"If you will give me the complete story of your experiences and grant me permission to publish it, I will lend you enough money to purchase an airplane and transmitter. There is just one condition; the story be worthwhile enough to interest a publisher; the royalties then may cover the loan."
My offer gave him new hope. His face brightened. With youthful enthusiasm he grasped my hand, exclaiming, "Then you do believe that my story is true and that I am sane!" I answered, "Of course I do." This inspired him with greater confidence, and he said, "Now to continue my story." Then he handed me another typewritten chapter.
That evening, I continued to read his adventures. I was no longer skeptical.
The Martian airship was fast nearing its destination. In the late afternoon when we reached their stratosphere, I began to feel the delicate motion of the ship and the vibration of its motors. Her fast and silent driving power got her into their atmosphere, as their pilot told me it would, without any shock or collision. The large size of the ship helped her to ride out the air pockets more easily and smoothly than our planes. My friends and I did not suffer so much from air sickness, as we used to on our own ships on Earth.
Alongside, above, and below us there was a heavy traffic of planes of all sizes, shapes, and strange designs, flying safely in the air space, criss-crossing each other with the utmost freedom, at different altitudes, and in different directions. We were signaled by uniformed, specially designed planes. These planes, the pilot explained, were directors of air traffic, like our street traffic policemen.
Another thing attracted my attention. All their planes and air ships, both large and small, had a mast jutting from the nose, giving them a resemblance to swordfish. I asked the pilot the purpose of the masts. "They are fog-dispelling masts," he answered. "They shoot out long waves which dispel fogs, and also purify the atmosphere by killing bacteria within their reach. We have them everywhere on Mars. We exterminate all bacteria before they cause diseases in human beings, domestic animals, and in necessary vegetation."
Their leader now came along and told me that they expected to land that evening. "Just as soon as we get beneath the clouds, we shall be above a great water, and you will see one of our oceans."
We were now over the ocean, a large body of dark-blue, turbulent water with many freight ships, going in all directions. They had no smoke-stacks but freight center masts, with one of them sticking out from the bows. I asked the leader about them. He explained, "There are no smoke-stacks, for, as you have already learned, we do not use oil, coal, or gas; that front mast has the same function as the mast on the airship, to dispel fog and kill bacteria. These ships are used for heavy freight transportation between continents. They are thoroughly seaworthy and unsinkable.
"Since the population of our planet is much greater than yours, our production must be greater. Each of our continents has different climate, soil, and natural resources; each produces different necessities. We try to intensify such production at its source in order to produce in equal amount for the consumption of all of us. Nature often does not help us to produce the full quota of our requirements; we then store surpluses in times of plenty to provide for times of scarcity. We equally ration among our races our products and manufactures.