"There's no telling when we may pass near one," said Mr. Roumann.
"S'posin' we hit one?" asked Washington, his eyes becoming large with fear.
"There's not much danger. My instruments will warn me when we approach any of the heavenly bodies, and we can steer clear of them. The only things we have to fear will be comets, and their orbits are so irregular that there is no telling when we may get in the path of one."
"What will happen when we do?" asked Mark.
Mr. Roumann shrugged his shoulders.
"We'll do our best to get out of the way," he said.
"And if we can't?"
"Well—I guess that will be the end of us."
This was a new danger, and one the boys had not thought of before. But the German scientist did not seem to attach much importance to the matter.
They traveled on for two days, nothing of moment occurring. The Annihilator, true to its name, fairly ate up space, though they were still far from Mars.