ion of
the asteroid, and to pass on to an infinite distance in any direction,
was only about forty-two feet in a second.

Manifestly it would be quite easy to impart such a speed as that to the
chunks of gold that we held in our hands.

A Message to the Earth.

"Hurrah!" exclaimed one. "Let's send some of this back to the earth."

"Where is the earth?" asked another.

Being appealed to, several astronomers turned their eyes in the direction
of the sun, where the black firmament was ablaze with stars, and in a
moment recognized the earth-star shining there, with the moon attending
close at hand.

"There," said one, "is the earth. Can you throw straight enough to
hit it?"

"We'll try," was the reply, and immediately several threw huge golden
nuggets in the direction of our far-away world, endeavoring to impart
to them at least the required velocity of forty-two feet in a second,
which would insure their passing beyond the attraction of the asteroid,
and if there should be no disturbance on the way, and the aim were
accurate, their eventual arrival upon the earth.

"Here's for you, Old Earth," said one of the throwers, "good luck,
and more gold to you!"

If these precious missiles ever reached the earth we knew that they
would plunge into the atmosphere like meteors and that probably the heat
developed by their passage would melt and dissipate them in golden vapors
before they could touch the ground.

Yet, there was a chance that some of them--if the aim were true--might
survive the fiery passage through the atmosphere and fall upon the
surface of our planet where, perhaps, they would afterward be picked up
by a prospector and lead him to believe that he had struck a new bonanza.

But until we returned to the earth it would be impossible for us to tell
what had become of the golden gifts which we had launched into space
for our mother planet.

Chapter IX.

All Aboard for Mars!

"All aboard!" was the signal, and the squadron having assembled under
the lead of the flagship, we started again for Mars.

This time, as it proved, there was to be no further interruption, and
when next we paused it was in the presence of the world inhabited by
our enemies, and facing their frowning batteries.

Difficulty in Starting.

We did not find it so easy to start from the asteroid as it had been to
start from the earth; that is to say, we could not so readily generate
a very high velocity.

In consequenc