iences on Mars, and that the characters, so
vividly portrayed in my mind, lived in flesh and blood on a world
millions of miles away. Much more convincing than this, however, was the
moral obligation that I felt incumbent upon me--a duty I owed to
another. No dream could have left me with this keen sense of
responsibility.

Alas, I knew only too well that I loved, with an impossible love, a
beautiful being of another planet, and that my duty lay in the
renunciation of this love to Almos, its rightful possessor.

Thus my discovery had not brought me the joy of triumph. The proud
moments in an inventor's career when he holds up to the world the fruit
of his ingenuity and study could not be mine. Indeed, the thought of the
excitement that the news of such easy communication with Mars would
cause, if I demonstrated its truth before reputable scientists, made me
determined to guard the secret of my discovery the more jealously.
Hundreds of instruments similar to mine would be made, and it would soon
become known to all the inhabitants of Mars that they could talk to the
people of Earth, resulting in constant communication from all parts of
both planets. Such an innovation would soon be a regular pastime of the
rich. It would then be impossible for me to visit Mars again, as the
crossing of the currents of super-radium would add a grave danger to
such an undertaking.

The possibility of my secret becoming known through an accident (someone
breaking into my room or overhearing me talk with Almos) now occurred to
me, and, in the fear of my being separated from Zarlah forever, I
determined upon another visit to Mars that evening.

I had planned to tell Almos at once of my thoughtless confession of love
to Zarlah, but in an effort to justify my great desire to see her again,
I now saw several important reasons for postponing this. I had given my
promise to Zarlah to be with her the following evening, and it seemed
only honorable for me first to fulfil my promise to her. Moreover, under
the circumstances, it might be embarrassing for Almos to meet her upon
such short notice. When a man takes a step of this kind, he usually has
spent some time in consideration beforehand, how much more necessary,
then, is time for consideration when this step has been taken for him. I
therefore decided to keep my promise to Zarlah and to endeavor to visit
Mars again during the next wave contact.

I did not regret having left the note for Almos