CHAPTER XX
ON THE EDGE OF A CRATER
There was a little hesitation after Professor Roumann had spoken. Eventhough he assured them all that it would be safe to venture out on thesurface of the moon, with its chilling temperature and its poisonous"atmosphere" (if such it can be termed), there was an uncanny feelingabout stepping forth into the midst of the desolation that was on everyside.
For it was desolate--terribly so! Not a sound broke the stillness.There was no life--no motion--as far as could be seen. Not a tree orshrub relieved the rugged monotony of the landscape. It was like a deadworld.
"And to think that people may have once lived here," observed Jack, ina low voice.
"Yes, and to think that there may be people on the other side of themoon even now," added Mark. "We must take a look if it's possible."
"Well," remarked Mr. Henderson, after a while, "are we going out andsee what it's like or not."
"Of course, we are," said Jack. "Come on, Mark, I'm not afraid."
"Me either. Do we have to do anything to the torches to make themoperate, Professor Roumann?"
"Merely press this lever," and the scientist showed them where therewas one in the handle of the steel rod. "As soon as that is pressed, itadmits a liquid to the chemicals and the oxygen gas is formed, risingall around you, like a protecting vapor. After that it is automatic."
"How long will the supply of chemical last?" inquired Jack.
"Each one is calculated to give out gas for nearly two weeks," was thereply; "possibly for a little longer. But come, I want to see how theywork. Here is your life-torch, Professor Henderson, and there is onefor you, too, Andy, and Washington."
"'Scuse me!" exclaimed the colored man hastily, as he started backtoward the kitchen.
"Why, what's the matter?" asked Jack. "Don't you want to go out, andwalk around the moon, and pick up diamonds?"
"Diamonds am all right," answered Washington, "but I jest done fo'gotdat I ain't fed my Shanghai rooster to-day, an' I 'spects he's mightyhungry. You folks go on out an' pick up a few obde sparklers, an' whenI gits de Shanghai fed I'll prognosticate myse'f inter conjunction wifyo' all."
"You mean you'll join us?" asked Mark.
"Dat's what I means, suah."
"Why, I do believe Washington's afraid!" cried Jack jokingly.
"Askeered! Who's afraid?" retorted the colored man boldly. "Didn't Idone tole yo' dat I got t' feed my rooster? Heah him crowin' now? Yo'all go 'long, an' I'll meet yo' later," and with that Washingtondisappeared quickly.
"Well, he'll soon pluck up courage and come out," declared ProfessorHenderson. "Let him go now, and we'll go out and see what it is like onthe moon."
"I hope we find those diamonds," murmured Jack, and Mark smiled.
In order not to admit the poisonous gases into the projectile, it wasdecided to leave the Annihilator and return to it by means of a doubledoor, forming a sort of air lock. It was similar to the water lock usedon the submarine. That is, the adventurers entered a chamber built inbetween the two steel walls of their craft. The interior door was thensealed shut automatically. Next the outer door was opened, and theycould step directly to the surface of the moon and into the deadlyatmosphere.
"Well, are we all ready?" asked Mr. Roumann, as he picked up one of thechemical torches.
"I guess so," responded Andy Sudds, who had his gun with him. "I hope Isee some game. I haven't had a shot in a long while."
"You're not likely to up here," spoke Mr. Henderson. "Game is scarce onthe moon, unless it's some of that green cheese Washington talkedabout."
They entered the air lock and fastened the door behind them. ThenProfessor Roumann pressed on the lever that swung open the outer portal.
"Hold your torches close to your head," he called. "The moon atmospheremay be too strong for us at first until we create a mist of oxygenabout us."
Out upon the surface of the moon they stepped, probably the first earthbeings so to do, though they had evidence that the inhabitants of Marshad preceded them.
For a moment they all gasped for breath, but only for a moment. Thenthe gas began to flow from the life-torches, and they could breathe aswell as they had done while in the projectile, or while on the earth.
"Well, if this isn't great!" cried Jack, gazing about him.
"It certainly beats anything I ever saw," came from Mark.
"Wonderful, wonderful," murmured Professor Henderson. "We will be ableto gain much valuable scientific knowledge here, Professor Roumann. Wemust at once begin our observations."
"I agree with you," spoke the German.
Andy Sudds said nothing. He was looking around for a sight of game,with his rifle in readiness. But not a sign of life met his eager eyes.
Once they were outside the projectile it was even more desolate than ithad seemed when they looked from the observation windows. It wasabsolutely still. Not a breath of wind fanned their cheeks, for wherethere is no air to be heated and cooled there could be no wind which iscaused by the differences of temperature of the air, the cold rushingin to fill the vacuum caused by the rising of the hot vapors. Clad intheir fur-lined garments, which effectually defied the cold, theadventurers stepped out.
Over the rugged ground they went, gazing curiously about them. It waslike being in the wildest part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains of ourearth, and, in fact, the surface of the moon was not unlike themountainous and hilly sections of the earth. There were no long rangesof rugged peaks, though, but rather scattered pinnacles and deephollows, great craters adjoining immense, towering steeples of rocks,with comparatively level ground in between.
The life-torches worked to perfection. As our friends carried them,there arose about their bodies a cloud of invisible vapor, which,however, was as great a protection from the poisonous gases as a coatof mail would have been.
"This is great!" exclaimed Jack. "It's much better than to have to puton a diving-suit and carry a cylinder of oxygen or compressed air abouton our shoulders."
They strolled away from the projectile and gazed back at it. Nothingmoved--not a sound broke the stillness. There was only the blazingsunlight, which, however, did not seem to warm the atmosphere much, forit was very chilly. On every side were great rocks, rugged and broken,with here and there immense fissures in the surface of the moon,fissures that seemed miles and miles long.
"Well, here's where I look for diamonds," called Jack, as he steppedboldly out, followed by Mark. "Let's see who'll find the firstsparkler."
"All right," agreed his chum, and they strolled away together, slightlyin advance of the two professors and Andy, who remained together, thescientist discussing the phenomena on every side and the hunter lookingin vain for something to shoot. But he had come to a dead world.
Almost before they knew it Jack and Mark had gone on quite somedistance. Though they were not aware of it at that moment, it was mucheasier to walk on the moon than it was on the earth, for they weighedonly one sixth as much, and the attraction of gravitation was so muchless.
But suddenly Jack remembered that curious fact, and, stooping, hepicked up a stone. He cast it from him, at the same time uttering ayell.
"What's the matter?" called Mark.
"Look how far I fired that rock!" shouted Jack. "Talk about it beingeasy! why, I believe I could throw a mile if I tried hard!"
"It goes six times as far as it would on the earth," spoke his chum,"and we can also jump six times as far."
"Then let's try that!" proposed Jack. "There's a nice level place overthere. Come on, I'll wager that I can beat you."
"Done!" agreed Mark, and they hurried to the spot, their very walkingbeing much faster than usual.
"I'll go first," proposed Jack, "and you see if you can come up to me."He poised himself on a little hummock of rock, balanced himself for amoment, and then hurled himself through space.
Prepared as he was, in a measure, for something strange, he neverbargained for what happened. It was as if he had been fired from some
catapult of the ancient Romans. Through the air he hurtled, like somegreat flying animal, covering fifty feet from a standing jump.
"Say, that's great!" yelled Mark. "Here I come, and I'll beat----"
He did not finish, for a cry of horror came from Jack.
"I'm going to fall into a crater--a bottomless pit! I'm on the edge ofit!" yelled the lad who had jumped.
And, with horror-stricken eyes, Mark saw his chum disappear from sightbeyond a pile of rugged rocks, toward which he had leaped. The lastglimpse Mark had was of the life-torch, which Jack held up in the air,close to his head.
"Jack--in a crater!" gasped Mark, as he ran forward, holding his ownlife-torch close to his mouth and nose.