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LOST ON THE MOON OR IN QUEST OF THE FIELD OF DIAMONDS
BY ROY ROCKWOOD
CHAPTER
I. A WONDERFUL STORY II. SOMETHING ABOUT OUR HEROES III. PREPARING FOR A VOYAGE IV. AN ACCIDENT V. THE WORK OF AN ENEMY VI. ON THE TRACK VII. MARK IS CAPTURED VIII. JACK IS PUZZLED IX. A DARING PLOT X. "HOW STRANGE MARK ACTS" XI. READY FOR THE MOON XII. MARK'S ESCAPE XIII. A DIREFUL THREAT XIV. OFF AT LAST XV. THE SHANGHAI MAKES TROUBLE XVI. "WILL IT HIT US?" XVII. TURNING TURTLE XVIII. AT THE MOON XIX. TORCHES OF LIFE XX. ON THE EDGE OF A CRATER XXI. WASHINGTON SEES A GHOST XXII. A BREAKDOWN XXIII. LOST ON THE MOON XXIV. DESOLATE WANDERINGS XXV. THE PETRIFIED CITY XXVI. SEEKING FOOD XXVII. THE BLACK POOLXXVIII. THE SIGNAL FAILS XXIX. THE FIELD OF DIAMONDS XXX. BACK TO EARTH--CONCLUSION
CHAPTER I
A WONDERFUL STORY
"Well, what do you think of it, Mark?" asked Jack Darrow, as he laidaside a portion of a newspaper, covered with strange printedcharacters. "Great; isn't it?"
"You don't mean to tell me that you believe that preposterous story, doyou, Jack?" And Mark Sampson looked across the table at his companionin some astonishment.
"Oh, I don't know; it may be true," went on Jack, again picking up thepaper and gazing thoughtfully at it. "I wish it was."
"But think of it!" exclaimed Mark. "Why, if such a thing exists, and ifwe, or some one else, should attempt to bring all those precious stonesto this earth, it would revolutionize the diamond industry of theworld. It can't be true!"
"Well, here It is, in plain print. You can read it for yourself, as youknow the Martian language as well as I do. It states that a large fieldof 'Reonaris' was discovered on the moon near Mare Tranquilitatis (orTranquil Ocean, I suppose that could be translated), and that the menof Mars brought back some of the Reonaris with them. Here, read it, ifyou don't believe me."
"Oh, I believe you, all right--that is, I think you have translatedthat article as well as you can. But suppose you have made some error?We didn't have much time to study the language of Mars while we werethere, and we might make some mistake in the words. That article mightbe an account of a dog-fight on the red planet, instead of an accountof a trip to the moon and the discovery of a field of Reonaris; eh,Jack?"
"Of course, I'm likely to have made an error, for it isn't easy totranslate this stuff." And Jack gazed intently at the strangely printedpage, which was covered with characters not unlike Greek. "I may bewrong," went on the lad, "but you must remember that I translated someother articles in this paper, and Professor Henderson also translatedthem substantially as I did, and Professor Roumann agreed with him.There _is_ Reonaris on the moon, and I wish we could go there and getsome."
"But maybe after you got the Reonaris it would turn out to be onlycommon crystals," objected Mark.
"No!" exclaimed Jack. "Reonaris is what the Martians call it in theirlanguage, and that means diamonds. I'm sure of it!"
"Well, I don't agree with you," declared the other lad.
"Don't be cranky and contrary," begged Jack.
"I'm not; but what's the use of believing anything so wild and weird asthat? It's a crazy yarn!"
"It's nothing of the sort! There are diamonds on the moon; and I canprove it!"
"Well, don't get excited," suggested Mark calmly. "I don't believe it;that's all. You're mistaken about what Reonaris is; that's what youare."
"I am not!" Jack had arisen from his chair, and seemed much elated. Inhis hand he held clinched the paper which had caused the livelydiscussion. It was as near to a disagreement as Jack Darrow and MarkSampson had come in some time.
"Sit down," begged Mark.
"I'll not!" retorted Jack. "I'm going to prove to you that I'm right."
"How are you going to do it?"
"I'm going to get Professor Henderson and Professor Roumann totranslate this article for you, and then you can ask them what Reonarisis. Guess that'll convince you; won't it?"
"Maybe; but why don't you ask Andy Sudds or Washington White to givetheir opinion?"
"Don't get funny," advised the other lad sharply, and then, seeing thathis chum was smiling, Jack laughed, cooled down a bit, looked at thepaper which he had crumpled in his hand, and said:
"I guess I _was_ getting a little too excited. But I'm sure I'm right.Here's the paper I brought from Mars to prove it, and the only thingthere's any doubt about is whether or not Reonaris means diamonds. I'llask----"
At that moment the door of the library, in which Jack and Mark wereseated, was cautiously opened, and a black, woolly head was thrust in.Then two widely-opened eyes gazed at the boys.
"What's the matter, Washington?" asked Jack, with a laugh.
"'Scuse me, Massa Jack," answered the colored man, "but did I done heahyou' to promulgate some conversationess regarding detransmigatorability ob diamonds?"
"Do you mean, were we talking about diamonds?" inquired Mark.
"Dat's what I done said, Massa Mark."
"No, you _didn't_ say it, but you meant it, I guess," went on Jack."Yes, we _were_ talking about diamonds, Washington. I know a placethat's full of them."
"Where?" inquired the colored man, thrusting his head farther into theroom, and opening his eyes to their fullest extent. "Ef it ain'tviolatin' no confidences, Massa Jack, would yo' jest kindly mention itto yo's truly," and Professor Henderson's faithful servant, who hadfollowed him into many dangers, looked at the two boys, who, of lateyears, had shared the labors of the well-known scientist. "Where amdose diamonds, Massa Jack?"
"On the moon," was the answer.
"On de moon? Ha! Ha! Dat's a joke!" And Washington began to laugh. "Onde moon! Ha! Ho!"
"Well, you can read it for yourself," went on the lad, tossing thepaper over to the colored man. The latter picked it up, gazed at it,first from one side, and then from the other. Next he turned it upsidedown, but, as this did not make the article any clearer, he turned thepaper back again. Then he remarked, with a puzzled air:
"Well, I neber could read without mah glasses, Massa Jack, so I guessI'll hab t' let it go until annoder time. Diamonds on de moon, eh?Dat's wonderful! I wonder what dey'll be doin' next? But I'se got t'go. Diamonds on de moon, eh? Diamonds on de moon!"
As Washington turned to leave the room, for he had entered it when Jackand Mark were talking to aim, the latter lad asked:
"Did you want to see us about anything particular, Wash?"
"Why, I suah did," was the reply, "I did come t' tell yo' dat PerfesserHenderson would be pleased to hold some conversations wid yo', but whenMassa Jack done mentioned about dem diamonds, I clean fo'got it.Diamonds on de moon, eh?"
"Well, if the professor wants us we'd better go," suggested Mark. "Comeon, Jack, and stop dreaming about Reonaris and the moonbeams. Get backto earth."
"All right; laugh if you want to," said Jack sturdily, "but the timewill come, Mark, when you'll find out that I'm right."
"How?" asked Mark.
"I don't know, but I'm sure I can prove what I say."
The two boys were to have the wonderful diamond story demonstrated tothem sooner than either expected. Following the colored man, the lads,Jack carrying the paper, made their way to the laboratory of ProfessorHenderson. His door was open, and the aged man, whose hair and beardwere now white with age, was bending over a table covered with papers,chemical apparatus, test tubes, alembecs, Bunsen burners, globes, andvarious pieces of apparatus. Another man, not quite so old as was Mr.Henderson, was on the point of leaving the ap
artment.
"Ah, boys," remarked the older professor, as he caught sight of them,"I hope I didn't disturb you by sending for you."
"No; Jack and I were only having a red-hot discussion about diamonds onthe moon," said Mark, with a laugh.
"Diamonds on the moon!" exclaimed Professor Henderson.
"Diamonds on the moon?" repeated his friend, Prof. Santell Roumann. "Isthis a joke, boys?"
"Mark thinks so, but I don't!" cried Jack, enthusiastically. "Lookhere, Professor Henderson, and also Mr. Roumann. Here is one of thenewspapers that we brought back with us in our projectile, the_Annihilator_, after our trip to Mars. I have been translating some ofthe articles in it, and to-night I came across one that told of a tripmade by some of the inhabitants of Mars to the moon, in a sort ofprojectile, like ours, only more on the design of an aeroplane.
"They landed on the moon, the article states, and found a big field, ordeposit, of Reonaris, which I claim are diamonds. Mark says I'm wrong,but, Professor Henderson, isn't Reonaris to the Martians what diamondsare to us?"
"It certainly is," agreed the older scientist, and he looked forconfirmation to his scholarly companion.
"Reonaris is substantially a diamond," said Professor Roumann. "It hasthe same chemical constitution, and also the diamond's hardness andbrilliancy. But I don't understand how any diamonds can be on the moon."
"You can read this for yourself," suggested Jack, passing over thepaper, which was one of some souvenirs brought back from what was thelongest journey on record, ever taken by human beings.
Mr. Roumann adjusted his glasses, and carefully read the article thatwas printed in such strange characters. As he perused it, he nodded hishead thoughtfully from time to time. Then he passed the paper toProfessor Henderson.
The older scientist was somewhat longer in going over the article, butwhen he had finished, he looked at the two boys, and said: "Jack isright! This is an account of a trip made to the moon by some of theMartians, who have advanced much further in the art of air navigationthan have we. Some of the words I am not altogether familiar with, butin the main, that is what the paper states."
"And doesn't it tell about them finding a field of Reonaris?" askedJack eagerly, for he was anxious to prove to his chum that he was right.
"Yes, it does," replied Mr. Henderson.
"And Reonaris is diamonds, isn't it?" asked Jack.
"It is," answered Professor Roumann gravely.
"Then," cried Jack, "what's to hinder us from going to the moon, andgetting some of those diamonds? The Martians must have left some! Let'sgo to the moon and get them! We can do it in the projectile with whichwe made the journey to Mars. Let's start for the moon!"
For a moment there was silence in the laboratory of the scientist. Itwas broken by Washington White, who remarked:
"Good land a' massy! Annodder ob dem trips through de air! Well, Iain't goin' to no moon--no sah!! Ef I went dere, I'd suah get looney,an' I has troubles enough now wid'out dat, I suah has!" And, shakinghis head dubiously, the colored man shuffled from the room.