“Goodness, gracious, he may be killed too,” cried the Princess. “You had better go and look for him.”
“I can find him better by staying here than by running all over the island to find him. Have you forgotten our ability to have people and scenes pictured in the sky above us?”
“Yes, I had,” said Ione.
“Well, now I wish that we may see where he is.”
They all looked up and on the blue vault above them saw the reflection of their guide at the corner of a street, defending himself against two burly Martians twice his size. One glance was enough. Both boys disappeared at once, their wish being to be with the guide. The girls sat still and watched the panoramic changes as the boys and their guide joined in the fight. The trouble had come about in this way: The Martians recognizing the Mercurian guide by his quick, agile movements and knowing that all Mercury people had magic robes, had tried to steal the acorn containing his wishing-robe. When the boys arrived on the scene, the Martians were soon routed.
After this exciting escapade our party decided that the strenuous life of Mars was not to their liking, so together they resumed their journey, starting for the next island in order.
CHAPTER V.
“Do you see that crimson ball in the distance?” asked the guide. “That is Jupiter, the planet whose Satellite Island we are now about to visit and I am sure you will admire its inhabitants very much.”
Such handsome people as these Jupitarians proved to be! Far beyond their greatest expectations. They were all tall and commanding in appearance, with features like chiselled marble so perfect were they in outline. With their classic brows, straight noses, and clear, luminous eyes they one and all looked like gods and goddesses. Their manners were dignified yet courteous in the extreme, and in a way they impressed one as being rather haughty and reserved.
When our young people landed on the island they found themselves in the middle of a great square on three sides of which were magnificent buildings dedicated to the arts and sciences, over the colossal doorways of which were symbolical mythological figures.