Amador ledger., 1905-12-08

the atmosphere of the earth, fact that all
scientists accept. Some of these bodies are
as small as pinheads, while others may be
larger. That this last was correct was evi-
dent; yet now it had never been discovered
Dy the earth's astronomers was a puzzle
to me.
That is simple matter of explana-
tion,' said our leader; this asteroid has
never been discovered, for the same rea-
son that many small but important things
nave been for years overlooked by scien-
lists in search of greater fields to con-
quer. 1t is within less than one hundred
miles of earth, while the very nearest
OBJECT that has ever attracted the tele-
scopes OF our astronomers is the moon,
distant quarter of q million miles Can
you not understand that no astronomer
would ever train his instrument so as to
focus an object less than a hundred miles
distant.
''That sounds reasonable, yet I asked
him how 1t was that it had never been
seen with the naked eye.
Simpler STILL he answered, because
this little planet is less than ten miles in
diameter. So small an object. with a
earth's atmosphere, would never be no.
tlced, and having no light of it's own.
could not be seen at any time. It is q
mere speck in the sky, and no man can
tell how long it has fioated around our
earth There may be many more of
them, but for the present we will confne
ourselves to this one, and soon shall land
and see what there is to see.'
AN aneroid barometer was then iet
through the trap in the floor in order TO
ascertain the pressure of the atmosphere
before we dared to open the car and stem
onto the little world we had discovered
Ihe planet was growing larger every mo-
ment, an we were now within less than
a mile its surface. The instrument
SnOwGa SnoWGo nat the pressure was eight
pounds to he square inch, which about
equaled thai on hig mountains on the
earth' so we y a"e afe to land. The
thermometer attac - the car at this
time showed an entI, TX of breeze. and
We gently dropped to surface. Of the
Nebula, as l had volunteered to call the
discovery. As we looked upon the land
scape, it seemed as if we had suddenly
dropped into Southern California, and I
could not possibly Justify this condition
OF verdUre with the small size Of +ba tinv
world Tor such little thing could not be
expected to obstruct enough of the neat
or the sun to produce such a condition
fuZZled, I myself dropped thermometer
through the trapdoor and noted IFS reg
fSIe., tsuer, IL was eighty degrees-a fact that
Iurther surprised me-and I said So
dare sav We shall find that thern
are other sources of heat besides the sun.
sald one of my companions; ana no
sooner mad we opened the car door ana
hegrn to climb down the anchor rome
which had been cast ont than wa dis
covered the correctness of his pronbecv
lhere We're boiling SPRINGS evervwhere
and the vordure was magnificent.
lying the anchor rome ahout a howl
qer, we hogan survey of our world.
But first of all. took good look a+ tho
earth we had left frw hours before
1t was more magnificent sight tnan
words can ever tell It filed almost tba
entire dome of the sky, and the continent
does on a raised globe sucb as wa boya
IN N school-rooms: I could locate San
Francisco ms well as If had had man
ana pointer: and from that Western n,,s
| tropoiis could trace the outline of the
united States to the city of Chicago and
SO on to the gateway of Europe-New
York. It was wonderful. The air ryas
not SO rare as to he hard on lungs used
TO mountain conditions; but some Of the
party complained, and one suffered nose
pieed' There was a ripping brook near
at hand, its banks lined with plant life.
ana L went toward II TO get n drink,
felt wonderfully elated in mind and body.
and ran lightly toward it, falling on INV
chest, and .quenching my thirst with the
inoSt refreSlln9 wHtnr / had ever drank
me stream was not more than ten feet
where we stood, there was no narrower
place. We wanted TO cross 1t, and I
ffancied I could make the leap, old man
though L am. I took few steps back
sprang into the air.
I scared through that air like bird,
and landed at least twenty Yards beyond
the farther bank. My companions. as I
allghted with the ease of a feather, first
looked bewildered and then broke info
peals of almost unceasing laughter. For
they understood the reason before I did.
''No. Well, the explanation is as sim
pie as all the others have been. and fol-