Air Wonder Stories, May 1930 — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

a it A at r. . a as 4 ts an equal degree, With escape now won from the Earth, the adventurers real- ized that a long wait lay ahead-of them with almost nothing to do. The projectile would go on and on of its:own motion for » days and weeks through the thirty-five million miles that sepa- rated it from its objective. There was no worl of any kind to-be done, The great shell was- automatically controlled;-and only.a glance at the course indicators every few hours was necessary to make sure that they. were on their chosen “path, _ The two men sat in the observatory. enjoying the thrill of their adventure, Highly entertained, for they had been given a privilege no human beings before them had-enjoyed, they. were yet awed by what they beheld. ’ The sun, of: cotrse, was in eclipse, the great bulk of the Earth Jying directly. between them and the flaming orb. So there was no sleep for them, for they both wished to see the sunrise upon the Earth, which Fry knew would come soon. Dr. Fry pointed: out the planets to his friend. There. was Mars to the right of the projectile, its steady glow holding their attention, as well it might, since it remained to be seen whether the planet was ever to be their destination, Mean- while from every direction, as they plunged into space, there flamed the constellations. The heavens were: literally studded with stars that glittered as diamonds set against a background of velvet black. Then at last the adventurers were rewarded with the sunrise trpon the Earth, from which they were hurtling at a velocity of more than one and one-half million miles-a day, But what they saw was merely a flaming orb, the glare of a great star shining from a dead black sky. For here, there was no dust- filled atmosphere to create the illusion of blue and to obscure their vision. Stars showed in every direction, ‘andistiaedl by the glare from the sun. Outside of the projectile there was darkness. It was _ only inside the great shell where an atmosphere obtained that the rays of the sti were diffused into daylight. And hanging there in space, as the adventurers gazed back, was the world they. had left, its seas reflecting the bright sunlight and: its land As the two men looked out into space and beheld the sun, they were protected from its glare by specially constructed windows, These were built of cylindrical filaments for strength against the interior pressure and calored according to the scien- tist's own carefully prepared formula, “And out there, Randolph,” said Fry, “it is absolute zero. If we opened the windows we'd soon be icicles in every tissue.” ‘T hope,” said Randolph, “that the glass holds!” ‘Well, rather,” said the-other, “but I.am sure it will. There is no resistance at all from without and that from within is not strong enough to affect it.” XYGEN tanks under terrific compression supplied them with air. Everything had been provided for their comfort and convenience. The projectile’s interior was commodious, its quarters extensive, There were vast store-rooms where food supplies were carried. Also there were a gymnasium, a Joung- ing-room and five sleeping chambers in -addition to the large observatory near the stern. Port-holes; now closed and:securely fastened, could be opened from a lower deck. Here had been stored their weapons of defense, machine guns, light and heavy rifles and vast quantities of ammunition. There were also ports, now: closed, into which two sets of heavy landing trucks had been: drawn as the pro- jectile left the Earth on its journey into space. Forward was the power laboratory. It had: been built into the shell with great care taken for its protection. It was placed on a middle deck and there were protecting walls on either side. But a system had been installed with which the craft could be THE BAT-MEN OF MARS operated from any part of the interior. Its propulsion, its steer- ing when there was atmosphere, its defense tubes,-everything in fact in the way of manipulation was ready at harid wherever Dr. Fry might bes ™ ~- On. and on through space at terrific velocity. sped the pro- jectile, The two men inside it sat in contemplation of the _ glories all about them; but as time wore on and their watches showed the breakfast hour they thought of food. ‘Randolph made, the coffee and broiled the bacon-while Dr. Fry toasted: the bread a rich golden brown.. Eggs shirred in an electric oyen-and cream, fresh and sweet from a generous supply in the refrigerator room, whetted their already keen appetites. As Fry buttered the toast and Randolph poured the coffee, both eagerly anticipating their first breakfast in space, there came to them distinctly, as though close at hand, a-human voice. “Gentlemen,” it said, “have you some for me? I am nearly starved |” Just an instant the two men looked at caxh other wondering if they: had--heard ‘the same thing, Then: they turned -in the direction of the voice. There stood Alicia Rowan, Fry’s fiancée, in the doorway of what they had believed to be an unoccupied sleeping compartinent ! CHAPTER II Adventurers Three “HE reaction of both men was as though a ghost had sud- denly appeared! They were first startled and then dumb- founded, for they had believed themselves alone as they sped through space, They had taken precautions to prevent a coup of this kind from some ambitious journalist. The door of the hangar had been securely locked and that was how they found it, Besides, there were only two keys that would unlock it—as they had believed, However, the vision of loveliness standing before them was proof enough that the girl in the flesh was in the. great shell with them, bound like themselves for the unexplored realms of space. In amazed silence the two men regarded the golden-haired, blue-eyed girl who-stood there in the doorway, smiling bravely but somewhat doubtingly as her question remained unanswered, “Do I took like a gor she inquired laughingly, breaking the spell. And now.Fry spoke for the first time. “Alicia,” he demanded, “how on earth did you manage it?” He remembered. she had begged him to take her, but he had not dreamed that she would attempt this. “Leonard,” she replied tremulously, although she smiled hap- pily, “I simply ‘couldn’t fet you go without me. After you told me good-by, I slipped out the back way where my car was waiting and J drove ahead of you to the hangar. There I let myself in with a duplicate key I have carried for weeks: I got a wax impression of your own key and here I am. Isn't it all perfectly thrilling ?” ( “So you stowed away, eh?” said Fry, wryly. “Yes, I had meant to do it-all-along.” “But this may mean the end, Alicia,” he warned. “T mow,” she agreed, looking into his eyes, unafraid. “But if it is I shan’t be down there waiting and longing for you.” The girl now sought to look deeper into her lover’s eyes. A tender smile lit her face, but her expression was still one of uncertainty, “Are you angry with me, Leonard?” she asked, simply. “No, bless your heart, but I shall worry about you.” “Oh, please don't!” “But ‘there's no telling what we may encounter,” said the man, “We are daring the unknown—another world—perhaps strange beings or terrible forces, Ahead lies myystery—we have left the real world behind!”