Page:Amazing Stories Volume 01 Number 06.djvu/22

lying between the land of storms and and ice on the one hand, and the torrid circle on the other.

The torrid circle occupied the central part of the hemisphere, and there the unbroken sunshine created a climate that was absolutely inhibitory to life.

So much it is necessary to premise for an understanding of the events that followed.

As the time passed, we began to become anxious to learn what had been done with our car, and in a minor degree we were interested concerning the automatic rifles, which had been taken away from us at the start. We knew that all of these things had been brought to the capital, but we were ignorant of their location. We were afraid, too, that they might fall into the hands of those who were inimical to us, and be either destroyed or permanently concealed.

As the intimacy between Edmund and Ala increased, and their unconcealed attachment became more pronounced in its expression, the rest of us felt a little anxiety concerning its ultimate bearing upon our fate. We had no idea of staying all our lives on Venus; but if Edmund should decide to stay, what would become of us? At last we determined to question him, and Jack volunteered to be the spokesman.

"See here, Edmund," he began, "this is love's young dream with a vengeance. But you are getting all the best of it. You may become king of the planet for aught I see; but these houris are not too amiable to us, and we rather think it's time to talk about the earth again.

"I think I've had enough of Venus myself. I'd rather like to see old New York once more. Now, what are you going to do about it? How about the car?"

"I have only just learned where it is stored," Edmund replied, "and I was about to speak to you of it. Ala and I have a project, for the carrying out of which the car will be necessary. We'll go and have a look at it; but, first of all, I've got to find some uranium to put it into shape again."

"Well, I hope you'll find your uranium," said Jack; "but what project are you talking about? Are you going to take Ala back to the earth?"

"No," Edmund replied, "or, at least, not now. We've got more exploring to do on Venus. You don't suppose I'm going to quit yet."

Henry, who had never expressed much admiration for what we had seen, fairly groaned.

"Edmund," he said, "if I had a thousand million dollars, I'd give you every cent to take me back home."

He meant it, for I never seen a face so full of misery.

Edmund, however, only smiled, saying:

"Cheer up, Henry; you'll get back, all right, in time. Come—what sort of stuff are you made of? Can't you appreciate the glory of being the first explorers of another world?"

Evidently Henry could not, and just at that moment I doubt if Jack and I could, either. There was nothing for us to do, however, except to await Edmund's movements. We couldn't have navigated the car homeward, if we had had it.

A short time afterward, accompanied by Ala, two of her ladies in waiting, and half a dozen stout fellows belonging to our guard, we went to visit the car. It was away up in the aerial tower where we had first landed, but I was disappointed to see nothing of the rifles.

"I hope they haven't fallen into Ingra's hands," I said to Edmund.

"If they have," he replied, "they'll probably prove more dangerous to him than to anybody else. Even if he learned how to use them, the extra ammunition is all in the car."

Nevertheless, I knew that the rifles carried ten shots each in their chambers; and I didn't like their disappearance, more particularly after learning that Ala was ignorant of their whereabouts.

AFTER thoroughly examining the car, Edmund repeated that he needed only uranium to put the apparatus in first-rate condition. He explained that the jar against the ice precipice, or the violent fall, had produced an "atomic readjustment," which could only be remedied with the aid of fresh material. Of course I knew no more than the man in the moon what he meant; but I was satisfied with the assurance that the thing could be fixed.

Here a new difficulty rose at once. Ala evidently knew nothing about uranium, and had no idea what it was that Edmund wanted. He succeeded only in making her comprehend that he must search for something in the ground.

"Uranium," he said to us, "is sometimes found around silver or lead mines. The first thing is to discover where they do their mining. If we can find uranium, all right. If we can't, we may as well say good-by to the earth, for we'll have to leave our bones on Venus."

EDMUND had no great difficulty in making Ala comprehend that we wished to visit the places where they got their metals.

Accordingly, not long afterward, we started in an airship—escorted by four or five consorts—for an exploration of the mines. Ala, as usual, had her two favorite maids with her.

We went a long distance from the capital, up near the mountains. They value gold on Venus as much as we d o *n the earth, and, naturally, they were eager first to show us their gold-mines. The sight was amazing.

Talk of California and Australia, of Peru and South Africa! All of them put together never saw so much gold as we beheld in one of those mines! I perceived that Henry's mouth fairly watered at the sight.

Edmund was intent only on his search, and it was delightful to see the tender interest in Ala's eyes as she followed him. But he could find no trace of what he wanted.

"Plague take it!" he exclaimed. "If I had only carried on my experiments a little longer before setting out, I might have been able to get the power I want from any of the metals. But now nothing but uranium will do."