +the snake's black body clearly visible within it. + +"Our Will-o'-the-wisp is prettier by night than by day," said +Bearwarden. "I suggest that we investigate this further." + +"How?" asked Cortlandt. + +"By destroying its life," replied Bearwarden. "Give it one +barrel from your gun, doctor, and see if it can then defy +gravitation." + +Accordingly Cortlandt took careful aim at the object, about +twenty-yards away, and fired. The main portion of the jellyfish, +with the snake still in its embrace, sailed away, but many pounds +of jelly fell to the ground. Most of this remained where it had +fallen, but a few of the larger pieces showed a faint luminosity +and rose again. + +"You cannot kill that which is simply a mass of protoplasm," said +Cortlandt. "Doubtless each of those pieces will form a new +organism. This proves that there are ramifications and +developments of life which we never dreamed of." + + + CHAPTER VII. + + AN UNSEEN HUNTER. + +They calculated that they had come ten or twelve miles from the +place at which they built the raft, while the damp salt breeze +blowing from the south showed them they were near the ocean. +Concluding that large bodies of water must be very much alike on +all planets, they decided to make for a range of hills due north +and a few miles off, and to complete the circuit of the square in +returning to the Callisto. The soft wet sand was covered with +huge and curious tracks, doubtless made by creatures that had +come to the stream during the night to drink, and they noticed +with satisfaction as they set out that the fresher ones led off +in the direction in which they were going. For practice, they +blew off the heads of the boa-constrictors as they hung from the +trees, and of the other huge snakes that moved along the ground, +with explosive bullets, in every thicket through which they +passed, knowing that the game, never having been shot at, would +not take fright at the noise. Sometimes they came upon great +masses of snakes, intertwined and coiled like worms; in these +cases Cortlandt brought his gun into play, raking them with +duck-shot to his heart's content. "As the function of these +reptiles," he explained, "is to form a soil on which higher life +may grow, we may as well help along their metamorphosis by +artificial means." They were impressed by the tremendous +cannon-like reports of their firearms, which they perceived at +once resulted from the great density of the Jovian atmosphere. +And this was also a considerable aid to them in making muscular +exertion, for it had just the reverse effect of rarefied mountain +air, and they seldom had to expand their lungs fully in order to +breathe. + +The ground continued to be marked with very large footprints. +Often the impressions were those of a biped like some huge bird, +except that occasionally the creature had put down one or both +forefeet, and a thick tail had evidently dragged nearly all the +time it walked erect. Presently, coming to something they had +taken for a large flat rock, they were surprised to see it move. +It was about twelve feet wide by eighteen feet long, while its +shell seemed at least a foot thick, and it was of course the +largest turtle they had ever seen. + +"Twenty-four people could dine at a table of this size with +ease," said Bearwarden, "while it would make soup for a regiment. +I wonder if it belongs to the snapping or diamond-backed +species." + +At this juncture the monster again moved. + +"As it is heading in our direction," resumed Bearwarden, "I vote +we strike for a free pass," and, taking a run, he sprang with his +spiked boots upon the turtle's shell and clambered upon the flat +top, which was about six feet from the ground. He was quickly +followed by Ayrault, who was not much ahead of Cortlandt, for, +notwithstanding his fifty years, the professor was very spry. +The tortoise was almost the exact counterpart of the Glyptodon +asper that formerly existed on earth, and shambled along at a +jerky gait, about half as fast again as they could walk, and +while it continued to go in their direction they were greatly +pleased. They soon found that by dropping the butts of their +rifles sharply and simultaneously on either side, just back of +the head, they could direct their course, by making their steed +swerve away from the stamping. + +"It is strange," said Ayrault, "that, with the +exception of the mastodon and this tortoise, we have seen +none of the monsters that seem to appear at the close of +Carboniferous periods, although the ground is covered +with their tracks." + +"Probably we did not reach the grounds at the right time of day," +replied Bearwarden. "The large game doubtless stays in the woods +and jungles till night." + +"I fancy," said Cortlandt, "we shall find representatives of all +the species that once lived upon the earth. In the case of the +singing flowers and the Jack-o'-lantern jelly-fish, we have, in +addition, seen developments the existence of which no scientist +has ever before even suspected." + +Occasionally the tortoise stopped, whereupon they poked it from +behind with their knives. It was a vicious-looking brute, and +had a huge horny beak, with which it bit off young trees that +stood in its way as though they had been blades of grass. They +were passing through a valley about half a mile wide, bordered on +each side by woods, when Bearwarden suddenly exclaimed, "Here we +have it!" and, looking forward, they unexpectedly saw a head rise +and remain poised about fifteen feet from the ground. It was a +dinosaur, and belonged to the scaled or armoured species. In a +few moments another head appeared, and towered several feet above +the first. The head was obviously reptilian, but had a beak +similar to that of their tortoise. The hind legs were developed +like those of a kangaroo, while the small rudimentary forepaws, +which could be used as hands or for going quadruped-fashion, now +hung down. The strong thick tail was evidently of great use to +them when standing erect, by forming a sort of tripod. + +"How I wish we could take a pair of those creatures with us when +we return to the earth!" said Cortlandt. + +"They would be trump cards," replied Bearwarden, "in a zoological +garden or a dime museum, and would take the wind out of the sails +of all the other freaks." + +As they lay flat on the turtle's back, the monsters gazed at them +unconcernedly, munching the palm-tree fruit so loudly that they +could be heard a long distance. + +"Having nothing to fear from a tortoise," resumed Cortlandt, +"they may allow us to stalk them. We are in their eyes like +hippocentaurs, except that we are part of a tortoise instead of +part of a horse, or else they take us for a parasite or fibrous +growth on the shell." + +"They would not have much to fear from us as we really are," +replied Bearwarden, "were it not for our explosive bullets." + +"I am surprised," said Ayrault, "that graminivorous animals +should be so heavily armed as these, since there can be no great +struggle in obtaining their food." + +"From the looks of their jaws," replied Cortlandt, "I should say +they are omnivorous, and would doubtless prefer meat to what they +are eating now. Something seems to have gone wrong with the +animal creation hereabouts to-day." + +Their war-horse clanked along like a badly rusted machine, +approaching the dinosaurs obliquely. When only about fifty yards +intervened, as the hunters were preparing to aim, their attention +was diverted by a tremendous commotion in the woods on their left +and somewhat ahead. With the crunching of dead branches and +swaying of the trees, a drove of monsters made a hasty exit and +sped across the open valley. Some showed only the tops of their +backs above the long grass, while others shambled and leaped with +their heads nearly thirty feet above the ground. The dinosaurs +instantly dropped on all-fours and joined in the flight, though +at about half-minute intervals they rose on their hind legs and +for a few seconds ran erect. The drove passed about half a mile +before the travellers, and made straight for the woods opposite; +but hardly had the monsters been out of sight two minutes when +they reappeared, even more precipitately than before, and fled up +the valley in the same direction as the tortoise. + +"The animals here," said Bearwarden, "behave as though they were +going to catch a train; only our friend beneath us seems superior +to haste." + +"I would give a good deal to know," said Cortlandt, "what is +pursuing those giants, and whether it is identical or similar to +the mutilator of the mastodon. Nothing but abject terror could +make them run like that." + +"I have a well-formed idea," said Bearwarden, "that a hunt is +going on, with no doubt two parties, one in the woods on either +side, and that the hunters may be on a scale commensurate with +that of their victims." + +"If the excitement is caused by men," replied Cortlandt, "our +exploration may turn out to be a far more difficult undertaking +than we anticipated. But why, if there are men in those woods, +do they not show themselves?--for they could certainly keep pace +with the game more easily in the open than among the trees." + +"Because," replied Bearwarden, "the men in the woods are +doubtless the beaters, whose duty it is to drive the game into +and up the valley, at the end of which the killing will be done." + +"We may have a chance to see it," said Ayrault, "or to take a +hand, for we are travelling straight in that direction, and shall +be able to give a good account ourselves if our rights are +challenged." + +"Why," asked Cortlandt, "if the hunting parties that have been in +our vicinity were only beaters, should they have mutilated the +mastodon in such it way that he could not walk? And how were +they able to take themselves off so quickly--for man in his +natural state has never been a fast mover? I repeat, it will +upset my theories if we find men." + +It was obvious to them that tortoises were not much troubled by +the apparently general foe, for the specimen in which they were +just then interested continued his course entirely unconcerned. +Soon, however, he seemed to feel fatigue, for he drew his feet +and head within his shell, which he tightly closed, and after +that no poking or prodding had the desired effect. + +"I suspect we must depend on shank's mares for a time," said +Bearwarden, cheerfully, as they scrambled down. + +"We can now see," said Cortlandt, "why our friend was so +unconcerned, since he has but to draw himself within himself to +become invulnerable to anything short of a stroke of lightning; +for no bird could have power enough to raise and drop him from a +great height upon rocks, as the eagles do on earth." + +"I suspect, if anxious for turtle soup," said Bearwarden, "we +must attach a lightning--rod, and wait for a thunderstorm to +electrocute him." + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + SPORTSMEN'S REVERIES. + +Feeling grateful to the huge tortoise for the good service he had +rendered, they shot a number of the great snakes that were +gliding about on the ground, and placed them where he would find +them on awaiting. They then picked their way carefully towards +stretches on which the grass was shortest. When they had gone +about two miles, and had already reached higher ground, they came +to a ridge of rock running at right angles to their course. This +they climbed, and on looking over the edge of the crest beheld a +sight that made their hearts stand still. A monster, somewhat +resembling an alligator, except that the back was arched, was +waddling about perhaps seventy- five yards from them. It was +sixty feet long, and to the top of its scales was at least +twenty-five feet high. It was constantly moving, and the +travellers noticed with some dismay that its motion was far more +rapid than they would have supposed it could be. + +"It is also a dinosaur," said the professor, watching it sharply, +"and very closely resembles the Stegosaurus ungulatus restored in +the museums. The question is, What shall we do with the living +specimen, now that we have it?" + +"Our chairman," said Ayrault, "must find a way to kill it, so +that we may examine it closely." + +"The trouble is," said Bearwarden, "our bullets will explode +before they penetrate the scales. In the absence of any way of +making a passage for an explosive ball by means of a solid one, +we must strike a vital spot. His scales being no harder than the +trunk of a tree, we can wound him terribly by touching him +anywhere; but there is no object in doing this unless we can kill +him, especially as there is no deep stream, such as would have +delayed the mastodon in reaching us, to protect us here. We must +spread out so as to divert his attention from one to another." + +After some consultation it was decided that Cortlandt, who had +only a shot-gun, should remain where they were, while Bearwarden +and Ayrault moved some distance to the right and left. At a +signal from Cortlandt, who was to attract the monster's +attention, the wings were to advance simultaneously. These +arrangements they carried out to the letter. When Bearwarden and +Ayrault had gone about twenty-five yards on either side, the +doctor imitated the peculiar grunting sound of an alligator, at +which the colossal monster turned and faced him, while Bearwarden +and Ayrault moved to the attack. The plan of this was good, for, +with his attention fixed on three objects, the dinosaur seemed +confused, and though Bearwarden and Ayrault had good angles from +which to shoot, there was no possibility of their hitting each +other. They therefore advanced steadily with their rifles half +up. Though their own danger increased with each step, in the +event of their missing, the chance of their shooting wild +decreased, the idea being to reach the brain through the eye. +Cortlandt's part had also its risks, for, being entirely +defenceless with his shot-gun against the large creature, whose +attention it was his duty to attract, he staked all on the +marksmanship of his friends. Not considering this, however, he +stood his ground, having the thumb-piece on his Winchester +magazine shoved up and ready to make a noisy diversion if +necessary in behalf of either wing. Having aroused the monster's +curiosity, Cortlandt sprang up, waving his arms and his gun. The +dinosaur lowered his head as if to charge, thereby bringing it to +a level with the rifles, either of which could have given it the +fatal shot. But as their fingers pressed the triggers the +reptile soared up thirty feet in the air. Ayrault pulled for his +first sight, shooting through the lower jaw, and shivering that +member, while Bearwarden changed his aim and sighted straight for +the heart. In an instant the monster was down again, just +missing Ayrault's head as he stepped back, and Bearwarden's rifle +poured a stream of explosive balls against its side, rending and +blowing away the heavy scales. Having drawn the dinosaur's +attention to himself, he retreated, while Ayrault renewed the +attack. Cortlandt, seeing that the original plan had miscarried, +poured showers of small shot against the huge beast's face. +Finally, one of Ayrault's balls exploded in the brain, and all +was over. + +"We have killed it at last," said Bearwarden "but the first +attack, though artistic, had not the brilliant results we +expected. These creatures' mode of fighting is doubtless +somewhat similar to that of the kangaroo, which it is said puts +its forepaws gently, almost lovingly, on a man's shoulders, and +then disembowels him by the rapid movement of a hind leg. But we +shall get used to their method, and can do better next time." + +They then reloaded their weapons and, while Cortlandt examined +their victim from a naturalist's point of view, Bearwarden and +Ayrault secured the heart, which they thought would be the most +edible part, the operation being rendered possible by the amount +of armour the explosive balls had stripped off. + +"To-morrow," said Bearwarden, "we must make it a point to get +some well-fed birds; for I can roast, broil, or fricassee them to +a turn. Life is too short to live on this meat in such a +sportsman's paradise. In any case there can be no end of +mastodons, mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, moa birds, and all such +shooting." + +As the sun was already near the horizon, they chose a dry, sandy +place, to secure as much immunity as possible from nocturnal +visits, and, after procuring a supply of water from a pool, +proceeded to arrange their camp for the night. They first laid +out the protection- wires, setting them while the sun still +shone. Next they built a fire and prepared their evening meal. +While they ate it, twilight became night, and the fire-flies, +twinkling in legions in the neighbouring valley, seemed like the +lamps of a great city. + +"Their lights," said Bearwarden, pointing to them, "are not as +fine as the jelly-fish Will-o'-the wisps were last night, but +they are not so dangerous. No gymnotus or electric eel that I +have ever seen compared with them, and I am convinced that any +one of us they might have touched would have been in kingdom +come." + +The balmy air soothed the travellers' brows as they reclined +against mounds of sand, while the flowers in the valley sent up +their dying notes. One by one the moons arose, till four--among +them the Lilliputian, discovered by Prof. Barnard in 1893--were +in the sky, flooding the landscape with their silvery light, and +something in the surroundings touched a sympathetic cord in the +men. + +"Oh that I were young again," said Cortlandt, "and had life +before me! I should like to remain here and grow up with this +planet, in which we already perceive the next New World. The +beauties of earth are barren compared with the scenes we have +here." + +"You remember," replied Bearwarden, "how Cicero defends old age +in his De Senectute, and shows that while it has almost +everything that youth has, it has also a sense of calm and many +things besides." + +"Yes," answered Cortlandt, "but, while plausible, it does not +convince. The pleasures of age are largely negative, the old +being happy when free from pain." + +"Since the highest joy of life," said Ayrault, "is coming to know +our Creator, I should say the old, being further advanced, would +be the happier of the two. I should never regard this material +life as greatly to be prized for itself. You remember the old +song: + "'O Youth! When we come to consider + The pain, the toil, and the strife, + The happiest man of all is + The one who has finished his life.' + + +"I suspect," continued Ayrault, "that the man who reaches even +the lowest plane in paradise will find far more beautiful visions +than any we have here." + +As they had but little rest the night before, they were all +tired. The warm breeze swayed the long dry grass, causing it to +give out a soft rustle; all birds except the flitting bats were +asleep among the tall ferns or on the great trees that spread +their branches towards heaven. There was nothing to recall a +picture of the huge monsters they had seen that day, or of the +still more to be dreaded terror these had borne witness to. Thus +night closes the activities of the day, and in its serene +grandeur the soul has time to think. While they thought, +however, drowsiness overcame them, and in a little while all were +asleep. + +The double line of protection-wires encircled them like a silent +guard, while the methodical ticking of the alarm-clock that was +to wake them at the approach of danger, and register the hour of +interruption, formed a curious contrast to the irregular cries of +the night-hawks in the distance. Time and again some huge +iguanodon or a hipsohopus would pass, shaking the ground with its +tread; but so implicit was the travellers' trust in the vigilance +of their mechanical and tireless watch, that they slept on as +calmly and unconcernedly as though they had been in their beds at +home, while the tick was as constant and regular as a sentry's +march. The wires of course did not protect them from creatures +having wings, and they ran some risk of a visitation from the +blood-sucking bats. The far-away volcanoes occasionally sent up +sheets of flame, which in the distance were like summer +lightning; the torrents of lava and crashes that had sounded so +thunderous when near, were now like the murmur of the ocean's ebb +tide, lulling the terrestrials to deeper sleep. The pale moons +were at intervals momentarily obscured by the rushing clouds in +the upper air, only to reappear soon afterwards as serene as +before. All Nature seemed at rest. + +Shortly before dawn there was an unusually heavy step. A moment +later the ever-vigilant batteries poured forth their current, and +the clang of the alarm-bell made the still night ring. In an +instant the three men were awake, each resting on one knee, with +their backs towards the centre and their polished barrels raised. +It was not long before they perceived the intruder by the +moonlight. A huge monster of the Triceratops prorsus species had +entered the camp. It was shaped something like an elephant, but +had ten or twelve times the bulk, being over forty feet in +length, not including the long, thick tail. The head carried two +huge horns on the forehead and one on the nose. + +"A plague on my shot-gun!" said Cortlandt. "Had I known how much +of this kind of game we should see, I too should have brought a +rifle." + +The monster was entangled in the wires, and in another second +would have stepped on the batteries that were still causing the +bell to ring. + +"Aim for the heart," said Bearwarden to Ayrault. "When you show +me his ribs, I will follow you in the hole." + +Ayrault instantly fired for a point just back of the left +foreleg. The explosion had the same effect as on the mastodon, +removing a half-barrel of hide, etc; and the next second +Bearwarden sent a bullet less than an inch from where Ayrault's +had stopped. Before the colossus could turn, each had caused +several explosions in close proximity to the first. The creature +was of course terribly wounded, and several ribs were cracked, +but no ball had gone through. With a roar it made straight for +the woods, and with surprising agility, running fully as fast as +an elephant. Bearwarden and Ayrault kept up a rapid fire at the +left hind leg, and soon completely disabled it. The dinosaur, +however, supported itself with its huge tail, and continued to +make good time. Knowing they could not give it a fatal wound at +the intervening distance, in the uncertain light, they stopped +firing and set out in pursuit. Cortlandt paused to stop the bell +that still rang, and then put his best foot foremost in regaining +his friends. For half a mile they hurried along, until, seeing +by the quantity of blood on the ground that they were in no +danger of losing the game, they determined to save their +strength. The trail entered the woods by a narrow ravine, passed +through what proved to be but a belt of timber, and then turned +north to the right. Presently in the semi-darkness they saw the +monster's head against the sky. He was browsing among the trees, +tearing off the young branches, and the hunters succeeded in +getting within seventy-five yards before being discovered. Just +as he began to run, the two rifles again fired, this time at the +right hind leg, which they succeeded in hamstringing. After that +the Triceratops prorsus was at their mercy, and they quickly put +an end to its suffering. + +"The sun is about to rise," said Bearwarden; "in a few minutes we +shall have enough light." + +They cut out a dozen thick slices of tenderloin steak, and soon +were broiling and eating a substantial breakfast. + +"There are not as many spectators to watch us eat here," said +Cortlandt, "as in the woods. I suggest that, after returning to +camp for our blankets and things, we steer for the Callisto, via +this Triceratops, to see what creatures have been attracted by +the body." + +On finishing their meal they returned to the place at which they +had passed the night. Having straightened the protection-wires, +which had become twisted, and arranged their impedimenta, they +set out, and were soon once more beside their latest victim. + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + THE HONEY OF DEATH. + +At first nothing seemed to have been disturbed, when they +suddenly perceived that both forelegs were missing. On further +examination they found that the ponderous tail, seven feet in +diameter, was cut through in two places, the thicker portion +having disappeared, and that the heavy bones in this extremity of +the vertebral column had been severed like straws. The cut +surfaces were but little cooler than the interior of the body, +showing how recently the mutilation had been effected. + +"By all the gods!" exclaimed Bearwarden, "it is easy to see the +method in this; the hunters have again cut off only those parts +that could be easily rolled. These Jovian fellows must have +weapons compared with which the old scythe chariots would be but +toys, with which they amputate the legs of their victims. We +must see to it that their scimitars do not come too near to us, +and I venture to hope that in our bullets they will find their +match. What say you, doctor?" + +"I see no depression such as such heavy bodies would necessarily +have made had they been rolled along the ground, neither does it +seem to me that these curious tracks in the sand are those of +men." + +The loose earth looked as if the cross-ties of some railroad had +been removed, the space formerly occupied having been but partly +filled, and these depressions were across the probable direction +of motion. + +"Whatever was capable of chasing mastodons and carrying such +weights," said Ayrault, "will, I suspect, have little to fear +from us. Probably nothing short of light artillery would leave +much effect." + +"I dare say," replied Bearwarden, "we had better give the unknown +quantity a wide berth, though I would give a year's salary to see +what it is like. The absence of other tracks shows that his +confreres leave 'Scissor- jaw' alone." + +Keeping a sharp lookout in all directions, they resumed their +march along the third side of the square which was to bring them +back to the Callisto. Their course was parallel to the stream, +and on comparatively high ground. Cortlandt's gun did good +service, bringing down between fifty and sixty birds that usually +allowed them to get as near as they pleased, and often seemed +unwilling to leave their branches. By the time they were ready +for luncheon they saw it would be dark in an hour. As the +rapidity of the planet's rotation did not give them a chance to +become tired, they concluded not to pitch their camp, but to +resume the march by moonlight, which would be easy in the high, +open country they were traversing. + +While in quest of fire-wood, they came upon great heaps of bones, +mostly those of birds, and were attracted by the tall, +bell-shaped flowers growing luxuriantly in their midst. These +exhaled a most delicious perfume, and at the centre of each +flower was a viscous liquid, the colour of honey. + +"If this tastes as well as it looks," said Bearwarden, "it will +come in well for dessert"; saying which he thrust his finger into +the recesses of the flower, intending to taste the essence. +Quietly, but like a flash, the flower closed, his hand being +nearly caught and badly scratched by the long, sharp thorns that +now appeared at the edges. + +"Ha!" he exclaimed, "a sensitive and you may almost say a +man-eating plant. This doubtless has been the fate of these +birds, whose bones now lie bleaching at its feet after they have +nourished its lips with their lives. No doubt the plant has use +for them still, since their skeletons may serve to fertilize its +roots." + +Wishing to investigate further, Bearwarden placed one of the +birds they had shot within the bell of another flower, which +immediately contracted with such force that they saw drops of +blood squeezed out. After some minutes the flower opened, as +beautiful as ever, and discharged an oblong ball compressed to +about the size of a hen's egg, though the bird that was placed +within it had been as large as a small duck. Towards evening +these flowers sent up their most beautiful song, to hear which +flocks of birds came from far and near, alighting on the trees, +and many were lured to death by the siren strains and the honey. + +Before resuming their journey, the travellers paid a parting +visit to the bell-shaped lilies on their pyramids of bones. The +flowers were closed for the night, and the travellers saw by the +moonlight that the white mounds were simply alive with +diamond-headed snakes. These coiled themselves, flattened their +heads, and set up such a hissing on the explorers' approach that +they were glad to retire, and leave this curious contrast of +hideousness and beauty to the fire-flies and the moons. Marching +along in Indian file, the better to avoid treading on the +writhing serpents that strewed the ground, they kept on for about +two hours. They frequently passed huge heaps or mounds of bones, +evidently the remains of bears or other large animals. The +carnivorous plants growing at their centre were often like hollow +trees, and might easily have received the three travellers in one +embrace. But as before, the mounds were alive with serpents that +evidently made them their homes, and raised an angry hiss +whenever the men approached. + +"The wonder to me," said Bearwarden, "is, that these snakes do +not protect the game, by keeping it from the life-devouring +plants. It may be that they do not show themselves by day or +when the victims are near, or that the quadrupeds on which these +plants live take a pleasure, like deer, in killing them by +jumping with all four feet upon their backs or in some other way, +and after that are entrapped by the flowers." + +Shortly after midnight they rested for a half hour, but the dawn +found them trudging along steadily, though somewhat wearily, and +having about completed the third side of their square. +Accordingly, they soon made a right-angle turn to the left, and +had been picking their way over the rough ground for nearly two +hours, with the sun already high in the sky, when they noticed a +diminution of light. Glancing up, they saw that one of the moons +was passing across the sun, and that they were on the eve of a +total eclipse. + +"Since all but the fifth moon," said Cortlandt, "revolve exactly +in the plane of Jupiter's equator, any inhabitants that settle +there will become accustomed to eclipses, for there must be one +of the sun, and also of the moons, at each revolution, or about +forty-five hundred in every Jovian year. The reason we have seen +none before is, because we are not exactly on the equator." + +They had a glimpse of the coronal streamers as the last portion +of the sun was covered, and all the other phenomena that attend +an eclipse on earth. For a few minutes there was a total return +to night. The twinkling stars and other moons shone tranquilly +in the sky, and even the noise of the insects ceased. Presently +the edge of the sun that had been first obscured reappeared, and +then Nature went through the phenomenon of an accelerated dawn. +Without awaiting a full return of light, the travellers proceeded +on their way, and had gone something over a hundred yards when +Ayrault, who was marching second, suddenly grasped Bearwarden, +who was in front, and pointed to a jet-black mass straight ahead, +and about thirty yards from a pool of warm water, from which a +cloud of vapour arose. The top of the head was about seven feet +high, and the length of the body exceeded thirty feet. The six +legs looked as strong as steel cables, and were about a foot +through, while a huge, bony proboscis nine feet in length +preceded the body. This was carried horizontally between two and +three feet from the ground. Presently a large ground sloth came +to the pool to drink, lapping up the water at the sides that had +partly cooled. In an instant the black armored monster rushed +down the slope with the speed of a nineteenth-century locomotive, +and seemed about as formidable. The sloth turned in the +direction of the sound, and for a moment seemed paralyzed with +fear; it then started to run, but it was too late, for the next +second the enormously exaggerated ant--for such it was--overtook +it. The huge mandible shears that when closed had formed the +proboscis, snapped viciously, taking off the sloth's legs and +then cutting its body to slivers. The execution was finished in +a few seconds, and the ponderous insect carried back about half +the sloth to its hiding-place, where it leisurely devoured it. + +"This reminds me," said Bearwarden, "of the old lady who never +completed her preparations for turning in without searching for +burglars under the bed. Finally she found one, and exclaimed in +delight, 'I've been looking for you fifty years, and at last you +are here!' The question is, now that we have found our burglar, +what shall we do with him?" + +"I constantly regret not having a rifle," replied Cortlandt, +"though it is doubtful if even that would help us here." + +"Let us sit down and wait," said Ayrault; "there may be an +opening soon." + +Anon a woolly rhinoceros, resembling the Rhinoceros tichorhinus +that existed contemporaneously on earth with the mammoth, came to +drink the water that had partly cooled. It was itself a +formidable-looking beast, but in an instant the monster again +rushed from concealment with the same tremendous speed. The +rhinoceros turned in the direction of the sound, and, lowering +its head, faced the foe. The ant's shears, however, passed +beneath the horn, and, fastening upon the left foreleg, cut it +off with a loud snap. + +"Now is our chance," exclaimed Cortlandt; "we may kill the brute +before he is through with the rhinoceros." + +"Stop a bit, doctor," said Bearwarden. "We have a good record so +far; let us keep up our reputation for being sports. Wait till +he can attend to us." + +The encounter was over in less than a minute, three of the +rhinoceros's legs being taken off, and the head almost severed +from the body. Taking up the legs in its mandibles, the +murderous creature was returning to its lair, when, with the cry +of "Now for the fray!" Bearwarden aimed beneath the body and +blew off one of the farther armoured legs, from the inside. +"Shoot off the legs on the same side," he counselled Ayrault, +while he himself kept up a rapid fire. Cortlandt tried to +disconcert the enemy by raining duck-shot on its scale- protected +eyes, while the two rifles tore off great masses of the horn that +covered the enormously powerful legs. The men separated as they +retreated, knowing that one slash of the great shears would cut +their three bodies in halves if they were caught together. The +monster had dropped the remains of the rhinoceros when attacked, +and made for the hunters at its top speed, which was somewhat +reduced by the loss of one leg. Before it came within cutting +distance, however, another on the same side was gone, Ayrault +having landed a bullet on a spot already stripped of armour. +After this the men had no difficulty in keeping out of its way, +though it still moved with some speed, snipping off young trees +in its path like grass. Finally, having blown the scales from +one eye, the travellers sent in a bullet that exploded in the +brain and ended its career. + +"This has been by all odds the most exciting hunt we have had," +said Ayrault, "both on account of the determined nature and great +speed of the attack, and the almost impossibility of finding a +vulnerable spot." + +"Anything short of explosive bullets," added Bearwarden, "would +have been powerless against this beast, for the armour in many +places is nearly a foot thick." + +"This is also the most extraordinary as well as most dangerous +creature with which we have, had to deal," said Cortlandt, +"because it is an enormously enlarged insect, with all the +inherent ferocity and strength. It is almost the exact +counterpart of an African soldier-ant magnified many hundred +thousand times. I wonder," he continued thoughtfully, "if our +latter-day insects may not be the deteriorated (in point of size) +descendants of the monsters of mythology and geology, for nothing +could be a more terrible or ferocious antagonist than many of our +well-known insects, if sufficiently enlarged. No animal now +alive has more than a small fraction of the strength, in +proportion to its size, of the minutest spider or flea. It may +be that through lack of food, difficulties imposed by changing +climate, and the necessity of burrowing in winter, or through +some other conditions changed from what they were accustomed to, +their size has been reduced, and that the fire-flies, huge as +they seemed, are a step in advance of this specimen in the march +of deterioration or involution, which will end by making them as +insignificant as those on earth. These ants have probably come +into the woods to lay their eggs, for, from the behaviour of the +animals we watched from the turtle, there must have been several; +or perhaps a war is in progress between those of a different +colour, as on earth, in which case the woods may be full of them. +Doubtless the reason the turtle seemed so unconcerned at the +general uneasiness of the animals was because he knew he could +make himself invulnerable to the marauder by simply closing his +shell, and we were unmolested because it did not occur to the ant +that any soft-shelled creatures could be on the turtle's back." + +"I think," said Bearwarden, "it will be the part of wisdom to +return to the Callisto, and do the rest of our exploring on +Jupiter from a safe height; for, though we succeeded in disabling +this beauty, it was largely through luck, and had we not done so +we should probably have provided a bon bouche for our deceased +friend, instead of standing at his grave." + +Accordingly they proceeded, and were delighted, a few minutes +later, to see the sunlight reflected from the projectile's +polished roof. + + + + CHAPTER X. + + CHANGING LANDSCAPES. + +On reaching the Callisto, Ayrault worked the lock he had had +placed on the lower door, which, to avoid carrying a key, was +opened by a combination. The car's interior was exactly as they +had left it, and they were glad to be in it again. + +"Now," said Bearwarden, "we can have a sound and +undisturbed sleep, which is what I want more than +anything else. No prowlers can trouble us here, and we +shall not need the protection-wires." + +They then opened a window in each side--for the large glass +plates, admitting the sun when closed, made the Callisto rather +warm--and placed a stout wire netting within them to keep out +birds and bats, and then, though it was but little past noon, got +into their comfortable beds and slept nine hours at a stretch. +Their strong metal house was securely at rest, receiving the +sunlight and shedding the rain and dew as it might have done on +earth. No winds or storms, lightnings or floods, could trouble +it, while the multiformed monsters of antiquity and mythology +restored in life, with which the terrestrials had been thrown +into such close contact, roamed about its polished walls. Not +even the fiercest could affect them, and they would but see +themselves reflected in any vain assaults. The domed symmetrical +cylinder stood there as a monument to human ingenuity and skill, +and the travellers' last thought as they fell asleep was, "Man is +really lord of creation." + +The following day at about noon they awoke, and had a bath in the +warm pool. They saw the armoured mass of the great ant evidently +undisturbed, while the bodies of its victims were already shining +skeletons, and raised a small cairn of stones in memory of the +struggle they had had there. + +"We should name this place Kentucky," said Bearwarden, "for it is +indeed a dark and bloody ground," and, seeing the aptness of the +appellation, they entered it so on their charts. While Ayrault +got the batteries in shape for resuming work. Bearwarden +prepared a substantial breakfast. This consisted of oatmeal and +cream kept hermetically sealed in glass, a dish of roast grouse, +coffee, pilot bread, a bottle of Sauterne, and another of Rhine +wine. + +"This is the last meal we shall take hereabouts," said their +cook, as they plied their knives and forks beneath the trees, "so +here is a toast to our adventures, and to all the game we have +killed." They drained their glasses in drinking this, after +which Bearwarden regaled them with the latest concert-hall song +which he had at his tongue's end. + +About an hour before dark they re-entered their projectile, and, +as a mark of respect to their little ship, named the great branch +of the continent on which they had alighted Callisto Point. They +then got under way. The batteries had to develop almost their +maximum power to overcome Jupiter's attraction; but they were +equal to the task, and the Callisto was soon in the air. +Directing their apergy to the mountains towards the interior of +the continent, and applying repulsion to any ridge or hill over +which they passed, thereby easing the work of the batteries +engaged in supporting the Callisto, they were soon sweeping along +at seventy-five to one hundred miles an hour. By keeping the +projectile just strongly enough charged to neutralize +gravitation, they remained for the most part within two hundred +feet of the ground, seldom rising to an altitude of more than a +mile, and were therefore able to keep the windows at the sides +open and so obtain an unobstructed view. If, however, at any +time they felt oppressed by Jupiter's high barometric pressure, +and preferred the terrestrial conditions, they had but to rise +till the barometer fell to thirty. Then, if an object of +interest recalled them to sea-level, they could keep the +Callisto's inside pressure at what they found on the Jovian +mountains, by screwing up the windows. On account of the +distance of sixty-four thousand miles from Jupiter's equator to +the pole, they calculated that going at the speed of a hundred +miles an hour, night and day, it would take them twenty-five +terrestrial days to reach the pole even from latitude two degrees +at which they started. But they knew that, if pressed for time, +they could rise above the limits of the atmosphere, and move with +planetary speed; while, if they wished a still easier method of +pursuing their observation, they had but to remain poised between +the sun and Jupiter, beyond the latter's upper air, and +photograph or map it as it revolved before them. + +By sunset they had gone a hundred miles. Wishing to push along, +they closed the windows, rose higher to avoid any mountain-tops +that might be invisible in the moonlight, and increased their +speed. The air made a gentle humming sound as they shot through +it, and towards morning they saw several bright points of light +in which they recognized, by the aid of their glasses, sheets of +flame and torrents of molten glowing lava, bursting at intervals +or pouring steadily from several volcanoes. From this they +concluded they were again near an ocean, since volcanoes need the +presence of a large body of water to provide steam for their +eruptions. + +With the rising sun they found the scene of the day before +entirely changed. They were over the shore of a vast ocean that +extended to the left as far as they could see, for the range of +vision often exceeded the power of sight. The coast-line ran +almost due north and south, while the volcanoes that dotted it, +and that had been luminous during the night, now revealed their +nature only by lines of smoke and vapours. They were struck by +the boldness and abruptness of the scenery. The mountains and +cliffs had been but little cut down by water and frost action, +and seemed in the full vigour of their youth, which was what the +travellers had a right to expect on a globe that was still +cooling and shrinking, and consequently throwing up ridges in the +shape of mountains far more rapidly than a planet as matured and +quiescent as the earth. The absence of lakes also showed them +that there had been no Glacial period, in the latitudes they were +crossing, for a very long time. + +"We can account for the absence of ice-action and scratches," +said Cortlandt, "in one of two ways. Either the proximity of the +internal heat to the surface prevents water from freezing in all +latitudes, or Jupiter's axis has always been very nearly +perpendicular to its orbit, and consequently the thermometer has +never been much below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit; for, at the +considerable distance we are now from the sun, it is easy to +conceive that, with the axis much inclined, there might be cold +weather, during the Northern hemisphere's winter, that would last +for about six of our years, even as near the equator as this. +The substantiation of an ice-cap at the pole will disprove the +first hypothesis; for what we took for ice before alighting may +have been but banks of cloud, since, having been in the plane of +the planet's equator at the time, we had naturally but a very +oblique view of the poles; while the absence of glacial scratches +shows, I take it, that though the axis may have been a good deal +more inclined than at present, it has not, at all events since +Jupiter's Palaeozoic period, been as much so as that of Uranus or +Venus. The land on Jupiter, corresponding to the Laurentian +Hills on earth, must even here have appeared at so remote a +period that the first surface it showed must long since have been +worn away, and therefore any impressions it received have also +been erased. + +"Comparing this land with the photographs we took from space, I +should say it is the eastern of the two crescent-shaped +continents we found apparently facing each other. Their present +form I take to be only the skeleton outline of what they will be +at the next period of Jupiter's development. They will, I +predict, become more like half moons than crescents, though the +profile may be much indented by gulfs and bays, their superficial +area being greatly increased, and the intervening ocean +correspondingly narrowed. We know that North America had a very +different shape during the Cretaceous or even the Middle Tertiary +period from what it has now, and that the Gulf of Mexico extended +up the valley of the Mississippi as far as the Ohio, by the +presence of a great coral reef in the Ohio River near Cincinnati. +We know also that Florida and the Southeastern Atlantic States +are a very recent addition to the continent, while the pampas of +the Argentine Republic have, in a geological sense, but just been +upheaved from the sea, by the fact that the rivers are all on the +surface, not having had time to cut down their channels below the +surrounding country. By similar reasoning, we know that the +canon of the Colorado is a very old region, though the +precipitateness of its banks is due to the absence of rain, for a +local water-supply would cut back the banks, having most effect +where they were steepest, since at those points it would move +with the greatest speed. Thus the majestic canon owes its +existence to two things: the length of time the river has been at +work, and the fact that the water flowing through it comes from +another region where, of course, there is rain, and that it is +merely in transit, and so affects only the bed on which it moves. +Granting that this is the eastern of the two continents we +observed, it evidently corresponds more in shape to the Eastern +hemisphere on earth than to the New World, both of which are set +facing one another, since both drain towards the Atlantic Ocean. +But the analogy here holds also, for the past outlines of the +Eastern hemisphere differed radically from what they are now. +The Mediterranean Sea was formerly of far greater extent than we +see it to-day, and covered nearly the whole of northern Africa +and the old upheaved sea-bottom that we see in the Desert of +Sahara. Much of this great desert, as we know, has a +considerable elevation, though part of it is still below the +level of the Mediterranean. + +"Perhaps a more striking proof of this than are the remains of +fishes and marine life that are found there, is the dearth of +natural harbours and indentations in Africa's northern coast, +while just opposite, in southern Europe, there are any number; +which shows that not enough time has elapsed since Africa's +upheaval for liquid or congealed water to produce them. Many of +Europe's best harbours, and Boston's, in our country, have been +dug out by slow ice-action in the oft-recurring Glacial periods. +The Black and Caspian Seas were larger than we now find them; +while the Adriatic extended much farther into the continent, +covering most of the country now in the valley of the Po. In +Europe the land has, of course, risen also, but so slowly that +the rivers have been able to keep their channels cut down; proof +of their ability to perform which feat we see when an ancient +river passes through a ridge of hills or mountains. The river +had doubtless been there long before the mountains began to rise, +but their elevation was so gradual that the rate of the river's +cutting down equalled or exceeded their coming up; proof of which +we have in the patent fact that the ancient river's course +remains unchanged, and is at right angles to the mountain chain. +From all of which we see that the Eastern hemisphere's crescent +hollow--of which, I take it, the Mediterranean, Black, and +Caspian Sea depressions are the remains--has been gradually +filled in, by the elevation of the sea's bottom, and the +extension of deltas from the detrital matter brought from the +high interior of the continents by the rivers, or by the combined +action of the two. Now, since the Gulf of Mexico has been +constantly growing smaller, and the Mediterranean is being +invaded by the land, I reason that similar causes will produce +like effects here, and give to each continent an area far greater +than our entire globe. The stormy ocean we behold in the west, +which corresponds to our Atlantic, though it is far more of a +mare clausum in the geographical sense, is also destined to +become a calm and placid inland sea. There are, of course, +modifications of and checks to the laws tending to increase the +land area. England was formerly joined to the continent, the +land connecting the two having been rather washed away by the +waves and great tides than by any sinking of the English +Channel's bottom, the whole of which is comparatively shallow. +Another case of this kind is seen in Cape Cod and the islands of +Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, all of which are washing away so +rapidly that they would probably disappear before the next +Glacial period, were we not engaged in preventing its recurrence. +These detached islands and sand-bars once formed one large +island, which at a still earlier time undoubtedly was joined to +the mainland. The sands forming the detached masses are in a +great processional march towards the equator, but it is the +result simply of winds and waves, there being no indication of +subsidence. Along the coast of New Jersey we see denudation and +sinking going on together, the well-known SUNKEN FOREST being an +instance of the latter. The border of the continent proper also +extends many miles under the ocean before reaching the edge of +the Atlantic basin. Volcanic eruptions sometimes demolish parts +of headlands and islands, though these recompense us in the +amount of material brought to the surface, and in the increased +distance they enable water to penetrate by relieving the interior +of part of its heat, for any land they may destroy." + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + A JOVIAN NIAGARA. + +Four days later, after crossing a ridge of mountains that the +pressure on the aneroid barometer showed to be about thirty-two +thousand feet high, and a stretch of flat country a few miles in +width, they came to a great arm of the sea. It was about thirty +miles wide at its mouth, which was narrowed like the neck of a +bottle, and farther inland was over one hundred miles across, and +though their glasses, the clear air, and the planet's size +enabled them to see nearly five hundred miles, they could not +find its end. In the shallow water along its shores, and on +the islands rising but a few feet above the waves, they saw +all kinds of amphibians and sea-monsters. Many of these were +almost the exact reproduction in life of the giant plesiosaurs, +dinosaurs, and elasmosaurs, whose remains are preserved in the +museums on earth. The reptilian bodies of the elasmosaurs, +seventy-five feet in length, with the forked tongues, distended +jaws and fangs of a snake, were easily taken for the often +described but probably mythical sea- serpent, as partially coiled +they occasionally raised their heads twelve or fifteen feet. + +"Man in his natural state," said Cortlandt, "would have but small +chance of surviving long among such neighbours. Buckland, I +think, once indulged in the jeu d'esprit of supposing an +ichthyosaur lecturing on the human skull. 'You will at once +perceive,' said the lecturer, 'that the skull before us belonged +to one of the lower order of animals. The teeth are very +insignificant, the power of the jaws trifling, and altogether it +seems wonderful how the creature could have procured food.' +Armed with modern weapons, and in this machine, we are, of +course, superior to the most powerful monster; but it is not +likely that, had man been so surrounded during the whole of his +evolution, he could have reached his present plane." + +Notwithstanding the striking similarity of these creatures to +their terrestrial counterparts that existed on earth during its +corresponding period, there were some interesting modifications. +The organs of locomotion in the amphibians were more developed, +while the eyes of all were larger, the former being of course +necessitated by the power of gravity, and the latter by the +greater distance from the sun. + +"The adaptability and economy of Nature," said Cortlandt, "have +always amazed me. In the total blackness of the Kentucky Mammoth +Cave, where eyes would be of no use to the fishes, our common +mother has given them none; while if there is any light, though +not as much as we are accustomed to, she may be depended upon to +rise to the occasion by increasing the size of the pupil and the +power of the eye. In the development of the ambulatory muscles +we again see her handiwork, probably brought about through the +'survival of the fittest.' The fishes and those wholly immersed +need no increase in power, for, though they weigh more than they +would on earth, the weight of the water they displace is +increased at the same rate also, and their buoyancy remains +unchanged. If the development of life here so closely follows +its lines on earth, with the exception of comparatively slight +modifications, which are exactly what, had we stopped to think, +we should have expected to find, may we not reasonably ask +whether she will not continue on these lines, and in time produce +beings like ourselves, but with more powerful muscles and eyes +capable of seeing clearly with less light? Reasoning by analogy, +we can come to no other conclusion, unless their advent is +anticipated by the arrival of ready-made colonists from the more +advanced earth, like ourselves. In that case man, by pursuing +the same destructive methods that he has pursued in regard to +many other species, may exterminate the intervening links, and so +arrest evolution." + +Before leaving Deepwaters Bay they secured a pail of its water, +which they found, on examination, contained a far larger +percentage of salt and solid material than the oceans on earth, +while a thermometer that they immediately immersed in it soon +registered eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit; both of which +discoveries confirmed them in what they already knew, namely, +that Jupiter had advanced comparatively little from the condition +in which the water on the surface is hot, in which state the +earth once was. + +They were soon beyond the estuary at which they had stopped to +study the forms of life and to make this test, and kept on due +north for several days, occasionally rising above the air. As +their familiarity with their surroundings increased, they made +notes of several things. The mountains covered far more +territory at their bases than the terrestrial mountains, and they +were in places very rugged and showed vast yawning chasms. They +were also wooded farther up their sides, and bore but little +snow; but so far the travellers had not found them much higher +than those on earth, the greatest altitude being the thirty-two +thousand feet south of Deepwaters Bay, and one other ridge that +was forty thousand; so that, compared with the size of the planet +and its continents, they seemed quite small, and the continents +themselves were comparatively level. They also noted that spray +was blown in vast sheets, till the ocean for miles was white as +milk. The wind often attained tornado strength, and the whole +surface of the water, about what seemed to be the storm centre, +frequently moved with rapidity in the form of foam. Yet, +notwithstanding this, the waves were never as large as those to +which they were accustomed on earth. This they accounted for +very easily by the fact that, while water weighed 2.55 times as +much as on earth, the pressure of air was but little more than +half as much again, and consequently its effect on all but the +very surface of the heavy liquid was comparatively slight. + +"Gravity is a useful factor here," observed Cortlandt, as they +made a note of this; "for, in addition to giving immunity from +waves, it is most effective in checking the elevation of high +mountains or table-lands in the high latitudes, which we shall +doubtless find sufficiently cool, or even cold, while in tropical +regions, which might otherwise be too hot, it interferes with +them least, on account of being partly neutralized by the rapid +rotation with which all four of the major planets are blessed." + +At sunrise the following morning they saw they were approaching +another great arm of the sea. It was over a thousand miles wide +at its mouth, and, had not the photographs showed the contrary, +they would have thought the Callisto had reached the northern end +of the continent. It extended into the land fifteen thousand +miles, and, on account of the shape of its mouth, they called it +Funnel Bay. Rising to a height, they flew across, and came to a +great table-land peninsula, with a chain of mountains on either +side. The southern range was something over, and the northern +something less than, five thousand feet in height, while the +table-land between sloped almost imperceptibly towards the +middle, in which, as they expected, they found a river compared +to which the Mississippi or the Amazon would be but a brook. In +honour of the President of the Terrestrial Axis Straightening +Company, they called this great projection, which averaged about +four thousand miles across by twelve thousand miles long, +Bearwarden Peninsula. They already noticed a change in climate; +the ferns and palms became fewer, and were succeeded by pines, +while the air was also a good deal cooler, which was easily +accounted for by their altitude--though even at that height it +was considerably denser than at sea- level on earth--and by the +fact that they were already near latitude thirty. + +The exposed points on the plateau, as also the summits of the +first mountains they had seen before alighting, were devoid of +vegetation, scarcely so much as a blade of grass being visible. +Since they could not account for this by cold, they concluded +that the most probable explanation lay in the tremendous +hurricanes that, produced by the planet's rapid rotation, +frequently swept along its surface, like the earth's trade-winds, +but with far more violence. On reaching the northern coast of +the peninsula they increased their elevation and changed their +course to northeast, not caring to remain long over the great +body of water, which they named Cortlandt Bay. The thousands of +miles of foam fast flew beneath them, the first thing attracting +their attention being a change in the ocean's colour. In the +eastern shore of Cortlandt Bay they soon observed the mouth of a +river, ten miles across, from which this tinted water issued in a +flood. On account of its colour, which reminded them of a stream +they knew so well, they christened it the Harlem. + +Believing that an expedition up its valley might reveal something +of interest, they began the ascent, remaining at an elevation of +a few hundred feet. For about three hundred miles they followed +this river, which had but few bends, while its sides became more +and more precipitous, till it flowed through a canon four and a +half miles across. Though they knew from the wide discoloration +of Cortlandt Bay that the volume of water discharged was +tremendous, the stream seldom moved at a rate of more than five +miles an hour, and for a time was free from rocks and rapids, +from which they concluded that it must be very deep. Half an +hour later they saw a cloud of steam or mist, which expanded, and +almost obscured the sky as they approached. Next they heard a +sound like distant thunder, which they took for the prolonged +eruption of some giant crater, though they had not expected to +find one so far towards the interior of the continent. Presently +it became one continuous roar, the echo in the canon, whose walls +were at this place over six hundred feet high, being simply +deafening, so that the near discharge of the heaviest artillery +would have been completely drowned. + +"One would think the end of the world was approaching!" shouted +Cortlandt through his hands. + +"Look!" Bearwarden roared back, "the wind is scattering the +mist." + +As he spoke, the vapoury curtain was drawn aside, revealing a +waterfall of such vast proportions as to dwarf completely +anything they had ever seen or even imagined. A somewhat open +horseshoe lip, three and a half miles straight across and over +four miles following the line of the curve, discharged a sheet of +water forty feet thick at the edge into an abyss six hundred feet +below. Two islands on the brink divided this sheet of liquid +into three nearly equal parts, while myriads of rainbows hovered +in the clouds of spray. Two things especially struck the +observers: the water made but little curve or sweep on passing +over the edge, and then rushed down to the abyss at almost +lightning speed, shivering itself to infinitesimal particles on +striking any rock or projection at the side. Its behaviour was, +of course, due to its weight, and to the fact that on Jupiter +bodies fall 40.98 feet the first second, instead of sixteen feet, +as on earth, and at correspondingly increasing speed. + +Finding that they were being rapidly dazed and stunned by the +noise, the travellers caused the Callisto to rise rapidly, and +were soon surveying the superb sight from a considerable +elevation. Their minds could grasp but slowly the full meaning +and titanic power of what they saw, and not even the vast falls +in their nearness could make their significance clear. Here was +a sheet of water three and a half miles wide, averaging forty +feet in depth, moving at a rapid rate towards a sheer fall of six +hundred feet. They felt, as they gazed at it, that the power of +that waterfall would turn backward every engine and dynamo on the +earth, and it seemed as if it might almost put out the fires of +the sun. Yet it was but an illustration of the action of the +solar orb exerted on a vast area of ocean, the vapour in the form +of rain being afterwards turned into these comparatively narrow +limits by the topography of the continent. Compared with this, +Niagara, with its descent of less than two hundred feet, and its +relatively small flow of water, would be but a rivulet, or at +best a rapid stream. Reluctantly leaving the fascinating +spectacle, they pursued their exploration along the river above +the falls. For the first few miles the surface of the water was +near that of the land; there were occasional rapids, but few +rocks, and the foaming torrent moved at great speed, the red +sandstone banks of the river being as polished as though they had +been waxed. After a while the obstructions disappeared, but the +water continued to rush and surge along at a speed of ten or +twelve miles an hour, so that it would be easily navigable only +for logs or objects moving in one direction. The surface of the +river was soon on an average fifty feet below the edge of the +banks, this depression being one result of the water's rapid +motion and weight, which facilitated the carving of its channel. + +When they had followed up the river about sixty miles towards its +source they came upon what at first had the appearance of an +ocean. They knew, however, from its elevation, and the flood +coming from it, that the water must be fresh, as they soon found +it was. This lake was about three hundred miles wide, and +stretched from northeast to southwest. There was rolling land +with hills about its shores, and the foliage on the banks was a +beautiful shade of bluish purple instead of the terrestrial +ubiquitous green. + +When near the great lake's upper end, they passed the mouth of a +river on their left side, which, from its volume, they concluded +must be the principal source, and therefore they determined to +trace it. They found it to be a most beautiful stream, averaging +two and a half miles in width, evidently very deep, and with a +full, steady current. After proceeding for several hours, they +found that the general placidity grew less, the smooth surface +occasionally became ruffled by projecting rocks and rapids, and +the banks rose till the voyagers again found themselves in a +ravine or canon. + +During their sojourn on Jupiter they had had but little +experience with the tremendous winds that they knew, from reason +and observation, must rage in its atmosphere. They now heard +them whistling over their heads, and, notwithstanding the +protection afforded by the sides of the canon, occasionally +received a gust that made the Callisto swerve. They kept on +steadily, however, till sunset, at which time it became very dark +on account of the high banks, which rose as steeply as the +Palisades on the Hudson to a height of nearly a thousand feet. +Finding a small island near the eastern bank, they were glad to +secure the Callisto there for the night, below the reach of the +winds, which they, still heard singing loudly but with a musical +note in what seemed to them like the sky. + +"It is incomprehensible to me." said Ayrault, as they sat at +dinner, "how the sun, at a distance of four hundred and +eighty-three million miles, can raise the amount of water we have +here passing us, and compared with which the discharge of the +greatest river on earth would be insignificant, to say nothing of +the stream we ascended before reaching this." + +"We must remember," replied Cortlandt, "that many of the +conditions are different here from those that exist on earth. We +know that some of the streams are warm, and even hot, and that +the temperature of Deepwaters Bay, and doubtless that of the +ocean also, is considerably higher than ours. This would +facilitate evaporation. The density of the atmosphere and the +tremendous winds, of which I suspect we may see more later, must +also help the sun very much in its work of raising vapour. But +the most potent factor is undoubtedly the vast size of the basin +that these rivers drain." + +"The great speed at which the atmospheric currents move," said +Bearwarden, "coupled with the comparative lowness of the mountain +chains and the slight obstruction they offer to their passage, +must distribute the rain very thoroughly, notwithstanding the +great unbroken area of the continents. There can be no such +state of things here as exists in the western part of South +America, where the Andes are so high that any east-bound clouds, +in crossing them, are shoved up so far into a cold region that +all moisture they may have brought from the Pacific is condensed +into rain, with which parts of the western slope are deluged, +while clouds from the Atlantic have come so far they have already +dispersed their moisture, in consequence of which the region just +east of the Andes gets little if any rain. It is bad for a +continent to have its high mountains near the ocean from which it +should get its rain, and good for it to have them set well back." + +"I should not be surprised," said Cortlandt, "if we saw another +waterfall to-morrow, though not in the shape of rain. In the +hour before we stopped we began to see rapids and protruding +rocks. That means that we are coming to a part of the channel +that is comparatively new, since the older parts have had time to +wear smooth. I take it, then, that we are near the foot of a +retreating cascade, which we may hope soon to see. That is +exactly the order in which we found smooth water and rapids in +river No. 1, which we have named the Harlem." + +After this, not being tired, they used the remaining dark hours +for recording their recent adventures. + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + HILLS AND VALLEYS. + +With the first light they resumed their journey, and an hour +after setting out they sighted, as Cortlandt had predicted, +another cloud of vapour. The fall--for such it proved to be--was +more beautiful than the other, for, though the volume of water +was not so great, it fell at one leap, without a break, and at +the same tremendous speed, a distance of more than a thousand +feet. The canon rang with the echoes, while the spray flew in +sheets against the smooth, glistening, sandstone walls. Instead +of coming from a river, as the first fall had, this poured at +once from the rocky lip, about two miles across, of a lake that +was eleven hundred feet above the surging mass in the vale below. + +"It is a thousand pities," said Bearwarden, "that this cataract +has got so near its source; for, at the rate these streams must +cut, this one in a few hundred years, unless something is done to +prevent it, will have worn back to the lake, and then good-bye to +the falls, which will become a series of rapids. Perhaps the +first effect will be merely to reduce by a few feet the height of +the falls, in which case they will remain in practically the same +place." + +About the shores of this lake they saw rhinoceroses with long +thick wool, and herds of creatures that much resembled buffaloes. + +"I do not see," said Bearwarden, "why the identical species +should not exist here that till recently, in a geological sense, +inhabited the earth. The climate and all other conditions are +practically the same on both planets, except a trifling +difference in weight, to which terrestrials would soon adapt +themselves. We know by spectroscopic analysis that hydrogen, +iron, magnesium, and all our best-known substances exist in the +sun, and even the stars, while the earth contains everything we +have found in meteorites. Then why make an exception of life, +instead of supposing that at corresponding periods of development +the same living forms inhabit all? It would be assuming the +eternal sterilization of the functions of Nature to suppose that +our earth is the only body that can produce them." + +"The world of organic life is so much more complex," replied +Cortlandt, "than that of the crystal, that it requires great +continuity. So far we certainly have seen no men, or anything +like them, not even so much as a monkey, though I suppose, +according to your reasoning, Jupiter has not advanced far enough +to produce even that." + +"Exactly," replied Bearwarden, "for it will require vast periods; +and, according to my belief, at least half the earth's time of +habitability had passed before man appeared. But we see Jupiter +is admirably suited for those who have been developed somewhere +else, and it would be an awful shame if we allowed it to lie +unimproved till it produces appreciative inhabitants of its own, +for we find more to admire in one half-hour than its entire +present population during its lifetime. Yet, how magnificent +this world is, and how superior in its natural state to ours! +The mountainous horns of these crescent-shaped continents protect +them and the ocean they enclose from the cold polar marine +currents, and in a measure from the icy winds; while the elevated +country on the horns near the equator might be a Garden of Eden, +or ideal resort. To be sure, the continents might support a +larger population, if more broken up, notwithstanding the +advantage resulting from the comparatively low mountains along +the coasts, and the useful winds. A greater subdivision of land +and water, more great islands connected by isthmuses, and more +mediterraneans joined by straits, would be a further advantage to +commerce; but with the sources of power at hand, the resistless +winds and water-power, much increased in effectiveness by their +weight, the great tides when several moons are on the same side, +or opposite the sun, internal heat near the surface, and abundant +coal-supply doubtless already formed and also near the surface, +such small alterations could be made very easily, and would serve +merely to prevent our becoming rusty. + +"As Jupiter's distance from the sun varies from 506,563,000 miles +at aphelion to only 460,013,000 at perihelion, this difference, +in connection with even the slight inclination of the axis, must +make a slight change in seasons, but as the inclination is +practically nothing, almost the entire change results from the +difference in distance. This means that the rise or fall in +temperature is general on every degree of latitude, all being +warmed simultaneously, more or less, as the planet approaches or +departs from the sun. It means also that about the same +conditions that Secretary Deepwaters suggested as desirable for +the earth, prevail here, and that Jupiter represents, therefore, +about the acme of climate naturally provided. On account of its +rapid rotation and vast size, the winds have a tornado's +strength, but they are nothing at this distance from the sun to +what they would be if a planet with its present rate of rotation +and size were where Venus or even the earth is. In either of +these positions no land life with which we are acquainted could +live on the surface; for the slope of the atmospheric isobars--i. +e., the lines of equal barometric pressure that produce wind by +becoming tilted through unequal expansion, after which the air, +as it were, flows down-hill--would be too great. The ascending +currents about the equator would also, of course, be vastly +strengthened; so that we see a wise dispensation of Providence in +placing the large planets, which also rotate so rapidly, at a +great distance from the sun, which is the father of all winds, +rotation alone, however rapid, being unable to produce them." + +They found this lake was about six times the size of Lake +Superior, and that several large and small streams ran into its +upper end. These had their sources in smaller lakes that were at +slightly higher elevations. Though the air was cool, the sun +shone brightly, while the ground was covered with flowers +resembling those of the northern climes on earth, of all shapes +and lines. Twice a day these sent up their song, and trees were +covered with buds, and the birds twittered gaily. The streams +murmured and bubbled, and all things reminded the travellers of +early morning in spring. + +"If anything could reconcile me," said Bearwarden, "to exchange +my active utilitarian life for a rustic poetical existence, it +would be this place, for it is far more beautiful than anything I +have seen on earth. It needs but a Maud Muller and a few cows to +complete the picture, since Nature gives us a vision of eternal +peace and repose." + +Somehow the mention of Maud Muller, and the delicate and refined +flowers, whose perfume he inhaled, brought up thoughts that were +never far below the surface in Ayrault's mind. "The place is +heavenly enough," said he, "to make one wish to live and remain +here forever, but to me it would be Hamlet with Hamlet left out." + +"Ah! poor chap," said Cortlandt, "you are in love, but you are +not to be pitied, for though the thrusts at the heart are sharp, +they may be the sweetest that mortals know." + +The following morning they reluctantly left the picturesque +shores of Lake Serenity, with their beautiful tints and foliage, +and resumed the journey, to explore a number of islands in the +ocean in the west, which were recorded on their negatives. +Ascending to rarefied air, they saw great chains of mountains, +which they imagined ran parallel to the coast, rising to +considerable altitudes in the east. The tops of all glistened +with a mantle of snow in the sunlight, while between the ridges +they saw darker and evidently fertile valleys. They passed, +moving northwest, over large and small lakes, all evidently part +of the same great system, and continued to sweep along for +several days with a beautiful panorama, as varying as a +kaleidoscope, spread beneath their eyes. They observed that the +character of the country gradually changed. The symmetrically +rounded mountains and hills began to show angles, while great +slabs of rock were split from the faces. The sides also became +less vertical, and there was an accumulation of detrital +fragments about their bases. These heaps of fractured stone had +in some cases begun to disintegrate and form soil, on which there +was a scant growth of vegetation; but the sides and summits, +whose jaggedness increased with their height, were absolutely +bare. + +"Here," said Cortlandt, "we have unmistakable evidence of frost +and ice action. The next interesting question is, How recently +has denudation occurred? The absence of plant life at the +exposed places," he continued, as if lecturing to a class, "can +be accounted for here, as nearer the equator, by the violence of +the wind; but I greatly doubt whether water will now freeze in +this latitude at any season of the year, for, even should the +Northern hemisphere's very insignificant winter coincide with the +planet's aphelion, the necessary drop from the present +temperature would be too great to be at all probable. If, then, +it is granted that ice does not form here now, notwithstanding +the fact that it has done so, the most plausible conclusion is +that the inclination of Jupiter's axis is automatically changing, +as we know the earth's has often done. There being nothing +incompatible in this view with the evidence at hand, we can +safely assume it correct for the time being at least. When +farther south, you remember, we found no trace of ice action, +notwithstanding the comparative slowness with which we decided +that the ridges in the crust had been upheaved on account of the +resisting power of gravity, and, as I see now, also on account of +Jupiter's great mass, which must prevent its losing its heat +anything like as fast as the earth has, in which I think also we +have the explanation of the comparatively low elevation of the +mountains that we found we could not account for by the power of +gravitation alone.[2] From the fact that the exposed surface +farther south must be old, on account of the slow upheaval and +the slight wear to which it is exposed, about the only wearing +agent being the wind, which would be powerless to erase +ice-scratches, especially since, on account of gravity's power, +it cannot, like our desert winds, carry much sand--which, as we +know, has cut away the base of the Sphinx--I think it is logical +to conclude that, though Jupiter's axis is changing naturally as +the earth's has been, it has never varied as much as twenty-three +and a half degrees, and certainly to nothing like the extent to +which we see Venus and Uranus tilted to-day." + +[2] It is well known that mountain chains are but ridges or +foldings in the crust upheaved as the interior cools and shrinks. +This is proved by reason and by experiments with viscous clay or +other material placed upon a sheet of stretched rubber, which is +afterwards allowed to contract, whereupon the analogues of +mountain ridges are thrown up. + + +"I follow you," said Bearwarden, "and do not see how we could +arrive at anything else. From Jupiter's low specific gravity, +weighing but little more than an equal bulk of water, I should +say the interior must be very hot, or else is composed of light +material, for the crust's surface, or the part we see, is +evidently about as dense as what we have on earth. These things +have puzzled me a good deal, and I have been wondering if Jupiter +may not have been formed before the earth and the smaller +planets." + +"The discrepancies between even the best authorities," replied +Cortlandt, "show that as yet but little has been discovered from +the earth concerning Jupiter's real condition. The two theories +that try to account for its genesis are the ring theory and the +nebulous. We know that the sun is constantly emitting vast +volumes of heat and light, and that, with the exception of the +heat resulting from the impact of falling meteors, it receives +none from outside, the principal source being the tremendous +friction and pressure between the cooling and shrinking strata +within the great mass of the sun itself. A seeming paradox +therefore comes in here, which must be considered: If the sun +were composed entirely of gas, it would for a time continue to +grow hotter; but the sun is incessantly radiating light and heat, +and consequently becoming smaller. Therefore the farther back we +go the hotter we find the sun, and also the larger, till, instead +of having a diameter of eight hundred and eighty thousand miles, +it filled the space now occupied by the entire solar system. +Here is where the two theories start. According to the first, +the revolving nebulous mass threw off a ring that became the +planet Neptune, afterwards another that contained the material +for Uranus, and so on, the lightest substance in the sun being +thrown off first, by which they accounted for the lightness of +the four great planets, and finally Mars, the earth, and the +small dense planets near the sun. The advocates of this theory +pointed to Saturn's rings as an illustration of the birth of a +planet, or, rather, in that case a satellite. According to this, +the major planets have had a far longer separate existence than +the minor, which would account for their being so advanced +notwithstanding their size. This theory may again come into +general acceptance, but for the present it has been discredited +by the nebulous. According to this second theory, at the time +the sun filled all the space inside of Neptune's, orbit, or +extended even farther, several centres of condensation were +formed within the nebulous, gaseous mass. The greatest centre +became the sun, and the others, large and small, the planets, +which--as a result of the spiral motion of the whole, such as is +now going on before our eyes in the great nebulae of fifty- one +M. Canuin venaticorum, and many others--began to revolve about +the greatest central body of gas. As the separate masses cooled, +they shrank, and their surfaces or extreme edges, which at first +were contiguous, began to recede, which recession is still going +on with some rapidity on the part of the sun, for we may be sure +its diameter diminishes as its density increases. According to +either theory, as I see it, the major planets, on account of +their distance from the central mass, have had longer separate +existences than the minor, and are therefore more advanced than +they would be had all been formed at the same time. + +"This theory explains the practical uniformity in the chemical +composition of all members of this system by assuming that they +were all once a part of the same body, and you may say brothers +and sisters of the sun, instead of its offspring. It also makes +size the only factor determining temperature and density, but of +course modified by age, since otherwise Jupiter would have a far +less developed crust than that with which we find it. I have +always considered the period from the molten condition to that +with a crust as comparatively short, which stands to reason, for +radiation has then no check; and the period from the formation of +the crust, which acts as a blanket, to the death of a planet, as +very long. I have not found this view clearly set forth in any +of the books I have read, but it seems to me the simplest and +most natural explanation. Now, granted that the solar system was +once a nebula, on which I think every one will agree--the same +forces that changed it into a system of sun and planets must be +at work on fifty-one M. Canum venaticorum, Andromeda, and ninety- +nine M. Virginis, and must inevitably change them to suns, each +with doubtless a system of planets. + +"If, then, the condition of a nebula or star depends simply on +its size, it is reasonable to suppose that Andromeda, Sirius, and +all the vast bodies we see, were created at the same time as our +system, which involves the necessity of one general and +simultaneous creation day. But as Sirius, with its diameter of +twelve million miles, must be larger than some of the nebulae +will be when equally condensed, we must suppose rather that +nebulae are forming and coming into the condition of bright and +dead stars, much as apples or pears on a fruit tree are +constantly growing and developing, so that the Mosaic description +of the creation would probably apply in point of time only to our +system, or perhaps to our globe, though the rest will doubtless +pass through precisely the same stages. This, I think, I will +publish, on our return, as the Cortlandt astronomical doctrine, +as the most rational I have seen devised, and one that I think we +may safely believe, until, perhaps, through increased knowledge, +it can be disproved." + +After they crossed a line of hills that ran at right angles to +their course they found the country more rolling. All streams +and water-courses flowed in their direction, while their aneroid +showed them that they were gradually descending. When they were +moving along near the surface of the ground, a delicious and +refined perfume exhaled by the blue and white flowers, that had +been growing smaller as they journeyed northward, frequently +reached their nostrils. To Cortlandt and Bearwarden it was +merely the scent of a flower, but to Ayrault it recalled mental +pictures of Sylvia wearing violets and lilies that he had given +her. He knew that the greatest telescopes on earth could not +reveal the Callisto moving about in Jupiter's sunshine, as even a +point of light, at that distance, and, notwithstanding +Cortlandt's learning and Bearwarden's joviality, he felt at times +extremely lonely. + +They swept along steadily for fifty hours, having bright sunny +days and beautifully moonlit nights. They passed over finely +rounded hills and valleys and well- watered plains. As they +approached the ocean and its level the temperature rose, and +there was more moisture in the air. The plants and flowers also +increased in size, again resembling somewhat the large species +they had seen near the equator. + +"This would be the place to live," said Bearwarden, looking at +iron mountains, silver, copper, and lead formations, primeval +forests, rich prairies, and regions evidently underlaid with coal +and petroleum, not to mention huge beds of aluminum clay, and +other natural resources, that made his materialistic mouth water. +"It would be joy and delight to develop industries here, with no +snow avalanches to clog your railroads, or icy blizzards to +paralyze work, nor weather that blights you with sun-strokes and +fevers. On our return to the earth we must organize a company to +run regular interplanetary lines. We could start on this globe +all that is best on our own. Think what boundless possibilities +may be before the human race on this planet, which on account of +its vast size will be in its prime when our insignificant earth +is cold and dead and no longer capable of supporting life! Think +also of the indescribable blessing to the congested communities +of Europe and America, to find an unlimited outlet here! Mars is +already past its prime, and Venus scarcely habitable, but in +Jupiter we have a new promised land, compared with which our +earth is a pygmy, or but little more than microscopic." + +"I see," said Ayrault, "that the possibilities here have no +limit; but I do not see how you can compare it to the promised +land, since, till we undertook this journey, no one had even +thought of Jupiter as a habitable place." + + "I trace the Divine promise," replied Bearwarden, "in what you +described to us on earth as man's innate longing and desire to +rise, and in the fact that the Almighty has given the race +unbounded expansiveness in very limited space. This would look +to me as the return of man to the garden of Eden through +intellectual development, for here every man can sit under his +own vine and fig-tree." + +"It seems to me," said Cortlandt, "that no paradise or heaven +described in anything but the Bible compares with this. +According to Virgil's description, the joys on the banks of his +river Lethe must have been most sad and dreary, the general +idleness and monotony apparently being broken only by wrestling +matches between the children, while the rest strolled about with +laurel wreaths or rested in the shade. The pilot Palinurus, who +had been drowned by falling overboard while asleep, but who +before that had presumably done his duty, did not seem especially +happy; while the harsh, resentful disposition evidently remained +unsoftened, for Dido became like a cliff of Marpesian marble when +AEneas asked to be forgiven, though he had doubtless considered +himself in duty bound to leave her, having been twice commanded +to do so by Mercury, the messenger of Jove. She, like the rest, +seems to have had no occupation, while the consciences of few +appear to have been sufficiently clear to enable them to enjoy +unbroken rest." + +"The idleness in the spirit-land of all profane writers," added +Bearwarden, "has often surprised me too. Though I have always +recommended a certain amount of recreation for my staff--in fact, +more than I have generally had myself--an excess of it becomes a +bore. I think that all real progress comes through thorough +work. Why should we assume that progress ceases at death? I +believe in the verse that says, 'We learn here on earth those +things the knowledge of which is perfected in heaven.'" + +"According to that," said Cortlandt, "you will some day be +setting the axis of heaven right, for in order to do work there +must be work to be done--a necessary corollary to which is that +heaven is still imperfect." + +"No," said Bearwarden, bristling up at the way Cortlandt +sometimes received his speeches, "it means simply that its +development, though perfect so far as it goes, may not be +finished, and that we may be the means, as on earth, of helping +it along." + +"The conditions constituting heaven," said Ayrault, "may be as +fixed as the laws of Nature, though the products of those +conditions might, it seems to me, still be forming and subject to +modification thereby. The reductio ad absurdu would of course +apply if we supposed the work of creation absolutely finished." + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + NORTH-POLAR DISCOVERIES. + +Two days later, on the western horizon, they beheld the ocean. +Many of the streams whose sources they had seen when they crossed +the divide from the lake basin, and whose courses they had +followed, were now rivers a mile wide, with the tide ebbing and +rising within them many hundreds of miles from their mouths. +When they reached the shore line they found the waves breaking, +as on earth, upon the sands, but with this difference: they had +before noted the smallness of the undulations compared with the +strength of the wind, the result of the water's weight. These +waves now reminded them of the behaviour of mercury, or of melted +lead when stirred on earth, by the rapidity with which the crests +dropped. Though the wind was blowing an on-shore gale, there was +but little combing, and when there was any it lasted but a +second. The one effort of the crests and waves seemed to be to +remain at rest, or, if stirred in spite of themselves, to +subside. + +When over the surface of the ocean, the voyagers rose to a height +of thirty thousand metres, and after twenty- four hours' +travelling saw, at a distance of about two hundred miles, what +looked like another continent, but which they knew must be an +island. On finding themselves above it, they rose still higher +to obtain a view of its outlines and compare its shape with that +of the islands in the photographs they had had time to develop. +The length ran from southeast to northwest. Though crossed by +latitude forty, and notwithstanding Jupiter's distance from the +sun, the southern side had a very luxuriant vegetation that was +almost semi-tropical. This they accounted for by its total +immunity from cold, the density of the air at sea-level, and the +warm moist breezes it received from the tepid ocean. The climate +was about the same as that of the Riviera or of Florida in +winter, and there was, of course, no parching summer. + +"This shows me," said Bearwarden, "that a country's climate +depends less on the amount of heat it receives from the sun than +on the amount it retains; proof of which we have in the tops of +the Himalayas perpetually covered with snow, and snow-capped +mountains on the very equator, where they get the most direct +rays, and where those rays have but little air to penetrate. It +shows that the presence of a substantial atmosphere is as +necessary a part of the calculation in practice as the sun +itself. I am inclined to think that, with the constant effect of +the internal heat on its oceans and atmosphere, Jupiter could get +along with a good deal less solar heat than it receives, in proof +of which I expect to find the poles themselves quite comfortable. +The reason the internal heat is so little taken into account on +earth is because, from the thickness of the crust, it cannot make +itself felt; for if the earth were as chilled through as ice, the +people on the surface would not feel the difference." + +A Jovian week's explorations disclosed the fact that though the +island's general outlines were fairly regular, it had deep-water +harbours, great rivers, and land-locked gulfs and bays, some of +which penetrated many hundred miles into the interior. It also +showed that the island's length was about six thousand miles, and +its breadth about three thousand, and that it had therefore about +the superficial area of Asia. They found no trace of the great +monsters that had been so numerous on the mainland, though there +were plenty of smaller and gentle-looking creatures, among them +animals whose build was much like that of the prehistoric horse, +with undeveloped toes on each side of the hoof, which in the +modern terrestrial horse have disappeared, the hoof being in +reality but a rounded-off middle finger. + + "It is wonderful," said Bearwarden, "how comparatively narrow +a body of water can keep different species entirely separate. +The island of Sumatra, for instance, is inhabited by marsupials +belonging to the distinct Australian type, in which the female, +as in the kangaroo, carries the slightly developed young in a +pouch; while the Malay peninsula, joined to the mainland, has all +the highly developed animals of Asia and the connected land of +the Eastern hemisphere, the narrow Malacca Strait being all that +has kept marsupials and mammals apart, though the separating +power has been increased by the rapid current setting through. +This has decreased the chance of creatures carried to sea on +drift-wood or uprooted trees getting safely over to such a degree +that apparently none have survived; for, had they done so, we may +be certain that the mammals, with the advantage their young have +over the marsupials, would soon have run them out, the marsupials +being the older and the less perfect form of life of the two." + +Before leaving the beautiful sea-girt region beneath them, +Cortlandt proposed that it be named after their host, which +Bearwarden seconded, whereupon they entered it as Ayrault Island +on the charts. After this they rose to a great height, and flew +swiftly over three thousand miles of ocean till they came to +another island not quite as large as the first. It was four +thousand five hundred miles long by something less than three +thousand wide, and was therefore about the size of Africa. It +had several high ranges of mountains and a number of great rivers +and fine harbours, while murmuring, bubbling brooks flowed +through its forest glades. There were active volcanoes along the +northern coast, and the blue, crimson, and purple lines in the +luxuriant foliage were the most beautiful they had ever seen. + +"I propose," said Bearwarden, "that we christen this Sylvialand." +This Cortlandt immediately seconded, and it was so entered on the +charts. + +"These two islands," said Bearwarden, "may become the centres of +civilization. With flying machines and cables to carry +passengers and information, and ships of great displacement for +the interchange of commodities, there is no limit to their +possible development. The absence of large waves will also be +very favourable to sea-spiders, which will be able to run at +tremendous speeds. The constancy in the eruptions of the +volcanoes will offer a great field to Jovian inventors, who will +unquestionably be able to utilize their heat for the production +of steam or electricity, to say nothing of an inexhaustible +supply of valuable chemicals. They may contain the means of +producing some force entirely different from apergy, and as +superior to electricity as that is to steam. Our earthly +volcanoes have been put to slight account because of the long +intervals between eruptions." + +After leaving Sylvialand they went westward to the eastern of the +two crescent continents. It was separated from the island by +about six thousand miles of ocean, and had less width than the +western, having about the proportions of a three-day crescent, +while the western had the shape of the moon when four or five +days old. They found the height of the mountains and plateaus +somewhat less than on the eastern continent, but no great +difference in other respects, except that, as they went towards +the pole, the vegetation became more like that of Scotland or a +north temperate region than any they had seen. On reaching +latitude fifty they again came out over the ocean to investigate +the speckled condition they had observed there. They found a +vast archipelago covering as great an area as the whole Pacific +Ocean. The islands varied from the size of Borneo and Madagascar +to that of Sicily and Corsica, while some contained but a few +square miles. The surface of the archipelago was about equally +divided between land and water. + +"It would take good navigation or an elaborate system of +light-houses," said Bearwarden, "for a captain to find the +shortest course through these groups." + +The islands were covered with shade trees much resembling those +on earth, and the leaves on many were turning yellow and red, for +this hemisphere's autumn had already begun. + +"The Jovian trees," said Cortlandt, "can never cease to bear, +though the change of seasons is evidently able to turn their +colour, perhaps by merely ripening them. When a ripe leaf falls +off, its place is doubtless soon taken by a bud, for germination +and fructification go on side by side." + +Before leaving, they decided to name this Twentieth Century +Archipelago, since so much of the knowledge appertaining to it +had been acquired in their own day. At latitude sixty the +northern arms of the two continents came within fifteen hundred +miles of each other. The eastern extension was split like the +tail of a fish, the great bay formed thereby being filled with +islands, which also extended about half of the distance across. +The western extremity shelved very gradually, the sand-bars +running out for miles just below the surface of the water. + +After this the travellers flew northward at great speed in the +upper regions of the air, for they were anxious to hasten their +journey. They found nothing but unbroken sea, and not till they +reached latitude eighty-seven was there a sign of ice. They then +saw some small bergs and field ice, but in no great quantities. +As their outside thermometer, when just above the placid +water--for there were no waves here--registered twenty- one +degrees Fahrenheit, they accounted for this scarcity of ice by +the absence of land on which fresh water could freeze, and by the +fact that it was not cold enough to congeal the very salt +sea-water. + +Finally they reached another archipelago a few hundred miles in +extent, the larger islands of which were covered with a sheet of +ice, at the edges of which small icebergs were being formed by +breaking off and slowly floating. Finding a small island on +which the coating was thin, they grounded the Callisto, and +stepped out for the first time in several days. The air was so +still that a small piece of paper released at a height of six +feet sank slowly and went as straight as the string of a +plumb-line. The sun was bisected by the line of the horizon, and +appeared to be moving about them in a circle, with only its upper +half visible. As Jupiter's northern hemisphere was passing +through its autumnal equinox, they concluded they had landed +exactly at the pole. + +"Now to work on our experiment," said Cortlandt. "I wonder how we +may best get below the frozen surface?" + +"We can explode a small quantity of dynamite," replied +Bearwarden, "after which the digging will be comparatively easy." + +While Cortlandt and Bearwarden prepared the mine, Ayrault brought +out a pickaxe, two shovels, and the battery and wires with which +to ignite the explosive. They made their preparations within one +hundred feet of the Callisto, or much nearer than an equivalent +amount of gunpowder could have been discharged. + +"This recalls an old laboratory experiment, or rather lecture," +said Cortlandt, as they completed the arrangements, "for the +illustration is not as a rule carried out. Explode two pounds of +powder on an iron safe in a room with the windows closed, and the +windows will be blown out, while the safe remains uninjured. +Explode an equivalent amount of dynamite on top of the safe, and +it will be destroyed, while the glass panes are not even cracked. +This illustrates the difference in rapidity with which the +explosions take place. To the intensely rapid action of dynamite +the air affords as much resistance as a solid substance, while +the explosion of the powder is so slow that the air has time to +move away; hence the destruction of the windows in the first +case, and the safe in the second." + +When they had moved beyond the danger line, Bearwarden, as the +party's practising engineer, pressed the button, and the +explosion did the rest. They found that the ground was frozen to +a depth of but little more than a foot, below which it became +perceptibly warm. Plying their shovels vigorously, they had soon +dug the hole so deep that its edges were above their heads. When +the floor was ten feet below the surrounding level the +thermometer registered sixty. + +"This is scarcely a fair test," said Cortlandt, "since the heat +rises and is lost as fast as given off. Let us therefore close +the opening and see in what time it will melt a number of cubic +feet of ice." + +Accordingly they climbed out, threw in about a cart-load of ice, +and covered the opening with two of the Callisto's thick rugs. +In half an hour all the ice had melted, and in another half hour +the water was hot. + +"No arctic expedition need freeze to death here," said +Bearwarden, "since all a man would have to do would be to burrow +a few feet to be as warm as toast." + +As the island on which they had landed was at one side of the +archipelago, but was itself at the exact pole, it followed that +the centre of the archipelago was not the part farthest north. +This in a measure accounted for the slight thickness of ice and +snow, for the isobaric lines would slope, and consequently what +wind there was would flow towards the interior of the +archipelago, whose surface was colder than the surrounding ocean. +The moist air, however, coming almost entirely from the south, +would lose most of its moisture by condensation in passing over +the ice-laden land, and so, like the clouds over the region east +of the Andes, would have but little left to let fall on this +extreme northern part. The blanketing effect of a great +thickness of snow would also cause, the lower strata of ice to +melt, by keeping in the heat constantly given off by the warm +planet. + +"I think there can be no question," said Cortlandt, "that, as a +result of Jupiter's great flattening at the poles and the drawing +of the crust, which moves faster in Jupiter's rotation than any +other part, towards the equator, the crust must be particularly +thin here; for, were it as thin all over, there would be no space +for the coal-beds, which, judging from the purity of the +atmosphere, must be very extensive. Further, we can recall that +the water in the hot spring near which we alighted, which +evidently came from a far greater depth than we have here, was +not as hot as this. The conclusion is clear that elsewhere the +internal heat is not as near the surface as here." + +"The more I see of Jupiter," exclaimed Bearwarden +enthusiastically, "the more charmed I become. It almost exactly +supplies what I have been conjuring up as my idea of a perfect +planet. Its compensations of high land near the equator, and low +with effective internal heat at the poles, are ideal. The gradual +slope of its continental elevations, on account of their extent, +will ease the work of operating railways, and the atmosphere's +density will be just the thing for our flying machines, while +Nature has supplied all sources of power so lavishly that no +undertaking will be too great. Though land as yet, to judge by +our photographs, occupies only about one eighth of the surface, +we know, from the experience of the other planets, that this is +bound to increase; so that, if the human race can perpetuate +itself on Jupiter long enough, it will undoubtedly have one +fourth or a larger proportion for occupation, though the land +already upheaved comprises fully forty times the area of our +entire globe, which, as we know, is still three-fourths water." + +"Since we have reached what we might call the end of Jupiter, and +still have time, continued Ayrault, "let us proceed to Saturn, +where we may find even stranger things than here. I hoped we +could investigate the great red spot, but am convinced we have +seen the beginning of one in Twentieth Century Archipelago, and +what, under favourable conditions, will be recognized as such on +earth." + +It was just six terrestrial weeks since they had set out, and +therefore February 2d on earth. + +"It would be best, in any case, to start from Jupiter's equator," +said Cortlandt, "for the straight line we should make from the +surface here would be at right angles to Saturn. We shall +probably, in spite of ourselves, swing a few degrees beyond the +line, and so can get a bird's-eye view of some portion of the +southern hemisphere." + +"All aboard for Saturn!" cried Bearwarden enthusiastically, in +his jovial way. "This will be a journey." + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE SCENE SHIFTS. + +Having returned the rugs to the Callisto, they applied the +maximum power of the batteries to rising, closed all openings +when the barometer registered thirty, and moved off into space. +When Several thousand miles above the pole, they diverted part of +the power to attracting the nearest moon that was in the plane of +Jupiter's equator, and by the time their upward motion had ceased +were moving well in its direction. Their rapid motion aided the +work of resisting gravity, since their car had in fact become a +small moon, revolving, like those of Uranus or that of Neptune, +in an orbit varying greatly from the plane of the ecliptic. As +they flew south at a height ranging from two thousand to three +thousand miles, the planet revolved before them, and they had a +chance of obtaining a thorough view. There were but a few +scattered islands on the side of the Northern hemisphere opposite +to that over which they had reached the pole, and in the varying +colours of the water, which they attributed to temperature or to +some substance in solution, they recognized what they had always +heard described on earth as the bands of Jupiter, encircling the +planet with great belts, the colour varying with the latitude. +At about latitude forty-five these bands were purple, farther +south light olive green, and at the equator a brown orange. +Shortly after they swung across the equator the ocean again +became purple, and at the same time a well-defined and very +brilliant white spot came into view. Its brightness showed +slight variations in intensity, though its general shape remained +unchanged. It had another peculiarity, in that it possessed a +fairly rapid motion of its own, as it moved eastward across the +surface of the ocean. It exhibited all the phenomena of the +storm they had watched in crossing Secretary Deepwaters Bay, but +covered a larger area, and was far more violent. Their glasses +showed them vast sheets of spray driven along at tremendous +speed, while the surface was milky white. + +"This," said Bearwarden, picking up a book, "solves to my mind +the mystery of the white spot described by the English writer +Chambers, in 1889, as follows: + +"'During the last few years a brilliant white spot has been +visible on the equatorial border of the great southern belt. A +curious fact in connection with this spot is, that it moves with +a velocity of some two hundred and sixty miles per hour greater +than the red spot. Denning obtained one hundred and sixty-nine +observations of this bright marking during the years 1880-1883, +and determined the period as nine hours, fifty minutes, eight and +seven tenths seconds (five and a half minutes less than that of +the red spot). Although the latter is now somewhat faint, the +white spot gives promise of remaining visible for many years. +During the year 1886 a large number of observations of Jupiter +were made at the Dearborn Observatory, Chicago, U. S., by Prof. +G. W. Hough, using the eighteen-and-a-half-inch refractor of the +observatory. Inasmuch as these observations are not only of high +intrinsic interest, but are in conflict, to some extent, with +previous records, a somewhat full abstract of them will be +useful: The object of general interest was the great red spot. +The outline, shape, and size of this remarkable object has +remained without material change from the year 1879, when it was +first observed here, until the present time. According to our +observations, during the whole of this period it has shown a +sharp and well-defined outline, and at no time has it coalesced +or been joined to any belt in its proximity, as has been alleged +by some observers. During the year 1885 the middle of the spot +was very much paler in colour than the margins, causing it to +appear as an elliptical ring. The ring form has continued up to +the present time. While the outline of the spot has remained +very constant, the colour has changed materially from year to +year. During the past three years (1884- '86) it has at times +been very faint, so as barely to be visible. The persistence of +this object for so many years leads me to infer that the formerly +accepted theory, that the phenomena seen on the surface of the +planet are atmospheric, is no longer tenable. The statement so +often made in text-books, that in the course of a few days or +months the whole aspect of the planet may be changed, is +obviously erroneous. The oval white spots on the southern +hemisphere of the planet, nine degrees south of the equator, have +been systematically observed at every opposition during the past +eight years. They are generally found in groups of three or +more, but are rather difficult to observe. The rotation period +deduced from them is nearly the same as from the great red spot. +These spots usually have a slow drift in longitude of about five +seconds daily in the direction of the planet's rotation, when +referred to the great red spot; corresponding to a rotation +period of twenty seconds less than the latter.' + +"This shows," continued Bearwarden, "that as long ago as towards +the close of the nineteenth century the old idea that we saw +nothing but the clouds in Jupiter's atmosphere was beginning to +change; and also how closely the two English writers and Prof. +Hough were studying the subject, though their views did not +entirely agree. A white spot is merely a storm-centre passing +round and round the planet, the wind running a little ahead of +the surface, which accounts for its rapid rotation compared with +the red spot, which is a fixture. A critic may say we have no +such winds on earth; to which I reply, that winds on a planet of +Jupiter's size, with its rate of rotation--though it is +480,000,000 miles from the sun and the internal heat is so near +the surface--and with land and water arranged as they are, may +and indeed must be very different from those prevailing on earth, +the conditions producing and affecting them being so changed. +Though the storm-centre moves two hundred and sixty miles an +hour, the wind need not blow at that rate." + +Later they saw several smaller spots drifting eastward, but +concluded that any seaworthy ship might pass safely through them, +for, though they were hurricanes of great violence, the waves +were small. + +"There would be less danger," said Bearwarden, "of shipping seas +here than there is on earth; the principal risk to travellers +would be that of being blown from the deck. On account of the +air's weight in connection with its velocity, this would +necessitate some precaution." + +The next object of interest was the great red spot. It proved, +as Cortlandt had predicted, to be a continent, with at that time +no special colour, though they easily recognized it by comparing +its outlines with those of the spot in the map. Its length, as +they already knew, was twenty-seven thousand miles, and its +breadth about eight thousand miles, so that it contained more +square miles than the entire surface of the earth, land and water +included. + +"It is clear," said Cortlandt, "that at some season of Jupiter's +long year a change takes place that affects the colour of the +leaves--some drought or prolonged norther; for it is obvious that +that is the simplest explanation. In like manner we may expect +that at some times more white spots will move across the ocean +than at others." + +"On account of the size of these continents and oceans," said +Bearwarden, "it is easy to believe that many climatic conditions +may prevail here that can scarcely exist on earth. But what a +magnificent world to develop, with its great rivers, lakes, and +mountains showing at even this distance, and what natural +resources must be lying there dormant, awaiting our call! This +constantly recurs to my mind. The subjugation and thorough +opening up of this red spot continent will probably supply more +interesting problems than straightening the axis of the earth." + +"At our next visit," replied Ayrault, "when we have established +regular interplanetary lines of travel, we may have an +opportunity to examine it more closely." Then they again +attracted the nearest moon beyond which they had swung, increased +the repulsion on Jupiter, and soared away towards Saturn. + +"We have a striking illustration of Jupiter's enormous mass," +said Cortlandt, as the apparent diameter of the mighty planet +rapidly decreased, "in the fact that notwithstanding its numerous +moons, it still rotates so rapidly. We know that the earth's +days were formerly but half or a quarter as long as now, having +lasted but six or eight hours. The explanation of the elongation +is simple: the earth rotates in about twenty-four hours, while +the moon encircles it but once in nearly twenty- eight days, so +that our satellite is continually drawing the oceans backward +against its motion. These tidal brakes acting through the +friction of the water on the bottom, its unequal pressure, and +the impact of the waves on the shore, are continually retarding +its rotation, so that the day is a fraction of a second longer +now than it was in the time of Caesar. This same action is of +course taking place in Jupiter and the great planets, in this +case there being five moons at work. Our moon, we know, rotates +on its axis but once while it revolves about the earth, this +being no doubt due to its own comparative smallness and the great +attraction of the earth, which must have produced tremendous +tides before the lunar oceans disappeared from its surface." + +In crossing the orbits of the satellites, they passed near +Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. + +"This," said Cortlandt, "was discovered by Galileo in +1610. It is three thousand four hundred and eighty miles +in diameter, while our moon is but two thousand one +hundred and sixty, revolves at a distance of six hundred +and seventy-eight thousand three hundred miles from +Jupiter, completes its revolution in seven days and four +hours, and has a specific gravity of 1.87." + +In passing, they observed that Ganymede possessed an atmosphere, +and continents and oceans of large area. + +"Here," said Bearwarden, "we have a body with a diameter about +five hundred miles greater than the planet Mercury. Its size, +light specific gravity, atmosphere, and oceans seem to indicate +that it is less advanced than that planet, yet you think Jupiter +has had a longer separate existence than the planets nearer the +sun?" + +"Undoubtedly," said Cortlandt. "Jupiter was condensed while in +the solar-system nebula, and began its individual existence and +its evolutionary career long before Mercury was formed. The +matter now in Ganymede, however, doubtless remained part of the +Jupiter-system nebula till after Mercury's creation, and, being +part of so great a mass, did not cool very rapidly. I should say +that this satellite has about the same relation to Jupiter that +Jupiter has to the sun, and is therefore younger in point of time +as well as of development than the most distant Callisto, and +older, at all events in years, than Europa and Io, both of which +are nearer. This supposition is corroborated by the fact that +Europa, the smallest of these four, is also the densest, having a +specific gravity of 2.14, its smallness having enabled it to +overtake Ganymede in development, notwithstanding the latter's +start. In the face of the evidence before us we must believe +this, or else that, perhaps, as in the case of the asteroid +Hilda, something like a collision has rejuvenated it. This might +account for its size, and for the Nautical Almanac's statement +that there is a 'small and variable' inclination to its orbit, +while Io and Europa revolve exactly in the plane of Jupiter's +equator." + +They had about as long a journey before them as they had already +made in going from the earth to Jupiter. The great planet soon +appeared as a huge crescent, since it was between them and the +sun; its moons became as fifth- and sixth-magnitude stars, and in +the evening of the next day Jupiter's disk became invisible to +the unaided eye. Since there were no way stations, in the shape +of planets or asteroids, between Jupiter and Saturn, they kept +the maximum repulsion on Jupiter as long as possible, and moved +at tremendous speed. Saturn was somewhat in advance of Jupiter +in its orbit, so that their course from the earth had been along +two sides of a triangle with an obtuse angle between. During the +next four terrestrial days they sighted several small comets, but +spent most of their time writing out their Jovian experiences. +During the sixth day Saturn's rings, although not as much tilted +as they would be later in the planet's season, presented a most +superb sight, while they spun in the sun's rays. Soon after this +the eight moons became visible, and, while slightly reducing the +Callisto's speed, they crossed the orbits of Iapetus, Hyperion, +and Titan, when they knew they were but seven hundred and fifty +thousand miles from Saturn. + +"I am anxious to ascertain," said Cortlandt, "whether the +composition of yonder rings is similar to that of the comet +through which we passed. I am sure they shine with more than +reflected light." + +"We have been in the habit," said Ayrault, "of associating heat +with light, but it is obvious there is something far more subtle +about cometary light and that of Saturn's rings, both of which +seem to have their birth in the intense cold of interplanetary +space." + +Passing close to Mimas, Saturn's nearest moon, they supplemented +its attraction, after swinging by, by their own strong pull, +bringing their speed down to dead slow as they entered the +outside ring. At distances often of half a mile they found +meteoric masses, sometimes lumps the size of a house, often no +larger than apples, while small particles like grains of sand +moved between them. There were two motions. The ring revolved +about Saturn, and the particles vibrated among themselves, +evidently kept apart by a mutual repulsion, which seemed both to +increase and decrease faster than gravitation; for on approaching +one another they were more strongly repelled than attracted, but +when they separated the repulsion decreased faster than the +attraction, so that after a time divergence ceased, and they +remained at fixed distances. + +The Callisto soon became imbued with motion also, but nothing +ever struck it. When any large mass came unusually near, both it +and their car emitted light, and they rapidly separated. The +sunlight was not as strong here as it had been when they entered +the comet, and as they penetrated farther they were better able +to observe the omnipresent luminosity. They were somewhat +puzzled by the approach of certain light-centres, which seemed to +contain nothing but this concentrated brightness. Occasionally +one of these centres would glow very brightly near them, and +simultaneously recede. At such times the Callisto also glowed, +and itself recoiled slightly. At first the travellers could not +account for this, but finally they concluded that the centres +must be meteoric masses consisting entirely of gases, possessing +weight though invisible. + +"We have again to face," said Cortlandt, "that singular law that +till recently we did not suppose existed on earth. All kinds of +suppositions have been advanced in explanation of these rings. +Some writers have their thickness, looked at from the thin edge, +as four hundred miles, some one hundred, and some but forty. One +astronomer of the nineteenth century, a man of considerable +eminence, was convinced that they consisted of sheets of liquid. +Now, it should be obvious that no liquid could maintain itself +here for a minute, for it would either fall upon the planet as a +crushing hail, or, if dependent for its shape on its own +tenacity, it would break if formed of the toughest steel, on +account of the tremendous weight. Any number of theories have +been advanced by any number of men, but in weight we have the +rub. No one has ever shown how these innumerable fragments +maintain themselves at a height of but a few thousand miles above +Saturn, withstanding the giant's gravitation-pull. Their rate of +revolution, though rapid, does not seem fast enough to sustain +them. Neither have I ever seen it explained why the small +fragments do not fall upon the large ones, though many +astronomers have pictured the composition of these rings as we +find they exist. Nor do we know why the molecules of a gas are +driven farther apart by heat, while their activity is also +increased, though if this activity were revolution about one +another to develop the centrifugal, it would not need to be as +strong then as when they are cold and nearer together. There may +be explanations, but I have found none in any of the literature I +have read. It seems to me that all this leads to but one +conclusion, viz.: apergy is the constant and visible companion of +gravitation, on these great planets Jupiter and Saturn, perhaps +on account of some peculiar influence they possess, and also in +comets, in the case of large masses, while on earth it appears +naturally only among molecules--those of gases and every other +substance." + +"I should go a step further," said Bearwarden, "and say our earth +has the peculiarity, since it does not possess the influence +necessary to generate naturally a great or even considerable +development of apergy. The electricity of thunderstorms, +northern lights, and other forces seems to be produced freely, +but as regards apergy our planet's natural productiveness appears +to be small." + +The omnipresent luminosity continued, but the glow was scarcely +bright enough to be perceived from the earth. + +"I believe, however," said Bearwarden, referring to this, "that +whenever a satellite passes near these fragments, preferably when +it enters the planet's shadow, since that will remove its own +light, it will create such activity among them as to make the +luminosity visible to the large telescopes or gelatine plates on +earth." + +"Now," said Ayrault, "that we have evolved enough theories to +keep astronomers busy for some time, if they attempt to discuss +them, I suggest that we alight and leave the abstract for the +concrete." + +Whereupon they passed through the inner ring and rapidly sank to +the ground. + + + + BOOK III. + + CHAPTER I. + + SATURN. + +Landing on a place about ten degrees north of the equator, so +that they might obtain a good view of the great rings--since ON +the line only the thin edge would be visible--they opened a +port-hole with the same caution they had exercised on Jupiter. +Again there was a rush of air, showing that the pressure without +was greater than that within; but on this occasion the barometer +stopped at thirty-eight, from which they calculated that the +pressure was nineteen pounds to the square inch on their bodies, +instead of fifteen as at sea-level on earth. This difference was +so slight that they scarcely felt it. They also discarded the +apergetic outfits that had been so useful on Jupiter, as +unnecessary here. The air was an icy blast, and though they +quickly closed the opening, the interior of the Callisto was +considerably chilled. + +"We shall want our winter clothes," said Bearwarden; "it might be +more comfortable for us exactly on the equator, though the scene +at night will be far finer here, if we can stand the climate. +Doubtless it will also be warmer soon, for the sun has but just +risen." + +"I suspect this is merely one of the cold waves that rush towards +the equator at this season, which corresponds to about the 10th +of our September," replied Cortlandt. "The poles of Saturn must +be intensely cold during its long winter of fourteen and three +quarter years, for, the axis being inclined twenty-seven degrees +from the perpendicular of its orbit, the pole turned from the sun +is more shut off from its heat than ours, and in addition to this +the mean distance--more than eight hundred and eighty million +miles--is very great. Since the chemical composition of the air +we have inhaled has not troubled our lungs, it is fair to suppose +we shall have no difficulty in breathing." + +Having dressed themselves more warmly, and seen by a thermometer +they had placed outside that the temperature was thirty-eight +degrees Fahrenheit, which had seemed very cold compared with the +warmth inside the Callisto, they again opened the port-hole, this +time leaving it open longer. What they had felt before was +evidently merely a sudden gust, for the air was now comparatively +calm. + +Finding that the doctor's prediction as to the suitability of the +air to their lungs was correct, they ventured out, closing the +door as they went. + +Expecting, as on Jupiter, to find principally vertebrates of the +reptile and bird order, they carried guns and cartridges loaded +with buckshot and No. 1, trusting for solid-ball projectiles to +their revolvers, which they shoved into their belts. They also +took test- tubes for experiments on the Saturnian bacilli. +Hanging a bucket under the pipe leading from the roof, to catch +any rain that might fall--for they remembered the scarcity of +drinking-water on Jupiter--they set out in a southwesterly +direction. + +Walking along, they noticed on all sides tall lilies immaculately +pure in their whiteness, and mushrooms and toadstools nearly a +foot high, the former having a delicious flavour and extreme +freshness, as though only an hour old. They had seen no animal +life, or even sign of it, and were wondering at its dearth, when +suddenly two large white birds rose directly in front of them. +Like thought, Bearwarden and Ayrault had their guns up, snapping +the thumb-pieces over "safe" and pulling the triggers almost +simultaneously. Bearwarden, having double buckshot, killed his +bird at the first fire; but Ayrault, having only No. 1, had to +give his the second barrel, almost all damage in both cases being +in the head. On coming close to their victims they found them to +measure twelve feet from tip to tip, and to have a tremendous +thickness of feathers and down. + +"From the looks of these beauties," said Bearwarden, "I should +say they probably inhabited a pretty cold place." + +"They are doubtless northern birds," said Cortlandt, "that have +just come south. It is easy to believe that the depth to which +the temperature may fall in the upper air of this planet must be +something startling." + +As they turned from the cranes, to which species the birds seemed +to belong, they became mute with astonishment. Every mushroom +had disappeared, but the toadstools still remained. + +"Is it possible we did not see them?" gasped Ayrault. + +"We must inadvertently have walked some distance since we saw +them," said Cortlandt. + +"They were what I looked forward to for lunch," exclaimed +Bearwarden. + +They were greatly perplexed. The mushrooms were all about them +when they shot the birds, which still lay where they had fallen. + +"We must be very absent-minded," said the doctor, "or perchance +our brains are affected by the air. We must analyze it to see if +it contains our own proportion of oxygen and nitrogen. There was +a good deal of carbonic-acid gas on Jupiter, but that would +hardly confuse our senses. The strange thing is, that we all +seem to have been impressed the same way." + +Concluding that they must have been mistaken, they continued on +their journey. + +All about they heard a curious humming, as that of bees, or like +the murmuring of prayers in a resonant cathedral. Thinking it +was the wind in the great trees that grew singly around them, +they paid no attention to it until, emerging on an open plain and +finding that the sound continued, they stopped. + +"Now," said Bearwarden, "this is more curious than anything we +found on Jupiter. Here we have an incessant and rather pleasant +sound, with no visible cause." + +"It may possibly be some peculiarity of the grass," replied +Cortlandt, "though, should it continue when we reach sandy or +bare soil, I shall believe we need a dose of quinine." + +"I FEEL perfectly well," said Ayrault; "how is it with you?" + +Each finding that he was in a normal state, they proceeded, +determined, if possible, to discover the source from which the +sounds came. Suddenly Bearwarden raised his gun to bring down a +long-beaked hawk; but the bird flew off, and he did not shoot. +"Plague the luck!" said he; "I went blind just as I was about to +pull. A haze seemed to cover both barrels, and completely +screened the bird." + +"The Callisto will soon be hidden by those trees," said +Cortlandt. "I think we had better take our bearings, for, if our +crack shot is going to miss like that, we may want canned +provisions." + +Accordingly, he got out his sextant, took the altitude of the +sun, got cross-bearings and a few angles, and began to make a +rough calculation. For several minutes he worked industriously, +used the rubber at the end of his pencil, tried again, and then +scratched out. "That humming confuses me so that I cannot work +correctly," said he, "while the most irrelevant things enter my +mind in spite of me, and mix up my figures." + +"I found the same thing," said Bearwarden, "but said nothing, for +fear I should not be believed. In addition to going blind, for a +moment I almost forgot what I was trying to do." + +Changing their course slightly, they went towards a range of +hills, in the hope of finding rocky or sandy soil, in order to +test the sounds, and ascertain if they would cease or vary. + +Having ascended a few hundred feet, they sat down near some trees +to rest, the musical hum continuing meanwhile unchanged. The +ground was strewn with large coloured crystals, apparently +rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, about the size of hens' eggs, +and also large sheets of isinglass. Picking up one of the +latter, Ayrault examined it. Points of light and shade kept +forming on its surface, from which rings radiated like the +circles spreading in all directions from a place in still water +at which a pebble is thrown. He called his companions, and the +three examined it. The isinglass was about ten inches long by +eight across, and contained but few impurities. In addition to +the spreading rings, curious forms were continually taking shape +and dissolving. + +"This is more interesting," said Bearwarden, "than sounding +shells at the sea-shore. We must make a note of it as another +thing to study." + +They then spread their handkerchiefs on a mound of earth, so as +to make a table, and began examining the gems. + +"Does it not seem to you," asked Ayrault, a few minutes later, +addressing his companions, "as though we were not alone? I have +thought many times there was some one--or perhaps several +persons--here besides ourselves." + +"The same idea has occurred to me," replied Cortlandt. "I was +convinced, a moment ago, that a shadow crossed the page on which +I was taking notes. Can it be there are objects about us we +cannot see? We know there are vibrations of both light and sound +that do not affect our senses. I wish we had brought the +magnetic eye; perchance that might tell us." + +"Anything sufficiently dense to cast a shadow," said Ayrault, +"should be seen, since it would also be able to make an image on +our retinas. I believe any impressions we are receiving are +produced through our minds, as if some one were thinking very +intently about us, and that neither the magnetic eye nor a +sensitive plate could reveal anything." + +They then returned to the study of the isinglass, which they were +able to split into extremely thin sheets. Suddenly a cloud +passed over the table, and almost immediately disappeared, and +then a sharpened pencil with which Ayrault had been writing began +to trace on a sheet of paper, in an even hand, and with a slight +frictional sound. + +"Stop!" said Bearwarden; "let us each for himself describe in +writing what he has seen." + +In a moment they had done this, and then compared notes. In each +case the vision was the same. Then they looked at the writing +made by the invisible hand. "Absorpta est mors in Victoria," it +ran. + +"Gentlemen, began Bearwarden, as if addressing a meeting, "this +cannot be coincidence; we are undoubtedly and unquestionably in +the presence of a spirit or of several spirits. That they +understand Latin, we see; and, from what they say, they may have +known death. Time may show whether they have been terrestrials +like ourselves. Though the conditions of life here might make us +delirious, it is scarcely possible that different temperaments +like ours should be affected in so precisely the same way; +besides, in this writing we have tangible proof." + +"It is perfectly reasonable," said Ayrault, "to conclude it was a +spirit, if we may assume that spirits have the power to move the +pencil, which is a material object. Nobody doubts nowadays that +after death we live again; that being the case, we must admit +that we live somewhere. Space, as I take it, can be no obstacle +to a spirit; therefore, why suppose they remain on earth?" + +"This is a wonderful place," said Cortlandt. "We have already +seen enough to convince us of the existence of many unknown laws. +I wish the spirit would reveal itself in some other way." + +As he finished speaking, the rays of the distant and cold-looking +sun were split, and the colours of the spectrum danced upon the +linen cloth, as if obtained by a prism. In astonishment, they +rose and looked closely at the table, when suddenly a shadow that +no one recognized as his own appeared upon the cover. Tracing it +to its source, their eyes met those of an old man with a white +robe and beard and a look of great intelligence on his calm face. +They knew he had not been in the little grove thirty seconds +before, and as this was surrounded by open country there was no +place from which he could have come. + + + + CHAPTER II. + + THE SPIRIT'S FIRST VISIT. + +"Greetings and congratulations," he said. "Man has +steadfastly striven to rise, and we see the results in +you." + +"I have always believed in the existence of spirits," said +Cortlandt, "but never expected to see one with my natural eyes." + +"And you never will, in its spiritual state," replied the shade, +"unless you supplement sight with reason. A spirit has merely +existence, entity, and will, and is entirely invisible to your +eyes." + +"How is it, then, that we see and hear you?" asked Cortlandt. +"Are you a man, or a spectre that is able to affect our senses?" + +"I WAS a man," replied the spirit, "and I have given myself +visible and tangible form to warn you of danger. My colleagues +and I watched you when you left the cylinder and when you shot +the birds, and, seeing your doom in the air, have been trying to +communicate with you." + +"What were the strange shadows and prismatic colours that kept +passing across our table?" asked Bearwarden. + +"They were the obstructions and refractions of light caused by +spirits trying to take shape," replied the shade. + +"Do you mind our asking you questions?" said Cortlandt. + +"No," replied their visitor. "If I can, I will answer them." + +"Then," said Cortlandt, "how is it that, of the several spirits +that tried to become embodied, we see but one, namely, you?" + +"That," said the shade, "is because no natural law is broken. On +earth one man can learn a handicraft better in a few days than +another in a month, while some can solve with ease a mathematical +problem that others could never grasp. So it is here. Perhaps I +was in a favourable frame of mind on dying, for the so-called +supernatural always interested me on earth, or I had a natural +aptitude for these things; for soon after death I was able to +affect the senses of the friends I had left." + +"Are we to understand, then," asked Cortlandt, "that the reason +more of our departed do not reappear to us is because they +cannot?" + +"Precisely," replied the shade. "But though the percentage of +those that can return and reappear on earth is small, their +number is fairly large. History has many cases. We know that +the prophet Samuel raised the witch of Endor at the behest of +Saul; that Moses and Elias became visible in the transfiguration; +and that after his crucifixion and burial Christ returned to his +disciples, and was seen and heard by many others." + +"How," asked Bearwarden deferentially, "do you occupy your time?" + +"Time, replied the spirit, "has not the same significance to us +that it has to you. You know that while the earth rotates in +twenty-four hours, this planet takes but about ten; and the sun +turns on its own axis but once in a terrestrial month; while the +years of the planets vary from less than three months for Mercury +to Neptune's one hundred and sixty-four years. Being insensible +to heat and cold, darkness and light, we have no more changing +seasons, neither is there any night. When a man dies," he +continued with solemnity, "he comes at once into the enjoyment of +senses vastly keener than any be possessed before. Our eyes--if +such they can be called--are both microscopes and telescopes, the +change in focus being effected as instantaneously as thought, +enabling us to perceive the smallest microbe or disease-germ, and +to see the planets that revolve about the stars. The step of a +fly is to us as audible as the tramp of a regiment, while we hear +the mechanical and chemical action of a snake's poison on the +blood of any poor creature bitten, as plainly as the waves on the +shore. We also have a chemical and electrical sense, showing us +what effect different substances will have on one another, and +what changes to expect in the weather. The most complex and +subtle of our senses, however, is a sort of second sight that we +call intuition or prescience, which we are still studying to +perfect and understand. With our eyes closed it reveals to us +approaching astronomical and other bodies, or what is happening +on the other side of the planet, and enables us to view the +future as you do the past. The eyes of all but the highest +angels require some light, and can be dazzled by an excess; but +this attribute of divinity nothing can obscure, and it is the +sense that will first enable us to know God. By means of these +new and sharpened faculties, which, like children, we are +continually learning to use to better advantage, we constantly +increase our knowledge, and this is next to our greatest +happiness." + +"Is there any limit," asked Bearwarden, "to human progress on the +earth?" + +"Practically none," replied the spirit. "Progress depends +largely on your command of the forces of Nature. At present your +principal sources of power are food, fuel, electricity, the heat +of the interior of the earth, wind, and tide. From the first two +you cannot expect much more than now, but from the internal heat +everywhere available, tradewinds, and falling water, as at +Niagara, and from tides, you can obtain power almost without +limit. Were this all, however, your progress would be slow; but +the Eternal, realizing the shortness of your lives, has given you +power with which to rend the globe. You have the action of all +uncombined chemicals, atmospheric electricity, the excess or +froth of which you now see in thunderstorms, and the electricity +and magnetism of your own bodies. There is also molecular and +sympathetic vibration, by which Joshua not understandingly +levelled the walls of Jericho; and the power of your minds over +matter, but little more developed now than when I moved in the +flesh upon the earth. By lowering large quantities of +high-powered explosives to the deepest parts of the ocean bed, +and exploding them there, you can produce chasms through which +some water will be forced towards the heated interior by the +enormous pressure of its own weight. At a comparatively slight +depth it will be converted into steam and produce an earthquake. +This will so enlarge your chasm, that a great volume of water +will rush into the red-hot interior, which will cause a series of +such terrific eruptions that large islands will be upheaved. By +the reduction of the heat of that part of the interior there will +also be a shrinkage, which, in connection with the explosions, +will cause the earth's solid crust to be thrown up in folds till +whole continents appear. Some of the water displaced by the new +land will also, as a result of the cooling, be able permanently +to penetrate farther, thereby decreasing by that much the amount +of water in the oceans, so that the tide-level in your existing +seaports will be but slightly changed. By persevering in this +work, you will become so skilled that it will be possible to +evoke land of whatever kind you wish, at any place; and by having +high table-land at the equator, sloping off into low plains +towards north and south, and maintaining volcanoes in eruption at +the poles to throw out heat and start warm ocean currents, it +will be possible, in connection with the change you are now +making in the axis, to render the conditions of life so easy that +the earth will support a far larger number of souls. + +"With the powers at your disposal you can also alter and improve +existing continents, and thereby still further increase the +number of the children of men. Perhaps with mild climate, +fertile soil, and decreased struggle for existence, man will +develop his spiritual side. + +"Finally, you have apergy, one of the highest forces, for it puts +you almost on a plane with angels, and with it you have already +visited Jupiter and Saturn. It was impossible that man should +remain chained to the earth during the entire life of his race, +like an inferior animal or a mineral, lower even in freedom of +body than birds. Heretofore you have, as I have said, seen but +one side in many workings of Nature, as if you had discovered +either negative or positive electricity, but not both; for +gravitation and apergy are as inseparably combined in the rest of +the universe as those two, separated temporarily on earth that +the discovery of the utilization of one with the other might +serve as an incentive to your minds. You saw it in Nature on +Jupiter in the case of several creatures, suspecting it in the +boa-constrictor and Will-o'-the-wisp and jelly-fish, and have +standing illustrations of it in all tailed comets-- luminosity in +the case of large bodies being one manifestation--in the rings of +this planet, and in the molecular motion and porosity of all +gases, liquids, and solids on earth; since what else is it that +keeps the molecules apart, heat serving merely to increase its +power? God made man in his own image; does it not stand to +reason that he will allow him to continue to become more and more +like himself? Would he begrudge him the power to move mountains +through the intelligent application of Nature's laws, when he +himself said they might be moved by faith? So far you have been +content to use the mechanical power of water, its momentum or +dead weight merely; to attain a much higher civilization, you +must break it up chemically and use its constituent gases." + +"How," asked Bearwarden, "can this be done?" + +"Force superheated steam," replied the spirit, "through an +intensely heated substance, as you now do in making +water-gas--preferably platinum heated by electricity--apply an +apergetic shock, and the oxygen and hydrogen will separate like +oil and water, the oxygen being so much the heavier. Lead them +in different directions as fast as the water is decomposed--since +otherwise they would reunite--and your supply of power will be +inexhaustible." + +"Will you not stay and dine with us?" asked Ayrault. "While in +the flesh you must be subject to its laws, and must need food to +maintain your strength, like ourselves." + +"It will give me great pleasure," replied the spirit, "to tarry +with you, and once more to taste earthly food, but most of all to +have the blessed joy of being of service to you. Here, all being +immaterial spirits, no physical injury can befall any of us; and +since no one wants anything that any one else can give, we have +no opportunity of doing anything for each other. You see we +neither eat nor sleep, neither can any of us again know physical +pain or death, nor can we comfort one another, for every one +knows the truth about himself and every one else, and we read one +another's thoughts as an open book." + +"Do you," asked Bearwarden, "not eat at all? + +"We absorb vitality in a sense," replied the spirit. "As the sun +combines certain substances into food for mortals, it also +produces molecular vibration and charges the air with magnetism +and electricity, which we absorb without effort. In fact, there +is a faint pleasure in the absorption of this strength, when, in +magnetic disturbances, there is an unusual amount of immortal +food. Should we try to resist it, there would eventually be a +greater pressure without than within, and we should assimilate +involuntarily. We are part of the intangible universe, and can +feel no hunger that is not instantly appeased, neither can we +ever more know thirst." + +"Why," asked Cortlandt reverently, " did the angel with the sword +of flame drive Adam from the Tree of Life, since with his soul he +had received that which could never die?" + +"That was part of the mercy of God," the shade replied; "for +immortality could be enjoyed but meagrely on earth, where natural +limitations are so abrupt. And know this, ye who are something +of chemists, that had Adam eaten of that substance called fruit, +he would have lived in the flesh to this day, and would have been +of all men the most unhappy." + +"Will the Fountain of Youth ever be discovered?" asked Cortlandt. + +"That substances exist," replied the spirit, "that render it +impossible for the germs of old age and decay to lodge in the +body, I know; in fact, it would be a break in the continuity and +balance of Nature did they not; but I believe their discovery +will be coincident with Christ's second visible advent on earth. +You are, however, only on the shore of the ocean of knowledge, +and, by continuing to advance in geometric ratio, will soon be +able to retain your mortal bodies till the average longevity +exceeds Methuselah's; but, except for more opportunities of doing +good, or setting a longer example to your fellows by your lives, +where would be the gain? + +"I now see how what appeared to me while I lived on earth +insignificant incidents, were the acts of God, and that what I +thought injustice or misfortune was but evidence of his wisdom +and love; for we know that not a sparrow falleth without God, and +that the hairs of our heads are numbered. Every act of kindness +or unselfishness on my part, also, stands out like a golden +letter or a white stone, and gives me unspeakable comfort. At +the last judgment, and in eternity following, we shall have very +different but just as real bodies as those that we possessed in +the flesh. The dead at the last trump will rise clothed in them, +and at that time the souls in paradise will receive them also." + +"I wonder," thought Ayrault, "on which hand we shall be placed in +that last day." + +"The classification is now going on," said the spirit, answering +his thought, "and I know that in the final judgment each +individual will range himself automatically on his proper side." + +"Do tell me," said Ayrault, "how you were able to answer my +thought." + +"I see the vibrations of the grey matter of your brain as plainly +as the movements of your lips"; in fact, I see the thoughts in +the embryonic state taking shape." + +When their meal was ready they sat down, Ayrault placing the +spirit on his right, with Cortlandt on his left, and having +Bearwarden opposite. On this occasion their chief had given them +a particularly good dinner, but the spirit took only a slice of +meat and a glass of claret. + +"Won't you tell us the story of your life," said Ayrault to the +spirit, "and your experiences since your death? They would be of +tremendous interest to us." + +"I was a bishop in one of the Atlantic States," replied the +spirit gravely, "and died shortly before the civil war. People +came from other cities to hear my sermons, and the biographical +writers have honoured my memory by saying that I was a great man. +I was contemporaneous with Daniel Webster and Henry Clay. +Shortly after I reached threescore and ten, according to earthly +years, I caught what I considered only a slight cold, for I had +always had good health, but it became pneumonia. My friends, +children, and grandchildren came to see me, and all seemed going +well, when, without warning, my physician told me I had but a few +hours to live. I could scarcely believe my ears; and though, as +a Churchman, I had ministered to others and had always tried to +lead a good life, I was greatly shocked. I suddenly remembered +all the things I had left undone and all the things I intended to +do, and the old saying, 'Hell is paved with good intentions,' +crossed my mind very forcibly. In less than an hour I saw the +physician was right; I grew weaker and my pulse fluttered, but my +mind remained clear. I prayed to my Creator with all my soul, 'O +spare me a little, that I may recover my strength, before I go +hence, and be no more seen.' As if for an answer, the thought +crossed my brain, 'Set thine house in order, for thou shalt not +live, but die.' I then called my children and made disposition +of such of my property and personal effects as were not covered +by my will. I also gave to each the advice that my experience +had shown me he or she needed. Then came another wave of remorse +and regret, and again an intense longing to pray; but along with +the thought of sins and neglected duties came also the memory of +the honest efforts I had made to obey my conscience, and these +were like rifts of sunshine during a storm. These thoughts, and +the blessed promises of religion I had so often preached in the +churches of my diocese, were an indescribable comfort, and saved +me from the depths of blank despair. Finally my breathing became +laboured, I had sharp spasms of pain, and my pulse almost +stopped. I felt that I was dying, and my sight grew dim. The +crisis and climax of life were at hand. 'Oh!' I thought, with +the philosophers and sages, 'is it to this end I lived? The +flower appears, briefly blooms amid troublous toil, and is gone; +my body returns to its primordial dust, and my works are buried +in oblivion. The paths of life and glory lead but to the grave.' +My soul was filled with conflicting thoughts, and for a moment +even my faith seemed at a low ebb. I could hear my children's +stifled sobs, and my darling wife shed silent tears. The thought +of parting from them gave me the bitterest wrench. With my +fleeting breath I gasped these words, 'That mercy I showed +others, that show thou me.' The darkened room grew darker, and +after that I died. In my sleep I seemed to dream. All about +were refined and heavenly flowers, while the most delightful +sounds and perfumes filled the air. Gradually the vision became +more distinct, and I experienced an indescribable feeling of +peace and repose. I passed through fields and scenes I had never +seen before, while every place was filled with an all-pervading +light. Sometimes I seemed to be miles in air; countless suns and +their planets shone, and dazzled my eyes, while no +bird-of-paradise was as happy or free as I. Gradually it came to +me that I was awake, and that it was no dream. Then I remembered +my last moments, and perceived that I had died. Death had +brought freedom, my work in the flesh was ended, I was indeed +alive. + +"'O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?' +In my dying moments I had forgotten what I had so often +preached--'Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened +except it die.' In a moment my life lay before me like a valley +or an open page. All along its paths and waysides I saw the +little seeds of word and deed that I had sown extending and +bearing fruit forever for good or evil. I then saw things as +they were, and realized the faultiness of my former conclusions, +based as they had been on the incomplete knowledge obtained +through embryonic senses. I also saw the Divine purpose in life +as the design in a piece of tapestry, whereas before I had seen +but the wrong side. It is not till we have lost the life in the +flesh that we realize its dignity and value, for every hour gives +us opportunities of helping or elevating some human being-- it +may be ourselves--of doing something in His service. + +"Now that time is past, the books are closed, and we can do +nothing further ourselves to alter our status for eternity, +however much we may wish to. It is on this account, and not +merely to save you from death, which in itself is nothing, that I +now tell you to run to the Callisto, seal the doors hermetically, +and come not forth till a sudden rush of air that you will see on +the trees has passed. A gust in which even birds drop dead, if +they are unable to escape, will be here when you reach safety. +Do not delay to take this food, and eat none of it when you +return, for it will be filled with poisonous germs." + +"How can we find you? " asked Ayrault, grasping his hand. "You +must not leave us till we know how we can see you again." + +"Think hard and steadfastly of me, you three," replied the +spirit, "if you want me, and I shall feel your thought"; saying +which, he vanished before their eyes, and the three friends ran +to the Callisto. + + + + CHAPTER III. + + DOUBTS AND PHILOSOPHY. + +On reaching it, they climbed the ladder leading to the +second-story opening, and entering through this, they closed the +door, screwing it tightly in place. + +"Now," said Cortlandt, "we can see what changes, if any, this +wonderful gust will effect." + +"He made no strictures on our senses, such as they are," said +Bearwarden, "but implied that evolution would be carried much +further in us, from which I suppose we may infer that it has not +yet gone far. I wish we had recorked those brandy peaches, for +now they will be filled with poisonous germs. I wonder if our +shady friend could not tell us of an antiseptic with which they +might be treated?" + +"Those fellows," thought Ayrault, who had climbed to the dome, +from which he had an extended view, "would jeer at an angel, +while the deference they showed the spirit seems, as usual, to +have been merely superficial." + +"Let us note," said Cortlandt, "that the spirit thermometer +outside has fallen several degrees since we entered, though, from +the time taken, I should not say that the sudden change would be +one of temperature." + +Just then they saw a number of birds, which had been resting in a +clump of trees, take flight suddenly; but they fell to the ground +before they had risen far, and were dashed to pieces. In another +moment the trees began to bend and sway before the storm; and as +they gazed, the colour of the leaves turned from green and purple +to orange and red. The wind blew off many of these, and they +were carried along by the gusts, or fluttered to the ground, +which was soon strewed with them. It was a typical autumnal +scene. Presently the wind shifted, and this was followed by a +cold shower of rain. + +"I think the worst is over," said Bearwarden. "The Sailor's +Guide says: + + 'When the rain's before the wind, + Halliards, sheets, and braces mind; + When the wind's before the rain, + Soon you can make sail again.' + +Doubtless that will hold good here." + +This proved to be correct; and, after a repetition of the +precautions they had taken on their arrival on the planet in +regard to the inhalability of the air, they again sallied forth. +They left their magazine shot-guns, taking instead the +double-barrelled kind, on account of the rapidity with which this +enabled them to fire the second barrel after the first, and threw +away the water that had collected in the bucket, out of respect +to the spirit's warning. They noticed a pungent odour, and +decided to remain on high ground, since they had observed that +the birds, in their effort to escape, had flown almost vertically +into the air. On reaching the grove in which they had seen the +storm, they found their table and everything on it exactly as +they had left it. Bearwarden threw out the brandy peaches on the +ground, exclaiming that it was a shame to lose such good +preserves, and they proceeded on their walk. They passed +hundreds of dead birds, and on reaching the edge of the toadstool +valley were not a little surprised to find that every toadstool +had disappeared. + +"I wonder," said the doctor, "if there can be any connection +between the phenomenon of the disappearance of those toadstools +and the death of the birds? We could easily discover it if they +had eaten them, or if in any other way the plants could have +entered their bodies; but I see no way in which that can have +happened." + +Resolving to investigate carefully any other fungi they might +see, they resumed their march. The cold, distant-looking sun, +apparently about the size of an orange, was near the horizon. +Saturn's rotation on its axis occupying only ten hours and +fourteen minutes, being but a few minutes longer than Jupiter's, +they knew it would soon be night. Finding a place on a range of +hills sheltered by rocks and a clump of trees of the evergreen +species, they arranged themselves as comfortably as possible, ate +some of the sandwiches they had brought, lighted their pipes, and +watched the dying day. Here were no fire-flies to light the +darkening minutes, nor singing flowers to lull them to sleep with +their song but six of the eight moons, each at a different phase, +and with varied brightness, bathed the landscape in their pale, +cold rays; while far above them, like a huge rainbow, stretched +the great rings in effulgent sheets, reaching thousands of miles +into space, and flooded everything with their silvery light. + +"How poor a place compared with this," they thought to +themselves, "is our world!" and Ayrault wished that his soul was +already free; while the dead leaves rustling in the gentle +breeze, and the nightwinds, sighing among the trees, seemed to +echo his thought. Far above their heads, and in the vastness of +space, the well-known stars and constellations, notwithstanding +the enormous distance they had now come, looked absolutely +unchanged, and seemed to them emblematic of tranquillity and +eternal repose. The days were changed by their shortness, and by +the apparent loss of power in the sun; and the nights, as if in +compensation, were magnificently illuminated by the numerous +moons and splendid rings, though neither rings nor satellites +shone with as strong a light as the terrestrial moon. But in +nothing outside of the solar system was there any change; and +could AEneas's Palinurus, or one of Philip of Macedon's +shepherds, be brought to life here, he would see exactly the same +stars in the same positions; and, did he not know of his own +death or of the lapse of time, he might suppose, so far as the +heavens were affected, that he had but fallen asleep, or had just +closed his eyes. + +"I have always regretted," said Cortlandt, "that I was not born a +thousand years later." + +"Were it not," added Ayrault, "that our earth is the vestibule to +space, and for the opportunities it opens, I should rather never +have lived, for life in itself is unsatisfying." + +"You fellows are too indefinite and abstract for me," said +Bearwarden. "I like something tangible and concrete. The +utilitarianism of the twentieth century, by which I live, +paradoxical though it may seem, would be out of place in space, +unless we can colonize the other planets, and improve their +arrangements and axes." + +Mixed with Ayrault's philosophical and metaphysical thoughts were +the memories of his sweetheart at Vassar, and he longed, more +than his companions, for the spirit's return, that he might ask +him if perchance he could tell him aught of her, and whether her +thoughts were then of him. + +Finally, worn out by the fatigue and excitement of the day, they +set the protection-wires, more from force of habit than because +they feared molestation and, rolling themselves in their +blankets--for the night was cold--were soon fast asleep; +Ayrault's last thought having been of his fiancee, Cortlandt's of +the question he wished to ask the spirit, and Bearwarden's of the +progress of his Company in the work of straightening the +terrestrial axis. Thus they slept seven hundred and ninety +million miles beyond their earth's orbit, and more than eight +hundred million from the place where the earth was then. While +they lay unconscious, the clouds above them froze, and before +morning there was a fall of snow that covered the ground and them +as they lay upon it. Soon three white mounds were all that +marked their presence, and the cranes and eagles, rising from +their roosts in response to the coming day, looked unconcernedly +at all that was human that they had ever seen. Finally, wakened +by the resounding cries of these birds, Bearwarden and Cortlandt +arose, and meeting Ayrault, who had already risen, mistook the +snowy form before them for the spirit, and thinking the dead +bishop had revisited them, they were preparing to welcome him, +and to propound the questions they had formulated, when Ayrault's +familiar voice showed them their mistake. + +"Seeing your white figures," said he, "rise apparently in +response to those loud calls, reminded me of what the spirit told +us of the last day, and of the awakening and resurrection of the +dead." + +The scene was indeed weird. The east, already streaked with the +rays of the rising far-away sun, and the pale moons nearing the +horizon in the west, seemed connected by the huge bow of light. +The snow on the dark evergreens produced a contrast of colour, +while the other trees raised their almost bare and whitened +branches against the sky, as though in supplication to the +mysterious rings, which cast their light upon them and on the +ground. As they gazed, however, the rings became grey, the moons +disappeared, and another day began. Feeling sure the snow must +have cleared the air of any deleterious substances it contained +the day before, they descended into the neighbouring valley, +which, having a southerly exposure, was warm in comparison with +the hills. As they walked they disturbed a number of small +rodents, which quickly ran away and disappeared in their holes. + +"Though we have seen none of the huge creatures here," said +Cortlandt, "that were so plentiful on Jupiter, these burrowers +belong to a distinctly higher scale than those we found there, +from which I take it we may infer that the evolution of the +animal kingdom has advanced further on this planet than on +Jupiter, which is just what we have a right to expect; for +Saturn, in addition to being the smaller and therefore more +matured of the two, has doubtless had a longer individual +existence, being the farther from the sun." + +Notwithstanding the cold of the night, the flowers, especially +the lilies, were as beautiful as ever, which surprised them not a +little, until, on examining them closely, they found that the +stems and veins in the leaves were fluted, and therefore elastic, +so that, should the sap freeze, it could expand without bursting +the cells, thereby enabling the flowers to withstand a short +frost. They noticed that many of the curiously shaped birds they +saw at a distance from time to time were able to move with great +rapidity along the ground, and had about concluded that they must +have four legs, being similar to winged squirrels, when a long, +low quadruped, about twenty-five feet from nostrils to tail, +which they were endeavouring to stalk, suddenly spread two pairs +of wings, flapping the four at once, and then soared off at great +speed. + +"I hope we can get one of those, or at least his photograph," +said Cortlandt. + +"If they go in pairs," said Bearwarden, "we may find the +companion near." + +At that moment another great winged lizard, considerably larger +than the first, rose with a snort, not twenty yards on their +left. Cortlandt, who was a good shot with a gun at short range, +immediately raised his twelve-bore and fired both barrels at the +monster; but the double-B shots had no more disabling effect than +if they had been number eights. They, however, excited the +creature's ire; for, sweeping around quickly, it made straight +for Cortlandt, breathing at him when near, and almost +overpowering the three men with the malodorous, poisonous cloud +it exhaled. Instantly Bearwarden fired several revolver bullets +down its throat, while Ayrault pulled both barrels almost +simultaneously, with the muzzles but a few inches from its side. +In this case the initial velocity of the heavy buckshot was so +great, and they were still so close together, that they +penetrated the leathery hide, tearing a large hole. With a roar +the wounded monster beat a retreat, first almost prostrating them +with another blast of its awful breath. + +"It would take a stronger light than we get here," said +Bearwarden, "to impress a negative through that haze. I think," +he continued, "I know a trick that will do the business, if we +see any more of these dragons." Saying which, he withdrew the +cartridges from his gun, and with his hunting-knife cut the tough +paper shell nearly through between the wads separating the powder +from the shot, drawing his knife entirely around. + +"Now," said he, "when I fire those, the entire forward end of the +cartridge will go out, keeping the fifteen buckshot together like +a slug, and with such penetration that it will go through a +two-inch plank. It is a trick I learned from hunters, and, +unless your guns are choke-bore, in which case it might burst the +barrel, I advise you to follow suit." + +Finding they had brought straight-bored guns, they arranged their +cartridges similarly, and set out in the direction in which the +winged lizards or dragons had gone. + + + CHAPTER IV. + + A PROVIDENTIAL INTERVENTION. + +The valley narrowed as they advanced, the banks rising gently on +both sides. Both dragons had flown straight to a grove of tall, +spreading trees. On coming near to this, they noticed a faint +smell like that of the dragon, and also like the trace they found +in the air on leaving the Callisto the day before, after they had +sought safety within it. Soon it almost knocked them down. + +"We must get to windward," said Cortlandt. "I already feel +faint, and believe those dragons could kill a man by breathing on +him." + +Accordingly, they skirted around the grove, and having made a +quarter circle--for they did not wish the dragons to wind +them--again drew nearer. Tree after tree was passed, and finally +they saw an open space twelve or fifteen acres in area at the +centre of the grove, when they were arrested by a curious sound +of munching. Peering among the trunks of the huge trees, they +advanced cautiously, but stopped aghast. In the opening were at +least a hundred dragons devouring the toadstools with which the +ground was covered. Many of them were thirty to forty feet long, +with huge and terribly long, sharp claws, and jaws armed with +gleaming batteries of teeth. Though they had evidently lungs, +and the claws and mouth of an animal, they reminded the observers +in many respects of insects enormously exaggerated, for their +wings, composed of a sort of transparent scale, were small, and +moved, as they had already seen, at far greater speed than those +of a bird. Their projecting eyes were also set rigidly in their +heads instead of turning, and consisted of a number of flat +surfaces or facets, like a fly's eye, so that they could see +backward and all around, each facet seeing anything the rays from +which came at right angles to its surface. This beautiful grove +was doubtless their feeding-ground, and, as such, was likely to +be visited by many more. Concluding it would be wise to let +their wounded game escape, the three men were about to retreat, +having found it difficult to breathe the air even at that +distance from the monsters, when the wounded dragon that they had +observed moving about in a very restless manner, and evidently +suffering a good deal from the effect of its wounds, espied them, +and, with a roar that made the echoes ring, started towards them +slowly along the ground, followed by the entire herd, the nearer +of which now also saw them. Seeing that their lives were in +danger, the hunters quickly regained the open, and then stretched +their legs against the wind. The dragons came through the trees +on the ground, and then, raising themselves by their wings, the +whole swarm, snorting, and darkening the air with their deadly +breath, made straight for the men, who by comparison looked like +Lilliputians. With the slug from his right barrel Bearwarden +ended the wounded dragon's career by shooting him through the +head, and with his left laid low the one following. Ayrault also +killed two huge monsters, and Cortlandt killed one and wounded +another. Their supply of prepared cartridges was then exhausted, +and they fell back on their revolvers and ineffective spreading +shot. Resolved to sell their lives dearly, they retreated, +keeping their backs to the wind, with the poisonous dragons in +front. But the breeze was very slight, and they were being +rapidly blinded and asphyxiated by the loathsome fumes, and +deafened by the hideous roaring and snapping of the dragons' +jaws. Realizing that they could not much longer reply to the +diabolical host with lead, they believed their last hour had +come, when the ground on which they were making their last stand +shook, there was a rending of rocks and a rush of imprisoned +steam that drowned even the dragons' roar, and they were +separated from them by a long fissure and a wall of smoke and +vapour. Struggling back from the edge of the chasm, they fell +upon the ground, and then for the first time fully realized that +the earthquake had saved them, for the dragons could not come +across the opening, and would not venture to fly through the +smoke and steam. When they recovered somewhat from the shock, +they cut a number of cartridges in the same way that they had +prepared those that had done them such good service, and kept one +barrel of each gun loaded with that kind. + +"We may thank Providence," said Bearwarden, "for that escape. I +hope we shall have no more such close calls." + +With a parting glance at the chasm that had saved their lives, +and from which a cloud still arose, they turned slightly to the +right of their former course and climbed the gently rising bank. +When near the top, being tired of their exciting experiences, +they sat down to rest. The ground all about them was covered +with mushrooms, white on top and pink underneath. + +"This is a wonderful place for fungi," said Ayrault. "Here, +doubtless, we shall be safe from the dragons, for they seemed to +prefer the toadstools." As he lay on the ground he watched one +particular mushroom that seemed to grow before his eyes. +Suddenly, as he looked, it vanished. Dumfounded at this +unmistakable manifestation of the phenomenon they thought they +had seen on landing, he called his companions, and, choosing +another mushroom, the three watched it closely. Presently, +without the least noise or commotion, that also disappeared, +leaving no trace, and the same fate befell a number of others. +At a certain point of their development they vanished as +completely as a bubble of air coming to the surface of water, +except that they caused no ripple, leaving merely a small +depression where they had stood. + +"Well," said Bearwarden, "in all my travels I never have seen +anything like this. If I were at a sleight-of-hand performance, +and the prestidigitateur, after doing that, asked for my theory, +I should say, 'I give it up.' How is it with you, doctor?" he +asked, addressing Cortlandt. + +"There must be an explanation," replied Cortlandt, "only we do +not know the natural law to which the phenomenon is subject, +having had no experience with it on earth. We know that all +substances can be converted into gases, and that all gases can be +reduced to liquids, and even solids, by the application of +pressure and cold. If there is any way by which the visible +substance of these fungi can be converted into its invisible +gases, as water into oxygen and hydrogen, what we have seen can +be logically explained. Perhaps, favoured by some affinity of +the atmosphere, its constituent parts are broken up and become +gases at this barometric pressure and temperature. We must ask +the spirit, if he visits us again." + +"I wish he would," said Ayrault; "there are lots of things I +should like to ask him." + +"Presidents of corporations and other chairmen," said Bearwarden, +"are not usually superstitious, and I, of course, take no stock +in the supernatural; but somehow I have a well-formed idea that +our friend the bishop, with the great power of his mind over +matter, had a hand in that earthquake. He seems to have an +exalted idea of our importance, and may be exerting himself to +make things pleasant." + +At this point the sun sank below the horizon, and they found +themselves confronted with night. + +"Dear, dear!" said Bearwarden, "and we haven't a crumb to eat. +I'll stand the drinks and the pipes," he continued, passing +around his ubiquitous flask and tobacco-pouch. + +"If I played such pranks with my interior on earth," said +Cortlandt, helping himself to both, "as I do on this planet, it +would give me no end of trouble, but here I seem to have the +digestion of an ostrich." + +So they sat and smoked for an hour, till the stars twinkled and +the rings shone in their glory. + + "Well," said Ayrault, finally, "since we have nothing but +motions to lay on the table, I move we adjourn." + +"The only motion I shall make," said Cortlandt, who was already +undressed, "will be that of getting into bed," saying which, he +rolled himself in his blanket and soon was fast asleep. + +Having decided that, on account of the proximity of the dragons, +a man must in any event be on the watch, they did not set the +protection-wires. From the shortness of the nights, they divided +them into only two watches of from two hours to two and a half +each, so that, even when constant watch duty was necessary, each +man had one full night's sleep in three. On this occasion +Ayrault and Cortlandt were the watchers, Cortlandt having the +morning and Ayrault the evening watch. Many curious quadruped +birds, about the size of large bears, and similar in shape, +having bear-shaped heads, and several creatures that looked like +the dragons, flew about them in the moonlight; but neither +watcher fired a shot, as the creatures showed no desire to make +an attack. All these species seemed to belong to the owl or bat +tribe, for they roamed abroad at night. + + + + CHAPTER V. + + AYRAULT'S VISION. + +When Ayrault's watch was ended, he roused Cortlandt, who took his +place, and feeling a desire for solitude and for a last long look +at the earth, he crossed the top of the ridge on the slope of +which they had camped, and lay down on the farther side. The +South wind in the upper air rushed along in the mighty whirl, +occasionally carrying filmy clouds across the faces of the moons; +but about Ayrault all was still, and he felt a quiet and serene +repose. He had every intention of remaining awake, and was +pondering on the steadfastness of the human heart and the +constancy of love, when his meditations began to wander, and, +with his last thoughts on Sylvia, he fell asleep. Not a branch +moved, nor did a leaf fall, yet before Ayrault's, sleeping eyes a +strange scene was enacted. A figure in white came near and stood +before him, and he recognized in it one Violet Slade, a very +attractive girl to whom he had been attentive in his college +days. She was at that time just eighteen, and people believed +that she loved him, but for some reason, he knew not why, he had +not proposed. + +"I thought you had died," he said, as she gazed at him, "but you +are now looking better than ever." + +"From the world's point of view I AM dead," she replied. "I died +and was buried. It is therefore permissible that I should show +you the truth. You never believed I loved you. I have wished +earnestly to see you, and to have you know that I did." + +"I did you an injustice," Ayrault answered, perceiving all that +was in her heart. "Could mortals but see as spirits do, there +would be no misunderstandings." + +"I am so glad to see you," she continued, "and to know you are +well. Had you not come here, we could probably not have met +until after your death; for I shall not be sufficiently advanced +to return to earth for a long time, though my greatest solace +while there was my religion, which is all that brought me here. +We, however, know that as our capacity for true happiness +increases we shall be happier, and that after the resurrection +there will be no more tears. Farewell," she whispered, while her +eyes were filled with love. + +Ayrault's sleep was then undisturbed for some time, when suddenly +an angel, wreathed in light, appeared before him and spoke these +words: "He that walked with Adam and talked with Moses has sent +me to guard you while you sleep. No plague or fever, wild beast +or earthquake, can molest you, for you are equally protected from +the most powerful monster and the most insidious disease-germ. +'Blessed is the man whose offences are covered and whose sins are +forgiven.' Sleep on, therefore, and be refreshed, for the body +must have rest." + +"A man may rest indeed," replied Ayrault, "when he has a guardian +angel. I had the most unbounded faith in your existence before I +saw you, and believe and know that you or others have often +shielded me from danger and saved my life. Why am I worthy of so +much care?" + +"'Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the Most High shall abide +under the shadow of the Almighty,'" answered the angel, and +thereupon he became invisible, a diffused light taking his place. +Shortly afterwards this paled and completely vanished. + +"Not only am I in paradise," thought Ayrault; "I believe I am +also in the seventh heaven. Would I might hear such words +again!" + +A group of lilies then appeared before the sleeper's eyes. In +the midst was one lily far larger than the rest, and of a +dazzling white. This spoke in a gentle voice, but with the tones +of a trombone: + +"Thy thoughts and acts are a pleasure to me. Thou hast raised no +idols within thy heart, and thy faith is as incense before me. +Thy name is now in the Book of Life. Continue as thou hast +begun, and thou shalt live and reign forever." + +Hereupon the earth shook, and Ayrault was awakened. Great +boulders were rolling and crashing down the slope about him, +while the dawn was already in the east. + +"My mortal eyes and senses are keener here while I sleep than +when I wake," he thought, as he looked about him, "for spirits, +unable to affect me while waking, have made themselves felt in my +more sensitive state while I was asleep. Nevertheless, this is +none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. + +"The boulders were still in motion when I opened my eyes," he +mused; "can it be that there is hereabouts such a flower as in my +dreams I seemed to see?" and looking beyond where his head had +lain, he beheld the identical lily surrounded by the group that +his closed eyes had already seen. Thereupon he uncovered his +head and departed quickly. Crossing the divide, he descended to +camp, where he found Cortlandt in deep thought. + +"I cannot get over the dreams," said the doctor, "I had in the +first part of the night. Notwithstanding yesterday's excitement +and fatigue, my sleep was most disturbed, and I was visited by +visions of my wife, who died long ago. She warned me against +skepticism, and seemed much distressed at my present spiritual +state." + +"I," said Bearwarden, who had been out early, and had succeeded +in bringing in half a dozen birds, "was so disturbed I could not +sleep. It seemed to me as though half the men I have ever known +came and warned me against agnosticism and my materialistic +tendencies. They kept repeating, 'You are losing the reality for +the shadow.'" + +"I am convinced," said Ayrault, "that they were not altogether +dreams, or, if dreams indeed, that they were superinduced by a +higher will. We know that angels have often appeared to men in +the past. May it not be that, as our appreciativeness increases, +these communications will recur?" Thereupon he related his own +experiences. + +"The thing that surprised me," said Cortlandt, as they finished +breakfast, "was the extraordinary realism of the scene. We must +see if our visions return on anything but an empty stomach." + + + + CHAPTER VI. + + A GREAT VOID AND A GREAT LONGING. + +Resuming their march, the travellers proceeded along the +circumference of a circle having a radius of about three miles, +with the Callisto in the centre. In crossing soft places they +observed foot-prints forming in the earth all around them. The +impressions were of all sizes, and ceased when they reached +rising or hard ground, only to reappear in the swamps, regulating +their speed by that of the travellers. The three men were greatly +surprised at this. + +"You may observe," said Cortlandt, "that the surface of the +impression is depressed as you watch it, as though by a weight, +and you can see, and even hear, the water being squeezed out, +though whatever is doing it is entirely invisible. They must be +made by spirits sufficiently advanced to have weight, but not +advanced enough to make themselves visible." + +Moved by a species of vandalism, Bearwarden raised his +twelve-bore, and fired an ordinary cartridge that he had not +prepared for the dragons, at the space directly over the nearest +forming prints. There was a brilliant display of prismatic +colours, as in a rainbow, and though the impressions already made +remained, no new ones were formed. + +"Now you have done it!" said Cortlandt. "I hoped to be able to +investigate this further." + +"We shall doubtless see other and perhaps more wonderful things," +replied Bearwarden. "I must say this gives me an uncanny +feeling." + +When they had completed a little over half their circle, they +came upon another of the groves with which Saturn seemed to +abound, at the edge of which, in a side-hill, was a cave, the +entrance of which was composed of rocky masses that had +apparently fallen together, the floor being but little higher +than the surface outside. The arched roof of the vestibule was +rendered watertight by the soil that had formed upon it, which +again was overgrown by vines and bushes. + +"This," said Bearwarden, "will be a good place to camp, for the +cave will protect us from dragons, unless they should take a +notion to breathe at us from the outside, and it will keep us dry +in case of rain. To-morrow we can start with this as a centre, +and make another circuit." + +"We can explore Saturn on foot," said Cortlandt, "and far more +thoroughly than Jupiter, on account of its comparative freedom +from monsters. Not even the dragons can trouble us, unless we +meet them in large numbers." + +Thereupon they set about getting fuel for their fire. Besides +collecting some of the dead wood that was lying all about, they +split up a number of resinous pine and fir trees with explosive +bullets from their revolvers, so that soon they not only had a +roaring fire, but filled the back part of the cave with logs to +dry, in case they should camp there again at some later day. +Neither Cortlandt nor Bearwarden felt much like sleeping, and so, +after finishing the birds the president had brought down that +morning, they persuaded Ayrault to sit up and smoke with them. +Wrapping themselves in their blankets--for there was a chill in +the air--they sat about the camp-fire they had built in the mouth +of the cave. Two moons that were at the full rose rapidly in the +clear, cold sky. On account of their distance from the sun, they +were less bright than the terrestrial moon, but they shone with a +marvellously pure pale light. The larger contained the exact +features of a man. There was the somewhat aquiline nose, a +clear-cut and expressive mouth, and large, handsome eyes, which +were shaded by well- marked eyebrows. The whole face was very +striking, but was a personification of the most intense grief. +The expression was indeed sadder than that of any face they had +ever seen. The other contained the profile of a surpassingly +beautiful young woman. The handsome eyes, shaded by lashes, +looked straight ahead. The nose was perfect, and the ear small, +while the hair was artistically arranged at the top and back of +the head. This moon also reflected a pure white ray. The former +appeared about once and a quarter, the latter but three quarters, +the size of the terrestrial moon, and the travellers immediately +recognized them by their sizes and relative positions as Tethys +and Dione, discovered by J. D. Cassini in March, 1684. The sad +face was turned slightly towards that of its companion, and it +looked as if some tale of the human heart, some romance, had been +engraved and preserved for all time on the features of these dead +bodies, as they silently swung in their orbits forever and anon +were side by side. + +"In all the ages," said Cortlandt, "that these moons have +wandered with Saturn about the sun, and with the solar system in +its journey through space, they can never have gazed upon the +scene they now behold, for we may be convinced that no mortal man +has been here before." + +"We may say," said Ayrault, "that they see in our bodies a type +of the source from which come all the spiritual beings that are +here." + +"If, as the writers of mythology supposed," replied Cortlandt, +"inanimate objects were endowed with senses, these moons would +doubtless be unable to perceive the spiritual beings here; for +the satellites, being material, should, to be consistent, have +only those senses possessed by ourselves, so that to them this +planet would ordinarily appear deserted." + +"I shall be glad," said Bearwarden, gloomily, "when those moons +wane and are succeeded by their fellows, for one would give me an +attack of the blues, while the other would subject me to the +inconvenience of falling in love." + +As he spoke, the upper branches of the trees in the grove began +to sway as a cold gust from the north sighed among them. "Lose +no more opportunities," it seemed to cry, "for life is short and +uncertain. Soon you will all be colder than I, and your future, +still as easily moulded as clay, will be set as Marpesian marble, +more fixed than the hardest rock." + +"Paradise," said Cortlandt, "contains sights and sounds that +might, I should think, arouse sad reminiscences without the aid +of the waters of Lethe, unless the joy of its souls in their new +resources and the sense of forgiveness outweigh all else." + +With a parting look at the refined, silvery moon, and its +sorrow-laden companion, they retired to the sheltering cave, +piled up the fire, and talked on for an hour. + +"I do not see how it is," said Bearwarden, "that these moons, +considering their distance from the sun, and the consequently +small amount of light they receive, are so bright." + +"A body's brightness in reflecting light," replied Cortlandt, +"depends as much on the colour and composition of its own surface +as on the amount it receives. It is conceivable that these +moons, if placed at the earth's distance from the sun, would be +far brighter than our moon, and that our familiar satellite, if +removed to Saturn, would seem very dim. We know how much more +brilliant a mountain in the sunlight is when clad in snow than +when its sides are bare. These moons evidently reflect a large +proportion of the light they receive." + +When they came out shortly after midnight the girl's-face moon +had already set, leaving a dark and dreary void in the part of +the sky it had so ideally filled. The inexpressibly sad +satellite (on account of its shorter distance and more rapid rate +of revolution) was still above the horizon, and, being slightly +tilted, had a more melancholy, heart-broken look than before. +While they gazed sadly at the emptiness left by Dione, Cortlandt +saw Ayrault's expression change, and, not clearly perceiving its +cause, said, wishing to cheer him: "Never mind, Dick; to-morrow +night we shall see it again." + +"Ah, prosaic reasoner," retorted Bearwarden, who saw that this, +like so many other things, had reminded Ayrault of Sylvia, "that +is but small consolation for having lost it now, though I suppose +our lot is not so hard as if we were never to see it again. In +that moon's face I find the realization of my fancied ideal +woman; while that sad one yonder seems as though some celestial +lover, in search of his fate, had become enamoured of her, and +tried in vain to win her, and the grief in his mind had impressed +itself on the then molten face of a satellite to be the monument +throughout eternity of love and a broken heart. If the spirits +and souls of the departed have any command of matter, why may not +their intensest thoughts engrave themselves on a moon that, when +dead and frozen, may reflect and shine as they did, while +immersed in the depths of space? At first Dione bored me; now I +should greatly like to see her again." + +"History repeats itself," replied Cortlandt, "and the same phases +of life recur. It is we that are in a changed receptive mood. +The change that seems to be in them is in reality in us. Remain +as you are now, and Dione will give you the same pleasure +tomorrow that she gave to-day." + +To Ayrault this meant more than the mere setting to rise again of +a heavenly body. The perfume of a flower, the sighing of the +wind, suggesting some harmony or song, a full or crescent moon, +recalled thoughts and associations of Sylvia. Everything seemed +to bring out memory, and he realized the utter inability of +absence to cure the heart of love. "If Sylvia should pass from +my life as that moon has left my vision," his thoughts continued, +"existence would be but sadness and memory would be its cause, +for the most beautiful sounds entail sorrow; the most beautiful +sights, intense pain. "Ah," he went on with a trace of +bitterness, while his friends fell asleep in the cave, "I might +better have remained in love with science; for whose studies +Nature, which is but a form of God, in the right spirit, is not +dependent for his joy or despair on the whims of a girl. She, of +course, sees many others, and, being only twenty, may forget me. +Must I content myself with philosophical rules and mathematical +formulae, when she, whose changefulness I may find greater than +the winds that sigh over me, now loves me no longer? O love, +which makes us miserable when we feel it, and more miserable +still when it is gone!" + +He strung a number of copper wires at different degrees of +tension between two trees, and listened to the wind as it ranged +up and down on this improvised AEolian harp. It gradually ran +into a regular refrain, which became more and more like words. +Ayrault was puzzled, and then amazed. There could be no doubt +about it. "You should be happy," it kept repeating--"you should +be happy," in soft musical tones. + +"I know I should," replied Ayrault, finally recognizing the voice +of Violet Slade in the song of the wind, "and I cannot understand +why I am not. Tell me, is this paradise, Violet, or is it not +rather purgatory?" + +The notes ranged up and down again, and he perceived that she was +causing the wind to blow as she desired--in other words, she was +making it play upon his harp. + +"That depends on the individual," she replied. "It is rather +sheol, the place of departed spirits. Those whose consciences +made them happy on earth are in paradise here; while those good +enough to reach heaven at last, but in whom some dross remains, +are further refined in spirit, and to them it is purgatory. +Those who are in love can be happy in but one way while their +love lasts. What IS happiness, anyway?" + +"It is the state in which desires are satisfied, my fair Violet," +answered Ayrault. + +"Say, rather, the state in which desire coincides with duty," +replied the song. "Self-sacrifice for others gives the truest +joy; being with the object of one's love, the next. You never +believed that I loved you. I dissembled well; but you will see +for yourself some day, as clearly as I see your love for another +now." + +"Yes," replied Ayrault, sadly, "I am in love. I have no reason +to believe there is cause for my unrest, and, considering every +thing, I should be happy as man can be; yet, mirabile dictu, I am +in--hades, in the very depths!" + +"Your beloved is beyond my vision; your heart is all I can see. +Yet I am convinced she will not forget you. I am sure she loves +you still." + +"I have always believed in homoeopathy to the extent of the +similia similibus curantur, Violet, and it is certain that where +nothing else will cure a man of love for one woman, his love for +another will. You can see how I love Sylvia, but you have never +seemed so sweet to me as to-day." + +"It is a sacrilege, my friend, to speak so to me now. You are +done with me forever. I am but a disembodied spirit, and escaped +hades by the grace of the Omnipotent, rather than by virtue of +any good I did on earth. So far as any elasticity is left in my +opportunities, I am dead as yon moon. You have still the gift +that but one can give. Within your animal body you hold an +immortal soul. It is pliable as wax; you can mould it by your +will. As you shape that soul, so will your future be. It is the +ark that can traverse the flood. Raise it, and it will raise +you. It is all there is in yourself. Preserve that gift, and +when you die you will, I hope, start on a plane many thousands of +years in advance of me. There should be no more comparison +between us than between a person with all his senses and one that +is deaf and blind. Though you are a layman, you should, with +your faith and frame of mind, soon be but little behind our +spiritual bishop." + +"I supposed after death a man had rest. Is he, then, a bishop +still?" + +"The progress, as he told you, is largely on the old lines. As +he stirred men's hearts on earth, he will stir their souls in +heaven; and this is no irksome or unwelcome work." + +"You say he WILL do this in heaven. Is he, then, not there yet?" + +"He was not far from heaven on earth, yet technically none of us +can be in heaven till after the general resurrection. Then, as +we knew on earth, we shall receive bodies, though, as yet, +concerning their exact nature we know but little more than then. +We are all in sheol--the just in purgatory and paradise, the +unjust in hell." + +"Since you are still in purgatory, are you unhappy?" + +"No, our state is very happy. All physical pain is past, and can +never be felt again. We know that our evil desires are overcome, +and that their imprints are being gradually erased. I +occasionally shed an intangible tear, yet for most of those who +strove to obey their consciences, purgatory, when essential, +though occasionally giving us a bitter twinge, is a joy-producing +state. Not all the glories imaginable or unimaginable could make +us happy, were our consciences ill at ease. I have advanced +slowly, yet some things are given us at once. After I realized I +had irrevocably lost your love, though for a time I had hoped to +regain it, I became very restless; earth seemed a prison, and I +looked forward to death as my deliverer. I bore you no malice; +you had never especially tried to win me; the infatuation--that +of a girl of eighteen--had been all on my side. I lived five sad +and lonely years, although, as you know, I had much attention. +People thought me cold and heartless. How could I have a heart, +having failed to win yours, and mine being broken? Having lost +the only man I loved, I knew no one else could replace him, and I +was not the kind to marry for pique. People thought me handsome, +but I felt myself aged when you ceased to call. Perhaps when you +and she who holds all your love come to sheol, she may spare you +to me a little, for as a spirit my every thought is known; or +perhaps after the resurrection, when I, too, can leave this +planet, we shall all soar through space together, and we can +study the stars as of old." + +"Your voice is a symphony, sweetest Violet, and I love to hear +your words. Ah, would you could once more return to earth, or +that I were an ethereal spirit, that we might commune face to +face! I would follow you from one end of Shadowland to the +other. Of what use is life to me, with distractions that draw my +thoughts to earth as gravitation drew my body? I wish I were a +shade." + +"You are talking for effect, Dick--which is useless here, for I +see how utterly you are in love." + +"I AM in love, Violet; and though, as I said, I have no reason to +doubt Sylvia's steadfastness and constancy, I am very unhappy. I +have always heard that time is a balsam that cures all ills, yet +I become more wretched every day." + +"Do all you can to preserve that love, and it will bring you joy +all your life. Your happiness is my happiness. What distresses +you, distresses me." + +The tones here grew fainter and seemed about to cease. + +"Before you leave me," cried Ayrault, "tell me how and when I may +see or hear you again." + +"While you remain on this planet, I shall be near; but beyond +Saturn I cannot go." + +"Yet tell me, Violet, how I may see you? My love unattained, you +perceive, makes me wretched, while you always gave me calm and +peace. If I may not kiss the hand I almost asked might be mine, +let me have but a glance from your sweet eyes, which will comfort +me so much now." + +"If you break the ice in the pool behind you, you shall see me +till the frame melts." + +After this the silence was broken only by the sighing of the wind +in the trees. The pool had suddenly become covered with ice +several inches thick. Taking an axe, Ayrault hewed out a +parallelogram about three feet by four and set it on end against +the bank. The cold grey of morning was already colouring the +east, and in the growing light Ayrault beheld a vision of Violet +within the ice. The face was at about three fourths, and had a +contemplative air. The hair was arranged as he had formerly seen +it, and the thoughtful look was strongest in the beautiful grey +eyes, which were more serious than of yore. Ayrault stood +riveted to the spot and gazed. "I could have been happy with +her," he mused, and to think she is no more!" + +As drops fell from the ice, tears rose to his eyes. + + . . . . . . . + +"What a pretty girl!" said Bearwarden to Cortlandt, as they came +upon it later in the day. "The face seems etched or imprinted by +some peculiar form of freezing far within the ice." + +The next morning they again set out, and so tramped, hunted, and +investigated with varying success for ten Saturnian days. They +found that in the animal and plant forms of life Nature had +often, by some seeming accident, struck out in a course very +different from any on the earth. Many of the animals were bipeds +and tripeds, the latter arranged in tandem, the last leg being +evidently an enormously developed tail, by which the creature +propelled itself as with a spring. The quadrupeds had also +sometimes wings, and their bones were hollow, like those of +birds. Whether this great motive and lifting power was the +result of the planet's size and the power of gravitation, or +whether some creatures had in addition the power of developing a +degree of apergetic repulsion to offset it, as they suspected in +the case of the boa-constrictor that fell upon Cortlandt on +Jupiter, they could not absolutely ascertain. Life was far less +prolific on Saturn than on Jupiter, doubtless as a result of its +greater distance from the sun, and of its extremes of climate, +almost all organic life being driven to the latitudes near the +equator. There were, as on Jupiter, many variations from the +forms of life to which they were accustomed, and adaptations to +the conditions in which they found themselves; but, with the +exception of the strange manifestations of spirit life, they +found the workings of the fundamental laws the same. Often when +they woke at night the air was luminous, and they were convinced +that if they remained there long enough it would be easy to +devise some telegraphic code of light-flashes by which they could +communicate with the spirit world, and so get ideas from the host +of spirits that had already solved the problem of life and death, +but who were not as yet sufficiently developed to be able to +return to the earth. One day they stopped to investigate what +they had supposed to be an optical illusion. They observed that +leaves and other light substances floated several inches above +the surface of the water in the pools. On coming to the edge and +making tests, they found a light liquid, as invisible as air, +superimposed upon the water, with sufficient buoyancy to sustain +dry wood and also some forms of life. They also observed that +insects coming close to the surface and apparently inhaling it, +rapidly increased in size and weight, from which they concluded +it must throw off nitrogen, carbon, or some other nourishment in +the form of gas. The depth upon the water was unaffected by +rain, which passed through it, but depended rather on the +condition of the atmosphere, from which it was evidently +condensed. There seemed also to be a relation between the amount +of this liquid and the activity of the spirits. Finally, when +their ammunition showed signs of running low, they decided to +return to the Callisto, go in it to the other side of the planet, +and resume their investigations there. Accordingly, they set out +to retrace their steps, returning by a course a few miles to one +side of the way they had come, and making the cave their +objective point. Arriving there one evening about sunset, they +pitched their camp. The cave was sheltered and comfortable, and +they made preparation for passing the night. + +"I shall be sorry," said Ayrault, as they sat near their fire, +"to leave this place without again seeing the bishop. He said we +could impress him anywhere, but it may be more difficult to do +that at the antipodes than here." + +"It does seem," said Bearwarden, "as though we should be missing +it in not seeing him again, if that is possible. Nothing but a +poison-storm brought him the first time, and it is not certain +that even in such an emergency would he come again uncalled." + +"I think," said Ayrault, "as none of the spirits here are +malevolent, they would warn us of danger if they could. The +bishop's spirit seems to have been the only one with sufficiently +developed power to reappear as a man. I therefore suggest that +to-morrow we try to make him feel our thought and bring him to +us." + + + + CHAPTER VII. + + THE SPIRIT'S SECOND VISIT. + + +Accordingly, the next morning they concentrated their minds +simultaneously on the spirit, wishing with all their strength +that he should reappear. + +"Whether he be far or near," said Ayrault, "he must feel that, +for we are using the entire force of our +minds." + +Shadows began to form, and dancing prismatic colours appeared, +but as yet there was no sign of the deceased bishop, when +suddenly he took shape among them, his appearance and +disappearance being much like that of stereopticon views on the +sheet before a lantern. He held himself erect, and his +thoughtful, dignified face had the same calm expression it had +worn before. + +"We attracted your attention," said Ayrault, "in the way you said +we might, because we longed so to see you." + +"Yes," added Bearwarden and Cortlandt, "we felt we MUST see you +again." + +"I am always at your service," replied the spirit, "and will +answer your questions. With regard to my visibility and +invisibility"--he continued, with a smile, "for I will not wait +for you to ask the explanation of what is in your minds--it is +very simple. A man's soul can never die; a manifestation of the +soul is the spirit; this has entity, consciousness, and will, and +these also live forever. As in the natural or material life, as +I shall call it, will affects the material first. Thus, a child +has power to move its hand or a material object, as a toy, before +it can become the medium in a psychological seance. So it is +here. Before becoming visible to your eyes, I, by my will, draw +certain material substances in the form of gases from the ground, +water, or air around me. These take any shape I wish--not +necessarily that of man, though it is more natural to appear as +we did on earth--and may absorb a portion of light, and so be +able to cast a shadow or break up the white rays into prismatic +colours, or they may be wholly invisible. By an effort of the +will, then, I combine and condense these gases--which consist +principally of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon--into +flesh, blood, water, or anything else. You have already learned +on earth that, by the application of heat, every solid and every +liquid substance, which is solid or liquid simply because of the +temperature at which you find it, can be expanded into gas or +gases; and that by cold and pressure every gas can be reduced to +a liquid or a solid. On earth the state of a substance, whether +solid, liquid, or gaseous, depends simply upon those two +conditions. Here neither thermal nor barometric changes are +required, for, by mastering the new natural laws that at death +become patent to our senses, we have all the necessary control. +It requires but an effort of my will to be almost instantly +clothed in human form, and but another effort to rearrange the +molecules in such a way as to make the envelope visible. Some +who have been dead longer, or had a greater natural aptitude than +I, have advanced further, and all are learning; but the +difference in the rate at which spirits acquire control of +previously unknown natural laws varies far more than among +individuals on earth. + +"These forms of organic life do not disintegrate till after +death; here in the natural state they break down and dissolve +into their structural elements in full bloom, as was done by the +fungi. The poisonous element in the deadly gust, against which I +warned you, came from the gaseous ingredients of toadstools, +which but seldom, and then only when the atmosphere has the +greatest affinity for them, dissolve automatically, producing a +death-spreading wave, against which your meteorological +instruments in future can warn you. The slight fall you noticed +in temperature was because the specific heat of these gases is +high, and to become gas while in the solid state they had to +withdraw some warmth from the air. The fatal breath of the +winged lizards--or dragons, as you call them--results from the +same cause, the action of their digestion breaking up the fungus, +which does not kill them, because they exhale the poisonous part +in gaseous form with their breath. The mushrooms dissolve more +easily; the natural separation that takes place as they reach a +certain stage in their development being precipitated by +concussion or shock. + +"Having seen that, as on earth, we gain control of the material +first, our acquisitiveness then extends to a better understanding +and appreciation of our new senses, and we are continually +finding new objects of beauty, and new beauties in things we +supposed we already understood. We were accustomed on earth to +the marvellous variety that Nature produced from apparently +simple means and presented to our very limited senses; here there +is an indescribably greater variety to be examined by vastly +keener senses. The souls in hell have an equally keen but +distorted counterpart of our senses, so that they see in a +magnified form everything vile in themselves and in each other. +To their senses only the ugly and hateful side is visible, so +that the beauty and perfume of a flower are to them as loathsome +as the appearance and fumes of a toadstool. As evolution and the +tendency of everything to perpetuate itself and intensify its +peculiarities are invariable throughout the universe, these +unhappy souls and ourselves seem destined to diverge more and +more as time goes on; and while we constantly become happier as +our capacity for happiness increases, their sharpening senses +will give them a worse and worse idea of each other, till their +mutual repugnance will know no bounds, and of everything +concerning which they obtain knowledge through their senses. +Thus these poor creatures seem to be the victims of circumstances +and the unalterable laws of fate, and were there such a thing as +death, their misery would unquestionably finally break their +hearts. That there will be final forgiveness for the condemned, +has long been a human hope; but as yet they have experienced +none, and there is no analogy for it in Nature. + +"But while you have still your earthly bodies and the +opportunities they give you of serving God, you need not be +concerned about hell; no one on earth, knowing how things really +are, would ever again forsake His ways. The earthly state is the +most precious opportunity of securing that for which a man would +give his all. Even from the most worldly point of view, a man is +an unspeakable fool not to improve his talents and do good. What +would those in sheol not give now for but one day in the flesh on +earth, of which you unappreciatives may still have so many? The +well-used opportunities of even one hour might bring joy to those +in paradise forever, and greatly ease the lot of those in hell. +In doing acts of philanthropy, however, you must remember the +text of the sermon the doctor of divinity preached to Craniner +and Ridley just before they perished at the stake: 'Though I +give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me +nothing'--which shows that even good deeds must be performed in +the proper spirit. + +"A new era is soon to dawn on earth. Notwithstanding your great +material progress, the future will exceed all the past. Man will +find every substance's maximum use, thereby vastly increasing his +comfort. Then, when advanced in science and reason, with the +power of his senses increased by the delicate instruments that +you, as the forerunners of the coming man, are already learning +to make, may he cease to be a groveller, like our progenitors the +quadrupeds, and may his thoughts rise to his Creator, who has +brought him to such heights through all the intricacies of the +way. Your preparation for the life to come can also be greatly +aided by intercourse with those who have already died. When you +really want to associate spiritually with us, you can do so; for, +though perhaps only one in a hundred million can, like me, so +clothe himself as to be again visible to mortal eyes, many of us +could affect gelatine or extremely sensitive plates that would +show interruptions in the ultra-violet chemical rays that, like +the thermal red beyond the visible spectroscope, you know exist +though you can neither see nor feel them. Spirits could not +affect the magnetic eye, because magnetism, though immaterial +itself, is induced and affected only by a material substance. +The impression on the plate, however, like the prismatic colours +you have already noticed, can be produced by a slight rarefaction +of the hydrogen in the air, so that, though no spirit could be +photographed as such, a code and language might be established by +means of the effect produced on the air by the spirit's mind. I +am so interested in the subject of my disquisition that I had +almost forgotten that your spirits are still subject to the +requirements of the body. Last time I dined with you; let me now +play the host." + +"We shall be charmed to dine with you," said Ayrault, "and shall +be only too glad of anything that will keep you with us." + +"Then," said the spirit, "as the tablecloth is laid, we need only +to have something on it. Let each please hold a corner," he +continued, taking one himself with his left hand, while he passed +his right to his brow. Soon flakes as of snow began to form in +the air above, and slowly descended upon the cloth; and, glancing +up, the three men saw that for a considerable height this process +was going on, the flakes increasing in size as they fell till +they attained a length of several inches. When there was enough +for them all on the table-cloth the shower ceased. Sitting down +on the ground, they began to eat this manna, which had a +delicious flavour and marvellous purity and freshness. + +"As you doubtless have already suspected," said the spirit, "the +basis of this in every case is carbon, combined with nitrogen in +its solid form, and with the other gases the atmosphere here +contains. You may notice that the flakes vary in colour as well +as in taste, both of which are of course governed by the gas with +which the carbon, also in its visible form, is combined. It is +almost the same process as that performed by every plant in +withdrawing carbon from the air and storing it in its trunk in +the form of wood, which, as charcoal, is again almost pure +carbon, only in this case the metamorphosis is far more rapid. +This is perhaps the natural law that Elijah, by God's aid, +invoked in the miracle of the widow's cruse, and that produced +the manna that fed the Israelites in the desert; while apergy +came in play in the case of the stream that Moses called from the +rock in the wilderness, which followed the descendants of Abraham +over the rough country through which they passed. In examining +miracles with the utmost deference, as we have a right to, we see +one law running through all. Even in Christ's miracle of +changing the water to wine, there was a natural law, though only +one has dwelt on earth who could make that change, which, from a +chemist's standpoint, was peculiarly difficult on account of the +required fermentation, which is the result of a developed and +matured germ. Many of His miracles, however, are as far beyond +my small power as heaven is above the earth. Much of the +substance of the loaves and fishes with which He fed the +multitude--the carbon and nitrogenous products--also came from +the air, though He could have taken them from many other sources. +The combination and building up of these in the ordinary way +would have taken weeks or months, but was performed +instantaneously by His mighty power." + +"What natural laws are known to you," asked Bearwarden, "that we +do not understand, or concerning the existence of which we are +ignorant?" + +"Most of the laws in the invisible world," said the spirit, "are +the counterpart or extension of laws that appear on earth, though +you as yet understand but a small part of those, many not having +come to your notice. You, for instance, know that light, heat, +and motion are analogous, and either of the last two can be +converted into the other; but in practice you produce motion of +the water molecules by the application of heat, and seldom +reverse it. One of the first things we master here is the power +to freeze or boil water, by checking the motion of the molecules +in one case, and by increasing it, and their mutual repulsion, in +the other. This is by virtue of a simple law, though in this +case there is no natural manifestation of it on earth with which +to compare it. While knowledge must be acquired here through +study, as on earth, the new senses we receive with the awakening +from death render the doing so easy, though with only the senses +we had before it would have been next to impossible. + +"At this moment snow is falling on the Callisto; but this you +could not know by seeing, and scarcely any degree of evolution +could develop your sight sufficiently, unassisted by death. With +your instruments, however, you could already perceive it, +notwithstanding the intervening rocks. + +"Your research on earth is the best and most thorough in the +history of the race; and could we but give you suggestions as to +the direction in which to push it, the difference between +yourselves and angels might be but little more than that between +the number and intensity of the senses and the composition of the +body. By the combination of natural laws you have rid yourselves +of the impediment of material weight, and can roam through space +like spirits, or as Columbus, by virtue of the confidence that +came with the discovery of the mariner's compass, roamed upon and +explored the sea. You have made a good beginning, and were not +your lives so short, and their requirements so peremptory, you +might visit the distant stars. + +"I will show you the working of evolution. Life sleeps in +minerals, dreams in plants, and wakes in you. The rock worn by +frost and age crumbles to earth and soil. This enters the +substance of the primordial plant, which, slowly rising; produces +the animal germ. After that the way is clear, and man is evolved +from protoplasm through the vertebrate and the ape. Here we have +the epitome of the struggle for life in the ages past, and the +analogue of the journey in the years to come. Does not the +Almighty Himself make this clear where He says through his +servant Isaiah, 'Behold of these stones will I raise up +children'?--and the name Adam means red earth. God, having +brought man so far, will not let evolution cease, and the next +stage of life must be the spiritual." + +"Can you tell us anything," asked Ayrault, "concerning the bodies +that those surviving the final judgment will receive?" + +"Notwithstanding the unfolding of knowledge that has come to us +here," replied the spirit, "there are still some subjects +concerning which we must look for information to the inspired +writers in the Bible, and every gain or discovery goes to prove +their veracity. We know that there are celestial bodies and +bodies terrestrial, and that the spiritual bodies we shall +receive in the resurrection will have power and will be +incorruptible and immortal. We also know by analogy and reason +that they will be unaffected by the cold and void of space, so +that their possessors can range through the universe for +non-nillions and decillions of miles, that they will have +marvellous capacities for enjoying what they find, and that no +undertaking or journey will be too difficult, though it be to the +centre of the sun. Though many of us can already visit the +remote regions of space as spirits, none can as yet see God; but +we know that as the sight we are to receive with our new bodies +sharpens, the pure in heart will see Him, though He is still as +invisible to the eyes of the most developed here as the ether of +space is to yours." + + + + CHAPTER VIII. + + CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY. + +The water-jug being empty, Ayrault took it up, and, crossing the +ridge of a small hill, descended to a running-brook. He had +filled it, and was straightening himself, when the stone on which +he stood turned, and he might have fallen, had not the bishop, of +whose presence he had been unaware, stretched out his hand and +upheld him. + +"I thought you might need a little help," he said with a smile, +"and so walked beside you, though you knew it not. Water is +heavy, and you may not yet have become accustomed to its +Saturnian weight." + +"Many thanks, my master," replied Ayrault, retaining his hand. +"Were it not that I am engaged to the girl I love, and am +sometimes haunted by the thought that in my absence she may be +forgetting me, I should wish to spend the rest of my natural life +here, unless I could persuade you to go with me to the earth." + +"By remaining here," replied the spirit, with a sad look, "you +would be losing the most priceless opportunities of doing good. +Neither will I go with you; but, as your distress is real, I will +tell you of anything happening on earth that you wish to know." + +"Tell me, then, what the person now in my thoughts is doing." + +"She is standing in a window facing west, watering some +forget-me-nots with a small silver sprinkler which has a ruby in +the handle." + +"Can you see anything else?" + +"Beneath the jewel is an inscription that runs: + + 'By those who in warm July are born + A single ruby should be worn; + Then will they be exempt and free + From love's doubts and anxiety.'" + +"Marvellous! Had I any doubts as to your prescience and power, +they would be dispelled now. One thing more let me ask, however: +Does she still love me?" + +"In her mind is but one thought, and in her heart is an +image--that of the man before me. She loves you with all her +soul." + +"My most eager wish is satisfied, and for the moment my heart is +at rest," replied Ayrault, as they turned their steps towards +camp. "Yet, such is my weakness by nature, that, ere twenty-four +hours have passed I shall long to have you tell me again." + +"I have been in love myself," replied the spirit, "and know the +feeling; yet to be of the smallest service to you gives me far +more happiness than it can give you. The mutual love in paradise +exceeds even the lover's love on earth, for it is only those that +loved and can love that are blessed. + +"You can hardly realize," the bishop continued, as they rejoined +Bearwarden and Cortlandt, "the joy that a spirit in paradise +experiences when, on reopening his eyes after passing death, +which is but the portal, he finds himself endowed with sight that +enables him to see such distances and with such distinctness. +The solar system, with this ringed planet, its swarm of +asteroids, and its intra-Mercurial planets--one of which, Vulcan, +you have already discovered--is a beautiful sight. The planets +nearest the sun receive such burning rays that their surfaces are +red-hot, and at the equator at perihelion are molten. These are +not seen from the earth, because, rising or setting almost +simultaneously with the sun, they are lost in its rays. The +great planet beyond Neptune's orbit is perhaps the most +interesting. This we call Cassandra, because it would be a +prophet of evil to any visitor from the stars who should judge +the solar system by it. This planet is nearly as large as +Jupiter, being 80,000 miles in diameter, but has a specific +gravity lighter than Saturn. Bode's law, you know, says, Write +down 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96. Add 4 to each, and get 4, 7, 10, +16, 28, 52, 100; and this series of numbers represents very +nearly the relative distances of the planets from the sun. +According to this law, you would expect the planet next beyond +Neptune to be about 5,000,000,000 miles from the sun. But it is +about 9,500,000,000, so that there is a gap between Neptune and +Cassandra, as between Mars and Jupiter, except that in +Cassandra's case there are no asteroids to show where any planet +was; we must, then, suppose it is an exception to Bode's law, or +that there was a planet that has completely disappeared. As +Cassandra would be within the law if there had been an +intermediary planet, we have good prima facie reason for +believing that it existed. Cassandra takes, in round numbers, a +thousand years to complete its orbit, and from it the sun, though +brighter, appears no larger than the earth's evening or morning +star. Cassandra has also three large moons; but these, when +full, shine with a pale-grey light, like the old moon in the new +moon's arms, in that terrestrial phenomenon when the earth, by +reflecting the crescent's light, and that of the sun, makes the +dark part visible. The temperature at Cassandra's surface is but +little above the cold of space, and no water exists in the liquid +state, it being as much a solid as aluminum or glass. There are +rivers and lakes, but these consist of liquefied hydrogen and +other gases, the heavier liquid collected in deep Places, and the +lighter, with less than half the specific gravity of ether, +floating upon it without mixing, as oil on water. When the +heavier penetrates to a sufficient depth, the interior being +still warm, it is converted into gas and driven back to the +surface, only to be recondensed on reaching the upper air. Thus +it may happen that two rains composed of separate liquids may +fall together. There being but little of any other atmosphere, +much of it consists of what you might call the vapour of +hydrogen, and many of the well-known gases and liquids on earth +exist only as liquids and solids; so that, were there mortal +inhabitants on Cassandra, they might build their houses of blocks +of oxygen or chlorine, as you do of limestone or marble, and use +ice that never melts, in place of glass, for transparence. They +would also use mercury for bullets in their rifles, just as +inhabitants of the intra-Vulcan planets at the other extreme +might, if their bodies consisted of asbestos, or were in any +other way non-combustibly constituted, bathe in tin, lead, or +even zinc, which ordinarily exist in the liquid state, as water +and mercury do on the earth. + +"Though Cassandra's atmosphere, such as it is, is mostly clear, +for the evaporation from the rivers and icy mediterraneans is +slight, the brightness of even the highest noon is less than an +earthly twilight, and the stars never cease to shine. The dark +base of the rocky cliffs is washed by the frigid tide, but there +is scarcely a sound, for the pebbles cannot be moved by the +weightless waves, and an occasional murmur is all that is heard. +Great rocks of ice reflect the light of the grey moons, and never +a leaf falls or a bird sings. With the exception of the mournful +ripples, the planet is silent as the grave. The animal and plant +kingdoms do not exist; only the mineral and spiritual worlds. I +say spiritual, because there are souls upon it; but it is the +home of the condemned in hell. Here dwell the transgressors who +died unrepentant, and those who were not saved by faith. This is +the one instance in which I do not enjoy my developed sight, for +I sometimes glance in their direction, and the vision that meets +me, as my eyes focus, distresses my soul. Their senses are like +an imperfect mirror, magnifying all that is bad in one another, +and distorting anything still partially good when that exists. +All those things that might at least distract them are hollow, +their misery being the inevitable result of the condition of mind +to which they became accustomed on earth and which brought them +to Cassandra. But let us turn to something brighter. + +"Though the solar system may seem complex, the sun is but a star +among the millions in the Milky Way, and, compared with the +planetary systems of Sirius, the stars of the Southern Cross, and +the motions of the nebula, it is simplicity itself. Compared +with the splendour of Sirius, with its diameter of twelve million +miles, the sun, measuring but eight hundred and forty thousand, +becomes insignificant; and this giant's system includes groups +and clusters of planets, many with three times the mass of +Jupiter, five and six together, each a different colour, +revolving about a common centre, while they swing about their +primary. Their numerous moons have satellites encircling them, +with orbits in some cases at right angles to the plane of the +ecliptic, so that they shine perpendicularly on what correspond +to the arctic and antarctic regions, while their axes are so +inclined that the satellites turn a complete somersault at each +revolution, producing glistening effects of ice and snow at the +poles. Some of the moons are at a red or white heat, and so +prevent the chill of night on the planets, while they shine with +more than reflected light. In addition to the five or six large +planets in each group, which, however, are many millions of miles +apart, there is in some clusters a small planet that swings +backward and forward across the common centre, like a pendulum, +but in nearly a straight line; and while this multiplicity of +motion goes on, the whole aggregation sweeps majestically around +Sirius, its mighty sun. Our little solar system contains, as we +know, about one thousand planets, satellites, and asteroids large +enough to be dignified by the name of heavenly bodies. Vast +numbers of the stars have a hundred and even a thousand times the +mass of our sun, and their systems being relatively as complex as +ours--in some cases even more so--they contain a hundred thousand +or a million individual bodies. + +"Over sixty million bright or incandescent stars were visible to +the terrestrial telescopes a hundred years ago, the average size +of which far exceeds our sun. To the magnificent telescopes of +to-day they are literally countless, and the number can be +indefinitely extended as your optical resources grow. Yet the +number of stars you see is utterly insignificant compared with +the cold and dark ones you cannot see, but concerning which you +are constantly learning more, by observing their effect on the +bright ones, both by perturbing them and by obscuring their rays. +Occasionally, as you know, a star of the twelfth or fifteenth +magnitude, or one that has been invisible, flares up for several +months to the fourth or fifth, through a collision with some dark +giant, and then returns to what it was in the beginning, a +gaseous, filmy nebula. These innumerable hosts of dark monsters, +though dead, are centres of systems, like most of the stars you +can see. + +"A slight consideration of these figures will show that, +notwithstanding the number of souls the Creator has given life on +earth, each one might in fact have a system to himself; and that, +however long the little globe may remain, as it were, a mint, in +which souls are tried by fire and moulded, and receive their +final stamp, they will always have room to circulate, and will be +prized according to the impress their faces or hearts must show. +But Sirius itself is moving many times faster than the swiftest +cannon ball, carrying its system with it; and I see you asking, +'To what does all this motion tend?' I will show you. Many +quadrillions of miles away, so far that your most powerful +telescopes have not yet caught a glimmer, rests in its serene +grandeur a star that we call Cosmos, because it is the centre of +this universe. Its diameter is as great as the diameter of +Cassandra's orbit, and notwithstanding its terrific heat, its +specific gravity, on account of the irresistible pressure at and +near the centre, is as great as that of the planet Mercury. This +holds all that your eyes or mine can see; and the so-called +motions of the stars--for we know that Sirius, among others, is +receding--is but the difference in the rate at which the +different systems and constellations swing around Cosmos, though +in doing so they often revolve about other systems or swing round +common centres, so that many are satellites of satellites many +times repeated. The orbits of some are circular, and of others +elliptical, as those of comets, and some revolve about each +other, or, as we have seen, about a common point while they +perform their celestial journey. A star, therefore, recedes or +advances, as Jupiter and Venus with relation to the earth. The +planet in the smaller orbit moves faster than that in the larger, +so that the intervening distances wax and wane, though all are +going in the same general direction. In the case of the members +of the solar system, astronomical record can tell when even a +most distant known planet has been in opposition or conjunction; +but the earth has scarcely been habitable since the sun was last +in its present position in its orbit around Cosmos. The curve +that our system follows is of such radius that it would require +the most precise observations for centuries to show that it was +not a straight line. + +"We call this the universe because it is all that the clearest +eyes or telescopes have been able to see, but it is only a +subdivision--in fact, but a system on a vaster scale than that of +the sun or of Sirius. Far beyond this visible universe, my +intuition tells me, are other systems more gigantic than this, +and entirely different in many respects. Even the effects of +gravitation are modified by the changed condition; for these +systems are spread out flat, like the rings of this planet, and +the ether of space is luminous instead of black, as here. These +systems are but in a later stage of development than ours; and in +the course of evolution our visible universe will be changed in +the same way, as I can explain. + +"In incalculable ages, the forward motion of the planets and +their satellites will be checked by the resistance of the ether +of space and the meteorites and solid matter they encounter. +Meteorites also overtake them, and, by striking them as it were +in the rear, propel them, but more are encountered in front--an +illustration of which you can have by walking rapidly or riding +on horseback on a rainy day, in which case more drops will strike +your chest than your back. The same rule applies to bodies in +space, while the meteorites encountered have more effect than +those following, since in one case it is the speed of the meteor +minus that of the planet, and in the other the sum of the two +velocities. With this checking of the forward motion, the +centrifugal force decreases, and the attraction of the central +body has more effect. When this takes place the planet or +satellite falls slightly towards the body around which it +revolves, thereby increasing its speed till the centrifugal force +again balances the centripetal. This would seem to make it +descend by fits and starts, but in reality the approach is nearly +constant, so that the orbits are in fact slightly spiral. What +is true of the planets and satellites is also true of the stars +with reference to Cosmos; though many even of these have +subordinate motions in their great journey. Though the +satellites of the moons revolve about the primaries in orbits +inclined at all kinds of angles to the planes of the ecliptics, +and even the moons vary in their paths about the planets, the +planets themselves revolve about the stars, like those of this +system about the sun, in substantially the same plane; and what +is true of the planets is even more true of the stars in their +orbits about Cosmos, so that when, after incalculable ages, they +do fall, they strike this monster sun at or near its equator, and +not falling perpendicularly, but in a line varying but slightly +from a tangent, and at terrific speed, they cause the colossus to +rotate more and more rapidly on its own axis, till it must become +greatly flattened at the poles, as the earth is slightly, and as +Jupiter and Saturn are a good deal. Even though not all the +stars are exactly in the plane of Cosmos's equator, as you can +see they are not there are as many above as below it, so that the +general average will be there; and as all are moving in the same +direction, it is not necessary for all to strike the same line, +those striking nearer the poles, where the circles are smaller, +and where the surface is not being carried forward so fast by the +giant's rotation, will have even more effect in increasing its +speed, since it will be like attaching the driving-rods of a +locomotive near the axle instead of near the circumference, and +with enough power will produce even greater results. As Cosmos +waxes greater from the result of these continual accretions, its +attraction for the stars will increase, until those coming from +the outer regions of its universe will move at such terrific +speed in their spiral orbits that before coming in contact they +will be almost invisible, having already absorbed all solid +matter revolving about themselves. These accessions of moving +matter, continually received at and near its equator, will cause +Cosmos to spread out like Saturn's rings till it becomes flat, +though the balance of forces will be so perfect that it is +doubtful whether an animal or a man placed there would feel much +change. + +"But these universes--or, more accurately, divisions of the +universe--already planes, though the vast surfaces are not so +flat as to preclude beautiful and gently rolling slopes, are +spirit-lands, and will be inhabited only by spirits. Then there +are great phosphorescent areas, and the colour of the surface +changes with every hour of the day, from the most brilliant +crimson to the softest shade of blue, radiant with many colours +that your eyes cannot now see. There are also myriads of scented +streams, consisting of hundreds of different and multi-coloured +liquids, each with a perfume sweeter than the most delicate +flower, and pouring forth the most heavenly music as they go on +their way. But be not surprised at the magnitude of the change, +for is it not written in Revelation, 'I saw a new heaven and a +new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed +away'? Nor can we be surprised at vastness, sublimity, and +beauty such as never was conceived of, for do we not find this in +His word, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered +into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for +them that love Him'? In this blissful state, those that feared +God and obeyed their consciences will live on forever; but their +rest can never become stagnation, for evolution is one of the +most constant laws, and never ceases, and they must always go +onward and upward, unspeakably blessed by the consciences they +made their rule in life, till in purity and power they shall +equal or exceed the angels of their Lord in heaven. + +"But you men of finite understanding will ask, as I myself should +have asked, How, by the law of hydrostatics, can liquids flow on +a plane? Remember that, though these divisions are astronomical +or geometrical planes, their surfaces undulate; but the moving +cause is this: At the centre of these planes is a pole, the +analogue, we will say, of the magnetic pole on earth, that has a +more effective attraction for a gas than for a liquid. When +liquids approach the periphery of the circle, the rapid rotation +and decreased pressure cause them to break up, whereupon the +elementary gases return to the centre in the atmosphere, if near +the surface, forming a gentle breeze. On nearing the centre, the +cause of the separation being removed, the gases reunite to form +a liquid, and the centrifugal force again sends this on its +journey." + +"Is there no way," asked Bearwarden, "by which a man may retrieve +himself, if he has lost or misused his opportunities on earth?" + +"The way a man lays up treasures in heaven, when on earth," +replied the spirit, "is by gladly doing something for some one +else, usually in some form sacrificing self. In hell no one can +do anything for any one else, because every one can have the +semblance of anything he wishes by merely concentrating his mind +upon it, though, when he has it, it is but a shadow and gives him +no pleasure. Thus no one can give any one else anything he +cannot obtain himself; and if he could, since it would be no +sacrifice on his part, he would derive no great moral comfort +from it. Neither can any one comfort any one else by putting his +acts or offences in a new light, for every one knows the whole +truth about himself and everybody else, so that nothing can be +made to appear favourably or unfavourably. All this, however, is +supposing there is the desire to be kind; but how can spirits +that were selfish and ill-disposed on earth, where there are so +many softening influences, have good inclinations in hell, where +they loathe one another with constantly increasing strength? + +"Inasmuch as both the good and the bad continue on the lines on +which they started when on earth, we are continually drawing +nearer to God, while they are departing. The gulf may be only +one of feeling, but that is enough. It follows, then, that with +God as our limit, which we of course can never reach, their +limit, in the geometrical sense, must be total separation from +Him. Though all spirits, we are told, live forever, it occurs to +me that in God's mercy there may be a gradual end; for though to +the happy souls in heaven a thousand years may seem as nothing, +existence in hell must drag along with leaden limbs, and a single +hour seem like a lifetime of regret. Since it is dreadful to +think that such unsoothed anguish should continue forever, I have +often pondered whether it might not be that, by a form of +involution and reversal of the past law, the spirit that came to +life evolved from the, mineral, plant, and animal worlds, may +mercifully retrace its steps one by one, till finally the soul +shall penetrate the solid rock and hide itself by becoming part +of the planet. Many people in my day believed that after death +their souls would enter stately trees, and spread abroad great +branches, dropping dead leaves over the places on which they had +stood while on earth. This might be the last step in the awful +tragedy of the fall and involution of a human soul. In this way, +those who had wasted the priceless opportunities given them by +God might be mercifully obliterated, for it seems as if they +would not be needed in the economy of the universe. The Bible, +however, mentions no such end, and says unmistakably that hell +will last forever; so that in this supposition, as in many +others, the wish is probably father of the thought." + +"But," persisted Bearwarden, "how about death-bed repentances?" + +"Those," replied the spirit, "are few and far between. The pains +of death at the last hour leave but little room for aught but +vain regret. A man dies suddenly, or may be unconscious some +time before the end. But they do occur. The question is, How +much credit is it to be good when you can do no more harm? The +time to resist evil and do that which is right is while the +temptation is on and in its strength. While life lasts there is +hope, but the books are sealed by death. The tree must fall to +one side or the other-- there is no middle ground--and as the +tree falleth, so it lieth. + +"This, however, is a gloomy subject, and one that in your heart +of hearts you understand. I would rather tell you more of the +beauties and splendours of space--of the orange, red, and blue +stars, and of the tremendous cyclonic movements going on within +them, which are even more violent than the storms that rage in +the sun. The clouds, as the spectroscope has already shown, +consist of iron, gold, and platinum in the form of vapour, while +the openings revealed by sun-spots, or rather star-spots, are so +tremendous that a comparatively small one would contain many +dozen such globes as the earth. I could tell you also of the +mysteries of the great dark companions of some of the stars, and +of the stars that are themselves dark and cold, with naught but +the faraway constellations to cheer them, on which night reigns +eternally, and that far outnumber the stars you can see. Also of +the multiplicity of sex and extraordinary forms of life that +exist there, though on none of them are there mortal men like +those on the earth. + +"Nature, in the process of evolution, has in all these cases gone +off on an entirely different course, the most intelligent and +highly developed species being in the form of marvellously +complex reptiles, winged serpents that sing most beautifully, but +whose blood is cold, being prevented from freezing in the upper +regions of the atmosphere by the presence of salt and chemicals, +and which are so intelligent that they have practically subdued +many of these dark stars to themselves. On others, the most +highly developed species have hollow, bell-shaped tentacles, into +which they inject two or more opposing gases from opposite sides +of their bodies, which, in combination, produce a strong +explosion. This provides them with an easy and rapid locomotion, +since the explosions find a sufficient resistance in the +surrounding air to propel the monsters much faster than birds. +These can at pleasure make their breath so poisonous that the +lungs of any creatures except themselves inhaling it are at once +turned to parchment. Others can give their enemies or their prey +an electric shock, sending a bolt through the heart, or can +paralyze the mind physically by an effort of their wills, causing +the brain to decompose while the victim is still alive. Others +have the same power that snakes have, though vastly intensified, +mesmerizing their victims from afar. + +"Still others have such delicate senses that in a way they +commune with spirits, though they have no souls themselves; for +in no part or corner of the universe except on earth are there +animals that have souls. Yet they know the meaning of the word, +and often bewail their hard lot in that no part of them can live +when the heart has ceased to beat. + +"Ah, my friends, if we had no souls--if, like the aesthetic +reptilia, we knew that when our dust dissolved our existence +would be over--we should realize the preciousness of what we hold +so lightly now. Man and the spirits and angels are the only +beings with souls, and in no place except on earth are new souls +being created. This gives you the greatest and grandest idea of +the dignity of life and its inestimable value. But it is as +difficult to describe the higher wonders of the stellar worlds to +you as to picture the glories of sunset to a blind man, for you +have experienced nothing with which to compare them. Instead of +seeing all that really is, you see but a small part." + + + + CHAPTER IX. + + DOCTOR CORTLANDT SEES HIS GRAVE. + + +"Is it not distasteful to you," Cortlandt asked, "to live so near +these loathsome dragons?" + +"Not in the least," replied the spirit. "They affect us no more +than the smallest micro-organism, for we see both with equal +clearness. Since we are not obliged to breathe, they cannot +injure us; and, besides, they serve to illustrate the working of +God's laws, and there is beauty in everything for those that have +the senses required for perceiving it. A feature of the +spiritual world is, that it does not interfere with the natural, +and the natural, except through faith, is not aware of its +presence." + +"Then why," asked Cortlandt, "was it necessary for the Almighty +to bring your souls to Saturn, since there would have been no +overcrowding if you had remained on the earth?" + +"That," replied the spirit, "was part of His wisdom; for the +spirit, being able at once to look back into the natural world, +if in it, would be troubled at the mistakes and tribulations of +his friends. Now, as a rule, before a spirit can return to +earth, his or her relatives and friends have also died; or, if he +can return before that happens, he is so advanced that he sees +the ulterior purpose, and therefore the wisdom of God's ways, and +is not distressed thereby. Lastly, as their expanding senses +grew, it would be painful for the blessed and condemned spirits +to be together. Therefore we are brought here, where God reveals +Himself to us more and more, and the flight of the other +souls--those unhappy ones--does not cease till they reach +Cassandra." + +"Can the souls on Cassandra also leave it in time and roam at +will?" asked Cortlandt. + +"I have seen none of them myself in my journeys to other planets; +but as the sun shines upon the just and the unjust, and there is +no exception to Nature's laws, I can reply that in time they do, +and with equal powers their incentive to roam would be greater; +for we are drawn together by common sympathy and pure, requited +love, while they are mutually repelled. Of course, some obtain a +measure of freedom before the rest, and these naturally roam the +farthest, and the more they see and the farther they go, the +stronger becomes their abhorrence for everything they meet." + +"Cannot you spirits help us, and the mortals now on earth, to +escape this fate?" + +"The greatest hope for your bodies and souls lies in the +communion with those that have passed through death; for the +least of them can tell you more than the wisest man on earth; and +could you all come or send representatives to the multitudes here +who cannot as yet return to you, but few on earth would be so +quixotically sinful as to refuse our advice. Since, however, the +greatest good comes to men from the learning that they make an +effort to secure, it is for you to strive to reach us, who can +act as go-betweens from God to you." + +"It seems to me," said Bearwarden, "that people are better now +than formerly. The sin of idolatry, for instance, has +disappeared--has it not?" + +"Men still set up idols of wealth, passion, or ambition in their +hearts. These they worship as in days gone by, only the form has +changed." + +"Could the souls on Cassandra do us bodily or mental injury, if +we could ever reach their planet?" asked Bearwarden. + +"They might oppress and distress you, but your faith would +protect you wherever you might go." + +"Can you give us a taste of your sense of prescience?" asked +Bearwarden again; "for, since it is not clear in what degree the +condemned receive this, and neither is it by any means sure that +I shall be saved, I should like for once in my history to +experience this sense of divinity, before my entity ends in +stone." + +"I will transfer to you my sense of prescience," replied the +spirit, "that you may foresee as prophets have. In so doing, I +shall but anticipate, since you will yourselves in time obtain +this sense in a greater or less degree. Is there any event in +the future you would like to see, in order that, when the vision +is fulfilled, it may tend to stablish your faith?" + +"Since I am the oldest," replied the doctor, "and shall probably +die before my friends, reveal to us, I pray you, the manner of my +death and the events immediately following. This may prove an +object-lesson to them, and will greatly interest me." + +"Your death will be caused by blood-poisoning, brought on by an +accident," began the spirit. "Some daybreak will find you weak, +after a troubled night, with your bodily resources at a low ebb. +Sunset will see you weaker, with your power of resistance almost +gone. Midnight will find you weaker still, and but little +removed from the point of death. A few hours later a kind hand +will close the lids of your half-shut eyes, which never again +will behold the light. The coffin will inclose your body, and +the last earthly journey begin. Now," the spirit continued, "you +shall all use my sight instead of your own." + +The walls of the cave seemed to expand, till they resembled those +of a great cathedral, while the stalactites appeared to be +metamorphosed into Gothic columns. They found themselves among a +large congregation that had come to attend the last sad rites, +while the great organ played Chopin's "Funeral March." The high +vault and arches received the organ's tone, and a sombre light +pervaded the interior. There was a slight flutter and a craning +of necks among those in the pews, as the procession began to +ascend the aisle. While the slow step of the pallbearers and +those carrying the coffin sounded on the stone floor, the clear +voice of the clergyman that headed the procession sounded these +words through the cathedral: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, +and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." As +the bier advanced, Bearwarden and Ayrault recognized themselves +among the pallbearers--the former with grey mustache and hair, +the latter considerably aged. The hermetically sealed lead +coffin was inclosed in a wooden case, and the whole was draped +and covered with flowers. + +"Oh, my faith!" cried Cortlandt, "I see my face within, yet it is +but a decomposing mass that I once described as I." + +Then again did the minister's voice proclaim, "I am the +resurrection and the life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in +me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth +and believeth in me shall never die." + +The bearers gently set down their burden; the minister read the +ever-impressive chapter of St. Paul to the Corinthians; a bishop +solemnly and silently sprinkled earth on the coffin; and the +choir sang the 398th hymn, beginning with the words, "Hark, hark +my soul! angelic songs are swelling," which had always been +Cortlandt's favourite and the service was at an end. The bearers +again shouldered all that was left of Henry Cortlandt, and his +relatives accompanied this to the cemetery. + +Then came a sweeping change of scene. A host of monuments and +gravestones reflected the sunlight, while a broad river ebbed and +flowed between high banks. A sexton and a watchman stood by a +granite vault, the heavy door of which they had opened with a +large key. Hard by were some gardeners and labourers, and also a +crowd of curiosity-seekers who had come to witness the last sad +rites. Presently a funeral procession appeared. The hearse +stopped near the open vault, over the door of which stood out the +name of CORTLANDT, and the accompanying minister said a short +prayer, while all present uncovered their heads. After this the +coffin was borne within and set at rest upon a slab, among many +generations of Cortlandts. In the hearts of the relatives and +friends was genuine sorrow, but the curiosity-seekers went their +way and gave little thought. "To-morrow will be like to-day," +they said, "and more great men will die." + +Then came another change of scene, though it was comparatively +slight. The sun slowly sank beyond the farther bank of the broad +river, and the moon and stars shone softly on the gravestones and +crosses. Two gardeners smoked their short clay pipes on a bench +before the Cortlandt vault, and talked in a slow manner. + +"He was a great man," said one, "and if his soul blooms like the +flowers on his grave, he must be in paradise, which we know is a +finer park than this." + +"He was expert for the Government when the earth's axis was set +right," said the second gardener, "and he must have been a +scholar, for his calculations have all come true. He was one of +the first three men to visit the other planets, while the +obituaries in the papers say his history will be read hereafter +like the books of Caesar. After burying all these great people, +I sometimes wish I could do the same for myself, for the people I +bury seem to be remembered." After this they relapsed into their +meditations, the silence being broken only by an occasional +murmur from the river's steady flow. + +Hereupon the voyagers found they were once more in the cave. The +fire had burned low, and the dawn was already in the east. +Cortlandt wiped his forehead, shivered, and looked extremely +pale. + +"Thank Heaven," he cried, "we cannot ordinarily foresee our end; +for but few would attain their predestined ending could they see +it in advance. May the veil not again be raised, lest I faint +before it! I looked in vain for my soul," he continued, "but +could see it nowhere." + +"The souls of those dying young," replied the spirit, "sometimes +wish to hover near their ashes as if regretting an unfinished +life, or the opportunities that have departed; but those dying +after middle age are usually glad to be free from their bodies, +and seldom think of them again." + +"I shall append the lines now in my head to my history," said +Cortlandt, "that where it goes they may go also. They can +scarcely fail to be instructive as the conclusions of a man who +has seen beyond his grave." Whereupon be wrote a stanza in his +note-book, and closed it without showing his companions what he +had written. + +"May they do all the good you hope, and much more!" replied the +spirit, "for the reward in the resurrection morning will vastly +exceed all your labours now. + +"O, my friends," the spirit continued most earnestly, addressing +the three, "are you prepared for your death-beds? When your eyes +glaze in their last sleep, and you lose that temporal world and +what you perhaps considered all, as in a haze, your dim vision +will then be displaced by the true creation that will be eternal. +Your unattained ambitions, your hopes, and your ideals will be +swallowed in the grave. Your works will secure you a place in +history, and many will remember your names until, in time, +oblivion covers your memory as the grass conceals your tombs. +Are you prepared for the time when your eyes become blind, and +your trusted senses fail? Your sorrowing friends will mourn, and +the flags of your clubs will fly at half-mast, but no earthly +thing can help you then. In what condition will the resurrection +morning find you, when your sins of neglect and commission plead +for vengeance, as Abel's blood from the ground? After that there +can be no change. The classification, as I have already told +you, is now going on; it will then be finished." + +"We are the most utterly wretched sinners!" cried Ayrault. "Show +us how we can be saved." + +"As an inhabitant of spirit-land, I will give you worldly +counsel," replied the bishop. "During my earthly administration, +as I told you, people came from far to hear me preach. This was +because I had eloquence and earnestness, both gifts of God. But +I was a miserably weak sinner myself. That which I would, I did +not, and that which I would not that I did; and I often prayed my +congregation to follow my sermons rather than my ways. I seemed +to do my followers good, and Daniel thus commends my way in his +last chapter: 'They that turn many to righteousness shall shine +as the stars forever and ever,' and the explanation is clear. +There is no surer way of learning than trying to teach. In +teaching my several flocks I was also improved myself. I was +sown in weakness, but was raised in power, strength being made +perfect in weakness. Therefore improve your fellows, though +yourself you cannot raise. The knowledge that you have sent many +souls to heaven, though you are yourself a castaway, will give +you unspeakable joy, and place you in heaven wherever you may be. +Yet remember this: none of us can win heaven; salvation is the +gift of God. I have said as much now as you can remember. +Farewell. Improve time while you can. Fear God and keep His +commandments. This is the whole duty of man." + +So saying, the spirit vanished in a cloud that for a +time emitted light. + +"I am not surprised," said Bearwarden, "that people took long +journeys to hear him. I would do so myself." + +"I have never had much fear of death," said Cortlandt, "but the +mere thought of it now makes my knees shake, and fills my heart +with dread. I thought I saw the most hateful forms about my +coffin, and imagined that they might be the personification of +doubt, coldness, and my other shortcomings, which had come +perhaps from sympathy, in invisible form. I was almost afraid to +ask the spirit for the explanation." + +"I saw them also," replied Bearwarden, "but took them to be +swarms of microbes waiting to destroy your body, or perhaps +trying in vain to penetrate your hermetically sealed coffin." + +Cortlandt seemed much upset, and spent the rest of the day in +writing out the facts and trying to assign a cause. Towards +evening Bearwarden, who had recovered his spirits, prepared +supper, after which they sat in the entrance to the cave. + + + + CHAPTER X. + + AYRAULT. + +As the, night became darker they caught sight of the earth again, +shining very faintly, and in his mind's eye Ayrault saw his +sweetheart, and the old, old repining that, since reason and love +began, has been in men's minds, came upon him and almost crushed +him. Without saying anything to his companions, Ayrault left the +cave, and, passing through the grove in which the spirit had paid +them his second visit, went slowly to the top of the hill about +half a mile off, that he might the more easily gaze at the faint +star on which he could picture Sylvia. + +"Ah!" he said to himself, on reaching the summit, "I will stay +here till the earth rises higher, and when it is far above me I +will gaze at it as at heaven." + +Accordingly, he lay down with his head on a mound of sod, and +watched the familiar planet. + +"We were born too soon," he soliloquized; "for had Sylvia and I +but lived in the spiritual age foretold by the bishop, we might +have held communion, while now our spirits, no matter how much in +love, are separated absolutely by a mere matter of distance. It +is a mockery to see Sylvia's dwelling-place, and feel that she is +beyond my vision. O that, in the absence of something better, my +poor imperfect eyes could be transformed into those of an eagle, +but with a million times the power! for though I know that with +these senses I shall see the resurrection, and hear the last +trump, that is but prospective, while now is the time I long for +sight." + +On the plain he had left he saw his friends' camp-fire, while on +the other side of his elevation was a valley in which the insects +chirped sharply, and through which ran a stream. Feeling a +desire for solitude and to be as far removed as possible, he +arose and descended towards the water. Though the autumn, where +they found themselves, was well advanced, this night was warm, +and the rings formed a great arch above his head. Near the +stream the frogs croaked happily, as if unmindful of the long +very long Saturnian winter; for though they were removed but +about ten degrees from the equator, the sun was so remote and the +axis of the planet so inclined that it was unlikely these +individual frogs would see another summer, though they might live +again, in a sense, in their descendants. The insects also would +soon be frozen and stiff, and the tall, graceful lilies that +still clung to life would be withered and dead. The trees, as if +weeping at the evanescence of the life around them, shed their +leaves at the faintest breeze. These fluttered to the ground, +or, falling into the tranquil stream, were carried away by it, +and passed from sight. Ayrault stood musing and regretting the +necessity of such general death. "But," he thought, "I would +rather die than lose my love; for then I should have had the +taste of bliss without its fulfilment, and should be worse off +than dead. Love gilds the commonplace, and deifies all it +touches. Love survives the winter, and in my present frame of +mind I should prefer earth and cold with it to heaven and spring. +Oh, why is my soul so clogged by my body?" + +A pillar of stone standing near him was suddenly shattered, and +the bishop stood where it had been. + + "Because," said the spirit, answering his thought, "it has not +yet power to be free." + +"Can a man's soul not rise till his body is dead? asked Ayrault. + +The spirit hesitated. + +"Oh, tell me," pleaded Ayrault. "If I could see the girl to whom +I am engaged, for but a moment, could be convinced that she loves +me still, my mind would be at rest. Free my soul or spirit, or +whatever it is, from this body, that I may traverse intervening +space and be with her." + +"You will discover the way for yourself in time," said the spirit. + +"I know I shall at the last day, in the resurrection, when I am +no longer in the flesh. Then I shall have no need of your aid; +for we, know that in the resurrection they neither marry nor are +given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven. It +is while I am mortal, and love as mortals do, that I wish to see +my promised bride. A spirit may have other joys, and perhaps +higher; but you who have lived in the world and loved, show me +that which is now my heart's desire. You have shown us the tomb +in which Cortlandt will lie buried; now help me to go to one who +is still alive." + +"I pray that God will grant you this," said the spirit, "and make +me His instrument, for I see the depth of your distress." Saying +which, he vanished, leaving no trace in his departure except that +the pillar of stone returned to its place. + +With this rather vague hope, Ayrault set off to rejoin his +companions, for he felt the need of human sympathy. Saturn's +rapid rotation had brought the earth almost to the zenith, the +little point shining with the unmistakably steady ray of a +planet. Huge bats fluttered about him, and the great +cloud-masses swept across the sky, being part of Saturn's +ceaseless whirl. He found he was in a hypnotic or spiritualistic +state, for it was not necessary for him to have his eyes open to +know where he was. In passing one of the pools they had noticed, +he observed that the upper and previously invisible liquid had +the bright colour of gold, and about it rested a group of figures +enveloped in light. + +"Why do you look so sad?" they asked. "You are in that abode of +departed spirits known as paradise, and should be happy." + +"I suppose I should be happy, were I here as you are, as the +reward of merit," he replied. "But I am still in the flesh, and +as such am subject to its cares." + +"You are about to have an experience," said another speaker. +"This day your doubts will be at rest, for before another sunset +you will know more of the woman you love." + +The intensity of the spiritualistic influence here somewhat +weakened, for he partially lost sight of the luminous figures, +and could no longer hear what they said. His heart was in his +mouth as he walked, and he felt like a man about to set out on +his honeymoon, or like a bride who knows not whether to laugh or +to cry. An indescribable exhilaration was constantly present. + +"I wonder," thought he, "if a caterpillar has these sensations +before becoming a butterfly? Though I return to the rock from +which I sprang, I believe I shall be with Sylvia to-day." + +Footprints formed in the soft ground all around him, and the air +was filled with spots of phosphorescent light that coincided with +the relative positions of the brains, hearts, and eyes of human +beings. These surrounded and often preceded him, as though +leading him on, while the most heavenly anthems filled the air +and the vault of the sky. + +"I believe," he thought, with bounding heart, "that I shall be +initiated into the mysteries of space this night." + +At times he could hear even the words of the choruses ringing in +his ears, though at others he thought the effect was altogether +in his mind. + +"Oh, for a proof," he prayed, "that no sane man can doubt! My +faith is implicit in the bishop and the vision, and I feel that +in some way I shall return to earth ere the close of another day, +for I know I am awake, and that this is no dream." + +A fire burned in the mouth of the cave, within which Bearwarden +and Cortlandt lay sleeping. The specks of mica in the rocks +reflected its light, but in addition to this a diffused +phosphorescence filled the place, and the large sod-covered +stones they used for pillows emitted purple and dark red flames. + +"Is that you, Dick?" asked Bearwarden, awaking and groping about. +"We built up the fire so that you should find the camp, but it +seems to have gone down." Saying which, he struck a match, +whereupon Ayrault ceased to see the phosphorescence or bluish +light. At that moment a peal of thunder awakened Cortlandt, who +sat up and rubbed his eyes. + +"I think," said Ayrault, "I will go to the Callisto and get our +mackintoshes before the rain sets in." Whereupon he left his +companions, who were soon again fast asleep. + +The sky had suddenly become filled with clouds, and Ayrault +hastened towards the Callisto, intending to remain there, if +necessary, until the storm was over. For about twenty minutes he +hurried on through the growing darkness, stopping once on high +ground to make sure of his bearings, and he had covered more than +half the distance when the rain came on in a flood, accompanied +by brilliant lightning. Seeing the huge, hollow trunk of a +fallen tree near, and not wishing to be wet through, Ayrault +fired several solid shots from his revolver into the cavity, to +drive out any wild animals there might be inside, and then +hurriedly crawled in, feet first. He next drew in his head, and +was congratulating himself on his snug retreat, when the sky +became lurid with a flash of lightning, then his head dropped +forward, and he was unconscious. + + + + CHAPTER XI. + + DREAMLAND TO SHADOWLAND. + +As Ayrault's consciousness returned, he fancied he heard music. +Though distant, it was distinct, and seemed to ring from the +ether of space. Occasionally it sounded even more remote, but it +was rhythmical and continuous, inspiring and stirring him as +nothing that he had ever heard before. Finally, it was overcome +by the more vivid impressions upon his other senses, and he found +himself walking in the streets of his native city. It was +spring, and the trees were white with buds. The long shadows of +the late afternoon stretched across the way, but the clear sky +gave indication of prolonged twilight, and the air was warm and +balmy. Nature was filled with life, and seemed to be proclaiming +that the cold was past. + +As he moved along the street he met a funeral procession. + +"What a pity," he thought, "a man should die, with summer so near +at hand!" + +He was also surprised at the keenness of his sight; for, inclosed +in each man's body, he saw the outline of his soul. But the dead +man's body was empty, like a cage without a bird. He also read +the thoughts in their minds. + +"Now," said a large man in the carriage next the hearse, "I may +win her, since she is a widow." + +The widow herself kept thinking: "Would it had been I! His life +was essential to the children, while I should scarcely have been +missed. I wish I had no duties here, and might follow him now." + +While pondering on these things, he reached Sylvia's house, and +went into the little room in which he had so often seen her. The +warm southwesterly breeze blew through the open windows, and far +beyond Central Park the approaching sunset promised to be +beautiful. The table was covered with flowers, and though he had +often seen that variety, he had never before noticed the +marvellous combinations of colours, while the room was filled +with a thousand delicious perfumes. The thrush hanging in the +window sang divinely, and in a silver frame he saw a likeness of +himself. + +"I have always loved this room," he thought, "but it seems to me +now like heaven." + +He sat down in an arm-chair from force of habit, to await his +fiancee. + +"Oh, for a walk with Sylvia by twilight!" his thoughts ran on, +"for she need not be at home again till after seven." + +Presently he heard the soft rustle of her dress, and rose to meet +her. Though she looked in his direction, she did not seem to see +him, and walked past him to the window. She was the picture of +loveliness silhouetted against the sky. He went towards her, and +gazed into her deep-sea eyes, which had a far-away expression. +She turned, went gracefully to the mantelpiece, and took a +photograph of herself from behind the clock. On its back Ayrault +had scrawled a boyish verse composed by himself, which ran: + + "My divine, most ideal Sylvia, + O vision, with eyes so blue, + 'Tis in the highest degree consequential, + To my existence in fact essential, + That I should be loved by you." + +As she read and reread those lines, with his whole soul he +yearned to have her look at him. He watched the colour come and +go in her clear, bright complexion, and was rejoiced to see in +her the personification of activity and health. Beneath his own +effusion on the photograph he saw something written in pencil, in +the hand he knew so well: + + "Did you but know how I love you, + No more silly things would you ask. + With my whole heart and soul I adore you-- + Idiot! goose! bombast!" + +And as she glanced at it, these thoughts crossed her mind: "I +shall never call you such names again. How much I shall have to +tell you! It is provoking that you stay away so long." + +He came still nearer--so near, in fact, that he could hear the +beating of her heart--but she still seemed entirely unconscious +of his presence. Losing his reserve and self-control, he +impulsively grasped at her hands, then fell on his knees, and +then, dumfounded, struggled to his feet. Her hands seemed to +slip through his; he was not able to touch her, and she was still +unaware of his presence. + +Suddenly a whole flood of light and the truth burst upon him. He +had passed painlessly and unconsciously from the dreamland of +Saturn to the shadowland of eternity. The mystery was solved. +Like the dead bishop, he had become a free spirit. His prayer +was answered, and his body, struck by lightning, lay far away on +that great ringed planet. How he longed to take in his arms the +girl who had promised herself to him, and who, he now saw, loved +him with her whole heart; but he was only an immaterial spirit, +lighter even than the ether of space, and the unchangeable laws +of the universe seemed to him but the irony of fate. As a +spirit, he was intangible and invisible to those in the flesh, +and likewise they were beyond his control. The tragedy of life +then dawned upon him, and the awful results of death made +themselves felt. He glanced at Sylvia. On coming in she had +looked radiantly happy; now she seemed depressed, and even the +bird stopped singing. + +"Oh," he thought, "could I but return to life for one hour, to +tell her how incessantly she has been in my thoughts, and how I +love her! Death, to the aged, is no loss--in fact, a +blessing--but now!" and he sobbed mentally in the anguish of his +soul. If he could but communicate with her, he thought; but he +remembered what the departed bishop had said, that it would take +most men centuries to do this, and that others could never learn. +By that time she, too, would be dead, perhaps having been the +wife of some one else, and he felt a sense of jealousy even +beyond the grave. Throwing himself upon a rug on the floor, in a +paroxysm of distress, he gazed at Sylvia. + +"Oh, horrible mockery!" he thought, thinking of the spirit. "He +gave me worse than a stone when I asked for bread; for, in place +of freedom, he sent me death. Could I but be alive again for a +few moments!" But, with a bitter smile, he again remembered the +words of the bishop, "What would a soul in hell not give for but +one hour on earth?" + +Sylvia had seated herself on a small sofa, on which, and next to +her, he had so often sat. Her gentle eyes had a thoughtful look, +while her face was the personification of intelligence and +beauty. She occasionally glanced at his photograph, which she +held in her hand. + +"Sylvia, Sylvia!" he suddenly cried, rising to his knees at her +feet. "I love, I adore you! It was my longing to be with you +that brought me here. I know you can neither see nor hear me, +but cannot your soul commune with mine?" + +"Is Dick here?" cried Sylvia, becoming deadly pale and getting +up, "or am I losing my reason?" + +Seeing that she was distressed by the power of his mind, Ayrault +once more sank to the floor, burying his face in his hands. + +Unable to endure this longer, and feeling as if his heart must +break, he rushed out into the street, wishing he might soothe his +anguish with a hypodermic injection of morphine, and that he had +a body with which to divert and suppress his soul. + +Night had fallen, and the electric lamps cast their white rays on +the ground, while the stars overhead shone in their eternal +serenity and calm. Then was it once more brought home to him +that he was a spirit, for darkness and light were alike, and he +felt the beginning of that sense of prescience of which the +bishop had spoken. Passing through the houses of some of the +clubs to which he belonged, he saw his name still upon the list +of members, and then he went to the places of amusement he knew +so well. On all sides were familiar faces, but what interested +him most was the great division incessantly going on. Here were +jolly people enjoying life and playing cards, who, his foresight +showed him, would in less than a year be under ground-- like +Mercutio, in "Romeo and Juliet," to-day known as merry fellows, +who to-morrow would be grave men. + +While his eyes beheld the sun, he had imagined the air felt warm +and balmy. He now saw that this had been a hallucination, for he +was chilled through and through. He also perceived that be cast +no shadow, and that no one observed his presence. He, on the +other hand, saw not only the air as it entered and left his +friends' lungs, but also the substance of their brains, and the +seeds of disease and death, whose presence they themselves did +not even suspect, and the seventy-five per cent of water in their +bodies, making them appear like sacks of liquid. In some he saw +the germs of consumption; in others, affections of the heart. In +all, he saw the incessant struggle between the healthy +blood-cells and the malignant, omnipresent bacilli that the cells +were trying to overcome. Many men and women he saw were in love, +and he could tell what all were about to do. Oh, the secrets +that were revealed, while the motives for acts were now laid bare +that till then he had misunderstood! He had often heard the old +saying, that if every person in a ball-room could read the +thoughts of the rest, the ball would seem a travesty on +enjoyment, rather than real pleasure, and now he perceived its +force. He also noticed that many were better than he had +supposed, and were trying, in a blundering but persevering way, +to obey their consciences. He saw some unselfish thoughts and +acts. Many things that he had attributed to irresolution or +inconsistency, he perceived were in reality self- sacrifice. He +went on in frantic disquiet, distance no longer being of +consequence, and in his roaming chanced to pass through the +graveyard in which many generations of his ancestors lay buried. +Within the leaden coffins he saw the cold remains; some well +preserved, others but handfuls of dust. + +"Tell me, O my progenitors," he cried, "you whose blood till this +morning flowed in my veins, is there not some way by which I, as +a spirit, can commune with the material world? I have always +admired your judgment and wisdom, and you have all been in +Shadowland longer than I. Give me, I pray you, some ancestral +advice." + +The only sound in answer was the hum of the insects that filled +the evening air. The moonlight shone softly, but in a ghastly +way, on the marble crosses of his vault and those around, and he +felt an unspeakable sadness within this abode of the dead. "How +many unfinished lives," he thought, "have ended beneath these +sods! Unimproved talents here are buried in the ground. +Unattained ambitions, and those who died before their time; those +who tried, in a half-hearted way, to improve their opportunities, +and accomplished something, and those who neglected them, and did +still less--all are together here, the just with the unjust, +though it be for the last time. The grave absorbs their bodies +and ends their probationary record, from which there is no +appeal." + +Near by were some open graves, ready to receive their occupants, +while a little farther on he recognized the Cortlandt mausoleum, +looking exactly as when shown him, through his second sight, by +the spirit on the previous day. + +From the graves filled recently, and from many others, rose +threads of coloured matter, in the form of gases, the forerunners +of miasma. He now perceived shadowy figures flitting about on +the ground and in the air, from whose eyes poured streams of +immaterial tears. Their brains, hearts, and vertebral columns +were the parts most easily seen, and they were filled with an +inextinguishable anguish and sorrow that from its very intensity +made itself seen as a blue flame. The ruffles and knickerbockers +in which some of these were attired, evidently by the effects of +the thoughts in their minds, doubtless from force of habit from +what they had worn on earth while alive, showed that they had +been dead at least two hundred years. Ayrault also now found +himself in street clothes, although when in his clubs he had worn +a dress suit. + +"Tell me, fellow-spirits," he said, addressing them, "how can I +communicate with one that is still alive?" + +They looked at him with moist eyes, but answered not a word. + +"I attributed the misery in my heart," thought Ayrault, "entirely +to the distress at losing Sylvia, which God knows is enough; but +though I suspected it before, I now see, by my companions, that I +am in the depths of hell." + + + + CHAPTER XII. + + SHEOL. + +Failing to find words to convey his thoughts, he threw himself +into an open grave, praying that the earth might hide his soul, +as he had supposed it some day would hide his body. But the +ground was like crystal, and he saw the white bones in the graves +all around him. Unable to endure these surroundings longer, he +rushed back to his old haunts, where he knew he should find the +friends of his youth. He did not pause to go by the usual way, +but passed, without stopping, through walls and buildings. Soon +he beheld the familiar scene, and heard his own name mentioned. +But there was no comfort here, and what he had seen of old was +but an incident to what he gazed on now. Praying with his whole +heart that he might make himself heard, he stepped upon a +foot-stool, and cried: + +"Your bodies are decaying before me. You are burying your +talents in the ground. We must all stand for final sentence at +the last day, mortals and spirits alike-- there is not a shadow +of a shade of doubt. Your every thought will be known, and for +every evil deed and every idle word God will bring us into +judgment. The angel of death is among you and at work in your +very midst. Are you prepared to receive him? He has already +killed my body, and now that I can never die I wish there was a +grave for my soul. I was reassured by a vision that told me I +was safe, but either it was a hallucination, or I have been +betrayed by some spirit. Last night I still lived, and my body +obeyed my will. Since then I have experienced death, and with +the resulting increased knowledge comes the loss of all hope, +with keener pangs than I supposed could exist. Oh, that I had +now their opportunities, that I might write a thesis that should +live forever, and save millions of souls from the anguish of +mine! Inoculate your mortal bodies with the germs of faith and +mutual love, in a stronger degree than they dwelt in me, lest you +lose the life above." + +But no one heard him, and he preached in vain. + +He again rushed forth, and, after a half-involuntary effort, +found himself in the street before his loved one's home. +Scarcely knowing why, except that it had become nature to wish to +be near her, he stood for a long time opposite her dwelling. + +"O house!" he cried, "inanimate object that can yet enthral me +so, I stand before your cold front as a suppliant from a very +distant realm; yet in my sadness I am colder than your stones, +more alone than in a desolate place. She that dwells within you +holds my love. I long for her shadow or the sound of her step. +I am more wretchedly in love than ever--I, an impotent, invisible +spirit. Must I bear this sorrow in addition to my others, in my +fruitless search for rest? My life will be a waking nightmare, +most bitter irony of fate." + +The trees swayed above his head, and the moon, in its last +quarter, looked dreamily at him. + +"Ah," thought Ayrault, "could I but sleep and be happy! +Drowsiness and weariness, fatigue's grasp is on me; or may +Sylvia's nearness soothe, as her voice has brought me calm! +Quiet I may some day enjoy, but slumber again, never! I see that +souls in hades must ever have their misdeeds before them. Happy +man in this world, the repentant's sins are forgiven! You lose +your care in sleep. Somnolence and drowsiness--balm of aching +hearts, angels of mercy! Mortals, how blessed! until you die, +God sends you this rest. When I recall summer evenings with +Sylvia, while gentle zephyrs fanned our brows, I would change +Pope's famous line to 'Man never is, but always HAS BEEN +blessed.'" + +A clock in a church-steeple now struck three, the sound ringing +through the still night air. + +"It will soon be time for ghosts to go," thought Ayrault. "I +must not haunt her dwelling." + +There was a light in Sylvia's study, and Ayrault remained +meditatively gazing at it. + +"Happy lamp," he thought, "to shed your light on one so fair! +She can see you, and you shine, for her. You are better off than +I. Would that her soul might shine for me, as your light shines +for her! The light of my life has departed. O that the darkness +were complete! I am dead," his thoughts ran on, and when the +privilege-- bitter word!--that permits me to remain here has +expired, I must doubtless return to Saturn, and there in +purgatory work out my probation. But what comfort is it that a +few centuries hence I may be able to revisit my native earth?-- + + The flowers will bloom in the morning light, + And the lark salute the sun, + The earth will continue to roll through space, + And I may be nearer my final grace, + But Sylvia's life-thread will be spun. + + +"Even Sylvia's house will be a heap of ruins, or its place will +be taken by something else. If I had Sylvia, I should care for +nothing; as I have lost her, even this sight, though sweet, must +always bring regret. I wish, at all events, I might see Sylvia, +if only with these spirit-eyes, since, as a mortal, she may never +gladden my sight again." + +To his surprise, he now perceived that he could see, +notwithstanding the drawn shades. Sylvia was at her +writing-desk, in a light-coloured wrapper. She sat there resting +her head on her hand, looking thoughtful but worried. Though it +was so late, she had not retired. The thrush that Ayrault had +often in life admired, and that she had for some reason brought +up-stairs, was silent and asleep. + +"Happy bird!" he said, "you obtain rest and forgetfulness on +covering your head; but what wing can cover my soul? I used to +wish I might flutter towards heaven on natural wings like you, +little thrush. Now I can, indeed, outfly you. But whatever I do +I'm unhappy, and wherever I go I'm in hell. What is man in his +helpless, first spiritual state? He is but a flower, and withers +soon. Had I, like the bishop, been less blind, and obeyed my +conscience clear, I might have returned to my native earth while +Sylvia still sojourns here; and coming thus by virtue of +development, I should be able to commune with her. + +"What is life?" he continued. "In the retrospect, nothing. It +seems to me already as but an infinitesimal point. Things that +engrossed me, and seemed of such moment, that overshadowed the +duty of obeying my conscience--what were they, and where? Ah, +where? They endured but a moment. Reality and evanescence-- +evanescence and reality." + +The light in Sylvia's room was out now, and in the east he beheld +the dawn. The ubiquitous grey which he saw at night was invaded +by streams of glorious crimson and blue that reached far up into +the sky. He gazed at the spectacle, and then once more at that +house in which his love was centred. + +"Would I might be her guardian angel, to guide her in the right +and keep her from all harm! Sleep on, Sylvia. Sweet one, sleep. +Yon stars fade beside your eyes. Your thoughts and your soul are +fairer far than the east in this day's sunrise. I know what I +have lost. Ah, desolating knowledge! for I have read Sylvia's +heart, and know I was loved as truly as I loved. When Bearwarden +and Cortlandt break her the news--ah, God! will she live, and do +they yet know I am dead?" + +Again came that spasm to shed spirit tears, and had he not known +it impossible he would have thought his heart must break. + +The birds twittered, and the light grew, but Ayrault lay with his +face upon the ground. Finally the spirit of unrest drove him on. +He passed the barred door of his own house, through which he had +entered so often. It was unchanged, but seemed deserted. Next, +he went to the water-front, where he had left his yacht. +Invisibly and sadly he stood upon her upper deck, and gazed at +the levers, in response to his touch on which the craft had cleft +the waves, reversed, or turned like a thing of life. + +"'Twas a pretty toy," he mused, "and many hours of joy have I had +as I floated through life on board of her." + +As he moped along he beheld two unkempt Italians having a +piano-organ and a violin. The music was not fine, but it touched +a chord in Ayrault's breast, for he had waltzed with Sylvia to +that air, and it made his heart ache. + +"Oh, the acuteness of my distress," he cried, "the utter depth of +my sorrow! Can I have no peace in death, no oblivion in the +grave? I am reminded of my blighted, hopeless love in all kinds +of unexpected ways, by unforeseen trifles. Oh, would I might, +indeed, die! May obliteration be my deliverer!" + +"Poor fellows," he continued, glancing at the Italians, for he +perceived that neither of the players was happy; the pianist was +avaricious, while the violinist's natural and habitual jealousy +destroyed his peace of mind. + +"Unhappiness seems the common lot," thought Ayrault. "Earth +cannot give that joy for which we sigh. Poor fellows! though you +rack my ears and distress my heart, I cannot help you now." + + + + CHAPTER XIII. + + THE PRIEST'S SERMON. + +It being the first day of the week, the morning air was filled +with chimes from many steeples. + +"Divine service always comforted in life," thought Ayrault, +"perchance it may do so now, when I have reached the state for +which it tried to prepare me." + +Accordingly, he moved on with the throng, and soon was ascending +the heights of Morningside Park, after which, he entered the +cathedral. The priest whose voice had so often thrilled him +stood at his post in his surplice, and the choir had finished the +processional hymn. During the responses in the litany, and +between the commandments, while the congregation and the choir +sang, he heard their natural voices as of old ascending to the +vaulted roof and arrested there. He now also heard their +spiritual voices resulting from the earnestness of their prayers. +These were rung through the vaster vault of space, arousing a +spiritual echo beyond the constellations and the nebulae. The +service, which was that of the Protestant Episcopal Church, +touched him as deeply as usual, after which the rector ascended +the steps to the pulpit. + +"The text, this morning," he began, "is from the eighth chapter +of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans, at the eighteenth verse: +'For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not +worthy to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us.' +Let us suppose that you or I, brethren, should become a free and +disembodied spirit. A minute vein in the brain bursts, or a clot +forms in the heart. It may be a mere trifle, some unexpected +thing, yet the career in the flesh is ended, the eternal life of +the liberated spirit begun. The soul slips from earth's grasp, +as air from our fingers, and finds itself in the frigid, +boundless void of space. Yet, through some longing this soul +might rejoin us, and, though invisible, might hear the +church-bells ring, and long to recall some one of the many bright +Sunday mornings spent here on earth. Has a direful misfortune +befallen this brother, or has a slave been set free? Let us +suppose for a moment that the first has occurred. 'Vanity of +vanities,' said the old preacher. 'Calamity of calamities,' says +the new. That soul's probationary period is ended; his record, +on which he must go, is forever made. He has been in the flesh, +let us say, one, two, three or four score years; before him are +the countless aeons of eternity. He may have had a reasonably +satisfactory life, from his point of view, and been fairly +successful in stilling conscience. That still, small voice +doubtless spoke pretty sharply at first, but after a while it +rarely troubled him, and in the end it spoke not at all. He may, +in a way, have enjoyed life and the beauties of nature. He has +seen the fresh leaves come and go, but he forgot the moral, that +be himself was but a leaf, and that, as they all dropped to earth +to make more soil, his ashes must also return to the ground. But +his soul, friends and brethren, what becomes of that? Ah! it is +the study of this question that moistens our eyes with tears. No +evil man is really happy here, and what must be his suffering in +the cold, cold land of spirits? No slumber or forgetfulness can +ease his lot in hades, and after his condemnation at the last +judgment he must forever face the unsoftened realities of +eternity. No evil thing or thought can find lodgment in heaven. +If it could, heaven would not be a happy place; neither can any +man improve in the abyss of hell. As the horizon gradually +darkens, and this soul recedes from God, the time spent in the +flesh must come to seem the most infinitesimal moment, more +evanescent than the tick of a clock. It seems dreadful that for +such short misdoings a soul should suffer so long, but no man can +be saved in spite of himself. He had the opportunities--and the +knowledge of this must give a soul the most acute pang. + +"In Revelation, xx, 6, we find these words, 'Blessed and holy is +he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second +death hath no power.' I have often asked myself, May not this +mean that those with a bad record in the general resurrection +after a time cease to exist, since all suffer one death at the +close of their period here? + +"This is somewhat suggested by Proverbs, xii, 28,. 'In the way +of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof there is no +death.' This might limit the everlasting damnation, so often +repeated elsewhere, to the lives of the condemned, since to them, +in a sense, it would be everlasting. + +"Let us now turn to the bright picture--the soul that has +weathered the storms of life and has reached the haven of rest. +The struggles, temptations, and trials overcome, have done their +work of refining with a rapidity that could not have been +equalled in any other way, and though, perhaps, very imperfect +still, the journey is ever on. The reward is tenfold, yet in +proportion to what this soul has done, for we know that the +servant who best used his ten talents was made ruler over ten +cities, while he that increased his five talents by five received +five; and the Saviour in whom he trusted, by whose aid he made +his fight, stands ready to receive him, saying, 'Enter thou into +the joy of thy Lord.' + +"As the dark, earthly background recedes, the clouds break and +the glorious light appears, the contrast heightening the +ever-unfolding and increasing delights, which are as great as the +recipients have power to enjoy, since these righteous souls +receive their rewards in proportion to the weight of the crosses +that they have borne in the right spirit. These souls are a joy +to their Creator, and are the heirs of Him in heaven. The +ceaseless, sleepless activity that must obtain in both paradise +and hades, and that must make the hearts of the godless grow +faint at the contemplation, is also a boundless promise to those +who have Him who is all in all. + +"Where is now thy Saviour? where is now thy God? the unjust man +has asked in his heart when he saw his just neighbour struggling +and unsuccessful. Both the righteous and the unrighteous man are +dead. The one has found his Saviour, the other is yearly losing +God. What is the suffering of the present momentary time, eased +as it is by God's mercy and presence, compared with the glories +that await us? What would it be if our lives here were filled +with nothing else, as ye know that your labour is not vain in the +Lord? Time and eternity--the finite and the infinite. Death +was, indeed, a deliverer, and the sunset of the body is the +sunrise of the soul." + +The priest held himself erect as a soldier while delivering this +sermon, making the great cathedral ring with his earnest and +solemn voice, while Ayrault, as a spirit, saw how absolutely he +meant and believed every word that he said. + +Nearly all the members of the congregation were moved--some more, +some less than they appeared. After the benediction they rapidly +dispersed, carrying in their hearts the germs he had sown; but +whether these would bear fruit or wither, time alone could show. + +Ayrault had noticed Sylvia's father and mother in church, but +Sylvia herself was not there, and he was distressed to think she +might be ill. + +"Why," pondered Ayrault, "am I so unhappy? I was baptized, +confirmed, and have taken the sacrament. I have always had an +unshaken faith, and, though often unsuccessful, have striven to +obey my conscience. The spirits also on Saturn kept saying I +should be happy. Now, did this mean it was incumbent upon me to +rejoice, because of some blessing I already had, and did not +appreciate, or did their prescience show them some prospective +happiness I was to enjoy? The visions also of Violet, the angel, +and the lily, which I believed, and still believe, were no mere +empty fancies, should have given me the most unspeakable joy. It +may be a mistake to apply earthly logic to heavenly things, but +the fundamental laws of science cannot change. + +"Why am I so unhappy?" he continued, returning to his original +question. "The visions gave promise of special grace, perhaps +some special favour. True, my prayer to see Sylvia was heard, +but, considering the sacrifice, this has been no blessing. The +request cannot have been wrong in itself, and as for the manner, +there was no arrogance in my heart. I asked as a mortal, as a +man of but finite understanding, for what concerned me most. +Why, oh why, so wretched?" + + + + CHAPTER XIV. + + HIC ILLE JACET. + +At daybreak the thunder-shower passed off, but was followed by a +cold, drenching rain. Supposing Ayrault had remained in the +Callisto, Bearwarden and Cortlandt did not feel anxious, and, not +wishing to be wet through, remained in the cave, keeping up a +good fire with the wood they had collected. Towards evening a +cold wind came up, and, thinking this might clear the air, they +ventured out, but, finding the ground saturated, and that the +rain was again beginning to fall, they returned to shelter, +prepared a dinner of canned meat, and made themselves as +comfortable as possible for the night. + +"I am surprised," said Cortlandt, "that Dick did not try to +return to us, since he had the mackintoshes." + +"I dare say he did try," replied Bearwarden, "but finding the +course inundated, and knowing we should not need the mackintoshes +if we remained under cover, decided to put back. The Callisto +is, of course, as safe as a church." + +"I hope," said Cortlandt, "no harm has come to him on the way. +It will be a weight off my mind to see him safely with us." + +"Should he not turn up in the morning," replied Bearwarden, "we +must begin a search for him bright and early." + +Making up the fire as near the entrance of the cave as they could +find a dry place, so that Ayrault should see it if he attempted +to return during the night, they piled on wood, and talked of +their recent experiences. + +"However unwilling I was," said Cortlandt, "to believe my senses, +which I felt were misleading me, I can no longer doubt the +reality of that spirit bishop, or the truth of what be says. +When you look at the question dispassionately, it is what you +might logically expect. In my desire to disprove what is to us +supernatural, I tried to create mentally a system that would be a +substitute for the one he described, but could evolve nothing +that so perfectly filled the requirements, or that was so simple. +Nothing seems more natural than that man, having been evolved +from stone, should continue his ascent till he discards material +altogether. The metamorphism is more striking in the first +change than in the second. Granted that the soul is immaterial, +and that it leaves the body after death, what is there to keep it +on earth? Gravitation cannot affect it. What is more likely +than that it is left behind by the earth in its orbit, or that it +continues its forward motion, but in a straight line, till, +reaching the paths of the greater planets, it is drawn to them by +some affinity or attraction that the earth does not possess, and +that the souls held in that manner remain here on probation, +developing like young animals or children, till, by gradually +acquired power, resulting from their wills, they are able to rise +again into space, to revisit the earth, and in time to explore +the universe? It might easily come about that, by some +explainable sympathy, the infant good souls are drawn to this +planet, while the condemned pass on to Cassandra, which holds +them by some property peculiar to itself, until perhaps they, +too, by virtue of their wills, acquire new power, unless +involution sets in and they lose what they have. The simplicity +of the thing is what surprises me now, and that for ages +philosophers have been racking their brains with every +conceivable fancy, when, by simply extending and following +natural laws, they could discern the whole." + +"It is the old story," said Bearwarden, "of Columbus and the egg. +Schopenhouer and his predecessors appear to have tried every idea +but the right one, and even Darwin and Huxley fell short in their +reasoning, because they tried to obtain more or less than four by +putting two with two." + +Thus they sat and talked while the night wore on. Neither +thought of sleeping, hoping all the while that Ayrault might walk +in as he had the night before. + +At last the dawn began to tint the east, and the growing light +showed them that the storm had passed. The upper strata of +Saturn's atmosphere being filled with infinitesimal particles of +dust, as a result of its numerous volcanoes, the conditions were +highly favourable to beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Soon +coloured streaks extended far into the sky, and though they knew +that when the sun's disc appeared it would seem small, it filled +the almost boundless eastern horizon with the most variegated and +gorgeous hues. + +Turning away from the welcome sight--for their minds were ill at +ease--they found the light strong enough for their search to +begin. Writing on a sheet of paper, in a large hand, "Have gone +to the Callisto to look for you; shall afterwards return here," +they pinned this in a conspicuous place and set out due west, +keeping about a hundred yards apart. The ground was wet and +slippery, but overhead all was clear, and the sun soon shone +brightly. Looking to right and left, and occasionally shouting +and discharging their revolvers, they went on for half an hour. + +"I have his tracks," called Bearwarden, and Cortlandt hastened to +join him. + +In the soft ground, sure enough, they saw Ayrault's footprints, +and, from the distance between them, concluded that he must have +been running or walking very fast; but the rain had washed down +the edges of the incision. The trail ascended a gentle slope, +where they lost it; but on reaching the summit they saw it again +with the feet together, as though Ayrault had paused, and about +it were many other impressions with the feet turned in, as if the +walkers or standers had surrounded Ayrault, who was in the +centre. + +"I hope," said Cortlandt, "these are nothing more than the +footprints we have seen formed about ourselves." + +"See," said Bearwarden, "Dick's trail goes on, and the others +vanish. They cannot have been made by savages or Indians, for +they seem to have had weight only while standing." + +They then resumed their march, firing a revolver shot at +intervals of a minute. Suddenly they came upon a tall, straight +tree, uprooted by the wind and lying diagonally across their +path. Following with their eyes the direction in which it lay, +they saw a large, hollow trunk, with the bark stripped off, and +charred as if struck by lightning. Obliged to pass near this by +the uprooted tree-whose thick trunk, upheld by the branches at +the head, lay raised about two feet from the ground-- both +searchers gave a start, and stood still as if petrified. Inside +the great trunk they saw a head, and, on looking more closely, +descried Ayrault's body. Grasping it by the arms, they drew it +out. The face was pale and the limbs were stiff. Instantly +Cortlandt unfastened the collar, while Bearwarden applied a flask +to the lips. But they soon found that their efforts were vain. + +"The spirit!" ejaculated Cortlandt. "Dick may be in a trance, in +which case he can help us. Let us will hard and long." + +Accordingly, they threw themselves on their faces, closing their +eyes, that nothing might distract their concentration. Minutes, +which seemed like ages, passed, and there was no response. + +"Now," said Bearwarden, "will together, hard." + +Suddenly the stillness was broken by the spirit's voice, which +said: + +"I felt more than one mind calling, but the effect was so slight +I thought first I was mistaken. I will help you in what you +want, for the young man is not dead, neither is he injured." + +Saying which, he stretched himself upon Ayrault, worked his lungs +artificially, and willed with an intensity the observers could +feel where they stood. Quickly the colour returned to Ayrault's +cheeks, and with the spirit's assistance he sat up and leaned +against the tree that had protected him from the storm. + +"Your promise was realized," he said, addressing the spirit. "I +have seen what I shall never forget, and lest the anguish--the +vision of which I saw--come true, let us return to the earth, and +not leave it till I have tasted in reality the joys that in the +spirit I seemed to have missed. I have often longed in this life +to be in the spirit, but never knew what longing was, till I +experienced it as a spirit, to be once more in the flesh." + +"You see the mercy of God," said the spirit, "in not ordinarily +allowing the spirits of the departed to revisit earth until they +are prepared--that is, until they are sufficiently advanced to go +there unaided--by which time they have come to understand the +wisdom of God's laws. In your case the limiting laws were +partially suspended, so that you were able to return at once, +with many of the faculties and senses of spirits, but without +their accumulated experience. It speaks well for your state of +preparation that, without having had those disguised blessings, +illness or misfortune, you were not utterly crushed by what you +saw when temporarily released. While in the trance you were not +in hell, but experienced the feelings that all mortals would if +allowed to return immediately. Thus no lover can return to earth +till his fiancee has joined him here, or till, perceiving the +benevolence of God's ways, he is not distressed at what he sees, +and has the companionship of a host of kindred spirits. + +"The spirits you saw in the cemetery were indeed in hell, but had +become sufficiently developed to revisit the earth, though doing +so did not relieve their distress; for neither the development of +their senses, which intensifies their capacity for remorse and +regret, nor their investigations into God's boundless mercies, +which they have deliberately thrown away, can comfort them. + +"Some of your ancestors are on Cassandra, and others are in +purgatory here. Though a few faintly felt your prayer, none were +able to return and answer beside their graves. It was at your +request and prayer that He freed your spirit, but you see how +unhappy it made you." + +"I see," replied Ayrault, "that no man should wish to anticipate +the workings of the Almighty, although I have been unspeakably +blessed in that He made an exception--if I may so call it--in my +favour, since, in addition to revealing the responsibilities of +life, it has shown me the inestimable value and loyalty of +woman's love. I fear, however, that my return to earth greatly +distressed the waterer of the flowers you showed me." + +"She already sleeps," replied the spirit, "and I have comforted +her by a dream in which she sees that you are well." + +"When shall we start?" asked Bearwarden. + +"As soon as you can get ready," replied Ayrault. "I would not +risk running short of enough current to generate the apergy +needed to get us back. I dare say when I have been on earth a +few years, and have done something for the good of my +soul--which, as I take it, can be accomplished as well by +advancing science as in any other way--I shall pine for another +journey in space as I now do to return." + +"How I wish I were engaged," said Bearwarden, glancing at +Cortlandt, and overjoyed at Ayrault's recovery. + +Accordingly, they resumed their march in the direction in which +they had been going when they found Ayrault, and were soon beside +the Callisto. Cortlandt worked the combination lock of the lower +entrance, through which they crawled. Going to the second story, +they opened a large window and let down a ladder, on which the +spirit ascended at their invitation. + +Bearwarden and Ayrault immediately set about combining the +chemicals that were to produce the force necessary to repel them +from Saturn. Bubbles of hydrogen were given off from the lead +and zinc plates, and the viscous primary batteries quickly had +the wires passing through a vacuum at a white heat. + +"I see you are nearly ready to start," said the spirit, "so I +must say farewell." + +"Will you not come with us?" asked Ayrault. + +"No," replied the spirit. "I do not wish to be away as long as +it will take you to reach the earth. The Callisto's atmosphere +could not absorb my body, so that, should I leave you before your +arrival, you would be burdened with a corpse. I may visit you in +the spirit, though the desire and effort for communion with +spirits, to be of most good, must needs come from the earth. Ere +long, my intuition tells me, we shall meet again. + +"The vision of your own grave," he continued, addressing +Cortlandt, "may not come true for many years, but however long +your lives may be, according to earthly reckoning, remember that +when they are past they will seem to have been hardly more than a +moment, for they are the personification of frailty and +evanescence." + +He held up his hands and blessed them; and then repeating, +"Farewell and a happy return!" descended as he had come up. + +The air was filled with misty shadows, and the pulsating hearts, +luminous brains, and centres of spiritual activity quivered with +motion. They surrounded the incarnate spirit of the bishop and +set up the soft, musical hum the travellers had heard so often +since their arrival on Saturn. + +"I now understand," thought Ayrault, "why the spirits I met kept +repeating that I should be happy. They perceived I was to be +translated, and though they doubtless knew what suffering it +would cause, they also knew I should be awakened to a sense of +great realities, of which I understood but little." + +They drew up the ladder and turned on the current, and the +Callisto slowly began to rise, while the three friends crowded +the window. + +"Good-bye!" called the spirit's pleasant voice, to which the men +replied in chorus. + +The sun had set on the surface of the planet while they made +their preparations; but as the Callisto rose higher, it seemed to +rise again, making the sides of their car shine like silver, and, +carefully closing the two open windows, they watched the +fast-receding world, so many times larger and more magnificent +than their own. + + + + CHAPTER XV. + + MOTHER EARTH. + +"There is something sad," said Cortlandt, "about the end of +everything, but I am more sorry to leave Saturn than I have ever +been in taking leave of any other place." + +When beyond the limits of the atmosphere they applied the full +current, and were soon once more cleaving the ether at cometary +speed, their motion towards the sun being aided by that great +body itself. + +They quickly passed beyond the outer edge of the vast silvery +rings, and then crossed one after another the orbits of the +moons, from the last of which, Iapetus, they obtained their final +course in the direction of the earth. They had an acute feeling +of homesickness for the mysterious planet on which, while yet +mortal, they had found paradise, and had communed with spirits as +no modern men ever did. + +Without deviating from their almost straight line, they passed +within a million miles of Jupiter, which had gained in its +smaller orbit on Saturn, and a few days later crossed the track +of Mars. + +As the earth had completed nearly half a revolution in its orbit +since their departure, they here turned somewhat to the right by +attracting the ruddy planet, in order to avoid passing too near +the sun. + +"On some future expedition," said Ayrault, "and when we have a +supply of blue glasses, we can take a trip to Venus, if we can +find a possible season in her year. Compared with this journey, +it would be only like going round the block." + +Two days later they had rounded the sun, and laid their course in +pursuit of the earth. + +That the astronomers in the dark hemisphere were at their posts +and saw them, was evident; for a brilliant beam of light again +flashed forth, this time from a point a little south of the +arctic circle, and after shining one minute, telegraphed this +message: "Rejoiced to see you again. Hope all are well." + +Since they were not sufficiently near the moon's shadow, they +directed their light-beam into their own, which trailed off on +one side, and answered: "All well, thank you. Have wonderful +things to relate." + +The men at the telescopes then, as before, read the message, and +telephoned the light this next question: "When are you coming +down, that we may notify the newspapers?" + +"We wish one more sight of the earth from this height, by +daylight. We are now swinging to get between it and the sun." + +"We have erected a monument in Van Cortlandt Park, and engraved +upon it, 'At this place James Bearwarden, Henry Chelmsford +Cortlandt, and Richard Rokeby Ayrault left earth, December 21, A. +D. 2000, to visit Jupiter.'" + +"Add to it, 'They returned on the 10th of the following June.'" + +Soon the Callisto came nearly between the earth and the sun, when +the astronomers could see it only through darkened glasses, and +it appeared almost as a crescent. The sight the travellers then +beheld was superb. It was about 11 A. M. in London, and Europe +was spread before them like a map. All its peninsulas and +islands, enclosed blue seas, and bays came out in clear relief. +Gradually Russia, Germany, France, the British Isles, and Spain +moved towards the horizon, as in grand procession, and at the +same time the Western hemisphere appeared. The hour of day at +the longitude above which they hung was about the same as when +they set out, but the sun shone far more directly upon the +Northern hemisphere than then, and instead of bleak December, +this was the leafy month of June. + +They were loath to end the lovely scene, and would fain have +remained where they were while the earth revolved again; but, +remembering that their friends must by this time be waiting, they +shut off the repulsion from the earth. + +"We need not apply the apergy to the earth until quite near," +said Ayrault, "since a great part of the top speed will be taken +off by the resistance of the atmosphere, especially as we go in +base first. We have only to keep a sufficiently strong repulsion +on the dome to prevent our turning over, and to see that our +speed is not great enough to heat the car." + +When about fifty miles from the surface they felt the expected +check, and concluded they had reached the upper limits of the +atmosphere. And this increased, notwithstanding the decrease in +their speed, showing how quickly the air became dense. + +When about a mile from the earth they had the Callisto well in +hand, and allowed it to descend slowly. The ground was already +black with people, who, having learned where the Callisto was to +touch, had hastened to Van Cortlandt Park. + +"I am overjoyed to see you," said Sylvia, when she and Ayrault +met. "I had the most dreadful presentiment that something had +gone wrong with you. One afternoon and evening I was so +perplexed, and during the night had a series of nightmares that I +shall never forget. I really believed you were near me, but your +nature seemed to have changed, for, instead of its making me +happy, I was frightfully distressed. The next day I was very +ill, and unable to get up; but during the morning I fell asleep +and had another dream, which was intensely realistic and made me +believe--yes, convinced me--that you were well. After that dream +I soon recovered; but oh, the anguish of the first!" + +Ayrault did not tell her then that he had been near her, and of +his unspeakable suffering, of which hers had been but the echo. + +Three weeks later a clergyman tied the knot that was to unite +them forever. + +While Sylvia and Ayrault were standing up to receive the +congratulations of their friends, Bearwarden, in shaking his +hand, said: + +"Remember, we have been to neither Uranus, nor Neptune, nor +Cassandra, which may be as interesting as anything we have seen. +Should you want to take another trip, count me as your humble +servant." And Cortlandt, following behind him, said the same +thing. + +Shortly after this, Sylvia went up-stairs to change her dress, +and when she came down she and Ayrault set out on their journey +together through life, amid a chorus of cheers and a shower of +rice. + +Cortlandt then returned to his department at Washington, and +Bearwarden resumed his duties with the Terrestrial Axis +Straightening Company, in the presidential chair. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext: A Journey in Other Worlds, J. J. Astor + |