At the end of the pier the travelers found some queer carriages waiting for them. They were boxes, fitted up with soft cushions, and were on runners, like those of a sled. Jack looked and saw that the street was paved with a substance like glass, very slippery.
"We're going to have a sleigh ride!" he exclaimed; "but I don't see any horses to pull us."
"Maybe these are automobile sleds," suggested Mark.
"If they are, there's no motor in them," declared Jack, making a careful examination.
"Then they move by the same power as do the boats," was his chum's opinion. "Yes, see the metal box?" and he pointed to one in each vehicle.
The leading Martian motioned for Jack and Mark to get in one sled, Mr. Roumann and Professor Henderson were assigned to another, and Washington and Andy to a third. The leading Martian took his place in the vehicle with the two men, while two others of the queer people got in the remaining two sleds, which the boys dubbed the vehicles. No sooner had they done so than they started off as if by magic, sliding over the smooth, glass–like streets.
"Well, they certainly have the transportation problem down to a science," remarked Jack. "This beats a taxicab all to pieces."
"That's right," agreed Mark. "But say, this is a mighty fine city."
The boys looked on either side of them. The street, which was thronged with the queer feather and fur covered inhabitants, led between rows of stately buildings, all built of some light–colored substance. The designs were like those usually seen in fantastic fairy pictures—beautiful in the extreme.
The street led to a great public square, and as the vehicles swung into it, the boys could not repress a murmur of delight. For, at the head of the square was a great palace of glass, its walls so transparent that everything going on within could be seen from without.