THE RED LIGHT
At first glance Mars had not seemed to be much different from the
earth they had left, but when the travelers had gotten over their
first astonishment at seeing the strange people, they saw that
there were many points of dissimilarity.
In the first place, there appeared to be a great deal of water
about them. There were canals or broad rivers on every side,
with only narrow strips of land dividing them. The Annihilator
had landed on a broad, sandy plain, one of the largest on the
planet, as it afterward developed, and so gentle had been the
descent, that the projectile was not injured in the least. But
leaving that vicinity, and following their guide, the travelers
found themselves in the midst of a network of waterways.
"These must be some of the canals the astronomers see," observed
Jack.
"Yes," assented Mark. "There isn't much land to spare. I should
think the Martians would be a sort of water race. But they don't
appear to have any boats."
"Yes, they do," put in Mr. Roumann. "Here comes one now."
Sure enough, there suddenly appeared on a broad river or canal,
along which they were being moved by that mysterious force, a
large open boat, in which were several Martians.
"Well, I wonder how that moves?" said Jack. "They're not rowing,
they have no sail, and I can't see any engine."
"Maybe thought power moves the boat, too," suggested Mark.
"It certainly seems so," rejoined Mr. Henderson.
The travelers found themselves stopping, and their leader,
turning, said something to the persons in the boat. There was a
brief conversation in the strange language, and the adventurers
found themselves moving into the craft, which stopped close to
the bank of the canal. When they were seated the boat started
off again, and though Jack and Mark, as well as the two men,
looked closely to ascertain what was the motive power, they could
not discover it.
"Unless it's in that small box," said Jack, pointing to one made
of some shining metal, in the stern of the boat.
"Perhaps it is," assented Mr. Roumann. Then he made some
motions to the guide, asking whether or not the substance in the
box contained the motive power.
The man with the squared triangle on his head seemed to hesitate
a moment, and then, with a motion to the Martian in charge of the
boat, he said something, and the latter opened the box. Mr.
Roumann looked eagerly into it, as did the others, and the
German uttered a cry of surprise.
And well he might, for all the box contained was a lump of what
seemed to be red clay. There were no wheels, no machinery of any
kind, and there appeared to be no propeller on the boat with
which the box was connected. Nevertheless, the craft continued
to move along swiftly, and the Martian had indicated that the
object in the box made it go.
"The red substance!" exclaimed Mr. Roumann in a low voice. "I
wonder if this can be what I seek?"
Once more he looked at the crimson mass in the metal box. He
reached forward his finger as if to touch it, but the chief
Martian, with a warning cry, suddenly dosed down the lid.
"Humph! I guess they're afraid we'll steal it," exclaimed Jack.
"Maybe it's dangerous to touch," added Mark.
The Martians conversed among themselves in low voices, and from
the glances they cast at the travelers every now and then, from
their great, protruding eyes, it was evident that the little men
were discussing the strangers.
"Has yo' folks any adequate perceptionability ob de exteriorness
in de inverse ratio ob de objectiveness ob de transportation
projection ob our destination?" asked Washington White, breaking
a rather lengthy silence.
"Do you mean where are we going?" inquired jack.
"Dat's what I done axed yo'."
"Well, we don't know," went on the lad. "But we seem to be
approaching some big city."
Off in the distance, on the side of a hill, which rose from the
midst of a great lake or canal, were many glittering buildings.
It was a city of large size.
"The question is, what are they going to do with us when they get
us there?" spoke Mark. "Maybe they're cannibals."
"They are too highly an educated race for that," replied Mr.
Roumann. "No, I fancy they will treat us well. They will want
to know about the planet we came from, as well as we want to know
about them. I think they will treat us with respect."
"They certainly have, so far," remarked Mr. Henderson. "I only
hope none of them meddle with our projectile."
"I'm a little apprehensive about that myself," added Mr. Roumann.
"And I trust that crazy man does not get loose. But we can't
help ourselves, and we'll hope for the best."
They were now close to the water-front of the city, and they saw
the shore lined with a great throng. Evidently their approach
had been heralded, and they were being eagerly awaited.
"Looks as if we were going to have quite a reception," remarked
Jack. "I hope it's a pleasant one."
"If it isn't, we can't help ourselves," went on Andy. "I can't
use my gun in a land where the bullet has about as much force as
a pea in a putty shooter. But if they attack us we can pick up
stones and fire at them."
"Stones won't be much more effective than the bullets," said Mr.
Roumann.
"Why not?"
"Because they'll be light, too. Things here will weigh only
about a third as much as they do on earth. In fact, that is one
reason why we are moved about so easily by their thought power.
We are only a third as heavy as we were on earth, though we weigh
more than the Martians, for all that."
By this time they were at the dock, and they found themselves
being moved out of the boat, and up to the pier, through the
crowd of people.
Their guide--the Martian with the squared triangle--called out an
order, and the crowd opened up a living lane, through which the
adventurers passed. They could not help noticing how polite the
Martian inhabitants were, for there were no idle remarks on the
appearance of the strangers, such as would have taken place under
similar circumstances on earth. But the Martians made up for it
by staring with their great eyes, listening with their great
ears, and sniffing, the air with their long noses, though they
kept a profound silence.
At the end of the pier the travelers found some queer carriages
waiting for them. They were boxes, fitted up with soft cushions,
and were on runners, like those of a sled. Jack looked and saw
that the street was paved with a substance like glass, very
slippery.
"We're going to have a sleigh ride!" he exclaimed; "but I don't
see any horses to pull us."
"Maybe these are automobile sleds," suggested Mark.
"If they are, there's no motor in them," declared Jack, making a
careful examination.
"Then they move by the same power as do the boats," was his
chum's opinion. "Yes, see the metal box?" and he pointed to one
in each vehicle.
The leading Martian motioned for Jack and Mark to get in one
sled, Mr. Roumann and Professor Henderson were assigned to
another, and Washington and Andy to a third. The leading Martian
took his place in the vehicle with the two men, while two others
of the queer people got in the remaining two sleds, which the
boys dubbed the vehicles. No sooner had they done so than they
started off as if by magic, sliding over the smooth, glass-like
streets.
"Well, they certainly have the transportation problem down to a
science," remarked Jack. "This beats a taxicab all to pieces."
"That's right," agreed Mark. "But say, this is a mighty fine
city."
The boys looked on either side of them. The street, which was
thronged with the queer feather and fur covered inhabitants, led
between rows of stately buildings, all built of some light-colored
substance. The designs were like those usually seen in fantastic
fairy pictures--beautiful in the extreme.
The street led to a great public square, and as the vehicles
swung into it, the boys could not repress a murmur of delight.
For, at the head of the square was a great palace of glass, its
walls so transparent that everything going on within could be
seen from without.
"This must be their city hall, the palace of justice, the main
administration building, or whatever they call it," said Jack.
"Evidently the Martians don't believe in conducting politics in
the dark."
"Well, it's going to be dark pretty soon," observed Mark, "for
the sun is setting."
"And look at what a small sun it is," added Jack.
For the first time they noticed that the great luminary was much
smaller than it appeared to them on the earth. It was about half
the size, but, though Mars must have received considerably less
heat from it than did the earth, it was not at all chilly, but,
on the contrary, warmer than on the earth at the same time of
year.
The little sun slowly sank down behind the distant hills, and
when the sleds came to a stop in front of the glass palace, the
boys and others found themselves being moved up the broad steps.
"Evidently there's going to be an inquiry concerning us,"
commented Jack.
They were taken into a vast audience chamber. At one end was a
raised platform, upon which were seated a number of Martians.
Each one had a golden circlet on his head, and in the center of
each band was some geometrical figure.
In the middle of the throng on the platform was a Martian attired
in a golden, shimmering robe. And on his head was a small
circlet, made apparently of diamonds.
"He must be the high muck-a-muck," said Jack in a whisper.
"Hush!" cautioned Mark.
As the adventurers felt themselves advancing toward the raised
platform, there came a shout from the throng. And the words
sounded like:
"Silex Corundum!"
At this the Martian with the diamond circle on his head arose and
bowed.
"That must be his name," whispered jack.
"Hush!" spoke Mark again, and he who appeared to be a sort of
chief or king began to speak.
He made quite a lengthy address, and as he went on it grew
darker, with the approach of evening.
Suddenly, from various points in the great room, there glowed a
red light, until the apartment was as bright as day. And the
boys, looking up, saw that the light streamed from the sides of
small metal boxes fastened to the glass walls.
"The mysterious red substance!" murmured Mr. Roumann. "It is a
source of power, it gives forth light, and what will it not do?
I must certainly secure some of it!"
The red glow increased as it grew darker outside, and, looking
through the glass sides of the palace, the boys saw that the
palace was surrounded by a great crowd of Martians, who were
watching what went on within.