"A red aurora!" said the captain. "Is that the way you explain it?"
"Not a red aurora exactly," returned Raed, "but an aurora shining down through the thick fog. The aurora itself is miles above the fog, up in the sky and probably of the same bright yellow as usual; but the dense mist gives it this red hue."
"I've heard that the northern lights were caused by electricity," said Weymouth. "Is that so?"
"It is thought to be electricity passing through the air high up from the earth," replied Raed. "That's what the scientific men tell us."
"They can tell us that, and we shall be just as wise as we were before," said Kit. "They can't tell us what electricity is."
"Why!" exclaimed the captain, "I thought electricity was"—
"Well, what?" said Kit, laughing.
"Why, the—the stuff they telegraph with," finished the captain a little confusedly.
"Well, what's that?" persisted Kit.
"What is it?" repeated the captain confidently. "Why, it is—well—Hang it! I don't know!"