Fifteen Hundred Miles an Hour

by Charles Dixon

It seemed incredible that such a race of animals could exist, so near to so mighty and populous a town as Pamax; but we were in a world of surprises, and things that appeared unnatural to us, were rational enough, no doubt, to the dwellers on the land of Mars.

All day we passed through this wonderful forest, now catching a glimpse of broad daylight as the trees grew less closely together, then entering a world of shadows and steamy gloom as the canopy became denser once more. We saw trees that were nothing but bare poles, tapering to a point far up in the sky, without branch or leaf, except a little green cup at the summit; others were draped in curiously-curled foliage; others, yet again, decked in noble, fan-shaped leaves a dozen feet across. Some put us in mind of the earthly tropics; but the great majority were entirely new, both in growth and form. The vegetable wonders around us made us forget our fatigue, and even our hunger. We never once thought to halt and rest throughout the livelong day; and we continued walking on and on through the forest until we reached the creek which Kios had told us we should find at the end of our day's journey.

It was a wild, lonely spot, enclosed with tall cliffs on either side, and perhaps half a mile across. The forest continued on the other side at the top of the rocks, as it ceased on this. We had little trouble in finding a suitable camping-place by the side of a tiny stream which tumbled over the cliffs in a shower of spray into the creek below, and furnished us with fresh water, that of the sea being salt and bitter to the taste. Here we formed a rude hut of branches, made our fire, and cooked some of the dried meat that Kios had insisted we should take when we left his forest-home the previous evening. To-night we decided that one of us should keep watch while the others slept, in case of our retreat being discovered by enemies. But the night passed uneventfully away, nothing occurring to disturb our slumbers or to break our peace.

We were moving early, and off on our way by sunrise. For the first hour or so we followed the creek through the depths of the forest; but when we reached the river the aspect of the country changed considerably. It was now an undulating park-like land, with groves of scarlet-foliaged trees.

Far away on the horizon loomed the towering heights of the exhausted volcano, round whose base was the path we had to follow. The scenery was very beautiful, but somehow we had not the heart to admire it, for we felt like fugitives flying to a castle of refuge, through a land teeming with unknown perils and hidden enemies. We left the river, as the banks were too steep and uneven to follow, and gradually ascended the lower spurs of the mountain, that being by far the easiest route. By noon we halted under the towering crest of the dead volcano. The sides were steep and rocky, though covered with many kinds of vegetation, notably a large tree with leaves and flowers like a rhododendron. Here a deep hollow had become a small lake, fringed with curious rushes, over whose placid waters a large troop of white, legless birds, similar to those we saw before, were disporting themselves.

Here we made a fire, and cooked some food. As we were quietly eating our meal, we were startled by an exclamation from Graham.

"Look! look!" he cried in an excited tone. "The troops! the troops from Edos! We are discovered, surrounded!"

The peril of our position was only too true. Stealthily our pursuers had spread themselves in a wide semicircle from the river, extending their flanks round either side of the mountain; and, though still nearly a mile away, they were closing upon us with frightful haste.

"Leave all but the firearms and ammunition, and follow me," shouted the Doctor, leading the way up the hillside amongst the dense brushwood. Our movement was noticed at once by the approaching soldiers, and with a lusty shout they came on in hot pursuit. But the way was rough and steep, and we had the advantage of being much higher up the mountain slope than they. For quite two miles we struggled on, without losing ground or gaining it, until we reached a part of the mountain-side which was strewn with huge boulders of pumice. Here we lost sight of our pursuers, although we could hear their shouts and trumpet-calls below us, and sank down to rest a moment and get our breath. We had not tarried here for more than half a minute, when Sandy's practised eye caught sight of a hole in the ground, twenty paces lower down the hill. We went to examine it, and found that it was a crevice in the side of the volcano, just large enough at the entrance to squeeze our bodies through, but soon becoming much larger inside.

"Quick!" said the Doctor, "help me to roll this block of pumice to the entrance. We can hide in this hole; at any rate, it is a chance—our only chance. We will place the stone so that, once inside, we can roll it over the opening, and by this means conceal the hole from view, should the soldiers happen to pass over the spot."