impossible to propel the
aerenoid, and, having missed the moon, they would travel on and on
through endless space. Had they reached the moon they could have
returned, as the repelling force on a body with so little gravity, would
be greatly increased, and would have hurled them into the gravity of
Mars again, as soon as they exposed the repelling metal. There could be
no doubt that they had never reached the moon, and their terrible fate
resulted in a safe limitation of this dangerous metal upon all
aerenoids.

So absorbed had I become in these intensely interesting details supplied
by Almos' knowledge, that time had passed without my realizing it, and,
reproaching myself for having wasted the valuable moments I might have
spent with Zarlah, I now moved the lever at my side and glided gently
forward.

The moon, however, as it rapidly journeyed across the heavens, seemed to
hold a strange fascination for me, and my gaze constantly reverted to
it. Had I realized that this fascination was caused by the approach of a
terrible danger, I might have paid heed to the warning, but desirous now
to get to my journey's end, which, according to Earth's proverb, should
end in a lover's meeting, I thought only of the time I had lost, and
impatiently put the subject from my mind.

Moreover, as my meeting with Zarlah drew near, thoughts that were
relevant and of a more serious character filled my mind. My present
visit to her now began to appear most unjustifiable. If I had found
excuse for my action of the previous evening, in the enthusiasm of so
suddenly beholding the object of my adoration, unaccustomed as I was to
my strange position, I had no such excuse now. To appear before her
again as Almos, after having seen my folly and realized the deceit of my
position toward her, would be an act of shameful duplicity. I had not
realized this before, for I had thought only of my great love for her
and the joy of again being with her, but now the crushing force with
which the truth presented itself, caused me to hesitate before taking
another step that I now felt would be impossible to justify before
Almos. In this great uncertainty of mind I glided slowly along.

The wonderful stillness of the night was broken only by the faint hum of
voices and merry laughter that reached me from below. Glancing down, I
observed numerous open aerenoids floating some two hundred feet beneath
me, while now and then those of the high-speed class appeared