A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future

by John Jacob Astor

  BOOK III.

  CHAPTER I.

  SATURN.

  Landing on a place about ten degrees north of the equator, sothat they might obtain a good view of the great rings--since ONthe line only the thin edge would be visible--they opened aport-hole with the same caution they had exercised on Jupiter.Again there was a rush of air, showing that the pressure withoutwas greater than that within; but on this occasion the barometerstopped at thirty-eight, from which they calculated that thepressure was nineteen pounds to the square inch on their bodies,instead of fifteen as at sea-level on earth. This difference wasso slight that they scarcely felt it. They also discarded theapergetic outfits that had been so useful on Jupiter, asunnecessary here. The air was an icy blast, and though theyquickly closed the opening, the interior of the Callisto wasconsiderably chilled.

  "We shall want our winter clothes," said Bearwarden; "it might bemore comfortable for us exactly on the equator, though the sceneat night will be far finer here, if we can stand the climate.Doubtless it will also be warmer soon, for the sun has but justrisen."

  "I suspect this is merely one of the cold waves that rush towardsthe equator at this season, which corresponds to about the 10thof our September," replied Cortlandt. "The poles of Saturn mustbe intensely cold during its long winter of fourteen and threequarter years, for, the axis being inclined twenty-seven degreesfrom the perpendicular of its orbit, the pole turned from the sunis more shut off from its heat than ours, and in addition to thisthe mean distance--more than eight hundred and eighty millionmiles--is very great. Since the chemical composition of the airwe have inhaled has not troubled our lungs, it is fair to supposewe shall have no difficulty in breathing."

  Having dressed themselves more warmly, and seen by a thermometerthey had placed outside that the temperature was thirty-eightdegrees Fahrenheit, which had seemed very cold compared with thewarmth inside the Callisto, they again opened the port-hole, thistime leaving it open longer. What they had felt before wasevidently merely a sudden gust, for the air was now comparativelycalm.

  Finding that the doctor's prediction as to the suitability of theair to their lungs was correct, they ventured out, closing thedoor as they went.

  Expecting, as on Jupiter, to find principally vertebrates of thereptile and bird order, they carried guns and cartridges loadedwith buckshot and No. 1, trusting for solid-ball projectiles totheir revolvers, which they shoved into their belts. They alsotook test- tubes for experiments on the Saturnian bacilli.Hanging a bucket under the pipe leading from the roof, to catchany rain that might fall--for they remembered the scarcity ofdrinking-water on Jupiter--they set out in a southwesterlydirection.

  Walking along, they noticed on all sides tall lilies immaculatelypure in their whiteness, and mushrooms and toadstools nearly afoot high, the former having a delicious flavour and extremefreshness, as though only an hour old. They had seen no animallife, or even sign of it, and were wondering at its dearth, whensuddenly two large white birds rose directly in front of them.Like thought, Bearwarden and Ayrault had their guns up, snappingthe thumb-pieces over "safe" and pulling the triggers almostsimultaneously. Bearwarden, having double buckshot, killed hisbird at the first fire; but Ayrault, having only No. 1, had togive his the second barrel, almost all damage in both cases beingin the head. On coming close to their victims they found them tomeasure twelve feet from tip to tip, and to have a tremendousthickness of feathers and down.

  "From the looks of these beauties," said Bearwarden, "I shouldsay they probably inhabited a pretty cold place."

  "They are doubtless northern birds," said Cortlandt, "that havejust come south. It is easy to believe that the depth to whichthe temperature may fall in the upper air of this planet must besomething startling."

  As they turned from the cranes, to which species the birds seemedto belong, they became mute with astonishment. Every mushroomhad 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 sawthem," said Cortlandt.

  "They were what I looked forward to for lunch," exclaimedBearwarden.

  They were greatly perplexed. The mushrooms were all about themwhen they shot the birds, which still lay where they had fallen.

  "We must be very absent-minded," said the doctor, "or perchanceour brains are affected by the air. We must analyze it to see ifit contains our own proportion of oxygen and nitrogen. There wasa good deal of carbonic-acid gas on Jupiter, but that wouldhardly confuse our senses. The strange thing is, that we allseem to have been impressed the same way."

  Concluding that they must have been mistaken, they continued ontheir journey.

  All about they heard a curious humming, as that of bees, or likethe murmuring of prayers in a resonant cathedral. Thinking itwas the wind in the great trees that grew singly around them,they paid no attention to it until, emerging on an open plain andfinding that the sound continued, they stopped.

  "Now," said Bearwarden, "this is more curious than anything wefound on Jupiter. Here we have an incessant and rather pleasantsound, with no visible cause."

  "It may possibly be some peculiarity of the grass," repliedCortlandt, "though, should it continue when we reach sandy orbare 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 thesounds came. Suddenly Bearwarden raised his gun to bring down along-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 topull. A haze seemed to cover both barrels, and completelyscreened the bird."

  "The Callisto will soon be hidden by those trees," saidCortlandt. "I think we had better take our bearings, for, if ourcrack shot is going to miss like that, we may want cannedprovisions."

  Accordingly, he got out his sextant, took the altitude of thesun, got cross-bearings and a few angles, and began to make arough calculation. For several minutes he worked industriously,used the rubber at the end of his pencil, tried again, and thenscratched out. "That humming confuses me so that I cannot workcorrectly," said he, "while the most irrelevant things enter mymind in spite of me, and mix up my figures."

  "I found the same thing," said Bearwarden, "but said nothing, forfear I should not be believed. In addition to going blind, for amoment I almost forgot what I was trying to do."

  Changing their course slightly, they went towards a range ofhills, in the hope of finding rocky or sandy soil, in order totest the sounds, and ascertain if they would cease or vary.

  Having ascended a few hundred feet, they sat down near some treesto rest, the musical hum continuing meanwhile unchanged. Theground was strewn with large coloured crystals, apparentlyrubies, sapphires, and emeralds, about the size of hens' eggs,and also large sheets of isinglass. Picking up one of thelatter, Ayrault examined it. Points of light and shade keptforming on its surface, from which rings radiated like thecircles spreading in all directions from a place in still waterat which a pebble is thrown. He called his companions, and thethree examined it. The isinglass was about ten inches long byeight across, and contained but few impurities. In addition tothe spreading rings, curious forms were continually taking shapeand dissolving.

  "This is more interesting," said Bearwarden, "than soundingshells at the sea-shore. We must make a note of it as anotherthing to study."

  They then spread their handkerchiefs on a mound of earth, so asto 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 havethought many times there was some one--or perhaps severalpersons--here besides ourselves."

  "The same idea has occurred to me," replied Cortlandt. "I wasconvinc
ed, a moment ago, that a shadow crossed the page on whichI was taking notes. Can it be there are objects about us wecannot see? We know there are vibrations of both light and soundthat do not affect our senses. I wish we had brought themagnetic 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 onour retinas. I believe any impressions we are receiving areproduced through our minds, as if some one were thinking veryintently about us, and that neither the magnetic eye nor asensitive plate could reveal anything."

  They then returned to the study of the isinglass, which they wereable to split into extremely thin sheets. Suddenly a cloudpassed over the table, and almost immediately disappeared, andthen a sharpened pencil with which Ayrault had been writing beganto trace on a sheet of paper, in an even hand, and with a slightfrictional sound.

  "Stop!" said Bearwarden; "let us each for himself describe inwriting what he has seen."

  In a moment they had done this, and then compared notes. In eachcase the vision was the same. Then they looked at the writingmade by the invisible hand. "Absorpta est mors in Victoria," itran.

  "Gentlemen, began Bearwarden, as if addressing a meeting, "thiscannot be coincidence; we are undoubtedly and unquestionably inthe presence of a spirit or of several spirits. That theyunderstand Latin, we see; and, from what they say, they may haveknown death. Time may show whether they have been terrestrialslike ourselves. Though the conditions of life here might make usdelirious, it is scarcely possible that different temperamentslike 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 aspirit, if we may assume that spirits have the power to move thepencil, which is a material object. Nobody doubts nowadays thatafter death we live again; that being the case, we must admitthat we live somewhere. Space, as I take it, can be no obstacleto a spirit; therefore, why suppose they remain on earth?"

  "This is a wonderful place," said Cortlandt. "We have alreadyseen 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-lookingsun were split, and the colours of the spectrum danced upon thelinen cloth, as if obtained by a prism. In astonishment, theyrose and looked closely at the table, when suddenly a shadow thatno one recognized as his own appeared upon the cover. Tracing itto its source, their eyes met those of an old man with a whiterobe and beard and a look of great intelligence on his calm face.They knew he had not been in the little grove thirty secondsbefore, and as this was surrounded by open country there was noplace from which he could have come.