The following two days were busy ones, as many little adjustments had to be made to the machine. But at last Mr. Roumann announced that all was completed.
"We will start day after to–morrow," he said. "All the stores are in the projectile, I have every thing arranged, and we will begin our trip Mars."
"Are we going to go up like a balloon, through the roof of the shed?" asked Jack. "If we we'll have to take the roof off."
"No, we'll start out through the great doors," said the German. "My plan is to elevate the nose or bow, of the projectile, point it toward the sky, at a slight angle, by means of propping it up on blocks. Then we will get in, seal all the openings, and I will turn on the power, and off we go. We can shoot right through the big doors at the end of the shed, and no one will know anything about it, for we will leave the earth so fast that before any one is aware of our plans we will be out of sight."
"That is a good idea," commented Mr. Henderson. "Have you boys put everything in the projectile that you'll need?"
"I guess so," replied Jack, "though it's hard to tell what you really will need on another planet."
"All I want is my gun and some ammunition," declared Andy Sudds. "I can get along with that."
"How about you, Washington?" asked Jack.
"'Well, I suah would laik t' take mah fowls along."
"I don't see how you can do that very well, Wash," objected Mr. Henderson. "We would have to carry food for them, and our space is very limited at best. I'm afraid you'll have to get rid of your chickens."