The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-07-23
A COLUMBUS OF SPACE o4RRE!Fs sEz11ss

troll. I've arrived where a certain Prof
Duncan dreamed Of being when he
wrote that, when man knows that eV-
ery breath II air ne draws has con-
drive the workshops Of the world. he
viii find out some day, somehow. some
way Of tapping that energy I've
Indeed said Jack. We'll, as I
asked you once before, What are you
going 20 10 with it2'
I have Just been telling you that NE
IseveT thought Of making fun Of any Of
StonewalTs ideas, but there was some
thing so extravaEaut in his words and
manner that we all fell into Jack s
half-t5anteTinE mood. and united IN de-
yes. Edmund. tell US what you are
going 70 do with itY'
Internationally We nettled him and
WITHOUT knowing Il, we probably laid
. tne foundation for the astounding thing
that happened to US He did not reply
Tor moment while MS eyes nasEed and
his face darkeued- Then he said slow
IF you viii come over TO the Isbo-a-
t7ry III show YOU what I am going %
do with It"
Nothing could have suited Us better
Ever since Edmund had shut himself
away we had been curious TO know
what he was up to- We all got our hats
and walked over 70 the laboratory. He
led Us directly into the back yard, which
We were surprised to find walled and
rooted. 50 as TO form a huge shanty.
Edmund opened the door and Ushered
Us inside.
7 tell you, we We're startled by what
We saw In the center Of the place was
the qUecrest-lcoking thing you can i'm
agine. II was not anything that can
well describe 1 viii call 10 a car. for
that IS what II most resembled- It was
about eighteen fset long and ten feet
high and bread. round like a boiler,
with bulging ends. It seemed to be
made of polished steel
Edmund opened a door in the end
step in he said, and unhesitatinzIy
We Obeyed him. all except Church. who
was always a skeptiCaI fellow, and who.
for some reason, remained outside
Edmund turned on an electric light,
and we found ourselves in an ob1Ong
fancy wood, and with leather-cushioned
seats all around the sides The walls
sho0e with polished knobs and handles
sit down." said Edmund "snd I'll
tell you what I've got here
Then, missing Church. ne called out
70 him TO come in but there was no
answer We concluded that Church,
thinking the thing would be too deep 20
be interesting. had gone back to the
club Edmund presently resumed:
as I told you little while ago. I've
solved the mystery OF the atoms I've
power fujmitabie at my command II
I CEOse TO build the right sort OF ap-
paratus, I could drive this old planet
OF ours against the moon and wreck IT.
But 1 NOT EDlnE 70 Damage any l0ClW
OF anything. I'm simply going to try a
little experiment Excuse me a mo-
men-"
Thsreat he stepped outside. and we
looked at one another. wondering. but
still having too much confidence in
Edmund TO really set him down in our
minds as unbalanced. We rather
thought that he was going to show us
some wonderful thing, as he used to DO
in the laboratory; something we
couldn't understand but that would De
interesting to look at We were not pre-
pared Tor what followed.
We heard Edmund outside IN the
shanJy, making a noise that sounded
Ike the opening Of a barn door. Then
he reaPpeared, entered the car. and
closed its door.
We watched him with growing. Curl
cSity- There was an odd smile on his
zee as he reached at and touched a
polished knob.
Instantly We felt that the car was ris-
IlsS- It rocked a little, ike a boat in
Wavy water We were startled. but not
frightened.
Wei, Edmund. what kind Of bal
loon IS this2' Jack asked in his care
less way
1t considerable more than q bal
We saw him touch another knob and
felt that the car had come to rest
though il still rocked gently. Then Ed
mund unlocked the shutter AT one side
and disclosed a many-paned window OF
thick glass. We al sprang 10 our. feet
and looked out Below US were roofs
and tops OF trees
Were about 200 feet uo-' SAID E5-
mund What do you think OF ft?-'