By this time the planet’s disk had spread until it formed a low horizon on all sides. Although they were less than a thousand miles distant, the planet’s surface still appeared to be quite level. No indication of mountain ranges could they detect from this height. At an elevation of about three hundred miles Robert checked the velocity of theSpherefurther for fear of excessive atmospheric friction. For they should soon be entering the enter edge of the planet’s envelope of gases.
The poles were no longer visible, being lost beyond the rising horizon, as theSpherewas now almost directly over the equator. The planet continued to revolve before their eyes. So long as theSphereremained beyond the envelope of atmosphere, they were independent of Mars’ rotation.
“Better follow the spin of the planet now, Robert,” said Professor Palmer.
A deflection of the disk soon gave them the desired easterly drift. Gradually, the vast panorama beneath them came to rest.
As they continued to descend, a slight glow began to replace the blackness of space. This indicated the presence of some atmosphere round them. At this point they observed the first sign of vapor upon Mars. A solitary patch of opalescence partly covered one edge of a large, dull-green blotch a little to the northeast of them.
Here and there a certain roughness about the surface of the planet seemed to represent slightly hilly regions, but such places were scarce. The planet’s predominating characteristic appeared to be a monotonous flatness.
The “canals” had now become broad, bluish-green bands, terminating in large circular areas of a similar shade. Robert could almost imagine he saw tree-tops.
Little was said as theSphereapproached the planet’s surface. Each was thrilled with his own imagination and excitement over the immediate prospect of viewing, at close range, the mysterious planet which had so long baffled the experts of the world. Robert retained perfect, skilful control of theSphere, aided by advice from Professor Palmer as the latter studied the distant Martian landscape intently. Taggert busied himself making notes.
The sky had now taken on a normal glow like that of the Earth’s, and for the first time they felt that they were finally and definitely within the boundaries of the Martian world. The character in detail of the country below was now faintly visible. The earlier suggestion of some moderately hilly regions was emphasised by the setting sun, a low, but ragged, ridge appearing off toward the northwest. It was plain that if they wished to land by daylight there was little time to lose.
There was no longer any doubt as to the artificial character of the planet. One of the great “oases” extended toward the northeast to the now restricted horizon. From this, and almost directly beneath them, ran a broad belt of mottled green, continuing toward the southwest till lost to view.
The altimeter now registered 60,000 feet. However, they were, no doubt, much closer to the surface than this, as the atmospheric pressure on Mars was certain to be considerably less than that on Earth; in fact, their height did not appear half that great.
“Not much choice about a landing point,” commented Taggert. “This country looks more like the Sahara every minute.”
Indeed, there was an uninviting monotony about the landscape. With exception of the dark belt, and the oasis on the horizon, the entire country seemed one vast desert. TheSpheredrifted slowly, as Robert had now checked its descent almost entirely.
“I think we had best land about five miles beyond the canal belt,” said Professor Palmer. “We ought to be safe there from any sudden attack, should the inhabitants prove hostile. More likely we will there be visited by a cautious few where both parties will have an opportunity to look each other over carefully before making any overtures.”
This seeming a sound piece of advice, theSpherewas steered several miles to the north of the belt. Here Robert allowed it to settle slowly.
The sun was sinking into the horizon even as theSpherecame to rest in the loose, yellow sand of the desert, about two hundred miles south of the equator. The trip to Mars was a reality!
“Hurrah we’re here!” shouted Taggert, executing a hand-spring, and narrowly missing the incandescents in the ceiling because of his unaccustomed light weight.
Robert and Professor Palmer accepted their triumph more quietly.
To Robert the remarkable trip already seemed as a nightmare. As he looked out on the quiet, desolate scene in the deepening twilight, he could scarcely realize that they were not still on the Earth. For despite the desolation of the vast Martian desert stretching before his eyes, and the fact that he had never before even seen a desert except in pictures, his imagination balked when he tried to believe himself on a strange planet, millions of miles from the Earth. The idea was preposterous, absurd! Robert’s more deliberate self persisted in half suspecting that they had simply miscalculated, and had actually returned to the Earth at some remote spot.
“Boys, I’m going to try a whiff of our new atmosphere,” said the professor, unlatching one of the small portholes.
Before either of the others could interfere, he had swung the heavy glass slightly inward, and sniffed the Martian atmosphere speculatively.
Whatever fears they held were quickly dispelled by the look of relief which came over Professor Palmer’s countenance as he swung the port wide open and eagerly inhaled the outside atmosphere.
“It’s all right,” he cried. “The regular stuff! Come on and enjoy some fresh, Martian desert air.”
Robert and Taggert did not need to be urged. The air within theSphereseemed suddenly to have grown unbearably stale. With one accord they opened the other ports and filled their lungs with the sweet, cold air outside.
“We’ll have to close up again to keep warm tonight,” shivered Taggert.
“Thirty-four degrees above zero,” read Robert from the Fahrenheit thermometer outside.
“The air on these deserts cools very rapidly after twilight,” said the professor. “Even in the Sahara, on our own globe, the temperature frequently drops below freezing at night. However, the temperature in the canal belts should be more uniform.”
“Let’s get outside and look around a bit,” suggested Robert.
“Good idea,” echoed the reporter. “I’d like to see what some of these oafs look like.”
“Not likely to be any of them strolling around in the desert at night,” said Robert.
“Can’t tell; I’ll bet they didn’t fail to see theSpherewhen we slid over here. We’re likely to have an army down on us tonight.”
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” said Professor Palmer. “The Martians are obviously a people of much intelligence. I expect they will act just about as our own people would, should some curious machine land upon the Earth. They will probably wait till daylight, then come out and satisfy their curiosity.”
“And ours,” added Robert, remembering his dream.
As they stepped out upon the sand, buttoned into warm coats, a brilliant spectacle was presented to their gaze.
Low in the southeast Phobus hung like a glowing orange. Its now apparently smooth, bright disk was a decided contrast to the dark, threatening, cavernous face which had frightened them but a few hours earlier. All round them the indigo sky was studded with stars of the great brilliance that is reserved for travelers of the deserts. Behind them the comfortable flood of illumination from theSpherespread its friendly radiance over the sand.
“Look over there!” cried Taggert suddenly, pointing toward the east.
Far away on the horizon’s edge a diffused white glow shone steadily.
“A city,” guessed Robert quickly.
“A group of cities—a Martian oasis,” suggested the professor.
“Why, there are some lights along the canal, too,” said Robert, becoming aware of a number of lights stretching along the endless strip of fertile land to the south of them.
“Well, I’ll be damned!” cried Taggert. “Say, let’s run over to town tonight!”
But however sanguine the professor might have been regarding the existence of an intelligent race upon the planet, he balked at a precipitate invasion of their haunts right then. So it was decided to wait till morning for developments.
The lantern which Robert carried was almost superfluous in the bright starlight. They enjoyed the novelty of trudging about through the sand, after their extended confinement within theSphere. In spite of the looseness and depth of the sand, they walked over it with amazing ease because of the decreased gravity on the smaller planet. Robert, for example, who weighed 150 pounds on earth, now weighed less than sixty pounds. Yet he retained his full strength, so that the task of walking was tremendously reduced.
“Run you a race, Robert,” called Taggert, starting out abruptly at a great pace.
The temptation was too great. Robert was a good runner and reveled in the sport. He dashed after the reporter.
His feet scarcely seemed to touch the sand as he raced after the fleeting shadow ahead of him. With giant strides, twenty feet long, he steadily reduced the distance between them.
Suddenly there came a dim shout ahead, followed by a dull thud—then, silence.
Robert slowed up as quickly as possible and looked round him. The reporter had disappeared!
Far in the rear theSphereshone brightly, like a beacon. Between it and himself he could see the professor’s lantern bobbing up and down as he strode along.
As he continued bewilderedly to search the sands for some sign of Taggert, his eyes became better accustomed to the semi-darkness.
Suddenly he descried a long dark shape lying in the sand several rods away.
He approached it cautiously, only to discover what seemed to be a large log. But as he looked up another dark object ahead caught his eye. Surely that looked like the figure of a man sprawled upon the sand. Even as he looked, it moved and struggled to a sitting posture.
“Hello—that you, Taggert, old fellow?” he sang out, approaching.
“It’s me all right,” came Taggert’s voice, weakly.
“What happened to you?”
“Fell over that dashed boulder back there. About knocked the wind out of me. I must have been going about forty miles an hour,” he explained, getting to his feet with Robert’s assistance.
“What are you two up to?” cried Professor Palmer, coming up with them.
“Our stowaway just tried to break his neck over a log back there.”
“A log?” incredulously from the now recovered reporter. “Say, this is a desert, not a jungle! That was a rock I fell over.”
They walked over to the object of their discussion, and examined it in the rays of the lantern.
“A petrified log,” pronounced Professor Palmer.
“Well, who brought it out here?”—belligerently.
“It grew here many centuries ago, my boy. This is a relic of a dead forest, of which we are probably on the edge. See, there are others scattered about over that way. I have seen the same thing out in Arizona.”
Their discussion ended, they decided to go back to theSphereand get a good night’s rest.
“Suppose some of these oafs have taken possession during our absence,” suggested Taggert, persisting still in so calling the as yet unseen Martians.
“If it hadn’t been for you young scamps it wouldn’t have been left unguarded,” retorted Professor Palmer.
But they found theSphereas they had left it, and no one in sight.
With lights out for greater safety, they spent a quiet night. All three were up again with the dawn.
The warm sunshine streamed in at the windows cheerfully. Soon the thermometer on the shady side registered forty-one degrees and was rising rapidly. It had dropped to twenty-five the night before when they retired.
An appetizing breakfast was prepared by Taggert, who had insisted upon being the official cook. The keen Martian air and a good night’s rest had brought them all ravenous appetites, and they did the simple repast full justice.
“Come to think about it,” mused Taggert, “the night passed mighty quickly. Professor, how long are the nights and days on Mars?”
“The night seemed to pass quickly because you slept soundly. It happens that a Martian night and day together consume just about twenty-four hours and forty minutes, our time. In other words, by an odd coincidence, Martian days and nights are each approximately but twenty minutes longer than those of the Earth.”
The professor’s last words were interrupted by Robert’s abruptly rising to his feet and pointing mutely out the window!
Moving swiftly toward them, about a quarter of a mile away, was a large conveyance which appeared to be occupied by about ten beings.
“Sink me, but these birds are certainly early risers,” grumbled Taggert. “Seems to me they might let us finish breakfast before calling. They’re no gentlemen, I say.”
Professor Palmer was eagerly studying them through binoculars.
“Just as I suspected,” he murmured presently. “They have features just like our own, and seem to be of nearly the same stature as ourselves. Let’s get ready to welcome them, boys. They don’t look like pirates.”
He put down the glasses and turned just in time to see Taggert concealing an automatic on his person. Evidently the reporter didn’t entirely share the professor’s faith in the Martians.
A few minutes later the conveyance drew up without. It came to a stop noiselessly, as though it were electrically propelled. Several of the dark-garbed occupants got out and walked toward theSphere, removing their odd hats, which looked not unlike broad-brimmed tropical helmets.
Professor Palmer’s prediction proved correct. They were of ordinary human formation, and, indeed, looked much like a group of intelligent foreigners, with their olive skin and dark hair, though they were somewhat shorter in stature, averaging about five feet four inches in height.
Their clothing was simple, and evidently designed for comfort. All wore roomy, dark trousers, bound at the ankles, and small coats to match, not unlike vests with sleeves. Under these a lighter-hued blouse was worn. Neat but styleless shoes, with uppers that appeared to be finely woven grasses, clad their small feet. There was a total absence of bright color about their apparel, neutral shades of blue, gray and maroon predominating.
Professor Palmer opened one of the ports and leaned out. His appearance caused a brief flurry among their visitor, proving a signal for some hurried conversation, accompanied by excited gestures.
Then one of them walked forward and addressed him in a pleasant, soft, rolling tongue not unlike Spanish, but entirely unintelligible to the professor.
Professor Palmer answered by pointing obliquely upward in the general direction of the Earth at that time. Then he tapped theSpheresignificantly, and indicated an imaginary course from the Earth above back down to Mars with a slow sweep of his hand.
His audience seemed to grasp the fact that theSpherehad come from a distant planet. In fact, it appeared that he had but confirmed some previous guess on their part. They nodded knowingly to each other as their spokesman resumed his own gesticulations in an effort to communicate with the professor, smiling in a friendly fashion and rubbing his Roman nose with a trace of self-consciousness as he proceeded to invite them, with elaborate gestures, to visit their country beyond.
His companions also pointed repeatedly toward the foliage in the distance, and to vacant seats in their vehicle.
“What do you think, boys?” asked the professor, turning to Robert and Taggert. “How about boosting theSphereover there? That will be better than leaving it out here where we can’t keep an eye on it.”
“Suits me,” Robert replied.
“That’s the stuff,” said Taggert. “Don’t let these dagos separate you from your return trip if you can help it.”
So with more gestures Professor Palmer explained their intentions to the Martians, who finally understood apparently and seemed satisfied.
By careful manipulation of the speed of the gyrostats and the disk shutters, Robert raised theSphereslowly to a height of about fifty feet. The Martians looked on in wonder from their conveyance, which, getting under way, preceded them across the floor of the desert.
The broad, flat wheels of this conveyance, notched to give greater traction, carried it over the sand at a good clip. Steering seemed to be controlled by an automatic dial-and-lever device, operated easily by the driver with one hand. The usual staggering of the front wheels through loose soil seemed entirely eliminated.
Contrary to their original impression, the floor of the desert in this direction was a stony, windswept waste with much bare rock visible. The faces of these rocks were polished by grains of sand blown across them by the winds of centuries. Here and there was one with fractured and crumbling surface, probably cracked by the rapid, alternate heating and chilling of the blazing rays of the sun and the cold nights, and not yet healed.
As theSpheredrew near the fertile land, they observed that it was densely wooded with trees of varied height and foliage. From their close proximity to the ground it looked like a vast, boundless forest which might extend many miles beyond.
Professor Palmer had estimated the usual width of these irrigated strips at from one to several miles, though he had mentioned observing one of nearly twenty miles in width.
At the forest’s edge Robert brought theSphereto rest
Here they were in a quandary as to what to do about theSphere. It was obvious that they could not study the life of the planet without leaving theSphere. Yet they were naturally reluctant to trust it unguarded into the hands of these strange inhabitants.
“But we have already risked far more in our journey through space,” reasoned Robert. “We put ourselves in these people’s hands by coming here; now I suppose we may as well trust them. We could not expect a Martian, coming to the Earth as we have come to Mars, to drag his ‘Sphere’ after him everywhere he went.”
“Look here,” Taggert interjected, “I horned my way into this expedition uninvited. Now let me do something useful. I’ll stay here with theSphereuntil you can make some satisfactory arrangement for its safe keeping.”
“That may take several days, or more,” objected Robert.
“Well, what of it? Plenty to eat here. Just run along and leave it to little Hughie. I’ll stay on deck until you return or send me a written order; and I’ll feel a lot better about having done my bit.”
So it was finally agreed that Taggert remain on guard while Robert and the Professor went on to make suitable arrangements, if possible, with the authorities. They shook hands with the reporter and left him calmly smoking an atrocious pipe which he had not ventured to put in action during their long trip with sealed windows. He seemed genuinely comfortable and well pleased with his lot. Robert and the professor took seats in the waiting conveyance, which carried them over a winding road through the forest.
Professor Palmer recognized and pointed out to Robert certain varieties of trees and shrubbery resembling the tamarisk, acacia and eucalyptus, prickly pear and aspen poplar. The latter variety, which was singularly like the earthly specimen, predominated, and seemed to flourish luxuriantly in the loose, sandy soil.
“Not so bad,” said Robert, sniffing the sweet, clean air.
“A very healthful climate, indeed,” commented the professor.
Their evident satisfaction was observed with smiles and nods by their hosts, who were watching them closely.
They had probably passed through a mile of the great forest when they emerged into a large, rectangular clearing.
“Why, there’s a railroad!” cried Robert excitedly, pointing to what looked very like a double line of tracks running through the center of the long clearing.
A moment later Robert’s statement was proved to be true, for their conveyance was brought to a stop beside the rails, where a small but well built wooden structure apparently served as a crude station.
At the invitation of the Martians they got out, declining, however, the suggestion of entering the waiting room of the building. They preferred to examine first the wonders of their strange outdoor surroundings. The Martians gathered about and proceeded to study them with poorly concealed curiosity. Yet at all times their attitude toward the adventurers was solicitous and courteous. To Robert they seemed more and more like a delegation of learned experts sent to observe their every move and thought as closely as possible.
About the clearing stood a number of plain buildings of goodly size, with numerous windows. Several Martians in rough garb, including the loose trousers and blouse, but without the odd coats or hats worn by the first Martians, busied themselves about these buildings. In the distance there were sounds of chopping, and an occasional resounding thud, as from a tree felled. They seemed to be in a lumber camp, and this conjecture was later confirmed. They were standing then in the heart of one of the planet’s greatest forest regions.
Presently Robert became aware of a humming sound. Looking about quickly, he failed at first to see from whence it came. Then he discovered for the first time the great distance that it was possible to see in either direction along the railroad, because of its striking straightness. Mile after mile it ran straight as an arrow through a veritable tunnel of trees.
In the distance he descried a swiftly moving speck on the madder-colored ribbon of roadbed. It grew rapidly larger, evidently nearing them at a tremendous rate. A minute later a Martian train, drawn by a squat engine, ground to a stop before the station. Like the conveyance which had met them, it seemed electrically driven. Only one man was visible in the engine cab. Robert counted eight coaches, each about sixty feet long.
Their guides conducted them to the back coach, which they entered at one end. This coach differed considerably from the rest, for while the others were built with compartments similar to English coaches, this one was not unlike one of our own observation cars. It was unoccupied. They found out afterward that their guides composed a special committee which had arranged for this car in their guests’ honor, theSphere’sapproach having been discovered and observed closely by Martian astronomers as it neared the planet. Every effort and provision had been made to find and meet its expected inmates promptly, and with every consideration for their comfort.
They were scarcely aboard before the train was moving. Without a jar the luxurious coach slipped away from the little station, gathering momentum rapidly. A minute later the station dwindled and was lost from view behind them down the shrinking avenue of trees which whirled past them dizzily.
“Just like greased lightning,” said Robert.
It was evident that the owl-eyed committee of Martians were eager to establish some code of communication by means of signs with their guests, but observing their desire to study the changing landscape they politely refrained. One of the Martians, however, evinced considerable curiosity over Robert’s watch chain, whereupon Robert displayed his watch. Not to be outdone, the Martian pulled out a small, flat mechanism about an inch and a half square. A glance at this object convinced Robert that he was looking at a Martian watch.
The indicating scheme was essentially the same as our own method. There was a small dial in the center, with sixteen curious numerals round its edge. The hands, of the same length, but of contrasting colors, apparently indicated the time, while in the upper corners were changeable numerals, probably showing what corresponded to the Martian month and day of the month. The lower corners were not utilized, but were simply decorated with some artistic scrolls. A third, but shorter hand, also connected to the central dial, revolving rapidly with a familiar ticking sound, probably corresponded to the second-hand on our own watches, but it was more like the long hand on a split-second stop-watch.
The case of Robert’s watch seemed to interest the Martians no less than its mechanism. The watch was an old one of the bulky type which had belonged to Robert’s father. The heavy case was of solid silver. From their exclamations, as they examined the silver case, Robert judged that they prized silver highly as a precious metal.
By this time the character of the country had changed. No longer were they surrounded by the fragrant forest. Vast, level, green fields stretched on either side, while in the distance the equally flat desert was visible at times.
The speed of the train began diminishing until it came to a stop beside another small station. Here they got their first view of one of the great canals or ducts upon which the plant life and the lives of every being on Mars depended.
About a hundred yards beyond the station a gang of two hundred or more men were at work in and around a deep excavation, aided by several huge digging machines. All were clad in rough garments of a dull maroon color, which Robert soon learned was as common a color on Mars as our own khaki is to us.
But it was not the Martians which attracted Robert’s and Professor Palmer’s chief attention. A giant cylinder lay partly exposed within the excavation, its ends disappearing into the soil at either end. In diameter it was at least seventy-five feet. It appeared to be of cementlike construction.
At intervals of perhaps fifty yards along its length, smaller tubes branched off and were lost in the sides of the ditch. Where one of these branches joined the main line, a swarm of workmen struggled valiantly to mend a break from which the water gushed as if under heavy pressure.
The scurrying Martians had checked the leak perceptibly by the time the train started again after a minute’s wait.
A few minutes later they flashed by an immense structure situated near the tracks, looking like a great power plant of some kind. However, it reared no stacks to the sky. For miles at either end of it stretched a vast, flat expanse of some curious construction, which in the distance looked like a great, elongated checker-board.
“A Martian pumping station,” hazarded Robert.
“I believe you’ve struck it,” said Professor Palmer. “And I believe the big ‘checker-board’ is nothing more nor less than a device for absorbing power from the sun’s rays. That alone would explain the Martians’ remarkable achievements in the face of the unquestionable dwindling, perhaps complete exhaustion, of the planet’s fuel supply.”
“How old do you suppose Mars is!” asked Robert.
“That’s a hard one; but the various planets are classified according to stages. There is the sun stage, in which the planet is hot enough to emit light. This is followed by the molten stage—hot, but lightless. Then comes the solidifying stage, with the formation of solid surfaces and ocean basins. The next stage is what we call the terraqueous stage, the age of sedimentary rocks. Our Earth is in this stage. Following this is the terrestrial stage, in which the oceans have disappeared, and, after that the dead stage, when air has departed. Mars is in the terrestrial stage, the stage following that of our planet, and preceding the dead, or final stage.”
“Then the Martians are engaged in a constant struggle against extinction!”
“They are, though, with their marvelous ingenuity, they may last a few thousand years longer. But we are witnesses of the waning of a world.”
They were now passing through a fertile farming region. Small buildings dotted the landscape, while here and there Martian farmers were diligently at work in their fields. There was a complete absence, however, of any beast of burden or toil. Everywhere power seemed to be furnished electrically. Farmers could be seen plowing with large, powerful tractors.
Frequently they caught glimpses of the checker-board devices adjoining the buildings, but on a much smaller scale than the one they had first seen. Quite likely, they decided, these were individual sun-power plants.
With the increasing frequency of houses, Robert and the professor became convinced that they were nearing a center of population. Their interest was keyed to the highest pitch as the agricultural district gave way to the outskirts of a Martian city.
The more Robert saw, the greater was his surprize at the striking similarity of things to those on Earth. Yet, on second thought, this did not seem so strange. After all, it was to be expected that the chief inventions of two such advanced worlds should, in the main, be similar. He might easily have imagined himself approaching some foreign metropolis.
One thing that they noticed particularly was the absence of the dirt and squalor which one so frequently sees from the train when approaching our large industrial centers. Buildings all seemed of substantial construction and everywhere were in excellent condition.
Now, beyond the buildings in the foreground they could see the tops of giant structures in the distance, their great white walls showing resplendent in the clean atmosphere and bright sunlight. It was certain that they were entering a very large city. They afterward learned that this city, called Parang, was next to the largest one on Mars, having a population more than four million souls.
Little conversation passed between Robert and the professor as they both eagerly studied the mysteries of Martian life passing before their eyes. Neither could yet quite bring himself to a full realization of the fact that they were actually viewing life upon the planet which had caused so much conjecture upon Earth.
“I wonder whether we shall pull in on the ‘elevated’ or the ‘subway,’” grinned Robert.
His question was answered a few minutes later as they plunged into the darkness of a tunnel. For ten minutes or more they roared swiftly through the darkness, dimly illuminated by the incandescents in the ceiling of their car. Then they emerged suddenly into a vast, brilliantly lighted underground chamber, filled with the din of noisy bustle, and came to a stop before a large barred area.
Here their hosts politely signified that they should get out.
News of their arrival had probably preceded them. A great, curious crowd thronged the area. Half of their body of guides led the way through one of the gates, forcing a passage for them through the dense, curious crowd. It was here that Robert caught his first sight of the Martian women. Unconsciously he was expecting to find the golden-haired type of his dream. But in this he was disappointed, for, without exception, they were dark-haired, and with complexions of a pale, olive tint, as were the men.
The women’s garments did not differ greatly from those of their men folk, in that they wore a variety of loose trousers like those worn by our Turkish women. Perhaps their garb is best described by stating that it was strikingly similar to that, of the women in the Mohammedan harems, without the face veil.
Passing through a massive archway, they walked up a few steps leading into a large waiting room not unlike one of ours. Through the throng they continued and entered a roomy elevator which whisked them upward. Emerging from this they found themselves once more in the daylight, and in a great vestibule leading to the street.
Outside, several closed conveyances waited, evidently engaged by prearrangement. Robert and Professor Palmer entered one of these with two of their beaming hosts, sinking down into the luxurious upholstering gratefully.
As they rolled along, Robert and the professor studied the scenes around them in suppressed excitement.
The first feature which struck Robert was the immense height of the buildings, practically all of which were of ten stories or more. Buildings of thirty stories were common, while several they passed were more than sixty stories. The rather narrow streets seemed like miniature canyons between the tall structures. Without exception the buildings appeared to be constructed of a fine cement, similar to the metallic product of which the railroad rails were made.
The street paving and walks were also made of the same material, and were in excellent condition. No poles or wires were visible; nor were any street-cars or tracks seen. Evidently with such excellently maintained pavings made possible by the weak gravity, the Martians preferred ordinary vehicles for city transportation.
Stores of all sorts seemed plentiful, though Robert could not see what kind they were, because they did not display their wares as we do. The Martians apparently bad outlived the practise of wasting window space in this manner, preferring merely to advertise their wares by signs. These signs, of course, were wholly unintelligible to Robert and the professor. The lettering was made up of a number of geometrical figures, among which the familiar triangle, square and “T,” with variations, predominated.
Once, when their conveyance was temporarily stalled in a traffic congestion, Robert got out a pencil and attempted to reproduce the characters which appeared in relief over the doorway of an imposing-looking building near by:
Martian words
No suggestion of a curve softened any of the characters, each one being made up of a series of straight lines and angles. In fact, Robert already had observed that this severe precision was a marked characteristic of all things Martian. It was particularly noticeable in the architecture. The impression borne upon him was that this people had reduced everything to a science of fine mathematics.
A ride of some twenty minutes brought them into a quieter section of the city. Here the streets were somewhat wider. The tall buildings gave way to more modest structures, which appeared to be dwellings not unlike our apartment buildings.
No sign of any growing thing was visible anywhere—not even a blade of grass. Evidently the painful scarcity of water upon the planet did not permit of floral culture for merely ornamental purposes. Theirs was a serious business of scientific economy.
In due time they turned into a broad driveway leading to an immense, official building of four stories. Here Robert saw the first bit of ground uncovered by cement or stone since they had arrived in the city. The grounds surrounding the building, and its drives, were covered with verdure similar to a fine clover, closely cut. Some trees grew about the place, but there were no flowers.
Their conductors were visibly excited as they drew up before a broad flight of stairs leading up to the main entrance of the massive building. A pompous person opened the door of their conveyance, and escorted them ceremoniously up the steps beyond which a small group of dignified-appearing Martians awaited their arrival.
As they drew nigh the group, a commanding figure of a man detached himself from it and advanced toward them. At this their escort fell back respectfully, leaving them to greet this evidently important personage.
In stature this man was several inches taller than the average Martian, being about the size of a well-built man of our own race. Imperious, resplendent in rich garments, he easily dominated the smart assemblage.
A smile played over his virile features as he stopped before them. Strangely enough at such a moment, his odd, square, and particularly luxuriant beard reminded Robert of a nonsensical little rime which he recalled, something like this:
Aha, it is as I feared,Two cocks and a hen,One owl and a wren,Have all made their home in my beard.
With an air of kingly elegance, this leader addressed them for several minutes in his strange tongue as in a welcome. Though it was mutually apparent that neither understood the other’s words, Robert responded briefly, thanking him for his evident welcome, Professor Palmer nodding his concurrence.
Indicating that they were to accompany him, the leader escorted them through the assembled, obsequious gathering of men and women, through the broad entrance into the building. Passing along a beautiful corridor of carved onyx, they presently entered a large, pleasant room with windows looking out upon the grounds.
Two attendants came forward at their entrance. These the leader addressed in a commanding tone, indicating Robert and the professor in a manner which convinced them that these men were to serve them during their stay at the establishment; and this they found to be the case. With a few more friendly words their host politely withdrew.
Robert and Professor Palmer found that they had been presented with an entire suite of rooms, the one into which they had been escorted serving as a sort of drawing room. The two attendants looked after their every want.
About noon a simple lunch was served them. It consisted of a dish resembling baked yams, some artichokes (at any rate they looked and tasted like artichokes), a bit of greens, and some very good wine.
That afternoon they were visited by an intelligent-looking Martian who quickly succeeded in making them understand that he was sent to act as instructor in the Martian tongue and also as an interpreter while they were learning. He signified that the emperor (the striking personage to whom they owed all this hospitality) had sent him.
The same evening they accepted the emperor’s invitation to dinner.
To their relief, Robert and the professor found that the dinner was to be attended by few besides themselves. The emperor sat between them at the head of the table. The interpreter sat next to Robert. But three other persons partook of the meal with them. These they understood to be certain learned men, probably astronomers.
The food seemed to be made up chiefly of well-cooked vegetables, several of which were quite similar to our own. A savory bit of roasted meat was also served them. This dish puzzled them. It did not seem to be of a fowl, though it certainly had the flavor of one, tasting much like duck. Not until some time later did they find out that this meat was that of an animal identical with our dog! It was, however, considered a delicacy by the Martians, who raised these animals with great care, they being quite scarce.
Though conversation was as yet very difficult, they managed to exchange a surprizing amount of information with the Martians, the interpreter proving quite resourceful. The emperor, especially, was intensely interested in them.
So keen was the interest of the Martians, that, after the repast was cleared away, paper of excellent texture was produced, and Robert and the professor were urged to do some sketching. Their hosts clearly were eager to overcome the barrier of languages and to partly satisfy their curiosity at once regarding our planet. A sort of stylograph was handed to Professor Palmer, and with it he proceeded first to make a simple diagram of the universe, showing the Earth and Mars thereon in their orbits round the sun, and indicating their journey from the Earth to Mars. This was followed by prompt nods of understanding and ejaculations on the part of the three Martian astronomers, as if their expectations had been confirmed. The professor then drew maps of the Earth’s continents, rivers and seas, and made sectional drawings of mountain ridges, volcanoes and ocean beds. The Martians’ intelligent minds seemed to grasp everything with remarkable perception.
The three technologists apparently would have been content to keep Robert and Professor Palmer up all night in their zeal for information, but the emperor had more consideration for his guests, insisting finally upon seeing them back to their comfortable quarters, where he took leave of them for the evening.
That night they rested in the welcome softness of luxurious beds. The day’s travel and excitement had fatigued them, and they slept soundly in spite of the strangeness of their surroundings.
Robert dreamed again of his maid of the desert. As before, she faded suddenly away, even as he reached out eagerly to assure himself that she was real. One vivid impression that he received and retained upon waking was that she was in peril. The look of entreaty in her eyes, the repeated startled glances that she cast over her shoulder, convinced him that she needed him.
But, why should he worry over a mere dream! His practical mind reasserted itself. Of course the girl did not exist in reality. Still, there was no denying that the girl of his first vision and of the last one were one and the same. He could never forget a single detail of her exotic beauty and charm. For the first time in his life Robert felt the awakening of real love.
He laughed. In love with a dreamgirl! Nonsense. Nevertheless, his thoughts returned to her continually throughout the day. Unconsciously he found himself hoping to see her, somewhere, somehow. And more and more, in spite of his commonplace reasoning, he came to feel that therewassuch a girl.
That day they saw nothing of the emperor. The interpreter labored faithfully with them part of the morning and again during the afternoon. Already they felt that they were making some genuine progress toward an understanding of the Martian tongue.
Their every comfort continued to be administered to. As they sat before the windows looking out upon the lawn bathed in the late afternoon sunlight, it required an effort indeed for them to fully realize that they were gazing upon a strange planet millions of miles from the Earth.
“What do you think we had best do about theSphere, Robert?” asked Professor Palmer.
“The very thing that has been puzzling me. These people seem to be such an intellectual race that I can hardly believe them dangerous, though there is a certain elusive suggestion about the emperor’s face that I don’t fancy. However, I think theSpherewould be just as safe or safer here, and with Taggert staying with us.”
“My idea exactly. Now that you mention it I think there is something in what you say about the emperor, but we’ll have to make the best of things. Let’s try to find out through our interpreter where it will be agreeable to keep theSpherehereabouts and then send a message to Taggert to bring it.”
So it was agreed. Explanation to the interpreter proved a comparatively simple matter. A few sketches and gestures and he signified his understanding. A short while later he returned to inform them that the emperor had assigned them a structure near the palace in which they could keep theSphere. Further, that the emperor would be delighted, not only to view theSphere, but to welcome their companion.
A note to Taggert was dispatched at once by a courier supplied by the emperor. The courier was instructed to accompany Taggert back in theSphere, guiding him to the palace. As Taggert had thoroughly mastered the operation of theSphereunder Robert’s tutelage, during the watches of their long journey through space, they felt no uneasiness about his ability to fly it to where they were.
This matter settled, Robert and the professor sat down before a sumptuous dinner served in their suite. They were becoming accustomed to the well-cooked Martian food, and they relished it.
The confinement in the building since the middle of the previous day, however, was becoming irksome. The interpreter had not encouraged any suggestion about going out, and they had politely refrained from pressing the matter. Left to themselves after dinner, they decided to take a stroll outdoors.
Robert had observed a secluded nook behind the palace. The windows of their bedchamber opened on this enclosure, which was entirely surrounded by a wall about twelve feet high. Apparently the wall was without any gate. A number of small trees marked the smooth lawn within, casting long shadows in the gathering twilight.
It was in this nook that Robert proposed they take a stroll.
As they reached the exit leading out upon the enclosure, one of their attendants appeared rather abruptly at a door to their left. He paused there a moment as if about to speak, then disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
“So—we are under surveillance, eh?” remarked Professor Palmer.
“I wonder. He did look at us rather suspiciously.”
“Well, let’s go ahead and see whether they stop us.”
But they were not molested as they stepped out upon the lawn.
The cool dry air refreshed and invigorated them. It was free from the dampness of the dew which we are accustomed to feeling on our clear terrestrial nights, while the rarity of the Martian atmosphere was probably made up by a greater percentage of oxygen, as evidenced by the ease and enjoyment with which they breathed it. This they later affirmed. Tubercular diseases upon Mars were virtually unknown. In fact, the Martians were afflicted with little sickness of any kind.
For perhaps fifteen minutes they walked about, smoking cigars from their slender store which they had carried from theSpherein their pockets. The fleeting Martian twilight was replaced by darkness—that is, if one can call night filled with the soft radiance of millions of stars “darkness.” Over the edge of the wall at the western end of the garden hung Phobus, one-half its disk lit in a dull orange glow. It appeared about one-quarter the size of our moon.
A strange feeling of oppression, which he could not understand, possessed Robert. Try as he would he could not shake it off. Then he realized for the first time the intense silence which pervaded the night. There was a total absence of the countless sounds of nature which we are so accustomed to associating with summer nights. Apparently there were no insects upon Mars, or, if there were, they were voiceless. Their own voices startled them when they broke the stillness, and unconsciously they took to speaking in hushed whispers.
A few feet to the right of their doorway the palace wall ran out into the garden at a right angle for about fifty feet, thence it again turned off at a right angle to the right. The garden ran around this extension and back into a recess on the other side like the lower part of a large letter L.
Suddenly a woman’s stifled scream tore the silence apart. It ceased abruptly, suggestive of the clapping of a hand over the mouth of the one who had screamed. The sound seemed to come from the recess at the far side of the garden.
In a dozen lithe bounds Robert had rounded the wing of the palace, and was in sight of the far end of the garden. He fancied that he caught a fleeting glimpse of some light, loose garment in the dark shadows of the recess. A faint sound as of the stealthy turning of a lock followed and all was again quiet.
A moment later Professor Palmer joined him.
“What’s up?” he asked huskily, puffing from his exertion of attempting to keep pace with Robert.
“Don’t know. Imagined I saw a woman’s garment fluttering a moment ago. Suppose we have a look over there in that black corner.”
A solitary dark window looked out sinisterly from the recess. Robert had an uncomfortable feeling that they were being watched from it as they approached.
As they drew close to the wall where it joined the building Robert caught sight of something they had failed to notice before in the darkness. This was a massive, closed door in the corner of the wall.
“The door I heard locked a minute ago,” whispered Robert.
He put his shoulder to it, but failed to move it.
The night again was as silent as a grave. In vain they listened for some sound beyond the locked door till finally they gave it up and returned to the comfortable warmth of their suite.
That night Robert tossed about nervously until he despaired of sleeping. He envied the professor, whose measured breathing he could hear from the adjoining room. Later he dropped off into troubled slumber and dreamed once more of the maid of the desert.
This time the scene was a different one, the palace garden the setting instead of the desert. Step by step the incident of that evening was enacted again with this difference: in some strange manner he could see all that occurred in a garden which was on the other side of the wall with the locked door.
A maid—his maid—emerged from a door in the palace and hurried across the garden. Reaching the wall she fumbled among a mass of vines which clung to its side. She pulled something from behind them which he could not at first make out in the shadow. As she propped it against the wall he recognized it as a small ladder.
This she mounted quickly, looking back several times as if fearing pursuit. Just as she reached the top of the wall a man ran out of the doorway from which she had first appeared, and looked around swiftly. He was immediately joined by another. Both caught sight of the girl as she paused to drop on the other side of the wall.
Held by some invisible force Robert found it impossible to go to her assistance. He was obliged to remain merely a spectator.
The girl’s pursuers dashed across the garden and scrambled over the wall after her. She tripped over her long gown and fell. Before she could recover, one of them was upon her.
Together they lifted her struggling form and carried it back toward the massive door in the wall. There they halted while one of them fitted a key to the lock. A moment later it swung open. Just as they were taking her through the door, she screamed, and one of her captors clapped his hand over her mouth roughly. Then the door shut softly, but the sound of a heavy lock shot home reached Robert.
With the shutting of the door Robert suddenly was released from his trance. With a mighty bound he made for the wall—only to find himself standing awake in the middle of the floor of his bedchamber!
The vividness of his dream had left him trembling with excitement. He felt convinced that he had just visioned a review of the actual events of earlier in the evening. Prompted by the impulse of the moment, and realizing the impossibility of further sleep that night, Robert donned his clothes and quietly passed out into the garden.
He shivered as the chilled atmosphere struck him, and turned up his coat collar. The glory of Phobus no longer lit the crystal-clear sky, but in the soft light from the brilliant stars he could make out the wall running into the recess.
He found the stout door as securely locked as before.
Remembering his increased agility on Mars, Robert decided not to be restricted by a mere door while his reckless mood lasted. A jump and a clutching of the cornice quickly put him astride the wall with no discomfort save a bumped knee. A drop on the other side and he found himself in the garden of his dream.
“Now that I’ve arrived, what next!” he mused.
Looking round the enclosure he observed that it corresponded exactly in size and shape to the one on their side of the wall. All windows were dark. There was nothing to suggest the disturbance of the early evening. The ladder—if indeed, there had been a ladder there—was gone. But the mass of vines on the wall corresponded exactly to that in his dream!
“I suppose if I were a real hero I would dash in and rescue the distressed maiden in some way or other,” Robert muttered, scratching his head in perplexity.
As if in answer to his quandary a window above scraped lightly. A folded piece of paper fell at his feet. He looked up just in time to see a graceful, ivory-white hand being withdrawn. Was it the draperies or her garments that he saw behind the pane as the window was lowered gently!
The paper was crammed into his pocket and, after a swift glance around, he hurriedly scaled the wall, realizing the uselessness and folly of attempting there to read by the light of a match a note written in a still unfamiliar language.
“Boys, howdy,” Taggert greeted them.
TheSpherehad been safely brought and placed in the building provided. Official greetings and curiosity had been taken care of and the three adventurers were again united and alone.
“Pretty nearly scared that little Martian stiff,” Taggert went on, “not to mention myself. We hopped off a little bit too strong and before you could say ‘uncle’ we were almost lost in the old ozone. Guess he thought I’d decided to kidnap him and take him home. He jabbered something scandalous. But I soon got things straightened out and we beat it here P. D. Q.”
The days following were spent chiefly in the learning of the Martian language by all three. Robert was particularly anxious to master the Martian code of writing, sufficiently to enable him to decipher the note which had been thrown to him in the garden. Not trusting the interpreter, he could not request him to read it to him.
He selected characters and words from the note and tactfully brought them out during the lessons until he finally had obtained a fairly accurate idea of the note’s contents. That the girl and her father were political prisoners by the emperor’s command he made out. Just why, or what her immediate danger was, Robert was still unable to decipher accurately, but he got the impression that she was threatened with a morganatic marriage to the emperor.
Until he could learn the exact contents of the epistle and grasp a sufficient knowledge of the Martian tongue to discover something about their political intrigues, Robert decided that any move he could make would result in more harm than good for her. He longed for some means of communication with her in order that he might let her know that he was but waiting the right time to help her. If he could but speak or write the same language! Then he might at least manage somehow to tell her that he had not forgotten her. Though he had not yet seen her he stedfastly believed her to be the girl of his dreams.
At the end of a week Robert, in his zeal, had so far out-distanced his companions in the mastery of the Martian tongue that they were both continually asking him about this or that word. He could already make most of their wants known through speech to the attendants.
It was about this time that one of their two attendants, a young, pleasant-faced chap, called Modah, startled Robert by stealthily handing him a small, sealed envelope when they were alone for a moment. Making a sign of secrecy the Martian hurried off. Robert pocketed the envelope as the other attendant entered just then.
The reading of this note, though longer, proved easier than the first. Robert recognized the signature immediately. However, it was not until two days later that he succeeded in completely deciphering both notes, and that only by tactful questioning of the interpreter.
The first read thus: