New-York tribune., 1911-04-16
Entry No. IL in Our Prize Story Competition

knew there was an extreme Of cold unmcasei by n
5trimcnls Of man.
aDaiIv tests Of the gases through whi.. ac passed
were made and the records kept by Mr. Jones. We
never struck anv vacuum. The chief tituency
through which we rushed AT a supcrnatura. roed wasa
gas that had a volume 9S.O1 less than % -lreSt gas
discovered on Earth On different occ Te en-.
counted oascs Of heavier gases, some Of familiar.
Strange islands Of nitrogen and hydrogen .re found;
but never any oxygen. These islands SO roi con.
tinuallv. Should We rush through an as. Fe oasis
Of heavy gas AT our present rate for fna- .ours We
must be consumed, despite our arnor, 1 n ''on
CINALLY came the frghtful day, fourteen months
L after leaving the earth. We had agreed ..' % *.
nose ourselves outside the Skylark mean. tl. Bu,
that wa, becoming almost pleasant a'o .,.. 10 this
awful monotOny Of our confinement Brown ri Jones
argued that the interests Of science iewar. a, nan
should make a personal test Of the TRANCE trough
which We 'conctcd if may coin 0c Hor.. AIDED,
I reasoned | threatened. Exposure ~ our 'conc
speed must mean death. Even J. however, ti.ed %
realize the quick horror ~ -H.l an end. Brown and
Ioncs insisted that the scientific scope ot our Hpedi
ton demanded that the should personal" .,ndud
certain experiments in the outside gases rough an
emergency door, similar 10 that on sub" lr~ which
permit, man 20 enter the water from . -tJm,fgei
boat in safety, the two brave bur i.- D wen, ny
ewes we're fixed on the outside hatcaay IN uncr'roN
able horror simultaneously the mc raised taar per-
SON, above the wind shield ! saw em toss mp tur
arms. and then. ere their bodie- .1d collapse 10
safety. they were consumed IN "a pm .i SMOKE ana
flame By the terrific friction.
81 was alone in Spacc Million II "t r.m The
ncarcs, star was da,hing madly thraug .hi'e-
aloncl must have swooned--per. T. - " oen's'
perhaps for hours perhaps for day. Ftr and .izzy'
when | revived. | had not the faculty rire.ia'e
ANYTHING except that in Space. trarer y me
beams Of the sun and stars and the inFi' 0iint q
Cod /. a mortal. was alone. .,
"Reason tottcred. Fear possessed te } .@nced
that nv oxygen plant had failed and 'a. must
slowly smother Or l. was the hydrogen 'aa- .a.s1ed'
and. deprived Of that necessary element t.r E water
di,tilerv. must die Of thirst Or the ho" . e SKY
lark blazcd up from the friction and was consumed by
flame that burnt without oxygen. Then = vas my
magnets that failed and | must tall-ia.. ..r t"eny
million, # miles. | wondered II | must liFe ougnN
ALL Fear overwhelmed all other sensations icI' 10
hunger. no thirst no pain. no fatigue \ 81 noTTN
gathered like a black ball before me, and g. soTy
toward me- towering over me- until tried o. pray that
il would crush me. And then once more ition!
$50 weak could barely rise,
finally recovered. Delirium was -n
d. . /. 4. d. !. j. 4. !. !. !. -
followed by logic Who was | TO ~ S& |
mourn deaths that gods might NJ STS
havccnyicd; That colossal grave NN~
ward If my comrades would not ~n
be without its monuments. In II
that vast crucblcof Spacccomets W. "
were bred and worlds. Sub LIZ WI
stances or gases, vibrated into ~ -