Cole of Spyglass Mountain

by Arthur Preston Hankins

As spring approached Joshua’s work in the observatory was kept back by the high winds that prevailed, which caused such atmospherical disturbances as to make his patient vigils at the eye-piece a waste of time. To study Mars under these conditions was impossible, even though his telescope was a Brashear and an exceptionally fine instrument to boot. So when atmospheric conditions were at all favorable he devoted his attention to study of the surface of the moon, and to recording the rise and fall in the luminosity of certain variable stars whose exact minimum and maximum periods were not yet fully established. But his chief interest during this period of poor seeing was the search for vegetation on the floors of certain lunar craters, which had often been reported by well-known astronomers.

Patient vigil was also kept in the case of the marvelous craters of Alphonsus and Eratosthenes. On the floor of Eratosthenes, eight thousand feet below the level of the surrounding Sea of Showers, he at last caught a glimpse of what he believed to be the long-sought indications of vegetable growth. In the northern part of the crater-floor a peculiar spot became noticeable soon after the sunlight began to flood this area. Within fifty-six hours the spot had expanded in two winglike regions, and forty-eight hours afterward it had disappeared.

He reported these discoveries to the Milton University, to be recorded and published for the benefit of other students.

It was during this period that Joshua took up the study of optical physics. Beginning his studies with the few classical treaties he had among his books, he soon was wholly absorbed in the mysteries of lens-making, crystallography, stellar photography, the tele-microscope, and other modern developments along similar lines of research and experiment. So he ordered by mail copies of any works which might have been published during the past three years by authorities on any of these phases of his study, leaving the matter of selection to the discretion of a well-known New York dealer in works of science. Also he bought a number of tools and a diverse assortment of materials for experimental purposes.

Although he had come into possession of a telescope of remarkable defining power, owing to the superior quality of its object glass, he realized that its light-getting power was unequal to the task of showing fine detail on so distant a body as Mars. So, with his new tools and material and his added knowledge to aid him, he set bravely to work to devise some means of increasing the power of his telescope by some kind of accessory apparatus, applied either to the object glass or to the eye-piece. Some such instrument already had been invented and was then in use for special research work on the stars. Why should he not be able to work out some device of equal or even greater efficiency for observation of the planets—especially Mars?

During the winter months, then, he acquired, with indefatigable application, all of the information available on the subject of his investigations. On this solid theoretical foundation he made experiment after experiment, seeking always to discover some type, quality, or combination of lenses, color screens, or other apparatus that would bring him nearer his goal. Some improvement was finally effected, but the advantage gained was not equal to his requirements. Though somewhat discouraged by the meager results, Joshua persevered, often going so far as to make attempts contrary to the principles laid down in the advanced textbooks he had read. In such efforts, however, it seemed that he always failed to advance his cause. But he realized that ultimate success lay in breaking new ground. No mere improvements on existing instruments could serve his purpose. He must explore new regions, devise a new method, just as so many tenacious pioneers had done before him.

To describe the many devices employed by him would form a tedious narrative, comprehensible only to a thoroughgoing student of optical physics. But before spring arrived he had succeeded in constructing an instrument which, attached to the eye-end of the telescope, projected a greatly enlarged image of Mars on an adjacent screen. Or by employment of a suitable color screen laid over his object lens, a camera system could be used, photographing the enlarged image, which then could be studied at leisure. This was a decided advantage, for clear images of the planet’s surface, even with the newly devised accessory instrument, were obtainable only during brief moments of atmospheric quietude. Consequently his hopes soared high.

And now Joshua was ready for the momentous day in June, when he hoped to make the great discovery which would prove to the scientific world that there was active, intelligent life on the planet Mars.

Shanty Madge had been his close companion throughout the winter months. Often of clear nights she climbed with him to the summit of Spyglass Mountain, where she sat by the little air-tight heater and read or sewed while he worked at his various problems. The operations of Montgomery and Applegate had ceased for the winter, and Jack Montgomery was out of the mountains, so that Madge saw nothing of him at all. Often she and Joshua rode horseback together, exploring the remote parts of the valley and its surrounding hills and cañons. Together they went on snowshoes to Ragtown for the mail, Joshua ahead and breaking trail, Madge keeping the pace with the customary vigor of her splendid youth.

Then the long winter broke, and the ice gave up its grip on the lake with explosive lamentations. The saltgrass showed a tinge of green, and tiny starlike flowers modestly showed their faces here and there. Then Shanty Madge hooked up a team and began plowing and building fence, with the keen spring wind on her Indian cheeks. And as the winds made astronomical observations next to useless, and since he was not required to do any work on his homestead for six months or more to come, Cole of Spyglass Mountain decided to go East and unravel the mystery that surrounded him. Also he wished to try and make up with his brother Lester, whom he still loved with that rare devotion that he was capable of. If Lester was not doing well, he hoped to persuade him to return with him to California and throw in his lot with him on the homestead.