"Then we will cool it," I said, as I shut off part of the burners, "or if this is not enough, I will shut them all off."
"But," said Mike, "you have it so hot now that it will take an hour to cool off."
"Not so," I replied. "I will open the doors and start the electric fans," and suiting the action to the word, a cool breeze took the place of the sultry air. "But if you want it cooler," I continued, "I will bring the temperature down a point or two more," and closing the doors, I opened the refrigerator compartment and in a moment we were shivering with the cold.
"Well!" exclaimed Mike, "I never knew climate to change so rapidly. I think you have not been dodging up to the Pole and back for nothing. You seem to have provided for every emergency but one, and that is the freezing of the moisture which is already obscuring your lookouts by this manufactured dose of winter."
"That is provided for," I said, as I started the circular lookout glasses into motion under a specially prepared brush which absorbed the moisture. Mike noticed the disappearance of the clouds on the lookouts but did not observe the cause and looked at me inquiringly.
"Put your hand on the glass," I said, "and it will explain itself."
"Well I should think it would!" he exclaimed as he jerked back his hand. "The whole window is just a whizzing; and now I see that the cross bar is a brush that seems to have drank up the moisture."
"I have tried to provide for every contingency,"I said, as I turned the prow of the Eolus down the valley of the Cocytas, and put her at full speed. "I regard it as a matter of the first importance that a full account of our discoveries shall be transmitted to our own country. We must join the excursion on board the Silver King as soon as we can. I want to interview as many of the representatives from other countries as possible. I must gather all the useful knowledge I can for the benefit of the external world."
"That is right," said Mike, "and I would be far from stopping you, but I want you to be after going slow a bit."
"Why what is the matter?" I asked, as I checked our speed.
"Just this," said Mike, producing a box, "it will take money in the outer world to secure the publication of your book and here is our wages from the Ice King. It is of no use to us in this country, and we want it to be used to send your book broadcast. You will see that it is divided into two parcels, one belongs to Lief and Eric and the other to Pat and myself."
Here Lief broke into our conversation, speaking the Altrurian language like a native, saying:
"We want your book to be translated into all languages,—and it will be, just as soon as our wonderful discoveries are known in any civilised country. We particularly want our own people to hear about this country, and that we are not the first Norsemen who came here. Tell them about the old Viking, and also of the Norwegian names which are found everywhere."
"I have noted these things," I said, "as well as the part you have taken in the expedition. How you saved the Ice King by your prompt action when wewere caught in the ice, and how your ability as seamen enabled us to get through after the larger part of the crew had deserted."
"Oh! we ask no credit for that," said Eric. "We shipped for a purpose, and have in a measure found what we were looking for. When the right time comes our people will hear from us, and when they do, we may be able to add something of value to the great work for humanity which you have undertaken. All we ask for now is, that your account of our discoveries shall be given to the outside world."
"And I promise you," I said, "that your money shall be used for that purpose, and I fully believe that what we have learned, will be the greatest boon that could be conferred upon the people of the outer world. In the name of humanity I accept the trust you place in my hands and I shall see that your gold shall be used to emancipate your fellow workmen from the tyranny now imposed upon them by human greed."
As we sped down the valley a glass of small magnifying power brought the Silver King into view gliding northward on the bay like a thing of life. I timed the Eolus so as to join the excursion on this floating crystal palace when it passed out upon the ocean. As we slowly settled in the place that had been set apart for us, the crowds gathered around and I was kept busy answering questions and explaining the use of the various attachments which experience had demonstrated to be essential to the successful navigation of the air in the external world.
This was an excursion long to be remembered. The crowds of elegantly dressed people who thronged the decks of the Silver King had gathered from every part of the concave to accompany us to the northernextremity of Altruria, a distance of about 7,000 miles from the mouth of the Cocytas. It was intended that we should cover this distance in seven days, which would make the actual time of my departure on my aerial voyage, the morning of the twenty-third of May.
As the excursion was to last one full week a series of entertainments was provided to make the time pass pleasantly and profitably. Music, dancing and theatrical performances were interspersed with lectures and social converse touching upon leading subjects of thought and action. The program made this journey one ceaseless round of enjoyment. The records of the conversations preserved by my locket phonograph, I regard as the most instructive and valuable historical, scientific and ethical lessons I have ever listened to, and which I hope to be able to give to the world when the occasion requires.
On the evening of the twenty-second, Oqua called my attention to the kaleidoscopic lights on the Watch Tower which was to be the point where I would bid farewell to my Altrurian friends as well as my comrades of the Ice King. In the pitch dark nights of the outer world such an exhibition would have been beautiful and grand beyond description but even here, with the reflected light which made the darkest nights comparatively light, the scene through our glasses, of the ever changing views was such, that I never tired of observing them. These lights presented all the prismatic hues of the rainbow with the intermediate shades, continually changing from one geometrical figure to another, but always coming around to a five pointed star which is the symbol and sign manual of the material civilization of this inner world; the changing colors kept pace with the changing geometrical figures, always returningto the five pointed star, until it had been reproduced in each of the seven prismatic colors.
This seemed to be the regular order, but suddenly it was broken, by giving only the stars in the seven different colors in a rapid succession, until they resolved themselves into a circle, revolving swiftly on its axis. Seeing my interest in this change, Oqua said:
"The keeper has just noticed our approach and is operating the keys to send us a welcome in the name of the entire concave. This welcome will be repeated by every signal station on this parallel around the world. The principal use of these lights is to send messages by means of the changing figures, which are well understood by the people of this country, and especially those who navigate these northern waters. The one great drawback to their use, is, that they must be observed through glasses which are especially adapted to this purpose. Here in this inner world where it is never absolutely dark we cannot take the full advantage of these light signals, without the use of external appliances."
As she spoke she set the great telescope through which I was looking to revolving so as to take in a zone all around the concave, and I observed other signal lights responding in regular order along this zone.
"These signal stations," continued Oqua, "are under the control of the Life Saving Service, and the keepers with these glasses are always on the lookout for mariners who may be in danger, and their signal messages notify any patrols that may observe them of the nature of the danger as well as the locality of the endangered. Had the Ice King come within the radius of any of these Signal Stations at almost any other time, you would certainly have been discovered and rescued.But at the time you came into these waters the fog had effectually checkmated our observations. For this reason we are agitating for the extension of this system to medial and equatorial latitudes, as a time has come when it seems likely that other ships like the Ice King, may drift into these placid waters where sails are useless, and hence be powerless to save themselves from certain destruction by being carried into the southern verge on ocean currents which never touch the land."
On the morning of the twenty-third when I awoke, the Silver King was lying at the wharf and I had a close view of the Watch Tower and its ever changing signal lights. It was more like a lofty building than a mere tower. It was a hexagon in shape, two hundred and fifty feet in height with a large platform on top, in the center of which was a huge column like the body of a tall tree branching out into numerous arms, each supporting a series of electric lights. The mechanical contrivance by which these lights were controlled was automatic, but as occasion required could be changed by the watchman in the observatory to signal any message required to all whom it might concern. This building from outside to outside was one hundred feet at the base and fifty feet at the top, while the inside diameter was the same from top to bottom. On the outside was a spiral stairway reaching from the ground to the platform at the top and in the center was an electric elevator, connected with each of the twenty stories.
The hour of my departure had come. According to the program I was to bid farewell to the members of the Inner World Council and my old comrades of the Ice King and some personal friends at the top of the tower where they had already assembled. The crew ofthe Silver King and her throngs of excursionists had gathered on the deck and the wharf to see me take my flight. When all was ready, I took my place on the Eolus and rising a few feet sailed slowly around this magnificent ship, coming to a halt on the starboard quarter where Captain Thorfin, acting as spokesman, said:
"In the name of the people here assembled from all parts of the world who have accompanied you thus far on your daring expedition, I am requested to express to you our exalted opinion of your courage, your ability and worth, and to thank you for the inestimable service which you have undertaken to render to our people, by extending their sphere of knowledge in regard to the external world. You are now engaged in a work for which our people are powerless. We realize that we are to profit by your perils. You will ever occupy a warm place in our affections. Accept our thanks for your heroic efforts to open a channel of communication with our fellow beings of the external world. Hoping for your speedy return we bid you a loving farewell."
"And through you," I responded, "I desire to extend my heartfelt thanks to those who are beyond the reach of my voice, for this demonstration of their interest, and may the channel of communication, which we hope to establish between the internal and the external worlds never again be closed. But as yet I have not accomplished anything to merit your thanks. I am the one who ought to be grateful to your people. I came among you a stranger and you received me as a brother. Everywhere I have met the kindest consideration and all my wants have been supplied without even the formality of asking. I have here found the living soul of humanity developed as it has never beenbelieved to be possible in the external world. I carry with me to my own native landTHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, the knowledge thatHUMANITY CAN BE REDEEMED FROM SELFISHNESS AND ALL OF ITS CONSEQUENCES. In the external world, from whence I came, we have only cultivated the external, and hence have developed physical hardihood while you have developed the finer attributes of the soul which we have neglected. My ambition is to bring these two worlds together. You need our physical hardihood while we need your higher development of soul. When the leading characteristics of both are united into one common brotherhood, both worlds will have a perfected humanity. If I can help humanity to reach this grand culmination, where both soul and body shall be developed to their utmost capacity, I shall be happy. To me, with my training, it does not seem like a daring undertaking now that I am enabled to utilize your grand discovery of the means by which the air can be navigated. Thanking you for this mark of your consideration, and promising to return as soon as possible, I bid you adieu."
As I ceased speaking, I set the Eolus to moving directly to the top of the tower. This demonstrated at once to the multitudes, its superiority over the old style of airship and they gave a cheer, which was the more expressive and significant as these people are not given to anything like loud demonstrations of applause.
At the platform I received cordial words of cheer from the committee, my old comrades of the Ice King and my most intimate Altrurian friends. Speaking for the committee, Lal Roy, of Budistan said:
"On behalf of the members of this committee, and especially of the members from the eastern hemisphere, I congratulate you upon the marked improvements youhave made in our methods of aerial navigation. The construction of the Eolus marks an era in our progress that will be a monument to your memory. You will be honored and appreciated for generations to come."
"Excuse me," I responded. "I am not entitled to the honor you would bestow upon me. Captain Battell made the first move toward the improvements that were consummated in the Eolus, and Captain Ganoe and Huston have both contributed their mechanical skill. Without them there would have been no Eolus."
"Hold on Jack," said Battell. "In the consummation, we only carried out your suggestions. The improvements I started, were completed in accordance with your plans."
"Yes," said Captain Ganoe, as he clasped my hand. "You were the first person I ever heard suggest the construction of an airship that could ride the storm, and but for your suggestions every one of which was tested in your experimental journeys to the verges, we never could have succeeded. And but for your intimate knowledge of the difficulties to be overcome, I never would have consented for you to go alone. Even as it is, notwithstanding the unanimous decision of the committee, I find it very hard to reconcile myself to the thought that you are to be exposed all alone, to the cold and the storms of the polar regions. Such dangers ought to be reserved for those who have nothing to live for, and not for the young, the refined and the educated who have a bright future before them."
"Have no fears for me," I said. "You must not forget that it is now warm weather in the north frigid zone and I will not be exposed to intense cold, and the probability is that I will have no severe storms to contend with. But I will promise this: To be careful, and ifI discover any defect in the Eolus that would make the journey too hazardous, I will return at once, rather than take any chances of defeating our purpose of communicating with the outer world when we have mastered the problem of riding the storm. No doubt my observations on this voyage, will open the way for other improvements. Keep up your courage. This is but the beginning of our work. We must have airships that will enable the most sensitive, to visit the outer world, and teach our countrymen the importance of cultivating the higher attributes of the soul, which can only be developed in their fullness under the benign influence of an Altruistic civilization."
Oqua here stepped forward and took me by the hand, saying:
"Nequa, my more than friend, go, and the blessings of our people go with you. May you reach your native land in safety and accomplish your mission. By so doing you will leave footprints on the sands of time that can never be effaced. As soon as your work is placed in the proper hands return with all speed to the many loving hearts which await you."
Scarcely had she ceased speaking when Polaris, as if to continue her remarks, raising her hand and pointing to the north, said:
"Yes, loving hearts will await you. And when your form has faded from our vision, in yonder deep cerulean blue, the mystic symbol of purity and truth, remember that in spirit we are with you. And I will continue to keep watch over these waters, patiently awaiting your return, as in the past I have kept watch for any of your people that might drift in here, and be left to the mercy of the currents which never touch the land. I hope to be the first to greet you on your return,but if perchance you should be lost in your perilous undertaking, I will still be flitting, to and fro, over these northern seas, awaiting the coming of your people, to assist and welcome them in the true spirit of our civilization."
MacNair gave a new turn and spirit to this closing interview, by saying in his usual cheery manner:
"In the name of humanity I protest against preparing for the funeral before the corpse is ready. Neither am I willing to contemplate the possibility of Jack Adams ever requiring any such a service at our hands. You do not understand the kind of material of which he is composed. I know that Jack is going to make the round trip, no matter what we may be doing, and so far as I am concerned, I do not intend to give myself any uneasiness about him; and instead of bobbing around up here in this chilly atmosphere, I will go home and be ready to give Jack the cordial greeting of a fellow countryman, when he returns from this last polar expedition."
"MacNair is right," I said. "I am not starting out to fall by the wayside, and do not forget that the Eolus will sail far above the ice-fields, and that during the high-noon of the long arctic day of six months duration. I apprehend no danger, but anticipate a pleasant excursion to my native land. But I will not go any further this time, than is absolutely necessary. I hope to meet the right persons at some of the many stations in Alaska, and if so I will return several days earlier than I have promised. I shall return as soon as possible. My life work is here, for it will take a life-time to complete the work that I have laid out for myself to do for the benefit of my countrymen who live in the external world."
As I was speaking, Captain Ganoe stood with his hand on the door of the Eolus, at if it was by right his place to have the last parting word. Captain Battell and the other comrades of the Ice King drew near. Upon their faces, I read the affectionate regard they had for me. It was a trying moment. I wanted a last word with Captain Ganoe. I wanted it impressive, kind but inflexible. I shook hands with all who stood near, and then as I held Captain Ganoe's hand I said to Oqua:
"Step on board, I want you to assist me a moment," and to the Captain, "Wait here a moment, I have something to say to you."
Oqua did as directed, and we ascended and made the circuit of the lights, while I prepared myself for the revelation I intended. Oqua handled the ship while I hastily donned the attire which characterised my sex in the outer world. I arrayed myself in the same rich satin dress that I had worn on the last evening I had spent with Raphael, at his uncle's home in New York. My golden locks made into a neat fitting wig, and put up in the game style which he had so much admired, now covered my short cropped hair. Around my neck I had the same gold chain and locket of peculiar workmanship, and the same ring on my hand, which had been his parting presents to his affianced bride. Over all I wore a cloak that came down to my feet.
My toilet complete, we dropped to the level of the platform, but just outside, and Oqua with a parting pressure of the hand, and with a last injunction: "Nequa, be strong, be true, but do not forget to be kind and considerate," passed from the Eolus to the platform, and moving back a few feet, I stepped to the door and throwing aside my cloak, stood arrayed before CaptainGanoe, just as I had been when I bade him adieu at our guardian's home just fifteen years before.
The crowd stood spell-bound. None but Oqua, MacNair, and the crew of the Ice King had ever seen any one dressed in the costume which is peculiar to women in the outer world. Captain Ganoe stood rooted to the spot, and gazed at me with a look of consternation, as if I was one who had just arisen from the grave, as I said:
"Captain Ganoe, you doubtless recognize me and I ask your attention for a moment. You will probably remember, that on the Ice King you confidently related to your scientist, Jack Adams, the story of your engagement to Cassie VanNess, and asked him if he had ever loved. He made an evasive reply. If you care to have an explicit answer to that question, ask my trusted friend Oqua. I do not wish to have that story again pass my lips. I have done with it forever. I have now taken up a new life and henceforth I am wedded to a new lover, and the wealth of my affections shall be bestowed upon humanity.
"The memory of the old life, and the old love, carries with it the martyrdom of all that is noblest, purest and most sacred in the soul of woman, her devotion to the chosen idol of her girlhood days. These outer world conditions so foreign to all that is good and true, make me wonder that I should ever have been so weak as to be victimized by them. But such are the consequences of a false education, which belongs to a benighted past and cannot be helped. For many long years, in my assumed character of Jack Adams, the sailor, I roamed over the high seas to find you, and during all of our perils in the ice, I stood by your side. I worshiped you with an idolatrous devotion. And all this, only to hear again andagain from your lips, the expression of sentiments, that condemned all that I had done, as disreputable, unworthy and immoral. You have repeatedly declared that as an honorable man, you could never unite yourself with such a woman in the holy bonds of matrimony, no matter how much you loved her.
"It was for this reason, that my own self respect forbade that I should reveal my identity to you. The case of Huston was almost identical with my own, and in condemning the course which he had taken you condemned me. I took it for granted, that as an honorable man, you expressed your honest sentiments, and there was nothing for me to do but to submit to your verdict—"
The Captain raised his hand as if to speak, but I checked him, saying:
"Hear me through. It is in no spirit of unkindness that I speak. I have waited patiently for you to so modify your views, that I could make myself known to you in the full assurance of your approval of my fidelity to our plighted troth. But you gave me no such opportunity. Oqua penetrated my disguise at first sight and many others of my inner world friends with whom I have been associated, intuitively understood that Jack Adams, the sailor, was an assumed character and why it had been adopted; but you, blinded by the crystallized errors of a false education, were ignorant of my identity.
"I now reveal myself to you, because I do not wish to continue this assumed character, even to escape the pain that would be inflicted by your disapproval. I do not regret the course I have taken. Under the same circumstances I would be compelled to do the same thing again, rather than be false to the higher laws of my ownnature. It is true that I have repudiated, and still repudiate, any legal obligation that may be secured by fraud, misrepresentation or coercion. I now know that human laws, human customs and legal ceremonies may be the cover for the violation of God's laws which are implanted in the human soul. I have been true to these higher, God made laws of my own being, and disregard all man made laws and customs which violate the most sacred rights of the human soul.
"If I cannot meet you as an equal, free to think and act for myself, regardless of the arbitrary rulings of either church or state, then it will be far better for both of us, that we remain apart. I will never be bound by any ceremony that does not meet my own approval. When it comes to matters of this kind, I, Cassie VanNess, am the lawmaker.
"You have repeatedly expressed sentiments, which could have no other meaning, than that you regarded legal and popular ceremonies, as of more worth in your estimation, than the 'unpurchased, and unpurchasable devotion of a loving woman.' If you prefer a companion who cares more for what Mother Grundy might say, than she does for Captain Ganoe, then I could not possibly be that companion. When I return, let all this be forgotten. Let us meet as friends, forget if we can, the past, and let each of us live our own life, true to our own convictions of what is noble, good and true. I have had one lover and lost him because I loved him too devotedly. I shall never make that mistake again. But as the widow of such a lover, I shall henceforth continue to labor for the upbuilding of all humanity, as I would gladly have lived for him, and him only.
"And now, farewell Raphael. I regret, not that Iloved you so devotedly, but that I did not learn sooner, that it was only love with certain restrictions, and within certain specific bounds, that you wanted. Excuse my mistake and farewell."
While I maintained my equilibrium, I felt that my heart would break. With my hand I waved a farewell to all, and set the Eolus in motion. As I closed the door, Captain Ganoe sprang forward and would have dashed himself from the tower but for those who stood by him. His last words have been ringing in my ears ever since as they were wafted to me on the balmy air. In a voice of agonizing entreaty, he cried out:
"Oh Cassie! Cassie! For God's sake, Come back! Come back!"
THE END.