Part 21 (1/2)

The doctor said pleasantly that he should like nothing better than the proposed experiment, and, as I was the last, I remarked that I could not spoil such an interesting project by withholding my consent. But it seemed to me all the time that the whole thing was a joke and that it would end at once in a laugh. I thought of the cold and cheerless surface of the moon, comparing it in my mind with the delectable world we were leaving, and had no relish for the proposed trip. Something of my feeling must have been reflected in my countenance, for Zenith, who had been looking at me, said in a sympathetic tone:

”Although you gave your consent, you look as if you did not enjoy the prospect 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 his friend, and it would not become us to treat them to more of a ride than they desire.”

”You are both excellent mind readers,” I responded. ”And if I were as honest as you Martians are, I suppose I should have said in the first place that I preferred not to make such an extended journey. I suspect the doctor is willing to go ahead, as he is too sensible to be affected by such a feeling as now moves me. My thoughts turn back to our departure from the earth in a balloon, and I cannot rid my mind of the dreadful fear that perhaps we are now unconsciously bidding a long farewell to Mars.”

Thorwald thanked me for my frankness and said they should certainly respect my sentiment. He then stepped to Foedric's side to speak to him in 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 it a deeper interest to me? A flash of intelligence suffused my being like an electric shock, frilling my imagination with the most beautiful vision and making the moon appear to me now as the one desirable place in all the universe.

”Thorwald,” I exclaimed, ”keep right on! I want to go now. I have changed my mind.”

”Yes,” he responded, looking at me with a pleased smile, ”and I see you have changed your face, too. You look like quite another man. Why this sudden 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 you know you have no accidents in Mars, so she could not have come to any harm there. I know we shall find her in the moon. She must have been left behind in some way when the doctor and I were thrown off, and now she is no doubt expecting us to come back to her. Oh, let us make haste.”

”Well,” answered Thorwald, ”we were only waiting your consent, and we can now keep on as we are going and try to reach the moon. But I must give you a friendly warning not to let your hope get the better of your judgment in regard to finding your friend.”

With this Thorwald and Foedric consulted a moment, and at once our speed increased till we were flying at a fearful rate, but none too fast for me. I knew now why I had been so reluctant to go so far away from Mars. It was because I thought Mona was there; but now, with my present opinion, the moon had suddenly changed its character and become to my imagination a bright and beautiful world. To such a degree does love transform the most unlovely objects.

I was struck with the easy way in which Zenith had accepted the result of what I thought her sportive suggestion, and, not being able to fathom her thoughts, I said to her:

”When we left home, this morning, you did not expect to be gone over night. Have you no anxiety about the house and the children?”

”Oh, no,” she replied; ”the house will not run away, nor the children either. We do not often stay away from them over night, but we do not hesitate to do so when we have a good reason for it. Our children know us well enough to be sure we have such a reason now, and this faith in us and in our safe return will permit us to stay away as long as we please. As for our feelings, we have no such thing as anxiety, for all our experience teaches us that no harm of any kind can come to our loved ones. I suppose in such circ.u.mstances on the earth both the mother and the children would have a feeling of great fear, caused by the fact that there would be in reality some danger of harm, but here we have never heard of such a thing, and even the word 'danger' has little meaning in it to us, because all we know about it comes from our reading.” The moon was now well above us, and we were making for a point in the western sky where Foedric hoped to intercept it. We were already so far from the planet that the air was getting weak, so we all put on breathing machines. These were of such perfect construction that our lungs had free play, nor were they c.u.mbersome enough to interfere much with our movements.

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. The jagged, mountainous surface was plainly visible, a most uninviting place for people accustomed to the serene beauty and felicity of the planet Mars.

”Remember,” said the doctor, ”that you are not to judge the earth by what you see of her old satellite.”

”Well,” answered Thorwald, ”we mean to see what we can of the satellite.

Foedric, let us point the gla.s.s at it and be selecting a place to land.”

But Foedric was obliged to let Thorwald handle the gla.s.s alone, for his attention was needed just now to manage our craft. He had discovered that shutting off the power did not diminish the speed, and for a moment he was puzzled, quite a new sensation for a Martian of that era. But he soon studied out the difficulty and made the following announcement:

”I find this huge ma.s.s that we are approaching is pulling us toward its surface, so that we are using but little power. I expect in a short time we can merely fall to its surface.”

This suggested to Thorwald the very trouble that the doctor and I had encountered with our balloon, and he asked Foedric if we could get away again after we had dropped to the moon.