Pittston Gazette

              K»tabli*heCl 1 8ftO, I COL. XLVIII No. 4it t Oldest Newspaper in the Wyoming Valley. PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, JULY I, 1898. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. )«;•««» iu Adr the Syrtis Major toward the land ot Libya and the region of Isidis. On that side also the dikes were giving way under the tremendous pressure, and the floods were rushing toward the suurise, which had just begun to streak the eastern sky. us, evidently preparing for an attack. By'C^ETFP'SERVDi nate tne power nouse oeiore we xairiy comprehended our peril. We had learned in our previous contests with the airships of the Martians that our electrical ships had a great advantage over them, not merely in rapidity and facility of movement, but in the fact that our disintegrators could sweep in every direction, while it was only with much difficulty that the Martian airships could discharge their eleotrioal strokes at an enemy poised directly above their heads. CHAPTER XXIII. electrical steersman of the flagship, and as quickly as possible we approached the place where the towering figure atood.* tiiau that of tbe women of Italy or Spain. companions before them, into tbe seet ing waters of tbe flood close at hand. "We have done the work," said Mr. Edison, smiling grimly. "Now wh had better get out of this before the flood bursts upou us." Thaumasia, as I have before remarked, was a broad, oval land, about 1,800 miles across, having the Lake of the Sub exactly in its center. From this lake, whioh was 400 or 500 miles in diameter and circular in outline, many canals radiated, as straight as the spokes of a wheel, in every direction and connected it with the surrounding seas. At tbe top of the steps, on a magnificent golden throne, sat yie emperor bimself. There are some busts of Oaracalla which I have seen that are almost as ugly as the faoe of tbe Martian ruler. He was of gigantic stature, larger tban tbe majority of his subjects, and as near as I could judge must have been between 16 and 16 feet in height. Through all this terrible contest the emperor of the Martians had remained standing upon his throne, gazing at the awful spectacle, and not moving from tbe spot. Neither he nor tbe frightened women gathered upon the steps of the tbrnue had been injured by tbe disintegrators. Their immunity was due to tbe fact that tbe position and elevation of the throne were such that it was not within the range of fire of the electrical ships which had poured their vibratory discharges through the windows, and we inside bad only directed our fire toward tbe warriors who had attacked o*C She had realized the hopelessness of her situation and quickly oeased those appalling and despairing gestures which at first served tooonvince us that it was Indeed a living being on whom we were looking. The warning came none too soon. It was necessary to act upon it at once if we would save our lives. Even before we could reach the entrance to the long passage through which wo had come into the great engine room the water had risen half way to our knees. Colonel Smith, catching Aiua under his' arm, led the way. The roar of the maddened torrent behind deafened us. * The continents that were being overwhelmed on the western side of the Syrtis were Meroe, Aeria, Arabia, Edom anil Eden. The water beneath us continually deepened. The current from the melting snows around the southern pole was at its strongest, and one oould hardly have believed that any obstruction put in its path would have been able to arrest it and turn it into these two all swallow ing deluges, sweeping east and west. Hut, as we now perceived, the level of the land over a large part of its surface was hundreds of feet below the ocean, so that the latter, when once the barriers were broken, rushed into depressions that yawned to receive it. Like all the other Martian continents, Thaumasia lay below the level of the sea, except toward the south, where it fronted the ocean. There she stood, with a light, white garment thrown about her, erect, half defiant, half yielding to her fear, more graoeful than any Greek statue, her arms outstretched, yet motionless, and her eyes upcast, aa if praying to her God to proteot her. Her hair, which shone like gold ifi the increasing light of day, streamed over her shoulders, and her great eyes were as tare between terror and snpplioation. So wildly beautiful a sight not one of us bad ever beheld. For a moment sympathy was absorbed in admiration. Accordingly orders were instantly flashed to all the squadron to rise vertically to an elevation so great that the rarity of the atmosphere would prevent the airships from attaining the same level. As I looked at him I understood a remark which had been made by Aina to the effect that tbe Martians were not all alike, and that tbe peculiarities of tbeir minds were imprinted on their faces and expressed in tbeir forms in a very wonderful and aometimes terrible manner. Completely surrounding the lake was a great ring of cities constituting the capital of Mars. Here the genius of the Martians had displayed itself to the full. The surrounding country was irrigated until it fairly bloomed with gigantic vegetation and flowers, the canals were oarefully regulated with looks so that the Bupply of water was under complete control, the display of magnificent metallio buildings of all kinds and sizes produced a most dazzling effect, and the protection against enemies afforded by the innumerable fortifications surrounding the ringed city and guarding the neighboring lands seemed oomplete. As we ran through the passage the water followed us with a wicked swishing sound, and in five seconds it was above our knees; in ten seconds, up to our waists. This maneuver was executed so quiokly that the Martians were unable to deal us a blow before we were poised above them in such a position that they could not easily reach us. Still they did uot mean to give up the conflict. Now that the struggle was over we turned our attention to Aina. Fortunately the girl had not been seriously injured, and she was quickly restored td consciousness. Had she been killed wel would have been practically helpless in! attempting further negotiations, be-i cause tbe knowledge which we had ao-j quired of tbe language of tbe Martianal from tbe prisoner captured on the gold-l eu asteroid was not sufficient to meet! the requirement* of tbe occasion. ed in the recent battle among the clouds, they would have no fear or cause for vigilance on our aooount. I had also learned from her that Mars was under military government and that tbe military olass had absolute control of tbe planet. I was somewhat startled, then, in looking at the head and center of the great military system of Mars to find in bis appearance a striking confirmation of tbe speculations of our terrestrial phrenologists, iiis broad, misshapen bead bulged in those parts whrre they have placed the sc called organs of oom bativeness, a&fftttctrroi CHAPTER XXI. We stopped the electrical ship at au elevation of perhaps 300 feet above the vast roof of a structure which Aina asinred us was the building we were in ■earch of. The entrance to the great structure was low—at least, when measured by the stature of the Martians. Evidently the intention was that only one person at a time should find room to pass through it. The great danger now was that we should be swept from our feet, and once down in that torrent there would have been little chance of our ever getting our heads above its level. Supporting ourselves as best we oould with the aid of the walls, we partly ran and were partly swept along, until, when we reached the outer eud of the passage and emerged into the open air, the flood was swirling about our shoulders. Presently we saw one of the largest of their ships maneuvering in a very peculiar manner, the purpose of which we did not at first comprehend. Its forward portion commenced slowly to rise, until it pointed upward like the nose of a fish ap]$oaching the surface of the water. The moment it was in this position an electrical bolt was darted from its prow, and one of our ships received a shock wh;ch, although it did not prove fatal to the vessel itself, killed two or three men aboard of it, disarranged its apparatus and rendered it* for the time being useless. "Save her! Save her!" was the cry that arose throughout the ship. The point where we had dealt our blow was far removed from the great capital uf Mars, around the Lake of the Sun, and we knew that we should have to wait for the floods to reach that point before the desired effect could be produced. By the nearest way the water had at least 5,000 miles to travel. We estimated that its speed where we bung above it was as much as 100 miles an hour. Even if that speed were maintained, more than two days and nights would be required for the floods to reach the Lake of the Sun. Ropes were instantly thrown out, and one or two men prepared to let themselves down in order better to aid her. Here we remained for a few minutes, cautiously reconnoitering. On that side uf the power house which was opposite to the shore of the Syrtis Major there was a thick grove of trees, lighted beneath, as was apparent from the illumination which here and there streamed up through the cover of leaves, but nevertheless dark and gloomy above the tree tops. Drawing cautiously near, we discerned the outlines of two gigantic forms standing in the darkness, one on either 6ide of the door. Colonel Smith whispered to me: But when wa were almost within reach and so close that we oould see the very expression of her eyes, which appeared to take no note of us, but to be fixed, with a faraway look upon something beyond human ken, suddenly the undermined bank on whioh she stood gave way, the blood red flood swirled in from right to left, and then— ness, eta we had ceased the work of deatb. Bank upon bis throne. There he remain- "If you will take the fellow on the right, I will attend to the other one." Here there was an opportunity to clutch some of the ornamental work surrounding the doorway, and thus we managed to stay our mad progress and gradually to work out of the current until we found that the water, having now an abundance of room to spread, had fallen again as low as our knees. Suspended at a height of perhaps two miles from the surface, Dear the southern edge of the lake, we waited for the onooming flood. With the dawn of day we began to perceive more clearly the effeots whioh the news of the drowning of the planet had produced. It was evident that many of the inhabitants of the cities had already fled. Airships on whioh the fugitives hung as thick as swarms of bees were seen, elevated but a short distance above the ground, making their way rapidly toward the south. Plainly, this was an effect of bis training and education. His very brain bad become a military engine, and tbe aBpeot of bis face, tbe pitiless lines of bis moutb and chin, tbe evil glare of bis eyes, tbe attitude and carriage of bis muscular body, all tended to complete tbe warlike ensemble. Adjusting our aim as carefully as wag possible in the gloom, Colonel Smith aud I simultaneously discharged our disintegrators, sweeping them rapidly up and down in the manner whioh had become familiar to us when endeavoring to destroy one of the gigantic Martians with a single stroke. And so successful were we that the two sentinels disappeared as if they had been ghosts of tb» night. 4 "The electric network extends over the grove as well as over the building," said Aina. The waters closed above her face But suddenly we heard the thunder of the bauks, tumbling behind us, and to the right and left, and tbe savage growl of the released water as it sprang through the breaches. But a6 the water rnshed on it would break the hunks of all the canals inter- "Ah, that's their triok, if ttT" said Mr. Edison. "We must looK ont (or that Whenever yon see one the airships beginning to stick its nC«e op after that fashion blaze away at »t." With many a ring. He was magnificently dressed in some vesture tbat bad tbe luster of a polished plate of gold, witb tbe suppleness of velvet. As we approached be fixed bis immense, deep set eyes sternly upon our faoes. This was lucky for us, because we wished to descend among the trees, and, by destroying part of the network over the tree tops, we could reach the shelter we desired and at the same time pass within the line of electric defenses. "If but for that woman's sake, I am sorry we drowned the planet!" exclaimed Sydney Phillips. Bnt a moment afterward I saw that be regretted what he had said, for Aina's eyes were fixed upon him. Perhaps, however, she did not understand his remark, and perhaps if she did it gave her no offense. Au order to this effect was transmitted throughout the squadron. At the name time several of the most powerful disintegrators were directed upon the ship which had executed the stratagem, aud, reduced to a wreck, it dropped, whirling like a broken kite, until it fell into the flood beneath. The Martians knew that their only hope of escape lay in reaching the high southern border of the land before the floods were upon them. But they must have known also that that narrow beach would not suffloe to contain one in ten of those who sought refuge there. The density of the population around the Lake of the Sun seemed to us incredible. Again our hearts sank within us at the sight of the fearful destruction of life for whioh we were responsible. Yet we oomforted ourselves with the reflection that it was unavoidable. As Colonel Smith put it: Instantly we all hurried forward and entered tbe door. Before us extended a long, straight passage, brightly illuminated by & number of electric candles. Its polJfced sides gleamed with blood red reflections, and the gallery terminated, at a distance of 200 or 800 feet, with an opening into a large chamber beyond, on the farther side of which we could see part of a gigantio and complicated muss of machinery. To my dying day, I think, I shall not forget the sight of a great fluid column that burst through the dike at the edge of the grove of trees, and, by tbe tremendous impetus of its rush, seemed turned into a solid thing. Tbe contrast between bis truly terrible countenance and tbe Evelike features of tbe women wbo surrounded bis throne was as great as if satan after bis fall bad here re-enthroned himself in tbe midst of angels. With increased caution and almost holding our breath lest we should make dome noise that might reach the ears of the sentiuels beneath, we caused the car to settle gently down until we caught sight of a metallic net stretched in the air between us and the trees. After this episode we pursued our way rapidly until we arrived at the shore of the Southern ocean. There, aa we had expected, was to be seen a narrow strip of land with the ooean on one side and the raging flood seeking to destroy it on the other. In some plaoes it had been already broken through, so that the ooean was flowing in to assist in the drowning of Thaamasia. Like an enormous raui, it plowed the soil to a' depth of 20 feet, uprooting acres of the immense trees like stubble turned over by the plowshare. Still the Martians' ships came flocking in ever greater numbers from all directions. They made desperate attempts to attain the level at whiob we hung above them. This was impossible, but many, getting an impetus by a swift run in the denser portion of the atmosphere beneath, succeeded in rising so high that they could discharge their electric artillery with considerable ef- Mr. Edison, Colonel Smith, Sydney Phillip#, Aina and myself advanced at the head of the procession, our guard following in alose order behind us. It had been evident from the moment that we entered the palace that Aina was regarded with aversion by all of the Martians. Even the women abodt the throne gazed scowlingly at her as we drew near. Apparently the bitterness of feeling whioh had led to the awful massacre of all her race had not yet vanished. And, indeed, since the fact that she remained alive oould have been known only to the Martian who bad abducted her and to his immediate companions, her reappearanoe with ns must have been a great surprise to all those who now looked upon her. After our first encounter with the Martians on tbe asteroid, where, as I bav«t related, some metal which was in- Tbe uproar was so awful that for an instaut tbe coolest of us lost our self control. Yet we knew we had not the fraotion of a second to waste. The breaking of the bauks bad caused the water again rapidly to rise about us. In a little while it was once more as high as our waists. C JL I 'V Making as little noise as possible, we pushed ahead along the passage, but when we had arrived within a distance of a dozen paces from the inner end we stopped, and Colonel Smith, getting down upon his knees, orept forward until he had reached the inuer end of tbe passage. There be peered cautiously around the edge into tbe chamber, and, turning his head a moment later, beckoned us to oome forward. We crept to bis side, and, looking oat into tbe vast apartment, oonld perceive no enemies. But some parts of the ooast were evidently so elevated that no matter how high the flood might rise it would not completely oover them. Here the fugitives had gathered in dense throngs and above them hovered most of the airships, loaded down with others who were unable to find room upon the dry land. It vm» a panic of giants. ed, leaning bis chin upon his two hands and staring straight before him like1 fhat terrible doomed creature who fascinates the eyes of every beholder standing in the Sistine chapel and gazing at' Michael Angelo's dreadful painting of1 "The Last Judgment" "You couldn't trust these coyotes. The only thing to do was to drown them out. I am sorry for them, but I guess there will be as many left as will be good for us anyhow. In the excitement and confusion, deafened by tbe noise and blinded by tbe flying foam, we were'in danger of becoming separated in the flood. We no longer knew certainly in what direction was the tree by whute aid we had ascended from the eloctrical ship. We pushed first one way and then another, staggering through the rushing waters in search of it. Finally we succeeded in locating it, and with all our strength hurried toward it. feet Others with more or less success repeated the maneuver of the ship which had lirst attacked us, and thus the battle became gradually more general and more fierce, until in the course of an hour or two our squadron found itaelf engaged with probably 1,000 airships, which blazed with incessant lightning strokes and were able all too frequently to do us serious damage. We had not loug to wait for the flood. As the dawn began to streak the east we saw its awftfl crest moving out of the iarkness, bursting across the canals and This wicked Martian also felt that be was in the grasp of pitiless and irresistible fate and that a punishment too well deserved and from which there was no possible escape now confronted him. There he remained, in a hopelessness which almost compelled onr sympathy,; until Aina bad so far recovered that she' was once more able to aot as our inter-1 preter. Then we made short work of1 the negotiations. Speaking through I Aina, the commander said: | On one of the loftieat and broadest of these elevations we noticed indications of military order in the alignment of the crowds and the shore all ronnd was guarded by gigantio pickets, who mercilessly shoved back into the flood all the later comers, and thus prevented too great crowding upon the land. In the center of this elevation roae a palatial straotnre of red metal whiob Aina informed ns was one of the residences of the emperor, and we cooolnded that the mouaroh himself was now present there. What bad become of the sentinels supposed to stand at tbe inner end of tbe passage we conld not imagine. At any rate, they were not at their posts. It was clear to me that the feeling aroused by her appearance was every moment becoming more intense. Still the thought of a violent ontbreak did not occur to me, because onr recent triumph bad seemed so complete that I believed the Martians would be awed by our presenoe and would not undertake actually to injure the girl. Wc were rapidly drawn up. The chamber was an immense square room at least 100 feet in height and 400 feet oil a side, and almost filling tbe wall opposite to us was an intricate display of machinery, wheels, levers, rods and polished plates. This we had no doubt was one end of the great engine which opened and shut the great gates that could dam an ocean. sect in k the country, and these, being also elevated above tbe surface, would add the impetus of their escaping waters to hasten tbe advance of the flood. We calculated, therefore, that about two days would suffice to place the planet at our mercy. But on our part the battle was waged with a cool determination aud a conacioumiess of insuperable advantage which boded ill for the enemy. Only three or four of ear 60 eleotrical ships were seriously damaged, while the work of the disintegrators upon the crowdod fleet that floated beneath us was terrible to look npon. Then there came a noise as if the globe of Mars had been split asunder, and unuther great bead of water burled itself down upoii tbe soil before us, and, without taking time to spread, bored a vast cavity in the ground and scooped out tbe whole of the grove before our eyes as easily as a gardener lifts a sod with bis spade. "You know who we are. We have come from the earth, which, by your command, was laid waste. Our commission was not revenge, but self protection. What we have done has been accomplished with that in view. You have just witnessed an example at our power, of which was not dictated by our wish, but oompalled by the attack w jtonly made upon a helpless member of our own raoe under our Half way from the Syrtis Major to the Lake of tbe iSun another great connecting link between tbe southern aud northern ocean basins, called on our maps of Mars the Indus, existed, and through this channel we knew that another greaf current must be setting from the south xiward the north. The flood that we had started would reach and break the banks of the Indus within one day. I think we all had the same impression, but as the event proved we were mistaken. Tbe absence of any signs of resistance on the part of tbe airships and the oomplete drowning of all of the formidable fortifloations on tbe aorfaoe of the planet convinced us that all we now bad to do in order to oomplete oar oonqnest was to get possession of tbe person of tbe chief ruler. "There is no one in sight," said Colonel Smith. Our strokes fell tbiok and fact on all sides. It was like firing into a flook of birds that could not get away. Motwithstanding all their efforts they were practically at our mercy Shattered Into unrecognizable fragments, hundreds of the airships continually dropped from their great height to be swallowed up in the boiling waters. Suddenly one of the gigantic guards, as if aotuated by a fit of ungoverned hatred, lifted his foot and kicked Aina. With a loud shriek she fell to the floor. "Tnen we must act quickly," said Our last hope was gone. For a moment tbe level of the water around us sank again, as it poured into the immense excavation where tbe grove had stood, but in an instant it was re-enforoed from all sides and began once more rapidly to rise. Mr. Edison. been of the night. eluded in tbeir dress resisted tbe action of the disintegrators, Mr. Edison bad readjusted the range of vibrations covered by the instruments, and since then we'bad found nothing that did not yield to them. Consequently we bad no fear that the metal of the network would not be destroyed. Two nentinel* disappenrrri as if tluy tuid "Where," he said, turning to Aina, "is the handle by turning which you saw tbe Martian close the gates?'' CHAPTER XXIV. Aina looked about in bewilderment. The mechanism before as was so complicated that even an expert mechanician would bave beeu excusable for finding himself tillable to understand it. There were scores of knobs aud handles, all glistening iD the electric light, and one of which, so far as the nninstructed could tell, might have been the master key that controlled the complex apparatus. The fleet was aooordingly concentrated, and we rapidly approached the great Martian palace. As we came down within 100 feet of them and boldly made our way among their airships, which retreated at our approach, tbe Martians gazed at as with mingled fear and astonishment. The'blow was bo unexpected that for a seoond we all remained riveted to the spot Then I saw Colonel Smith's face turn livid, and at the same instant heard the whir of his disintegrator, while Sydney Phillips, forgetting the deadly instrument that he carried in his hand, sprung madly toward the brute who had kicked Aina, as if he intended to throttle him, oolossus as he was. protection. " We have laid waste your planet, but it is simply a just retribution for what you did with ours. We are prepared to complete the destruction, leaving not a living being in this world of yours, or to grant you peace, at your ohoioe. Our oondition of peace is simply this, 'AH resist&noe must cease ab- We gave ourselves up for lost, and, indeed, there did not seem any possible hope of salvation. The flood traveling in the other direction, toward the east, would have considerably farther to go before reaching the neighborhood of the Lake of the Sun. It, too, would involve hundreds of great canals as it at'-'auced, and would come plunging upon the Lake of the Sun and its surrounding forts and cities, probably about half a day later than the arrival of the deluge that traveled towurd the west. Yet they were game to the last. They made every effort to get at us, and in their frenzy they seemed to discharge their bolts without mnch regard to whether friends or foes were injured. Our eyes were nearly blinded by the oeaseli-H* glare beneath as, and tbe uproar was indescribable. Even in this extremity I saw Colonel Smith lifting the form of Aina, who had fainted, above the surface of the surging water, while Sydney Phillips stood by his side and aided him in supporting the unconscious girl. There was danger, however, of arousing attention by shattering boles through the tree tops. This could be avoided by first carefully ascertaining bow far away the network was, and then with the adjustable mirrors attached to the disintegrators focusing the vibratory discharge at that distance. We were their conquerors, and they knew it We were coming to demand their surrender, and they evidently understood that also. As we approached the palaoe signals were made from it with brilliant oolored banners, whioh Aina informed as were intended as a token of truoe. But Colonel Smith's aim, though instantaneously taken, as he had been aooustomed to shoot on the plains, was true, and Phillips, plunging madly forward, seemed wreathed in a faint blue mist—all that the disintegrator bad left of the gigantic Martian. solutely.'" "Quite right," broke in Colonel Smith. "Let the scorpion pnll out his sting or we'll do it for him." "QuickI" said Mr. Edison. "Where " We staid a little too long," was the only sound I heard from Mr. Edison. At length, after this fearful oontest had lasted for at least three hours, it became evident that the strength of the enemy was rapidly weakening. Nearly the whole of their immense fleet of airships had been destroyed or so far damaged that they were barely able to float Just so long, however, as they showed signs of resistance we continued to pour our merciless tire upon them, and the signal to cease was not given until the airships whioh had escaped serious damage began to flee in every direction. is it?" The girl in her confusion ran this way and that, gazing hopelessly upon the machinery, but evidently utterly unable to help us. The huge bulk of the power house partially protected us against the force of the current, and the water spun around us in great eddies. These swept us this way and that, but yet we managed to cling together, determined not to be separated in death if we could avoid it. Now that we bad let the awful destroyer loose, we almost shrank from the thought of the consequences whioh we had produced. How many millions would perish as the result of our deed we could not even guess. Many of the victims, so far as we knew, might be entirely innocent of enmity toward us or of the evil whioh had been done to our native planet. But this was a case in which the good, if they existed, must suffer with the bad on account of the wicked deeds of the latt^. 1 have already remarked that the continents of Mars were higher on their northern and southern borders where they faced the great oceans. These natural barriers bore to the main mass of the land somewhat the relation of the edge of a shallow dish to its bottom. Their rise on the laud side was too gradual few give them the appearanoe of hills, but on the side toward the sea they broke down in steep banks and cliffs several hundred feet in height. We guessed that it would be in the direction of these elevations that the inhabitants would flee, and those who had timely warning might thus be able to escape in case the flood did not—as it teemed possible it might in its first mad iush—overtop the highest elevations on Mars. "Nothing that we coflld now do," continued the oommander, "would in my opinion save you from ultimate destruction. The forces of nature whioh we have been compelled to let loose upon you will oomplete their own victory. But we do not wish unneoeesarily to stain our hands further with your blood. We shall leave you in possession of your lives. Preserve them if you can. But in oase the flood reoedes before you have all perished from starvation remember that you here take an oath solemnly binding yourself and your descendants forever never again to make war upon the earth. A magnified human being not let$ than forty )eet in height. plowing its way in the direction of the orowded shores of the Lake of the Sun. The supply of water behind that great wave seemed inexhaustible. Five thousand. mile* it had traveled, and yet its power was as great as when it started from the Syrtis Major. So successful were we that we opened a considerable gap in the network without doing any perceptible damage to the trees beneath. To remain here inactive was not merely to invite destruction for ourselves, but was sure to bring certain fuilure upon the purpose of the expedition. Ail of us began instantly to look about in search of the proper handle, seizing every crank and wheel in sight uud striving to turn it. " We shall have to go down and have a confab with them, I suppose," said Mr. Edison. "We can't kill them off now that they are helpless, bat we must manage somehow to make them understand that unconditional surrender is their only ohanoe. Who oould adequately describe the scene that followed? The ship was nautiously lowered through the opening and brought to rest among the upper branches of one of the tallest trees. Colonel Smith, Mr. Phillips, Mr. Edison and myself at once clambered out upon a strong limb. I remember that the Martian emperor sprang to bis feet, looking tenfold more terrible than before. I remember that there Instantly burst from the line of guards on either side crinkling beams of death fire that seemed to sear the eyeballs. I saw half a dozen of our men fall in heaps of ashes, and even at that terrific moment I had time to wonder that a single one of us remained alive. Suddenly a cry rang out directly above our beads: "Jump for your lives, and be quick!" At the same instant the ends of several ropes siHasbed into the water. "Let us take Aina with us," I suggested, "and, since she can speak the language of the Martians, we shall probably have no difficulty in arriving at an understanding." "Thank God, the thing is overt" said Mr. Edison. "We have got the victory at last, but how we shall make use of it is something that at present I do not see." We canght sight of the oncoming water before it was visible to the Martians beneath us. But while it was yet many miles away the roar of it reached them, and then arose a chorus of terrified cries, the effect of whioh, coming to our ears out of the half gloom of the morning, was most uncanny and horrible. Thousands upon thousands of the Martians still remained here to become the victims of the deluge. Home perhaps had doubted the truth of the report that the banks were down and the floods were out; others, for one reason or another, had been unable to get away; others, like the inhabitants of Pompeii, bad lingered too long or had returned after beginning their flight to secure abandoned treasures, and now it was too late to get away. For a moihent I feared our arrival bad been betrayed on account of the altogether too noisy contest that arose between Colonel Smith and Mr. Phillips as to which of them should assist Aina. To settle the dispute I took oharge of her myself. "Stop that!" shouted Mr. Edison. "You may set the whole thing wrong. Don't touch anything until we have found the right lever." We glanced upward, uud therf, within three or four yards of our heads hung the electrical ship, which we had left liiooi el at the top of the tree. But to find that seemed to most of us now utterly beyond the power of man. "But will they not renew the attack?" asked some one. Accordingly the flagship was oarefally brought farther down in front of the entrance to the palace, wbioh bad been kept clear by the Martian guards, and while the remainder of the squadron assembled within a few feet direotly over oar heads with the disintegrators turned upon the palaoe and the crowd below Mr. Edison and myself, acoompanied by Aina, stepped oat upon the ground. "That's really the best we oan do," said Mr. Edison, turning to us. "We can't possibly murder these people in oold blood. The probability is that the flood has hopelessly rained all their engines of war. I do not believe that there is one ohanoe in ten that the waters will drain off in time to enable them to get at the1' stores of provisions before they have perished from starvation. " Tom, the expert electrician from Mr. Edison's shop, who had remained in charge of the ship, bad never once dreamed of such a thing as deserting us. The moment he saw the water bursting over the dam aud evidently flooding the building which we had entered, he cast off his moorings, as we subsequently learned, and hovered over the entrance to the power house, getting as low down as possible and keeping a sharp watch for us. "I do not think they can," was the reply. "We have destroyed the very flower of their fleet." Rather by instinot than in con sequence of any order given, we formed ourselves in a hollow square, with Aina, lying apparently lifeless, in the center, and then with gritted teeth we did our work. At length we were all safely in the tree. It was at this critical moment that the wouderful depth and reach of Mr. Edison's meohaiHcal genius displayed itself. He stepped back, ran his eye quickly over the whole immense mass of wheels, handles, bolts, bars und levers, paused for au instant, as if making up his mind, then said decidedly, "There it is," aud, stepping quickly forward, selected a small wheel amid a dozen others, all iurnished at the circumference with handles like those of a pilot's wheel, and, giving it a quick wrench, turued it half way around. Then followed the still more dangerous undertaking of descending from this great height to the ground. Fortunately the branches were very close together, and they extended down within m abort distance of the soil. So the actual difficulties of the descent were not very great after all. The one tbiug that we bad particularly to bear in mind was the absolute necessity of making lio noise. "And better than that," said Colonel Smith, "we have destroyed their elan. We have made them afraid. Their discipline is gone." The lines of guards melted before the disintegrators like rows of snow men before a licking flame. But this was only the beginning of our victory. The floods below were achieving a still greater triumph, and now that we had conquered the airships we dropped within a few hundred feet of the surface of the water and then turned our faces westward in order to follow the advance of the deluge and see whether, as we had hoped, it would overwhelm our oneniies iu the veryoenter of their power. - There was a forward movement in the immense crowd, bat the guards sternly kept everybody back. A party of a dozen plants, preceded by one who seemed to be their commander, gorgeously attired in jeweled garments, advanced from the entranoe of the palace to meet as. Aina addressed a few words to the leader, who replied sternly, and then, beckoning ns to follow, retraced his steps into the palace. The discharge of the lightning engines in the hands of the Martians in that confined space made an uproar so tremendous that It seemed to pass the bounds of human sense. "It is my opinion." said Lord Kelvin, who had joined us, his pair of disintegrators hanging by his side attached to a strap running over the baok of hia ueck, very much as a farmer sometimes carries his big mittens, "it is my opinion that the flood will reoede more rapiddly than you think and that the majority of these people will survive. But I quite agree with your merciful view of the matter. We must be guilty of no wanton destruction. Probably more than nine-tenths of the inhabitants of Mars have perished in the deluge. Even if all the others survived ages would elapse before they oould regain the power to injure us." But most of the electric lights in the vicinity had beeu carried down.by the lirst rush of the water, and in the darkness he did not see us when we emerged from the entrance. It was only after the sweeping away of the grove of trees hail allowed a flood of light to stream upon the scene from a cluster of electric lamps on a distant portion of the bauk on the Syrtis that had not yet given way that be caught sight of us. With a roar that shook the planet the white wall rushed upon the great city beneath oar feet, and in an instant it had been engulfed. On went tbe flood, swallowing up the Lake of the San itself, and in a little while, as far as oar eyes coald range, the land of Thaumasia had been turned into a raging sea. More of our men fell before their awful fire, and for the second time since our arrival on this dreadful planet of war our annihilation seemed inevitable. At length the descent was successfully accomplished, and we all five stood together in the shadow at the foot of the great tree. The grove was so thick •round that whtle tlibrft wi* au abundance of electric lights among the trees their illumination did not fall upon us where we stood. As day broke and tbe sun slowly rose npon tbe dreadful scene beneath us, we began to catch sight of some of the fleeing inhabitants. We had shifted the position of the fleet toward the south, and were now suspended above the southeastern corner of A or la. Here a high bank of reddish rock confronted the sea, whose waters ran lashing and roaring alnug the bluffs to supply the rapid draft produced by the emptying of the Syrtis Major. Along tbe shore there was a narrow line of laud, hundreds of miles in length, but less than a quarter of a mile broad, whioh still rose slightly above the surface of tbe water, and this land of refuge w'ts absolutely packed with the monstrous inhabitants of the planet who had fled hither on the first warning that the water was coming.At this instant a startling shout fell upon our ears. There was a thunderous clatter behind us, and, turning, we saw three gigantic Martians rushing forward.Iu a little while we had overtaken the front wave, which was still devouring everything. We saw it bursting tbe banks of the canals, sweeping away forests of gigantic trees and swallowing cities und villages, leaving behind nothing but a broad expanse of swirling and eddying waters, which, in consequence of the prevailing red hue of the vegetation and the soil, looked as, shuddering, we gazed down upon it like an ocean of blood flecked with foam and steaming with the escaping life of the planet from whose veins it gushed. But in a moment the wbole scene changed. Suddenly there was a discbarge into the room whioh I knew came from one of the disintegrators of the electrical ships. It swept through the orowded throng like a destroying blast. Instantly from another side swished a second discharge no less destructive, and this was quickly followed by a third. Our ships were firing through the windows. Notwithstanding oar confidence that all resistance had oeased, we did not deem it wise actually to venture into the lion's den without having taken every precaution against a surprise. Accordingly before following tbe Martian into the palace we had 80 of the electrioal ships moored around it in such positions that they commanded not only the entrance, but all of the principal windows, and then a party of 4Q picked men, each doubly armed with powerful disintegrators, were selected to attend as into the building. This party was ti'aood uuder the command of Oolonel Smith, and Sydney Phillips insisted on being a member of it. "Sweep tbem! Sweep them!" cried Colonel Smith as he brought his disintegrator to bear. Mr. Pbillips and I in stautly followed his example, and thus we swept the Martians into eternity, while Mr. Edison ooolly continued bis manipulations of the wheel. Peering cautiously through the vistas in various directions, we ascertained oar location with respect to the wall of the building. Like all the structures that we had seen on Mars, it was composed of polished red metal. We now turned our ships toward tbe southern border of the land, following the direction of the airships oarrying tbe fugitives, a few of which wore still navigating the atmosphere a mile beneath as. In their excitement and terror the Martians paid little attention to us, although, as the morning brightened, they must have been aware of oar presenoe over their heads. But apparently they no longer thought of resistance. Their only object was escape from the immediate and appalling danger.CHAPTER XXII Immediately be began to shout to attract our attention, bat in • the awful uproar we could not liear him. Getting together all the ropes that he could lay hio hands on, be steered the ship to a point directly over us, and then dropped down within a few yards of the boiling flood. I need not describe in detail bow oar propositions were received by the Martian monarch. He knew, and his advisers, some of whom he had called in consultation, also knew, that everything was in oar hands to do as w» pleased. They readily agreed, therefore,  they woald make do more resistance and that we and oar electrical ships should be undisturbed while we remained upon Mars. The monarch took the oath prescribed after the manner of hiB race. Thus the business was oompleted. But through it all there had been the shadow of a sneer on the emperor's face which I did not like. Bat I said nothng."Wherein the entrance?" inquired Mr. Edison, in a whisper. The off net of what he was doing became apparent in less than half a minute. A shiver ran through the mass of machinery and shook the entire building.Almost at the same moment I saw the flagship, whioh had been moored in the air close to the entrance and floating only three or four feet above the ground, pushing its way through the gigantio doorway from the anteroom, with its great disintegrators pointed upon the crowd like the muzzles of a cruiser's guns. "(Jome softly this wuy, and look out for the sentinel," replied Aina. Gripping our disintegrators firmly and screwing up our courage, with noiseless steps we followed the girl among the shadows of the trees. As we skirted the southern borders of the continent the same dreadful scenes which we bad beheld ou the coast of Aeria presented themselves. Crowds of refugees thronged the high border of the land and struggled with one another for a foothold against the continually rising flood. "Look! Look!" cried Sydney Phillips, who had stepped v little apart from the others. Mow as he hung over our heads and saw the water up to onr very necks and •till swiftly rising he shouted again: We all ran to his side and found ourselves in front of a great window which opened through the side of the engine, giving a view of what lay in front of it. l%ero, gleaming in the electric lights, we saw the Syrtis Major, its waters washing high against the walls of the vast power house. Running directly out from the shore there was an immense metallic gate at least 400 yards in length and rising H00 feet above the present level of the water. "Catch hold, for God's sake!" The three men who were with bim in the ship seconded his cries. When we had progressed to a point about half way froui the Lake of the Sun to the border of the sea, having dropped down within a few hundred feet of the surface, there suddenly appeared in the midst of the raging waters a sight so remarkable that at first I rubbed my eyes in astonishment, not crediting their report of what they beheld.In the meantime the Martian, with hia attendants, who bad first invited us to enter, finding that we did not follow him, had returned to the front of the palace. He saw the disposition that we had made of our forces and instantly comprehended its significance, for bit manner changed somewhat, and he seemed more desirous than before to conciliate us. We had one very great advantage. Tbe Martians bad evidently placed so much confidence in the electric network which surrounded the power house that they never dreamed of enemies being »ble to penetrate it—at least, without giving warning of their coming. In Nome places it was so crowded that the later comers could not find standing ground ou dry laud, but were continually slipping back and falling into the water. It was un awful sight to look at them. It reminded me of pictures tbat I had seen of the deluge in the days of Noah, when the waters had risen to the mountain tops, and men, women and children were fighting for a foothold upon I tie last dry spots that the earth And now the Martians saw that the oontest was hopeless for them, and their mad struggle to get oat of the range of the disintegrators and to escape from the death chamber was more appalling to look upon than anything that had yet oocurred. By tbe time we had fairly grasped the ropes, so rapidly was the flood rising, we were already afloat. With the assistance of Tom and his men we were rapidly drawn up, and immediately Tom reversed the electric polarity, and tbe ship began to rise. We saw, too, flitting in every direction, but rapidly fleeing before our approach, many airships, evideutly crowded with Martians, but not armed either for offense or defense. These, of course, we did not disturb, for, meroiless as our proceedings seemed even to ourselves, we had no iuteiitiou of making war upon the innocent or upon those who had no means to resist. What we had done it had seemed to us necessary to do, but beuoeforth we were resolved to take no more lives if it could be avoided. But tbe hole which we had blown in this network with tbe disintegrators bad been made noiselessly, and Mr. Kdiaon believed, since no enemies had appeared, that our operations had not beeD betrayed by any automatic signal to watchers inside the building. It was a panic of giants. They trod one another underfoot; they yelled and screamed in their terror: they tore taoh other with their olawlike fingers. They no longer thought of resistance. The battle spirit had been blown out of tbem by a breath of terror that shivered their marrow. And now we began to think of our -eturn home and of the pleasure we At that same instant, with a crash that shivered the air, the immense metallic power house gave way and was swept tumbling, like a bill torn loose from its base, over the very spot where a moment before we had stood. One second's hesitation on tbe part of Tom, and tbe electrical ship would have beeu battered into a shapeless wad of metal by the careering mass. When he again beckoned us to enter, we unhesitatingly followed him and, passing through the magnificent entrance, found ourselves in a vas*# antechamber, adorned After the manner of the Martians in the most expensive manner. Thence we passed into a great circular apartment with a dome painted in imitation of the sky and so lofty tbat to our eyes it seemed like the firmament itself. Here we found ourselves approaching an elevated throne situated in the oeuter of the apartment, while long rows of brilliantly armored guards flanked ns ou eitber side, and grouped around the throne, some standing and. others reclining upon the flights of steps, which appeared to be of solid gold, wa* an array of Martian women beautifully and becomingly attired, all of whom greatly astonished us by the singular Vharm of their faces and beariug, so different from the aspect of most of the Martians whom we had already encountered.* ontiBuert on naice 4. of the Globe for [RHEUMATISM! ■ MiiU KlTflT ti and similar Complaints, 1 and prepared under the stringent U MEDICAL LAWS.^ R^slpresorlbsd by eminent physioianai^M MM OR. RICHTER'S (Km ANCHOR  fPAIN EXPELLERJ I World renowned I Remarkably anccerafol I ■ ■Only genalne with Trade Mark" Anchor,"■ If. Ad. Rlchter 215 Pearl St., New York. ■ 1 31 HIGHEST AWARDS. 2 13 Bcanoh Houses. Own Glassworks. ■ M £5«KflniL. indorsed A recommended bj J A ° C OJlck SON. Ma'n St-: J H- 8t.; parr^^^MW •*ANCHOR" STOMACHAL beat for I Standing on the apex of a sandy elevation, which still rose a few feet above the gathering flood, was the figure of a woman as perfect in form and in classic beauty of feature as the Venus of Milo —a magnified human being not less than 40 feet in height. This great gate was slowly swinging opon an invisible hinge in such a manner that in a few minutes it would evidently stand across tbe current of the Syrtis Major at right anglea contained, We were all moved by n desire to help our enemies, for we were overwhelmed with feelings of pity and remorse, but to aid them was now utterly beyond our power. The mighty floods were out, and the end was in the hands of God. Consequently we had every reason to think that we now stood within the line of defense in which they reposed tbe greatest confidence without their having the least suspicion of our presence.Beyond was a seooud gate, which was moving in tbe same manner. Farther on was a third gate and then another and another as far as tbe eye oould reach, evidently extending in an unbroken series completely across the great strait. Thus during the remainder of tbat day, all of the following night and all of the nest day we oontinued upon the heels of the advancing flood. Still the pitiless disintegrators played upon them until Mr. Edison, making himself heard, now that the thunder of their engines had ceased to reverberate through the chamber, commanded that our fire should ceasq. But for her swuying aud the wild motions of her anus we should have mistaken her for a marble statue. Aina assured us that on tbe occasion of her former visit to the power house there bad been but two sentinels on doty at the entrance. At the inner end of a long passage leading to the interior, she said, there were two moire. Besides these, there were three or four Martian engineers watching the macbiuery in the interior of tbe building. A number of airships were supposed to be on guard around tbe structure, but probably their vigilance bad been relaxed, because not long ago the Martians had sent an expe dition against Ceres which had beeu so successful that tbe power of that plauet to make an attack upon Mars bad for t&a present been destroyed. When we had attained a considerable height, so that we could see to a great distance on either side, the spectacle became even more fearful than it was when wo were close to the surface. Fortunately we had little time for these thoughts, because no sooner had the day begun to dawn around us than the airships of tiie Martians appeared. Evideutly the people in them were dazed by the disaster aud uncertain what to do. It is doubtful whether at first they comprehended tbe fact tbat we were the agents who had the cataclysm Aina, who happeued to be looking, instantly exclaimed: The seooud night we oould perceive ahead of us the electric lights covering tbe land of Thaumasia, in tbe midst of which lay the Lake of the Snn. The flood would be upou i{ by daybreak, and assuming that th? demoralization produced by the news of the oorniug of the waters, whioh we were aware had hours before been flashed to the capital of Mars, would prevent tbe Martians from effectively manning their forts, we thought it safe to hasten ou with tbe flagship and one or two others in advance of the water and to hover over the Lake of the bun in the darkness in order that we might watch tbe deluge perform its awla) work ia the Bcniog. As the gates, with accelerated motion When the enrrent caught them, clanged together we beheld a spectacle that almost stopped tbe beating of our hearts. "It is the woman from Ceres) She was taken prisoner by the Martians during their last iuvasion of that world, aud siuoe then has been a slave in the palace of the emperor." In the meantime the armed Martians outside (he palace, hearing the uproar Within, seeing our men pouring their fire through the windows and supposing that we were guilty at once of treachery and assassination, had attempted an attack upon the eleotrical ships stationed round the building. But fortunately they had none of their larger engines at band, and with their hand arms alone they had not been able tc stand up against the disintegrators. Tbey were blown away before the withering fire of the ships by the hundred nntil, fleeing from destruction, they tutted aaadlj, dxiviae their unarmed On all sides banks and dikes were going down, trees were being uprooted, buildings were tumbling, and tbe ooean was achieving that victory over the laud which bad long beeu its due, but which the ingenuity of the  of Mars hacj postponed /or ages. The great Syrtis seemed to gather itself for a moment, and then it leaped apon the obstruction and hurled its wafers into one vast foaming geyser that jeonied to shoot a thousand feet skyward.Apparently ber great stature bad enabled her to escape, while her masters bad been drowned. She bad fled, like the others, toward the south, bu{ Wing finally surrouhded by the rising waters taken Vefuge ou tlie hillock of sand where we saw ber. This was fa'st giving way uuder tbe assault of the waves, Mid even while we watched the water rose to ber knees. Hut as (lie morning advanced tbe airships came flocking in greater and greater numbers from every direction, many swooping down close to the flood in order to rescue those who were drowning. Hundreds gathered along rhe slip of laud which was crowded, as I have described, with refugees, while other hundreds rapidly assembled about Far away we could see the front of the advancing wave crested with foam that sparkled in the electric lights, and as it swept on it changed tbe entire aspect of the planet—in front of it all life, behind it all death. Bat the metal gates withstood tbe ■hock, though buried from onr sight in the seething white mass, and the baflled waters instantly swirled round in 10,- 000 gigantic eddies, rising to tbe level of oar window and beginning to inuu- Despite their stature—for these women averaged 12 or 18 feet in height— tbe beauty of their complexions—of a »Ufk oir.s tint— ww ao less frtiUiaat "Drop lower." was the order to tbe tteiweeias m to bate been annibilat- Eastward our view extended aorosf