Weird Tales, Vol. 2 No. 4

# "Draconda" — Magazine Serial Content

This pulp magazine installment features "Draconda," a science fiction serial by an author whose name appears garbled in the OCR. The narrative follows Henry Quainfan, a scientist conducting radioactivity and astronomical experiments, particularly studies of "negative gravity" and radiation pressure. Quainfan confides to the narrator Eider about his obsession with the mental image of a beautiful dark-haired, olive-complexioned woman with extraordinary beauty—a vision somehow stamped in his mind—while remaining skeptical of anything beyond scientific materialism. The serial then shifts to space travel aboard a vessel called the "Hornet," which leaves Earth with Quainfan, Eider, and Morgan St. Cloud aboard. The travelers observe remarkable celestial phenomena: Earth's corona, the Moon's glory, and changing planetary perspectives as they journey into space. On the twelfth day, the narrator experiences disturbing dreams and disembodiment sensations caused by reduced weight. The crew passes time reading to combat boredom while imprisoned in their steel spacecraft. Southern constellations including Canopus become visible.