"Hadn't you better be up there on the look-out?" queried Markham in some trepidation.
He was manifesting an interest in his personal safety that pleased the professor.
"There is not much danger at present," returned Quinn. "When we have plunged farther into the interstellar void, it will be well to stand watch and watch about at the telescope."
"Will it not be possible to land on some other planet, Mars, for instance?" queried Popham with sudden hope.
"I should prefer Mars," added Meigs, reflecting the hope shown in his friend's face. "They have been signaling from Mars, and perhaps we can find out what they want over there."
Quinn shook his head.
"We are in the hands of fate, gentlemen," said he. "We may drop into some port, but what that port will be is beyond my power even to surmise."
"The moon isn't so far off," suggested Markham.
"Only two hundred and forty thousand miles," said Quinn.
"We should be there in less than two hours from the time of starting," remarked Meigs, after a mental bout with the figures.