Fifteen Hundred Miles An Hour

The meal was quickly over, none of us having much inclination to eat after the excitement of the previous night.

"It is now time that we began seriously to discuss our future movements," remarked the Doctor, rising from the table, and leading the way to the laboratory, whither we usually retired as soon as our meals were over. "There is much for us to consider and decide."

The sun was now well up in the heavens; the sky was blue and cloudless as on Earth; whilst two of the Martial moons could be seen pale and lustreless above us. Their rays were appreciably less powerful and brilliant. While the Doctor and Temple made notes and prepared for departure, Graham went down on to Mars, to search for his game; but he sought in vain. It had disappeared entirely. A few splashes of blood were to be seen on the sides of the Sirius, and a small pool of the same marked the spot where it had fallen. Some kind of creature, hunting in the swamp for prey, had carried it off, and we saw it no more. Graham's disappointment was only excelled by the Doctor's; but they consoled themselves by the thought that they would soon obtain other specimens as curious and as interesting. We were all of us eager to get away from the swamp, and as soon as Graham returned, the Doctor gave the order to start.

But the motors sped round to no purpose – the Sirius was held fast in the treacherous mud as in a vice, and the force of suction was so great that we found it would be impossible to move until we had dug out that portion which was buried in the slimy ground. We were, however, too eager to see something of our new world to stay and do this, and we ultimately agreed to set out and explore the country round about on foot.

We armed ourselves with rifles, knives, revolvers, and plenty of ammunition, whilst Sandy carried sufficient food for our needs during the day.

How can we describe our sensations, as one by one we climbed down from the Sirius, and, headed by the Doctor, trooped off in Indian file towards the shore of the adjacent lake; stumbling, struggling, and wading through the swampy forest, full of expectancy, and not without a certain amount of dread as to what might befall us in this strange world? Our dog bounded and barked with wildest delight on regaining his freedom; and so noisy did he become that we had to tie him up, and Sandy led him. Any disinterested spectator would have thought us a queer party; and truly we looked so, for somehow we felt as strangers in a strange land, and out of place with all that surrounded us.

Nothing inspired this feeling to so great an extent as the effect which the much lower specific gravity of Mars than Earth had upon us. We felt too small for our new home; and such was the result of this that we were able to perform feats of jumping and leaping that would have made the athletic champions of Earth turn green with envy. Even staid and elderly Doctor Hermann thought nothing of taking a leap of ten or twelve feet; and our heavy, clumsy collie dog, Rover, seemed transformed into a greyhound, so active and light of foot was he. We felt in much better spirits than we had done for years, younger, stronger, more daring, and courageous. It did not take us long to reach the lake, but the prospect disappointed us. Round the shores, as far as we could see, the forest of reeds extended; but beyond the lake, far away to the westward, the country was more elevated and promising. It was vain to attempt to get round the shore through such a swampy wilderness, and, baffled, we had to retrace our footsteps. Before leaving the lake, however, we ascertained that the water was fresh, and of excellent quality.

"We will not be 'done,' Graham, after all," remarked the Doctor. "We will go back to the Sirius and get out our india-rubber boat. She will carry the four of us comfortably enough."

"A capital idea, Doctor; I quite forgot our boat," exclaimed Temple.

We returned at once to the Sirius and got out the boat, which we all helped to carry through the reeds to the water. Some little time was spent in putting the various parts together, but when all was finished our little craft looked splendid, and delighted us with her buoyancy and stability.

As soon as all was ready we embarked upon this unknown lake, Sandy and Graham rowing, Temple steering, and the Doctor keeping a sharp look-out generally. Our dog curled himself up under a seat in the stern, and went to sleep. It was some time before we got out far enough to see much of the surrounding country, and when we did so the prospect was by no means an encouraging one. A vast forest of reeds, intermingled with large trees, whose smooth, spindle-shaped trunks we had already examined with astonishment, extended for miles and miles round the margin of the water. All seemed desolate; not a living creature could be heard or seen. A light breeze now began to ruffle the surface of the lake, and this we took advantage of by hoisting our slender mast, and also a small lug sail, which carried us along famously without the fatigue of rowing.

By the Doctor's advice, Temple steered nearly due west, towards the mountains, and as we sailed along the country assumed a more inviting appearance. The dense fringe of reeds gradually became broken, and drier ground was marked by small hills and tall trees, of graceful outline and dense red foliage, which gleamed very brilliantly as the sun shone full upon them. Objects on the opposite shore became more and more distinct, and we were able to detect a great variety of trees and shrubs clothing the sides of the valleys, which extended gently upwards from the lake into the heart of the distant mountains.

We sailed steadily along, the Doctor picking up a large red leaf which was floating on the water as we passed by. It was about eighteen inches long from point to stem, and the same in width, perfectly diagonal in shape. Its tissues appeared much the same as those composing the leaves of earthly trees. Once the enormous flat head of some water-monster peeped above the surface, and sank again. Nothing further of interest occurred until we reached the shore, although Sandy declared that he saw a large bird flying along, but as none of the rest observed it we concluded that he was probably mistaken. The bed on this side of the lake was much deeper than on the other, and the bottom was rocky. The water was remarkably clear, and we could see many beautiful plants of strange shapes, the like of which we had never seen before, waving to and fro in the crystal depths. Some were like long lengths of blue-green ribbon; others were cup-shaped, poised on tapering stems; whilst others, yet again, were composed of long slender twigs with no foliage, but a bright scarlet ball, about as big as a pigeon's egg, on the extremity of each. A very beautiful little plant, with a light red, scaly leaf, covered most of the rocks on shore, and many of the pebbles which strewed the beach were exceptionally fine and brilliant; some shone like emeralds, and were almost as clear as that gem. Here the Doctor was in his glory, indeed! He fell down on his knees upon the shore as soon as his feet touched dry ground, and absolutely revelled in the beautiful pebbles, as a miser would in his gold, taking them up by handfuls, and dropping them one by one through his fingers. "Temple," he shouted in his enthusiasm, "Temple, these stones are not of Earth; they are NEW; fairer far than earthly riches; more beautiful, more precious than all the gems of Earth combined; for not all of them could purchase one of these!"

The shore where we landed was for some distance inland rough. Beyond the belt of shrubs were groves and forests, extending far up the mountain slopes, and the trees which composed them were truly magnificent. Many were evidently nondeciduous. The foliage of nearly all was dark red; but here and there a smaller tree, with blue leaves and green flowers, stood out in bold relief from the rest. Many of them were loaded with giant-fruit products, hundreds of pounds in weight, and emerald-green in colour, shaped something like gourds. They were extremely acrid to the taste; but a pink berry, about the size of a walnut, on a vine-like plant, was sweet and deliciously flavoured. It would take up far too much of the space allotted by us for this narrative to attempt to describe a tithe of the wonderful and curious types of vegetation we found in this fair land of promise, where everything we looked at was new to our eyes, absolutely new; and our exclamations of surprise and admiration were almost incessant. We felt as dwellers in a country village must feel upon seeing the wonders of a great metropolis for the first time.

But the day was passing on, and at noon we returned to the shore, and rigging up a shelter from the sun with our sail, we made a fire of some driftwood on the beach, and prepared our meal. Sandy had loaded himself with fruit and berries of various kinds, which he proceeded to distribute by way of dessert; but the Doctor advised us not to eat them until their properties were better known to us. It was hard to resist such tempting, luscious fare when we were hot and parched, yet we left them untouched, wisely or unwisely, and quenched our thirst at the lake.

Whilst enjoying our after-dinner smoke, and discussing the events of the morning, we were startled by a singularly rich and beautiful song, as of a sweet flute, which issued from a bush clothed in bloom just behind us.

"A bird, I do declare!" excitedly exclaimed the Doctor.

"And one of exceptionally sweet song, too," answered Temple, both rising to their feet as they spoke.

But nothing could be seen; and for several minutes the delicious music was hushed.

"Doctor, it is na bird at a'; it is a butterfly! See, there he is!" shouted Sandy, pointing, as he ran, to a small bush twenty paces ahead.

"Goodness gracious!" exclaimed the Doctor, in astonishment, "I believe Sandy is right!"

And right he was, for certain; for this singing insect fluttered lazily along, to a bush much nearer to us; and, poising on one of the topmost blooms, again warbled as sweetly as before.

"Truly, indeed," said the Doctor, in amazement, "we have reached a world of anomalies! To all intents and purposes that is a butterfly, yet its structure must be entirely different from any insect on Earth, or known to man."

Others now appeared. Their wings were of various colours and shapes, denoting, probably, several species; but one with light turquoise-blue pinions was by far the commonest.

Soon after we saw the insects, a flock of white birds, about the size of a thrush, appeared, flying quickly along the side of the lake in a very swallowlike manner. One of them Graham was fortunate enough to shoot; and we were surprised beyond measure to find that it was without legs, and pouched, like the Marsupalia, or kangaroos of Earth. In the pouch were several pinkish eggs; and we inferred that this creature hatched them as it carried them about the air, requiring no nest for the purpose. It was clothed in plumage more like scales than feathers, the filaments being similar to fine shreds of horn.

Many other species of these curious legless birds, and singing insects, were seen by us as we strolled along the shore. Just, however, as we were about to embark, a magnificent animal trotted down one of the valleys to the lake, to drink. It was certainly three times as big as the largest elephant, though slim and graceful of build as a fawn. Here all further resemblance ceased. It was something like a greyhound in appearance, but the ears were broad and very large, and the dark eye exceptionally prominent. Its tail was long and bushy; its hoof uncloven, and the colour of the skin was as dull copper. We were too much lost in admiration of the beautiful creature to shoot it down, and before we had recovered from our surprise, it bounded away towards the mountains with amazing speed. We subsequently counted eight more of these animals, grazing on the patches of red "grass" on the lower hills.

"Respecting the inhabitants of this new world," said the Doctor; "really, its fauna and flora, so far as we have observed them, are simply grand."

"Bar the serpents, Doctor," said Graham.

"More than satisfied," said Temple, "I am charmed and delighted, and now share your conviction that a higher type of animal still remains to be discovered. You know to what I refer – creatures of intellect, formed in the image of God, like ourselves."

"We had best now return, my friends. By the time we reach the Sirius the sun will be near setting, and it is not wise to pass through the swamp at dusk, after what we have already seen of its inhabitants," said the Doctor.

Laden with a great variety of specimens, we made our way to the boat, and were soon rowing across the lake again towards the swamp. The breeze had died away, so that our sail was useless, and we had to pull the entire distance. The sun was sinking behind the range of mountains we had just left, as we stopped and began to pack up our boat; and by the time we had got everything inside the Sirius, night had fallen.

Tired and hungry, we were glad to reach our "home" again, and as soon as we had eaten we all of us retired to rest, and passed a peaceful, uneventful night. If the monsters of the swamp were noisy, we did not hear them; not one of us woke until the sun had long risen.

After breakfast, we commenced our task of digging out the Sirius from the mud. The Doctor was busy preserving specimens, dissecting others, and writing his scientific journals. Six hours' hard work sufficed to get the Sirius clear enough to start. We also took the precaution of putting a considerable amount of ballast into our air-ship, to replace the stores which had been consumed, so that we should not again experience any difficulty in descending. By the time all this was done the afternoon was well advanced, yet so weary of the swamp were we, that we decided to leave it at once.

"We cannot do better than make for the beach where we landed this morning, on the other side of the lake, ascending about ten thousand feet as we cross. That will enable us to survey a good many miles of country," said the Doctor to Graham.

Slowly we soared away from the marsh forest, high over the reeds, up into the pure, fresh air of heaven, where from the balcony we could view the land and water below us. The swamp was enormous, many, many square miles in extent, and beyond it appeared a dense forest of quite a different kind of vegetation. The country, as far as we could see, from the base of the mountains to the shores of the lake and beyond it, was much the same throughout its area as that which we had already explored the previous day. Certainly none of it bore the appearance of civilisation – all seemed virgin wilderness, and our hearts sank within us. Beyond the belt of dark forest on the other side of the swamp, we could see the ocean; looking landwards, the highest of the mountains concealed the view.

"Do you think it advisable to go further to-day, Doctor?" asked Graham.

"Well, now we are up so high it will certainly be best to do as much surveying as possible, and then we can discuss our position and future movements to-night. Put us up a few more thousand feet, Graham, so that we may clear these mountains and see what the country is like beyond them."

The scene from above the mountain range was indescribably beautiful. We looked down upon lofty snow-capped peaks, romantic valleys, leaping waterfalls, and slumbering lakes; upon wild and lonely plateaux, glaciers, and snow-fields; upon steep cliffs, gentle slopes, cone-shaped summits, and others like unto pyramids, pinnacles, or spires. We went right over the yawning crater, and looked down into the smoke and fire which rose gently from its hidden depths, now calm and peaceful as a sleeping child. We saw the birthplace of rivers, high up the hillsides, and could trace them from their source to the distant ocean; we noticed the various belts of vegetation growing on the mountain slopes from the lake to the snow-line – but we saw no trace of anything shaped and fashioned as ourselves! Higher and higher we rose, and at last the country to the westward, or behind the mountains, gradually came into view. It was even more charmingly beautiful than the country we had just left behind us – more level, more wooded, better watered, and parts of it apparently under cultivation! Our hearts beat fast within us as we saw what looked like vast enclosures, with long, winding canals running through them; and even more excited still did we become when we distinctly made out a colossal bridge which spanned a deep valley between two hills.

"There! there are the signs of a higher intelligence at last; the brute creation does not reign supreme, as we feared," said Temple, bursting into tears, and unable to control his feelings longer.

Graham waxed eloquent over the engineering qualities of the bridge, the enormous width of its span making the mightiest bridges of Earth seem but as toys in comparison.

We were too far away (quite thirty miles) to see much detail, but we could distinguish, as Temple spoke, two vast cities, one on either hill, joined together by the bridge, with palaces and halls and lofty towers, apparently of white marble, glistening in the rays of the setting sun. Upon seeing this wonderful city, Doctor Hermann very wisely gave the word to descend as quickly as possible, in case we might be observed. In five minutes we were safe on the ground again, the Sirius snugly hidden in a beautiful grove of trees and underwood on the banks of a stream, in a spot where we should at all events be able to retreat and readily conceal ourselves in case of emergency.

"Yes, Temple, your fears were all unfounded," answered the Doctor. "Mars is inhabited by reasoning beings. I assure you it is most gratifying to find the speculations of my early days of study, and the conclusions of more matured years of experience, turning out to be absolute facts. When on Earth, I used to dream of a new race of intellectual beings, far away out here; to ponder over their pursuits and their appearance; to wonder if they were more highly developed, physically and mentally, than we. Now these strangers are but a few hours' walk away from us; and, if I mistake not, those beings that made and dwell in that fair city yonder are of a higher development even than ourselves. I prophesy their intellect is greater, their beauty fairer, their talents more numerous, their civilization more advanced, or not so much decayed as our own! To-morrow we will seek their acquaintance, and make ourselves known unto them!"

To-morrow! How can we spend the hours that divide us from then! But darkness is settling fast around us, and we must wait in patience the coming of a new day.