"I'd a heap sight radder hab soffin' t' eat," said Washington, when it was made known that they were to retire. "I'd jest like to git back t' mah kitchen. I jest know mah Shanghai rooster needs some corn, an' as for dat crazy man, maybe he's broken loose."
"That's so," agreed Mr. Roumann. "If we don't get back, we can't give him anything to eat."
"Let's try to make them understand," suggested the professor, and, accordingly, with chalk, they pictured that they had left behind them, in the projectile, an enemy of theirs, who was bound and helpless. Silex Corundum appeared to understand, and he indicated that the unfortunate man would receive attention.
The travelers were then led out of the palace. They found instead of being urged along by the thought power, however, that they were now allowed to walk. And they also noticed that they could go very rapidly, with little exertion, due to the fact that they only tipped the scales at about a third of their usual weight.
"This is better," observed Jack. "I'd rather walk than be floating along the way we were."
"Yes, I guess they were so anxious to question us that they couldn't wait for the ordinary forms of locomotion," said the professor. "Now that they know something about us they will let us do as we please for a while."
One of the Martians, who seemed to be a minor official, led them out into the street. They found that it was lighted by means of the same metal boxes that were in the palace.
Overhead were the two tiny moons of Mars, but they gave but little light, and had it not been for the wonderful red substance the streets would have been quite dark.
"This stuff is what makes Mars seem so I red when we look at it with telescopes from our earth," observed Mr. Roumann. "It is a very marvelous chemical. I must get some to examine."
"I wonder where they'll put us?" asked Jack, but his question was answered a few moments later, when they were ushered into a finely built house of generous size, and by signs their guide indicated that they were to make this their home. It was nicely furnished, though in a different manner from houses in the world, and there were many scientific books and instruments in it.