The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1910-07-29

out our pipes and smoked as IL there
had been no crystal mountains tOtrer-
IEg over us and no bowling tempest
tearing through the cioud-rITed sIcv
1000 feet or so above our heads
We talked or our adventure and or
honle-EOme Z5,10e.gu0 miles away
In fact, IL might have been nearer
3r,0VO,UJe by this time. for Edmund
; had told US thar Venus. having passed
from the earth.
But Edmund did not join tn our con
versa ton now He sat apart. think
ing and We respected his isolation.
/ moving that our only chance of es-
cape lay in him. At last, without say
ms a word. he went outside and re-
hack smiling
I've found the solution" he said.
Z Vel set out all right, but we shall
have o walt a while
''WT.at is it?" we asked I'm concert
What have you found o"
al Jert- he said, turning TO me.
( You OuEht TO know what Iteration
means. Well, it's libration that is go
Ing 10 save US As Venus travels
around the sun, she turns just once
or neT axis Dr. making one circuit
The consequence. as YOU ALREADY
know is that she has one side where
. the sun never rises Tvrf1e -Ea 0-Elr
sile always face the sun
But since her orbit is not a perfect
circle she travels a little faster at
certain times and q little slower at
others While her slow rotation on her
ais never varies The result Is that
along the border between the dav and
right ncnisphcres there IS a narrow
strip where the sun rises and sets
once IT, each OF her years. which are
about 225 Of our days iu length
on this strip the sun shines Cou-iuI-
oISiE TOT about sixteen weeks gradual -
rising during eiEat Of those weeks and
gradually sinking for eight weeks more
lhen during the following sixteen weeks
the sun Is entirety absent from the strip.
Now we are just In that STRIP and
we may thank or stars for f. By good
luck atier we were swept past that
blazing peak OF Ice which nearly ship
wrecked as, the wind carried US on so
lar pel9re me power gave out that we
descended on the sunward side Of the
crest OF the ley range
The sun is at present just beginning
70 rise on this part uf the planet and ir
Hi4l coutuUe 90 rise for several weeks
The result viii be that q great melting
. or ice and snow VIII take place all
around us here and a river viii be
formed ID this valley. flowing of toward
the slnNarG hemisphere exactly where
We want 20 60
I'm going 20 take advantage or the
. torrent and loat down with IL ms our
only chance for We couldn't possibly
Chamber over all this EuumOczy Ice and
drag the car with US"
Why not leave the car behind theu2'
asked Henry
Edmund looked AT him and smiled
10 you want TO stay on Venus ali
your Gfe- he asked Il can repair the
mechanism if 7 cs-u md certain sub
stances which I an sure exist on this
planet as well as on the earth.
But there IS Tao use q looking for
them In this icy waste. No. we can
never abandon the car we must take 60
with Us. and the only way o. take 10 IS
with the aid Of The river OF ice and
$40 fa-eT which VIII soon be created
by the rising sun"
But how VIII YOU manage 20 foat2''
! asked
The. car. being air-tisht. VIII float
And hov about the natives
An ID have % think about that
hut Wei save them, too. u possible
o. course. Edmund was right lie al
ways was Put II cut short the story
OF Our stay in that awful valley
livery LUencv-1our hours. by the cal
eTldar clock we sew that the sun had
cleared. and its beams falling unIuter-
ruptedly- became hotter and hotter
soon we had no longer any use for furs,
or Tor the electric heat in the car
At The same cirne the melting began.
II was a new danger for US Vet we
watched u 1PFoCSly. since IL offered our
only chance OF escape
We were lust in The bottom Of the
valley near Its head II wound away
before US turning out Of sight beyond
q vast hll OF ice Streams bean TO
tricbie down The heights behind Us and.
uniting they formed q rlr-r.a- al our
IeeI- flowing over smooth ice win great
velocity.
Edmund's plan for saving the natives
was now put into operation
III take Juba into the car he s5If
others We flsreu the sleds ore on
eacn side OF the car which Is buOEauL
enough to float the-u. and they'll nave
TO take their chances outside
We made ali these a~-aurs-a--s
while the rivUiet gradually sWeIled into
IoEreT-l- Before u had become too
broad ana deem we managed 20 place the
car. win ttlS Sle1S Ike 0UTTiGers. across
the center OF its course. Then we ro1--
our places and waited
dlSlcT anu higher rose the water
While from the slopes behind and around
Us aEalaHcheS OF ice descended ana
Ereat cataracts began TO leap and Dolr.
II was a mercy that we were So Sfrrr-
aled thar the avalauches did not rsaen
Us although We received some pretty
hard knocks from ice foes borne away
ju the current
At last the stream became deep
enough 20 float Us.
shah 1 ever forget that m1uent2
There came q sudden wave of water.
forced on by great slide OF Ice We
were HtJed upon its crest. and away we
vent The car was more buova0r -ra1
I had believed possible The srefs rss--
eLed on each side served TO give ID a
certain stability, and IL did nor sink as
9sep as the bottom of the windows.
he latter. though formed OF EIass Of
great thickness. might have been
broken by the tossing ice If they had
not been divided into many small nanes.
separated by bars Of steel. which pro-
Jected few inches on the outside
Il made that arrangement for me
teOTS," said Edmund, but never
thought of ice when I did IT.
The increasing force Of the current
soon sent US spinning down the valley
We swept around the nearest ice peak
on the left, and as we passed under its
projecting buttress "a fearful roar above
informed US that an avalanche was let
loose
We could not withdraw our eyes from
the window on that side Of the car and
presently immense masses Of ice came
crashing into the water. throwing. IL
over Us in foods and half drowning tho
poor wretches on the sIeds Sill the-
ciUIiC on, fastened together. and We
could do nothing TO help him
The UprOar continued. and the ice
came down faster and faster with a
de1uge of water The car pitched and
rolled until we could hardly keen 0ur
feet hanging on to every. support with Z
in reach
Poor Juba was a picture OF abfect /
terror He hung moaning, To a bench /
his huge eyes aElOw with fright sud
denly the car seemed TO be lifted from
the water. Then it felI back again and
was submerged. so that we were buried
IN night We rose again to the surface