e have done has been accomplished with that in
view. You have just witnessed an example of our power, the exercise of
which was not dictated by our wish, but compelled by the attack wantonly
made upon a helpless member of our own race under our 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 choice. Our condition of peace is simply this: All
resistance must cease absolutely."

"Quite right," broke in Colonel Smith; "let the scorpion pull out his
sting or we shall do it for him."

"Nothing that we could do now," continued the commander, "would in my
opinion save you from ultimate destruction. The forces of nature which
we have been compelled to let loose upon you will complete their own
victory. But we do not wish, unnecessarily, to stain our hands further
with your blood. We shall leave you in possession of your lives.
Preserve them if you can. But, in case the flood recedes 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."

"That's really the best we can do," said Mr. Edison, turning to us. "We
can't possibly murder these people in cold blood. The probability is
that the flood has hopelessly ruined all their engines of war. I do not
believe that there is one chance in ten that the waters will drain off
in time to enable them to get at their stores of provisions before they
have perished from starvation."

"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
back of his neck, very much as a farmer sometimes carries his big
mittens), "it is my opinion that the flood will recede more rapidly 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 could regain the power to injure us."

I need not describe in detail how our propositions were received by the
Martian monarch. He knew, and his advisors, some of whom he had called
in consultation, also knew, that ev