So far no plans have been made for this day but since days are long here, each day being equivalent to two weeks of time on Earth, we knew that something would be worked out. One thing we were sure of, today we would not return to the crater area. Further exploring in that district we would leave until some night, since nights are each as long as the days and very bright from the light of the Earth.
As we review the surprising events of the preceding night, we also scan the mountains through our binoculars. In so doing, we bring into focus the flag we had planted the night before. It is waving lightly in a gentle breeze that seems to be blowing up there, but to our amazement, gathered around the flag is a group of about a hundred and fifty men.
They are tall and slender with the same type body structure as the man we had met in the dwellings by the lake, only these men are dark brown in color while he was so clear white that he gave the appearance of being almost bloodless. Thereby we knew that they did not belong to the same tribe as the fisherman. Because of their color we decided these men gathered around our flag on the side of the mountain must be dwellers from the hot side. They seem to be armed, as we watch them closely through our glasses, and yet we cannot definitely tell.
They have observed our ship and see us moving around it, so leaving the flag untouched, they come towards us. When they get within five hundred yards of us, we see that their arms consist only of packs of small arrows and a small instrument which we do not recognize. Later we learn that these men were on a hunting trip, since they eat wild fowl. Hearing the volley we fired to frighten the beast in the brush-forest, they had come to investigate what it was, for the sound was as strange to them as it had been to the beast! They were surprised and very curious at seeing the ship and us there.
We were unable to use the same method with these men to let them know who we were and where we had come from that we had used with the fisherman, for now the Earth was gone from view. So we had to draw pictures in the sand, depicting the Moon where we are now, the Sun as it is just rising in the sky and the Earth as it dropped below the horizon not too long ago. Then by drawing another picture of a ship coming through space from the Earth to the Moon and pointing to our ship to indicate it was what we were picturing, we succeeded in making them understand what we were endeavoring to convey to them. Their amazement was equal to the fisherman's when he had learned where he had come from.
After their excitement had calmed somewhat, we took them close to our ship and let them look it over all around from the outside, then we invited them inside to see what was there. They were most jubilant because of this privilege of examining the ship inside as well as outside and not the least frightened by this thing that must indeed have looked like a strange big monster to them.
We are much impressed by their behavior, for even though they are filled with enthusiastic interest, noting every little thing carefully, they do not touch a single thing with their hands. However after noting everything carefully inside and out, they don't leave either. They just stick around.
They seem to be chewing on some kind of a long weed which looks similar to a stalk of celery. This they had brought with them and during the many hours they have been staying around with us, this seems to be all they have had to eat.
While this has been going on, we have been examining some of their arrows to see what they are made of. They are about four inches in length, not much bigger than the old time match stick, and are made of a twig with a feather-like leaf that acts like a balance. On one end of each of these twigs a little volcanic rock or lava stone is stuck in; something like the arrows on Earth are made. As for the instruments which we previously were unable to recognize, they are similar to an air gun. It is with these that the arrows are thrown. The person blows through the gun and an arrow is shot forth at the target. When an arrow blown through one of these instruments hits a fowl, it has a tendency to bring on a mild state of paralysis that will wear off in fifteen minutes, but they cannot kill it, as they show us by hitting a bird flying overhead. And they certainly are experts at this kind of shooting.
It hasn't been very long since we got through examining these weapons, and the natives are all still sitting around chatting among themselves, when we look up and see the white tribe from up the valley coming towards us. Our fisherman friend is leading them. There are about three hundred in all, young and old, men, women and children. As soon as the dark tribesmen saw these white tribespeople coming towards us, they rose to their feet to greet these newly arrived brothers, leaving their weapons on the ground.