17
Robert took leave of the princess with considerable reluctance. Never had he been able to entirely overcome a strange foreboding that sometime they would be separated and never see each other again.
Something of the same premonition must have been present in the princess’ mind that morning, for she seemed reluctant to let him go.
“I am sure that I’m selfish in saying it, but I do so wish you were not going on this journey. I won’t rest until I see you back.”
Her solicitude touched Robert deeply. As yet he had not told her of his love. Who was he to declare love to a princess? But he was sorely tempted to take her in his arms then and there—to tell her what was in his heart.
“It is but little more than a day’s journey there and back,” he replied, his voice a-quaver with the lure of her. “This is one of the chief features of your planet which the professor determined to defy the dangers of space to see. We must not disappoint him.”
“But it has proved fatal to many, and even your wonderful Sphere may not return. Will you not let them go alone—Robert?”
She pronounced his name quaintly, like “Roe-bert.” It was the first time she had attempted to call him by his name, which she had heard his companions use. His pulse beat madly.
“Tell me,” he breathed, “do you care—Zola?”
She blushed adorably.
“Yes—Robert.”
His arms were suddenly about her. She buried her head on his shoulder with a little sigh, and clung to him.
“Now, you will not go?” she asked presently.
“I must, beloved,” he replied, tenderly. “They still depend upon me to operate the Sphere safely in an emergency. I can not refuse the professor this service. Why, if it hadn’t been for him, I could not have come to Mars, and you would still have been the emperor’s prisoner.”
“You are right. I’m afraid I am just a selfish girl with foolish fears. You must hurry now and come back to me quickly, dear.”
So they parted, Robert promising to come back to her as soon as possible, each striving to conquer a nameless fear that they would never see each other again.
A few hours later found the Sphere approaching the pole at a tremendous speed. Accompanying Robert and his companions were three Martian experts. Two of these were astronomers; the other, a professor of physics, acted as their guide.
Far away to the north a comparatively small expanse of white indicated what remained of the great polar cap of ice and snow that, during the winter, extended over the entire region.
“How is the water from the melting snows accumulated for distribution?” Taggert asked.
“As the spring advances, and the edges of the vast polar cap of snow begin to melt, the water is collected in the sea basins,” explained the professor of physics.
“But the task of running the great ducts beneath the shores of these seas in order to connect with and drain their lowest points seems almost an impossible one.”
“Quite true. That plan was finally rejected for that very reason. A system of siphons was built instead. Even this must have been a tremendous task—our history records that it required more than a century to complete it; yet so remarkable was this construction that the original work, now many centuries old, still remains in perfect condition.”
Robert dropped the Sphere to within a half mile of the surface. They were passing over what appeared to be a great basin of some sea. Continuing northward they passed beyond the first great basin and over several smaller ones. The white polar cap was less than thirty miles away. As they neared it a small expanse of water in the lowest depressions of the basin became visible.
“Ah, that must be one of the siphons!” exclaimed Professor Palmer, pointing.
A small, sinuous ridge ran from the south along the bottom of the basin, disappearing in the little patch of water.
“Yes, that is one of them,” confirmed their guide. “No doubt it is perplexing to you as to how each canal is supplied with water without interruption as the water in the seas and the polar cap is consumed and recedes.”
“That is true,” admitted Professor Palmer.
“The people of our planet have long been masters of electricity. In fact, it has been the only available source of power on Mars for centuries. This power is utilized to manipulate the valves in the various siphons which feed each canal, insuring its usefulness until the last portion of the polar cap is virtually exhausted. Accurate maps of all polar sea basins exist, of course. The pumping station nearest the pole, on each canal, has one of these maps indicating every siphon and valve feeding that canal. As the water from the nearest basin is exhausted, the valve of that feed is closed by manipulation of a corresponding switch in the station, and one of the other feeds is opened. A chart of the retrogression of the seas with the declining season enables the attendant to drain each sea basin completely in its proper turn as the melting snow recedes.”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Robert and Professor Palmer in unison.
Taggert was busily scribbling in his notebook.
In a short while the Sphere had reached the edge of the snow-cap. Immediately below, and stretching away some distance to the south and west, was a small sea, still well filled but covered with a smooth sheet of ice which reflected the rays of the low sun in a blinding, yellow blaze.
At the suggestion of their guide, Robert raised the Sphere till it was perhaps a mile high. From this point of vantage they could see the full extent of the polar cap. It seemed to be about twenty-five miles in diameter. They fancied they could see some of the canals beyond its farthest edge, though they could not be certain, because of a slight murkiness in the atmosphere in that direction.
Robert now lowered the Sphere almost to the surface of the snow and for a time they hovered over various parts of the cap. Quite different was this polar region from that of the Earth, for it was almost entirely one continuous, level sheet of snow and ice, without the great, towering icebergs and the mountain peaks which we associate with the arctic regions of our own world.
So far, their polar excursion had proved quite tame. Remembering the princess’ anxiety, Robert wondered whether it had been due entirely to imagination. He questioned the Martians as to the possible dangers of the region. They replied that, during the winter season, the region was noted for its sudden and terrific blizzards, which lasted for weeks at a time. According to them, the approaching winter was not expected to break for some weeks yet.
By common consent, the Sphere was landed on the shore of the sea which seemed to surround the shrunken cap. A layer of crystallike ice stretched off in three directions, unbroken except along the shore, where it was evident that the water beneath the ice was still being withdrawn, for the ice cakes were deposited in huge blocks on the sloping shore for several hundred yards beyond its present edge.
As they stepped from the protection of the Sphere’s comfortable warmth the cold surprized them in its intensity, in spite of the heavy coats which they had donned for the occasion. A sharp breeze blew from across the polar cap. The horizon in that direction was partly hidden by the increasing murkiness which they had observed before from above.
A short walk along the shore before resuming their way back to the capital was suggested. Accordingly the little company picked their way over the rugged bottom above the broken incline of ice.
Queer shells and curious bits of rock were strewn about underfoot. Robert picked up a quantity of the prettiest specimens and put them in his pocket. Some were of the most beautiful tint, ranging from a delicate pink to an intense cerise, while others were of equally delightful shades of almost every color in the rainbow.
While their progress was slow over the rough ground, they found that they had covered nearly a mile at the end of some twenty minutes. The sea-bottom offering little further interest, it was decided to return to the Sphere, especially as the sky was assuming a peculiar aspect. It seemed as if they were surrounded by a shrinking circle of darkness. The evident uneasiness of the Martians was anything but reassuring to Robert and his companions. All were plainly anxious to get back safely into the protecting walls of the Sphere.
“I hope one of these Martian blizzards doesn’t surprize us,” remarked Taggert, eying the horizon speculatively, as they hurried along.
The blackening horizon seemed to be racing toward them.
“Frankly, I don’t like the looks of it,” said one of the Martians. “I believe we are in for a winter storm, which is likely to be none the less severe for its earliness.”
“I have observed the progress of one of these polar storms from the Earth,” contributed Professor Palmer. “Within twenty-four hours it had transformed this very pole from a cap of insignificant size to an expanse of snow extending over nearly a quarter of the northern hemisphere.”
A sudden flurry of large but scattered flakes of snow seemed to burst out of nowhere as he spoke.
“Well, it looks as if you are going to have a taste of one anyway,” Taggert cried.
The Sphere was still quite plainly visible in the distance. But, probably because of the falling snow, the Sphere seemed rather to have got farther away during the last few minutes instead of closer. Robert was conscious of a strange foreboding as he quickened his pace over the rough ground with the others.