Newspaper Page Text
The Evening World Daily Magazine, Monday, June 5, l9-2
4
A JOURNEY IN OTHER WORLDS
By Col. John Jacob Astor
This Is the Only Book Col. Astor Wrote. It Is Pub
, lished Serially in The Evening World by Authority
of the Trustees of the Astor Estate "A Journey in
Other Worlds" Is a Fantastic, Semi-Scientific Tale
of Four Explorers' Startling Adventures Among
the Planets.
(Oovrifet, UN, by D. Applsto. 0J
CHAPTER I.
in the Year 2000.
0
IN tli. year 2000 A. a. several
torougb. the planet.
Hitherto this had been Impossible. But now a cleverly da
s'' td airship, the Calllsto, driven by a n.w and wonderful force
im aa ' ..perry," made the aerial Journey simple.
! tour men who volunteered to explore the .tars In the Calllito were
v. Cortlandt, V. 3. QoTernment expert; Col. Bearwarden, Preildent of the
TamatUl Axis Straightening- Company; De.pwaterj, Secretary of the
Mary, and Richard Ayrault, a young capitalist who was a dabbler In science
4Bd fu engaged to Sylvia Preeton, a Vasear undergraduate.
Th. expedition waa equipped with every possible appliance and neces
sity. Its member, were armed with explosive rifle, and the airship waa
proTlsloned for one hundred days.
At last the preparations were completed, and It was arranged that the
Cmlltoto should begin Ha journey at 11 o'clock A. M., Dm, 21, the northern
fcemtophere'. abortatt day.
Fhaarh alz month. operation, could
hardly b expected to hav. produced
ouch ohangs In th. Inclination of th.
earth' axis, th. autumn held oo won-
V ' drfully. and Decombar was pronouned
twt mild. Fully a million people -war.
la and about Van Cortlandt Park hour,
.for. th. Urn. announced for th. .tart,
and those near looked Inquiringly at
th. trim little airship that, having- done
tl nn the trial trio, rested on her
longitudinal and transverse keels, with
a battery of chemicals aiongaioe, 10
make sura of a fun power supply.
The President and his Cabinet-including,
of course, the shining lights of
th. Stat, and Navy Departments cam.
on from Washington. These, together
with Mr. and Mrs. Preston and a num
ber of people with pnsses, occupied saata
arranged at the sides of the platform;
while alghtaeera ana scientist, assem
.led from every part of the world.
'"There's a .hip for you!" said Secre
tary 8tlltman to the Secretary of th.
Navy. "She'll not have to be dry
docked for barnacles, neither will the
List breete make the passenger, alek."
"That's all you landlubber, think of."
replied Deepwater.. "I remember on.
of the kings over in Europe said to me
as he Introduced m. to the queen: "Your
Secretary of State ts a meat man, but
why does ha always part hi. hair In
the mlddle7'
" 'So that It shall not turn hi. head.
I replied.
" 'But with ao gallant and handsome
an officer aa you to lean upon.' he an
swered, 1 should think he could look
down on all the world.' Whereupon I
aaked him what he'd take to drink."
'Your apology 1 accepted." repllod
ecrRfery Stlllman.
Cortlandt also came from Washing
ton, where, aa chief of the Government's
Expert examiner. Board, he had tem
porary quarter.. Bearwarden sailed
over the spectator.' heads In one of the
Trre.triaJ Axl. Straightening Com
pany, flying machines, while Ayrault,
to avoid the crowU, had ooma to the
ditto early, and wa. ahowlng the In
tiller arrangement. t0 Bylvla. who na
.ooompejiled htm. She was aomewha
piqued because at the last moment h.
IMd not absolutely Insisted on carrying
bar off, or offered, If necossary. to dis
place hi Presidential and doctor of law
friends In order to make room.
"Tou will hav. an Ideal trip," eho
aid, looking over some agronomical
tar charts nnj photographic maps of
JupiUr and Saturn that lay on the table
Willi a pair of compasses, "and I hope
you won't lose your way."
"I shall need no compass to find my
way back." replied Ayrault. "If I ever
succeed In leaving this planet; neither
will star charts t. necessary, for you
will be a magnet stronger than any
oompus, and, compared with my star,
all other, ara dim."
"You should write a book." said Syl
vla, "and put some of those things In
H. She was wearing a bunch of fjr-get-me-nou
and violets ttvat she had cut
from a small flower gardun of potted
plant. Ayrault had hint her, which she
had placed In her father's conservatory.
At this moment the small chime clock
set In the Calllsto'a woodwork rang out
quarter to eleven. As tho sounds died
away Sylvia became very pule, and bn
.SWi to regret In her womanly way that
"she hid allowed hor hero to attempt
this experiment.
"Oh," sho Mill, clinging to his arm,
"It w.s very wrong of me to let you
"S'Matter, Pop?"
m
4-
nilKOslKniWK V-
scientists resolved to ttk. a trip
berln this. I wa. ao daisied by th.
plendor of your aohem when I heard
it and ao anxious that you mould hav.
tha glory of being th. flrat to .urpais
Columbus that I did not realize th. full
meaning. I thought lso you seemod
nther ready to leave me," she added
gently, "and so said little; you do not
know how It almost breaks my heart
now that I am about to lose you. It
was qulxotld to let you undertake this
Journey,
'An undertaloer would have given me
his kind offices for one even longer had
I remained here," replied Ayrault. "I
cannot live in this humdrum world
without you. The most aUHtatned ex
citement cannot even palliate what
seems to me like unrequited love,"
"O Dick!" she ex-Maimed, giving hint
a reproachful glanc "you mustn't say
that. You know you hsvo often told
me my reason for staying and taking
my degree was good. My lot will bo
very much harder than yours, for you
will forget me In the excitement of dis
covery and adventure; but I what can
I do In tha midst of all th. old asso
ciations?" "Never mind, sweetheart," he said,
kissing her hand, "I hive seemed on
the verge of despair all th. time."
Seeine that thotr separation must
shortly begin, Ayrault-tried to asume
a cheerful look; but as Sylvia turned
her eye away they were suspiciously
moist.
Just one minute befor. th starting
time Ayrault took Sylvli back to hor
mother, nail, after pressing her hand
and having one last long look Into her
or, as he considered them, his deep
sea eyes, he returned to the Calllsto,
and was standing at the foot of the
tolescopto aluminum ltdder when his
friends arrived. As all baggage anU
Impedimenta had been sent aboard and
properly stowed Urn day before, the
travellers nad nothing) to do but climb
to and enter by th. aeoond story win
dow. It distressed Boirwarilen that the
North Pole', exact declination on the
list day of December, when the axis
was most Inclined, could not be flgurod
out by the hour at whloh they were t
start, so as to show what change, If
any, had already been brought about,
but tho astronomers were working In
dustriously, and promised that, If It
were finished by midnight, they would
telegraph the result Into space by flaan
light code.
Raising his hat to hli fiancee and his
prospective parents-ln-law, Ayrault fol
lowed them up. To draw In and fold
tho ladder was but the work of a mo
ment. Aa the clocks In the neighboring
steeples began to strike 11, Ayrault
touched the swltoh that would corre
epend to the throttle of an engine, and
tho motors began to work at rapidly in
creasing speed. Slowly the Calllsto lift
her resting-place as a Galatea might her
pelestal, only. Instead of coming down,
she rose still higher.
A large American Dig hanging from
the window, which, as they started, flut
tered as In a southern xephyr, soon be
gan to flap as In a stiff hrrese as th)
car's speed Increased. With a final
wave, at which a battery of twenty-one
field pieces made the air ring with a
salute, and the multitude raised a
mighty cheer, thoy drew It In and closed
the window, sealing It hermetically in
order to keep In the air that, had an
opening remained, would soon have
become rarefied.
TatJs a me maid
TlCTOTt'l.'BOT'rtlmt
J ID MU inmu,
. r . I I- , 1 - . r -XJILJIL
t , wii.i.ie.
tea sr
41
Sylvia had waved her hondkerchl.it
with th. utmost enthusiasm, in spit, of
th. .ado.es. at her heart But .h. now
had other us. for It in trying to bids
her tear. The Calllsto wa still going
straight up, with a speed already as
treat as a cannon ball'., and was al
most out of tight. Tho multltud. then
began to disperse, and Sylvia returned
to ner home.
Lot us now follow the Calllsto. Tha
earth and Jupiter not ibelng axootly In
opposition, as rhey would be If the sun,
the earth and Jupiter were In line, with
the earth between the two, the CalllstV.
Journey was considerably more Uinn
150,000,000 miles, the mrnn opposition dis
tance. As they wished to start by daylight-!.
.., from th. aide of th earth
turned toward the aun they could not
steer Immediately for Jupiter, but were
obliged to go a few hundred miles In
the direction of the sun, then change
their course to something Ilka n tangent
to the earth, and get their final right
direction In .winging near tha moon,
sine, they must be comparatively near
some material object to bring apargy
Into play.
Th maximum power being turned on,
the projectile .hot from the earth with
tremendous and rapidly Increasing spaed,
by tho shortest course I. e., a straight
line so that for the present It wa. not
necessary to ateer. Until beyond the
limits of tha atmosphere they kept the
greatest apergetla repulsion focused on
the upper pirt of their cylinder, so that
Its point went first, and they encoun
tered least possible resistance. Looking
through the floor windows, therefore,
the travellers had a most superb view.
The eJr being clear, the eastern border
of North America and the Atlantic were
outlined as on a map, the blue of th
ocean and brownish color of the land,
with white snow patches on the eleva
tions, being very marled. The HuMson
and the Sound appeared as clearly de
fined blue ribbons, and between inJ
around the two they could see New
Tork. They also saw the ocean dotted
for miles with points In which they roe
ognlzed the marine spiders and cruisers
of tho North Atlantic sqiiadron. and the
hips on the home station, which they
knew were watching them through their
glasses.
"I see." ssht Cortlandt. "that Deep
waters has been as good as hla word
and has hla ships on the watch to res
cue us In case wa fall."
"Yes." repllcnl Bearwarden. "be Is the
right sort. When he gave that promise
I knew his men would be there."
They soon percolved that they had
reached the void of space, for, though
the sun blar.ed with a splendor they had
never before seen, the firmament was
Intensely black, anil tho stars shone as
at midnight. Here they began to chinge
their course to a ourve beginning with
a spiral, by charging the Calllsto apcr
getlcally, and directing the current to
wart, the moon, to act as an aid to
Silhouette
8he When we are married, dear,
He Certainly, darling. But try to
I Jk Mm, 1 r ' i n
fTfKsHHfinh M
th. lunar attraction, while .tilt allowing
th. sarin to repel, and their motion
gradually bocamo th. resultant of th
two forces, th change from a straight
line being so gradual, however, that fir
some minutes they carely perceived it.
CHAPTER U.
The Last of the Earth.
INDTN'a that they were rapid
ly swinging toward their
proper course, and that th
earth In lta Jouurney about
th aun would move out of
their way, they dlvldod their power be
tween repelling th body they had left
and Increasing the attraction of th.
moon, and than set about getting their
house In order.
Iltarwardon, having th. laruat appe
tite, was elected ciok, tlm others sagoly
dlvlrlng that labor so largely for him
self would b. no trial. Their small but
business-Ilk looking lectrlc range was
therefore soon In full blast, with Bear
warden in oommand. It had enough
current to provide heat for cooking for
tour hundred hours, which waa an umple
margin, and It had this advantage, that,
no matter how much It was used, it
couM not exhaust the air as any othir
form of heat would.
The earth, which at first had flltad
nearly half their sky, was rapidly grow
ing smaller. Being almost between
themselves and the sun, It looked llko
a orescent moon; and when it was only
about twenty times the alze of the moon
they oalculated they must have come
nearly two hundred thousand miles.
It was Just ten hours since they hid
started, and at that moment 9 P. M. In
New York; but, though It was night
there, the Calllsto wa. bathed In a flool
of sunlight such as never shines on
earth.
They closely watched the Cilllsto's
course. At first It did not seem to de
fleet from a straight line, and they stood
ready to turn on the apergetlc force
agnl" when the car very slowly began
to show the effect of the moon's near
pull; but not till they had so far pissed
It that the dark side waa toward thani
war. they heading straight for Ju
piter. Then they again turned on full
power and got a send-off ahove on the
moon and earth combined, which In
creased their .peed so rapidly that
they felt they could oon shut off the
current altogether and aav their sup-
ply.
"We must be ready to watch the sig
nals from the Arctic circle," aalil Hoar
warden. "At midnight, If the calculi
tlona are finished, tho result will bn
flashed by the searchlight." It was
then ten minutes to 12, and the earth
was already over four hundred thou
sand miles away. Focusing thelrfglsisses
upon the region near the North Pole,
which, being turned from tlin sun, was
toward them and In darkness, they
walte.
Smiles IS
I must have three servants.
keep eaoh as long as poMlble.
znzz
1
"In this blais of sunlight," said Cort
landt, "I am afraid we can see noth
ing." Fortunately, at this moment the Cal
llsto entered the moon's tapering
shadow.
"Tills," said Avrault, -Is good luck.
We could of course have gone Into tihe
shadow; but to ohanga our course would
have delayed us, and we might have
lost part of the chance of Increasing
our speed." "
"There will be no danger from me
toon or eubsatcllltes hero," said Bear
warden. "for anything revolving about
tho moon a this distance would bo
caught by the esrth."
The sun had apparently set behind tho
moon, un-d tliey wero eclipsed. Tho stars
shone with the utmost splendor sgalmt
the dead-black ky, and the earth hd
peired ns a large crescent, still consid
erably larger than the satellite to which
they were accustomed. Exactly at mid
night a faint phosphorescent light, like
that of a glow-worm, appeared In tlm
region of Greenland on tho planet they
had left. It gradually Increased Its
strength till It shone like a long white
beam projected from a lighthouse, and
In this they beheld tho work of the
greatest searchlight over made by man,
receiving for a few moments t tha
electricity generated by the nvnllable
dynamos at Niagara and the Buy of
Fundy, tlin eteum engine ami other
sources of power In the Northern Hemi
sphere, The beam lasted with growing
Intensity for one minute; It then spoiled
out with cloan-cut intervals, according
to the Cablo Cede: "21 degrees 6 luc
onds. The Southern Hemisphere pumps
are now raising and storing water at
full blast. We have already begun to
lower the Arctic Ocean."
"Victory!" shouted Bearwarden, In an
ecstacy of delight. "Nearly half a de
gree In six months, with but ne pole
working. If we can ailil nt this rate
eaoh tlm to tho spoi-J of straightening
already uculred we can rcvorso our
engines In five years, and In five mora
tho earth will be at rest and right."
"Look!" said Ayrault, "they urn send
ing something e'.so. The flashes came
In rapid succession, rnurhlng far into
space. With their glasses flxod upon
( BSa&-)
"Have you ever come In contact
"Hav. 17 Why, only the other
(ODSfrMU. J1J,
7 Iks Pmi PuMntikia Cm. I
(Tb ! York World.)
Would;
Fella rl ave j
'br Ton A
Some I
:
them, they made out these sentences;
"Our telescopes, In whatever part of th
earth was turned toward you, hav. fol
lowed you since you started, and did
not lose sight of you till you entered
tho moon's shadow. On your present
course yon will be In darkness till ltiH,
when we shall ae you again."
On receiving this last earthly mes
ssg th travellers .prang to their
searchlight and, using Ita full power,
telegraphed back the following: "Many
thanks to yuu for good news about
eirth, and to Secretary Deepwaters for
lending us the navy, Besult of work
most glorious, llemember us to every
body. Shadow's edge spproachlng."
This waa read 'by the men In th great
olucrvatorlca, who evidently telephoned
to the Arctic Signal Light Immediately,
for It flashed back: "Clot your message
perfectly. V!h you greatest luck. Th
T. A. H, Co. has decked the Calllsto'
pedestal with (lowers and has ordered a
tsblet set up on thn site to commemo
rate your celestial Journey."
At that moment the shadow swpt
by, snd they were In th full blaia of
clotidleis day. The change wa so great
that for a moment they were obliged to
close their eyes. Th polished sides of
the Calllsto shone so brightly that they
knew they wero easily aeen. The power
temporarily diverted In sending them
tho message then returned to the work
of draining the Arctlo Ocean, which, as
the North Pole was not returning to tha
sun, was the thing to do, snd the trav
ellers resumed their study of the heav
enly bodies.
CHAPTER III.
Space and Mart.
ISVl'ill before had the travellers
observed the stars and planets
under auch favorable condi
tions. No air or clouds Inter
vened, and as tha Calllsto did
not rovolve on Its axla there waa no ne
cessity for changing the direction of th
glasses. After an hour of this Interest
ing work, however, as It was already
itn at the longitude Kiev hnil Ixft nn
earth, and as they knew they had many
dt;-a In space before them, they pre-
By Joe Ryan
with royalty?"
night I was beaten by four Mngt."
UM-M.1D KINDA
LlrfE T06CT AT
THE OT3JCCT Of
. i i mm m
s rSi? ass 1
) 13EAU SEND I Vy PI
Hekabox h til mm
XM s OF CANDY L.'VrV..a3
.mfW ot. Aso of t-V iB?
pared to go to bed. When ready, they
had only to pull down the shades; for.
as apergy was not applied to them, but
only to th Calllsto, they still looked
upon th floor aa down, and closed tha
heavy curtains to have night or dark
ness. They found that the side of tne
CalUsto turned constantly toward Iho
sun was becoming very warm, the
double toughened glass windows making
It like a greenhouse; but they consotwl
themselves with th thought that th
aun'a power on them waa hourly becom
ing less, and they felt sura th double
walla and thick upholstery would pro
tect thitn almost anywhere within th
solar system from the Intense cold of
space.
The bare and one side of th Calllsto
had constnnt sunshine, while the other
slda snd the dome were In the .blackest
night. This dome, on account of Its
shape, sky windows and the complete
nets with which It could b Isolated, was
an Ideal observatory, and there was sel
dom a time during their waking hours
for the rest of the Journey when It was
not occupied by one, two or all th ob
servers. 'There Is something marvellous," said
Cortlandt, "about the condition of apacs.
Ita absolute cold la appalling, apparent
ly because there Is nothing to absorb
heat; yet we find the nas of thla ma
terial projectile uncomfortably warm,
though, should wa expoa a, thermometer
In the shade In front, we know It would
.how a temperature nt three hundred
tn four hundred degree, below sero
wrre tha Instrument capable of record
ing It."
Artificial Airkness having been ob
tained, th travellers were soon asleep,
Bearwarden' dreams being regaled with
thoughts of his company's triumph; Ay
rnult's, naturally, with visions of Sylvia;
whlln Cortlimlt frequently started up,
thinking hn had already mad soma
great astronomical discovery.
About I A. M., according to seventy
fifth meridian time, the explorers awoke
feeling greatly refreshed. The tank !n
which the liquefied oxygen was kept
automatically gave off Ita gss so evenly
that the air remained normal, while thn
limn contained lit cups absorbed the
carbon dioxide as fast as they exhalod
It. Thoy hod darkened thot windows
through which the sun was actually
pouring, for, on account of th empti
ness of the surrounding ether and con
sequent absence of diffusion of light,
nothing but the Inky blackness of space
snd the bright stara looked In at the
rest. On raising the shades they got an
Idea of their speed. A small oresont,
sm tiler than th. familiar moon, accom
panied by on still tinier, waa all that
could be en of th earth and It satel
lite. "We must." said Bearwarden. "be
moving at the rate or nearly a million
miles an hour, from th way wa hav
travelled!."
"We must he doing fully a million,"
replied Cortlandt, "for by this time we
sre pretty well tn motion, having got a
tremendous start when so near the
moon, with It and the earth In line."
The first thing that attracted their at
tention was the alga and brilliance of
Mars. Although this red planet whs
over forty million miles from tho earth
when they started, they oilc'llated that
It was less than thirty million miles
from them now, or five millions nearer
than It had ever been to them before.
Toward evening they noticed through
their gtisses that several apparently
Island peaks In the Southern Hemi
sphere, which was turned towsrd them,
became whlto, from whloh they con
cluded that a snowstorm was In prog
ress. The south polar region was alai
markedly glactitnl, though thn lce-ap
was not as extensive ss either of those
at the poles of thn earth.
"We must be on tha lookout for th
satellites," said Cortlandt; "a collision
By C.
To? rHe tove oV 4
,, - - - lp ptnE! -f
9lgiSK55f LET'S Go out To TUB J
WkjJSm3mi$ (ZOO.I'MBETT&H J
m i
X. s
,
with either would bn won than a wrck
on a desert Island."
They therefor turned their glass I.
the direction of th utelHtes.
"Wn must be ready to repsl boirder,"
said Bearwarden, observing It for tn.
first time and fixing hla glass upon 1U
"That must be I'hobos."
Not ten miles off they beheld Mare's
Inner moon, and though their own P4
caused them to overtax, and rush by it
like s whirlwind, tha smtelltts's rapid
motion tn Its orbit. In a course tem
porarily almost parallel with thelra,
served tn give them a chance th. better
to examine It. Her. the mountain
ranges wero considerably mora conspic
uous than on Delmos, and there were
boulders and loose stones upon their
slopes, which looked aa If there might
at aome time hav been frost and water
on Ita surface; but It waa all dry now,
neither was there any air. Th evi
dence of volcanic action wars also
plainly visible, whlln m. noticeable flat
tening at tha poles showed that the lit
tle body had one rotated rapidly oa It.
axis, though whether It did so stilt they
had not Urn to aacertaln. When
ahreaat of It rhey were leas than twe
mile, distant, and they aecurM several
Instantaneous impression, which they
put aside to develop later. Aa the
radius of I'hobos'. circle was far shorter
than that of th parabolic curve they
were making. It began to draw away
and waa rapidly left behind. Applying
th full apergetln: force to Mara and th
larger moon, they shot away tike an ar
row, having had their speid Increased
by th planet's attraction while ap
proaching It, and Wbaequently by repul
sion. i?lthr of thess," said Bearwarden.
looking back at th. Uttl s.tsllltes,
"wnuU b . nlo. yacht for a man to
explore spsce on. He would also, of
course, need . sun to warm him. If he
wished to go beyond thla system, but
that would not hav to be a large af
fair In fact, It might be smaller than
th plsnot, and could revolve About l(
Ilk a moon."
Thus they est and talked, or studied
maps and star charts, or the stars
thnmsslves, while tn hour, quickly
passed and they shot through apace.
They had now a straight stretch of over
three hundred million miles, and had to
cross the orbits nt Innumerable asteroid
on thn way. Tha apparent sis. of th.
sun had by this ttmn eonsldrably de
creased, and th Interior of th Calllsto
was no longer uncomfortably warm.
They divided the day Into twenty-four
hours from fore of habit, and drew th.
shades tightly during what they co)sld4
ere.! night, whlla Bearwarden distln
gulshed himself as a cook.
The following day, whll. m their ob
servatory, they saw something not many
mites ahead. They watched It for hours;
nml In fact all day, but notwithstanding
their tremendous speed they earn hut
llttln neirrr.
"They say a stern chas Is a long
one," said Bearwsrden: "but that beats;
anything I have ever seen."
After a while, however, they found
tliev were nearer, the time tsken having
been In part due to th. deceptive rtla
tance, which wss greater than they sup
posed. "A comet!" exclaimed Cortlandt ex
citedly. "We shall really ba abl. ta x
otnlne It near."
"It's going In our direction," said Ay
rault, "and at almost ax.otly enr
spend." J
While the inn shone full upon It thy
brought their camera Into play, an
again succeeded In photographing a
hejvenly body at close range. Th. nu
cleus or heat) was of course turned
toward the aun; while the tat), which
they could sen faintly, preceded It, a.
tb comet was receding toward th. caM
and dark depths of spscr.
(To Ba Continued.)
M. Payne
i- - . ' .' '
