CHAPTER XX
OVERHAULING THE SHIP
"Keep together!" shouted the professor. "It will not do to become lostnow. We are close to the ship, and will soon be there. Come after me."
It was more by following the sound of the scientist's voice, than by anysight which the others could get of him, that they managed to trailalong behind. They reached the ship in safety, however, and entered.There was no sound as of beasts or insects within, and, though Mark felta little apprehensive on account of what he had seen, he and the othersas well, were glad to be again in something that seemed like home.
"I wish we had some candles, or some sort of a light to see by," theprofessor remarked. "We can do nothing in the dark, and there is notelling how long this night is going to last once it has set in. If Icould have a little illumination, I might be able to fix the dynamo, andthen we could turn on the incandescents. That portable light we had isbroken."
"By cracky!" exclaimed Andy. "I believe I have the very thing!"
"You don't mean to say you have a torch or a candle with you, do you?"asked Mr. Henderson.
"No, but I have my patent pipe lighting apparatus," the hunter said. "Ialways carry it. It gives a little light, but not much, though it may beenough to work by."
Not until after several hours work, handicapped as they were by lack oflight, were the repairs to the ship completed.
"Now we'll start the engine and see how we will come out," the inventorexclaimed, as he wiped his hands on some waste.
It did not take long to generate enough power to turn the dynamo. Soonthe familiar hum and whirr was heard, and, a few seconds later thefilaments in the lamps began to glow a dull red, which graduallybrightened until they were shining in all their usual brilliancy.
"Hurrah!" cried the boys. "Now we can see!"
They all felt in better spirits with the restoration of the lights, and,washing off the grease and dirt of their labors in the engine room, theyprepared to sit down to the meal which Washington prepared.
As soon as the dynamo was working well, care had to be taken not tospeed it too much on account of a mended belt. The professor turned offpart of the lights and switched some of the current into the storagebatteries, to provide for emergencies. For there was no telling how longthe night might last.
Jack was the first one to finish the meal--they did not know whether tocall it dinner, supper or breakfast. He went into the conning tower,and, as soon as he reached it he called out:
"Come on up here, professor! There's something strange going on!"
Mr. Henderson, followed by Mark, hurried to the tower. As he reached itand looked out of the forward window, a beautiful white glow illuminatedthe whole scene, and then, from below the horizon, there arose sevenluminous disks. One was in the centre, while about it circled the othersix, like some immense pin-wheel.
"It's the moon!" cried Mark.
"It's seven moons!" Jack exclaimed. "Why it's almost as light as day!"
And so it was, for the seven moons, if that is what they were, gave anillumination not unlike the sun in brilliancy though it was like thebeams from the pale moon of the earth.
"I guess we need not have worried about the darkness," the professorremarked. "Still it is a good thing I fixed the dynamo."
For some time he and the other adventurers watched the odd sight of themoons, as they rose higher and higher overhead. The scene was abeautiful, if weird one, for the whole plain was bathed in the softlight.
"I guess we can turn off the incandescents, and use all the power forthe storage batteries," Mr. Henderson went on, as he descended into theship, and opened the port shutters which had been closed when theystarted off on their exploring tour. The interior of the _Mermaid_ wasalmost as light as when the odd colored beams had been playing over thenew earth to which they had come.
"I think we had better continue with our work of making repairs," Mr.Henderson said. "We can't count on these moons remaining here any lengthof time, and I want to take advantage of them. So though some of usperhaps need sleep, we will forego it and fix up the _Mermaid_. I wantto take a trip and see what other wonders await us."
They all agreed that they would rather work than sleep, and soon theentire force was busy in the engine room. There was much to be done, andthe most important things were attended to first. The motive power wasoverhauled and found to be in need of several new parts. These were putin and then the gas generator, and the negative gravity machine, wereput in shape.
It would have taken something very substantial to have awakened any oneon board the _Mermaid_ that night. They all slept soundly and awoke tofind the strange colored lights shining in through the glass coveredport holes.
"Well, the sun, or what corresponds to it, is up," observed Jack, "and Iguess we had better do as the little boy in the school reader did, andget up, too, Mark."
Soon all the travelers were aroused, and the sound of Washingtonbustling about in the kitchen, whence came the smell of coffee, baconand eggs, told the hungry ones that breakfast was under way.
After the meal work was again started on repairing the ship, and by noonthe professor remarked:
"I think we shall try a little flight after dinner. That is, if onething doesn't prevent us."
"What is that?" asked Jack.
"We may be held down, as were those stones," was the grave answer.