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[Frontispiece: "Zarlah's car was hurled upwards into space withfrightful velocity."]
Zarlah The Martian
By
R. Norman Grisewood
1909
_Zarlah, The Martian_
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE STRANGE SHADOW
II. THE MARTIAN
III. THE VOICE FROM ANOTHER WORLD
IV. THE STORY OF MARTIAN LIFE
V. THE HAZARDOUS UNDERTAKING
VI. "AS OTHERS SEE US"
VII. THE MELODY OF FLOWERS AND ZARLAH
VIII. A HUNDRED MILES A MINUTE IN AN AERENOID
IX. THE REALIZATION OF A HOPELESS LOVE
X. ZARLAH'S CONFESSION
XI. THE DISCOVERY AT THE MARTIAN OBSERVATORY
XII. THE WARNING OF DANGER--THE RACE WITH DEATH
XIII. THE END OF A PERILOUS JOURNEY
XIV. HURLED FROM THE MOON
ZARLAH, THE MARTIAN.
CHAPTER I.
THE STRANGE SHADOW.
So thrilling were my experiences during that period, so overcrowded withfeverish action and strong emotions was each wonderful moment, and soentirely changed are the conditions of life as I now find it, that it iswith considerable difficulty that I recall in detail all that happenedprior to my remarkable discovery which opened communication betweenEarth and Mars. One says "discovery" advisedly, but let it not beimagined that communication with the planet Mars was established as aresult of any careful and systematic research, or that I possessed asubtle genius for astronomical science that was destined to introduceinto society what must eventually revolutionize it. Nothing could befurther from the facts. Into the daily grind of my absolutely uneventfulcareer, burst the almost terrifying revelations with a suddenness thatstunned me, while I was engaged in experiments of an entirely extraneousnature. Albeit one wonders that the Martian rays, which have swept ourplanet with their searching gaze for so many centuries, were notdiscovered long ago. But this is anticipating my story.
I had reached the age of thirty, when, in the Spring of 19--, I sailedout of New York harbor on board _La Provence_, en route for Paris. Itwas not so much my purpose to seek pleasure as the determination to turnmy eight years of experience in the United States to some avenue ofprofitable livelihood, that decided me to make the journey, although Ilooked forward with no small degree of pleasant anticipation to meetingsome of my fellow students in the Academie des Sciences in Paris, whereI had received five years of excellent training.
My trip across and my subsequent arrival in Paris were without anyevents of particular interest, and one bright morning in the earlysummer I found myself comfortably lodged in the house where I hadpreviously boarded while a student. Connected with my rooms, which wereat the top of the house, was one of considerable size that I hadformerly used as a laboratory, and this I now set about fitting up toserve the same purpose. The daylight found its way into the room througha skylight, and though admirably suited for an artist's studio, itanswered my purpose equally as well.
I had collected many new instruments and appliances by dint of daysspent in shopping, and was anxious to begin work in earnest, when oneevening, as I glanced through the columns of a newspaper, my attentionwas arrested by an article of particular interest. This set forth thegreat and increasing demand for a substitute for glass, one which wouldanswer the purpose in every respect, and at the same time beindestructible and a good conductor of sound. The article concluded withan enumeration of the many uses for which such a substitute would beinvaluable, hinting at the enormous financial possibilities which wouldbe open to the inventor. The more I considered the matter, the moredesirous I became to test several theories which forthwith presentedthemselves to my mind, and the next morning found me determined to beginmy experiments at once. In theory, I saw the solution of the problem inartificially producing increased atomic motion, and with that object inview I went to work.
My experiments involved me in weeks of hard work, and it was toward theend of the summer before I could admit having had any important results.I now had a substance resembling glass in appearance, though vastlydifferent in composition, which I made into a film, extremely thin andhighly sensitive to vibrations. Running through this film were slenderwires made of various metals, about one inch apart, which served notonly to give rigidity to the film, but also to conduct a current ofelectricity through it, engendering a high state of atomic agitation.The current was controlled by a small switch placed in a heavy box-likeframe, which bounded the film on its four sides and contained thebatteries, coils, etc. To this were attached four legs, supporting itabout the height of an ordinary table from the floor. The whole devicemeasured about seven feet square.
This film substance contained certain elements which I had found to benecessary to secure the desired intensity of agitation. It had taken mealmost a month to secure the fine quality I desired, and I lookedforward to the test with the feeling that results would prove that I wasnearing the goal, if I had not actually attained it.
At last the day arrived when my device was ready for the test. I hadworked all the afternoon giving the finishing touches and it had growndusk without my realizing it. But everything was now ready, and movingthe switch, I turned the current of electricity through the composition.Just as I was about to begin my test, I noticed what appeared to be afaint shadow of a man move across the surface of the film. My firstthought was that someone had entered the room without my knowledge, andhis figure had been reflected on the surface of the film, which washighly glazed, but a glance around the room assured me that thisexplanation was untenable. Moreover, I found, upon furtherinvestigation, that the film was lying in such a position that it wouldbe impossible to reflect any person in the room. I then examined theskylight, only to find that, owing to the sharp inclination of the roof,it would be an utter impossibility for anyone to reach it from theoutside without the aid of a ladder. I investigated this source further,thinking to find the reflection on the film to be from some street inthe city below, but on account of the extent of the roof, no street wasvisible from the skylight.
Completely baffled, I descended into the room again and turned on thecurrent. Immediately the shadow appeared on the film, and this time, inconsequence of the room now being quite dark, I noticed that it wassurrounded by a phosphorus-colored glow. The figure was certainly thatof a man, although very faint, and it became evident to me, afterwatching it for a while, that he was trying to signal with his arms.
I now noticed that, in addition to the peculiar light on the film, theentire surface seemed to vibrate with frequent, but scarcely audible,humming sounds. Upon turning off the current all disappeared, only toreappear when I switched it on again. It was evident then that thephenomenon was caused only when the instrument was charged withelectricity, and consequently was no ordinary reflection, as I had atfirst supposed.
Everything pointed to its being the manifestation of some outsideagency; possibly electrical waves which my apparatus received and in ameasure responded to, coming through the open skylight from--where? Thequestion reiterated itself in my mind, as I stood gazing perplexedly atthe phenomenon. I might have been satisfied with the supposition that,unknowingly, I had made an instrument which was capable of receivingwireless waves from another instrument of similar tone in or near Paris,if I had had only the humming sounds to contend with, but the shadowimpelled me to look for the reason further than this. I glanced upward,eagerly seeking some explanation. One star was visible through the openskylight--Mars. Clear and bright it shone in the inky blackness framed
by the window.
Once more I climbed to the skylight, feeling that I must seek theexplanation in that direction, when my attention was suddenly turned tothe apparatus below me. The glow was slowly passing off one side of thefilm. I hastily descended and examined the batteries, thinking I wouldfind the cause of this in a failing current, but all was apparently inperfect order. Still the glow and shadow moved steadily off, growingfainter every moment, until it disappeared completely.
With a sudden impulse, born of a weird and almost terrifying thought, Ibent over until my eyes were on a level with the film, then I lookedupward; the star was no longer visible from the position of theinstrument, it had risen above the frame of the window. At once I wasseized with an intense excitement; could it be possible that myapparatus was responding to waves mysteriously projected from Mars? Ifnot, why had the glow and shadow faded from the film at the same instantthat Mars disappeared above the window frame?
Hoping to test this further, I endeavored to move the apparatus to aposition where Mars would again be visible, but alas, I found it muchtoo heavy. I felt keenly disappointed at the sudden termination of thisstrange phenomenon, but, upon reflection, I realized that it was onlythe simultaneous disappearance of Mars and the glow on the film that hadcaused me to attribute waves to that far source. The more I ponderedupon the matter, the more impossible it seemed, yet, strange to say, themore convinced I became that the theory was correct. Light-waves, Iargued, unlike the wireless waves in common use, could be received onlywhen the two objects were in line of vision; but I realized that if theywere of Martian origin they were of remarkable magnification, projectedthrough space by some unknown and powerful agent, thousands of timesmore powerful than electricity as we know it upon Earth. That the shadowon the film had been that of a Martian, I dared not hope. Though my mindcontinually reverted to this wild conjecture, I impatiently put itaside, as the apparent impossibility of it all would force itself uponme.
Nothing further could be done that night, and as I had worked hard allday preparing for my experiment, without even stopping for meals, I nowfelt the effect of the excitement I had undergone and resolved to take awalk in the cool air, I wanted to think, and, if possible, to plan aline of action for the morrow which would bring me better results, if mytheory of light-waves should prove to be correct. Needless to say, Idetermined to cease my former experiments, and devote all my energy toascertaining whether my apparatus was actually responding to Martianlight-waves of remarkable integrity, and if such proved to be the case,to put every effort into improving the device with the hope of obtainingtheir import. I also determined to keep my discovery a secret, at leastfor the present.