A HUNDRED MILES A MINUTE IN AN AERENOID.
Reon was at his place by the levers when I stepped into the aerenoid,
and as I closed and fastened the steel door, we slowly rose, and
describing a large circle, sailed toward the canal. As the sun was now
low in the heavens, numerous open aerenoids were to be seen, but these
were soon passed, and within a few minutes we had reached the branch
canal where our speed increased.
My thoughts were now turned to the long journey before me. So deeply
absorbed had I been in the rapid events since I left the observatory,
that I had given little thought to time. My great happiness at meeting
and being with Zarlah had caused me to forget completely the importance
of returning to the observatory within two hours, and as the thought
now flashed through my mind, I hastily consulted the time. To my great
dismay I found I had but twenty minutes in which to cover quarter of
Mars. This I knew was possible, but it left such a narrow margin that
any delay or accident, en route, would prove disastrous to our plans,
thus bringing fatal consequences.
We had now reached the large canal in which we had attained such great
speed, and, rising, we proceeded to pass over it. As we crossed the
banks there came a rushing sound from beneath us, as of a mighty gust of
wind, and, looking through one of the small windows in the side of the
car, I saw in the distance a speck, which, in another moment,
disappeared. Our aerenoid now gently rocked with the motion of a boat
that is in the swell of a passing steamer, and I instantly realized that
another aerenoid, travelling at a terrific speed, had passed in the
canal beneath us.
We had now reached the canal that ran parallel to the one over which we
had just passed. This was in every way similar to the first and was used
by aerenoids going in an opposite direction. Into this canal we turned,
sinking lower as our speed increased, until, when we had reached our
maximum speed, we were travelling not more than thirty feet above the
water. Thus, whenever necessary, we were ready for an instant plunge in
order to reduce our speed, and thus did this simple rule of starting
high and sinking lower as the speed increased make collisions
impossible.
As it was late in the afternoon when we started, the daylight soon
faded, and in a few minutes we had reached complete darkness, the double
line of lights on the canal banks being our only guide. Anxiously did I
count the minutes as we sped along, but knowing the danger of
distracting Reon's attention, even for a moment, while we were
travelling at such a terrific speed, I kept silent, nor did I allow my
manner to give any evidence of my anxiety.
I now realized that if I reached the observatory in time, I would owe my
life to Zarlah. Twice had she reminded me of my duties at the
observatory, and had insisted upon my immediate departure, when, under
the influence of her great beauty, I would have lingered until too late.
My mind was fully determined as to how to proceed with regard to
righting the wrong I felt I had done Almos, in confessing to Zarlah my
love for her. I would leave a note for him at the observatory to the
effect that I wished to communicate with him the following evening, when
I would tell him all.
The hopelessness of my love was plain, for it was Almos whom she loved,
and she believed also that Almos had confessed his love to her; and,
with a lover's conviction that everyone must love the one he loves, I
felt that Almos undoubtedly loved Zarlah. Indeed, it was probably his
affection for her through which I had silently won her confession. Almos
would then have no cause to regret my action, and Zarlah would never
know the strange circumstances that had brought them together. Thus did
I picture in my mind a happy conclusion to my selfish and precipitate
action, which, I had feared at first, must bring overwhelming sorrow and
humiliation into three lives, two of which were dearer to me than any on
Earth.
I was roused from these meditations by the sudden roar of rushing waters
as, in order to reduce speed, we plunged along the surface of the
canal. We were nearing our destination at last, and my mind at once
reverted to the now imminent danger--that of arriving at the observatory
only to find that the wave contact with Paris had ceased, and I was too
late ever to return to the world from which I had come. In such a case,
I determined to write a brief account of my experiences to Almos, and,
after arranging the current of super-radium so that it would convey my
spirit out of the virator (whither I knew not), I would then enter the
virator and deliver the body to its rightful owner.
Although I determined upon this course as being clearly my duty, in the
event of my being too late to return to Earth, the desperate nature of
such a proceeding roused me to action. We had now risen from the canal
and were floating slowly in the air at a considerable height. Striving
hard to suppress my agitation, I urged Reon to make more speed, and he
at once responded by increasing the power. As it was now after midnight
in this part of Mars, we were in no danger of encountering small
aerenoids in our flight, and in a few moments, to my great relief, I
distinguished the observatory lying far beneath us. Describing circles
over the building, we slowly descended and in a few seconds we had
reached the balcony.
Thanking my companion with a hearty handshake (which came perfectly
natural even on Mars), I bade him adieu, and, stepping on to the
balcony, made my way into the observatory with all haste. Everything was
in the condition I had left it, and I was greatly relieved to find that
the necessary time for the process of departure still remained, before
wave contact with Paris ceased. My heart now went out in true gratitude
and love to her who, in the simple desire to do what was right, had
placed duty before her love, and had thus been of such inestimable
service to me.
Immediately upon my arrival, I had prepared the virator for my journey
back to Earth by substituting the projecting apparatus of the radioscope
for the receiving apparatus. It was only necessary now to start the
clockwork that would shut off the current to earth in half an hour, and
would start the current flowing through the upper chamber of the
virator.
After having written a brief note to Almos, saying that I wished to
communicate with him the following evening before making another visit,
I made a hasty examination of the current of super-radium which now
flowed through the virator to Earth from the projecting apparatus. The
instant my spirit was released, it would be caught up in this current
and conveyed to my body, where it lay in my rooms in Paris. In half an
hour the clockwork would shut off the current flowing to Earth, and
would then turn on the current which flowed through the upper chamber of
the virator, thus transferring Almos' spirit back to the body, as it lay
in the lower chamber.
All was in perfect order, but it was not without a feeling of reluctance
and anxiety that I stepped into the virator and, after carefully
fastening the door, prepared the cone of chloroform. I realized that
there were many dangers attending the return journey that were not
present in my journey to Mars. If I had erred in my calculation of the
time the super-radium current could be kept on my body in Paris, or if
my body had moved in that time, it would undoubtedly mean death to me;
and the thought of whether Almos, in such a case, would learn of my
fate on the morrow flashed through my mind. Realizing the danger of such
apprehensions, not only from the loss of valuable time which they
occupied, but also from the fact that they tended to unnerve me at the
moment when hesitation meant death, I quickly fastened the chloroform
cone over my face and inhaled the fumes.
A moment's consciousness--a flickering light--
* * * * *