The Argosy, Vol. XXIV No. 2 — page 142: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

334 : A MONTH IN THE MOON. So saying, he got upon his feet, followed by the baronet, and they re- sumed their exploration of the crater, keeping always to the circular summit that was now capped by the Peak of T'ehbali. A walk of a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes brought them to a point exactly opposite, but much lower than the observatory. Ona sudden they perceived a wide opening in the side of the mountain. On looking closer, Norbert saw at once that the opening was, in fact, an old cleft in the side of the crater, and that it was now closed in at the top, as by a ceiling, by the vitrified base of the mountain of Tehbali. He hailed the discovery as one likely to settle the point that was now occupying his atten- tion, and at once entered the V shaped cavern, Sir Bucephalus closely follow- ing in his footsteps. At first they could distinguish nothing, owing to the comparative obscur- ity, but when their eyes got accustomed to the twilight they found themselves in an immense cavity—none other, indeed, than the cavity of the crater of Rheticus. It was cup shaped at the bottom, and covered over at the top bya solid arched vault. In order to make sure of the fact, Norbert lit some matches he had in his pocket, and held them up as high as-he could. ‘The light reflected from the top proved conclusively that the roof was in very truth the vitrified glass base of the mountain of Tehbali that had thus capped the lunar crater. There was so little doubt about it that even the baronet was struck by it. ‘Upon my word !’’ he cried, ‘‘ the whole mountain is intact, and sits on the top of the crater just like a large lump of sugar !”’ . Marvelous to relate, Norbert heard this exclamation quite distinctly, not- withstanding that it had been uttered from behind a copper mask ! There was only one possible explanation of the phenomenon. ‘Turn off the tap of your respirator,’’ said Norbert, setting the example. ‘We have as much air here as we want!” se ‘“ Hurrah!’ shouted Sir Bucephalus. ‘‘I am very glad to give up my feeding bottle; but how do you account for the fact that we can only talk and breathe by fits and starts in this absurd country???) | 3 ‘ Quite easily,’’ replied Norbert, laughing. ‘‘ Don’t you see that we are in an air cavern?’’ Making a rapid mental calculation, he added: ‘‘ This cavern is quite a thousand or twelve hundred yards in diameter, and almost as deep ; this gives us a provision of several millions of inches of air he ““ Really! Well, I do call this a good find! It is worth more than a diamond mine! What a comfort it is, at last, to be able to draw a good breath !”” : , | ~ Yes,”? answered Norbert. ‘‘ But we must husband our riches. ‘They will not be inexhaustible.’’ ‘‘ Why on earth, or rather in the moon,”’ said the baronet, ‘‘is this crater the sole storehouse of breathable air ?’’ ‘‘ By the same reason that accounts for our presence here, and also con- firms my theory of the matter,’’ answered Norbert. ‘‘ The air here is not proper to the moon. It is terrestrial air collected by the moon, when, like a ball rolling in flour, she rolled into our atmosphere. ‘This crater had just er Gomi Eboo CS EeGom