Gulliver of Mars

n female shape; for a pale, vapid ghost of woman-loveliness? At times I tell myself I dare not: that you will laugh, and cast me aside as a fabricator; and then again I pic

of the planet I ransacked for its sake and the roar of the destruction which followed me back from the qu

of grilled steak and tomatoes-steak crisp and brow

to make one think of supper and fireside, though the one might be frugal and the other lonely, and as I, Gulliver Jones, the poor foresaid Navy lieutenant, with the honoured stars of our Republic on my collar, and an undeserved s

l dens of mystery and crime even in this latter-day city of ours. The moon was up as far as the church steeples; large vapoury clouds scudding across the sky between us and h

rgling cries of throttled men. No! the world was very matter-of-fact, and particularly so to me, a poor younger son with five dollars in my purse by way of fortune, a packet of unpaid bills in my breastpocket, and round my neck

the time of the Pilgrim Fathers, when I had a vague consciousness of something dark suddenly sweeping by me-a thing like a huge bat, or a solid shadow, if such a thing could be, and the next instant there was a thud and a bump,

g lamp-light clutch at space as he tried to steady himself, stumble on the slippe

rred. There he lay, silent and, as it turned out afterwards, dead as a door-nail, the strangest old fellow ever eyes looked upon, dressed in shabby sorrel-coloured clothes of antique cut, with

of life faded out of that gaunt face even as I watched. It was not altogether a pleasant situation, and the only thing to do appeared to be to get the dead man into proper care (though little good it could do him now!) as speedily as poss

n?" asked a bystander jus

ou? It belongs to this old chap here who has just dropped out of the skies on to his head; chuck it on top and shut the door!" And

as a matter of curiosity sat in the waiting-room while they examined him. In five minute

em. Most strange-looking man, and none of us can eve

d fell in front of me just now, and as a matter of common charity I

ckened thong of leather," and he handed me a thing about as big as a filbert nut with a loop for suspension and apparently of rock crystal, though so begrimed and dull its nature was difficult to speak of with certainty. The bead

the roof of the cab when they carried him in, and as the cabman did not care about driving back to the hosp

I had a closer look at that ancient piece of art work fro

ience in places, yet the design still lived in solemn, age-wasted hues, and, as I dragged it to my stove-front and spread it out, it seemed to me that it was as much like a star map done by a scribe who had lately recovered from delirium tremens as anything else. In the centre appeared a round such as might be taken for the sun, while here and there, "in the field," as heralds say, were lesser orbs which from their size and position cou

ture-it would do nicely for the mess-room on the Carolina, and if any representatives of yonder poor old fellow turne

been to ask for long leave and come ashore like this, to curry favour with a set of stubborn dunderheads who cared nothing for me-or Polly, and could not or would not understand how important it was to the best interests of the Service that I should get that promotion which alone would send me back to her an eligible wooer! What a

med, walking round the lit

rustle of anticipation filled its ancient fabric, and one frayed corner surged up, and as I passed off its surface in my stride, the sentence still unfinished on my lips, wrapped itself about my left leg with

ngely-what else could it have been? I made this apology to the good woman, and when she had set the tab

anything were better than this, any enterprise however wild, any adventure however desperate. Oh, I wish I

over and rolled me in its folds like a chrysalis in a cocoon. I gave a wild yell and made one frantic struggle, but it was too late. With the leathery strength of a giant and the swiftness of an accomplished cigar-roller covering a "core" with leaf, it swamped my efforts, straightened my limbs, rolled me over, lapped me in fold after fold till head and feet and everything were gone-crushed life and breath back into my innermost being, and then, with th