"Maybe the Martians won't let you."
"Maybe not. I wish we could start to–morrow."
"Well, we can't. The Annihilator isn't near done. We will be at her for two weeks yet."
The boys were busy for some time fitting up the living–room. They were in the midst of this occupation, and were conversing about the strange experiences in store for them, when Jack was startled by hearing a strange voice say:
"Say, don't you want some help building this airship?"
He looked up, to see a man standing near one of the entrances to the projectile—an entrance that would be closed when the Annihilator was finished. The man was a stranger, and from his appearance Jack judged that he was a mechanic.
"How'd you get in here?" asked Mark, for he knew it was against the rules for any stranger to enter the machine shop, much less approach the projectile.
"I walked," replied the man. "I saw the door open, and I heard hammering going on in here. I knew it was a machine shop, and as I'm a first class machinist, out of work, I thought I'd apply for the job."
"How'd you get past the doorkeeper?" inquired Jack, for he knew that Andy Sudds was supposed to be on guard with his gun.
"He wasn't at the door," went on the man. "There was nobody there, so I walked in. Can't you give me a job on the airship?"