The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-08-08
A COLUMBUS OF SPACE, By eAREETTP ?: sERvIzs

7 we launched the car from one OF the
1 upper stories OF the great tower The
ar was CROWDED win say aerOplanes
/ and airshtps, banners and steamers
/ were displayed on all sides. and the
/ atmosphere blOomed with undulatfng
/ cOIOrs-
/ The noise was extraordinary for
/ Venus, and a universal cry Of aston
{ ishment burst forth when the car
without visible machinery, swiftly
/ rose into the air and CITCied over the
I city The aeropIanes chased Us like
] children following a sJreet-orEan- but
/ soon Edmund touched knob, and we
Shot Up, rocket-ikeY leaving them all
( behind ana below
/ Higher and higher we r0se- until the
vast r0oI Of the ClOud-llke dome was
Ireached- From that immense elevation
I the whole breadth OF the inhabited zone
] appeared spread below US. bordered
with luminous clouds along both OF its
/ edges. The metropolis looked like &
giant EoySer-bec, and dotted over the
country were smaller cities. while inuu-
u1erable aeroplznes sailed about far be-
meath Us Ike EOcSs Of brllliant-plu-
mayed birds
I studied Alas face 10 note the effect
| upon her She showed some surprise.
but more, her cCuuIenaDCe denoted ld-
miTatiOn OF Edmund. and her euthusi-
asm was fairly girlish- Yet her quick
] intelligence manifested itself also, and
she attended with keen interest when
/ he showed her how the controlling
knobs were mana ed-
| He even permitted her TO turn some
of the controllers, and her delight knew
no bounds when she found how easily
under his guidance, she could direSt our
course Now we SHOT along under Jhe
dome Ike a meteor, row We darted
downward, and then We Te1Iured q lit
/ tie way up into the clouds
I was surprised. though, OF course I
ought not to have been. 10 ind that
when We entered the clOud-oOTle the
darkness around Us was hardly notice
able The Clouds although ctOSe-pach-
ed were filtered through with sunshine
from above. so that We seemed to be
immersed in q rose-pink mist
Ala exhibited no fear whatever, and.
at length. Edmund proposed that we
should rise up through the dome into
| we dfd this rapidly. so that In a few
minutes We emerged on the upper
side, and Venus was changed into q
vast white globe, brilliant with sun
light, but as soft in appearance as q
bail Of wool The world below was
completely hidden
Only one thing astOntshed Ala-the
sun It was TOO bllDdlngly brilliant
TO look upon, but frequently saw
her turn In its direction with an eX-
preston that greatly puzzled me 1
aid not understand 1t until atterWard-
Their occurred one Of those things
which are bound to happen whenever
tw o persons as much interested in one
another as were Ala and Edmund are
together. and one Of them tries TO be
particularly agreeable 70 the oTner.
Apollo, in the old legend was not
guilty of a greater fndiscretion. when
be allowed PhaetOn TO take the reinS
of the horses Of the sun, than was
Edmund when Ala little vain OF
what she had learned. asked to be
allowed to guide the car
he foolishly consented. and the con-
sequences were prompt in declaring
themselves.
Edmund had worked up to a pretty
lively clip and we may have been
making ten miles q minute, when
Alas desire 70 try her hand alone was
EraIi6ed- she had hardly EraSped one
OF the KNOBS. when my consciousness
went of skylarkinE and as ] quickly
found out the same thing happened
/ 70 every one IN the car y on VIII cas-
lly imagine what had OccuTred-inad-
vertently Ala had brought Us to the
right-abOUt, which flung US of our
feet with such violence that we were
knocked senseless-
when I came to myself and got on ny
less, Edmund had already recovered
and was working desperately at the con
trOllers- 1 knew from the motion that
he was trying TO stop Us The car shook
as II II would fail to pieces, Jolt follow
ing jolt. like an express train under
emergency brakes Blood was running
down his face. and with q quick mo-
ton, he wiped II out Of his eyes, with
out ever ceasing his labor at the knobs
Seeing, more BY instinct than by look
ing, that / had recovered, he cried out.
AlaI''
She lay senseIess near the center Of
the car, while Jack and Henry had been
pitched into a corner, and the maid lay
beside a bench.
I lifted Ala. and. after being jerked
from my feet two or three times, sue
benches against the wall. 7 could see
EdmUnd's anxious giances over his
shoulder but he could not quit his place,
nor for an instant remit his exeruons.