Fifteen Hundred Miles An Hour

"I don't like the look of things at all, Doctor," answered Temple, "but I am consoled with the thought that we have escaped from perils infinitely more terrible than this."

"We will stick to our revolvers, if we can," said Graham, pocketing his nickel-plated "bull dog" as he spoke. "I, for one, am not going to be slaughtered in cold blood without a fight for it."

"I see no objection to our keeping these arms by us, in case of direst need; but my last advice is to keep calm, to keep calm," answered the Doctor, with great emphasis on the latter word.

Further conversation was impossible, as the officer who had bidden us come forth was beginning to show signs of impatience at our delay.

"Beings from the sky, I, Kaosp, Captain of the King's troops in the City of Edos, command your immediate surrender to me, so that you may explain yourselves to His Majesty's rulers, and inform them from whence ye came and your business here. Delay, or resistance will be visited with instant death."

This seemed language of dreadful import to us, and without understanding a syllable of it, we dropped the ladder from the door, and, headed by the Doctor, climbed slowly down to the ground, the eye of every Martial standing within view being fixed upon us with the keenest attention. Three at least of our little party looked like dwarfs as we stood before the Hercules who had bidden us surrender ourselves to him; but Graham suffered little by comparison with this giant. Erect and defiant he stood before his captor, inch for inch almost as tall as him, broad and well-set in proportion, his muscular arms folded across his massive chest, his clear grey eyes scanning him curiously from head to foot. We could see that Graham had created a favourable impression, and for that we were thankful. We stood in line before the poor old Sirius, and awaited the next move in this singular scene.

In a few moments the commander (Kaosp, we will call him for the future), addressed some words to his troops, and then a dozen warriors stepped out from the ranks and formed an escort round us: a dozen more surrounded the Sirius. Kaosp then placed himself at the head of his soldiers, and gave the word to march. Surrounded by the troops, we wended our way towards the noble palace across the square, the lines of soldiers opening and making a passage for us as we advanced. We passed under a lofty archway, went up a flight of steps, and then entered a magnificent hall with a domed roof. Here all the guards remained behind, save two, and they and their leader escorted us across the marble floor to another archway, which led into a smaller hall. Crossing this, we reached a door which opened automatically as we approached, and after going up a flight of steps, we reached a wide corridor. Along this we walked until we came to another door, which opened in the same mysterious manner, and we were ushered into a large apartment, the door closing behind us at once, and we were left to ourselves.

"Beggin' your pardon, Doctor, but this is what I call a shabby way to receive such distinguished visitors as the likes o' we. Just to be popped in here like snared birds in a cage; after comin' all this way, too. Bother tak' sich hospitality, says Sandy Cam'bell."

We were too much absorbed in thinking over our future, to take any heed of Sandy's remarks; and before we had time to form any definite plans, the door of our prison was thrown open, and Kaosp appeared with two guards, and beckoned us to accompany them.

"Once more, my friends, let me implore you to keep cool," the Doctor hurriedly whispered as we were marched away.

We were conducted along vast corridors and through many doorways before we reached the entrance of a magnificent hall, where evidently the King and his ministers were assembled in state awaiting our arrival. The splendours of this building are beyond the power of any description. So suddenly did we find ourselves surrounded by the glitter and pomp of this brilliant gathering, that for several moments we stood still in utter amazement, bewildered, lost, in the glorious scene before us. We heard as in a dream the blast of what seemed a thousand trumpets heralding our approach, and as in a dream were conducted to a small raised platform in the very centre of the vast assembly, directly facing the King and his court. The hall was filled to overflowing with male and female Martials (perhaps we ought to call them men and women), a sea of eager faces greeting our appearance, but the expressions upon those we looked at closely seemed by no means friendly disposed towards us. A hum of intense, yet suppressed excitement broke from the assembled throng as we stepped upon the dais in full view of all.

The day was rapidly drawing to a close, the gloom of coming night beginning to settle on that vast gathering, as the Doctor and his companions in captivity calmly stood, the observed of all observers, awaiting their fate. The half light seemed to increase the magnificence of the spacious building, by toning down its brilliancy and harmonising the wealth of rare colour that everywhere delighted the eye. The entire dome was covered with a painting of some mighty conflict; the panels of the walls were filled with others, so life-like, so realistic, that we blushed for very shame as we compared in our mind's eye these works of art with the masterpieces of Earthly painters. Noble groups of statuary, carved out of lustrous stones of a flesh-coloured tint, filled us with admiration; urns and vases and quaintly-designed ornaments of wood and metal were arranged with a keen eye for effect on every side; whilst the windows of coloured glass – if glass it was – were superb, both in their wonderful design and harmony of colour. Garlands of foliage, the leaves of fine gold, twined round the marble pillars, bearing clusters of sparkling jewels designed as fruits; whilst before the throne was a fountain of cunning workmanship which cast up from unseen sources jets of scented water, that not only filled the building with a subtle ravishing perfume, but kept the atmosphere cool and refreshing. The audience which filled this hall of splendour was evidently a mixed one. What we took to be those of high degree surrounded the King and his ministers; round them were the guards and minor officers; whilst beyond them again was the populace. The floor rose gradually from the centre, so that every person could see and hear all that took place. The King and his courtiers were one blaze of glittering jewels and gorgeous colour; their robes and vestments being rare and costly to a degree undreamed of on Earth, even by the wildest fancy of man. As in our own world, almost every type of countenance was to be observed among this vast assemblage; yet we could not help remarking that the men of Mars were handsomer as a race than the men of Earth, and that the women of Mars were more beautiful. The old King himself was a grand specimen of manhood; his lofty brow, clearly cut features, long, flowing white beard, and commanding, dignified presence, made him every inch a king. He was surrounded with a host of noble councillors, almost as regal-looking as himself. The younger men were handsome, stalwart fellows – broad of chest and lithe of limb, moustached and bearded, sons of a race evidently at the zenith of its development, both mentally and physically. Our hearts warmed towards them in honest admiration; we felt that we were in the presence of our superiors.

The females at this gathering were remarkable for their exceeding beauty. Edos must be a city of fair women if those assembled here around us were an average specimen of its lady inhabitants. The classic regularity of their features was superb; their wonderful wealth of hair, their marvellously clear complexion, the rare symmetry of their form, the expression of their beautiful eyes, their commanding presence – all combined in making them attractive to a degree undreamed of by dwellers on Earth.

In all that peerless galaxy of beauty, one magnificent creature with large expressive eyes, and hair of gold, seated close to the King himself, was fairer far than all the rest; her face and figure were sublime! She sat with queenly dignity, with a coronet aflame with jewels upon her lovely brow, gazing intently upon us, stirred to the very depths of her soul with wondering curiosity, and from time to time talking with the aged King, the theme of her conversation evidently being us poor captives; friendless and helpless in the centre of that gazing throng! She was dressed in a robe of delicate purple hue, which, though draped but loosely round her, still displayed in suggestive grace the beauty of her hidden form. Her hair fell in rippling golden tresses far below her waist; her arms, looking white as marble in the deepening twilight, were bare to the shoulder. She sat, or rather reclined on a pile of softest skins, and her feet rested upon a mat of similar material.

We noticed all that we have here described within a very few seconds from the time that we stepped upon the dais. Then suddenly the vast hall was filled with brilliant artificial light, an electric light as far as we could judge, although the source of its supply was cunningly concealed. The effect was magical. The flashing gems and brilliant metals, the statuary, the polished pillars, walls, and floors, the sparkling scented water, the royal troops, the eager throng, formed a scene of unparalleled magnificence and splendour.

As soon as the hall was illuminated as by the light of day, the proceedings began. An aged statesman, amidst breathless silence, rose up from his seat, crossed the floor, and stood opposite to where the King sat in solemn state. Making a low and reverent obeisance, he began to tell the story of our appearance near their city; how we were met by the Martial whose life we took; how we took refuge in the Sirius, and, after the alarm had been given, how a search was made and our hiding-place discovered. Then he described our evading further pursuit by soaring up into the air in our curious carriage; how we travelled over the city of Edos, and were fired at by the soldiers; how we eventually came slowly down to the ground again to the square near the palace; and how we had been surrounded and taken prisoners by His Majesty's troops at last. This address appeared to make a profound impression upon the multitude, and, so far as we could judge, the wrath of the people was exceedingly great. The odds were evidently against us, and each one of us felt – although at the time we did not understand a word of what was being said – that our position was momentarily becoming more serious.

For several minutes after this harangue was finished, the silence was profound. Every eye was turned towards us; the old King's face was grave and stern and troubled. Then, as if to make matters worse, the silence was broken by a loud commotion at one of the entrances to the hall, and the next moment poor old Rover broke through the ring of guards and officers, and leaping and barking for joy, hastened to Sandy's side. At first the direst alarm prevailed, and we noticed the lovely woman by the King's side clutch his arm in terror, for of course our dog was even a stranger animal to the company here assembled than we were ourselves. At a word from Sandy he lay down between us, and, curiously enough, there he was suffered to remain. He had broken out of the Sirius, where in the excitement of our departure we had left and forgotten him, and made his way unerringly to his master's side – our only friend.

We afterwards learned that the most serious part of our case was the slaying of the Martial; and as the old minister told this part of his story, one of the guards advanced and pointed with his brass tube to Sandy, indicating that he was the actual culprit. A long and animated discussion took place, in which the King occasionally joined, or was appealed to for his advice. Then a long interval of silence followed, in which the King was evidently considering the facts which had been laid before him. Our hearts beat fast; each one's right hand clasped the revolver concealed within his breast; for each had mentally determined to fight for life unto the bitter end.

"Courage," whispered Dr. Hermann, "and for the love of heaven do not fire until I give the signal. I am going to try and make these people understand a little of our history."

A moment after, the Doctor advanced a few steps towards the King, bowing low and with hands extended as if in welcome. The King watched him curiously, and so did we; for we had not the slightest idea what his intentions were. He then pointed to the open entrance, up into the night sky, where the planet Earth, by some miraculous good fortune, chanced to be shining with unusual splendour almost alone in the firmament. Then by various signs he attempted to explain how we had come from that particular star; that we were friends, and were anxious to gain their good will. We afterwards learned that the King had comprehended much of what the Doctor had sought to convey; but prejudice ran high, and though personally inclined to befriend us, he was biassed by his ministers.

The Doctor rejoined us once more, and almost directly afterwards the King began to speak. As one man, the mighty throng saluted him and bowed in reverence. Then the multitude, all standing, listening intently to his words, which were as follows:

"Beloved subjects and children: a great event hath happened amongst us, such as hath never been known to you, my people, throughout the long and glorious history of our race. Five strange beings have made their appearance amongst us – from whence they come we know not; who they are, or what their object is in coming here, are also mysteries which we cannot readily solve. By shedding the blood of our poor brother yesterday, we fear these beings are of evil repute, and therefore should be treated as enemies of our race, and die. Their leader, by sundry signs, hath sought to tell us that they come from the star-world Ramos, which they call 'Earth.' If this were true, and their hands were not stained in blood, we would welcome them as brothers, for our wise men have long suspected that beings fashioned like ourselves do dwell thereon. Wisdom cometh slowly, and knowledge is gained by degrees. We will wait and see, my people, if these strangers can prove that what they say by signs is true. We of this world do nothing hurriedly, nor do we take life without just cause. We know not these strangers' tongues; nor they ours. Justice bids us wait. Forty days of grace will we allow them; then here, in this our Hall of Justice, shall they take their trial, and their fate be decided. We have spoken these words with such wisdom as God hath given us, and may He still continue to preserve my people from all harm."

Amidst shouts of approval the King ceased speaking, and as we understood not a word of what he had said, we concluded that our doom was decided. In all that mighty throng we had not one to befriend us. Each face was stern and of forbidding aspect! Yet, stay, there was one whose eyes were even wet with tears at our misfortune, and whose shy, pitying glances steeled our nerves anew. The lady by the King's side breathed hope in her glances. Her lovely eyes were dimmed with tears for us, and we felt as men once more. Love's all-potent power was working. By what attractive force was the latent spark of compassion ignited in that fair Martial breast? She alone of all that multitude was drawn towards us by a bond of sympathy! Who knows but that, all unconsciously, her spirit and ours may have mingled in that Silent World of shadows, where language, race, or creed form no barrier to friendly intercourse, and where the inconveniences of space, as we experience them in our mortal shapes, are unknown? Who, after this, shall say that lives may not be governed and influenced by beings on other worlds, in other spheres, just as the attraction of one planet can sway another from its course across the sky?

By some subtle influence, we felt reassured; all thoughts of fighting for our lives departed, and when Kaosp and his guards stepped forward, we followed them even cheerfully back to our prison, Rover being allowed to trot behind at our heels.

CHAPTER XI.

LOVE AND JEALOUSY

Once more we were ushered into the large and lofty room which was to be our prison house. Our guards withdrew, the massive door swung back, moved by hidden automatic action, and we were left to our own sad reflections.

"Oh, for the good Sirius, with everything in order!" sighed Graham. "We would soon show these Martial hosts that we are not the poor weak fools they take us to be."

"Tut, tut, Graham," said the Doctor, cheerily. "The game seems against us now, but we may hold the trump cards yet, man! Besides, you have evidently made a conquest," he continued, with sly humour, "and that fair Martial maiden may yet prove a guardian angel."

"Ah, Doctor, sanguine as ever! What a hopeful old boy you are! But I, for one, seem to think we are in a deuce of a hole this time," said Temple, with just a tinge of irritation in his voice.

"I don't see the least call for any such joke at my expense, Doctor," said Graham, smilingly. "But there, it is best to look on the bright side of things."

"Ah, now I was right, after all! Graham, the fair lady who seems so grieved about us, little dreams that she has made a conquest too!"

"Doctor, I feel peckish mysel', and I ken puir old Rover misses his supper. Surely they dinna mean starvin' o' us!"

"All in good time, Sandy; all in good time. Here's a biscuit for Rover, I happened to put in my pocket this morning," remarked the Doctor, good-humouredly.

"Well, Temple," he continued, "we have evidently been respited for some reason or other. That looks as though these strange people were not altogether unfriendly disposed towards us. We must make a lot of allowance for them, after all. Think what a fuss five beings from Mars would make, were they to drop from the sky into Trafalgar Square or Palace Yard, some fine day; and that, mind you, after killing in cold blood an innocent farm-labourer at Ealing or Hendon! Why, all London would be wild with excitement, and a righteously incensed populace would be clamouring for their immediate trial and execution – the evening papers, especially! We take these inoffensive people by surprise, and, really, we are fortunate in having been able so far to conciliate them as to gain time – and that is all we want. We shall be – "

But the Doctor was interrupted by the door swinging open, and Kaosp making his appearance once more, accompanied by the two attendant guards, and five servants bearing dishes. These dishes were of the costliest description, evidently of fine gold, beautifully chased, with curiously-shaped leaves and flowers, the like of which we had never seen before. Each servant bore his dish in silent state, and placed it upon the inlaid marble table, then, bowing low, withdrew. The guards stationed themselves one on either side of the doorway, and then Kaosp advanced, and in his unknown tongue, assisted by signs, conveyed to us the fact that it was by the King's desire that this food was brought, and that we were to sit down and eat. We began to look on Kaosp almost as a friend; he seemed equally to be kindly disposed towards us, for he smiled and smote his breast – evidently a salute – as he and his guards departed.

"Come, come," said the Doctor, "this is not so bad, after all. We must try and pick up their language, and then I have no doubt, by being able to explain ourselves, we shall be safe with these people. Now, Sandy, uncover our dishes, and let us see on what strange food we are expected to fare."

"Do, Doctor, be serious!" remarked Temple. "What are you going to do?"

"Why, eat, of course, man, since these captors of ours have condescended to supply us with the wherewithal to do so. I must confess, in spite of our bad luck, I begin to feel uncommonly hungry," said the Doctor.

It was all no good, however; Temple seemed thoroughly cast down, and all that we could do or say failed to arouse him from his despondent mood.

Sandy was soon at work, and we found that under each larger cover was a dish divided into compartments, in which a variety of tempting-looking food was placed. We had flesh of various kinds, a liquor like clear soup, fruits, and square tablets of what appeared to be bread, yet very fruity to the taste. The large vase-like vessel contained pure water, and round the lower rim were hung several smaller vases, which were evidently to be used as drinking-cups. Two curious instruments were attached to each dish, which took us some time to comprehend their use. The larger was fashioned something like a spoon, fastened in a carved wooden handle, yet one edge was sharp, and it was ultimately discovered that this served the purpose of knife and spoon in one. The other, a sharply-pointed piece of gold, also set in a handle of carved wood, we took to be a fork, and used it as such. We found the flesh, and one of the dishes of green vegetables, excellent, but the fruit, and what we must call bread, was not very palatable to us.

"I doubt not that if we live here long," remarked Graham, "we shall acquire a taste for the other viands. We can't expect to find everything suited to the tastes and customs of the men of Earth."

"That's true, Graham," said Temple, who was fast recovering his spirits, and beginning to take a more cheerful view of our situation. "It's astonishing what a difference a little food makes, in a hungry, even in a despondent man."

Our meal was quickly finished, Sandy taking good care that Rover had a plentiful portion of the feast. Then Graham produced his well-filled case, and each one of us enjoyed the precious luxury of a really good cigar – a "Bock" of the choicest quality.

"Make the most of them, my comrades," said Graham, striking a wax taper on the end of his silver match-case. "I have but a dozen, and heaven knows when we may get more. There's a score boxes left, at least, in the Sirius, but I suppose they are lost to us for ever."

In the middle of our smoke Kaosp appeared with his guards, and great was his and their amazement to see us smoking. This is evidently an art unknown to the people of Mars – tobacco, apparently, being a plant with which Earth alone is blessed. By some curious action of his, a door in our prison opened and revealed to us another chamber, fitted up with luxuriant couches, soft as eider-down, on which by signs the friendly soldier informed us we might stretch our weary limbs in sleep. We passed into this ante room, and with friendly salute Kaosp withdrew, and the door immediately closed behind him.

It is almost needless to say that we passed a fairly comfortable night, yet we deemed it wisest to keep watch by turns, in case of surprise. The Martial moons shone down through the windows of our prison with great brightness, two of them being visible together, and the planet Earth (now much lower on the horizon than when we were in the Hall of Justice) looked like Venus, as we often see her when fairly placed in the sky of our own world at home.

It is unnecessary here to chronicle all the monotony of our confinement. One day passed much as another, so far as eating, drinking, and sleeping were concerned.

We saw a great deal of the commander, Kaosp, and from him we began to learn the Martial tongue. The Doctor possessed a marvellous aptitude for acquiring any new tongue on Earth, and this served him in good stead on the planet Mars. After a week's intercourse with Kaosp he was able to converse in a broken sort of way, in three weeks he had mastered sufficient for all ordinary purposes. Temple found it more difficult; Sandy only picked up a few words and phrases from his master, but Graham proved himself an apt pupil, and was almost as good a conversationist as the Doctor, in even less time.

From Kaosp we learned much. He was the only one who acted as our jailor. We learned that the King had commanded him to teach us their language, so that we might be prepared to explain ourselves and our mission to him and his ministers at the trial, which he assured us was to take place in forty days from the time of our capture. We also learned that the beautiful being who sat near the King, in the Hall of Justice, was his own daughter; that her name was Volinè; that she was her father's idol and his people's pride. Many startling facts did Kaosp tell us concerning his race. How their span of life averaged five hundred years, which, as the year of Mars is twice the length of Earth's, would be a thousand years of our time! How war was unknown amongst them; one king and one government ruling all civilized beings; how some parts of Mars were inhabited by savage tribes and semi-human beasts; how their armies were kept up for protection against these uncivilized races, and for Court pageantry; and also how one universal language prevailed. He also told us, among other things, that this stranger world was but thinly peopled, its inhabitants increasing very slowly, the results of a marriage rarely producing more than two or three offspring. That one of the most terrible scourges which troubled the Martial world was the almost universal loss of memory that broke out like a plague from time to time, and that owing to this the people were exceedingly careful in keeping records of their pursuits, history, and progress. From what we learned from Kaosp, respecting our preliminary examination in the Hall of Justice, we concluded that when our trial did take place we should be able to vindicate ourselves and make friends with these people. So that we looked forward to the event with eager interest, being most anxious to regain our liberty and explore this strange world to our hearts' desire.