sent for
explanations. In half an hour I shall have prepared for your
visit--remember, no matter what happens, tomorrow all shall be
explained."

Having thus spoken, his voice and manner evincing great earnestness and
determination, he waved his hand in farewell, and instantly the
instrument was plunged into darkness.

For some moments I stood motionless under the spell that his remarkable
personality had cast over me, nor did even his abrupt manner appear at
all strange, such perfect harmony of word and action existed in this
Martian genius. Indeed, it seemed a fitting conclusion to all that had
gone before. Speaking rapidly, as though realizing the loss of time in
mere words, his handsome face, strong with determination, holding me
fascinated, he had confessed the ambition nearest and dearest to his
heart--that of giving to Earth the discoveries and inventions of
hundreds of years of advancement in science; all that had resulted in
the longevity, health, peace, and happiness which existed upon Mars.

Humbled at my own insignificance and full of admiration for this great
character, I turned slowly away, and, procuring a light, commenced to
prepare for my journey.

My letters and other papers, with a brief note of explanation, still
remained on my desk, and, as my glance fell upon this bundle, I became
conscious of a nervousness, which, although to many would be perfectly
natural at such a time, was entirely strange to me. I had not
experienced the least nervousness on the occasion of my first visit the
night before, yet the mere sight of this package on my desk, with its
note of explanation, now caused me an uneasiness, which, try as I would,
I could not ignore.

Making the few necessary preparations about my room for the night, I
secured the door with lock and bolt, and, drawing my couch before the
instrument, poured out a glass of wine and lit a cigar, hoping thus to
steady my nerves.

The day had been warm and close, and a thunderstorm of unusual violence
made the night a wild one. Vivid flashes of lightning that seemed to vie
with each other in intensity, darted from the heavens, accompanied by
deafening crashes of thunder that shook the building to its
foundations, while the shrieking of the wind, as though it were rushing
through the rigging of a ship at sea, added to the noise of the tempest.

Within a few moments the glow on my instrument would be the signal for
my departure, and, as I prepared the con