by James Cowan
CHAPTER XXII.
AGAIN THE MOON.
Days passed and brought no news of Mona. I did all in my power to appearcheerful, but often made a dismal failure of it. No one could help me,and Thorwald, though sympathetic like all the rest, would allow me nofalse hopes. He said a systematic and thorough search had been made,both on land and water, without result, and he could see no prospectof any success in the future. But, while I could see that Thorwald wasabout ready to abandon in despair the attempt to find Mona, I would notgive up hope. I did not know at the time what excellent reasons Thorwaldhad for his feeling, for I did not realize how very complete the searchhad been, but my own faith was not founded on reason. I simply refusedto believe that I should never see again the object of such deep love.
While affairs were in this condition, Thorwald said to us one morning:
"I wonder you have not been more anxious to see one of our flyingmachines. Our system of aerial navigation is one of the most enjoyableof our material blessings, and I shall take great pleasure in giving youa taste of it."
"I think one reason," I answered, "why we have not asked about it isbecause we have had so many other interesting things to see, and thenyou know we had our share of traveling in the air in coming to you.However, we shall be delighted to see your method at any time when youare pleased to exhibit it."
"Very well," said Thorwald; "then we will get up an expedition at once.Zenith and Avis will accompany us, I think; and as we shall probablyfall in with Foedric, we will send for Antonia to go also."
"That will make a pleasant party," I said.
We found all were glad to go and witness our introduction to a modernair ship, and we were soon off.
Not far from the house we found a luxurious carriage of just the rightsize for us all. We did not see another like it anywhere about, and Iwas moved to ask:
"How does it happen, Thorwald, that exactly the kind of conveyance youwant is ready without any prearrangement? This sort of carriage does notappear to be very plentiful."
"Things generally 'happen,' as you call it, for our convenience," hesaid. "Is it not so with you to some extent? If all the people wanted totravel in your cars on the same day and at the same hour, they could noteasily be accommodated, but some dispensation divides them up so thatthere are, I presume, about the same number who find it necessary orconvenient to travel each day. This subject has been studied by us, andwe believe that even these details of our lives are all arranged by himto whom nothing is small, nothing great."
A pleasant ride of a few miles brought us to a seaport, and to ascene of much activity. It seemed to be a great distributing point, asnumerous loads of many kinds of goods were moving about, and immensestores of fruit and vegetables were to be seen. These products of thesoil were of bewildering variety and surpassing richness, showing usthat agriculture, providing most of the food of the people, must be afavorite science with many, and one that brought rich rewards. It waspleasing to see everything going on in such a quiet, orderly manner, andso many people at work without friction and with no look of fret, hurry,or fatigue. Everyone seemed to be enjoying his work, if that could becalled work which looked so much like pleasure.
After riding through several busy streets we drew near an imposingstructure, which Thorwald told us was the front of the aerial station.At the same time he directed our attention to the sky, and we saw anumber of air ships sailing leisurely along, some just starting outand others apparently returning home. The doctor and I had our interestquickened by this sight and were anxious for a closer view. As the factof riding in the air was not new to us, we had not been much excited bythe prospect of seeing how the Martians did it. But these ships wereso different from anything we had ever seen before that we began toanticipate a great deal from our excursion after all.
Going through the building, we came into an immense court or open space,large enough, one would suppose, for the fleets of a nation. Here werea great number of flying machines of various sizes, all gayly decoratedwith pleasing colors, and many of them, apparently, waiting forpassengers. Thorwald selected one of medium size, and as we approached,whom should we find in charge but our young friend Foedric? In answer toThorwald's question, he told us that both he and his vessel were at ourservice, and we proceeded to mount to our seats in the car.
Foedric pulled a small lever, and we began to rise. He then expressedhis pleasure to the doctor and me that he had the opportunity of makingour further acquaintance.
"We are taking them for the ride," said Thorwald, "and you may chooseany course and go to any height you please."
We thanked Foedric for his pleasant words, and then he showed us aboutthe car and explained its conveniences. It was quite large, with anumber of apartments and accommodations sufficient for a dozen peopleboth day and night. Besides the ordinary furnishings for comfortableliving, we saw air-condensing machines for use in lofty flights, agood-sized telescope, instruments for measuring speed and height, andother scientific apparatus of much of which we were obliged to ask theuse.
Although Foedric was so much younger than Thorwald, he was taller andlarger every way--a magnificent specimen of a magnificent race. Inspeaking to Thorwald he showed a proper respect for his greater age, andhe bore himself becomingly in the presence of Zenith; but there was notthe slightest sign of subserviency, nor anything to show that, thoughengaged in what might be called a lowly occupation, he was not on termsof perfect equality and even friendship with them. This easy poise ofmanner would not have surprised us had we known what Thorwald soon toldus, and from this experience we learned never to judge a Martian by thework he happened to be doing.
"Foedric is a scholar," said Thorwald, "and is engaged just now inwriting a treatise on the color of sounds."
This announcement was a double surprise, for we would have said, if hewas writing anything, that it must be something about ballooning--theapplication of electricity to flying machinery, perhaps. But Thorwaldfurther enlightened us, the talk going on in Foedric's presence:
"He was attracted to that subject by the fact that he possesses in astriking degree the faculty of hearing color, which belongs only torefined minds. We all have this power to some extent, but in this, asin so many other things, there are great differences among us. As anexample of this power, if you will excuse me, Doctor, I will tell youthat your voice is dark blue, while yours," he continued, turning to me,"is yellow. Foedric, a true son of Mars, speaks red, and as for Zenith,her soft, pink voice has always been to me one of her principal charms,and though it would be folly to deny that she has changed some inappearance (not for the worse, however) since I first knew her, hervoice has retained the same tone or color. I will ask Foedric if I amcorrect in my impressions."
"Quite correct," answered Foedric. "When I first heard your friend, thedoctor, speak I thought his voice was brown, but it has changed sinceto such an extent that I think as you do--that the prevailing tinge isa deep blue. Such cases are not unknown among us, but they are notfrequent."
"If the color of my voice sympathizes with my thoughts," said thedoctor, "I do not wonder that your quick ears have noticed a change."
"I ought to say," resumed Foedric, "that I have to rely on my friends totell me the shade of my own voice, for to my ears it is as colorless asa piece of the clearest glass, and this is the common experience."
"I would like to ask about the color of Antonia's voice," I said, "andAvis's, too."
"Antonia's is a beautiful green," answered Foedric, looking with asmile at the fair one, "and Avis, both in song and speech, has yourcolor--yellow."
"Foedric," said Thorwald, "tell our friends what you and others aretrying to discover in connection with the air vibrations. It may besuggestive to them."
"I can claim but little part in the work," Foedric responded, "but itis this. Our ears report to our brain the air waves until they reacha frequency of forty thousand in a second, and we call the sensationsound. When the vibrations of the ether are more rapid than that, wehav
e no sense with which to receive the impression until they reach thegreat number of four hundred million millions in a second. Then theyaffect the eye and produce red light, and as they increase still morethe color becomes orange, then yellow, green, blue, and violet. Perhapsyour limitations are not the same as ours, but our scientists are tryingto discover some means by which we can arrest and make use of a smallpart at least of those waves which strike our bodies at a frequencybetween forty thousand and four hundred million millions. It is still anunsolved problem, this search for another sense, and we are nowlooking forward for help in the task to the studies of the civilizationrepresented in our comet."
All this time we were rising slowly but hardly realizing it, beingfilled with that peculiar sensation, incident to balloon journeys, bywhich we could almost believe we were remaining about in the same placeand the solid ground was falling away from us.
Now Foedric increased our speed and showed us how easily he couldsail in any direction and at any rate he pleased, explaining to us themechanism by which we were upheld and propelled, and also the wayin which the current of electricity was generated and applied. Theycertainly had a wonderful method of producing great power with littleweight, and the doctor eagerly drank in the information in regard to it,as if for future use.
It was charming. The atmosphere was as clear as crystal, the air balmyand the motion delightful, and if the Martians, with their purernature and keener senses, enjoyed the trip that morning more than weearth-dwellers did, then their capacity for enjoyment must have beenbeyond ours. The ship seemed to be under perfect control; there wasnothing uncertain in her movements, and as we went sailing along withoutfear of harm, in the very poetry of motion, the doctor and I realizedover and over again that we had much to learn in this method ofnavigation.
Now we were riding at a good height, and our vision could take in a wideexpanse of land and water. The peculiarity of the surface of Mars wasnoticeable, the seas being long, narrow inlets, as it were, runningthrough or between winding strings of land, a decided contrast to thegreat oceans and noble continents of our mother earth. It seemed tome that this was much to the advantage of the earth, and so I was boldenough to say:
"When I used to look at a map of Mars, Thorwald, I remember thinkingthat the planet was not a handsome one, whatever might be the characterof its inhabitants. But I have no doubt you have an answer for me whichwill give some good reason for the peculiar structure of the surface ofMars and make me ashamed of my sentimental preference for the earth."
"I certainly hope you will hear nothing while you are with us to makeyou ashamed of your own planet," said Thorwald; "but I must tell you thetruth in regard to Mars. How do you like our climate, as far as you haveexperienced it?"
"We have enjoyed it exceedingly," I answered, "and I have been on thepoint of remarking several times that we were fortunate in making ourvisit here at so pleasant a season of the year."
"But," said Thorwald, "you could not have come in a worse season, forwe have none worse than this. The temperature varies enough to givevariety, but not enough in either direction to cause discomfort. Eachseason is quite distinctive from the others, but each has its peculiarcharm and all are equally enjoyable. Our telescopes tell us it is notso on the earth, for we can see the winter snow creep well down on itssurface and remain there several months, then go away and come on theother hemisphere. We know this means great changes of climate, and asthe inclination of the axis of the earth to the plane of its orbit isabout the same as that of the axis of Mars, we believe we would haveequally violent changes were it not for the fortunate distribution ofland and water on our planet. All those narrow seas which disfigure oursurface in your eyes, are in reality vast rivers, which are constantlybearing the water from one part of the globe to another. The warm waterof the equatorial regions is carried to the cold countries north andsouth, and the water thus displaced cools in its turn the lands moredirectly under the sun. Thus the temperature of all parts is nearlyequalized. In the summer in this latitude the water that washes ourshores is cool and in the winter it is warm, and the strips of landare so narrow that all places feel the influence, making the climatedelightful everywhere. At each pole there is a spot of perpetual snow,but these are comparatively small, and the fields are cultivated rightup to the foot of the snow hills."
This recital excited the doctor's interest amazingly, and as Thorwaldclosed he said:
"I rather think my companion did not expect so complete an answer, butI am glad his words suggested to you this statement, Thorwald. It isof great value to us in our study of your remarkable planet. Howwonderfully God has adapted everything to your comfort and well-being!"
Thorwald smiled in appreciation of the doctor's final words, but beforehe had time to speak we were a little startled by the red voice ofFoedric, calling out:
"The moon! Look!"
It was nothing new for any of us now to look at our old moon. We hadseen it almost every day, had talked much about it, and thought thenovelty of its companionship to Mars about worn off. But our presenthigh position and the clear, thin atmosphere gave it quite a changedappearance, as it was slowly coming into view above the horizon. Wewatched it in silence for a while and saw it mount the eastern sky, andI think all of us except Foedric had the same thought, that it appearedto be much nearer than usual. Foedric had seen it before from the sameheight, and knew when he called our attention to it that we were goingto be surprised.
As the moon rose still higher it appeared to be coming toward us,instead of aiming at a point far over our heads, and our next sensationwas caused by Zenith, who mildly exclaimed:
"It cannot be more than a few miles away. Why not go and make it avisit?"
To her surprise, if people of such high endowments ever are surprised,Thorwald asked quickly:
"Are you willing to try it if the rest of us are?"
"Certainly," she replied.
"Foedric," said Thorwald, "what do you say to flying out to the moon andattempting an invasion of it?"
"I say," answered Foedric, "that I am ready. We have provisionsenough for several days, and I believe the capacity of our battery issufficient for the trip." Thorwald learned from Avis and Antonia thatthey would not object to the trial, and then said:
"Well, we have a good majority, but must not think of deciding on soimportant a step unless the feeling is unanimous. Let us hear from ourfriends here, who have had some experience with the moon."
The doctor said pleasantly that he should like nothing better than theproposed experiment, and, as I was the last, I remarked that I couldnot spoil such an interesting project by withholding my consent. But itseemed to me all the time that the whole thing was a joke and thatit would end at once in a laugh. I thought of the cold and cheerlesssurface of the moon, comparing it in my mind with the delectable worldwe were leaving, and had no relish for the proposed trip. Something ofmy feeling must have been reflected in my countenance, for Zenith, whohad been looking at me, said in a sympathetic tone:
"Although you gave your consent, you look as if you did not enjoy theprospect of another visit to the moon."
Thorwald heard this remark, and after a glance at me he said:
"You are right, Zenith, and I think we will abandon the idea at once.We started out today for the purpose of entertaining the doctor and hisfriend, and it would not become us to treat them to more of a ride thanthey desire."
"You are both excellent mind readers," I responded. "And if I were ashonest as you Martians are, I suppose I should have said in the firstplace that I preferred not to make such an extended journey. I suspectthe doctor is willing to go ahead, as he is too sensible to be affectedby such a feeling as now moves me. My thoughts turn back to ourdeparture from the earth in a balloon, and I cannot rid my mind ofthe dreadful fear that perhaps we are now unconsciously bidding a longfarewell to Mars."
Thorwald thanked me for my frankness and said they should certainlyrespect my sentiment. He then stepped to Foedric's side to speak to himi
n regard to a change of course. At that moment I looked at the moon,which had been rapidly approaching us. What was it that suddenly gave ita deeper interest to me? A flash of intelligence suffused my beinglike an electric shock, frilling my imagination with the most beautifulvision and making the moon appear to me now as the one desirable placein all the universe.
"Thorwald," I exclaimed, "keep right on! I want to go now. I havechanged my mind."
"Yes," he responded, looking at me with a pleased smile, "and I see youhave changed your face, too. You look like quite another man. Why thissudden transition?"
"Don't you know? Mona is there."
"Where?"
"In the moon, of course."
"How do you know that? You seem to be pretty confident."
"Why, she must be there. You couldn't find her on land or water, and youknow you have no accidents in Mars, so she could not have come to anyharm there. I know we shall find her in the moon. She must have beenleft behind in some way when the doctor and I were thrown off, andnow she is no doubt expecting us to come back to her. Oh, let us makehaste."
"Well," answered Thorwald, "we were only waiting your consent, and wecan now keep on as we are going and try to reach the moon. But I mustgive you a friendly warning not to let your hope get the better of yourjudgment in regard to finding your friend."
With this Thorwald and Foedric consulted a moment, and at once our speedincreased till we were flying at a fearful rate, but none too fast forme. I knew now why I had been so reluctant to go so far away fromMars. It was because I thought Mona was there; but now, with my presentopinion, the moon had suddenly changed its character and become to myimagination a bright and beautiful world. To such a degree does lovetransform the most unlovely objects.
I was struck with the easy way in which Zenith had accepted the resultof what I thought her sportive suggestion, and, not being able to fathomher thoughts, I said to her:
"When we left home, this morning, you did not expect to be gone overnight. Have you no anxiety about the house and the children?"
"Oh, no," she replied; "the house will not run away, nor the childreneither. We do not often stay away from them over night, but we do nothesitate to do so when we have a good reason for it. Our children knowus well enough to be sure we have such a reason now, and this faithin us and in our safe return will permit us to stay away as long as weplease. As for our feelings, we have no such thing as anxiety, for allour experience teaches us that no harm of any kind can come to our lovedones. I suppose in such circumstances on the earth both the mother andthe children would have a feeling of great fear, caused by the fact thatthere would be in reality some danger of harm, but here we have neverheard of such a thing, and even the word 'danger' has little meaning init to us, because all we know about it comes from our reading." The moonwas now well above us, and we were making for a point in the westernsky where Foedric hoped to intercept it. We were already so far fromthe planet that the air was getting weak, so we all put on breathingmachines. These were of such perfect construction that our lungs hadfree play, nor were they cumbersome enough to interfere much with ourmovements.
By this time the moon had grown so vastly, owing to our swift traveling,that our friends began to be amazed at its enormous proportions. Thejagged, mountainous surface was plainly visible, a most uninviting placefor people accustomed to the serene beauty and felicity of the planetMars.
"Remember," said the doctor, "that you are not to judge the earth bywhat you see of her old satellite."
"Well," answered Thorwald, "we mean to see what we can of the satellite.Foedric, let us point the glass at it and be selecting a place to land."
But Foedric was obliged to let Thorwald handle the glass alone, for hisattention was needed just now to manage our craft. He had discoveredthat shutting off the power did not diminish the speed, and for a momenthe was puzzled, quite a new sensation for a Martian of that era. But hesoon studied out the difficulty and made the following announcement:
"I find this huge mass that we are approaching is pulling us toward itssurface, so that we are using but little power. I expect in a short timewe can merely fall to its surface."
This suggested to Thorwald the very trouble that the doctor and I hadencountered with our balloon, and he asked Foedric if we could get awayagain after we had dropped to the moon.
"Yes," Foedric answered, "I am sure we have power enough here toovercome the attraction and get away whenever we please."
Thorwald, who had been intently studying the surface through thetelescope, now spoke out with some excitement in his voice:
"Doctor, I begin to think you did not make a thorough investigation ofthe moon's condition. Did you not report it practically uninhabited?"
"Our means of investigation were rather limited," replied the doctor,"but we surely found no inhabitants except poor Mona, whom, I amconfident, we shall never see again. Why do you ask? Are there anysigns of life visible? I have no doubt you Martians can see more at thisdistance than we could when standing on the globe itself."
"Well," Thorwald answered, "either you reached wrong conclusions or elsea race has grown up there pretty rapidly. I cannot make out anythingdefinite yet, but there is smoke, I am sure, and I can see some objectmoving about."
I had great difficulty in restraining my feelings as Thorwald utteredthese words, but neither he nor the doctor seemed to realize whatsignificance they had for me. Both had apparently given up allexpectation of finding Mona anywhere, and these evidences of life, soplain to me, were therefore inexplicable to them. I controlled myselfand begged Thorwald to let me look through the glass. He adjusted itfor me, but before I could get a satisfactory view our swift motion madesuch a change in the appearance of the surface that Thorwald could notfind the same spot again.
As no one said a word to indicate any thought of connecting Mona withthe movements that Thorwald had observed, I determined that I would keepquiet also and await the result of our landing. I let my thoughts fly tomy love, who, without doubt, had seen the approach of our air ship andwas expecting our speedy arrival. What an addition she would make to ourparty, and how these Martians would study her history as she recountedit in that exquisite voice. But I should claim a large share of her timefor myself. How glad I was to think that Foedric had so openly shown hisaffection for Antonia. Surely I need not harbor the jealous feeling thatwould arise, for so true a son of Mars could not fall to the level ofsome earthly men, and be unfaithful to so noble a girl as Antonia. Itwas beyond all reason, and yet my love for Mona, whom I thought we weresoon to find, was such that I undesignedly but still unmistakably madeup my mind to keep a close watch on handsome Foedric.