fere he had
sighted and discharged it. The entire force of the terrible engine,
almost capable of destroying a fort, fell upon the Martian emperor and
not merely blew him into a cloud of atoms but opened a great cavity in
the ground on the spot where he had stood.

A shout arose from the Martians, but they were too much astounded at
what had occurred to make any hostile demonstrations, and, anyhow, they
knew well that they were completely at our mercy.

Mr. Edison was on the point of rebuking Colonel Smith for what he had
done, but Aina interposed.

"I am glad it was done," said she "for now only can you be safe. That
monster was more directly responsible than any other inhabitant of Mars
for all the wickedness of which they have been guilty.

"The expedition against the earth was inspired solely by him. There is a
tradition among the Martians--which my people, however, could never
credit--that he possessed a kind of immortality. They declared that it
was he who led the former expedition against the earth when my ancestors
were brought away prisoners from their happy home, and that it was his
image which they had set up in stone in the midst of the Land of Sand.
He prolonged his existence, according to this legend, by drinking the
waters of a wonderful fountain, the secret of whose precise location was
known to him alone but which was situated at that point where in your
maps of Mars the name of the Fons Juventae occurs. He was personified
wickedness, that I know; and he never would have kept his oath if power
had returned to him again to injure the earth. In destroying him, you
have made your victory secure."

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

_THE GREAT OVATION_

When at length we once more saw our native planet, with its
well-remembered features of land and sea, rolling beneath our eyes, the
feeling of joy that came over us transcended all powers of expression.

In order that all the nations which had united in sending out the
expedition should have visual evidence of its triumphal return, it was
decided to make the entire circuit of the earth before seeking our
starting point and disembarking. Brief accounts in all known languages,
telling the story of what we had done was accordingly prepared, and then
we dropped down through the air until again we saw the well-loved blue
dome over our heads, and found ourselves suspended directly above the
white topped cone of Fujiyama, the sacred mountain of Japan. Shifting
our