"Yes, you'll have to be careful, Wash," cautioned Jack. "If you go out for a moonlight walk you may have to come home in the dark."
"Den I ain't goin'; an' when I do I'll take a lantern."
Mr. Roumann told the boys much more of interest about Mars, and then, taking them to the engine–room, he showed them something about adjusting the motors and other machinery, though he did not disclose the secret of the power.
"Now we'll go to the pilot house, and I'll show you some things there," he concluded.
They found Professor Henderson at the wheel.
"Is everything all right?" asked the German.
"I think so," answered the scientist. "This airship doesn't behave exactly as the ones I constructed before, but it seems to be moving along at good speed."
"Yes, we have increased our rate of progress," stated Mr. Roumann. "We are now going nearly fifty–five miles a second. At that rate we shall be beyond the atmosphere sooner than I expected."
The remainder of that day they kept on shooting forward toward Mars, nothing occurring to mark the passage of time, save the monotonous ticking of various clocks. There was nothing to be seen, save the glare of sunlight outside.
"Aren't we ever going to meet with world, or a wandering star, or something?" asked Jack rather discontentedly.