HOME AGAIN.
We owed our salvation to Mr. Carmichael. The firing of our magazine
rifles, followed by the news of our perilous situation, had roused him
from his lethargy. Although still unable to speak, he had contrived by
means of his eyes to make his daughter understand that he wished another
dose of oxygen. When she was about to administer it, he called her
attention to the fact that in expanding as it issued from the cylinder,
the gas became very cold. She caught his meaning instantly, and on
applying the gas to the sensitive parts of the machinery had succeeded
in cooling and releasing them.
It seems that Carmichael, in order to save time, had been working the
engines at an unusually high speed, which, together with the heat of the
sun, had caused them to jam. Their enforced rest had of itself allowed
them to cool somewhat, and by reducing the speed until we reached a
cooler region, they did not stick again.
Carmichael recovered from his illness, and the journey to the earth was
accomplished without accident. We landed safely on some undiscovered
islands in the Arctic Circle, and after a flying visit to the North Pole
in the vicinity, we bore away for England, keeping as high over the sea
as possible to escape notice. Going southward we passed through all
sorts of weather, thick snow, hurricanes of wind and rain, dry or wet
fogs, and so forth; but it made no difference to us. Crossing
Spitzbergen, the car was frosted over with ice needles, which, however,
were soon thawed by a warmer current of air. Between Iceland and the
coast of Norway we glided through a magnificent aurora borealis that
covered the whole sky with a luminous curtain, and made us fancy we had
floated unawares into the fabulous Niffleheim of the old Scandinavian
gods. Near the Faroe Islands we dashed into a violent thunderstorm, and
were almost deafened by the terrific explosions, or blinded by the
flashes of lightning. Otherwise we could enjoy both of these electrical
displays without fear, as the metallic shell of the car was a good
protective screen. Certainly our flying machine would be an excellent
means of making observations in meteorology, from the sampling of
cirrus cloud to the chasing of a tornado.
The first sign of man we saw was a ship rolling in a storm off the
Hebrides; but apparently she was not in distress, else we should have
gone to her succour. How easy with such a car to rescue lives and
property from sinking ships, and even patrol the seas in search of them!
The sun was setting in purple and gold as we approached the English
coast, and although at our elevation we were still in sunshine, the
twilight had begun to gather over the distant land. The first sound we
heard was the moaning of the tide along the shore, and the mournful
sighing of the wind among the trees. Hills, fields, and woods lay
beneath us like a garden in miniature. The lamps and fires of lonely
villages and farmhouses twinkled like glow-worms in the dusk. A railway
train, with its white puff of smoke and lighted carriages, seemed to be
crawling like a fiery caterpillar along the ground; but in a few moments
we had left it far behind. As it grew darker and darker we descended
nearer to the surface. A herd of sheep stood huddled on the grass, and
stared at us; a flock of geese ran cackling into a farmyard; the
watch-dog barked and tugged furiously at his chain; a little boy
screamed with fright.
"That sounds homely," said the professor to Miss Carmichael and myself,
who were standing with him on the gallery outside the car. "It's the
sweetest music I've heard for many a day. Certainly Venus was a charming
place, but I for one am jolly glad to get home again."
Yes, I must confess that I too felt a deep and tranquil pleasure in
returning to the familiar scenes and the beloved soil of my infancy.
"You don't seem to care much for Venus," said Miss Carmichael to Gazen.
"Probably if you had been born there you would have liked it better."
"That may be. If you would like a place, it is well to be born in it."
"Perhaps if you are a good boy you will go to Venus when you die."
"I'm afraid it won't suit my mental constitution. They don't care for
science there, and I don't care for anything else. Mars would fit me
better, I imagine."
"Venus is my favourite," said Miss Carmichael.
"Well, then, it's good enough for me," responded Gazen.
Their talk set me thinking of Alumion, and my strange fancy that I had
known her in another world. Suddenly it occurred to me that in many of
her ways and looks she bore a singular resemblance to my first love, who
had died in childhood. That was nearly seventeen years ago.
Seventeen--it was just the age of Alumion. Could it be possible that she
and Alumion were one and the same soul?
"I should like to go back to Venus," said Miss Carmichael. "We can go
there now at any time."
"Of course we can," replied Gazen; "and to Mars as well. Your father's
invention opens up a bewildering prospect of complications in the
universe. So long as each planet was isolated, and left to manage its
own affairs, the politics of the solar system were comparatively simple;
but what will they be when one globe interferes with another? Think of a
German fleet of ether-ships on the prowl for a cosmical empire,
bombarding Womla, and turning it into a Prussian fortress, or an
emporium for cheap goods."
"Father was talking of that very matter the other night," said Miss
Carmichael, "and he declared that rather than see any harm come to Womla
he would keep his invention a secret--at all events for a thousand years
longer."
We had glided rapidly across the Black Country, with its furnaces and
forges blazing in the darkness, and now the dull red glow of the
metropolis was visible on the horizon. Half-an-hour later we descended
in the garden of Carmichael's cottage, and found everything as snug as
when we had left it.
Leaving my fellow-travellers there, I took the train for London, and was
driven to my club, where I intended to sleep. It was a raw wet evening,
and in spite of a certain joy at being home again, I could not help
feeling that my heart was no longer here, but in another planet. After
the sublime deserts of space, and the delightful paradise of Womla, the
busy streets, the blinding glare of the lamps, the splashing vehicles,
the blatant newspaper men, the swarms of people crossing each other's
paths, and occasionally kicking each other's heels, everyone intent on
his own affairs of business or pleasure, were disenchanting, to say the
least. I seemed to have awakened from a beautiful dream, and fallen into
a dismal nightmare.
In the smoking-room of the club the first person I saw was my friend the
Viscount, who was sitting just where I had left him on the night we
started for Venus, with his glass of toddy before him, and a cigar
between his lips.
"Hallo!" he exclaimed on seeing me. "Haven't seen you for some
time--must be nearly two months. Been abroad? You look brown."
"Yes."
"Well, suppose we finish our game of chess."
"With pleasure."
"You remember the wager--a thousand to a hundred sovereigns that I win."
He was the better player, and although I had a slight advantage in the
game as it stood, I was by no means certain of winning, especially as I
was tired and sleepy; but ever since my sojourn in Venus, my intellect
had been unusually clear and active. I played as I had never played
before, and in three moves had won the wager.
"That will pay my travelling expenses," said I, pocketing his cheque.
* * * * *
I ought perhaps to mention that Professor Gazen carried out his
intention of reading a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society on his
alleged discovery of a diurnal nutation or "wobbling" of the planet
Venus; but I regret to say that owing to preconceived opinions and
personal prejudices, his ingenious theory met with a reception far below
its merits. By the terms of our agreement he was forbidden to divulge
the secret of our expedition until my own account appeared, but some
telescopic observations he had made since coming home had provided him
with independent proofs.
"Do you think Professor Possil will be present?" said I to him, as we
dined together before we went to the meeting.
"Sure to be," replied Gazen. "He never misses an opportunity of
attacking me. 'Tis the nature of the animal. But I flatter myself I
shall get the laugh on him this time."
The hall was full. The hearty welcome of the Fellows showed their high
appreciation of Professor Gazen, and made me feel quite proud of his
acquaintance. They listened to his discourse on the movements of Venus,
and his new hypothesis, with all the solemnity of a Roman senate
deliberating on the destiny of a nation. When he had finished in a salvo
of applause, the president, a man of grave and dignified demeanour, as
became his office, complimented the author on his communication, which
from the startling novelty of the subject would, he believed, give rise
to an interesting discussion, and after calling on Professor Possil, he
resumed his chair. That illustrious man, whose insignificant appearance
belied his fame, responded to the invitation with a show of reluctance,
from a conspicuous place in the front row of the audience, and
immediately assailed the new hypothesis in his most uncompromising
fashion.
"Never in his experience of the Society," he said, "and never perhaps in
the history of astronomy, had an alleged discovery of such magnitude and
consequence been promulgated on the strength of such flimsy evidence;"
and after traversing in detail all the arguments of his opponent, he
declared it his firm conviction that the effects which Professor Gazen
had thought fit to advance as a "discovery," were neither more nor less
than an optical illusion, not to say a mental hallucination.
Judging from the applause which greeted his remarks, the majority of his
hearers were evidently of the same opinion.
A grim smile settled on my companion's face, and I could see that he
maintained his temper with increasing difficulty, as one speaker after
another delivered his mind in much the same sarcastic style of
criticism.
At length his turn came to make a reply.
"Mr. President and gentlemen," said he with an air of smiling
confidence, "at this late hour I do not propose to occupy the meeting
with a refutation of all the various comments of the distinguished
Fellows who have spoken; but as my learned friend, Professor Possil, has
thought fit to charge me with bringing my discovery before the Society
on insufficient grounds, I think it right to say that I possess much
more conclusive evidence, which for the present, circumstances have
prevented me from laying before you."
"Mr. President," exclaimed the celebrated Possil, starting to his feet,
"I should like to ask whether it is altogether in good faith for a
Fellow of this Society to bring forward what he calls a discovery, and
keep back the most important part of the proof. Might I enquire of the
author of the paper what is the nature of this suppressed evidence?"
"Simply that I have been there," answered Gazen, forgetting his promise
to me in the excitement of the combat.
"Where?" demanded the astonished Possil.
"Venus."
There was a loud burst of sceptical laughter.
"I think, sir," said Professor Possil to the Chair, with exasperating
coolness, "I think, sir, that after the astounding revelation of the
learned professor, we shall be perfectly justified in concluding on
sufficient evidence that the professor's head, and not the planet Venus,
has been 'wobbling' of late."
"What I say is true," cried Gazen, nettled at this rude insinuation.
Cries of "Order, order," "withdraw," "apologise," resounded on every
side.
"I cannot apologise for the truth," retorted Gazen hotly.
"Mr. President," continued the pugnacious and imperturbable Fossil, "I
venture to submit that the preposterous assertions we have just heard
are better adapted to a meeting of the Fellows of Colney Hatch than of
this Society, and I beg to move that our unfortunate friend be called
upon to leave the meeting in charge of some responsible person, who will
conduct him safely to his home, and deliver him into the custody of his
friends."
"Come on! They're a pack of fools!" cried Gazen to me hoarsely, as,
followed by the jeers of his companions, he arose and left the room.
* * * * *
I have only to add that Professor Gazen and Miss Carmichael are about
to be married. For myself, as soon as the ceremony is over I shall
return to Venus and Alumion.
THE END.