"Surely you can't mean that!" I exclaimed.
"I do mean it," he said firmly. "For the good of Terra these creatures
of Njambai must be watched. We have only a surface knowledge of them
and their resources. What if they should bring forward other means of
spanning space besides our car?
"Can't you see," the professor went on passionately, "that my misguided
enthusiasm painted the wonders of Earth in such glowing colors that King
Gaddbai will strain every effort to gratify his cupidity and lust for
conquest? I must remain here to combat him and hold him in check."
"Sir," said I in trepidation, "I think you take fright too easily. Once
we leave Njambai in the car, it will be impossible for any of the
Baigadds to follow us. You overestimate their possible resources."
"Whatever is possible cannot be overestimated. It may chance that I
alone shall stand between this resolute monarch and the welfare and
happiness of Terra. To desert my post would be cowardice. Do not seek
to argue with me, for I made up my mind to this last night."
The reckless indifference with which I had fared forth from the city
gave place to deep sorrow. Professor Quinn observed this and continued:
"Do not exercise yourself over my fate, Mr. Munn. I removed four rabid
enemies of the people from our planet and I give back to it four eminent
reformers. My end has been accomplished beyond my fondest dreams if
this is brought to pass.
"And then, too, there is a work that I can do here, even if my dire
imaginings prove unfounded. I can, after I know these Mercurials
better, lead them perhaps to a higher round in the ladder of
civilization. With the pattern of our earthly institutions before my
eyes, I can choose the good, eliminate the evil, and build a fabric here
that will be a glory to whatever resources the orb may possess. Is it
not a fair destiny for one who was laughed out of the Astronomical
Society because he dared to have convictions as I did?"
"It is a destiny, professor," said I, "which I intend to share with you.
You remain here, and so do I. Possibly you may become prime minister; I
will be executioner-general. Between us, we will have control of the
situation."
"That is not to be thought of," answered the professor hastily. "If it
is possible for the exiles to escape in the car, you must accompany them
as the one cool-headed, resourceful man capable of guiding the car to
its destination. I shall instruct you carefully and fully.
"And besides," he added, as I was about to demur, "you are a changed
man, Mr. Munn. There is work for you on the home planet, for your native
worth is to retrieve itself on the very scene of your unworthy exploits.
I trust you follow me? Pardon me if I hurt your feelings by being too
frank."
He had, wittingly or unwittingly, touched the vital chord which made me
eager to regain the world I knew and loved. To stand fair in the sight
of men who had known me at my worst was now my one consuming desire.
"Is this your wish, Professor Quinn?" I asked huskily.
"It is, Mr. Munn."
"Then I shall follow your instructions to the letter."
"Do so," he said, with one of his rare smiles. "And if our dear desires
compass fulfillment, open this packet when you have left Njambai and are
in the great void. It will be my last word to you and your fellow
voyagers in space."
He handed a sealed packet to me and I placed it carefully in my breast
pocket. Then a hand-clasp followed in which heart went out to heart as
it rarely does between man and man.
"Look, Mr. Munn!" exclaimed the professor, releasing my palm. "We have
reached the car."
*CHAPTER XVIII.*
*HOW WE OUTWITTED THE KING.*
We had come to a point in the under-world which the reflected rays of
the sun reached but dimly. There would have been semi-gloom but for an
unreflected glow that fell upon us from above.
The car, as has been brought out in the course of this narrative, had
been blown into the crater of a dead volcano. This crater may be
likened to a deep basin, pierced with a huge hole at the bottom.
Through the hole fell daylight from the outer shell, bathing the car in
a soft radiance. The projectile-shaped house was standing upright, and
appeared to have suffered no injury by its fall.
Professor Quinn had already explained to me how this might be possible.
The screens of the anti-gravity cubes had been left open by five
decrees.
The energy of the cubes lightened the house to an extent that made it
offer less than normal resistance to the tempest, and it also buoyed it
to withstand the shock of a tumble from the upper crust of the sphere.
How like an old friend that car looked! My heart labored at the mere
sight of it. It was to be our bridge through space, if so we could
contrive; although it might easily fall out to prove a bridge for the
king and the Gaddbaizets to the earth's undoing.
After we had halted at the base of the car, the king approached the
professor.
"Your metal house is intact and uninjured," said his majesty, "save for
the door that gives admittance to it. It was necessary to burn out the
lock with a draft of zet before the door could be opened. The telescope
and the tub of white pigment have both been replaced, and you will, I
think, find all your goods and chattels intact. How long before we can
start?"
"Let me first understand your arrangements, your majesty," the professor
answered. "Are you, or Olox, to guide the car through space to your
intended destination?"
"You are to do that. Neither I nor Olox could manage the car, I fear."
"Then I am to accompany you?"
"I have so decided."
"What of my friends?"
"They are to be left here. You need not worry about them, however, as
they will be well cared for. I have already given proof of my interest
in them."
"Before I can give you an answer as to when it will be well to start,"
Quinn remarked, after a little thought, "I shall have to go into the car
and make some calculations."
"We will go in with you," returned the king.
"I should prefer to take only Mr. Munn with me, sir."
The king became suspicious, and Olox got the royal ear and said
something in an undertone on his word-box.
"You and Munn may go in," the king said when Olox had finished, "but we
shall keep the rest of your friends with us while you are making your
calculations."
"Very well."
The professor and I thereupon entered the car, watched with some
apprehension by Meigs and the rest. Possibly they feared that we were
about to desert them; if so, the look the professor gave them must have
set their fears at rest.
A survey of the interior of the car showed everything to be exactly as
we had left it. The door at the top of the iron stairway had been
forced precisely as the other at the outside entrance had been, but this
was a matter of small importance.
The oxygen tank was intact, and the professor showed me how to
manipulate the lever that regulated the supply necessary for the car;
there was still plenty of water, of good quality, in the reservoir, and
of food, such as we were accustomed to, there was an abundance.
Everything appeared to be in proper order and just as it should be.
"We are very fortunate, Mr. Munn," said Quinn, seating himself on a box.
"I brought you in here with me less to have your help in examining the
interior of the car than to seize an opportunity for giving you a few
directions which you will find of use.
"When we left Earth we started at an hour which gave us a course that
angled sunward; when you leave Njambai, however, you must do so at an
hour when this part of the planet is turned away from the sun, and as
far away as possible. That will cause the car to be hurled toward the
outer edge of the solar system and in the direction of the earth's
orbit.
"I wish I could inform you as to the exact position the earth will be in
when you cross its orbit, but the king's mad project was sprung so
suddenly, and he has acted upon his plan so quickly, that I have had no
time for calculations in that respect.
"Your business, however, will be to overhaul the Earth. The telescope
will inform you of the planet's position, and by properly regulating the
screens of the cubes you can hang in the orbit of Terra until it reaches
you; then, once within its influence, shut off the energy of the cubes
and suffer the car to fall to its surface. Do I make myself plain?"
"Entirely so, professor," I replied.
"You understand the dangers of landing. All you can do is to experiment
with the atmosphere while you are falling, exactly as we did when
landing here. On your quickness and discretion will depend the lives of
yourself and the others who will be with you."
"It is a great responsibility, sir," said I, "but you can depend upon me
to do my utmost to avoid a disaster."
He pressed my hand to assure me of his confidence.
"Midnight to-night will be the hour to start. The crater of the volcano
will then be at its farthest from the sun. I shall so inform the king
when we leave the car."
"Have you thought of any plan whereby we may outwit his majesty?" I
inquired.
"I have thought of it. Prior to the moment, of embarking, I shall
request his majesty to allow you and the rest of our friends to come
aboard while I detain him and his followers outside for a few final
instructions. The king will suspect nothing, for he will not imagine
that I would allow you to escape and leave me behind."
"I shudder to think of that part of it," I murmured. "Will you not
reconsider your determination, professor?"
"No, Mr. Munn. On that point I am adamant. The instant you enter the
car, hurry aloft and set loose the oxygen. I will drop this bit of rope
near the door when we leave, and you will have to make use of it to tie
the door securely shut on the inside. Mind what I tell you--do not pull
the lever until the door is securely closed."
"I will remember."
"The car is exactly under the crater opening, and you will have a clear
path aloft. Therefore I would advise that you throw the lever to ninety
the instant the door is fastened."