he Martians was unknown to us. We did not even know the limit of the effective range of our own disintegrators. If it should prove that the Ma

rs, the advantage would be on our side. Or-which was perhaps most probable-th

find out how the case sto

h the Dis

t of whom were experienced marksmen, chosen from among the officers of the regular army of the United States, and acc

he asteroid; others approached it by flank attack, from this side and that. The flagship moved straight in toward the point where the first disaster

tegic

were disconcerted by the scattered order of our attack. Even if all of their engines of war had been in proper condition for use

nder, and we did not know how to demand a surrender. Besides, the destruction of the two electrical ships with the forty men, many of

er At

ed; again a blinding flash burst from their war engine and instantaneously a shiver ran through the frame of the flagship

breathing. Some fell unconscious upon the floor. The marksmen, carrying the di

a moment the wave of heat passed; those who had fallen recov

ersman stood hesit

nation and his eyes afire. "We are still beyond their effective r

ther members of the squadron, thinking for the moment that disaster ha

o move on," sa

tle Com

e circle of electrical ships

his intention he had passed through the double-trapped door which gave access to the exterior of th

disintegrator. With a q

about the instrument, which indicated that its terrific energies were at work. The whirring soun

ntegrato

g, but not fatal, blow, and particularly I noticed a polished knob projecting fro

rations darted from the electrical disintegrator and had

id Mr. Edison, turnin

most effectually spiked their gun

been evident to all, and a moment later we saw, on some of the nearer ships, men dressed in their air

ling

s a signal for a common assault, and we saw two of the Martians fall beside

Edison. "We have got them down, and we are

"I want to capture

ship then alone dropped slowly toward the place

rible

in the beginning. Two of these were stretched headless upon the ground. Three others had suffered horrible injuries where the invisi

st Upon the Pit

e Martians were stretched headless upon the ground. Three other

antic M

n characteristics, but they were exaggerated and monstrous in scale and in detail. His head was of enormous size, and his huge projecting eyes gleamed with a strang

beholder precisely the sensation that would be caused by the sight of a gorilla, or other repul

ions of beast and monster, nevertheless the Martian produc

ghtened

o that of a man. There was something in this face that sent a shiver through the soul of the beholder. One could feel in looki

ormed from Lucifer, the Son of the Morning, into the Prince of Night and Hell, might not have been unlike those which we now experienced as we gazed upon this dreadful personag

rtian'

approach nearer. A grin of rage and hate overspread his face. If he had been a man I should say he shook his fist at us. What he did was to expre

oid was so rare that it practically amounted to nothing, and we could not possibly have survived if we had not continued to wear our ai

ned his disinteg

omeone. "He is too

ll never be able to land upon

We Kil

se for him. Tom," he continued, turning to one of his assistants, w

th the fact that he had invented a little instrument by means of which a bubble, strongly charged with a powerful anaesthetic agent, could

gestures, noted our approach in the attitude of a wild beast on the spring. Suddenly Mr. Edison discharged from the instrument in his hand a little gaseous globe, which glittered like a ball of

artians Falls Into the

lled him!" e

, only asleep. Now we shall drop down

ver impressed with his gigantic stature and strength. Evidently in sing

c Martian

ere more than ever impressed with his gigantic stature a

ich the sleeping body of this immense Martian produced. He had fallen on his back, and was in a most profound slumber. All his fea

nscious

harged into his face that he remained perfectly unconscious while we tu

de a landing upon the asteroid. Everybody was eager to see this wonderful lit

ng the

ion was recalled to an intensely interesting phenomenon which had engaged our thoughts not only when we

ly light. Five-sixths of our own weight, and of the weight of the air-tight suits in which we were incased, had magical

onishing still-not astonishing because we had not known that it would be so, but never

thout

inside that we could place ourselves in any position without falling. We could float in the air. There were no up and no down, n

ing our air-tight suits. We were perfectly well aware what would be the consequence of detaching ourselves from the car as we moved along. We should still retain the forward motion of the car, and of course accompany it

ng Int

Kelvin. "Of course I shall keep right along with

ace Thousands of

off," I suddenly s

om the car to any considerable distance, you will be unable to get back again, unless we can catch you with a boathook or a fishline. Out there in empty space you will have nothing to kick

ing word of Lord Kelvin, I should have been rash enough to step out into empty space

ess Exp

ly releasing my grip, I experienced for a few minutes the delicious, indescribable pleasure of being a l

deck of the ship at this time, and se

is a chance that we shall arrive at Mars with the ships

Always

ectrical ships themselves, and which, being enclosed in the air-tight suits, enabled their wearers to manipulate the electrical charge upon them

laboratory aboard, were distributed about the squadron, and henceforth we had t

egree of weight. Being five miles in diameter, on the assumption that its mean density was the same as that of the earth, the weight of bodies on its surface

at my weight, being 150 pounds on the earth, s

d with a spring balance. Mr. Edison, Lord Kelvin and the other disting

ne, on the supposition that the mean density of the asteroid resembled that of the earth-a very libe

rld makes me so

elephant you have be

glass in his eye, and caref

e and a Qua

five ounces and a quarter. Too much; altogether to

e asteroid," suggested Prof

n of the asteroid which is the cause of the anomaly. We must look into that. Let me see? This gentleman's weight is three and one-half

laimed one

lden A

led beyond expression. The

t were not composed internally of gold it could never h

is the gold

el for millions of years through regions of space strewn with meteoric particles without becoming covered with

or a spade was seized by one of the men, and in a few minutes a

us Metal D

of us standing around, when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the "st

ould, but was composed of nuggets of various sizes, which had come together here u

and which had led to the discovery of the gold, the compos

dible Ph

his the discovery of course immediately led to ques

e that, with the exception of the thin crust of the asteroid

ible that there should be so much gol

the sun. There is every reason to think that the inner planets possess the gr

ame the

ents forming what we know as the asteroids. In his opinion, this planet might have contained a large quantity of gold, and in the course of ages the gold, having, in conse

d man is the truly wise man. They were not going to set up theories without sufficient facts to sustain them. The one fact that the g

ber of us really cared less for the explanation of

earance anywhere and at any time witho

f Mighty

e be rich?" ex

g it and get it back to

your pocket

ere," remarked another. "The

enly turned the

ose those Martian

were wrec

ve been wrecked here. This planet hasn't gravitation enough to wreck them by a fall,

med several, pric

or some alloy of metals unknown to me, and consequently they have withstood the destructive force applied to them, as our electric ships were un

ian Ci

gold!" ex

else was there

s arms excitedly, but unable to give voice to his story, in the inappreciable atmos

s over there," he said. "They'v

. "I knew it when I saw the

ecked expedition, dire

at

the president of an Australian mining company,

it. Here's where they c

e an appreciably shorter period of revolution. When it is in conjunction with Mars, or nearly so, as it is at present, the distance between the two

Martians to visit the golden asteroid, but when it is near Mars, as it is at present,

mysterious explosives which they possess, it is easy for th

a comparatively slight impulse given to their car, the direction of

very hornet's nest! If this is the place where the Martians come to dig gold, and if this is

en pirates that they had th

come of the re

robably, and they'll be here a

nt to several of the electrical ships to cruise out to a safe distance in

e Asteroid is a S

ut any appearance of fear, but rather with a look of contempt, like that which Gulliv

ed to free himself, and the ropes strained with the tremendou

ian Safe

e lay, and, while awaiting news from the ships which had been se

oating of soil, laying bare the rich stores of gold beneath, and large quantities of the latter had been removed. Some of it was so solidly p

or Aston

, or, possibly, their political economists perfectly understood the necessity of properly controlling the amount of precious metal in circulation. Very likely, we thought, the mining operations were under government control in Mars and it might be that the

han the

xclaimed with astonishment at their lack of weight, forgetting for the moment that the same law whi

would have been able to lift could here

ison and others hurried to the side of the prisoner. He still lay on his back, from which position he was not able to move, notwithstanding all his efforts. But by the

an's Trea

he box and in it there appeared a number of br

n of his lips that he wished to swallow one of them. A pellet was accordingly

terious

ts which led some of the bystanders to think that he was on the point of dying, but within a few seconds after he had swallowed t

ine," said one of the bystan

sor Moissan, the great French chemist. "I thin

you mean

ial Atm

s has he managed to do by combining in these pills the oxygen and the nitrogen in the proportions which make atmospheric air. Doubtless upon Mars there are the very great chemists. They have discovered how this may be done. When the Marti

fit the facts before us. Certainly the Martian could not breathe where there was practically no

s from

rful ingenuity of the Martians, and of their control over the processes of nature, one of the electrical

ians Are

at the Martian