SMALL PROFIT AND QUICK RETURN
“Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over
his fodder?”
(+Job.+)
The day following the stormy meeting on board the _Regina_ nothing
of moment transpired, and only the strongest faith in the _Regina’s_
powers made them know that, although unseen, a mighty force was
speeding along the enormous space that intervened between themselves
and the planet they were attracting. They knew it would be madness to
draw it to them rapidly, like rebounding elastic; the only safe thing
to do would be first to project against it a gradually increasing
attraction, till its present speed was completely overcome, when they
expected it would alter its course to follow the line of greater
attraction to them. Some time, therefore, must elapse before anything
would be noticeable, during which the visitors would have to continue
their work of joint observation and exploration with their new-found
friends, and in the abstraction of these researches the subject was
seldom referred to. In the course of a week, however, there came over
the atmosphere of that part of the world in which they had made their
headquarters a slight change, so gradual as to be scarcely perceptible;
it was the ‘smell’ of electricity—that peculiar, almost indefinable
odour which is always evident when an enormous amount of electricity
is present, and has been defined as being like many different
chemicals, though most people consider it chiefly resembles chlorine.
The natives noticed this, but attributed it to the continued presence
of the vessel. Then they perceived that the planet which had been
speeding away from them had altered its course, and they delightedly
told their visitors of this, saying that as it was now coming in their
own direction, it would be better for them to go to it by means of
their ship later, without making so long a journey, pressing them to
stay until the world drew nearer, never even dreaming for a moment that
their visitors were effecting it and not knowing or believing they
had power to do so. Feeling guilty at having to dissemble in order to
keep the secret for the great and final surprise, the travellers very
kindly accepted the offer to stay and wait till the other world drew
near. They had hoped the people would not notice the altered direction
of the planet, but the fact of other terrestrials being on it, and
wanted by their comrades, had aroused interest and the planet had, in
consequence, been under observation ever since. It was, however, but
a runaway star, and, like a lost and turned-out dog that is ready and
willing to become attached to any one who is kind enough to give it a
home, so was this disowned planet flying through space, ready to form a
new orbit in any system that would or could keep it, or to coalesce, if
need be, with any more powerful world into whose influence it chanced
to come, and thus form another sun. When it turned, the people merely
thought it had, as it were, aimlessly crossed a stronger influence and
had become drawn towards some other and distant force.
“How long will it be before the planet is with us?” asked Dalton of
Gilbert.
“About a fortnight,” he replied. “We do not wish it to come too fast,
lest its revolution and atmosphere and those of this world should be
disturbed.”
A few hours later, there came upon the atmosphere a more sudden
change; the air became perceptibly drier, hotter and more stifling,
and before long, heavy clouds gathered and obliterated the stars,
the distant, yet approaching world sharing the same fate, being no
longer visible; and there were no means of ascertaining its position
except by intricate calculations from the amount of force projected.
By this time all around the ship there rested a faint phosphorescence,
and the heat and dryness in the air became severely felt, filling
the nostrils with such a choking as to make inspiration painful in
the extreme. The enormous amount of electricity projected was slowly
converting the air into allotropic oxygen, or ozone, of such intensity
that it burned the lungs and made breathing a torture, and the sense
of suffocation became almost intolerable. To the natives this change
was deplorable, depending as they did on the air for both breathing
and food; and living in the open they had no shelter, only the frail
structures erected for astronomical observations and the carrying on of
business—laboratories and the like. In vain they entered these in order
to find coolness, then returned to the open, for in that furnace of
altering elements there was no cool, everywhere was equally painful.
“We cannot work in this stifling heat, and the clouds are
impenetrable,” telepathed one of the native astronomers to
Rollsborough. “There is some dreadful electrical disturbance around;
I am glad your ship is here, for it is drawing towards itself all the
local forces”; and in the air there could be seen floating beside the
ship, a faint, rosy light, paling into greens and purples and moving
fitfully.
Rollsborough said nothing, for he, along with the other objectors, had
decided to take a neutral stand, and neither help nor hinder anything
the owners and their colleagues were pleased to do. But he now debated
with himself whether he would not be justified in divulging the real
facts of the case, though on further consideration he remembered that
if the owners chose to do anything with the ship’s powers, they could
do it, and as no one else understood the control of these forces, no
good purpose could be served by interfering now. Besides, with the ship
elevated, as was the usual custom, no hurt could come to the natives,
or district, and every man on board was supposed to be level-headed
and ought to know what he was doing. So Rollsborough made no comment,
but stood along with many of his companions and the natives, watching
the strange glow round the vessel, and thus they continued several
hours, during which gloom had fallen, and for the first time within
the history of this world there was dense, black night; the only light
seen was the ghastly, ghoulish glow round the vessel. The natives
insisted on their visitors going back to the ship, so Rollsborough and
his friends entered, and with closed doors and the artificial apparatus
going, they felt no inconvenience. So refreshing was this after the
heat outside, that they persuaded a number of the natives to enter, but
they could not breathe the air, which was _only_ air, and incapable
of supporting their life, so they had to leave hastily, but would not
hear of the visitors coming out of their ship again till the storm,
as they thought it, had passed. For even now, though they were so
extremely intelligent, they did not associate with it the _Regina_ and
the far-away world—never thinking that the world was coming straight at
them, like a shot out of a gun, for they knew the changes were really
electrical disturbances only, and bad as the effect was on the air,
it was their natural atmosphere, and they could endure it better than
their visitors; therefore, when they found those in the artificial air
were free from trouble, they insisted on their staying in the ship.
This consideration made the delinquents feel very guilty, and Godfrey
tried to persuade his friends to abandon their project, but they said
it was but a temporary inconvenience, and would pass away soon.
The ship was elevated about two hundred feet in the air, in order
that the powerful current projected should not damage the surrounding
country and the inhabitants, for with such a force, so long continued,
no power in nature could have prevented its blasting effect on
everything, and particularly in all those parts coming between the
approaching planet and the ship, where would lie an inconceivably
strong current of electricity, for they were, in reality, using their
vessel as a magnet, bridging the space by the mighty current. Such a
force could not do otherwise than disturb the elements, for the power
required to draw the world from such a distance would have fused the
very earth beneath, had the vessel been nearer the ground. And although
the objectors still disapproved of the whole scheme, the manner in
which the three owners manipulated the vessel so as to ensure the
absolute safety of the people below, compelled their enthusiastic
admiration. Awful and spectacular as the results became as the world
drew nearer, and the same forces were more spread locally, they knew
that beyond a few weeks’ inconvenience and semi-starvation, the natives
would be no worse, and not a blade of grass would be singed. And as
they received somewhat of the reflected forces, the vessel became the
centre of wonderful displays of electric fireworks, which were watched
by the people below with amazement, for they could not see the world
because of the clouds, and the people in the ship could not telepath
with them except when in close proximity. All around the ship and
high into the clouds, forming a magnificent, gigantic corona, there
shone a living, trembling flame, changing colour incessantly; the
electric fluid, like a sea, washed and lashed around the ship, and
leaped in waves and spray, dashing against the vessel; the spray flying
upwards like phantoms, the white wreaths of light floating away into
nothingness, forming and re-forming, till lost in the distant sky.
Every now and then some wave, more violent than the rest, would break
itself upward in a column of lightning, twisting and twining like a
fiery snake standing erect and writhing in agony. Higher and higher
these terrible columns would rise, becoming thicker and more lurid,
bending and straightening as though alive, while here and there two
would meet and float away upward, united by loops and tongues and
festoons of lively flame.
The people below, experienced as they were, and knowing there was
no real danger so long as the vessel was the centre of the storm,
as they believed, could not help being disturbed by the change in
the atmosphere, now so powerfully charged with electricity; and as
the world revolved, community after community beheld the wonderful
stationary ship, their preserver, and felt thankful it had come in
time to save them by bringing the elements to the focus of itself. At
her elevated position the _Regina_ remained poised and motionless—not
moving with the atmosphere, yet still in it—sending forth a steady,
continuous force, unerringly in the same direction.
“Is it wise to carry this so far?” again remonstrated Godfrey. “Won’t
the world come on and on and crash into this?”
“It would, of course, if we didn’t stop it in time,” smiled Gilbert.
“But how can you tell when it _is_ near enough to stop?”
“There are four days yet.”
“But Gilbert,” pleaded Godfrey, “are you justified in causing these
good people all this inconvenience? Is it fair play?” And turning round
impetuously, he spoke up so that all should hear,—“Rollsborough and
I and all of us who originally objected to this mad scheme decided
neither to hinder nor to help, but to be perfectly neutral, and to
this decision I was fully intending to adhere, but I had to keep saying
something in protest. Nobody admires and appreciates more than I do the
capabilities of the vessel and the amazing skill of the owners, but
because we have power and skill here, are we to misuse them, merely
to let these people see what we can do? It might be excusable in a
youngster, but it does not sit very well on any of us. _We_ are in
here, with pure air, good food, and everything to make us happy, and
yet we are calmly looking on while we cause visible discomfort, if not
actual pain, to the people below who are gasping for breath; these
people who have been so exceedingly good to us,—and we allow them to
think we are their benefactors! I call it cowardly! yes, cowardly!! and
a thing we shall look back upon with shame to our dying day. Believe
me, we shall! Planet-shifting is not in my line, I know nothing of
it—but I feel very warm on this matter. We are Britons, bred and born;
do let us act like Britons! and above all, like gentlemen; men of too
much honour to abuse our privileges. Surely in sending that planet out
of its orbit we did damage enough! You know what Shakespeare says,—‘It
is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but tyrannous to use it like
a giant.’ Let us be merciful! I can say no more, friends, or I shall
break down!” and good, well-meaning Godfrey, quite overcome, stepped
down from the stool upon which he had jumped.
For the space of a few seconds there was a deadly silence, and then as
if from one voice, they cheered Godfrey, and finally ‘chaired’ him.
As soon as silence was restored, Dennis spoke up,—“My friends, let us
with one accord thank Spenser here for showing us our duty. Our pride
has humbled us to the dust, and we have fallen—fallen lower than I care
to think about, but we will make what reparation we can! Ainley has
already corrected the current and in a few hours the air will improve.
Rollsborough and Sorrel, we want your advice as to what we shall do
with the other planet, if we have not forfeited the right to ask for
it.”
Their eyes filled with tears, the two stepped forward and remained in
long conversation with the three owners, looking at photographs and
drawings and making many calculations.
While they were thus engaged, the rest, now as repentant as they had
been reckless, went to the windows and looked out. All restraint was
now over, and every one without exception felt happy in having taken
the one and only honourable course—and as they gazed at the sea of
fire around them, which cut off all view from below, a great cloud
burst above them and rain fell in torrents; the lightning ran down the
rain as it fell, filling the air with solid pillars of fire. Flash
followed flash in such quick succession that they seemed to strike one
another long before reaching the ground; and the focus of the storm was
ever the good old ship, which stood unmoved, as though imperturbably
defiant, while the whole heavens seemed to have combined to wage war
against her in revenge for the disturbance she had caused. All the
electricity projected seemed to return with angry energy, flashing
and beating round the ship in mighty fury, the _Regina_ answering
flash with flash till the fury was augmented instead of reduced, as
the teeming heavens sluiced fire. As far as the eye could reach the
rain brought down the lightning in floods of vivid flame, and on all
sides the clouds were incessantly opening and belching out their
overcharges of electricity, accompanied by deafening thunder. In ten
or fifteen minutes the storm was spent, and gradually nothing remained
but an occasional feeble flicker and roll of thunder. Soon even this
ceased, and slowly the light returned as the clouds dispersed or were
dissipated, and around the ship only a faint glow remained. This began
to flicker like the light from a dying candle, each flicker seeming
the last; and finally, with a last splash of light, all was gone.
Instantly the ship fell and the occupants came out, to be greeted
effusively by the grateful people. “You have done this!” telepathed the
principal of the observatory. “How can we thank you?”
“Thanks!” telepathed Dennis, stepping forward. “You have little to
thank us for!” and with feelings of deep shame, he telepathed a full
confession.
“But what have you done with the planet? How can it remain where it is
if the forces are stopped?”
“It is now under the influence of your world’s attraction, and
travelling with you as a binary, and as you see is too far off to
affect this planet for the short time it will stay.”
Then it was for the visitors to see what friendship was, to have
‘coals of fire’ heaped upon them, for the natives made light of their
sufferings, and not only telepathed that there was nothing to forgive,
but persisted in thanking them for their kindness in relieving them
from the dreadful atmosphere.
Such magnanimity made the visitors exceedingly contrite and feel that
they could have submitted to abuse, even, rather than such overwhelming
kindness and generosity; but it proved to them that in a higher life
feelings of evil and resentment find no place, but instead there is the
forgiveness that can both forget and forgive, though the past injuries
be incalculably great.
The attracted planet could not stay where it was for any great length
of time, as it would soon affect the climatic conditions of the world
to which it had been drawn, so the travellers were obliged to leave
their noble friends, who parted with them most affectionately, they
feeling sincere remorse at their treatment by the kind inhabitants as
they set out for the adjoining world, obtaining a splendid rebound
straight for the solar system with the absconding planet in their wake;
the position it should at that time be occupying having been correctly
worked out by Rollsborough, it was restored to its proper place and
orbit in which it sped onwards in its journey round the sun—this time
free from the belt of semi-opaque ether in which it had hitherto
floated. Then the _Regina_ settled into its atmosphere. First locating
the place where the mutineers had originally been stored, but finding
it a waste, they hunted for them with their glasses in many parts; and
at last, on a lonely shore, they saw two men, apparently terrestrials,
dirty and unkempt, their clothing and faces smeared and hair matted
with slime. These men, too feeble to stand without staggering,
signalled to the ship, which settled down to find two of the party of
which they were in search—Congreve and Hewitt. Several of the fellows
came out of the vessel and were told in a few words, rendered painful
by the cracked lips and tongue, where their companions were. Then came
the long and difficult task of getting the six men from the cave,
for they were all too ill to help themselves, and the entrance being
under water it was necessary to dive to get inside. However, it was
accomplished at last, though Dawson became unconscious again with the
effort, and the whole eight were soon on board the _Regina_ and well
looked after.
As they reclined in lounge-chairs enjoying the rest and comfort, and
already feeling considerably better, Bolford remarked,—“Did not the
_Regina_ send the planet ‘Ramsar’ out of its orbit?”
“Yes,” replied Ross, “I regret to say that is the case, I believe.”
“How did you do it, and why?” asked Siddall.
“We approached the planet from between it and Venus, and we must
have left it with a repulsive force and sent it off; it was quite an
accident.”
“But if you approached between it and Venus, and gave it a repulsive
force, it would have gone into the sun!” said Bolford. “I don’t
understand.”
“If you remember,” continued Ross, “we had to go round the world, and
we left it at the side near the sun. The attraction of the sun was so
enormous that we had to steady ourselves by converting some of the
attraction into repulsion, and the planet being then in our wake, must
by that have been projected out of its system, away from the sun.”
“Then how did you find us?” asked several, much interested.
“Rollsborough suggested this solution when we found you’d bolted.
Knowing the exact position when we left, and the planet’s gravity,
speed of travel, and orbit, and all the rest of it, he cleverly worked
out the direction in which you had been hurled and—here you are!”
While Ross was talking, the rest had gathered round, and as he
finished, they asked the mutineers for their story; Holt related the
account of their adventures, that is to say, the version which, while
in the cave, had been agreed upon to present to sympathising friends,—
“On our arrival, the first thing we did was to attach ourselves to the
various departments of science, for Siddall at once suggested that as
we had fallen we must, in the short time we should have to live, do
our best to work well and try to retrieve the past, and in this we all
concurred. We were doing excellent work when the people discovered
they were out of their orbit and blamed us for it. Fearing this was
correct, yet not knowing how, or why, we made light of it, and their
fears were allayed for the time being. However, time passed, and as the
climatic changes which were sure to follow such an event on a world
not intended to be so far away from the sun came along, we were blamed
more and more. To so sorry a pass did matters come that, although we
had been presented with no end of wealth, we had to leave it all, and
fly suddenly for our very lives. They hunted for us everywhere, and we
should have been killed months since, but for the cave.
“We found it by watching an animal dive in; eventually we killed the
beast and then one of us dived under to see if there was any shelter,
and, finding a cave, we lived there in terrible suffering through all
the changes the sudden departure from the sun brought about, till you
came and saved our lives.”
All the listeners, hearing of these unmerited sufferings, were filled
with remorse and, not knowing the actual facts—that a demoralised world
had just been returned to its proper orbit—felt they had been doubly
guilty in causing such disaster and, most of all, in putting the lives
of their eight companions in jeopardy. These expressions of sincere
sympathy were received by the eight victims of an unkind fate as the
apology to which they were entitled, and as the subject of the mutiny
was not referred to, they considered they had kept their good names
untarnished and won but the just reward of their integrity and, not to
be outdone in generosity, they virtuously forgave their commanders, and
unity was again restored.
That same day all the ‘wave’ instruments of Earth received the message,—
“In three days expect the _REGINA!_”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Crown 8vo., 6s.
“The Immortal Light,”
—— BY ——
JOHN MASTIN, F.S.A. +Scot.+,
F.L.S., F.C.S., F.R.A.S., F.R.M.S., R.B.A.,
Author of “The Stolen Planet;” “The True Analysis of Milk;”
“Parasites of Insects;” “Plate-Culture and Staining of Amœbæ;”
“Through the Sun in an Airship,” &c. &c.
——————
It is a scientific romance dealing with the adventures of a South Polar
expedition, and holds the reader in a tremendous grip of interest and
amazement from the first page to the last. Mr. Mastin has used his
profound knowledge of chemistry, physics and art, so delightfully that
the reader is fascinated with the simple, forceful, and convincing way
in which the mysteries of the Antarctic region are explained, and the
deep problems of science treated, and, whilst learning something from
every page, he is carried from adventure to adventure with thrilling
interest. The science and logic are so sound, and the story is so
graphically written that the reader almost believes the adventures
to have really happened. For sheer imaginative power alone the book
demands first place amongst recent publications.
HIS MAJESTY THE KING HAS MOST GRACIOUSLY CONDESCENDED
TO ACCEPT A COPY OF THIS BOOK.
========================================================================
“Profound as is Mr. Mastin’s scientific knowledge, he never lets his
technicalities interfere with the clear understanding of his story,
either explaining them or putting them in such a way as to make them
plain to the uninitiated.”—_Publisher and Bookseller._
“More daring than Poe’s ‘Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket’
is Mr. Mastin’s romance of Antarctic adventure; for Poe, having
introduced a giant ‘of the perfect whiteness of the snow,’ regrets the
loss of his crowning chapters. Certainly, if the matter which they
contained ‘relative to the Pole itself, or at least to regions in its
very near proximity,’ was as sensational as ‘The Immortal Light,’ the
loss is deplorable.... The story is wildly improbable, but confronts
incredulity with a considerable display of scientific detail. A strong
religious feeling animates the last part of the book.”—_Athenæum._
“To say that this is a really clever story is but bestowing on its
author, Mr. John Mastin, praise which is well deserved.... The
experiences of the explorers in conquering the ice barrier of the
South, as told by the writer, makes delightful reading. Although the
story is fiction unadulterated, it is of absorbing interest, and
even the most fastidious reader could not fail to find some charm in
a perusal of its pages.... That the bounds of possibility have been
far overstepped is only natural.... But with rare literary skill the
author discounts these by the many charms of a story which is well
told. The character studies are good, and many excellent word-pictures
are painted in glowing colours by the picturesque pen of the
author.”—_Western Daily Press._
“The book is exceedingly clever and up to date.”—_Glasgow Herald._
“What Jules Verne did with the science of the seventies and eighties,
Mr. Mastin does for the science of to-day.... Youth, if it has a
scientific turn of mind and some imagination, will revel in this
book.... We can heartily congratulate him on the imaginative power
which his book displays. That never flags, and he carries us on from
wonder to wonder as if he need never stop.”—_Sheffield Telegraph._
“Some of the speculations on the wonders of life and the possibilities
of science are broad, ingenious, and fascinating.... From telepathy to
telescopes which see everywhere, and from rides on ether to steel that
will line coats, Mr. Mastin ranges with plausible certitude.... ‘The
Immortal Light’ is an amazing book.”—_Sheffield Daily Independent._
“The plot is exciting.”—_Morning Leader._
“Mr. Mastin is thoroughly up to date in his paraphernalia.”—_Yorkshire
Post._
“But the work, while an intelligent boy could not read it without a
keen enjoyment, has a scientific weight, a plausibility of inductive
and deductive reasoning upon a basis of natural law, which takes it
well out of the category of the merely fantastic.”—_Scotsman._
“There are minute descriptions of all the wonderful inventions made
by a strange race which talks Latin and lives underground. The author
is evidently a learned scientist and ... quite as accurate as Jules
Verne.... He possesses a vivid imagination.... I may safely recommend
the story.”—_John Bull._
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Crown 8vo., 3s. 6d.
“The Stolen Planet,”
A SCIENTIFIC ROMANCE,
—— BY ——
JOHN MASTIN, F.S.A. +Scot.+,
F.L.S., F.C.S., F.R.A.S., F.R.M.S., R.B.A.,
Author of “The Immortal Light;” “The True Analysis of Milk;”
“Parasites of Insects;” “Plate-Culture and Staining of Amœbæ;”
“Through the Sun in an Airship,” &c. &c.
——————
=Sir Wyke Bayliss, late President of the Royal Society of British
Artists, on reading Mr. Mastin’s M.S. of “THE STOLEN PLANET,” wrote:
“It is a long time since I have read anything so brilliant.”=
=His Majesty the King has most graciously condescended to accept a copy
of this book.=
=H.R.H. the Princess of Wales has graciously condescended to accept a
copy of this book on behalf of H.R.H. Prince Edward of Wales.=
——————
It is impossible to give in a few lines any adequate idea of the
amazing adventures of Jervis Meredith and his friend Fraser Burnley in
their journeys through the unlimited space of the stellar universe,
their visits to the various planets in their magnificently propelled
vessel, and the fantastically humorous situation which brings their
exploits to a fitting conclusion. Even Mr. H. G. Wells and his famous
predecessor, Jules Verne, have not handled their subjects with such
complete success as Mr. Mastin has done in this, his first imaginative
work.
========================================================================
“It is a graphic and exciting tale.”—_The Times._
“Certain it is that the reading of this capital story will prove
exciting, for compared with the adventures therein written, the books
of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells read like the placid pages of Miss
Austen’s novels.”—_Daily Telegraph._
“The adventures ... are told with a verve which never flags. As a
consequence, the reader, who is attracted by the rollicking schoolboy
humour of the opening chapters, soon becomes absorbed, and is carried
wondering from adventure to adventure.”—_Sheffield Daily Telegraph._
“An interesting story in the Jules Verne manner.”—_The Bookman._
“Without the extraordinary detail that Jules Verne introduces into
his stories, it adopts a scientific basis throughout, and the reader
takes an interesting journey through space.... The story will make a
capital gift-book for boys of a scientific turn of mind.”—_Publishers’
Circular._
“The wonders of Jules Verne pale before this thrilling account of a
voyage through the air to other worlds.”—_Outlook._
“Mr. Mastin’s ingenious and engaging fantasy ... he is to be commended
for resource, ingenuity, and persistent vigour of narrative.”—_Glasgow
Herald._
“The experiences of the two men in their aerostat make most exciting
reading.”—_Aberdeen Free Press._
“Our heroes sailed away in an aerostat and met with many unique
adventures ... it might really all have happened.”—_Publisher and
Bookseller._
————————————————————————
_Companion book to “Through the Sun in an Airship.”_
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
CHARLES GRIFFIN & Co., Ltd., Exeter Street, Strand, LONDON.
Transcriber’s Notes:
• Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
• Text enclosed by pluses is in small caps (+small caps+).
• Text enclosed by equals is in Antiqua (=Antiqua=).
• Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
• Errata on page 314 have been applied.
• In chapter 13, there is a reference to “the devastating eruption
and earthquake of 2316 +a.d.+”, which is obviously incorrect.
But the transcriber could not find a candidate for the actual
date, so it is left as-is.