mong those upon the planet and t

ship dropped down upon the asteroid and gave

yes intent, they had suddenly perceived a glittering object moving from the direction of the ruddy planet, and manifestly ap

ve warning, because the electrical influence of the asteroid was comparatively slight at such a distance, and, after they had revers

sufficient velocity to bring them back to us be

s from Mars with only just sufficient force to throw them within the feeble sphere o

warning, we immediately saw the projectile of the Martians approaching

for th

who were upon the asteroid made ready for battle there. A number of disintegrators were trained upon the approaching

can do with our electrical ships. They depend simply upon the force of gravitation. Having passed the limit of the att

ians Can

p themselves, but must come down upon the asteroid. Having got here they could never get away again, except as we kno

. Let us allow them quietly to land upon the planet, and

suspense while the projectile which seemed very formidable as it drew near, sank with a slow and graceful motio

d seemed at a loss exactly what to do. We could see projecting from the fore part of their

d out to Mr. Edison in

oy them? Be quick, or

see that they are not prepared. They will not atte

rtians

ry slowly in comparison with the speed they would have exhibited in falling upo

teroid. Instantly a dozen of the giants sprang from the car and gazed about for a moment with

ands, while a score more of these terrible engines were turned

from Thei

speak to them in pantomime, using his fingers after the manner

t comprehend the powers of the insignificant-looking strangers with whom they had to deal. Instead of turning their destruc

the Disi

y swept the concentrating mirror a little up and down, and instantly the foremost Martian vanished! Part of some metallic dress that h

out as if looking for their leader, and then hurried

ves the Marti

Mr. Edison came to my ears. Instantly the foremost Martian vanished! His followers paused for a moment, amaze

our hands," said Mr. Edison

ontained in the car of the Martians moving around toward us.

had been dissipated into space by a v

war engines in the car, and before we could concentrate our fire upon it, its

standing near. "There is something the matter with this disintegra

restrians Fight

upon a portion of the car at a considerable distance from the

se the period of action of the disintegrators during each discharge did not exceed one second, and distributing the energy over so great a space would have seriously weakened its po

ans Are D

r their first disastrous stroke we had rapidly shifted our position. Swiftly the polished knob, which gleamed

e would sweep us

lish P

. Edison, struggling with the disintegrato

ommand. A half dozen had dropped their disintegrators upon the ground. Others stood as if frozen fast in their tracks. The expert electrician, whose poor aim

cians Lose

st his head. Again and again he sighted at the dreadful knob wit

et through a combination of ill luck and par

e it would be a

only during the twinkling of an

ze the disintegrator from his hands would have been a fatal waste of time. Luckily the blow either roused

ially the vibratory force fell upon the

ve

ere

car of the Martians. We bitterly repented

of their larger machines. With these they fired, so to speak, through the breach in their car, and four of our men who were rushing upon them fe

their composure and self-command. But this new and unexpected disaster, following so close upon the fear which had recently overpowered them, produced a s

ious

nding on a globe only five miles in diameter was like being on the summit of a mountain whose sides sloped rapidly off in every

a distance of less than 250 yards the fugitives disappeared down the sides of the asteroid, and behind the horizon, even from t

y had disappeared from our view they quitted the planet entirely, the force being sufficient to partially free them from its gravitation, so that they sailed out into space, whirling hel

for th

tians within range of the disintegrators. Luckily we were enabled, by shifting our positio

d Mr. Edison, "we shall have to riddle

o a bush to kill a hidden b

eral of the electric ships had been hovering above us during the fight, their commanders being ap

that we were at an immense disadvantage, and several of them i

f the vibratory emanation made a gap in the side of the car, and we could perceive from

eet's Disintegr

ans' engine. Every stroke made a gap in the ca

e it was all over. Mr. Edison signalled them to stop firing because it was plain t

rtions were glowing with heat in consequence of the spreading of the atomic vibrations. Immediate

y certain metal articles which they had worn remaining, as in the case of the first Martian killed, to indicate that such beings had ever existed. The nature of th

grators' Aw

bratory current having grazed them, in such a manner that th

e vibratory energy, not only completely destroyed whatever it fell upon but it seared the veins and arteri

been may be imagined. At times, I caught a glimpse of his eyes, wildly rolling and exhibiting, when he saw tha

raid at last," I s

k he ought to be afr

aken this fear of his may be the b

asked Mr

respect us. This change in his mental attitude may tend to make him communicative. I do not see why we should despair of learning his language fro

must concentrate the linguistic genius

erter's

to say, had been army officers. Yet possibly some excuse could be made for the terror by which they had been overcome. No man has a right to hold his fellow beings to account f

from the earth, confronted on an asteroid by these diabolical monsters from a maleficient planet, who were on the point of destroying them with a st

s from the surface of the planet, describing great curves in what might be denominated its sky, and then coming back again to the little globe

t one considered the laws of gravitation on the asteroid, but their

eparations to quit the asteroid and resume our voyage to Mars, Lord Kelvin and

Into Emp

lvin, then plain William Thompson, and Professor Blackburn had done when spending a Summer vacation at the seaside, while they were undergraduates of Cambridge University. They had sp

vin's Gr

gs imaginable to see Lord Kelvin maki

themselves straight upward, rising to a height of four hundred feet or more, and then slowly settling back

ody required an entire minute to fall a distance of only 120 feet. Consequently, it was more like gradually settling than falling. The figures

r. Edison, very much inte

tful Exp

moment, and then began slowly, but with accelerated velocity, to sink back again to the planet. It was not only a peculiar but a delicious sensation, and but for strict orders which were issued that the electrical ships should

e of those who had taken unpremeditated flights in elliptical orbits when they had run from the vicinity of the Martians suggested the throwing of solid obje

Dealing Planet,

hown that an initial velocity of thirty feet per second imparted to one of these chunks, moving at right angles to the radius of the asteroid, would, if the resistance of an almost inappreciable atmosphere were neglected, suffice

ay around, while a greater velocity would give it an elliptical instead of a circular orbit, and

hen the flying body would pass out to a greater or less distance in space in an elliptical orbit, eventua

ing Expe

umber of little moons, or satellites, of gold, which revolved around it in orbits of various degrees of ellipticity, taking, on the average, about three-quarters of an hour to complete a circuit. Since, on c

with great regret the savants quitted their scientif

it of paper, that the velocity with which a body must be thrown in order to escape forever the attraction of th

impart such a speed as that to the ch

ge to t

. "Let's send some of t

e earth?" as

the sun, where the black firmament was ablaze with stars, and in a moment r

e earth. Can you throw st

impart to them at least the required velocity of forty-two feet in a second, which would insure their passing beyond the attraction

said one of the throwers, "go

to the atmosphere like meteors and that probably the heat developed by their passag

e through the atmosphere and fall upon the surface of our planet where, perhaps, they would a

ble for us to tell what had become of the golden gifts