Lost on the Moon by Roy Rockwood (best fiction novels .txt) ๐
But the spirit of adventure was still strong in the hearts of the boys and the professor. One day, in the midst of some risky experiments at college, Jack and Mark, as related in "Through Space to Mars," received a telegram from Professor Henderson, calling them home.
There they found their friend entertaining as a guest Professor Santell Roumann, who was almost as celebrated as was Mr. Henderson, in the matter of inventions.
Professor Roumann made a strange proposition. He said if the old scientist and his young friends would build the proper kind of a projectile, they could make a trip to the planet Mars, by means of a wonderful motor, operated by a power called Etherium, of which Mr. Roumann held the secret.
After some discussion, the projectile, called the Annihilator, from the fact that it annihilated space, was begun. It was two hundred feet long, ten feet in diameter in the middle, and shaped like a cigar. I
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down. They wildly waved their hands and life-torches.
Then, to their inexpressible joy, they saw the course of the projectile
change. It was headed toward them, and a few minutes later it settled
slowly to the ground about half a mile away.
โCome on!โ cried Jack! โWe must hurry to them, or soon it will be too
dark to see them, or for them to find us. Itโs our last chance; donโt
letโs lose it!โ
He sprang forward, the others after him, and together they ran toward
the projectile. They could see the two professors and Washington White
emerging from the steel car, waving their hands.
On rushed the lost wanderers, over the rough stones, skirting the great
cliffs, falling into small craters, crawling out again, just missing
several times being precipitated into yawning caverns, and stumbling
over petrified bodies that strewed the ground.
Ever did they hasten onward though, increasing their speed. They came
to a great crater that lay between them and the projectile, but
fortunately there was across the middle of it a natural bridge of
stone. But it was narrowโscarcely wide enough for one at a time.
โWe can never cross on that!โ cried Mark, halting.
โWeโve got to!โ shouted Jack, and he sprang fearlessly forward, fairly
running over the narrow path, which had a sheer descent of thousands of
feet on either side.
Mark, though fearful that he would become dizzy and fall, followed
Andy. They were soon across the narrow bridge, and speeding on toward
the Annihilator. Five minutes later they had reached it, and were
being wildly welcomed by the two professors and Washington White, who
had advanced to meet them.
โI โclar tโ goodness-gladness!โ exclaimed the colored man, โI am
suttinly constrained tโ espress my approbation ob de deleterous manner
in which yoโ all has come back tโ dis continuous territory.โ
โDo you mean youโre glad to see us, Wash?โ asked Jack.
โDatโs what I done said,โ was the answer, with a cheerful grin, โanโ I
might also remark dat dinner am serbed in de dininโ car.โ
โHurrah!โ cried Jack. โThatโs the best news Iโve heard in a week. No
more blasted beef for mine! Give me ham and eggs!โ
โBut what happened to you? Where have you been? We have searched all
over for you, and were just giving you up for dead, and going back to
the earth,โ said Professor Henderson. โWe caught sight of you at the
last minute.โ
โOh, you mustnโt go back until you go to the field of diamonds!โ cried
Jack, and then by turns he and Mark and Andy told of their terrible
adventures while they were lost on the moon.
On their part Professors Roumann and Henderson stated how they had
waited in vain for the return of the wanderers, and had then, by
strenuous work, managed to make the necessary repairs without the
missing tool. Then they set out to discover the lost ones, but
succeeded only just in time, for it was now quite dusk.
โAnโ did yoโ all really discober dem sparklers?โ asked Washington, as
he served what the boys thought was the finest dinner they had ever
tasted.
โWe sure did,โ replied Jack. โHere are a couple for that red necktie of
yours,โ and he passed over two big diamonds.
It did not take long to move the projectile to the field of the
sparkling gems, and by means of a powerful search-light enough were
soon gathered up to satisfy even Washington White, who declared that he
would be the best decorated colored man in Bayside when they got back.
The two professors made what observations they could in the petrified
city in the fast-gathering darkness, and then, having taken a petrified
man into the projectile with them to deposit in a scientific museum in
which Professor Roumann was interested, the Annihilator was sealed
shut.
And it was only just in time, for with the suddenness of an eclipse
intense darkness settled down, and the temperature, as indicated by a
thermometer thrust outside, showed a drop of a hundred degrees.
โWe never could have lived out there,โ said Jack.
โWell, weโll soon be back on earth,โ observed Mark, and a little later
the Cardite motor was out in operation, and the journey back to this
world begun.
Little of moment happened on the return trip. The boys went more into
detail about their wanderings, and told how they had managed to live
during the time they were lost. The two professors and Washington spoke
of their worry and anxiety, and their vain search for the wanderers.
As they were anxious to get back home, the motor was speeded to the
limit, and in much less time than they had made the trip to the moon
they had arrived in sight of the earth again. As they did not want to
create too much excitement, they hovered about in the air over Bayside
until dark, when they gently descended almost in the very spot from
which they had started.
โWell,โ remarked Jack, as he stepped out on the earth once more, โit
was quite an experience to go to the moon, and I suppose being lost
there wasnโt the worst thing that could happen to us, but all the same
Iโm glad to be back.โ
โSo am I,โ declared Mark. โIt was worth while going,โ and he felt of
his pocketful of diamonds.
โWe certainly made some very valuable scientific observations,โ
asserted Mr. Henderson, โand we will be able to prove that the moon was
once inhabited.โ
Washington White was carefully lifting out his Shanghai rooster, which
was uttering loud crows. As soon as he had set the fowl on the ground,
the colored man started off.
โWhere are you going?โ asked Mark.
โIโm going tโ a jewelery shop tโ hab my diamonds made inter a stick-pin
foโ my red necktie,โ was the answer.
โOh, youโd better wait until morning,โ suggested Professor Henderson.
They gathered about the table in the cozy dining room of their home,
while Washington got a meal ready. Every one was talking about what a
wonderful trip they had had.
โThe only trouble is,โ said Jack, โthat weโve been to about all the
interesting places in this universe now. I wonder where we can go
next?โ
โIโm going to bed right after supper,โ announced Mark. โMaybe Iโll
discover a new land in my dreams.โ
The moon voyagers had a great store of gems, and, as they did not wish
to bring down values by disposing of them, they only sold a few, which,
because of their great size and brilliancy, brought a large price.
Several jewelers wanted to know where the diamonds came from, but the
secret was well kept. Most of the gems were used for scientific
purposes, but Mark and Jack gave some to certain of their friends.
The petrified man proved a great curiosity, and a history of it, in two
large volumes, can be seen in the museum where the body is exhibited.
Professor Henderson wrote the account, and also published quite an
extensive history of the trip to the moon, which was considered by
scientists and laymen to be a most remarkable journey.
But, though our friends had been to many strange places, it was
reserved for them to have yet still more wonderful adventures, though
for a time after returning from the moon they remained at home, the two
professors busy over their scientific work, and the boys engaged with
their studies, while Andy occasionally went hunting, and Washington got
the meals and, between times, fed his rooster and admired the diamonds
in his red necktie. And now we will bid our friends good-by.
THE END
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