Fifteen Hundred Miles An Hour 10

Fifteen Hundred Miles An Hour 10

Certainly the Doctor alarmed us, when we heard him coolly bidding

Sandy to seek and slaughter these loathsome creatures.

 

"Sandy," said he, "you must get me one of those serpents to morrow.

It will be most interesting to dissect so magnificent a type of the

Reptilia. I may not have another such opportunity."

 

"Na, na, Doctor, I could na do it--I could na do it, mon," he replied

deprecatingly.

 

"Doctor, I am afraid, if you press your request, we shall have Sandy

wanting to give us all a week's notice," said Graham, assuming an air

of mock gravity as he spoke.

 

"I dinna want to do anything o' the kind, Mr. Graham."

 

"All right, Sandy my boy, I'll make a bargain with you," answered

Graham, laughing. "If I kill the beastie, will you help to cut him up?"

 

"Na, na, Mr. Graham, it is na a joking matter. I will ha' nothing to do

with it; for as sure as you do, bad luck'll be followin' us. We'd best

not meddle wi' the likes o' them."

 

"Well, Sandy," said the Doctor, "you must have had sufficient

experience of me, by this time, to know that I never ask a man to do

anything I am afraid to do myself. I spoke thoughtlessly, and will do

the killing myself."

 

By the time these reptiles had passed out of sight, the storm had

well-nigh subsided. Sleep was beyond us, the sight of these reptiles

alone was enough to keep us awake for a week. We longed, oh, how we

longed for the dawn! But more surprises were in store for us, ere that

eventful night had passed away.

 

The awful storm seemed to have stirred into activity the wild beasts of

this lonesome marsh, and many curious cries resounded from its depths.

Now a muffled yell, or a chorus of loud bellowings would be heard,

as if some gigantic creatures were fighting each other to the death.

Then more musical calls would break the oppressive stillness--here,

there, and everywhere from the thickets they came, but the animals that

produced them were invisible in the gloom. Our curiosity was excited to

the utmost limits of human endurance.

 

It must have been about an hour before the dawn when we were terrified,

beyond all description, by a crash against one of the windows of the

_Sirius_, followed by a moan as of pain, so appalling, so unearthly,

that our very blood seemed to curdle with horror. Even Doctor Hermann

himself was visibly disconcerted. Perhaps it was owing to the highly

wrought state of our nerves, but all of us, for the moment, were too

terror-stricken to move. In the Doctor's case the alarm was only

momentary, and with intrepid courage he rushed to the broken window,

firing a couple of shots from his revolver at some dread shape

struggling to enter the apartment. The Doctor was a poor hand with such

a weapon; both bullets missed their mark; and before a third shot could

be fired, the frightful creature had vanished. Moan after moan was

heard; now near, then far away in the distance, sounding more like the

voices of tortured souls, than of any material being. In a few moments,

another of these mysterious creatures appeared, and this time we

watched it approach with rapt astonishment, as it floated through the

air in the full focus of the rays from our electric lamps. No creature

of Earth possesses such means of locomotion. It looked like a huge

dark ball, perhaps six feet in diameter; and as it came towards us, we

noticed that it was revolving with enormous rapidity, forcing its way

through the air, evidently on the same principle as a screw-propeller

in the water.

 

Graham had by this time regained his self-possession, and, with his

rifle in hand, as this monster approached, he said:

 

"Doctor, shall I fire?"

 

"Yes, Graham, by all means; but be absolutely sure of your aim before

doing so."

 

Almost before the Doctor had finished speaking, the crack of Graham's

rifle rang out; but the animal continued its course, and came with a

crash against the _Sirius_. The shot had told, nevertheless, and we

heard its body fall through the reeds, and drop with a heavy thud on

the spongy ground.

 

"Well done, Mr. Graham! A splendid shot! He's doon! He's doon!" sang

out Sandy at the top of his voice, evidently both pleased and comforted

beyond measure, to see that these strange beings we had come amongst

were not proof against earthly powder and ball.

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER VIII.

 

 

A STRANGE WORLD.

 

 

In the grey dawn of morning the weather began to clear; white fogs hung

low over the densest parts of the swamp, but near the _Sirius_ the mist

lifted, and the leaden-looking sky was visible. We now climbed out on

to the balcony, and though nearly surrounded with the giant reeds, we

had a fairly good view of the range of snow-capped mountains which

extended beyond the lake. With the break of day the tumultuous carnival

of the wild beasts inhabiting the marsh came to an end, and their cries

gradually ceased. Buried as we were, among the dense, marshy forest,

we could not be absolutely certain, but so far as we could judge, the

country seemed more open beyond the lake. We had evidently descended

just on the outskirts of the swamp, which was apparently connected with

the lake, and formed part of a vast plain extending to the mountains.

The lowest of these we computed to be about twelve miles away. As we

were thus doing our best to make out a little of the country round us,

the distant mountain-tops became illumined with the rays of the rising

sun. The snow upon their highest summits gleamed like burnished silver

in the light, and as the morning broke, the clouds reflected a rosy

radiance of rare beauty. The dawn on Mars was very similar to the

dawn on Earth; and as we watched the sunlight leap from peak to peak,

and the heavens change from one glorious hue to another, we could have

fancied ourselves watching some of the many magnificent sunrises we had

seen in the Alps, or on the lofty Himalayas.

 

It really appeared as though all the animal life of Mars was nocturnal;

for, with the break of day, not a trace of a living creature could be

seen or heard--all was silent as the grave. The wind had dropped, and

not even the feathery crowns of the giant reeds moved; everything was

still.

 

Our future movements were of such importance, that even Dr. Hermann

restrained his eager curiosity to examine the strange beast Graham

had shot, and which was lying dead somewhere outside the _Sirius_,

and suggested that, as soon as we had breakfasted, we should consult

together as to what was best to be done.

 

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