The Voyagers of Space.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 4 (Supplement)

T he Voyagers of Space.

By

CHAPTER V That the Martians resented the arrival of the strange craft from space, was quite evident. Their aircraft, in appearance similar to the Autogiro? swiftly rose and surrounded the Star Rover. Simultaneously from each machine there came a flash and the Star Rover was enveloped in a halo of blazing gas.

"So that's their game, is it," muttered Mr. Carrington, hie face grim and set. " They might have given us the chance to introduce ourselves." " If it's trouble they want, let them have it," said the professor. Mr. Carrington nodded his head and grasped the controls with a steady hand. The Star Rover shot a 1000 ft. higher, circled a little to the right, and then a warning her commander ordered everyone to hold -tight. There was a breath-taking drop, a sudden jar, and the ship stood still. The boys looked out to see two of the Martian ships crashing to their doom. The Star Rover had dropped on them like a stone. " I don't think we had better land, after meeting with such a reception," said the professor. " We'd better do all our observing from a safe height." The cruising engines began to hum, and the Star Rover rose obliquely into the upper air, while the Martian machines, unwilling to risk another demonstration of her power, slunk back to the ground. Because of the absence of moisture, the air was extremely clear and the occupants

of the Star Eover were afforded a splendid view of brownish land and red seas. " Does it ever rain ?" asked Jack. " Probably not," said his uncle. " That is why the land is covered with an intricate network of canals. The melting snows at the poles are conducted toward the equator, and so the land is irrigated. You will notice the green vegetation along the banks of the canals." After cruising for a couple of hours, they decided to leave Mars. They would have welcomed a spell on land, but as the inhabitants were hostile, there was nothing else to do but move on. " Where to next?" asked Bert. " Jupiter," replied his guardian. " Four hundred and 'eighty millions, from the sun. and about 11 times the size of the earth," interrupted Jack, anxious to Bhow his knowledge. " Thirteen hundred times," said Bert scornfully. The professor settled the question. " In diameter it is 11 times greater than our planet, 88,500 to be exact. But its bulk is 1300 times our bulk, its surface-measure-ment is 120 times ours, and its weight is 300 times greater than that of our earth." Mr. Carrington smiled and looked at the two boys. " Now you know all about it," he said. " Except that we're not sure how many moons it has," said Bert. " One book says eight, another, nino." " We'll be able to settle that question later; the sooner we get away from this unpleasant place, the better." They had been rising less 'than an hour, when they began to realise something was wrong. The ship was behaving very sluggishly, and the attraction of Mars seemed more than she could cope with. The professor, his face looking very worried and

anxious, made an inspection of the engines. I " Our supply of power is almost done," he announced. "We should never have gone to Mercury. The push we had to develop to overcome the . sun's pull has almost crippled us. Our storage batteries are very nearly exhausted." " Can't we tap the energy created by Mars ?" suggested Jack. " Not while we're in space. The Bhip has to be at rest, and we daren't land on the planet." " What about the two moons Deimos and Phobos?" cried Bert. "We could land on the biggest, and wait until we had all the power we need." "An excellent idea," commented the professor. " The only difficulty is, have we enough power to take us there?" " Let's hope so," added Mr. Carrington. It was with very grave faces that they watched the control-room indicators. Lower and lower the speed dropped, until about three quarters of the distance to Phobos had been covered, and then the drone of the engine sank to a lower note, and finally ceased. The ship continued moving for another 10 minutes, then to the horror of her crew, she came to a standstill. There she hung, suspended in space, balanced by the opposing pulls of Mars and her satellite. " Here's a fix," muttered Mr. Carrington, running his fingers through his hair. " Uuless a miracle happens, we're here for the'rest of our lives." " What about when the other moon comes in line with this one ?" asked Bert. "Won't that turn the balance?" " 1 suppose it will," admitted) his guardian. " That will mean a sudden end to our journey. With no power to check our fall, we'll at the rate of about 1000 miles an hour."

Bert closed his eyes and shuddered. Jack's fingers were nervously drumming against the circular forward window. " I suppose that would be preferable to a lingering death in space," said the professor. " I have it," saitj Jack suddenly. " Isow that we're at rest, can't we absorb enough energy from Mars to see us safely to Phobos. We can take a full supply when we get there." "Of course," said his uncle, admiringly. 4< "Why didn't wo think of that. Enrfugh to ensure a safe descent on to Phobos is all we need. Jack, you've got more brains than the rest of us put together." And an hour later, they were safe on the surface of Phobos. Three hour's rest there saw the batteries fully charged, and leaving the tiny moon at a great speed, they commenced the voyage to Jupiter. " How long will it take to reach the giant ?" asked Bert. " About 10 weeks, 1 should say," replied the professor. "At their closest Mars and Jupiter are about 330,000,000 miles apart. They are approaching each other now, and we are taking advantage of that." The weeks which followed were not without excitement. Jack and Bert were keenly interested in the Asteroids, the group of tiny planets which form a moving belt between Mars and Jupiter. There was just a chance of colliding with one of these and that added a spice of adventure. " They aren't large enough to do any damage, are they?" asked Bert. " I shouldn't like to hit one," replied Mr. Carrington. " Ceres is 450 miles in diameter, and Pallas is 304. Even little Eros, the wanderer, with a diameter of only 18 miles, could end our career very suddenly. With care, we should avoid such an accident. It is possible that _we mightn't even see any of our tiny neighbours.." And beyond seeing a few moving pin points of light against the velvet blackness of space, they passed the orbit of the Asteroids and at the end of the tenth week after leaving Mars, entered the dense steamy atmosphere of Jupiter. (To be continued)