The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1901-12-12

we 1Dere more than eUcr Impressed qDith
ms gigantic stature.
ture, but not one to make the beholder
laugh. Drawing himself up, he lowered
to height of at least 10 feet
But let the reader not suppose from
this inadequate description that the
Martians stirred in the beholder pre-
cisely the sensation that would be oaus-
ed by the sight Of a gorilla or other re-
pulsive inhabitant of one Of our terres-
trial jungles suddenly confronting him
in its native wilds.
With all his horrible characteristics
and all his suggestions of beast and
monster, nevertheless the Marian pro
duced the impression of being person
and not mere animal.
l have already referred to the enor-
nous size Of his head and to the fact
that his countenanoe bore considerable
resem blanoe to that of q man. There
was something in this face that sent a
shiver through the soul of the beholder.
One could feel in looking upon it that
there was intellect. intelligence devel-
oped to the highest degree but in the
direction of evil instead of good.
The sensations of one who had stood
face to face with satan when he was
driven from the battlements of heaven
by the swords of his fellow archangels
and had behold him transformed from
Lucifer, the son of the morning. into
the prince of night and hell, might not
have been unlike those which we now
experienced as we gazed upon this dread
full parsonage, who seemed to combine
the intellectual powers of a man, raised
to their highest pitch, with some of the
physical features of beast and all the
moral depravity of fiend.
The appearance of the Marian was
indeed so threatening and repellent that
we paused at the height of so feet above
the ground, hesitating to approach
nearer. grin of rage and hate over
spread his face. If he had been man,
l should say he shook his fist at us.
What he did was to express in even
more telling pantomime his hatred and
defiance and his determination to grind
us to shreds if he could once get us
within his clutches
Mr.. Edison and l still stood upon the
deck of the ship, where several others
had gathered around us. The atmos-
phere of the little asteroid was so rare
that it practically amounted to nothing.
and we could not possibly have survived
1t If we had not continued to wear our
alright silits. How the Martians con-
trived to live here was mystery to us.
1t was another of their secrets which
we were yet to learn.
Mr.. Edison retained his disintegrator
in his hand
kill him." said some one "He is
too horrible to live.''
IF we do not kill him, we shall
never be able to land upon the asteroid, {"
said another.
ono, said Mr.. Edison, 81 shall not
kill him. We have got other use for
him. Tom" he concluded, turning to
one of his assistants, whom he had
brought from his laboratory, "bring me
the an@sthetizer. -
This was something entirely new to
nearly all the members of the expedi-
tion. Mr.. Edison, however, had confided
to me before we left the earth the fact
that he had invented little instrument
charged with powerful an@sthetio
agent, could be driven to considerable
distance into the face of an enemy,
where. exploding without other dam
age, it would instantly put him to sleep.
When Tom had placed the instru-
ment in his hands, Mr.. Edison ordered
the electrical ship to forge slightly
ahead and drop little lower toward
The Marian, who, with watohful eyes
and threatening gestures, noted our ap-
preach in the attitude Of wild beast
IN the spring. Suddenly Mr. Edison
discharged from the instrument in his
rand little gaseous globe, which gilt
cred like ball Of tangled rainbows in
he sunshine and darted with astonish-