Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-12-01

AS had been expected, cur prisoner
now proved to be of very great assist
ance to us. Apparently he took certain
pride i'll exhibiting to strangers from
distant world the beauties and the Won
ders OF his own planet.
We could not understand by any
means all that ho said, but wo could
readily comprehend from his gestures
and from tho manner i'll which his fea-
lures lighted up at the recognition of
familiar scenes and objects what his
sentiments in regard to them were and
III q general way what part they played
in tho life Of the planet.
He confirmed cur opinion that certain
Of the works which we saw beneath us
were Notifications, intended for the
protection of the planet against invaders
from outer space. y cunning and al
most diabolical look came into his eyes
as he pointed to one of these strongholds.
His confidence and his knocking looks
were rot reassuring to us. He knew
what his planet was capable Of and We
did not. He had seen, on the asteroid,
the extent of our power, and while its
display served to intimidate him there,
yet now that he and we together were
facing the world of his birth, his fear
had evidently fallen from him, and he
had the manner Of one who feels that
the shield Of an all powerful protector
has been extended over him.
But it could not he long now before
we should ascertain. by the irrevocable
test of actual experience, whether tho
Martians possessed the power to ami
hilate us or not.
How shall describe our feelings as
we gazcd at tho scene spread beneath
us? They were not quite the same as
those Of the discovorer of new lands
upon the earth. This was whole new
world that we had discovered, and it
was filled, as We could see, with inhab-
itants.
But that was not all. We had not
como with peaceful intentions.
We were to make war on this new
world.
Deducting our losses, we had not moro
than $40 men left. With these we were
to undertake the conquest Of world
containing we could not say how many
millions!
Our enemies instead Of being below
us in the scale of intelligence, We're, we
had every reason to believe, greatly our
superiors. They had proved that they
/ possessed n command over the powers of
nature such MS we, up to the time when
| Mr.. Edison made his inventions, had
| not even dreamed that it was possible
! for us to obtain.
| 1t was true that at present we APP
| peared to have the advantage, both in
our electrical ships and in our means of
oilense. The disintegrator was at least
as powerful an engine of destruction as
any that the Martians had yet shown
/ that they possessed. 1t did not seem
that in that respect they could possibly
/ excel us.
During the brief war with the Mar
tians upon the earth it had been gun
| powder against mysterious force ms
+ much stronger than gunpowder as the
latter WAS superior to the bows and ar
rows that preceded it.
There bad been no comparison what
ever between the offensive means en-
ployed by the two parties in the strug'
gle on the earth.
But the genius of one man had sud
denly put us on the level of our enemies
III regard to fighting capacity.
Then, too, our electrical ships were
far more effective for their purpose than
the projectile cars used by the Martians.
In fact, the principle upon which they
were based was at bottom SO simple
that it seemed astonishing the Martians
had not hit upon it.
Mr.. Edison himself was never tired
of saying with reference to this matter:
II cannot understand why thu Mar
tians did not invent these things. They
have given ample proof that they I'M
derstand electricity better than We do.
Why should they have resortod to the
comparatively awkward and bungling
means of getting from one planet to an
other that they have employed when
they might have ridden through the
solar system in such conveyances as
ours with perfect ease!
And besides, "sMr. Edison would
odd, 81 cannot understand why they
i'd not employ the principle of har.
monic vibrations in tho construction OF
their engines of war. The lightninglikt
strokes that they deal from their ma