[Frontispiece: "Zarlah's car was hurled upwards into space with
frightful velocity."]
Zarlah The Martian
By
R. Norman Grisewood
1909
_Zarlah, The Martian_
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE STRANGE SHADOW
II. THE MARTIAN
III. THE VOICE FROM ANOTHER WORLD
IV. THE STORY OF MARTIAN LIFE
V. THE HAZARDOUS UNDERTAKING
VI. "AS OTHERS SEE US"
VII. THE MELODY OF FLOWERS AND ZARLAH
VIII. A HUNDRED MILES A MINUTE IN AN AERENOID
IX. THE REALIZATION OF A HOPELESS LOVE
X. ZARLAH'S CONFESSION
XI. THE DISCOVERY AT THE MARTIAN OBSERVATORY
XII. THE WARNING OF DANGER--THE RACE WITH DEATH
XIII. THE END OF A PERILOUS JOURNEY
XIV. HURLED FROM THE MOON
ZARLAH, THE MARTIAN.
CHAPTER I.
THE STRANGE SHADOW.
So thrilling were my experiences during that period, so overcrowded with
feverish action and strong emotions was each wonderful moment, and so
entirely changed are the conditions of life as I now find it, that it is
with considerable difficulty that I recall in detail all that happened
prior to my remarkable discovery which opened communication between
Earth and Mars. One says "discovery" advisedly, but let it not be
imagined that communication with the planet Mars was established as a
result of any careful and systematic research, or that I possessed a
subtle genius for astronomical science that was destined to introduce
into society what must eventually revolutionize it. Nothing could be
further from the facts. Into the daily grind of my absolutely uneventful
career, burst the almost terrifying revelations with a suddenness that
stunned me, while I was engaged in experiments of an entirely extraneous
nature. Albeit one wonders that the Martian rays, which have swept our
planet with their searching gaze for so many centuries, were not
discovered long ago. But this is anticipating my story.
I had reached the age of thirty, when, in the Spring of 19--, I sailed
out of New York harbor on board _La Provence_, en route for Paris. It
was not so much my purpose to seek pleasure as the determination to turn
my eight years of experience in the United States to some avenue of
profitable livelihood, that decided me to make the journey, although I
looked forward with no small degree of pleasant anticipation to meeting
some of my fellow students in the Académie des Sciences in Paris, where
I had received five years of excellent training.
My trip across and my subsequent arrival in Paris were without any
events of particular interest, and one bright morning in the early
summer I found myself comfortably lodged in the house where I had
previously boarded while a student. Connected with my rooms, which were
at the top of the house, was one of considerable size that I had
formerly used as a laboratory, and this I now set about fitting up to
serve the same purpose. The daylight found its way into the room through
a skylight, and though admirably suited for an artist's studio, it
answered my purpose equally as well.
I had collected many new instruments and appliances by dint of days
spent in shopping, and was anxious to begin work in earnest, when one
evening, as I glanced through the columns of a newspaper, my attention
was arrested by an article of particular interest. This set forth the
great and increasing demand for a substitute for glass, one which would
answer the purpose in every respect, and at the same time be
indestructible and a good conductor of sound. The article concluded with
an enumeration of the many uses for which such a substitute would be
invaluable, hinting at the enormous financial possibilities which would
be open to the inventor. The more I considered the matter, the more
desirous I became to test several theories which forthwith presented
themselves to my mind, and the next morning found me determined to begin
my experiments at once. In theory, I saw the solution of the problem in
artificially producing increased atomic motion, and with that object in
view I went to work.
My experiments involved me in weeks of hard work, and it was toward the
end of the summer before I could admit having had any important results.
I now had a substance resembling glass in appearance, though vastly
different in composition, which I made into a film, extremely thin and
highly sensitive to vibrations. Running through this film were slender
wires made of various metals, about one inch apart, which served not
only to give rigidity to the film, but also to conduct a current of
electricity through it, engendering a high state of atomic agitation.
The current was controlled by a small switch placed in a heavy box-like
frame, which bounded the film on its four sides and contained the
batteries, coils, etc. To this were attached four legs, supporting it
about the height of an ordinary table from the floor. The whole device
measured about seven feet square.
This film substance contained certain elements which I had found to be
necessary to secure the desired intensity of agitation. It had taken me
almost a month to secure the fine quality I desired, and I looked
forward to the test with the feeling that results would prove that I was
nearing the goal, if I had not actually attained it.
At last the day arrived when my device was ready for the test. I had
worked all the afternoon giving the finishing touches and it had grown
dusk without my realizing it. But everything was now ready, and moving
the switch, I turned the current of electricity through the composition.
Just as I was about to begin my test, I noticed what appeared to be a
faint shadow of a man move across the surface of the film. My first
thought was that someone had entered the room without my knowledge, and
his figure had been reflected on the surface of the film, which was
highly glazed, but a glance around the room assured me that this
explanation was untenable. Moreover, I found, upon further
investigation, that the film was lying in such a position that it would
be impossible to reflect any person in the room. I then examined the
skylight, only to find that, owing to the sharp inclination of the roof,
it would be an utter impossibility for anyone to reach it from the
outside without the aid of a ladder. I investigated this source further,
thinking to find the reflection on the film to be from some street in
the city below, but on account of the extent of the roof, no street was
visible from the skylight.
Completely baffled, I descended into the room again and turned on the
current. Immediately the shadow appeared on the film, and this time, in
consequence of the room now being quite dark, I noticed that it was
surrounded by a phosphorus-colored glow. The figure was certainly that
of a man, although very faint, and it became evident to me, after
watching it for a while, that he was trying to signal with his arms.
I now noticed that, in addition to the peculiar light on the film, the
entire surface seemed to vibrate with frequent, but scarcely audible,
humming sounds. Upon turning off the current all disappeared, only to
reappear when I switched it on again. It was evident then that the
phenomenon was caused only when the instrument was charged with
electricity, and consequently was no ordinary reflection, as I had at
first supposed.
Everything pointed to its being the manifestation of some outside
agency; possibly electrical waves which my apparatus received and in a
measure responded to, coming through the open skylight from--where? The
question reiterated itself in my mind, as I stood gazing perplexedly at
the phenomenon. I might have been satisfied with the supposition that,
unknowingly, I had made an instrument which was capable of receiving
wireless waves from another instrument of similar tone in or near Paris,
if I had had only the humming sounds to contend with, but the shadow
impelled me to look for the reason further than this. I glanced upward,
eagerly seeking some explanation. One star was visible through the open
skylight--Mars. Clear and bright it shone in the inky blackness framed
by the window.
Once more I climbed to the skylight, feeling that I must seek the
explanation in that direction, when my attention was suddenly turned to
the apparatus below me. The glow was slowly passing off one side of the
film. I hastily descended and examined the batteries, thinking I would
find the cause of this in a failing current, but all was apparently in
perfect order. Still the glow and shadow moved steadily off, growing
fainter every moment, until it disappeared completely.
With a sudden impulse, born of a weird and almost terrifying thought, I
bent over until my eyes were on a level with the film, then I looked
upward; the star was no longer visible from the position of the
instrument, it had risen above the frame of the window. At once I was
seized with an intense excitement; could it be possible that my
apparatus was responding to waves mysteriously projected from Mars? If
not, why had the glow and shadow faded from the film at the same instant
that Mars disappeared above the window frame?
Hoping to test this further, I endeavored to move the apparatus to a
position where Mars would again be visible, but alas, I found it much
too heavy. I felt keenly disappointed at the sudden termination of this
strange phenomenon, but, upon reflection, I realized that it was only
the simultaneous disappearance of Mars and the glow on the film that had
caused me to attribute waves to that far source. The more I pondered
upon the matter, the more impossible it seemed, yet, strange to say, the
more convinced I became that the theory was correct. Light-waves, I
argued, unlike the wireless waves in common use, could be received only
when the two objects were in line of vision; but I realized that if they
were of Martian origin they were of remarkable magnification, projected
through space by some unknown and powerful agent, thousands of times
more powerful than electricity as we know it upon Earth. That the shadow
on the film had been that of a Martian, I dared not hope. Though my mind
continually reverted to this wild conjecture, I impatiently put it
aside, as the apparent impossibility of it all would force itself upon
me.
Nothing further could be done that night, and as I had worked hard all
day preparing for my experiment, without even stopping for meals, I now
felt the effect of the excitement I had undergone and resolved to take a
walk in the cool air, I wanted to think, and, if possible, to plan a
line of action for the morrow which would bring me better results, if my
theory of light-waves should prove to be correct. Needless to say, I
determined to cease my former experiments, and devote all my energy to
ascertaining whether my apparatus was actually responding to Martian
light-waves of remarkable integrity, and if such proved to be the case,
to put every effort into improving the device with the hope of obtaining
their import. I also determined to keep my discovery a secret, at least
for the present.