for they revealed that Llysanorh's machine was making no less than
88,000 miles an hour. At this rate, Ralph was gaining only 2,000 miles
an hour, and it would take thirteen or fourteen days to overhaul
the other flyer. But as the Martian could not hope to reach Mars
under twenty-nine days himself, Ralph figured that he, barring some
unforeseen accident, would overtake him long before he landed there.
It was absolutely imperative that he do so, for once the Martian left
Mars and headed for the Asteroids further pursuit would be useless.
There were over 4,000 of these little planets already known[10] and it
would be the work of a lifetime to search on each one for the fugitive
and his victim. Speedy action on Ralph's part was urgent.
These little Asteroids, revolving in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter
were practically uninhabited, although most of the larger ones had a
good atmosphere, and a fair climate, considering their distance from
the sun.
Some of them were only a few miles in diameter, and the largest
measured but 485 miles. An electromobile, running at the slow rate of
60 miles an hour could circle such a tiny planet in 24 hours!
The larger planetoids had a superb vegetation, and as the gravity on
these bodies was only a fraction of that on the Earth, the trees and
shrubs were gigantic, while colossal fruits and vegetables grew in
abundance. These plants helped to create a dense atmosphere, in spite
of the small gravity, and life, on one of these little planets, was,
in many respects, far more comfortable and pleasant than on Earth or
Mars.
[Illustration:
---- ORIGINAL DIRECTION OF RALPH
* WHERE RALPH OVERTOOK FERNAND
-.-.-. NEW COURSE OF RALPH IN
PURSUIT OF LLYSANORH'
® WHERE MARS WOULD BE AT END
OF LLYSANORH'S JOURNEY
--- COURSE OF LLYSANORH'
O POSITION OF LLYSANORH' WHEN
RALPH OVERTOOK FERNAND
1 WHERE VENUS WOULD HAVE BEEN MET
IF FERNAND HAD CONTINUED HIS JOURNEY
x WHERE LLYSANORH' ABDUCTED ALICE]
Now began the hardest part of the chase for Ralph. There was nothing
more to do than he had already done. From now on he must wait with what
patience he could summon to his aid, until such time as his machine
should catch up with that of the Martian. He could force his own no
further, and he was very sure that Llysanorh' was also flying at his
utmost speed.
At work, he had not had much time for thought.
Now, with time hanging heavily on his hands, his conjectures as to the
fate of his sweetheart drove him, at times, nearly to madness.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 10: Up to 1911 over 650 Asteroids had been discovered.]
13
ALICE OBJECTS
Alice, on being aroused to consciousness by the ministrations of
Lylette, the maid, and Fernand, and finding herself a prisoner on
board a space flyer at the mercy of the latter, was overwhelmed with
fury. This cool abduction of herself provoked her to such a passionate
outburst that Fernand had actually retreated before it.
"You coward," she blazed, "how dare you keep me here! Turn around and
take me back at once--at once, do you hear?"
Fernand, in the act of opening her door and going back to his
laboratory, paused smilingly.
"My dear girl," he said mockingly, "ask of me anything and I will grant
it--except that. You have a temper that delights me. Your smiles will
be all the sweeter, later."
Her answer was to fly at him with such passion that he involuntarily
took a step backwards. In a flash she had run by him, was down the
stairs and tugging at the fastening of the door that led outward.
Fernand bounded after her calling to Lylette as he ran, and in a
moment they were both struggling with the girl, who had indeed become
a veritable wildcat. She had both hands fastened around the great bar
that held the door and fought madly to unfasten it. Let that door be
opened the fraction of an inch and all three would instantly have been
blown to pieces. Fernand wrenched at her hands in real fear that she
would succeed in her purpose, which was evidently their destruction.
She was a strong athletic girl, and at the moment her desperation
gave her added vigor. But the combined strength, and by no means
gentle handling of Fernand and Lylette, who herself was a large and
powerfully built woman, forced Alice to relinquish her hold, and she
was dragged, struggling, back to her room, and left there, with the
door double-locked.
Alone, she passed from the high exaltation of anger to a state of
nervous apprehension. Another woman in her place might have wept, have
begged piteously for mercy where there was no mercy, but this girl was
made of sterner stuff. She might be frightened but Fernand should never
guess it.
Dry-eyed, with lips set in a firm line, lest they tremble and betray
her, she sat facing the door, gripping in her small hands the only
weapon she had been able to find--a small metal vase, having a round,
and fairly thick base.
Knowing that Fernand would come back, prepared as she was for his
return, she was unable to repress a start of genuine terror when she
heard someone unbolting the door. She clutched the vase more tightly,
white-faced, but courageous.
Fernand entered alone, carefully closing the door behind him. He wore
his customary, rather bland smile, and his voice was suave to the point
of oiliness.
"All over our little fit of temper?" he asked.
Alice stared at him, disdainfully, unanswering. Then her eyes fell upon
something in his hand--manacles of glistening steelonium!
The horror she felt was depicted in her face, for he said, holding them
out for her to see, "A pair of bracelets for you, sweetheart. Just as
a precautionary measure. You are rather too quick with those hands of
yours. But I am not unkind, my dear. You need not wear them if you will
only give me your word not to repeat your recent performance."
Beyond the door she saw Lylette standing in readiness, and she knew
that physical resistance would be ineffectual. Far better to give her
promise and be free than to be bound and helpless. Besides, there was
the laboratory. In it there were many roads to freedom--there were
poisons that killed instantly and painlessly. Unmanacled she might
reach them eventually. Bound, even that way would be closed.
Coldly, clearly, she gave her promise, but inwardly she offered up
a prayer of thankfulness when he turned and handed the handcuffs to
Lylette.
"You can lay down your weapon, Alice," he said, still with his mocking
smile. "I can assure you that you have no need of it. You will find me
a gentle lover, and one who is willing to wait for his lady's favors."
He stopped suddenly, and turning his head in the direction of the
stairs, listened intently.
From the laboratory, came the insistent ringing of the radio calling
apparatus.
With a muttered order to Lylette, he was gone.
What was happening, Alice did not know. She could not read radio
messages, but she knew that only something of grave import could have
made Fernand rush like that to the radio. She strained her ears, but
heard nothing.
Her hopes rose with a great bound with the thought that perhaps Ralph
was on his way to her. Perhaps it was he signalling. She had been sure
that he would follow her as soon as possible, and now her dark eyes
brightened with hope.
At this moment Lylette, without a glance in her direction, closed the
door, and Alice was once more alone and a prisoner behind bolted doors.
It was then that she gave way to her loneliness and despair. She knew
that if it had been Ralph signalling, Fernand would at once, having
received the news that the scientist was in pursuit, set about making
plans to elude him. She knew that Fernand was desperate, that his life,
under the law, was forfeit for this crime he had committed. He would
stop at nothing. Instinctively, she felt that he would destroy her and
himself, rather than be taken. Certainly, he would not hesitate to
murder Ralph if the opportunity presented itself.
She flung herself upon the couch, and burst into tears of agony, and
terror. Suddenly she sprang to her feet, still sobbing, wide-eyed with
dread of what she knew not.
The space flyer had stopped. The throb of the machinery had stilled and
the flyer was hanging motionless in space.
Standing in the middle of the room, rigid with suspense, Alice waited
with beating heart. Suddenly she heard the sound of rapid steps on the
stairs. Now they halted at the door, and someone fumbled at the bolts
and locks.
The next instant the door was flung wide open, and Llysanorh' the
Martian stood upon the threshold!
14
THE TERROR OF THE COMET
During the next few days Ralph passed midway between Earth and Venus.
This was the spectacle that at times greatly increased the transport
space flyer travel between Earth and Mars, many of the inhabitants
of both planets making the long journey simply to get a view of the
beautiful planet Venus.
Ralph ran almost parallel for a time with the two planets (see
diagram), Venus to his left, Earth to his right. Although he was quite
near the former he could hardly see it, as the bright rays of the sun
precluded detailed observation. A few days later, however, it had swung
sufficiently far enough to the left to afford him occasional glimpses
of its beauties.
Ralph worked almost continuously in his laboratory in the conning
tower. In the course of the week since he had left the Earth, he had
only catnapped for about two hours, since sleep was impossible.
He constructed several new pieces of apparatus, which he considered
might be useful in case of a possible encounter with Llysanorh'. He
knew that Llysanorh' could not be as easily subdued or caught as
Fernand. This tall Martian was an inventor himself and knew much about
handling modern death-dealing weapons. It would be useless to try
the Radioperforer as he probably would carry a Silonium armor, proof
against all Radium emanations.
One of the first things he had done was to lead wires from the steering
apparatus up to the conning tower. On the floor of the tower he
arranged contacts in such a manner that he could press them together
with his feet. The control was similar to the foot pedals of an organ.
He then practised for some days until he could steer the flyer wholly
with his feet. Thus his hands were free to control any apparatus he
would need for attack or defense. With his feet he could so control the
machine as to avoid projectiles if necessary.
As the days rolled by, however, Ralph became more and more disturbed.
He now took observations hourly, his eyes glued to the indicator. With
a sinking heart he saw that he was not gaining on the Martian. The
latter had his machine well tuned up and was covering almost 90,000
miles an hour. At this rate Ralph could never catch up with Llysanorh'.
It was maddening. The days became a long, drawn-out agony. Ralph had
done everything in his power to accelerate the speed of his flyer and
to strain the machinery further meant inviting certain death. Within
eight days Llysanorh' would land on Mars--his course now plainly showed
that he was headed for the planet. At best Ralph would be ten hours
behind--time enough for the Martian to accomplish his purpose. And he,
Ralph 124C 41+, the greatest inventor the world had ever produced, was
powerless.
Again he took observations, and again the results were the same. A
weariness of the spirit swept over him. The dark waters of despair
seemed to inundate his very soul. To have been physically exhausted
would have been a relief. To know the blessedness of but an hour's
sound sleep, to be free from this terrible tension--
He sank down upon a seat and buried his head in his hands, and as he
sat, striving to quiet his worn and troubled mind there came to him
an idea--nay, more than an idea, an inspiration, by which he would
overcome the formidable difficulties that beset him.
An idea, so simple that, having once formulated it, it seemed
ridiculous not to have thought of it before.
His soul-weariness fell from him like a discarded garment. He sprang
to his feet, once more the scientist, the man of action, triumphant,
dominant.
His marvelous ingenuity saw the way out. His mind would again triumph
over time and space. He would achieve the impossible, surmount the
insurmountable.
The battle was not lost--it had but begun!
He knew he could not overhaul Llysanorh'. Neither could he intercept
him. A wireless decoy message was futile. Llysanorh' would never be
caught by such a flimsy trick. But he must do something to prevent
Llysanorh' from reaching Mars.
How could it be accomplished? By sending a message to the Martian
authorities? A futile thought. Even if the distance could be bridged,
which was doubtful, Llysanorh' would, in all likelihood, intercept the
message with his recorder. He would simply send a message to his friend
to board a space flyer and to rush to him at top speed. The marriage
ceremony could then be performed out in space.
No, Llysanorh' must not know that he was pursued and still he must be
prevented from landing.
Ralph would literally move the heavens. He would threaten Mars with a
comet! Llysanorh's patriotism could be depended upon to make an effort
to divert the comet from its course, to avoid the imminent collision
with Mars. This, Llysanorh' could do without danger to himself, simply
by steering his flyer close to the head of the comet--within a few
hundred kilometers. The gravitational action of his machine on the
comet would deflect the course of the latter enough--even a few degrees
would be sufficient to change the path of the meteor.
But where was the comet to come from? To Ralph this was simplicity
itself. He did not need to "catch" a comet--_he would manufacture one
for himself_--a comet more unique than ever rushed through space.
He knew that comets had been reproduced artificially on a small scale,
centuries ago;[11] however, no one had ever tried to make a real
comet. He also knew that the largest comets have a very small mass,
and that the tail is composed mainly of gas and dust, which is so thin
that the stars may be readily observed through the tail of almost any
comet.[12]
Ralph thus became the first human being to _create_ a heavenly body. As
comets are composed mainly of hydrogen gas and dust, the creating of
Ralph's artificial comet was absurdly simple to the scientist.
By means of scraps of zinc and iron filings, over which sulphuric acid
was poured, Ralph produced a great quantity of hydrogen. This he filled
in tanks and when he had generated enough of the gas he connected the
tanks with a large metal stop cock in the wall of the space flyer. As
soon as the stop cock was opened the hydrogen rushed out into the open
with a roar.
Immediately Ralph connected his high frequency apparatus with the
outside aerials of the space flyer and the expected phenomenon took
place.
_The hydrogen particles which heretofore had been invisible, began
to glow with a wonderful light_, enveloping the entire flyer. For
thousands of miles behind the machine stretched a true comet's tail,
the flyer forming its head or nucleus. The tail, as in all comets, was
turned away from the sun, and although Ralph could not see the end of
the tail, he knew that what he had created could be seen for hundreds
of thousands of miles, like any natural comet.
Ralph, however, was not fully satisfied, and he therefore started to
"improve" the comet. He manufactured several other gases in large
quantities, which he ejected into space, greatly enhancing the
brilliancy and size of the comet's head as well as of its tail.
The head, however, he thought was not "solid" enough as yet, and so he
set about correcting this defect.
Comets are composed chiefly of gases, but contain a large amount of
dust. The dust particles act very much like the dust particles upon
which a sun ray falls, and it is these particles which create the
comet's appearance. If the atmosphere is eliminated and the same dust
placed into outer space, a small comet will result. The small particles
will be highly electrified by the sun and begin to glow. Each particle
repels the other and thus even a handful of light dust will form a
respectable comet in space.
Ralph made his dust by grinding paper and wood and other materials on a
fine carborundum wheel.
After he had made a few pails full, he blew the dust out into space,
and if his comet had been a magnificent sight before, it was really
awe-inspiring to look upon now from a great distance.
The heavier particles clung close to the flyer, on account of
gravitational action, but completely enveloped it. The machine was
now a true planet, while the fine dust particles had become little
satellites, revolving around their central body, the flyer.
The lighter dust particles found their way into the tail, as the
powerful pressure of the sun's light overcame the attraction which the
flyer brought upon them.
Ralph turned off the high frequency current and yet the comet was not
extinguished and its brilliance was not in the least dimmed. The gas
and dust particles had no way to dissipate their initial electrical
charge, being in an absolute vacuum; and Ralph's artificial comet had
become a real one.
Inasmuch as the dust was quite dense immediately around the flyer,
Ralph's outlook was not as clear as it had been before. He could just
see the stars, which seemed enveloped in a haze. This, however, pleased
him greatly, as he knew that his artificial comet must look like a
natural one from a great distance.
In this he had not been mistaken. As he afterwards learned, his comet
had been "discovered" simultaneously on Earth, on Venus, and on Mars
the same day he had made it. It had been charted and named, and on
account of its great brilliance and long tail, had been immediately
termed "The Great Comet of 2660."
That Llysanorh' would see the comet Ralph never doubted for a second.
He headed his comet-space flyer exactly toward the point where it would
collide with Mars at the end of six days. He figured that the Martians
would be on the lookout, and inasmuch as Ralph's careful search did
not reveal another space flyer anywhere near him, he knew that the
Martian officials would surely locate and attempt to communicate with
Llysanorh'.
In this he was not mistaken. His chronometer pointed to 5 p.m. when he
first recorded weak signals coming from Mars. Several messages were
exchanged between the Martians and Llysanorh'. Llysanorh' gave his
number and position in the heavens and he in turn received instructions
to approach as near to the "comet's" head as feasible in order to
change its course. He was also instructed to bombard the comet's
nucleus with time-set torpedoes, if he could not deviate the comet from
its course. Llysanorh' answered that he would follow instructions as
far as his equipment allowed.
During the next few days Ralph was relieved to note that the distance
between him and Llysanorh' diminished with great rapidity. His trick
had worked. Llysanorh' was rushing at top speed toward Ralph's flyer,
firmly believing it a comet.
Confident of success, sure of victory, Ralph was jubilant. Hope, so
long deferred, flooded his spirit. He whistled cheerily at his work.
Was not every minute bringing him closer to his sweetheart, his Alice?
Was not every second drawing nearer to that moment when he would hold
her in his arms?
What wonder that he whistled all day long, and laughed to himself from
sheer joy and relief.
At last the Martian came into range. Llysanorh' approached the "comet"
up to about 150 kilometers and then receded. He then took observations,
but somehow or other the "comet," instead of being deflected, commenced
to pursue him. This was opposed to all astronomical knowledge and
reasoning, and Llysanorh', fearing collision with the "comet" began to
fire explosive torpedoes into its nucleus. As the distance between it
and his machine was only 100 kilometers, he could watch the torpedo
in its flight. Through his telescope he could see the torpedo rushing
toward the "comet's" head.
But the "comet" dodged, and the torpedo shot far above the nucleus!
It was uncanny. His aim had been accurate, he could have sworn. The
distance was short. Yet he had missed. The "comet" had moved out of the
projectile's path.
He had fired again, with equal accuracy. The torpedo would surely
strike now. But the "comet" this time "side-stepped," as it were, and
the torpedo sped on through space, missing its target by a wide margin.
Llysanorh' was bewildered. Fear gripped him.
Gravitational action had not made the "comet" act in this strange
manner. He fired one torpedo after another, but the "comet" dodged them
all.
He suddenly stopped firing torpedoes. He next tried to destroy the
infernal "comet" by electricity.
Soon his aerials were white hot with the energy he threw into them. He
then turned his flyer into such a position as to direct the outflowing
energy towards the "comet's" head. The only result was to increase the
luminosity of the "comet."
Suddenly Llysanorh' realized that the "comet" was only fifty kilometers
away. He noticed with horror that the head of the "comet" now seemed to
fill up almost one-quarter of the "sky." Another discovery that came
simultaneously was that instead of the "comet's" head being solid,
there was a mysterious small black speck in the center of the nucleus.
This was against both knowledge and theory of comets.
When Ralph had brought his "comet" within fifty kilometers of
Llysanorh', he felt that the time had come to throw off the mask. He
had lured Llysanorh' to within striking distance. It was now time to
strike.
He had one great advantage over Llysanorh'. The latter was wholly
unprepared, believing he had to deal with a comet. This facilitated
Ralph's movements.
He carefully insulated himself by sitting on a tall glass tripod. He
then attached to his ears the telephone receivers that were connected
with the induction balance,[13] which he had attached to one of the
glass port-holes.
He then started to turn the glass wheel of the ultra-generator,
connected to the outside aerials.
A terrible screaming sound came from the generator and the whole
flyer shook. Ralph continued to turn the wheel quickly. The generator
shrilled higher and higher, until the frequency had become so high that
no sound could be heard. The vibrations had passed 35,000.
Ralph turned the wheel a few more notches and everything became
pitch-dark over a space sixty kilometers in diameter.
As in his Switzerland exploit, two months before, Ralph's aerial on
the space flyer due to the powerful action of his ultra-generator,
attracted the ether so fast that it could not be replenished quickly
enough. It acted much like an immense vacuum pump on the atmosphere.
Darkness spread over a large area as the inky fluid of the octopus
blackens the sea. Both flyers became invisible to each other.
Ralph, however, pointed his machine on its former course and speeded it
up.
Llysanorh', dismayed by the unexpected darkness, had brought his
machine to a dead stop. He was almost frantic with terror and stood
like one paralyzed, unable to think or to act.
Within a few minutes Ralph's induction balance caused his telephones
to emit higher and higher notes, indicating, despite the pitch-black
darkness, just how near he was to the other flyer.
When he was certain that he had approached Llysanorh's machine, he
suddenly shut off his ultra-generator. Quick as lightning he had
grasped his radioperforer, and although the light which returned
instantly blinded him for a few seconds, he had glimpsed Llysanorh's
terrified face, just a few meters distant, his forehead pressed tight
against the glass plate of the port-hole.
Ralph took quick aim and pressed the trigger.
There was a silent flash and Llysanorh' seemed to topple over.
Simultaneously the glass of the port-hole turned green.
In a flash Ralph jumped up and peered anxiously out one port-hole, then
another, hoping to catch sight of Alice.
There was nobody to be seen.
He rushed to the wireless and signaled frantically for several minutes.
Breathlessly he clasped the receivers to his ears.
There was no answer--no sound--nothing.
With sinking heart, he rushed to the connecting tube. In his
excitement it took him twenty minutes to make the connection between
the two machines and the tube air-tight. Before crawling into the
connecting tube he grabbed up his radioperforer as a precaution.