THE NORTHERN ISLAND
Carmichael lowered somewhat the height of the Asteroid in a gradual
diagonal, till they were only at a moderate altitude, so as to be able
to observe anything of interest at reasonably close quarters. The first
thing to be done was to ascertain whether the air of Venus was suited
to human beings from another world.
Fortunately, the stormy commotion had its seat in the higher regions
of the atmosphere, at least on that occasion, so that finding more
reposeful conditions nearer to the surface, the Professor advised that
the experiment should be tried.
Radcliffe stepped forward to one of the large windows and was about to
unfasten when Carysfort shouted out, “Hold, man! are you mad? Do you
suppose that we want a whole blizzard of untried air let loose upon us?
Allow Carmichael to manage this business.”
Poor Radcliffe stepped back aghast, while Abercromby laughed. The
Professor, with a smile, moved to one of the side walls and took down
a case of books, which revealed a small round panel about as large as
a crown piece. He motioned them to stand clear, and then he touched a
spring and the panel flew open.
“Bravo!” said Frank; “you have foreseen every blessed contrivance that
we shall want.”
“I only hope I have,” said he. “Now, you fellows, just take a sniff and
see how you like it.”
A thin, crisp current of air, slightly perfumed and perfectly
delicious, penetrated slowly through the room. The panel was left open
for ten minutes, till the Professor, quite reassured, told them that
they might enjoy an even larger dose than Radcliffe would have given
them--they could venture out upon the balcony. With a hop and a skip
Abercromby was in the open air within a few seconds, though he used
most unparliamentary language, for the first thing he nearly did in
Venus was to lose his hat, he only just contrived to catch it in time,
or, as he said, it would have been the first gift that the earth would
have bestowed upon a new planet.
“The waves are not much higher than our own waves, though they seem to
show a great swell and current,” said the engineer.
“The reason is,” replied the Professor, “that Venus having no moon, and
the sun’s attraction making up for it, the tides here will be somewhat
like the terrestrial.”
For two hours they sped on to the south, the sun slowly rising in the
sky but the heat not increasing to any great or serious extent. The
ice-packs had of course disappeared, but the wide open sea stretched
before them with its fresh and turbulent waves. At the end of the two
hours a great and startling discovery set all their hearts wildly
beating with hope. On the southern horizon appeared a line of high
cliffs rising straight out of the water, whether they betokened island
or continent they could not tell.
As the Asteroid drew nearer--for they increased their rate of
speed--they saw with some regret that the cliffs presented no
possibility of anchorage or landing-place. Not that this mattered
to them, for an airship was quite free and independent of any naval
convenience, but it made it most improbable that they would find an
inhabited country.
Directly they had soared above the cliffs a cry of delight escaped
them: they were in a crater-like land. A lake shone in the centre,
while the country, thickly wooded in places and interspread with
luxuriant meadow, sloped upwards to a chain of hills about twenty miles
away to the south. Westwards they could trace the curving line of the
elevated coast, but eastwards it was not so easy to tell how far the
land extended.
“Thank God! At last! at last!” exclaimed Radcliffe fervently. “We will
be content with what we have.”
“The best attitude in which to look for more,” said the Professor
quietly. “There are no traces of human beings, civilised or savage,
but the locality will suit perfectly for a few days of rest and quiet
explorations.”
“Could we only know there _was_ a city on Venus,” remarked Carysfort,
“I should scarcely like to drop down upon it the very first moment.
Better to get acclimatised.”
The Asteroid was steered to the south side of the lake, which was long
and narrow. The Professor prudently selected a little hilltop looking
down upon the lake, but sprinkled with trees and carpeted with rich,
soft, mossy grass. Upon this the Asteroid carefully descended. It only
required the grappling irons to be fixed in the ground and a lashing
of ropes to the stems of two adjacent trees, and then a reasonably
secure site would have been gained. It was rather a twilight land, for
the sun was hidden behind the hills, but this was a relief and not a
disadvantage.
The first thing they did was to sit down to a quiet meal, which they
partook of in the machine, for Carmichael would not hear of any
out-of-door picnic. He insisted that no excursion should be taken till
they had had some hours of sleep, and they were all nearly exhausted.
The Professor and Jackson stepped down and attended to the safe
securing of the machine, and then they had, in turns, the longest
repose they had ever enjoyed since leaving their own world.
When they met the next morning and were breakfasting, the first thing
Abercromby wanted to hear was the programme for the day.
“Now, gentlemen,” said the Professor, “I will just say one word on
a certain subject, and then leave it to your good sense and hold my
peace. God--for I believe in God--has brought us here after a frightful
voyage across space, and perils both at either end, and occasionally
in the midst, enough to have sent weaker men stark mad. Don’t let us,
by any rashness or indiscretion, throw away all our advantages and
perhaps our lives. They belong to the human race, not to ourselves. We
want to live to return and to tell what we have seen. The peril of the
air is past, but danger lurks in the fruits and flowers, in the water,
in the soil, and also among the people, if there are any. Columbus was
in no such danger ever, for, though all around him was new and strange,
he was still on his own planet. Touch no food till some little time
has passed, but live on our own earthly supplies, which will last us
several months at the least. Taste no water till I have chemically
analysed it. Do not indulge in dangerous climbing. Do not straggle away
from the machine--at least, alone--and always carry your revolvers with
you, so that you can use them as signals if you need them, not for
defence. I should not say half as much as this were we in the wildest
part of Central Africa. But here, in Venus, we are just like new-born
children with all our experience to make as we go along, and all the
learning of earth cannot directly help us, except in guiding our common
sense. Now I have said my say. I am pleading for my brothers on the
earth, for whom we have done and risked all this.”
“I agree with everything you say,” replied Carysfort, “and will
practise it. I suppose Cromwell would tell us, were he alive, to trust
in God and keep our eyes open, which will be more important here than
keeping our powder dry.”
“I will go about in a bath-chair if it is to benefit humanity,” said
Abercromby.
“Very well,” said the Professor, just a tiny bit cross; “I take that
remark to mean that you won’t be a donkey. Now let us change the
subject.”
They discussed at a considerable length what they should first set
about. It was decided that two should be left behind on guard, and that
a rocket should be sent up in the event of danger requiring the others
to return. The travellers should be absent not more than three hours,
they should walk to the western end of the lake and strike the cliffs
at the angle of the shore so as to gain some idea of the coast-line
away to the southern hills. In the rare event of some terrible danger
overtaking them, the Asteroid should be brought to them, to scatter
enemies, or to rescue from peril. The Professor would fire off a signal
rocket himself. Their guns were not, on this occasion, to be used as
signals, as they might want them for other purposes. Carysfort and
Jackson consented to remain behind, and gave their word not to move out
of sight of the machine, while one of them was always to be within it.
Then the ladder was let down and the party trod the soil of Venus for
the first time.