Recalling that among the various books they had with them, was one containing photographic maps of the moon, compiled by the greatest of the earth’s astronomers, Carl procured it and with Sana’s assistance, compared the pictured maps with the planet itself. Yes, there was the great Copernicus crater, with its strange central peak rising some eleven thousand feet from the bottom of the pit, although the peak rose only some two thousand five hundred feet above the surface of the moon. There was the Plato crater, sixty miles in diameter with peaks over seven thousand feet high; Clavius, one hundred and forty miles from rampart to rampart with peaks sixteen thousand feet high; Herschel ninety miles in diameter; Gauss and Humbolt each about one hundred miles across. He recognized, too, the lunar Apennines, some four thousand five hundred miles long, soaring in rugged steps to a height of eighteen thousand feet; the lunar Alps, consisting of some hundred peaks, rising to a height of ten thousand feet, while the great peaks of the Doerfel and Leipnitz mountains overshadowed all in their majestic heights of twenty-six to twenty-seven thousand feet.
Gleaming white, dull red and brilliant yellow the peaks and craters reflected the rays of the sun. A beautiful sight, indeed, yet more impressive, to Carl, was the fact that the planet they inspected was but the skeleton of what might once have been a world of life and progress. Who knows?
Leaving the moon behind, they headed for the earth. The dust clouds had disappeared and the land and water surfaces were clearly visible even at their great distance. Their earth-home was once again in sight. A feeling of happiness stole over the returning wanderers. Truly, there is no place like home.
Guiding the “Meteor” in the direction of the earth’s rotation, they swooped earthward, landing at last in a highly vegetated field.
People were working the lands, using, Carl soon saw, rather primitive implements. The alighting airplane caused a great deal of commotion among these people, but seeing that the people who stepped from the machine were human beings, looking much like themselves, they soon got over their fright, and came forward, eager questions on their lips.
They spoke a sort of dialect English, and Carl had little difficulty in making himself understood. He informed them that he, too, was an earth-dweller, who had returned with his wife and baby from a trip to a distant world. Amazement was plain on every face, but they assured him of their belief in what he said, adding that they had never before seen such a thing as the strange ship in which he had come, although their books taught them that there was a time when earth-men flew about in some such machines.
Scarcely believing his ears, Carl asked them the name of the country in which he had landed, and was told it was called “Artonia.”
“Artonia? I have never heard of that. Where is it in location to the rest of the world?”
He learned, then, that this was the region of the one-time North Pole, as it was called ages ago.
“Ages ago? What year is it now?” he asked, amazed.