If it be true that the human voice goes out into space, on and forever, as other waves, why should not a lover on a nearby planet receive the message from an earthly maiden? If waves of thought keep pace with waves of light, the call of a human heart would surely reach him.
This tale of Drowsy is the somewhat romantic narrative of a woman and a reckless lover. An unusual lover, to be sure, with a singular inheritance; but very human—and with a full equipment of human faults and virtues. While his achievements may seem to us incredible, the coming generation may regard them as commonplace events.
It was Pliny, the elder, who said, "Indeed, what is there that does not appear marvelous when it comes to our knowledge for the first time?"
So, if this story of Drowsy seems a fairy tale, let us remember that the Atlantic Cable would be a fairy tale to Columbus.
CONTENTS
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | Their Own Affair | [1] |
| II. | How the Acquaintance Began | [19] |
| III. | Uncle Hector's Verdict | [33] |
| IV. | Matrimonial | [43] |
| V. | He Meets Two Ladies | [72] |
| VI. | He Almost Gets Religion | [103] |
| VII. | Toward the Light | [116] |
| VIII. | A Worker of Miracles | [132] |
| IX. | Dreams? | [144] |
| X. | The Farthest Traveler | [162] |
| XI. | Unsight Unseen | [172] |
| XII. | "Incredible!" | [189] |
| XIII. | A Message | [221] |
| XIV. | Over Seas | [229] |
| XV. | A Garden of Wonders | [235] |
| XVI. | The Soul of a Song | [251] |
| XVII. | "I Mean It" | [259] |
| XVIII. | The Cañon of Despair | [267] |
| XIX. | A Young Man Talks | [273] |
| XX. | Another Message | [280] |
| XXI. | Above the Clouds | [290] |
Illustrations
| "A fantastic, solemn, region" | Frontispiece |
| FACING | |
| PAGE | |
| "Gracefully he floated over their heads" | [28] |
| "A cocoanut palace against a mountain of vanilla ice cream" | [114] |
| "I want to know how the earth looks when you are standing on the moon" | [120] |
| "And now, today, down at the bottom of the ocean, those cities and those marble temples are still standing" | [124] |
| "Could lift it in the air to any height, crew, passengers, and cargo" | [154] |
| "And glide forever, a homeless vagrant through the dusky void" | [170] |
| "Far and fast, even for a bird man" | [180] |
| "But who ever saw such a diamond?" | [198] |
| "A most unusual country!" | [206] |
| "But once a city?" | [208] |
| "Older than human history" | [209] |
| "The dried bones of its own past, whatever it was" | [212] |
| "But why build their cities in those sunless chasms?" | [213] |
| "And over everything an awful silence" | [214] |
| "A world of dust and ashes" | [215] |
| "The diamonds are there, and plenty of them" | [216] |
| "With long arms and very short legs" | [217] |
| "But the Diva was far away. She heard nothing save the thing unheard by others" | [226] |