ight under our
feet, lay the world we had come to do battle with. Its appearances, while
recalling in some of their broader aspects those which it had presented
when viewed from our observatories, were far more strange, complex and
wonderful than any astronomer had ever dreamed of. Suppose all of our
anticipations about Mars should prove to have been wrong, after all?

There could be no longer any question that it was a world which, if
not absolutely teeming with inhabitants, like a gigantic ant-hill, at
any rate bore on every side the marks of their presence and of their
incredible undertakings and achievements.

Here and there clouds of smoke arose and spread slowly through the
atmosphere beneath us. Floating higher above the surface of the planet
were clouds of vapor, assuming the familiar forms of stratus and cumulus
with which we were acquainted upon the earth.

Dense Clouds Appear.

These clouds, however, seemed upon the whole to be much less dense than
those to which we were accustomed at home. They had, too, a peculiar
iridescent beauty as if there was something in their composition or their
texture which split up the chromatic elements of the sunlight and thus
produced internal rainbow effects that caused some of the heavier cloud
masses to resemble immense collections of opals, alive with the play of
ever-changing colors and magically suspended above the planet.

As we continued to study the phenomena that was gradually unfolded
beneath us we thought that we could detect in many places evidences of
the existence of strong fortifications. The planet of war appeared to be
prepared for the attacks of enemies. Since, as our own experience had
shown, it sometimes waged war with distant planets, it was but natural
that it should be found prepared to resist foes who might be disposed
to revenge themselves for injuries suffered at its hands.

As had been expected, our prisoner now proved to be of very great
assistance to us. Apparently he took a certain pride in exhibiting to
strangers from a distant world the beauties and wonders of his own planet.

The Martian Is Understood.

We could not understand by any means all that he said, but we could
readily comprehend, from his gestures, and from the manner in which his
features lighted up at the recognition of familiar scenes and objects,
what his sentiments in regard to them were, and, in a general way,
what part they played in the life of the planet.

He c