The Washington times., 1903-04-26
CHAPTER XLVII.
ON THE EARTH.


In a few minutes we shall reach the
earth" said Norbert I'VE should have
been there sooner had we kept our
frame, but it was necessary TO insure
a gentle fall"
The travellers all initiated him by TAX
ing of their resDirators.
It was strange that no one seemed
particularly joyful at the prospect of a
speedy termination to their dangerous
descent. The terrible parting scene in
he moon had doubtless much to do with
the prevailing gloom. which was still
/ further intensified by the black, silent
night that surrounded the parachute as
| it fell faster and faster through the re-
gion of chilly, damp clouds.
The fog was so thick that the travel
ers could hardly distinguish one an
! others faces. and the electric light
! shone through kind of wateTy halo.
The strange apathy was harmful to ali,
and Norbert made an effort to counter
act it.
! In few minutes" he said, "wc shall
touch the earth I hope We shall come
down softly; but possibly the first shock
/ viii be somewhat rough. We had better
/ throw everything useless overheard at
once. We viii begin with the respira-
/ tors. As soon as tell you the time has
! arrived. you must each hang on by your
/ hands TO tEe circular network of the
/ car Do you feel equal to it," he added,
| turing to Gertrude. who seemed very
much dtspirited as she sat leaning on
! her uncIe's shoulder, with an arm round
Fatima's neck.
Il hope So she replied but / can
not help thinking of those poor crea-
I lures whom We left I'd there. They
] haunt ne How could We abandon
/ them2 What must they think of US i?
What will become Of them? They hate
/ each other SO. What a terrible fate.''
/ Il tried hard TO bring them" replied
/ Norbert; but Virgil and I we're power
/ less against the obstinacy of Kaddour
/ l could not sacrifice the lives of all of US,
/ and perhaps the safety of the terrestrial
countries on which the moon would have
/ fallen. l went to the extreme limit of
/ patience. Il I had waited but two min
utes more, in the chimerical hope OF
/ overcoming mis- obstinacy, 4 terrible ca
tastrophe would have ensued. was
obliged to bow TO necessity"
but what did Kaddour want? ?"
He wanted US TO abandon his enc
mics on the moon, and he forclbly re-
sisted our attempts to bring them
with US Of course we could not agree
TO so barbarous a proposal. but I never
imagined that the unhappy dwarf would
carry his obstinacy to the point of sac
rifcing his own life to the fury of re-
venge that possessed him.
The nearness OF the earth became
more and more evident A tolerably
strong wind had sprung up. blowing
the parachute toward the west The
darkness was still excessive; but, look
ing downward intently Norbert could
vaguely distinguish shadows of trees and
landscape features.
On a sudden fine rain began to fall,
which did not, however, Inconvenience
the travellers. who. sheltered by the
parachute, were rather glad than other
wise to feel it,
They soon found that the wind abated
as the rain fell. But the moisture in
creased the weight of the silk and Nor
bert perceived that they were falling a
little too quickly
Look OUT" he cried Throw the
respirators over"
They all did so, and the descent
slackened at once
Almost Immediately afterward a gust
OF hot wind arose. bringing with it a
quantity of sand, which dried the para
chute in a few seconds. and blew il
eastward again
The car knocked against some obstacle
and slowly passed it by with rustlng
noise
"A tree. We are down. cried Nor
bert "AII get out and hang on to the
bottom, keeping your feet well off the
ground. There is no danger. if you
contriye TO avoid the first shock Do
you all understand? May I help you.
Mademoisene Kersain2 And you
doct-"
great bump cut him short The par
achute was on the earth All the trav-
eIers held on manfuuy. except Smith.
who fell out head foremost. while the
car slightly Febounded-
Look out for the second shock"
cried Norbert. Hold on we'll, I shall
jump of with rope But don't move
They did as he said. and at the mo-
ment that the apparatus, after another
rebound, touched ground Tor the third
time, Norbert. who had seized the op-
portunity to jump out stopped it final
". The silk at once fell over him. and
covered him with its folds.
'DisentangIe yourselves! Get on your
feet" he cried, half smothered. We
are on the earth!"
CHAPTER XLVIII.