by James Cowan
CHAPTER XII.
WE REACH THORWALD'S HOME.
All this time we had been riding leisurely along, enraptured with thedelightful country, while the way itself and the estates on either handoffered such variety of landscape that the view never became tiresomenor uninteresting.
But as the day was waning, our friends quickened the pace and showed usa burst of speed. This was most exhilarating, and soon brought us tothe station where Thorwald told us we were to take an express train forhome, which was about two hundred miles distant.
When we alighted we left our carriage by the roadside among many others,and entered an immense building. Both inside and out there were plentyof people moving around, but without noise or unpleasant bustle. With nodelay, and also with no haste, we entered what appeared to be a smallerapartment opening out of the general waiting-room. It had the appearanceof an elegant drawing-room, the rich but comfortable-looking furniturebeing disposed in a careless manner, which helped to make us feel athome, if anything could bring us that sensation. There was a door ateach end of the room, and soon these were closed and we felt an almostimperceptible jar. The doctor glanced hastily at Thorwald and said:
"Can it be possible that we are to travel in this apartment?"
"Yes," answered Thorwald, "this is our modern traveling coach, andwe are already on our way to the city in which my friend here and Ireside."
This latter fact surprised us, for we could not perceive by our sensesthat we were in motion. But as we sat wondering and trying to imagineourselves flying through space, the doors opened, a pleasant breezefanned our cheeks, and the doors closed again, we felt that slight jarrepeated, and then we were quiet once more. This occurred every two orthree minutes, and, remembering what Thorwald had previously told us, werealized that we were riding in a perfectly tight car in a vacuum tubeand that these short but frequent stops were to keep us supplied withfresh air.
Thorwald explained this to us again, and told us that the coaches wereof different sizes to accommodate large or small parties, and that onecould ride alone if he chose to. The cars started so frequently that itwas seldom necessary to wait more than a few minutes. The doctor thoughtthere must be great liability to accident, but Thorwald said:
"No, we do not consider the risk worth taking into account. Let meillustrate with a familiar example. Suppose you had just seen a cabletested with a ton's weight without a strain. Should you fear to takehold of the cable and lift yourself from the ground lest it might breakand you should fall? The mechanism of this road is just as sure as that.The force that is driving us forward is no longer mysterious. The lawsof electricity are well defined, and its mighty power is under perfectcontrol. Nothing is left to chance, and the result is that there havebeen no accidents for many, many years, and practically speaking therecannot be any."
When we first entered the coach we noticed that there were no windows,and as the doors had no glass we wondered why it was not dark. The lightwas good broad daylight, exactly like that which fills a room when thereare good windows, but where the direct rays of the sun do not enter;and, as we could see no lamps nor fixtures, we could not understand howthe illumination could be artificial. But such it was. We carriedan electric battery with us, and the lamps were out of sight, and soarranged that they gave us only reflected light. The system was soperfect that the imitation sunlight was just as good as the real, as faras we could discover.
"This is the way we light all our interiors," said Thorwald, "and ofcourse the apparatus is so governed that we can have any amount ofillumination we please, little or much."
The doctor was about to ask some question in relation to this practicalimprovement, when he was stopped by hearing a little silver-toned bellring. In an instant the doors opened, and Thorwald rose and announcedthat we had reached the end of our journey. We could not have been inthe car more than fifteen minutes, and the doctor and I supposed ourride of two hundred miles had just begun.
"Well, if you travel at this rate," said the doctor, "I do not wonderyou have obliterated all national boundaries, for the ends of the worldare right at your doors. And now, Thorwald, I would like to see thegreat tube through which we have been carried so swiftly."
Thorwald smiled a little and led the way through another superbwaiting-room out into the open air. Here the doctor looked in alldirections, but could see nothing of the object for which he wassearching.
"You have seen all any of us can see," said Thorwald.
"We merely step into the comfortable car, sit a few minutes, step outagain, and go home. In the meantime we have been carried under groundand under water, across valleys and through hills, but the way itself,the tube through which the car flies, is entirely hidden from sight.Where it is above ground, trees and shrubbery screen it from view, sothat it does not mar the landscape. We think much of this, and shouldregret exceedingly if it became necessary for any such utilitarianobject to interfere with our aesthetic enjoyment of nature."
Thorwald's friend now took leave of us, expressing the hope thathe would soon see us again. He had taken some little part in ourconversation, but had left the burden of it to Thorwald, who was older,and who was, moreover, our first acquaintance.
It seemed singular to the doctor and me that we had attracted so littleattention among the people whom we had encountered since leaving theship. To give the reason for this, which we afterwards discovered, isto reveal one of the pleasantest peculiarities of the Martiancharacter--that is, the entire absence of a disagreeable curiosity. Ourdress and appearance and the rather novel circumstances connected withour arrival on the planet, which must quickly have become known,were certainly calculated to excite their interest, and in a similarsituation on the earth there is no telling what might have happened tous from a curious mob. But here all was order and quiet. Everybody wentabout his own business and treated our party with additional respect,it seemed, because some of us were strangers. We found out later howanxious all these people were to learn everything about us, but theywere content to wait till the knowledge should come to them in a properway.
Thorwald now selected a light, pretty carriage, and after a brisk ridethrough another charming avenue and up a steep hill, we alighted at thedoor of a noble mansion whose majestic proportions were in harmonywith the wide, open plateau upon which it stood alone. Upon entering,Thorwald was at once affectionately greeted by his wife, and while hewas introducing us as natives of another world his son and daughter camebounding toward him from an adjacent room.
These were quite small children, but in a few moments Thorwald broughtin from another part of the house a young woman of about my age,apparently, and introduced her as a neighbor. It needed but a glance totell us that she was beautiful as a dream, and she moved about with thatexquisite grace which comes only from the highest culture. She spoketo us with such ease and naturalness that we were at once relieved fromwhatever embarrassment the circumstances might easily occasion.
"Antonia is our very dear friend," said Thorwald, "and, although shehides her curiosity so well, you will find her an exceedingly interestedlistener to your history and adventures."
"Yes," said the charming voice of Antonia, "Thorwald has told me justenough about you to make me want to know more. Your moon, which is somuch larger than our little satellites, caused a great sensation when itwas seen coming toward us so rapidly. The situation was well calculatedto cause us anxiety, if we had been subject to such a feeling, but, asusual with us at the present day, it has turned out to our advantage;for it has given us two such worthy representatives of a neighboringrace."
"I am sure," I answered, "that the advantage is greatly on our side."
I could not say more, for I was conscious that the doctor was watchingclosely to see how I was affected by the presence of this royal girl.When he saw I was inclined to be somewhat quiet he felt impelled to saysomething, and offered the following compromising remark:
"If we had only brought Mona safely off the moon with us, you would havehad somet
hing more worthy of your interest than we are, and my friendhere also would now be in better spirits."
Antonia had a question in her eyes but her perfect breeding kept herfrom putting it into words, after the final expression of the doctor'sspeech. Of course, I could not ignore the allusion, and said:
"Mona is a friend of the doctor's whom I have not the pleasure ofknowing. I suppose he thinks her cheerful disposition, of which I haveheard before, would make our present situation even more enjoyable thanit is. Speaking for myself, however, I think that would be impossible."
With that she rose, and, with a pleasant word of adieu to us, toldThorwald she would come in another day after we were well rested.
It was now approaching night-fall and dinner was to be speedilyannounced. The doctor and I were shown to a suite of dressing-rooms, andas soon as we were alone he said:
"Do you think Antonia is as handsome as Mona?"
"If you will show me Mona I shall then be able to judge. But how didI carry myself on my first introduction to a daughter of Mars? Doyou think I am in any danger of putting her in Margaret's place in myheart?"
"Perhaps not," replied the doctor. "You kept command of yourselfpretty well; but I think the secret of that is that you have not quiteforgotten Mona."
"Excuse my frankness, Doctor, but I must tell you I am getting a littletired of Mona. I wish I might never hear her name again. If I can resistthe charms of such an exquisite bundle of perfections as Antonia is,do you think I am likely to be overcome by a mocking-bird of yourimagination?"
"If you could only hear the voice of that bird once more," replied thedoctor, "you would soon begin to sing another tune. But let us go downif you are ready, and not keep them waiting."
We had looked forward with much interest to our first meal in one ofthese sumptuous houses, and, moreover, being quite hungry, we were gladto find that we were just in time to sit down. If we had felt anyfear lest the absence of meat would make a meager bill of fare, theexperience of the next hour relieved us. The dishes were all strange,but highly palatable, and the fact that there was nothing that appearedto be in the least unwholesome did not detract from the delicioussavor which every viand possessed. The rich variety of courses and theelegance of the service made it a dinner long to be remembered, and gavea new zest to our life on Mars.
It had been a long day to us, and we were allowed to retire at an earlyhour, being conducted to adjacent and communicating rooms. But, thoughour fatigue was great, it is not strange that we lay awake awhile,talking of the wonderful things we had seen and heard. Speaking of theMartian method of rapid transit the doctor said:
"Besides its expedition, there is another feature to recommend their wayof traveling."
"What is that?"
"Why, there is no danger of getting a seat just behind a window fiend."
"There is something in that," I answered, "but I am thinking just nowof our dinner. We must certainly learn how to cook eggs and vegetablesbefore we return to the earth."
The character of our conversation, judged from these scraps, shows thatwe had no excuse for remaining awake any longer.