Ralph ran almost parallel for a time with the two planets (see diagram), Venus to his left, Earth to his right. Although he was quite near the former he could hardly see it, as the bright rays of the sun precluded1 detailed2 observation. A few days later, however, it had swung sufficiently3 far enough to the left to afford him occasional glimpses of its beauties.
Ralph worked almost continuously in his laboratory in the conning4 tower. In the course of the week since he had left the Earth, he had only catnapped for about two hours, since sleep was impossible.
He constructed several new pieces of apparatus5, which he considered might be useful in case of a possible encounter with Llysanorh'. He knew that Llysanorh' could not be as easily subdued6 or caught as Fernand. This tall Martian was an inventor himself and knew much about handling modern death-dealing weapons. It would be useless to try the Radioperforer as he probably would carry a Silonium armor, proof against all Radium emanations.
[Pg 177]
One of the first things he had done was to lead wires from the steering7 apparatus up to the conning tower. On the floor of the tower he arranged contacts in such a manner that he could press them together with his feet. The control was similar to the foot pedals of an organ. He then practised for some days until he could steer8 the flyer wholly with his feet. Thus his hands were free to control any apparatus he would need for attack or defense9. With his feet he could so control the machine as to avoid projectiles10 if necessary.
As the days rolled by, however, Ralph became more and more disturbed. He now took observations hourly, his eyes glued to the indicator11. With a sinking heart he saw that he was not gaining on the Martian. The latter had his machine well tuned12 up and was covering almost 90,000 miles an hour. At this rate Ralph could never catch up with Llysanorh'. It was maddening. The days became a long, drawn-out agony. Ralph had done everything in his power to accelerate the speed of his flyer and to strain the machinery13 further meant inviting14 certain death. Within eight days Llysanorh' would land on Mars—his course now plainly showed that he was headed for the planet. At best Ralph would be ten hours behind—time enough for the Martian to accomplish his purpose. And he, Ralph 124C 41+, the greatest inventor the world had ever produced, was powerless.
Again he took observations, and again the results were the same. A weariness of the spirit swept over him. The dark waters of despair seemed to inundate15 his very soul. To have been physically16 exhausted17 would have been a relief. To know the blessedness of but an hour's sound sleep, to be free from this terrible tension—
[Pg 178]
He sank down upon a seat and buried his head in his hands, and as he sat, striving to quiet his worn and troubled mind there came to him an idea—nay, more than an idea, an inspiration, by which he would overcome the formidable difficulties that beset18 him.
An idea, so simple that, having once formulated19 it, it seemed ridiculous not to have thought of it before.
His soul-weariness fell from him like a discarded garment. He sprang to his feet, once more the scientist, the man of action, triumphant20, dominant21.
His marvelous ingenuity22 saw the way out. His mind would again triumph over time and space. He would achieve the impossible, surmount23 the insurmountable.
The battle was not lost—it had but begun!
He knew he could not overhaul24 Llysanorh'. Neither could he intercept25 him. A wireless26 decoy message was futile27. Llysanorh' would never be caught by such a flimsy trick. But he must do something to prevent Llysanorh' from reaching Mars.
How could it be accomplished28? By sending a message to the Martian authorities? A futile thought. Even if the distance could be bridged, which was doubtful, Llysanorh' would, in all likelihood, intercept the message with his recorder. He would simply send a message to his friend to board a space flyer and to rush to him at top speed. The marriage ceremony could then be performed out in space.
No, Llysanorh' must not know that he was pursued and still he must be prevented from landing.
Ralph would literally29 move the heavens. He would threaten Mars with a comet! Llysanorh's patriotism30 could be depended upon to make an effort to divert the comet from its course, to avoid the imminent31 collision with Mars.[Pg 179] This, Llysanorh' could do without danger to himself, simply by steering his flyer close to the head of the comet—within a few hundred kilometers. The gravitational action of his machine on the comet would deflect32 the course of the latter enough—even a few degrees would be sufficient to change the path of the meteor.
But where was the comet to come from? To Ralph this was simplicity33 itself. He did not need to "catch" a comet—he would manufacture one for himself—a comet more unique than ever rushed through space.
He knew that comets had been reproduced artificially on a small scale, centuries ago;[11] however, no one had[Pg 180] ever tried to make a real comet. He also knew that the largest comets have a very small mass, and that the tail is composed mainly of gas and dust, which is so thin that the stars may be readily observed through the tail of almost any comet.[12]
Ralph thus became the first human being to create a heavenly body. As comets are composed mainly of hydrogen gas and dust, the creating of Ralph's artificial comet was absurdly simple to the scientist.
By means of scraps34 of zinc35 and iron filings, over which sulphuric acid was poured, Ralph produced a great quantity of hydrogen. This he filled in tanks and when he had generated enough of the gas he connected the tanks with a large metal stop cock in the wall of the space flyer. As soon as the stop cock was opened the hydrogen rushed out into the open with a roar.
Immediately Ralph connected his high frequency apparatus with the outside aerials of the space flyer and the expected phenomenon took place.
[Pg 181]
The hydrogen particles which heretofore had been invisible, began to glow with a wonderful light, enveloping36 the entire flyer. For thousands of miles behind the machine stretched a true comet's tail, the flyer forming its head or nucleus37. The tail, as in all comets, was turned away from the sun, and although Ralph could not see the end of the tail, he knew that what he had created could be seen for hundreds of thousands of miles, like any natural comet.
Ralph, however, was not fully38 satisfied, and he therefore started to "improve" the comet. He manufactured several other gases in large quantities, which he ejected into space, greatly enhancing the brilliancy and size of the comet's head as well as of its tail.
The head, however, he thought was not "solid" enough as yet, and so he set about correcting this defect.
Comets are composed chiefly of gases, but contain a large amount of dust. The dust particles act very much like the dust particles upon which a sun ray falls, and it is these particles which create the comet's appearance. If the atmosphere is eliminated and the same dust placed into outer space, a small comet will result. The small particles will be highly electrified39 by the sun and begin to glow. Each particle repels40 the other and thus even a handful of light dust will form a respectable comet in space.
Ralph made his dust by grinding paper and wood and other materials on a fine carborundum wheel.
After he had made a few pails full, he blew the dust out into space, and if his comet had been a magnificent sight before, it was really awe-inspiring to look upon now from a great distance.
The heavier particles clung close to the flyer, on ac[Pg 182]count of gravitational action, but completely enveloped41 it. The machine was now a true planet, while the fine dust particles had become little satellites, revolving42 around their central body, the flyer.
The lighter43 dust particles found their way into the tail, as the powerful pressure of the sun's light overcame the attraction which the flyer brought upon them.
Ralph turned off the high frequency current and yet the comet was not extinguished and its brilliance44 was not in the least dimmed. The gas and dust particles had no way to dissipate their initial electrical charge, being in an absolute vacuum; and Ralph's artificial comet had become a real one.
Inasmuch as the dust was quite dense45 immediately around the flyer, Ralph's outlook was not as clear as it had been before. He could just see the stars, which seemed enveloped in a haze46. This, however, pleased him greatly, as he knew that his artificial comet must look like a natural one from a great distance.
In this he had not been mistaken. As he afterwards learned, his comet had been "discovered" simultaneously47 on Earth, on Venus, and on Mars the same day he had made it. It had been charted and named, and on account of its great brilliance and long tail, had been immediately termed "The Great Comet of 2660."
That Llysanorh' would see the comet Ralph never doubted for a second. He headed his comet-space flyer exactly toward the point where it would collide with Mars at the end of six days. He figured that the Martians would be on the lookout48, and inasmuch as Ralph's careful search did not reveal another space flyer anywhere near him, he knew that the Martian officials would surely[Pg 183] locate and attempt to communicate with Llysanorh'.
In this he was not mistaken. His chronometer49 pointed50 to 5 p.m. when he first recorded weak signals coming from Mars. Several messages were exchanged between the Martians and Llysanorh'. Llysanorh' gave his number and position in the heavens and he in turn received instructions to approach as near to the "comet's" head as feasible in order to change its course. He was also instructed to bombard the comet's nucleus with time-set torpedoes52, if he could not deviate53 the comet from its course. Llysanorh' answered that he would follow instructions as far as his equipment allowed.
During the next few days Ralph was relieved to note that the distance between him and Llysanorh' diminished with great rapidity. His trick had worked. Llysanorh' was rushing at top speed toward Ralph's flyer, firmly believing it a comet.
Confident of success, sure of victory, Ralph was jubilant. Hope, so long deferred54, flooded his spirit. He whistled cheerily at his work.
Was not every minute bringing him closer to his sweetheart, his Alice? Was not every second drawing nearer to that moment when he would hold her in his arms?
What wonder that he whistled all day long, and laughed to himself from sheer joy and relief.
At last the Martian came into range. Llysanorh' approached the "comet" up to about 150 kilometers and then receded55. He then took observations, but somehow or other the "comet," instead of being deflected56, commenced to pursue him. This was opposed to all astronomical57 knowledge and reasoning, and Llysanorh', fearing collision with the "comet" began to fire explosive[Pg 184] torpedoes into its nucleus. As the distance between it and his machine was only 100 kilometers, he could watch the torpedo51 in its flight. Through his telescope he could see the torpedo rushing toward the "comet's" head.
But the "comet" dodged58, and the torpedo shot far above the nucleus! It was uncanny. His aim had been accurate, he could have sworn. The distance was short. Yet he had missed. The "comet" had moved out of the projectile's path.
He had fired again, with equal accuracy. The torpedo would surely strike now. But the "comet" this time "side-stepped," as it were, and the torpedo sped on through space, missing its target by a wide margin59.
Llysanorh' was bewildered. Fear gripped him.
Gravitational action had not made the "comet" act in this strange manner. He fired one torpedo after another, but the "comet" dodged them all.
He suddenly stopped firing torpedoes. He next tried to destroy the infernal "comet" by electricity.
Soon his aerials were white hot with the energy he threw into them. He then turned his flyer into such a position as to direct the outflowing energy towards the "comet's" head. The only result was to increase the luminosity of the "comet."
Suddenly Llysanorh' realized that the "comet" was only fifty kilometers away. He noticed with horror that the head of the "comet" now seemed to fill up almost one-quarter of the "sky." Another discovery that came simultaneously was that instead of the "comet's" head being solid, there was a mysterious small black speck60 in the center of the nucleus. This was against both knowledge and theory of comets.
[Pg 185]
When Ralph had brought his "comet" within fifty kilometers of Llysanorh', he felt that the time had come to throw off the mask. He had lured61 Llysanorh' to within striking distance. It was now time to strike.
He had one great advantage over Llysanorh'. The latter was wholly unprepared, believing he had to deal with a comet. This facilitated Ralph's movements.
He carefully insulated himself by sitting on a tall glass tripod. He then attached to his ears the telephone receivers that were connected with the induction62 balance,[13] which he had attached to one of the glass port-holes.
A terrible screaming sound came from the generator and the whole flyer shook. Ralph continued to turn the wheel quickly. The generator shrilled64 higher and higher, until the frequency had become so high that no sound could be heard. The vibrations65 had passed 35,000.
Ralph turned the wheel a few more notches66 and everything became pitch-dark over a space sixty kilometers in diameter.
As in his Switzerland exploit, two months before, Ralph's aerial on the space flyer due to the powerful action of his ultra-generator, attracted the ether so fast that it could not be replenished67 quickly enough. It acted much like an immense vacuum pump on the atmosphere.
Darkness spread over a large area as the inky fluid of[Pg 186] the octopus68 blackens the sea. Both flyers became invisible to each other.
Ralph, however, pointed his machine on its former course and speeded it up.
Llysanorh', dismayed by the unexpected darkness, had brought his machine to a dead stop. He was almost frantic69 with terror and stood like one paralyzed, unable to think or to act.
Within a few minutes Ralph's induction balance caused his telephones to emit higher and higher notes, indicating, despite the pitch-black darkness, just how near he was to the other flyer.
When he was certain that he had approached Llysanorh's machine, he suddenly shut off his ultra-generator. Quick as lightning he had grasped his radioperforer, and although the light which returned instantly blinded him for a few seconds, he had glimpsed Llysanorh's terrified face, just a few meters distant, his forehead pressed tight against the glass plate of the port-hole.
Ralph took quick aim and pressed the trigger.
There was a silent flash and Llysanorh' seemed to topple over. Simultaneously the glass of the port-hole turned green.
In a flash Ralph jumped up and peered anxiously out one port-hole, then another, hoping to catch sight of Alice.
There was nobody to be seen.
He rushed to the wireless and signaled frantically70 for several minutes. Breathlessly he clasped the receivers to his ears.
There was no answer—no sound—nothing.
With sinking heart, he rushed to the connecting tube.[Pg 187] In his excitement it took him twenty minutes to make the connection between the two machines and the tube air-tight. Before crawling into the connecting tube he grabbed up his radioperforer as a precaution.
The sight that presented itself to him as he crawled into Llysanorh's machine drew from him an involuntary agonized71 cry.
Llysanorh's dead body lay across that of Alice, his sharp dagger72 sunk into the upper part of her arm. Ralph hurriedly moved the rigid73 body aside.
There lay Alice in a terrible pool of her own blood, her eyes closed—dead.
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1
precluded
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| v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 )；排除；妨碍；使…行不通 | |
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detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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3
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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4
conning
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| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
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5
apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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6
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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7
steering
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| n.操舵装置 | |
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steer
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| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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10
projectiles
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| n.抛射体( projectile的名词复数 )；（炮弹、子弹等）射弹，（火箭等）自动推进的武器 | |
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11
indicator
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| n.指标；指示物，指示者；指示器 | |
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12
tuned
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| adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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13
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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14
inviting
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| adj.诱人的，引人注目的 | |
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15
inundate
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| vt.淹没，泛滥，压倒 | |
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16
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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17
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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18
beset
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| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
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19
formulated
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| v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示 | |
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20
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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21
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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22
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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23
surmount
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| vt.克服；置于…顶上 | |
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24
overhaul
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| v./n.大修，仔细检查 | |
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25
intercept
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| vt.拦截，截住，截击 | |
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26
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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27
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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28
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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29
literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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30
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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31
imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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32
deflect
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| v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向 | |
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33
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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34
scraps
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| 油渣 | |
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35
zinc
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| n.锌；vt.在...上镀锌 | |
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36
enveloping
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 ) | |
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37
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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38
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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39
electrified
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| v.使电气化( electrify的过去式和过去分词 )；使兴奋 | |
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40
repels
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| v.击退( repel的第三人称单数 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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41
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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42
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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43
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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44
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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45
dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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46
haze
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| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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47
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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48
lookout
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| n.注意，前途，瞭望台 | |
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49
chronometer
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| n.精密的计时器 | |
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50
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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51
torpedo
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| n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏 | |
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52
torpedoes
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| 鱼雷( torpedo的名词复数 )； 油井爆破筒； 刺客； 掼炮 | |
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53
deviate
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| v.(from)背离，偏离 | |
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54
deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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55
receded
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| v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题 | |
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56
deflected
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| 偏离的 | |
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57
astronomical
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| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
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58
dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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59
margin
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| n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘 | |
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60
speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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61
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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62
induction
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| n.感应，感应现象 | |
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63
generator
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| n.发电机，发生器 | |
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64
shrilled
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| （声音）尖锐的，刺耳的，高频率的( shrill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
vibrations
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| n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动 | |
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66
notches
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| n.（边缘或表面上的）V型痕迹( notch的名词复数 )；刻痕；水平；等级 | |
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67
replenished
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| 补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 )； 重新装满 | |
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68
octopus
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| n.章鱼 | |
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69
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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70
frantically
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| ad.发狂地, 发疯地 | |
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71
agonized
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| v.使（极度）痛苦，折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 )；苦斗；苦苦思索；感到极度痛苦 | |
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72
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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73
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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