Off on a Comet! a Journey through Planetary Space

  CHAPTER II. A REVELATION

  To the general population of the colony the arrival of the stranger wasa matter of small interest. The Spaniards were naturally too indolentto be affected in any way by an incident that concerned themselves soremotely; while the Russians felt themselves simply reliant on theirmaster, and as long as they were with him were careless as to where orhow they spent their days. Everything went on with them in an accustomedroutine; and they lay down night after night, and awoke to theiravocations morning after morning, just as if nothing extraordinary hadoccurred.

  All night long Ben Zoof would not leave the professor's bedside. He hadconstituted himself sick nurse, and considered his reputation at stakeif he failed to set his patient on his feet again. He watched everymovement, listened to every breath, and never failed to administerthe strongest cordials upon the slightest pretext. Even in his sleepRosette's irritable nature revealed itself. Ever and again, sometimesin a tone of uneasiness, and sometimes with the expression of positiveanger, the name of Gallia escaped his lips, as though he were dreamingthat his claim to the discovery of the comet was being contested ordenied; but although his attendant was on the alert to gather all hecould, he was able to catch nothing in the incoherent sentences thatserved to throw any real light upon the problem that they were all eagerto solve.

  When the sun reappeared on the western horizon the professor was stillsound asleep; and Ben Zoof, who was especially anxious that the reposewhich promised to be so beneficial should not be disturbed, feltconsiderable annoyance at hearing a loud knocking, evidently of someblunt heavy instrument against a door that had been placed at theentrance of the gallery, more for the purpose of retaining internalwarmth than for guarding against intrusion from without.

  "Confound it!" said Ben Zoof. "I must put a stop to this;" and he madehis way towards the door.

  "Who's there?" he cried, in no very amiable tone.

  "I." replied the quavering voice.

  "Who are you?"

  "Isaac Hakkabut. Let me in; do, please, let me in."

  "Oh, it is you, old Ashtaroth, is it? What do you want? Can't you getanybody to buy your stuffs?"

  "Nobody will pay me a proper price."

  "Well, old Shimei, you won't find a customer here. You had better beoff."

  "No; but do, please--do, please, let me in," supplicated the Jew. "Iwant to speak to his Excellency, the governor."

  "The governor is in bed, and asleep."

  "I can wait until he awakes."

  "Then wait where you are."

  And with this inhospitable rejoinder the orderly was about to return tohis place at the side of his patient, when Servadac, who had been rousedby the sound of voices, called out, "What's the matter, Ben Zoof?"

  "Oh, nothing, sir; only that hound of a Hakkabut says he wants to speakto you."

  "Let him in, then."

  Ben Zoof hesitated.

  "Let him in, I say," repeated the captain, peremptorily.

  However reluctantly, Ben Zoof obeyed. The door was unfastened, and IsaacHakkabut, enveloped in an old overcoat, shuffled into the gallery. In afew moments Servadac approached, and the Jew began to overwhelm him withthe most obsequious epithets. Without vouchsafing any reply, the captainbeckoned to the old man to follow him, and leading the way to thecentral hall, stopped, and turning so as to look him steadily in theface, said, "Now is your opportunity. Tell me what you want."

  "Oh, my lord, my lord," whined Isaac, "you must have some news to tellme."

  "News? What do you mean?"

  "From my little tartan yonder, I saw the yawl go out from the rock hereon a journey, and I saw it come back, and it brought a stranger; and Ithought--I thought--I thought--"

  "Well, you thought--what did you think?"

  "Why, that perhaps the stranger had come from the northern shores of theMediterranean, and that I might ask him--"

  He paused again, and gave a glance at the captain.

  "Ask him what? Speak out, man?"

  "Ask him if he brings any tidings of Europe," Hakkabut blurted out atlast.

  Servadac shrugged his shoulders in contempt and turned away. Here wasa man who had been resident three months in Gallia, a living witnessof all the abnormal phenomena that had occurred, and yet refusing tobelieve that his hope of making good bargains with European traders wasat an end. Surely nothing, thought the captain, will convince the oldrascal now; and he moved off in disgust. The orderly, however, whohad listened with much amusement, was by no means disinclined for theconversation to be continued. "Are you satisfied, old Ezekiel?" heasked.

  "Isn't it so? Am I not right? Didn't a stranger arrive here last night?"inquired the Jew.

  "Yes, quite true."

  "Where from?"

  "From the Balearic Isles."

  "The Balearic Isles?" echoed Isaac.

  "Yes."

  "Fine quarters for trade! Hardly twenty leagues from Spain! He must havebrought news from Europe!"

  "Well, old Manasseh, what if he has?"

  "I should like to see him."

  "Can't be."

  The Jew sidled close up to Ben Zoof, and laying his hand on his arm,said in a low and insinuating tone, "I am poor, you know; but I wouldgive you a few reals if you would let me talk to this stranger."

  But as if he thought he was making too liberal an offer, he added, "Onlyit must be at once."

  "He is too tired; he is worn out; he is fast asleep," answered Ben Zoof.

  "But I would pay you to wake him."

  The captain had overheard the tenor of the conversation, and interposedsternly, "Hakkabut! if you make the least attempt to disturb ourvisitor, I shall have you turned outside that door immediately."

  "No offense, my lord, I hope," stammered out the Jew. "I only meant--"

  "Silence!" shouted Servadac. The old man hung his head, abashed.

  "I will tell you what," said Servadac after a brief interval; "I willgive you leave to hear what this stranger has to tell as soon as he isable to tell us anything; at present we have not heard a word from hislips."

  The Jew looked perplexed.

  "Yes," said Servadac; "when we hear his story, you shall hear it too."

  "And I hope it will be to your liking, old Ezekiel!" added Ben Zoof in avoice of irony.

  They had none of them long to wait, for within a few minutes Rosette'speevish voice was heard calling, "Joseph! Joseph!"

  The professor did not open his eyes, and appeared to be slumbering on,but very shortly afterwards called out again, "Joseph! Confound thefellow! where is he?" It was evident that he was half dreaming abouta former servant now far away on the ancient globe. "Where's myblackboard, Joseph?"

  "Quite safe, sir," answered Ben Zoof, quickly.

  Rosette unclosed his eyes and fixed them full upon the orderly's face."Are you Joseph?" he asked.

  "At your service, sir," replied Ben Zoof with imperturbable gravity.

  "Then get me my coffee, and be quick about it."

  Ben Zoof left to go into the kitchen, and Servadac approached theprofessor in order to assist him in rising to a sitting posture.

  "Do you recognize your quondam pupil, professor?" he asked.

  "Ah, yes, yes; you are Servadac," replied Rosette. "It is twelve yearsor more since I saw you; I hope you have improved."

  "Quite a reformed character, sir, I assure you," said Servadac, smiling.

  "Well, that's as it should be; that's right," said the astronomer withfussy importance. "But let me have my coffee," he added impatiently; "Icannot collect my thoughts without my coffee."

  Fortunately, Ben Zoof appeared with a great cup, hot and strong. Afterdraining it with much apparent relish, the professor got out of bed,walked into the common hall, round which he glanced with a pre-occupiedair, and proceeded to seat himself in an armchair, the most comfortablewhich the cabin of the _Dobryna_ had supplied. Then, in a voice fullof satisfaction, and that involuntarily recalled the exclamations ofdelight that had wound up the two first of the my
sterious documents thathad been received, he burst out, "Well, gentlemen, what do you think ofGallia?"

  There was no time for anyone to make a reply before Isaac Hakkabut haddarted forward.

  "By the God--"

  "Who is that?" asked the startled professor; and he frowned, and made agesture of repugnance.

  Regardless of the efforts that were made to silence him, the Jewcontinued, "By the God of Abraham, I beseech you, give me some tidingsof Europe!"

  "Europe?" shouted the professor, springing from his seat as if he wereelectrified; "what does the man want with Europe?"

  "I want to get there!" screeched the Jew; and in spite of every exertionto get him away, he clung most tenaciously to the professor's chair, andagain and again implored for news of Europe.

  Rosette made no immediate reply. After a moment or two's reflection, heturned to Servadac and asked him whether it was not the middle of April.

  "It is the twentieth," answered the captain.

  "Then to-day," said the astronomer, speaking with the greatestdeliberation--"to-day we are just three millions of leagues away fromEurope."

  The Jew was utterly crestfallen.

  "You seem here," continued the professor, "to be very ignorant of thestate of things."

  "How far we are ignorant," rejoined Servadac, "I cannot tell. But I willtell you all that we do know, and all that we have surmised." Andas briefly as he could, he related all that had happened sincethe memorable night of the thirty-first of December; how they hadexperienced the shock; how the _Dobryna_ had made her voyage; how theyhad discovered nothing except the fragments of the old continent atTunis, Sardinia, Gibraltar, and now at Formentera; how at intervalsthe three anonymous documents had been received; and, finally, howthe settlement at Gourbi Island had been abandoned for their presentquarters at Nina's Hive.

  The astronomer had hardly patience to hear him to the end. "And what doyou say is your surmise as to your present position?" he asked.

  "Our supposition," the captain replied, "is this. We imagine that weare on a considerable fragment of the terrestrial globe that has beendetached by collision with a planet to which you appear to have giventhe name of Gallia."

  "Better than that!" cried Rosette, starting to his feet with excitement.

  "How? Why? What do you mean?" cried the voices of the listeners.

  "You are correct to a certain degree," continued the professor. "It isquite true that at 47' 35.6" after two o'clock on the morning of thefirst of January there was a collision; my comet grazed the earth; andthe bits of the earth which you have named were carried clean away."

  They were all fairly bewildered.

  "Where, then," cried Servadac eagerly, "where are we?"

  "You are on my comet, on Gallia itself!"

  And the professor gazed around him with a perfect air of triumph.