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T1IK BURLINGTON' FUKF PRESS, THURSDAY, NOVRMBEK 10. 18DS. 10' 'Bs3?SZ"0R.YmCHT.I89B. BY GARRETT P 3CRVIii BTNOrSIS OP PKKVIOfS CHAPTKKS. Chanter I The tnlinllt.ii)ts of M.ns hi' vine tiiviiilvil tin- cutli. liilUe-tlm: sift iliii.-ivc. ami tt bccomlm; itipaunt tli.it t'ey an- preparing for a lit w attack, Thctiias A. Kill m Inu-ntH ..n oUlili-.il i .iiki'jH- of currying the war tu Mais. than'ir II. Mi. IMIjoii ulsn tn.Mt. a M.iim euilut the illMlntpRtittor. uhl'-l. Iy oratory force i-iiumh any object at X 'll'H it Is llrctl to llnlve. A iom ! ivo uf 11..1I011- !s oallid tor the Vurr.isi- of tuls-iri; funds to bulM tml cuiilii the alr ii. thi?t.r III. Ittilcr nieeu. at IVurlilng tor and lulsv thu roiulrnl humus. CHAPTER IV. Not Ices tlmti o. 000. 000 people hiv rsscinblcd at Washington from all part tf tlio world. Every one ct this ini inciisu multitude hail lit i'ti utilo tu listet to tbo spee-.'hc.s timl tlio cheers in tin leuatu chamber, althrtgh not personally present there. Wires hml been run nil iver the city and hundred nf itnprovid .elf-phonic receivers provided so thai rvcry one could bear. Even those win r."i to nnnble to visit Washington peo ple living m Daltiniore. New Yerk. i st n and as lar away as New Orleans. St. Louis and Chicago bad also li.-teii i.l to tho proceedings with the aid o! 'In ru-.ivi rs. Upcu the whole, prob ibly snt les than .0,000,000 people had icard the deliberations of tbo great con jress if tho nations. Tlio nliginph and tho cablo had sent tb ni'ws across tho i.ofaus to all th. apitals if the earth. The iwultatiu. was sn great that tho people sceme-d mad with ;:. Tho promised exhibition of tho elcc tr' al ship took place tho next day. L'n unions multitudes witnessed tho ex puiiucnt, and there was a struggle for p'aees in thf ear. Even Ouccn Victoria. i"inmi aiiiod by the Triuee of Wales, vcncii 'd to take a ride in it, and the enj yi 1 it so r.iueh that Mr. Kdifon j r.lci cd tho journey a far n Kostct: una tho Hunker Hill niouunieut. Most i f the other luuuarehs also took b high ride, but when the turn of the in.' rror of China came bo repeated n la! Ie which he said hud como down from the time of Confucius: "Oueonpcu a timo there was a China man living in tlie valley of the lionug TIo river who was accustomed fre quently to lie on his Lack, gazing a mid envyiui; the birds tiiat be av fly ing away in the sky. Due day ho taw . black speck which rapidly grew largir i-.ud larger, until n. it i;ot mar he pel teivetl that it was an tnt-ruii-us bin. which overshadowed tbo earth with it wings. It was tho elephant of birds, tin rce. 'Como with me. 'mid tbo roe, 'am I will show you tbo wonders of th-. kingdom of the birds.' The man cangl. tinld t f its claw and nestled among it feathers, and they rapidly ru.-o high k 'be air and tailed aw.iy to tho Kucn Lull mouutaius. Hire, ns tiny pain near tne top of the peaks?, smother r n-a le its appearance. Tho wings of :1 two great birds brits-hed tosotlnr nv imuicdiately they ft.1! to fighting. L the midst of the niche tho man lost hi hi 1 i and ti'iublod into tho tea of a tr where his pigtail caught on a branch and ho rtnmimd t-nsj omlcd. There th :i:fortuuute iur.ii bung helpless until i rnt which had its h-Jiue in the rorks i, 'be f ot of tho treo tc-u: compass: jp'1" bim, and, climbing up, guawt.i oil' tbo branch. As tbo man .-lowly an., painfnlly vended his weary way home ward, ho said, 'This teaches mo that srcnturiii to whom nature has given nei ilier KtthiK nor wings should Icavo the kingdriiu ( f tbo birds to those who aro Stted to Inhabit it. " Having told this story, Tsait'irn tum id his back on tho electrical thip. Afi r the exhibition wa-iiui.':cd, and imid the frtsh outbur.-t of tuthuinm :hat folhiwtd, it was sngi;eted tint a iroper way to wind up tbo congress and givo suitabhi e.presiim to tho fetivo meed which now nosM-stcd mankind would bo to havo it grand ball. This suggestion met with immediate and universal approval. Hut for to gigantic nu ntTair it was, of conr.-e, neci-sary to mako special pruparaticus. A convenient place was (elected on tho Virginian eido of tho I'citomac A spaco of ten acres was 'artfully leveled and covered with a polished fkor, rows cf columns 100 feet apart wtro run across it in every directum, and theso were dieorated with electric lights, displaying o cry color cf the spectrum. Above this immenso space, rising in Iho center to n height of more than 1.000 feet, was auehored a vast nnuiber tif ballcons, all aglow with lights and forming a tremendous dome, in which brilliant lamps wero arranged in sucii a manner as to exhibit in an endlivs suc cession of combination;; all thu national colors, ensigns and insignia of the va rious countries represented at th" con grcss. 13huiug eaglts, liens, unicorns, dragons and otbtr imaginary creatures that tho ditferttit nations had chosen for their symbols appeared to hover high above tho dancers, shedding a bril liant liubt upon tho Eccue. Circles of magniflctut thrones were placed upon tho floor in convenient lo cations for seeing. A thousand bauds of music played, and tens uf thousands of j couples, gayly dressed aud llashinwitii gems, whirled together upon tho pol ished floor. Tbo rmicn cf England led tho danet on thu nrni of tho president of tho Unit ud States. Thu I'riuco of Wales led forth thi fair daufibter of tho president, nut versally admired as tho mutt hiautifc' woman upon thu great ballroom tloor. Tho Emperor William, in his mili tary dress, danced with tho beauteous Princess ilasaco, th daughter of tin mikado, who wore for tho occasion tin ancient eostunio of tbo women of bet country, sparkliug with jowels ami glowing with quaint combiuntfeue i . color like a gorgeous butterfly. Tbo Cbineso emperor, with his pig tail flying high as liu Hpau, danced witu tbo empress of liussia. Tbo king of Statu essayed n waits with ijueeii Knunvaloiri of Madagascar, while tho sultan of Turkey basked in tbo smiles of a Chicago heiress to $100, 000,000. Tho czar choso for bis partner a dnrk eytd beauty from l'tru, but King Ma lietoa cf Samoa was suspicious of civi lir.nl charmers and, avoiding all of their allurements, expressed his joy and gavu vent tu his enthusiasm in a passcul. In this he was quickly joined by n baud of Sioux Indian chiefs', whose whoops and yells so startled tho leader of a German baud on their part of the floor that ho dropped his baton and, followed by thb uiu-icians, took to his heels. This incidint amused tho good natur al emperor of China more than any thing dse that had tvct.md. "Mnkco murhec noisee." ho said, in dicating the fleeing musicians with bis thumb. "Alice faint o mucbeo (laid noisee," aud then his round faco dim jilt.il into t -Mother laugh. Thu sctuo from the untsidu was even moro impo.-ing than that which greeted the eye within tlio brilliantly lighted iiiclosure. Tar away in the night, ris ing high among the stars, the vast domo of illuminated balloons .-timed Ilka some supernatural creation, ton grand mid glorious to have been constructid by tlio inhabitants of the earth. All round it, ami from some of tho balloons themselves, ruse jets and foun tains of lire, ceaselessly playing, aud blotting out the constellations of tho heavens by their sj Junior. The dan ie was followed by n rTaud banquet, at which tho I'rince of Wales pro; osed a toast to Mr. IMisou. "It give me much phasnre." bo raid, "todTer, in tbo name of the na tions of the old world, this tribute of our admiration for, and our coulidcuco in. tlse genius of the new world. Per haps on such an occasion as this, whin all racial ditTi.ence-. and prejudices ought to be. and are, buried and forgot -ten. I should not recall anything that might revive them, yet I cannot rt train from expre;inv: my happiuiss in know ing that thu eha'.apii ii who is to achievo tho snlvaticn of the earth has como fotth from tbo bosom of tbo Auglo-Sax-on race." Several ..f tho great potentates locked grave upon hearing thoPriticeof Wales' word.-, and the czar and tho kaiser ex changed glances, but thrro was no in terruption to the cbicrs that f-illnwcd. Mr. Edison, whoso n.idesty aud dislike to di-play and to spciciimaking wero will known, simply said: "I think we have get the marhiuo that can whip them, lint we ought not to lie waslim, auy time. Probably they are not da) 't:g o:i M.ir.J, but are get tint: riady to mako us d.;ncc." These words instantly turned tho cur rent of fe nng in the vt n-cinbly. There was no l.-'iger nny disposition c-ptud tkuo iu vain bcattiugs, and ro- - - t. I r 77ic PriiiKC of Wulc.i jiropnscil r. tua't In Mr, J-.c.'(j ii. joiring--. Everywhero tbo cry now be came: "Let us mako haste. Let us get ready at once. Who knows but iho Martians havo already embarked ami aro now on thiir way to destroy usi" Under the impulja cf this new feel iuj;, which, it must be admitted, was vtry largely inspired by terror, thu vast lallrcoui was quickly deserted. Tlio lights wero suddenly put out in tho great domo cf balloons, for some ono bad whispered: "Suppu.-o tboy should fco that from Mars? Would tiny not guess what wo wero abeiut and redouble their prepara tions to finish u-;" Upon tho suggestion of tbo president of tbo Unittd .Slates uu executive com mittee, representing nil tho principal nations, was appointed, and without delay rt meeting nf this committie was asstiublid at tho Wbito House. Mr. IMisou wax summoned before it and was r.skid to sketch briefly tho plan upon which ho proposed te work. I need not enter into tho details of what was dono at this meeting. Let it sufliee to fay that when it broko up in tho small hours of tho morning it had been uunuimously resolved that as many thousands of xiuen as Mr. Edison might rcquiro should bo imuicdiately placed at hi disposal; that as far as po.-.-ililo nil thu great manufacturing establish ments of tho country should Iki instant ly transformed into fnrtorics where electrical ships and disintegrators could bu built, nud upon tho suggestion of Profirsnr Sylvanus P. Thompson, tho celebrated English elrctrical export, seconded by Lord Kelvin, it was re solved that all tho leading men of K'ienco in tho world should placo their services at tho disposal of Mr. Edisou in any capacity iu which, iu bis judg ment, they might lie useful to him. Thu members of this committeo wero disioscd to congratulate ouo another on tho good work which they had ho promptly accomplished, when ut the menu nt of their Adjournment n tele urnphis dispatch was banded to tbo preside!:; from Professor (leorgo E. i.tle, tho director of tbo great Yerkes bsirvatory in Wiseonsiu. Tbo telegram read : ."Professor Barnard, wntchiug Mara tonight with tbo -10 inch telescope, saw a Hidden outburst of reddish light, which wo think indicates that some thing has been shot from tho planet. Spectroscopic observations of this mov; ing light indicated that it was coming earthward while visiblo at tho rate of not less than 100 miles n second." Hardly had tbo excitement caused by tbo reading of this dispatch subsided when others of a similar import came from tho Lick observatory in California, from the branch of tho Harvard observ ntory at Arcqulpa, iu Peru, nud from tho royal observatory at Potsdam. When tho telegram from this last named placo was read, thu EmpeTor William turned to his chancellor and said: "I want to go home. If I tun to die, I prefer to leave my Lones among thoso of my imperial aucestors nud not iu this vulgar country, whero no king has over ruled. I don't like this atmosphere. It makes mo feel limp." CHAPTKIt V. And now, whipped on by tho lash of alternate hopu and fear, tho earth sprang to its work cf preparation. It is not necessary for mo to describe thu manner in which Mr. Edison per formed his tremendous task. Ho was ns good as his wc.nl, and within six mouths from thu first stroke of tho ham mer 100 electrical ships, eaeli provided with a full battery of disintegrators, wero floating iu the air nltivo the bar borand tho partially rebuilt citv of Xcvf York. It was a wonderful scene. The pol ished sides of tho lingo floating cars sparkled iu tho sunlight, aud as they slowly rose and fell aud swung this way and that upon the tides of the air ns if held by invisible cables tho bril liaut pennons streaming from their peaks waved up and down liko the wings of an ns-emblago of gigantic humming birds. . Not knowing whether tho atmosphere of Mars would prove suitable to bo brcathid by inhabitants of tho earth, Mr. Kdison ha'd made provision by mran of an nbuudanco of glass protect ed openings, to permit the inmates of the electrical ships to mrvey their sur roundings without quitting the interior. It" was posible by properly selecting tho rate of undulation to pass the vibra tory impulse from tho disintegrators through the glass windows of a car without damago to the glass itself. The windows wero so arranged that tho dis integrators could sweep around tho car in every direction. To overcome the destructive forces employed by the Martians no satisfac tory plan had yet been devised, because there was no means to experiment with them. The production of thoso forces was still tho secret of our enemies. Put Mr. Edison bad no doubt that if we could not resist their effects we might nt least bo able to avoid tlictu by tho rapidity of our motions. As he pointed out, the war machines which the Mar tiaus had employed iu their invasion if tho e-arth were really very awkward and unmammeablu affairs. Mr. EdNon's electrical ships, on the other hand, wero marvels of speed and of mr.Masrability. They could dart about, turn, reverse their course, rise, fall with tbo quick ness nud easoof n E.-h iu tlio water. Mr. Edisou calculated that even if mysteri ous bolts should fall upou our shipj we could diminish their power to cause in jury by our rapid evolutions. Wo might bo deceived in our expec tatious aud might have overestimated our powers, but at any rate wo must take our chances and try. A multitude, exceeding even that which had assembled during the great congress at Washington now thronged New York and its neighborhood to wit ness the mustering and the departure of the -hips bound for Mars. Nothing fur ther had been heard of the mysterious phenomenon reported from thu oKerva tories six mcnths before aud which at tin- timo was believed to indicate tho departure of another expedition from Mars for the invasion of the earth. If tho Martians hail set out to attack us, they had eidently gono astray, or per haps it was souio other world that tbey were aiming at this time. Tlio expedition hail, of course, pro foundly stirred the interest of the scien tific world, and representatives of every branch of st'enco from nil the civilized nations urp d their claims to places in the .-hips. Mr. Edison was compelled, from lack of room, to refuse transporta tion to more thau ono in a thousand of those who now, on tho plea that they might be able to bring back something of advantage to science, wi-ucd to em bark fur Mars. Un the model of tho celebrated corps of literary and scientific lucn which Na poleou carried witli him iu his inva-nn of Egypt, Mr. Edisou selected a coin pauy of tho foremost astronomers, ar chaeologists, anthropologists, botanists, bacteriologists, chemists, physicist, mathematicians, mechauicinus, meteor olt.gists and experts iu milling, metal lurgy and every other branch of praa tical science, as well as artists and pi tographers. It was but reasonable to be lieve that in another world, ami a wotld so much older thau tbo earth as Mars was, these men would bo ublo to gather materials iu comparison with which tho discoveries made among the ruins of an cient emnires iu Egypt and llabylouia would be insignificant indeed. It was a wonderful undertaking and a strange spectacle. Therowasa feeliug of uncertainty which awed tlio vast multitude whose eyes wero upturned to tho ships. The expedition was not large, considering the gigantic character of tho undertaking. Uneh of tbo electrical ships carried abuut 20 men, together with an abundant supply of compressed provisions, compressed uir, sciuntitio ap paratus aud so on. In all, thero were about u',000 nieu, who wero going to couquer, if they could, another world! Hut though few iu numbers they rep resented the flower uf the earth, tho cul mination of tbo genius uf tlio planet. Tho greatest leaders in' science, both theoretical and practical, were there. It was thu evolution of the earth agaiust thu evolution of Mars. It was a planot in thu heyday of its strength matched against an aged and decrepit world, which nevertheless iu eiousequence of its long ages of existence had acquired nn experience which made it n most dangerous too. On both sides thero was desperation. The earth was desperate because it foresaw destruction unless it could llrst destroy its enemy. Mars vrni desperato because nature was giT.dually depriving it ut thu means of supporting life, nud its teeming popGlntiou was compelled to swarm like tho inmates of mi overcrowded hivu uf bees and find uow homes elsewhere. In this rosuoct tho situation on Mars, as wo were well aware, resembled what had alnady been known upon tho earth, where the oldi r nations overflowing with popula tion had sought tiuw lauds iu which to settle, nud for that purpose had driven out tho native inhabitants whenever thoso untives had proved unable to re sist the invasion. No man could foresee the issue of what wu werei about to undertake, but tho tremendous powers which tho disin tegrators hnd exhibited nud thu marvel ous efficiency of tho electrical ships bred almost universal cuntidence that I wu should be successful. j Tho car iu which Mr. Edisou traveled wns, of course, tbo flagship of tlio squadron, and I had tbo good fortune to be included among its inmates. Here, besides several leading men of sciuncu from our own country, were Lord Kel Tin, Lord Rnylcigh, Professor Roentgen, Dr. Moissau tho man who first made urtiticial diamonds aud several others whoso fame had encircled tho world. Each of these men cherished hopes of wonderful discoveries along his lino of investigation to bo made, in Mars. An elaborate system of signals had, of course, to bo devised for the control of tho squadrou. These signals consist- td of brilliant electric lights displayed i nt night nud so controlled that by their ! means long sentences and directions rotiltl be easily ami quickly transmitted. I Tho day signals consisted partly of 'brightly colored pennants and flags, which were to servo only wheu, shad owed by clouds or other obstructions, ! tho full sunlight should not fall upon i the ships. Tliis could naturally only occur near tho surface of tho earth or of j mother planet. Unco out of the shadow of tho earth , wo should havo no more clouds and no j moro night until we arrived at Mars, j In open space tho sun would bo contin 1 ually shining It would bo perpetual I day for us, except as, by artificial means, wo furnished ourselves with i darkness for the purpose of promoting sleep In this region of perpetual day. j then, the signals wero also to be trans 'nutted by flashes of light from mirrors ' reflecting the rnys of thu sun. j Yet this perpetual day would bo also, i lu one sense, a perpetual night. Thero ! would bo no more bluo sky for ns. be- cause without nn atmosphere the snn light could not be ditlu-ed Objects , would bo illuminated ouly on the side toward the sun. Anything that screened ' ofl the direct rays of suulight would i produce absolute darkness behind it. , There would be no gradation of shad- ow Tho sky would be as black as ink ' ou all sides. i While it was the intention to remain j ns much as possible within the cars, yet since it was probable that necessity would arise for occasionally quitting the interior of the electrical ships Mr Edison had provided for this emergency by inventing ah airtight dross construct ed somuwhnt after the manner of a div er's suit, but of much lichter material. Each ship was provided with several of these suits, by wearing which one could 1 venture outside tho car even when it J was leyoud the atmosphere of theenrth I Provision had tarn made to meet the terrific cold which wo knew would bu encountered tho moment we had pas-ed beyond the atmosphere that nwful ab j solnto zero which men had measured by ' anticipation, but never yet experienced , by a simple system of producing ' within the airtight suits a temperature ( sufficiently elevated to counteract tho eflects of tlio frigidity without Hy means of long, flexible tubes air could , be exmtinnally supplied to tho wearers ot tho suits, and by an ingenious con trivance a store of compressed air suffi cient to last for several hours was pro i vided for each suit, so that in case of necessity tho wearer could throw off the tubes cotiuecting him with the air tanks iu tlio car Another object which had bceu kept in view iu tho preparation of these suits was thu possible exploration of an airless planet, such as the niexm The necessity of some oontrivancv by means of which wo should be dialled to converse with ono another when on the outside of the cars iu opeu space, or when in an airless world, like the moon, whero ther would bo no medium by which the waves of sound could ba con veyed ns they aro in the atmosphere of the earth, had been foresee'!! by our great iuveutor, and ho had not found tt difficult to contrivo suitable devices for meeting tho emergency Iuside the headpiece of each of tho electrical suits was the mouthpiece of a i telephone. This was connected with a i wire which, when not in n.-e, could bo conveuieutly coiled upou the arm of the wearer Near tho ears, similarly con i uected with wires, wero telephouic re ceivers. When two persons wearing tho air tight dresses wtshetl to converse with one another, it was ouly tieceisary for ' them to connect themselves by the wirvs , and conversation could theu bu easily , carried ou. Careful calculations of tho precise . distance of Mars from the earth at the time when the expedition was to star; had been made by a large number of ex perts in mathematical astronomy liut i it was not Mr Kdisou's intention to go , direct to .Mars. With tho excepthuof tho first electrical ship, which he bad completed, none had yet beeu tried ill a long voyage It was dcsirablo that tho , qualities of each of tho ships should hi carefully tested, and for this reason tho i lewder of tho expedition determined that I the moon should be thu first port of space at which tho squadron would call It chanced that the moon was so situ ateil at this time ns to I e nearly tu a litie between the earth and .Mars, which latter was iu opposition to the sun and consequently as favorably situated as possible Uir tho purposes of tho voyage. What wuuld be, then, for 00 out of the 100 ships uf thu squadron a trial trip would at the same time bo a step of a quarter of a million miles gamed in tho direction of our journey, ami so no time would bo wasted Tho departure from tho earth was ar ranged to occur precisely at midnight Thu moon near the full was hangiuR high overhead, ami a marvelous spec tacle was presented to thu eyes of those below as the great squadron of flatting ships, with their signal lights ablaze, cast loose and begau sJowly to move nway on their adventurous and nnpreoe dented expedition mtu tho great uti known. A tremendous cher, billowiug up from tho throats of millions of e. cited men ami women, seemed to reud tho curtain of the night ami nude tht airships tremble with thu atuiospberu vibrations that wero set iu motiou Instantly miigmticeut fireworks were displayed in bunnr ol our departure Itockets by hundreds of thousands sho 1 heavenward mid theu burst in constel-lattr.tis-ct fiery drops Thu sudden illu mination thus proelnced. overspreading hiimlreus o( squaru miles of the surface ot the earth with a light almost liko that of day, mast certainly have btcu visible to tho inhabitants of Mars if they wero wntchiug us nt tho time, 1 They might or might not correctly in terpret its significance, but nt nny rate wo did not care. Wo wero off and wero confident that wo i-onlil meet our enemy I on his own ground beforo ho could at ' tack ns again. Aud uow ns wo slowly rose higher a marvelous scene was disclosed. At first the earth beneath us, buried as it was in night, resembled the hollow of a vast cup of ebony blackness, iu tho center of which, like the molten lava run to gether at tho bottom of n volcanic cra ter, shone the light of thu illuminations around New York. But wheu wo got beyond tho atmosphere and tho earth still continued to reccdo below us its as pect changed. Tho cup shr.jicd appear unco was gone, and it began to rouud out beneath our eyes in the form of n vast globe an enormous ball mysteri ously suspended under us glimmering over most of its surfaco with thu faiut illumination of the moon and showing toward it eastern edge the oncoming light of the rising sun. Wheu wo were still farther away, having slishtly varied our course so that tbo sun wns once more entirely "'"rti'Vi l ,ttT;''i.-v' " -s 6$ I? iMi!y7 Ilia On fJirlroiItYnfiiroii.i nnrf unprccctlcntnl expfditlon. bidden behind the center of the earth, we saw its atmosphere completely illu minated all around it with pri-iuatio lights, like a gigantic rainbow iu tho form of a ring. Another shift in our course rapidly carried us out of tho shadow of the earth and into tho all pervading sunshino Then the great planet beneath ns hung unsprafcablo iu its beauty The outlines -f sevralof the continents were clearly discernible on it- siirlaee. streaked aud i.pu:tesl with dclir-atu shade's of varyin.r; color, and thu sunlight flashed and glowed iu long lanes across tho convex surface of tho oceans. Parallel with tho equator and along the regions of tho ever blowius trade winds were vast belts of clouds gorgeous with crimson ami purple as the sunlight fell upon them Immense expanses of snow and ice lay like a glitti ring garment upon both land aud sea arouud thu north pole. As wo gazed upon this magnificent spectacle our hearts bounded within us. This was onr earth: tbis was tho planet we were going to defend our homo in the trackless wilderness of space And it seemed to us indeed a homo f. r which we might gladly expend our last breath A new determination to conquer or diu sprung up in our hearts, aud I saw Lord Kelvin, after gazing at the beauteous scene which the earth presented through his eyeglass, turn aliout and peer iu tho direction ut which we knew that Mars lay with a sudden frown that caused the glass to lose its grip and fall dan glim: from its string upon his breast. Kven Mr Kdison si-emed moved. "1 am glad 1 thought of the disiuto grator. " he snid "1 shouldn't like to see that world down there laid wastu again " "And it won't be," said Professor Sylvanus P. Thompsou, gripping tlio handle of nu electrio machine; "not if we can help it." To prevuit accidents it hnd been ar ranged that thu ships should keep a considerable distance apart, Sonio of them gradually drifted away until, on account of thuueutr.il tint of their sides, they wero swallowed up iu the ubyss of space. Still it was possible to know where every member of the squadron was through the constant iutercliaugo ot signals These, as 1 havo explained, were effected by means of mirrors flash ing back the light of tho snn. Hut, although it was uow unceasing day for ns, yet, thero being no atmos phere to diffuse the sun's light, tbo stars wero visiblo to ns just as at night npen the earth, and they shone with ex traordinary splendor against tho intense black background of the firmament Tho light oi somu of the more distaut ships ct our squadrou were uo: brighter than tho stars tu whoso neighborhood they seemed to bo Iu some cases it was only possible to distinguish between the light ot a ship ami that of a star by the fact that the former was continually flash ing while thu star was steady in its radiance Tho most uucauuy effect was produo eel by tho absence of atmosphere arouud us. Inside tho car, where there was air, the suulight, streaming through cue or moro of thu windows, was diffused ami prtxluceel ordiunry daylight. Hut when we ventured outside wo could only seo things by halves. Tho side ot the car that the sun's rays touch ed was visible: tho other side was invis ible, thu light from thu stars not mak ing it bright enough to a tree t tho eye iu contrast with the sun illumined half As 1 held up my arm befoto my eyes, half of it seemed to have beeu shaved oil lengthwise; a compauicu ou the deck of the ship looked like half a man So tho other electrical ships near us ap peared us halt ships, only tbo illuminat ed sides being visiblo. Wo had now got so far away that the earth had taken on tho appearance of a heavenly botly like tho moon. Its colors had become aH blended iuto a golden reddish line, wiiieh -ivet sprwtl ucarly its entire surface, except at tho poles, where there wero bread patches of white. Ic was marvelous to look nt this huge oth behind us, whilo far beyond it shone the blazing sun liko nu enormous ttar lu tho blackest of nights. In tho I pposito direction nppenrcd tho silver tirb of tbo moon, nud scattered all nronntl were millions of brilliant stars, amid which, liko fireflies, flashed nud sparkled tho signal lights of thu squad ron. CHAPTER VI. A dancer that might easily havo been nnticip-ittd, that perhaps bad boon an ticipated, but against which it would (bavo been difficult, if uot impossible, .to provide, presently manifested itself. Looking out uf n window townrd tho i right, I suddenly noticed tbo lights of 'a distant ship darting about in n curl lous curvo. Instantly nfterwnrd another i member of tho squadrou, nearer by, ho i havud in tho samo inexplicable manner. . Then two or tbreo of tbo floating cars loomed to bo violently drawn from their roursus and hurried rnpidly in the d roction of tho flagship. Immediately 1 perceived a small object, luridly flam ing, which seemed to movo with im mense speed in our direction. Tho truth instantly flashed upon my mind, and I shouted to thu other occu pants of tho car: "A meteor!" Such indeed it was. Wo hnd met this mysterious wnuderer in space at n mo ment when wo wero movinc in n direo- I tion nt right angles to tho path it wns pursuing arouud the sun. Small as it i was aud its diameter probably did not exceed a single foot it was yet an inde pendent little world, nud as such a member of tho solar system. Its dis tance from tbo sun being so near that of tho earth, I knew thnt its velocity, assuming it to bo traveling iu n ucnrly I circular orbit, must ho about IS miles iu a second. With tills velocity, then, ' it plunged like a projectile shot by somo , mysterious enemy iu spaco directly j through onr squadrou. It had come nml , wns gone before cue conld utter a u teuco of three words. Its appearanco I nud tho effect whicli it had proelnced upon the ships in whoso neighborhood it passed indicated that it boro an in teuso and tremendous chnrgo of elec tricity How it had become thus charged 1 cannot pretend to say. I simply record tho fact. And this charge, it was evi dent, was opposite in polarity to that which tho ships of tho squadron bore It therefore exerted nu attractive itillti jence upon them, and thus drew them after it. 1 had just timo to think how lucky it was that the meteor did not strike any of us when, glauciug at a ship just I ahead, I perceived that nn accident had I occurred. The ship swaved violently from its course, dazzling flasuefl played around it, and two or three of the men , fortuity its crew appenred for nn in stant on its exterior, wililly gesticulat ing, but almost instantly falling pronev It was evident at a glaucu that the car had beeu struck by the meteor. How serions he damage might bo we could not instantly determine. Tho course of our ship was immediately altered, the electric polarity was changed, and wu rapidly approached tho disabled car Tho men who had fallen lav upon its j surface. One of thu heavy circular ;gla-ses covering n window had been ' smashed to atoms. Through this the I meteor had passed, killing two or three j men who stood iu its course. Then it had crashed through tho opposlto side J of tho car, and, pnssiug on, disappeared i iuto spaco. Tho store of air contained iu i the car had imuicdiately rushed out . through the openings, mid when two j three of us, having donned our nirtigl.t i suits as quickly as possible, entered tho wrecked car we found all of its iumatis , stretched upon tho floor iu a condition :of asphyxiation. They, as well as thoso j who lay upon the exterior, were iiuiuo idiately romoved to thu flagship, restora j tives were applied, and, fortunately, lour aid had cvtne so promptly that the lives of all of them were saved. Hut life had fled from thu mangled bodies of those who had stood directly in thu path ot tbo fearful projectile. This strange accident had beeu wit nessed by several of the members of the fleet, and they quickly drew together iu order to inquire for tho particulars. As the flag-hip was now overcrowded by the addition of so mauy men to its crow, Mr. Kdison had them distributed j among tho other cars, tortnuately it ; happened that the disintegrators con i taiued iu the wrecked cur wero uot in I juretl. Mr. Kdison thought that it would bu possible to repair tho car itself, aud tor that purpose ho bud it attached : to thu flagship tu order that it might bu i carried ou as far as the tnoou, Thu , bodies of tho dead were transported with i it, as it was determiued, instead of -unumittiug them to tho fearful deep of , tpace, where they would have wandered forever, or else have fallen like meteors upou tho earth, to give them tutermeut iu tho lunar soil. As wo uow rapidly approached tho moon tbo change which the appearanco of its surface underwent wus rlo less " ouilerful thau that .vhich tho surface of the earth had presented iu the re- i verse order while wo were receding 1 form it. From a pale silver orb, shining ' with comparative faiutuess among thu j stars, it slowly assumed tho appearanco I of avast mountainous desert. As wo ; drew nearer its colors became, more pro i tiouucod, the great flat regions appeared i darker, thu mouutuiu peaks shone moro i brilliantly The huge chasms, seemed , bottomless aud blacker than midnight. , Grailnally separate mouutaius appeared, j What seemed liko expanses of snow and ! immense glaciers strc.Muiug down their sides sparkled with great brilliancy iu j tho perpendicular rays of the sun. Our motion bad uow assumed the aspect of .falling. Wo seemed to be dropping , from an immeasurable height aud with an inconceivable velocity straight down upon those giant peaks. Hero and thero curious lights glowed upon the mysterious surface of tho moon. Whero the edge of tho moon cut the sky behiud it it was broken and jagged with mountain masses. Vast crater rings overspread its surface, and iu some of thesu 1 imagined I conld per ceivo a lurid illumination coming out of their deepest cavities and the curl ing of uiephitic vapors around their tcr riblo jaws. We were approaching that part ot the moon which is known to astronomers is the bay ot Rainbows. Iloro a huge s-'micircular region, as smooth almost xs tho surface of a prairie, lay beneath Mir eyes, stretching southward iuto ti vast occaulike espanse, whilo on the north it wns inclosed by an enormous atigo of mount-tin cliffs, ristui; pcrpen licularly to a height of mauy thousand jf feet and rent and gashed in overj direction by foroes which seemed of eonio romoto period to havo labored nt tearing this littlo world lu pieces. It was n fearful spectuolo a dead and mangled world too dreadful to lcoli upou. Tho idon of tho death of the moon wns, of courso, not n now ono to many of ns. Wo hnd long been nwnro that the earth's satellite wus n body which hnd passed beyoud tho stago of lifo, if indeed it had over been a life supporting globe; but uouo of us was prepared for the terrible spoctaclo which Uow smoto our eyes. At each end of tho somlcirculnr rldgo that incloses tho bay of Rainbows thero is n lofty promontory. Thnt at tho north western oxtromity had long been known to astronomers under tho unmo of Capo Laplnco. Tho other promiutory, at the southeastern termination, is called Capo Hernclides. It was toward tho latter that wo wero approaching, nnd by iu tcrchnugo of signals all tho members of tho squadron had boeu informed that Capo Heraclidcs was to bo our rendez vous upon tho moon. I may say that I had been somewhat familiar with the scenery of this part of thu lunar world, for I had often studied it from tho earth with a telescope, and I had thought .that If thero was auy pirt cf tho moon whero ono might with fair expectation of success look for in habitants, or if not for inhabitants at least for relics of lifo no longer existent there, this would surely bo the placo. It was, therefore, with no small degree of curiosity, notwithstanding tho unex pectedly frightful and repulsive nppcar nuco thnt tho surface of tho moon pre sented, that I now saw myself rapidly approaching tbo region coucoming whoso se-crets my imagination had eo often busied itself. When Mr. Kdison and I had paid our previous visit to thu mnou on thu first experimental trip of the electrical shin, wo had lauded ut n point on its surfaco remote jm this, aud, as I havo beforo expluined, wo then inado no effort to investigate its secrets. Hut now it was to bo different, and wo wero at length to see something of thu wouders of the moon. I had often on tho earth drawn n smile from my friends by showing them Capo Heraclidcs with a tclecrppo and calling their attention to thu fact that thi' outlinb of the peak terminating the capo was such ns to present a remark able resemblance to a human !.i-c, un mistakably a feminino conntcuuuee, s'm it in profile nnd po-sossing no -Mall degree of beauty. To my '. nishnietit this curious human semblance still re mained when wo had approached so rinse to tho moon that thu mouutaius forming the capo filled nearly the whole field of view of tho window from which I was watching it. Thu resemblance indeed was most stnrtlttig. "Can this indeed bo Diana herself:" I said half aloud, but instantly after ward I was laughing nt my fancy, fur Mr. Kdison had overheard mo aud cx cLimrd, "Whero i3 she?" "Wliii?" "Diana." "Why, there," I Faid, pointing to tho moon. Bnt, lo, tho appearance was gone oveu whilo I spoke. A swift chaugo hnd takeu place iu tho line of sight by which wo were viewiug it, and tho likeness had disappeared in couse qeelicc. A few moments later my astonish ment wns revived, bnt the cause this timo was a very different ouo. Wo had 'mMs mm mm iilf n Tic cor hml been struck bu u meteor, iwren frrpping rapidly toward tbo uouuiaius, nud the electrician iu charge of thu car wns swiftly and coustantly changing his potential, nud, liko a pilot who feels his way iuto an unknown harbor, endeavoring to approach the moon in such a manner that no hidden peril should surprise us. As we thus ap proached I suddenly perceived crowtung tho very apex of tho lofty peak near the termination of iho capo the ruins of what appeared to bo nu nncient watch tower. It was evideutly composed of eyclopean blocks larger than nry that I had ever seen even among tho rums of Greece. Kgypt and Asia Minor. Here, then, was visible proof that tho moon had been inhabited, although probably it was uot iuhnbited uow. I cannot describe the exultant feeling which took possession of mo at this dis covery. It settled so much that learnixl men had been disputing about for cen turies. "What will they say, " I cxclnimed, ' "wheu I show them a photograph of that?" Below tho peak, stretching far to . tight aud left, lay a barren bonch which ; had evidently once beeu washed by sea wnves, because it wns marked by long curved ridges such as tho advancing and t retiring tide leaves upon tho shore of tho ocean. , This bench sloped rapidly outward i nud downward townrd n profound abyss, I 'which hnd once evidently been tho bed of a sea, but which uow appeared to us simply ns the empty, yawning shell of an ocean thnt had long vanished. It was with uo small difficulty, and only after tho expenditure of consider able time, that all the floating ships of the squadrou wero gradually brought to rest ou this lone mountain top of tho moon, Iu accordance with my roqnost, Mr Etlison had tho flagship moored in thu interior of the great ruined watch tower tbnt I have described. Tho other ships rested nMin the slope of tho moun tain around us. Although timo pressed, for wo knew that tho safe'y of thu enrth depended upon our promptness in attacking Miirs, yet it wns determined to remain hero a' least twerbr tbreo days in ordrr that tho ';Mf. r ' lit' & wrecked cur might be repaired. It was found tilsu that the passauo of tho high ly electrified meteor had disarranged thu electrical machinery in somo of tho other cars, so that thoro wero many ro pairs to bo mudu besides thoso uuutictl to restore the wreck. Moreover, wo must bury onr nufortu unto companions who had Lceu l.illtil by tho meteor. This, in fact, was tho first work that wo performed Stragu was tho sight nnd stranger oar feelings ns hero ou the surfaco of n world distant from the earth and on soil which hail never beforo been pressed by thu foot of man wo performed that Inst ceremony of respect which mortals pay to mortal, ity. In tho undent bench at thu foot ot tho peak wo made a deep opening, nml thero covered forever tho faces of our friend?, leaving them to slcop among tho ruins of empires nnd nmoug tho graves of races whicli had vanished probably ages before Adaui and Evo np pcarod iu paradise Whilo the repairs wero being mado sovernl scientific expeditious wero sens out in various directions across thu moon. Ono went westward to investi gate tho great ring plain of Plato nnd tho lunar Alps. Another crossed tho an cient sea of Showeis toward tho luiiau Apennines. Ono started to explore, tho immense crater of Copernicus, which, ynwnit:g CO miles across, presents u wonderful appearanco oven from tho distance ot thu earth. Tho ship in which I, myself, had thu good fortune to embark wad bound for thu mysterious lunar moun tain Ariatarchus. 15efc.ro theso expeditions stnrted a careful exploration had been made iu the neighborhood of Cape Heraclldr-. Hut, except that tho broken walls "f t.io watch tower cu tho peak, composed tf blocks of enormous size, had evidently been tho work of creatures endowil witli human ' intelligence, no remains weru found indicating tbo former pr s enco of inhabitants upou this part of thu moon. CHAPTKR VII. Hut along the shnro of the old sea, Jnst whero the so called bay of Rain bows separates itself from the abyss of tho sea of Showers, thero wero fouu I somo stratified rocks iu whicli the fasri noted eyes of tho explorer beheld tho clear imprint of n gigautio human foot, measuring fivu feet in length from t o to heel. The most minuto search failed to re veal another trace of thopresenco of tho ancient giuut, who had left the impress of his foot in tbo wet sands of the beach hero so ninny millions of years ago tliae even the imagination of tho geologists shrank from the task of attempting to fix the precise period. Around this gigautio footprint gath ered most of thu scientific members of tbo expedition, wearing their oddly shaped airtight suits, connected with telephonic wires, nud tho spectacle, but for tho impreasiveucss of thu discovery, would havo been laughable in thu er. tremo. Bending over the mark in tho rock, nodding their heads together, pointing with their awkwardly accou tercd arms, they looked like au assem blage of autedilnviaumousters collected arouud their prey Their disappoint ment over tho fact that no'other mark of anything rc?embliug human habita tion could bo discovered was very great. Still this footprint iu itself was quite sufficient, ns they nil declared, to settle the question of the former inhabitation of tho moon, mid it would servo for tho production of mauy a learned volunio after their return to thu earth, even if no further discoveries should be mada iu other parts of thu lunar world. It was thu hope of making such other discoveries that led to tho dispatch of the various expeditions I have already uatned. I had chosen to accompany tho car that was goiug to Aristarchus, be ennse, as every ouo who had viewed tho nioou from the eortli was aware, there was something very mysterious about that mountain. I knew that it wns a crater nearly !!0 miles in diameter and very deep, although its floor was plain ly visible. What rendered it reinnrkablo was the fact that that floor aud tho walls of thu crater, particularly on thu inuer side, glowed with a marvelous brightness winch reudered them almost blinding when viewed with a powerful telescope. So bright wt.ru they, indeed, that the 'ju was unable to seu many of tho de tails which tho telescope wo.ild have made visible but for thu flood of light which ponrod from the mountains. Sir William Herschel had beeu so com pletely misled by this appearauce thai ho supposed he was watching a luuar volcano in eruption. It bad always bceu n difficult ques tion what caused thu extraordinary lu minosity cf Aristarchus. No eud of hy potheses bad been invented to account for it. Now I was to assist iu settling there questions forever. From Capo Heraclidcs to Aristarchus tho distance in nn air lino was somo Ihing over .100 miles. Our courso lay across tho northeastern part of tho sea of Showers, with enormous cliffs, mountain masses and peaks shiuiug ou thu right, whilo in the other direction tho viow was bounded by tbo distant range, of tho luuar Apennines, some cl whoso towering peaks, when viewod from onr immense, elevation, appeared as sharp as tho Swiss Matterhoru, When wo had arrived within about 100 miles of onr destination, wo found ourselves floating directly over the sc called Harbinger mountains. Tho ser rated peaks of Aristarchus then nppear ed ahead of us, fairly blazing in thi sunshine. It seemed ns if a gigautio string ol diamonds, every cue ns great as a moun tain peak, hnd beeu cast dawn upon tlx barren surface of the moou nnd left t wnsto their brilliance upon tho deserl air of this abandoned world. As wo rapidly approached thft dna. cling splendor of tbo mountain becami almost unbearable to our eyes, and wi were compelled to resort to thu devica practiced by all climbers of lofty uionit tains, whero the glare of sunlight upoi snow sutfacos is liablo to causo tempo rary blindness, of protecting our eye. with ucutral tinted glasses. Professor Moissau, the great Frencl chemist and maker of artificial diu ruomls, fairly danced with delight. "Voila, volla, voilal" was all tb' ho could say. Wheu wo wero comparatively nen: tbo mountain uo longer sosuied to glov with a uniform radiauco, evenly dis tributed over its entire surfaco, bnt nui innumerable points ot light, all ns brigli as so many littlo stiue, blazed nway n us. It wns evident that wo hnd befert us n mountain composed ot, or nt leal