Fifteen Hundred Miles an Hour Page 5

  CHAPTER IV.

  AWFUL MOMENTS.

  Day after day, week after week, and month after month sped the _Sirius_on its journey, like a meteor across the gulf of space. We had now beeneighteen months away from Earth, and our distance from that planetwe computed to be quite nineteen millions of miles. The Earth wasremarkably small in appearance, and the moon could only be detectedthrough a glass. On the other hand, Mars had risen in elevation, andsensibly increased in brilliancy and apparent size. Other heavenlybodies had also changed considerably in their aspect. Some had got muchlarger, others smaller, many had disappeared entirely from our vision,whilst several new orbs had been discovered. The Doctor was able tomake many observations of the little-known asteroids which travel roundthe sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Scores of new ones wereseen.

  For a long time Doctor Hermann had been worried by the course whichthe _Sirius_ was taking. In spite of the fact that we were apparentlysteadily travelling onwards across the vast belt of space between Earthand Mars, certain of his calculations appeared to demonstrate that wewere being drawn rapidly towards the sun! The quantity of water wecondensed from the atmosphere now became very small, and eventuallyfailed altogether, so that we had to depend upon our scanty store andthe lozenges.

  After an unusually long and tedious day, the Doctor gloomily threwaside his papers and his instruments, exclaiming to Graham in almostpathetic tones, "It is as I have long expected; the sun is too much forus!"

  "But, Doctor, you may have erred in your calculations. Do you reallythink it wise to take such a pessimistic view of our situation?"answered Graham, with a hopefulness that he was far from actuallyfeeling.

  "If Temple can spare us a moment, ask him to join us, and I willendeavour to explain our actual position, and the prospects we havebefore us."

  "A horrible one! A most horrible one!" the Doctor muttered under hisbreath, as Graham walked thoughtfully away.

  Temple and Graham joined the Doctor almost immediately.

  "Now, Doctor, what have you got to tell us this time? What newdiscovery have you made? Nothing unpleasant, I sincerely hope," saidTemple, in his usual cheery way.

  "My dear friends," began the Doctor, "I am afraid I have bad news tocommunicate--very bad news. But let us look the situation squarelyin the face, and discuss it calmly and philosophically, as becomesintelligent men."

  "Many weeks ago," continued the Doctor, "I explained to Graham andyourself that our centre of gravity had changed from the Earth tothe sun; instead of earth glimmering at our feet, nineteen millionsof miles below us, we have the fiery sun, as both of you cannothave failed to observe. This I must hasten to explain, is cause forno surprise; it is just what I expected would be the case until wecame within the attractive forces of Mars. But my instruments havedemonstrated that our motors are now absolutely of no use. They areworking just as usual, but our speed increases rather than diminishes,and from this I infer we are influenced by some vast attractive force.That centre of attraction to which we seem hurrying can only be thesun! No further words of mine are needed to render more clear thehorrible doom which awaits us."

  As he finished speaking, the Doctor rested his head on his hand, theusual attitude he assumed when engaged in deep thought.

  "But, Doctor, before we take all this for granted, at least let ussatisfy ourselves more completely that things are really so bad," saidGraham.

  "No use, Graham, no use; I have studied these matters too long and toocarefully needlessly to alarm you," answered the Doctor.

  "Well, Doctor," said Graham, "at least allow me to stop our motors.Then what you say cannot possibly be refuted."

  "I think Graham is right, Doctor," remarked Temple. "It seems to me avery practical suggestion."

  "You may do so if you like, but it is trouble thrown away," the Doctoranswered.

  Graham was already hastening from the laboratory down the steps to theengine-room, followed by his two friends, and a moment afterwards themachinery ceased to work; the bright cranks and wheels and rods werestill; the motors ceased to revolve. At last this beautiful monument ofengineering skill, which had kept incessantly at work for upwards ofeighteen months, was stopped, and breathlessly the three men awaitedthe result.

  Doctor Hermann, cool and collected even in such awful moments, walkedslowly back to the laboratory to consult his instruments. Graham andTemple followed, too excited to speak.

  "Well, Doctor," said Temple at last, after he had patiently waited hisinvestigation, "what are your conclusions?"

  With marvellous coolness, as though answering the merest commonplaceremark, Doctor Hermann replied: "It is as I said before; the _Sirius_is falling with ever-increasing speed into the sun! We are lost!

  "Our doom, even if our speed goes on increasing, cannot overtake usfor several years," continued the Doctor, "but I doubt if our suppliescould hold out for such a period."

  "Doctor," broke in Temple excitedly, "that is poor comfort; you ask ustoo much endurance. I, for one, will not, cannot, go on in such misery,only to be overwhelmed at last. Two alternatives are left to us. We caneither go on in a lingering agony of suspense, and meet our doom bystarvation, or by fire; or, we can end our woes swiftly and effectuallywith these"--and as he spoke he pointed to the four nickel-platedrevolvers hanging loaded against the wall. "We can but die like men!"

  "I must confess, if all hope is really gone, that I incline toMr. Temple's view of the situation, and would prefer a sharp andpractically painless death to, it may be, years of horrible suspense,crowned with the ten thousand times more awful fate of being hurledinto yonder furnace at last," said Graham.

  "Temple, and you, too, Graham," answered the Doctor, "you surprise meby such a shallow mode of reasoning. Listen to me. Both of you are freeagents to act as you may think fit; but before you rashly take yourlives, at least wait a little longer. We are in the midst of strangesurroundings, and still stranger possibilities. There is nothing towarrant you in taking such extreme measures."

  "My sentiments, Doctor, must, I suppose, be attributed to my weakness,"answered Temple.

  "You may taunt me as you will," said Graham, "but I believe there arerare occasions in life when self-murder can be no crime--nay, is evenjustified."

  "Then all I can say is that your ethics are not mine, that yourtheology is not half the comfort or support to you in your extremitythat my philosophy is to me in mine," remarked the Doctor.

  "Once more," said the Doctor, "let me bid you wait. Let the motors bestarted again, Graham, at full pressure. Some unforeseen occurrence mayyet work our salvation."

  As time went on, Graham and Temple became more resigned to their fate;and, in answer to the Doctor's urgent entreaties, gave him theirpromise to think no more of suicide, at least until matters becamemore desperate. The Doctor never abandoned hope. Calmly he bore upunder all difficulties, plodding along with his instruments and hiscalculations; writing up his journals, and making voluminous notes,though every word he penned was probably never destined to be read byany other mortal but himself.

  During the twentieth month of our absence from Earth, vast clouds ofmeteorolites passed within a few miles of us; and at one time the wholerange of our vision was filled with these brilliant objects, just likea snowstorm of sparkling fire. Many small ones struck the _Sirius_,others exploded close by with sharp reports. We were too much alarmedand too disconsolate thoroughly to enjoy the glorious sight, theeffects being beautiful in the extreme, and we were thankful when wepassed beyond this shower of fire.

  Onwards, onwards and onwards we sped, falling with awful velocitythrough space. So fast did we travel that our indicators failed torecord the rate of speed, but still the sun did not appear any closer.

  This was our one assuring hope. The Doctor was assiduous in hisobservations, but could not arrive at any definite conclusion. A weekbefore our second Christmas in the _Sirius_, after a careful scrutinythrough his largest telescope, he joyfully announced that Mars wasgreatly increasing in apparent size, a
nd that he had actually detectedthe presence of two satellites revolving round the planet! Here waswelcome news, indeed! If this were true, then, after all, we hadnothing to fear from the sun. After some further investigation we werethoroughly convinced of our safety. No words can tell our feelings ofthankfulness. We felt as though we had been snatched from the very jawsof death.

  "I can only explain our apparent fall towards the sun," said theDoctor, "by the extreme rarity of the ether around us. This was notsufficient to float us, nor to afford resistance to our motors: hencewe fell into space, instead of being propelled through it. I made thevery natural error of supposing that some attractive force was at work,other than that exerted by the planet Mars. Once more our prospect isunclouded. The worst part of the journey is over; we may expect at anytime now to find our centre of gravity fixed on Mars, at last--thensuccess may almost be counted upon as a certainty."

  Our second Christmas in the _Sirius_ was spent as happily as the first.The past year had been an exciting and eventful one for us; full ofdangers, full of trials; and three of our party felt that we hadovercome them, thanks in a great measure to Doctor Hermann's skill andindomitable courage.

  Almost daily we found the ether around us becoming more dense, and thespeed of the _Sirius_ sensibly decreased. Our water supply once morebecame plentiful, the condensers now working admirably.

  We kept New Year's Day as a great holiday--a red-letter day in ourexperience, each of us feeling that we ought to inaugurate such aneventful year in not only our own history, but that of mankind, ina manner suited to its vast importance. As the clocks on Earth werestriking midnight on the 31st of December, 1876, and New Year'sgreetings were being exchanged in all parts of the world we hadleft, four human beings, millions of miles away in space, were doinglikewise. Earth shone steadily, like a pale beautiful star, below us.During the first few moments of that glad New Year, we drank with mildand boisterous enthusiasm to the planet Mars, to the men on Earth, andto our own success.

  Owing to the increased rate of speed at which we had been travelling,our distance from the Earth had increased much more than we hadsuspected. The Doctor computed our distance from Earth to be now28,000,000 miles! If all went well, we should arrive at Mars in aboutsix months' time. We all of us had long felt weary of our closeconfinement. Owing to the strict rules of hygiene that the Doctorenforced, not one of the party had suffered from disease. Still, it wasa great joy to know that we should soon be released from the _Sirius_,and the wonders of a new world were a rich reward in store.

  Mars, now, was a most beautiful object in the heavens. Long and oftendid we peer at it through our telescopes in wondering astonishment, asit shone in brilliant ruddy glory, still millions of miles away. TheDoctor was enchanted with his discovery of the satellites of Mars.

  By the end of January, 1877, we had crossed those regions of rarefiedether, which were little more than an absolute vacuum; and the _Sirius_was once again propelled by its motive forces alone.

  We now thought it advisable slightly to check our engines, and ourspeed was reduced to about twelve hundred miles per hour. Anotherinteresting phenomenon was the change in our centre of gravity, whichwas now the planet of Mars. This last great discovery set all ourdoubts at rest. Between five and six millions of miles had still to betraversed, many perils had still to be undergone, many difficultiesremained to be overcome--but Mars, bright, glorious, ruddy Mars, wasconquered at last!