Zarlah the Martian

by R. Norman Grisewood

Not a moment was to be lost! Some unknown force was exerting its influence over the movable objects on the moon's surface. What this power was I knew not, but the direction in which the aerenoid had glided proved it to be other than Mars. Our position was now perilous in the extreme, for were we suddenly to glide off into space we would undoubtedly be lost, as it was necessary to have air surrounding us in order to propel the car. Without an atmosphere we would therefore be helpless and entirely at the mercy of the unknown and mysterious power. Indeed, it was evident that only our increased weight had saved us from immediately following the other aerenoid, and I felt that at any moment we might do so. Although lacking the power of propulsion, my hope was that our repelling force, which I knew must be increased to an enormous extent by the slight gravity on the moon's surface, would hurl us off that satellite straight upward into the influence of Mars' gravity.

Seizing the lever, I cried to Zarlah to He on the floor of the car, but even as she did so, the aerenoid rocked again with still greater violence—in another moment it would be too late! Thrusting the lever over, I exposed the full repelling force to the moon's surface. The shock hurled me to the floor, and so terrific was the force with which we shot upward, that I was held powerless to move hand or foot. For a space of time which seemed to me hours I was obliged to remain thus, contenting myself with calling words of encouragement to my dear one, whom I greatly feared must have suffered severely from the awful shock. At last, finding that I could rise, I hastened to her side, and, to my great relief, discovered that she had entirely escaped injury.

As it was impossible in any way to control the aerenoid speeding upward through space, it was useless for me to stand by the levers, and, assisting Zarlah to rise, we approached a window in the roof of the car and glanced upward at the planet to which we were rushing. A remarkable phenomenon met our eyes! Mars appeared to be no longer a sphere—the great globe that we had beheld from the moon—but instead a huge dome, which hung over us, ever deepening in the center as we rushed up toward it. Inconceivable though it seemed, I knew that, to produce such an effect, we must already have covered more than half the distance between the two bodies. Upward we shot, and although there was no means of ascertaining how fast we were travelling, I knew by the rapidly changing appearance of the dome above us that our speed must be terrific.

We had steadily grown lighter, and now we discovered that we were entirely without weight, and that it required some effort to keep our feet on the floor of the car.

Still upward we rushed into the center of the dome which now stretched down and encircled us on all sides like an immense umbrella, when suddenly, without the slightest perceptible movement of the car, the dome appeared to swing around until it lay beneath us, and instantly we felt our feet settling upon the floor of the car.

"We are safe from the unknown power now, dearest!" I exclaimed, anxiously examining the lever that controlled the descent, to make sure that the repelling metal was fully exposed. "We are dropping upon Mars, and our repelling metal should soon check our speed."

"Oh, Harold, my love," sighed Zarlah, timidly clinging to me, her eyes filled with tears, and a look of great yearning coming into them, "my heart despairs at the dangers that encompass us! With you as my goal I knew no fear; but now that I have you, I am a coward. Is our love forbidden, that we should be thus pursued by these terrible dangers?"

"Courage, dearest!" I replied, reassuringly. "We shall soon be safe, and then nothing shall interrupt the happiness for which we have endured so much."

I hid from her the anxiety that lurked near my heart, and endeavored to interest her by advancing several theories upon the phenomenal appearance of the planet's surface.

Like a huge cup the land now stretched up and around us, but we were still descending with frightful velocity. I had noticed that the air in the car was becoming warmer, and now, filled with apprehension, I stretched out my hand and touched the wall. Instantly I withdrew it—the wall was hot! Like a flash the full realization of our terrible danger burst upon me. I had relied upon the repelling metal to check our descent before we entered the region of air, and had supposed that we would float lightly to the ground under perfect control. But now I saw how foolishly I had erred, in omitting to take into consideration the terrific momentum we would attain in our journey of six thousand miles through space. This momentum was now driving us to the ground, in spite of our strong repelling force, and with such a frightful speed that heat was being generated by friction with the air as we rushed through it. The creaking and straining sound coming from the bottom of the aerenoid was evidence of the fight the repelling metal was making to overcome this momentum before the surface of Mars was reached, but I shuddered as I realized what little effect it had upon this gigantic force.