The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 186: what you’re looking at

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

_A MONTH IN THE MOON.’ The marvelous experiences that grew out of the Lunar Company, Limited—How the catch- penny scheme of three adventurers was transformed into an extraordinary contribution to the world of science—Scenes and incidents of a sojourn on the earth’s satellite, 7 SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED. MESSRS. GRYPHINS, VOGEL, AND WAGNER, three adventurers in Melbourne, Australia, start The Tunar Company, for the Conquest and Exploration of the Mineral Riches of the Moon. The control of the enterprise passes into the hands of Norbert Mauny, a young French scientist, who has a plan of attracting the moon to the earth by erecting a series of powerful magnets. The Bayouda Desert in the Soudan is selected as the site. At Suakim Mauny meets the French consul, M. Kersain, and his daughter Gertrude, who decide to accompany him on a visit to the Mogaddem of Rhadameh, 4 local ruler whose favor must be obtained before the transportation of the material across the desert can be made. ' Norbert secures the cooperation he desires and the reflectors are erected on the Peak of Tehbali, where work proceeds with gratifying success till Messrs. Gryphins, Vogel, and Wagner are detected in a conspiracy to turn the workmen against Norbert. They are imprisoned, and then Norbert, hearing that trouble threatens Khartoum, where M. Kersain has been transferred, determines to go thither and see if he cannot induce him and his daughter to take refuge at the Peak. It is finally arranged that Gertrude, accompanied by Dr. Briet, her uncle, and Fatima, her maid, accept the invitation. Meantime Kaddour, the Mogaddem’s dwarf, plans to destroy the work on which Mauny has built such high hopes. But he is taken captive and placed in charge of Virgil, Mauny’s — tight hand man. Discovered in an attempt to win away the allegiance of the negro guard, he is condemned to be shot, but swallows poison just before the execution is to take place. , The magnets are working splendidly, and by the sixth day the moon is so close and appears so immense that Norbert’s party are terrified. One of them rushes to the tablet where the knobs controlling all the motors are situated, raises one and lowers another. A fearful crash ensues and all are thrown into insensibility. When they come to again the astounding discovery is made that the whole mountain of Tehbali has been transferred to the moon. As soon as he realizes what has happened, Nor- bert hastens to close and hermetically seal all the windows, in order that no air may escape, as the moon being without atmosphere, man cannot breathe there. However, he provides respirators, with which he and Sir Bucephalus Coghill are enabled to start out on an exploring trip, during which they discover an opening into the crater of an extinct volcano, which has become filled with air from the earth. On the return to the observatory the body of the dwarf is found exposed to view by the recent catastrophe, and perceiving certain signs of life init, Dr. Briet sets to work and soon has Kaddour restored to life, he having forced himself into a state of catalepsy. He is kindly treated by al] and sensibly melts under these influences. Meanwhile petty thefts of food have been noticed, arid it is discovered that Gryphins, Vogel, and Wagner are also on the moon. On first beholding them Kaddour becomes much excited and begs Mauny to hand them over to him for punishment, for it turns out that they had kidnapped him when a boy and distorted his body in order to fit him to fill the place of a dwarf who had died and whom they had been exhibiting. But Norbert simply directs them to be placed in captivity again. At the close of the moon’s night of two weeks the alarming discovery is made that seven out *This story began in the February issue of THE ARGOSY. The six back numbers will be BP 4 Syce matled to any address on receipt of 60-cents. | Eomicbooks - (<0)