12
Moving swiftly toward them, about a quarter of a mile away, was a large conveyance which appeared to be occupied by about ten beings.
“Sink me, but these birds are certainly early risers,” grumbled Taggert. “Seems to me they might let us finish breakfast before calling. They’re no gentlemen, I say.”
Professor Palmer was eagerly studying them through binoculars.
“Just as I suspected,” he murmured presently. “They have features just like our own, and seem to be of nearly the same stature as ourselves. Let’s get ready to welcome them, boys. They don’t look like pirates.”
He put down the glasses and turned just in time to see Taggert concealing an automatic on his person. Evidently the reporter didn’t entirely share the professor’s faith in the Martians.
A few minutes later the conveyance drew up without. It came to a stop noiselessly, as though it were electrically propelled. Several of the dark-garbed occupants got out and walked toward the Sphere, removing their odd hats, which looked not unlike broad-brimmed tropical helmets.
Professor Palmer’s prediction proved correct. They were of ordinary human formation, and, indeed, looked much like a group of intelligent foreigners, with their olive skin and dark hair, though they were somewhat shorter in stature, averaging about five feet four inches in height.
Their clothing was simple, and evidently designed for comfort. All wore roomy, dark trousers, bound at the ankles, and small coats to match, not unlike vests with sleeves. Under these a lighter-hued blouse was worn. Neat but styleless shoes, with uppers that appeared to be finely woven grasses, clad their small feet. There was a total absence of bright color about their apparel, neutral shades of blue, gray and maroon predominating.
Professor Palmer opened one of the ports and leaned out. His appearance caused a brief flurry among their visitor, proving a signal for some hurried conversation, accompanied by excited gestures.
Then one of them walked forward and addressed him in a pleasant, soft, rolling tongue not unlike Spanish, but entirely unintelligible to the professor.
Professor Palmer answered by pointing obliquely upward in the general direction of the Earth at that time. Then he tapped the Sphere significantly, and indicated an imaginary course from the Earth above back down to Mars with a slow sweep of his hand.
His audience seemed to grasp the fact that the Sphere had come from a distant planet. In fact, it appeared that he had but confirmed some previous guess on their part. They nodded knowingly to each other as their spokesman resumed his own gesticulations in an effort to communicate with the professor, smiling in a friendly fashion and rubbing his Roman nose with a trace of self-consciousness as he proceeded to invite them, with elaborate gestures, to visit their country beyond.
His companions also pointed repeatedly toward the foliage in the distance, and to vacant seats in their vehicle.
“What do you think, boys?” asked the professor, turning to Robert and Taggert. “How about boosting the Sphere over there? That will be better than leaving it out here where we can’t keep an eye on it.”
“Suits me,” Robert replied.
“That’s the stuff,” said Taggert. “Don’t let these dagos separate you from your return trip if you can help it.”
So with more gestures Professor Palmer explained their intentions to the Martians, who finally understood apparently and seemed satisfied.
By careful manipulation of the speed of the gyrostats and the disk shutters, Robert raised the Sphere slowly to a height of about fifty feet. The Martians looked on in wonder from their conveyance, which, getting under way, preceded them across the floor of the desert.
The broad, flat wheels of this conveyance, notched to give greater traction, carried it over the sand at a good clip. Steering seemed to be controlled by an automatic dial-and-lever device, operated easily by the driver with one hand. The usual staggering of the front wheels through loose soil seemed entirely eliminated.
Contrary to their original impression, the floor of the desert in this direction was a stony, windswept waste with much bare rock visible. The faces of these rocks were polished by grains of sand blown across them by the winds of centuries. Here and there was one with fractured and crumbling surface, probably cracked by the rapid, alternate heating and chilling of the blazing rays of the sun and the cold nights, and not yet healed.
As the Sphere drew near the fertile land, they observed that it was densely wooded with trees of varied height and foliage. From their close proximity to the ground it looked like a vast, boundless forest which might extend many miles beyond.
Professor Palmer had estimated the usual width of these irrigated strips at from one to several miles, though he had mentioned observing one of nearly twenty miles in width.
At the forest’s edge Robert brought the Sphere to rest
Here they were in a quandary as to what to do about the Sphere. It was obvious that they could not study the life of the planet without leaving the Sphere. Yet they were naturally reluctant to trust it unguarded into the hands of these strange inhabitants.
“But we have already risked far more in our journey through space,” reasoned Robert. “We put ourselves in these people’s hands by coming here; now I suppose we may as well trust them. We could not expect a Martian, coming to the Earth as we have come to Mars, to drag his ‘Sphere’ after him everywhere he went.”
“Look here,” Taggert interjected, “I horned my way into this expedition uninvited. Now let me do something useful. I’ll stay here with the Sphere until you can make some satisfactory arrangement for its safe keeping.”
“That may take several days, or more,” objected Robert.
“Well, what of it? Plenty to eat here. Just run along and leave it to little Hughie. I’ll stay on deck until you return or send me a written order; and I’ll feel a lot better about having done my bit.”
So it was finally agreed that Taggert remain on guard while Robert and the Professor went on to make suitable arrangements, if possible, with the authorities. They shook hands with the reporter and left him calmly smoking an atrocious pipe which he had not ventured to put in action during their long trip with sealed windows. He seemed genuinely comfortable and well pleased with his lot. Robert and the professor took seats in the waiting conveyance, which carried them over a winding road through the forest.
Professor Palmer recognized and pointed out to Robert certain varieties of trees and shrubbery resembling the tamarisk, acacia and eucalyptus, prickly pear and aspen poplar. The latter variety, which was singularly like the earthly specimen, predominated, and seemed to flourish luxuriantly in the loose, sandy soil.
“Not so bad,” said Robert, sniffing the sweet, clean air.
“A very healthful climate, indeed,” commented the professor.
Their evident satisfaction was observed with smiles and nods by their hosts, who were watching them closely.
They had probably passed through a mile of the great forest when they emerged into a large, rectangular clearing.
“Why, there’s a railroad!” cried Robert excitedly, pointing to what looked very like a double line of tracks running through the center of the long clearing.
A moment later Robert’s statement was proved to be true, for their conveyance was brought to a stop beside the rails, where a small but well built wooden structure apparently served as a crude station.
At the invitation of the Martians they got out, declining, however, the suggestion of entering the waiting room of the building. They preferred to examine first the wonders of their strange outdoor surroundings. The Martians gathered about and proceeded to study them with poorly concealed curiosity. Yet at all times their attitude toward the adventurers was solicitous and courteous. To Robert they seemed more and more like a delegation of learned experts sent to observe their every move and thought as closely as possible.
About the clearing stood a number of plain buildings of goodly size, with numerous windows. Several Martians in rough garb, including the loose trousers and blouse, but without the odd coats or hats worn by the first Martians, busied themselves about these buildings. In the distance there were sounds of chopping, and an occasional resounding thud, as from a tree felled. They seemed to be in a lumber camp, and this conjecture was later confirmed. They were standing then in the heart of one of the planet’s greatest forest regions.
Presently Robert became aware of a humming sound. Looking about quickly, he failed at first to see from whence it came. Then he discovered for the first time the great distance that it was possible to see in either direction along the railroad, because of its striking straightness. Mile after mile it ran straight as an arrow through a veritable tunnel of trees.
In the distance he descried a swiftly moving speck on the madder-colored ribbon of roadbed. It grew rapidly larger, evidently nearing them at a tremendous rate. A minute later a Martian train, drawn by a squat engine, ground to a stop before the station. Like the conveyance which had met them, it seemed electrically driven. Only one man was visible in the engine cab. Robert counted eight coaches, each about sixty feet long.
Their guides conducted them to the back coach, which they entered at one end. This coach differed considerably from the rest, for while the others were built with compartments similar to English coaches, this one was not unlike one of our own observation cars. It was unoccupied. They found out afterward that their guides composed a special committee which had arranged for this car in their guests’ honor, the Sphere’s approach having been discovered and observed closely by Martian astronomers as it neared the planet. Every effort and provision had been made to find and meet its expected inmates promptly, and with every consideration for their comfort.
They were scarcely aboard before the train was moving. Without a jar the luxurious coach slipped away from the little station, gathering momentum rapidly. A minute later the station dwindled and was lost from view behind them down the shrinking avenue of trees which whirled past them dizzily.
“Just like greased lightning,” said Robert.
It was evident that the owl-eyed committee of Martians were eager to establish some code of communication by means of signs with their guests, but observing their desire to study the changing landscape they politely refrained. One of the Martians, however, evinced considerable curiosity over Robert’s watch chain, whereupon Robert displayed his watch. Not to be outdone, the Martian pulled out a small, flat mechanism about an inch and a half square. A glance at this object convinced Robert that he was looking at a Martian watch.
The indicating scheme was essentially the same as our own method. There was a small dial in the center, with sixteen curious numerals round its edge. The hands, of the same length, but of contrasting colors, apparently indicated the time, while in the upper corners were changeable numerals, probably showing what corresponded to the Martian month and day of the month. The lower corners were not utilized, but were simply decorated with some artistic scrolls. A third, but shorter hand, also connected to the central dial, revolving rapidly with a familiar ticking sound, probably corresponded to the second-hand on our own watches, but it was more like the long hand on a split-second stop-watch.
The case of Robert’s watch seemed to interest the Martians no less than its mechanism. The watch was an old one of the bulky type which had belonged to Robert’s father. The heavy case was of solid silver. From their exclamations, as they examined the silver case, Robert judged that they prized silver highly as a precious metal.
By this time the character of the country had changed. No longer were they surrounded by the fragrant forest. Vast, level, green fields stretched on either side, while in the distance the equally flat desert was visible at times.
The speed of the train began diminishing until it came to a stop beside another small station. Here they got their first view of one of the great canals or ducts upon which the plant life and the lives of every being on Mars depended.
About a hundred yards beyond the station a gang of two hundred or more men were at work in and around a deep excavation, aided by several huge digging machines. All were clad in rough garments of a dull maroon color, which Robert soon learned was as common a color on Mars as our own khaki is to us.
But it was not the Martians which attracted Robert’s and Professor Palmer’s chief attention. A giant cylinder lay partly exposed within the excavation, its ends disappearing into the soil at either end. In diameter it was at least seventy-five feet. It appeared to be of cementlike construction.
At intervals of perhaps fifty yards along its length, smaller tubes branched off and were lost in the sides of the ditch. Where one of these branches joined the main line, a swarm of workmen struggled valiantly to mend a break from which the water gushed as if under heavy pressure.
The scurrying Martians had checked the leak perceptibly by the time the train started again after a minute’s wait.
A few minutes later they flashed by an immense structure situated near the tracks, looking like a great power plant of some kind. However, it reared no stacks to the sky. For miles at either end of it stretched a vast, flat expanse of some curious construction, which in the distance looked like a great, elongated checker-board.
“A Martian pumping station,” hazarded Robert.
“I believe you’ve struck it,” said Professor Palmer. “And I believe the big ‘checker-board’ is nothing more nor less than a device for absorbing power from the sun’s rays. That alone would explain the Martians’ remarkable achievements in the face of the unquestionable dwindling, perhaps complete exhaustion, of the planet’s fuel supply.”
“How old do you suppose Mars is!” asked Robert.
“That’s a hard one; but the various planets are classified according to stages. There is the sun stage, in which the planet is hot enough to emit light. This is followed by the molten stage—hot, but lightless. Then comes the solidifying stage, with the formation of solid surfaces and ocean basins. The next stage is what we call the terraqueous stage, the age of sedimentary rocks. Our Earth is in this stage. Following this is the terrestrial stage, in which the oceans have disappeared, and, after that the dead stage, when air has departed. Mars is in the terrestrial stage, the stage following that of our planet, and preceding the dead, or final stage.”
“Then the Martians are engaged in a constant struggle against extinction!”
“They are, though, with their marvelous ingenuity, they may last a few thousand years longer. But we are witnesses of the waning of a world.”
They were now passing through a fertile farming region. Small buildings dotted the landscape, while here and there Martian farmers were diligently at work in their fields. There was a complete absence, however, of any beast of burden or toil. Everywhere power seemed to be furnished electrically. Farmers could be seen plowing with large, powerful tractors.
Frequently they caught glimpses of the checker-board devices adjoining the buildings, but on a much smaller scale than the one they had first seen. Quite likely, they decided, these were individual sun-power plants.
With the increasing frequency of houses, Robert and the professor became convinced that they were nearing a center of population. Their interest was keyed to the highest pitch as the agricultural district gave way to the outskirts of a Martian city.
The more Robert saw, the greater was his surprize at the striking similarity of things to those on Earth. Yet, on second thought, this did not seem so strange. After all, it was to be expected that the chief inventions of two such advanced worlds should, in the main, be similar. He might easily have imagined himself approaching some foreign metropolis.
One thing that they noticed particularly was the absence of the dirt and squalor which one so frequently sees from the train when approaching our large industrial centers. Buildings all seemed of substantial construction and everywhere were in excellent condition.
Now, beyond the buildings in the foreground they could see the tops of giant structures in the distance, their great white walls showing resplendent in the clean atmosphere and bright sunlight. It was certain that they were entering a very large city. They afterward learned that this city, called Parang, was next to the largest one on Mars, having a population more than four million souls.
Little conversation passed between Robert and the professor as they both eagerly studied the mysteries of Martian life passing before their eyes. Neither could yet quite bring himself to a full realization of the fact that they were actually viewing life upon the planet which had caused so much conjecture upon Earth.
“I wonder whether we shall pull in on the ‘elevated’ or the ‘subway,’” grinned Robert.
His question was answered a few minutes later as they plunged into the darkness of a tunnel. For ten minutes or more they roared swiftly through the darkness, dimly illuminated by the incandescents in the ceiling of their car. Then they emerged suddenly into a vast, brilliantly lighted underground chamber, filled with the din of noisy bustle, and came to a stop before a large barred area.
Here their hosts politely signified that they should get out.
News of their arrival had probably preceded them. A great, curious crowd thronged the area. Half of their body of guides led the way through one of the gates, forcing a passage for them through the dense, curious crowd. It was here that Robert caught his first sight of the Martian women. Unconsciously he was expecting to find the golden-haired type of his dream. But in this he was disappointed, for, without exception, they were dark-haired, and with complexions of a pale, olive tint, as were the men.
The women’s garments did not differ greatly from those of their men folk, in that they wore a variety of loose trousers like those worn by our Turkish women. Perhaps their garb is best described by stating that it was strikingly similar to that, of the women in the Mohammedan harems, without the face veil.
Passing through a massive archway, they walked up a few steps leading into a large waiting room not unlike one of ours. Through the throng they continued and entered a roomy elevator which whisked them upward. Emerging from this they found themselves once more in the daylight, and in a great vestibule leading to the street.
Outside, several closed conveyances waited, evidently engaged by prearrangement. Robert and Professor Palmer entered one of these with two of their beaming hosts, sinking down into the luxurious upholstering gratefully.
As they rolled along, Robert and the professor studied the scenes around them in suppressed excitement.
The first feature which struck Robert was the immense height of the buildings, practically all of which were of ten stories or more. Buildings of thirty stories were common, while several they passed were more than sixty stories. The rather narrow streets seemed like miniature canyons between the tall structures. Without exception the buildings appeared to be constructed of a fine cement, similar to the metallic product of which the railroad rails were made.
The street paving and walks were also made of the same material, and were in excellent condition. No poles or wires were visible; nor were any street-cars or tracks seen. Evidently with such excellently maintained pavings made possible by the weak gravity, the Martians preferred ordinary vehicles for city transportation.
Stores of all sorts seemed plentiful, though Robert could not see what kind they were, because they did not display their wares as we do. The Martians apparently bad outlived the practise of wasting window space in this manner, preferring merely to advertise their wares by signs. These signs, of course, were wholly unintelligible to Robert and the professor. The lettering was made up of a number of geometrical figures, among which the familiar triangle, square and “T,” with variations, predominated.
Once, when their conveyance was temporarily stalled in a traffic congestion, Robert got out a pencil and attempted to reproduce the characters which appeared in relief over the doorway of an imposing-looking building near by:
No suggestion of a curve softened any of the characters, each one being made up of a series of straight lines and angles. In fact, Robert already had observed that this severe precision was a marked characteristic of all things Martian. It was particularly noticeable in the architecture. The impression borne upon him was that this people had reduced everything to a science of fine mathematics.
A ride of some twenty minutes brought them into a quieter section of the city. Here the streets were somewhat wider. The tall buildings gave way to more modest structures, which appeared to be dwellings not unlike our apartment buildings.
No sign of any growing thing was visible anywhere—not even a blade of grass. Evidently the painful scarcity of water upon the planet did not permit of floral culture for merely ornamental purposes. Theirs was a serious business of scientific economy.
In due time they turned into a broad driveway leading to an immense, official building of four stories. Here Robert saw the first bit of ground uncovered by cement or stone since they had arrived in the city. The grounds surrounding the building, and its drives, were covered with verdure similar to a fine clover, closely cut. Some trees grew about the place, but there were no flowers.
Their conductors were visibly excited as they drew up before a broad flight of stairs leading up to the main entrance of the massive building. A pompous person opened the door of their conveyance, and escorted them ceremoniously up the steps beyond which a small group of dignified-appearing Martians awaited their arrival.
As they drew nigh the group, a commanding figure of a man detached himself from it and advanced toward them. At this their escort fell back respectfully, leaving them to greet this evidently important personage.
In stature this man was several inches taller than the average Martian, being about the size of a well-built man of our own race. Imperious, resplendent in rich garments, he easily dominated the smart assemblage.
A smile played over his virile features as he stopped before them. Strangely enough at such a moment, his odd, square, and particularly luxuriant beard reminded Robert of a nonsensical little rime which he recalled, something like this:
Aha, it is as I feared,
Two cocks and a hen,
One owl and a wren,
Have all made their home in my beard.
With an air of kingly elegance, this leader addressed them for several minutes in his strange tongue as in a welcome. Though it was mutually apparent that neither understood the other’s words, Robert responded briefly, thanking him for his evident welcome, Professor Palmer nodding his concurrence.
Indicating that they were to accompany him, the leader escorted them through the assembled, obsequious gathering of men and women, through the broad entrance into the building. Passing along a beautiful corridor of carved onyx, they presently entered a large, pleasant room with windows looking out upon the grounds.
Two attendants came forward at their entrance. These the leader addressed in a commanding tone, indicating Robert and the professor in a manner which convinced them that these men were to serve them during their stay at the establishment; and this they found to be the case. With a few more friendly words their host politely withdrew.