FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON.
------
PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.
RECAPITULATING THE FIRST PART OF THIS WORK, AND
SERVING AS A PREFACE TO THE SECOND.
During the year 186--, the whole world was greatly excited by a scientific
experiment unprecedented in the annals of science. The members of the
Gun Club, a circle of artillerymen formed at Baltimore after the American
war, conceived the idea of putting themselves in communication with the
moon!--yes, with the moon,--by sending to her a projectile. Their
president, Barbicane, the promoter of the enterprise, having consulted
the astronomers of the Cambridge Observatory upon the subject, took all
necessary means to ensure the success of this extraordinary enterprise,
which had been declared practicable by the majority of competent judges.
After setting on foot a public subscription, which realized nearly
1,200,000-l.- they began the gigantic work.
According to the advice forwarded from the members of the Observatory,
the gun destined to launch the projectile had to be fixed in a country
situated between the 0 and 28th degrees of north or south latitude, in
order to aim at the moon when at the zenith; and its initiatory velocity
was fixed at twelve thousand yards to the second. Launched on the 1st
of December, at 10hrs. 46m. 40s. p.m., it ought to reach the moon four
days after its departure, that is on the 5th of December, at midnight
precisely, at the moment of her attaining her -perigee-, that is her
nearest distance from the earth, which is exactly 86,410 leagues (French),
or 238,833 miles -mean distance- (English).
The principal members of the Gun Club, President Barbicane, Major
Elphinstone, the secretary Joseph T. Maston, and other learned men, held
several meetings, at which the shape and composition of the projectile
were discussed, also the position and nature of the gun, and the quality
and quantity of the powder to be used. It was decided: 1st, that the
projectile should be a shell made of aluminium with a diameter of 108
inches and a thickness of twelve inches to its walls; and should weigh
19,250 lbs. 2ndly, that the gun should be a Columbiad cast in iron,
900 feet long, and run perpendicularly into the earth. 3rdly, that the
charge should contain 400,000 pounds of gun-cotton, which, giving out
six billions of litres of gas in rear of the projectile, would easily
carry it towards the orb of night.
These questions determined President Barbicane, assisted by Murchison
the engineer, to choose a spot situated in Florida, in 27° 7' North
latitude, and 77° 3' West (Greenwich) longitude. It was on this spot,
after stupendous labour, that the Columbiad was cast with full success.
Things stood thus, when an incident took place which increased the
interest attached to this great enterprise a hundredfold.
A Frenchman, an enthusiastic Parisian, as witty as he was bold, asked
to be enclosed in the projectile, in order that he might reach the moon,
and reconnoitre this terrestrial satellite. The name of this intrepid
adventurer was Michel Ardan. He landed in America, was received with
enthusiasm, held meetings, saw himself carried in triumph, reconciled
President Barbicane to his mortal enemy, Captain Nicholl, and, as a
token of reconciliation, persuaded them both to start with him in the
projectile. The proposition being accepted, the shape of the projectile
was slightly altered. It was made of a cylindro-conical form. This species
of aerial car was lined with strong springs and partitions to deaden the
shock of departure. It was provided with food for a year, water for some
months, and gas for some days. A self-acting apparatus supplied the three
travellers with air to breathe. At the same time, on one of the highest
points of the Rocky Mountains, the Gun Club had a gigantic telescope
erected, in order that they might be able to follow the course of the
projectile through space. All was then ready.
On the 30th November, at the hour fixed upon, from the midst of an
extraordinary crowd of spectators, the departure took place; and for the
first time, three human beings quitted the terrestrial globe, and launched
into interplanetary space with almost a certainty of reaching their
destination. These bold travellers, Michel Ardan, President Barbicane,
and Captain Nicholl, ought to make the passage in ninety-seven hours,
thirteen minutes, and twenty seconds. Consequently, their arrival on
the lunar disc could not take place until the 5th December at twelve at
night, at the exact moment when the moon should be full, and not on the
4th, as some badly-informed journals had announced.
But an unforeseen circumstance, viz., the detonation produced by
the Columbiad, had the immediate effect of troubling the terrestrial
atmosphere, by accumulating a large quantity of vapour, a phenomenon
which excited universal indignation, for the moon was hidden from the
eyes of the watchers for several nights.
The worthy Joseph T. Maston, the staunchest friend of the three
travellers, started for the Rocky Mountains, accompanied by the Hon. J.
Belfast, director of the Cambridge Observatory, and reached the station
of Long's Peak, where the telescope was erected which brought the moon
within an apparent distance of two leagues. The honorable secretary of
the Gun Club wished himself to observe the vehicle of his daring friends.
The accumulation of clouds in the atmosphere prevented all observations
on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th of December. Indeed it was
thought that all observations would have to be put off to the 3rd of
January in the following year; for the moon entering its last quarter on
the 11th, would then only present an ever-decreasing portion of her disc,
insufficient to allow of their following the course of the projectile.
At length, to the general satisfaction, a heavy storm cleared the
atmosphere on the night of the 11th and 12th December, and the moon, with
half illuminated disc, was plainly to be seen upon the black
sky.
That very night a telegram was sent from the station of Long's Peak
by Joseph T. Maston and Belfast to the gentlemen of the Cambridge
Observatory, announcing that on the 11th of December at 8h. 47m. p.m.,
the projectile launched by the Columbiad of Stones Hill had been detected
by Messrs. Belfast and Maston,--that it had deviated from its course
from some unknown cause, and had not reached its destination; but that
it had passed near enough to be retained by the lunar attraction; that
its rectilinear movement had been changed to a circular one, and that
following an elliptical orbit round the star of night it had become its
-satellite.- The telegram added that the elements of this new star had
not yet been calculated; and indeed three observations made upon a star
in three different positions are necessary to determine these elements.
Then it showed that the distance separating the projectile from the lunar
surface "might" be reckoned at about 2833 miles.
It ended with this double hypothesis; either the attraction of the moon
would draw it to herself, and the travellers thus attain their end; or
that the projectile, held in one immutable orbit, would gravitate around
the lunar disc to all eternity.
With such alternatives, what would be the fate of the travellers?
Certainly they had food for some time. But supposing they did succeed
in their rash enterprise, how would they return? Could they ever return?
Should they hear from them? These questions, debated by the most learned
pens of the day, strongly engrossed the public attention.
It is advisable here to make a remark which ought to be well considered
by hasty observers. When a purely speculative discovery is announced to
the public, it cannot be done with too much prudence. No one is obliged
to discover either a planet, a comet, or a satellite; and whoever makes
a mistake in such a case exposes himself justly to the derision of the
mass. Far better is it to wait; and that is what the impatient Joseph T.
Maston should have done before sending this telegram forth to the world,
which, according to his idea, told the whole result of the enterprise.
Indeed this telegram contained two sorts of errors, as was proved
eventually. 1st, errors of observation, concerning the distance of the
projectile from the surface of the moon, for on the 11th December it was
impossible to see it; and what Joseph T. Maston had seen, or thought he
saw, could not have been the projectile of the Columbiad. 2ndly, errors
of theory on the fate in store for the said projectile; for in making it
a satellite of the moon, it was putting it in direct contradiction to
all mechanical laws.
One single hypothesis of the observers of Long's Peak could ever be
realized, that which foresaw the case of the travellers (if still alive)
uniting their efforts with the lunar attraction to attain the surface of
the disc.
Now these men, as clever as they were daring, -had- survived the terrible
shock consequent on their departure, and it is their journey in the
projectile car which is here related in its most dramatic as well as in
its most singular details. This recital will destroy many illusions and
surmises; but it will give a true idea of the singular changes in store
for such an enterprise; it will bring out the scientific instincts of
Barbicane, the industrious resources of Nicholl, and the audacious humour
of Michel Ardan.
Besides this, it will prove that their worthy friend, Joseph T. Maston,
was wasting his time, while leaning over the gigantic telescope he
watched the course of the moon through the starry space.
CHAPTER I.
FROM TWENTY MINUTES PAST TEN TO FORTY-SEVEN MINUTES
PAST TEN P.M.
As ten o'clock struck, Michel Ardan, Barbicane, and Nicholl, took leave
of the numerous friends they were leaving on the earth. The two dogs,
destined to propagate the canine race on the lunar continents, were
already shut up in the projectile.
The three travellers approached the orifice of the enormous cast-iron
tube, and a crane let them down to the conical top of the projectile.
There, an opening made for the purpose gave them access to the aluminium
car. The tackle belonging to the crane being hauled from outside, the
mouth of the Columbiad was instantly disencumbered of its last supports.
Nicholl, once introduced with his companions inside the projectile,
began to close the opening by means of a strong plate, held in position
by powerful screws. Other plates, closely fitted, covered the lenticular
glasses, and the travellers, hermetically enclosed in their metal prison,
were plunged in profound darkness.
"And now, my dear companions," said Michel Ardan, "let us make ourselves
at home; I am a domesticated man and strong in housekeeping. We are bound
to make the best of our new lodgings, and make ourselves comfortable.
And first let us try and see a little. Gas was not invented for moles."
So saying, the thoughtless fellow lit a match by striking it on the
sole of his boot; and approached the burner fixed to the receptacle,
in which the carbonized hydrogen, stored at high pressure, sufficed for
the lighting and warming of the projectile for a hundred and forty-four
hours, or six days and six nights. The gas caught fire, and thus lighted
the projectile looked like a comfortable room with thickly padded walls,
furnished with a circular divan, and a roof rounded in the shape of a
dome.
The objects it contained, arms, instruments, and utensils securely
fastened against the rounds of wadding, could bear the shock of departure
with impunity. Humanly speaking, every possible precaution had been taken
to bring this rash experiment to a successful termination.
Michel Ardan examined everything, and declared himself satisfied with
his installation.
"It is a prison," said he, "but a travelling prison; and, with the right
of putting my nose to the window, I could well stand a lease of a hundred
years. You smile, Barbicane. Have you any -arrière-pensée?- Do you say
to yourself, 'This prison may be our tomb?' Tomb, perhaps; still I would
not change it for Mahomet's, which floats in space but never advances an
inch!"
Whilst Michel Ardan was speaking, Barbicane and Nicholl were making their
last preparations.
Nicholl's chronometer marked twenty minutes past ten p.m. when the three
travellers were finally enclosed in their projectile. This chronometer
was set within the tenth of a second by that of Murchison the engineer.
Barbicane consulted it.
"My friends," said he, "it is twenty minutes past ten. At forty-seven
minutes past ten Murchison will launch the electric spark on the wire
which communicates with the charge of the Columbiad. At that precise
moment we shall leave our spheroid. Thus we have still twenty-seven
minutes to remain on the earth."
"Twenty-six minutes thirteen seconds," replied the methodical Nicholl.
"Well!" exclaimed Michel Ardan, in a good-humoured tone, "much may be
done in twenty-six minutes. The gravest questions of morals and politics
may be discussed, and even solved. Twenty-six minutes well employed are
worth more than twenty-six years in which nothing is done. Some
-seconds- of a Pascal or a Newton are more precious than the whole
existence of a crowd of raw simpletons--"
Illustration: THE GAS CAUGHT FIRE.
"And you conclude, then, you everlasting talker?" asked Barbicane.
"I conclude that we have twenty-six minutes left," replied Ardan.
"Twenty-four only," said Nicholl.
"Well, twenty-four, if you like, my noble captain," said Ardan;
"twenty-four minutes in which to investigate--"
"Michel," said Barbicane, "during the passage we shall have plenty of
time to investigate the most difficult questions. For the present we must
occupy ourselves with our departure."
"Are we not ready?"
"Doubtless; but there are still some precautions to be taken, to deaden
as much as possible the first shock."
"Have we not the water-cushions placed between the partition-breaks,
whose elasticity will sufficiently protect us?"
"I hope so, Michel," replied Barbicane gently, "but I am not sure."
"Ah, the joker!" exclaimed Michel Ardan. "He hopes!--He is not
sure!--and he waits for the moment when we are encased to make this
deplorable admission! I beg to be allowed to get out!"
"And how?" asked Barbicane.
"Humph!" said Michel Ardan, "it is not easy; we are in the train, and
the guard's whistle will sound before twenty-four minutes are over."
"-Twenty-," said Nicholl.
For some moments the three travellers looked at each other. Then they
began to examine the objects imprisoned with them.
"Everything is in its place," said Barbicane. "We have now to decide how
we can best place ourselves to resist the shock. Position cannot be an
indifferent matter; and we must, as much as possible, prevent the rush
of blood to the head."
"Just so," said Nicholl.
"Then," replied Michel Ardan, ready to suit the action to the word, "let
us put our heads down and our feet in the air, like the clowns in the
grand circus."
"No," said Barbicane, "let us stretch ourselves on our sides; we shall
resist the shock better that way. Remember that, when the projectile
starts, it matters little whether we are in it or before it; it amounts
to much the same thing."
"If it is only 'much the same thing,' I may cheer up," said Michel Ardan.
"Do you approve of my idea, Nicholl?" asked Barbicane.
"Entirely," replied the captain. "We've still thirteen minutes and a
half."
"That Nicholl is not a man," exclaimed Michel; "he is a chronometer with
seconds, an escape, and eight holes."
But his companions were not listening; they were taking up their last
positions with the most perfect coolness. They were like two methodical
travellers in a car, seeking to place themselves as comfortably as
possible.
We might well ask ourselves of what materials are the hearts of these
Americans made, to whom the approach of the most frightful danger added
no pulsation.
Three thick and solidly-made couches had been placed in the projectile.
Nicholl and Barbicane placed them in the centre of the disc forming the
floor. There the three travellers were to stretch themselves some moments
before their departure.
During this time, Ardan, not being able to keep still, turned in his
narrow prison like a wild beast in a cage, chatting with his friends,
speaking to the dogs Diana and Satellite, to whom, as may be seen, he
had given significant names.
"Ah, Diana! Ah, Satellite!" he exclaimed, teazing them; "so you are going
to show the moon-dogs the good habits of the dogs of the earth! That
will do honour to the canine race! If ever we do come down again, I will
bring a cross type of 'moon-dogs,' which will make a stir!"
Illustration: DIANA AND SATELLITE.
"If there -are- dogs in the moon," said Barbicane.
"There are," said Michel Ardan, "just as there are horses, cows, donkeys,
and chickens. I bet that we shall find chickens."
"A hundred dollars we shall find none!" said Nicholl.
"Done, my captain!" replied Ardan, clasping Nicholl's hand. "But, by
the bye, you have already lost three bets with our president, as the
necessary funds for the enterprise have been found, as the operation of
casting has been successful, and lastly, as the Columbiad has been loaded
without accident, six thousand dollars."
"Yes," replied Nicholl. "Thirty-seven minutes six seconds past ten."
"It is understood, captain. Well, before another quarter of an hour
you will have to count 9000 dollars to the president; 4000 because the
Columbiad will not burst, and 5000 because the projectile will rise more
than six miles in the air."
"I have the dollars," replied Nicholl, slapping the pocket of his coat.
"I only ask to be allowed to pay."
"Come, Nicholl, I see that you are a man of method, which I could never
be; but indeed you have made a series of bets of very little advantage
to yourself, allow me to tell you."
"And why?" asked Nicholl.
"Because, if you gain the first, the Columbiad will have burst, and the
projectile with it; and Barbicane will no longer be there to reimburse
your dollars."
"My stake is deposited at the bank in Baltimore," replied Barbicane
simply; "and if Nicholl is not there, it will go to his heirs."
"Ah, you practical men!" exclaimed Michel Ardan; "I admire you the more
for not being able to understand you."
"Forty-two minutes past ten!" said Nicholl.
"Only five minutes more!" answered Barbicane.
"Yes, five little minutes!" replied Michel Ardan; "and we are enclosed
in a projectile, at the bottom of a gun 900 feet long! And under this
projectile are rammed 400,000 lbs. of gun-cotton, which is equal to
1,600,000 lbs. of ordinary powder! And friend Murchison, with his
chronometer in hand, his eye fixed on the needle, his finger on the
electric apparatus, is counting the seconds preparatory to launching us
into interplanetary space."
"Enough, Michel, enough!" said Barbicane, in a serious voice; "let us
prepare. A few instants alone separate us from an eventful moment. One
clasp of the hand, my friends."
"Yes," exclaimed Michel Ardan, more moved than he wished to appear; and
the three bold companions were united in a last embrace.
"God preserve us!" said the religious Barbicane.
Michel Ardan and Nicholl stretched themselves on the couches placed in
the centre of the disc.
"Forty seven minutes past ten!" murmured the captain.
"Twenty seconds more!" Barbicane quickly put out the gas and lay down by
his companions, and the profound silence was only broken by the ticking
of the chronometer marking the seconds.
Suddenly a dreadful shock was felt, and the projectile, under the force
of six billions of litres of gas, developed by the combustion of the
pyroxyle, mounted into space.
Illustration: THE COURAGEOUS FRENCHMAN.
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST HALF-HOUR.
What had happened? What effect had this frightful shock produced? Had
the ingenuity of the constructors of the projectile obtained any happy
result? Had the shock been deadened, thanks to the springs, the four
plugs, the water-cushions, and the partition-breaks? Had they been able
to subdue the frightful pressure of the initiatory speed of more than
11,000 yards, which was enough to traverse Paris or New York in a second?
This was evidently the question suggested to the thousand spectators
of this moving scene. They forgot the aim of the journey, and thought
only of the travellers. And if one amongst them--Joseph T. Maston for
example--could have cast one glimpse into the projectile, what would he
have seen?
Nothing then. The darkness was profound. But its cylindro-conical
partitions had resisted wonderfully. Not a rent or a dent anywhere! The
wonderful projectile was not even heated under the intense deflagration
of the powder, nor liquefied, as they seemed to fear, in a shower of
aluminium.
The interior showed but little disorder; indeed, only a few objects had
been violently thrown towards the roof; but the most important seemed
not to have suffered from the shock at all; their fixtures were intact.
On the movable disc, sunk down to the bottom by the smashing of the
partition-breaks and the escape of the water, three bodies lay apparently
lifeless. Barbicane, Nicholl, and Michel Ardan-- did they still breathe?
or was the projectile nothing now but a metal coffin, bearing three
corpses into space?
Some minutes after the departure of the projectile, one of the bodies
moved, shook its arms, lifted its head, and finally succeeded in getting
on its knees. It was Michel Ardan. He felt himself all over, gave a
sonorous "Hem!" and then said,--
"Michel Ardan is whole. How about the others?"
The courageous Frenchman tried to rise, but could not stand. His head
swam, from the rush of blood; he was blind; he was like a drunken man.
"Bur-r!" said he. "It produces the same effect as two bottles of Corton,
though perhaps less agreeable to swallow." Then, passing his hand several
times across his forehead and rubbing his temples, he called in a firm
voice,--
"Nicholl! Barbicane!"
He waited anxiously. No answer; not even a sigh to show that the hearts
of his companions were still beating. He called again. The same silence.
"The devil!" he exclaimed. They look as if they had fallen from a fifth
story on their heads. "Bah!" he added, with that imperturbable confidence
which nothing could check, "if a Frenchman can get on his knees, two
Americans ought to be able to get on their feet. But first let us light
up."
Ardan felt the tide of life return by degrees. His blood became calm,
and returned to its accustomed circulation. Another effort restored his
equilibrium. He succeeded in rising, drew a match from his pocket, and
approaching the burner lighted it. The receiver had not suffered at all.
The gas had not escaped. Besides, the smell would have betrayed it; and
in that case Michel Ardan could not have carried a lighted match with
impunity through the space filled with hydrogen. The gas mixing with the
air would have produced a detonating mixture, and the explosion would
have finished what the shock had perhaps begun. When the burner was lit,
Ardan leaned over the bodies of his companions: they were lying one on
the other, an inert mass, Nicholl above, Barbicane underneath.
Illustration: THEY RAISED BARBICANE.
Ardan lifted the captain, propped him up against the divan, and began to
rub vigorously. This means, used with judgment, restored Nicholl, who
opened his eyes, and instantly recovering his presence of mind, seized
Ardan's hand and looked around him.
"And Barbicane?" said he.
"Each in turn," replied Michel Ardan. "I began with you, Nicholl, because
you were on the top. Now let us look to Barbicane." Saying which, Ardan
and Nicholl raised the president of the Gun Club and laid him on the
divan. He seemed to have suffered more than either of his companions; he
was bleeding, but Nicholl was reassured by finding that the hemorrhage
came from a slight wound on the shoulder, a mere graze, which he bound
up carefully.
Still, Barbicane was a long time coming to himself, which frightened his
friends, who did not spare friction.
"He breathes though," said Nicholl, putting his ear to the chest of the
wounded man.
"Yes," replied Ardan, "he breathes like a man who has some notion of that
daily operation. Rub, Nicholl; let us rub harder." And the two improvised
practitioners worked so hard and so well that Barbicane recovered his
senses. He opened his eyes, sat up, took his two friends by the hands,
and his first words were--
"Nicholl, are we moving?"
Nicholl and Barbicane looked at each other; they had not yet troubled
themselves about the projectile; their first thought had been for the
traveller, not for the car.
"Well, are we really moving?" repeated Michel Ardan.
"Or quietly resting on the soil of Florida?" asked Nicholl.
"Or at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico?" added Michel Ardan.
"What an idea!" exclaimed the president.
And this double hypothesis suggested by his companions had the effect
of recalling him to his senses. In any case they could not yet decide
on the position of the projectile. Its apparent immovability, and the
want of communication with the outside, prevented them from solving the
question. Perhaps the projectile was unwinding its course through space.
Perhaps after a short rise it had fallen upon the earth, or even in the
Gulf of Mexico--a fall which the narrowness of the peninsula of Florida
would render not impossible.
The case was serious, the problem interesting, and one that must be
solved as soon as possible. Thus, highly excited, Barbicane's moral
energy triumphed over physical weakness, and he rose to his feet. He
listened. Outside was perfect silence; but the thick padding was enough
to intercept all sounds coming from the earth. But one circumstance
struck Barbicane, viz., that the temperature inside the projectile was
singularly high. The president drew a thermometer from its case and
consulted it. The instrument showed 81° Fahr.
"Yes," he exclaimed, "yes, we are moving! This stifling heat, penetrating
through the partitions of the projectile, is produced by its friction on
the atmospheric strata. It will soon diminish, because we are already
floating in space, and after having been nearly stifled, we shall have
to suffer intense cold."
"What!" said Michel Ardan. "According to your showing, Barbicane, we are
already beyond the limits of the terrestrial atmosphere?"
"Without a doubt, Michel. Listen to me. It is fifty-five minutes past
ten; we have been gone about eight minutes; and if our initiatory speed
has not been checked by the friction, six seconds would be enough for us
to pass through the forty miles of atmosphere which surrounds the globe."
"Just so," replied Nicholl; "but in what proportion do you estimate the
diminution of speed by friction?"
"In the proportion of one-third, Nicholl. This diminution is considerable,
but according to my calculations it is nothing less. If, then, we had
an initiatory speed of 12,000 yards, on leaving the atmosphere this
speed would be reduced to 9165 yards. In any case we have already passed
through this interval, and--"
"And then," said Michel Ardan, "friend Nicholl has lost his two bets:
four thousand dollars because the Columbiad did not burst; five thousand
dollars because the projectile has risen more than six miles. Now,
Nicholl, pay up."
"Let us prove it first," said the captain, "and we will pay afterwards.
It is quite possible that Barbicane's reasoning is correct, and that I
have lost my nine thousand dollars. But a new hypothesis presents itself
to my mind, and it annuls the wager."
"What is that?" asked Barbicane quickly.
"The hypothesis that, for some reason or other, fire was never set to
the powder, we have not started at all."
"My goodness, captain," exclaimed Michel Ardan, "that hypothesis is
worthy of my brain! It cannot be a serious one. For have we not been
half annihilated by the shock? Did I not recall you to life? Is not the
president's shoulder still bleeding from the blow it has received?"
"Granted," replied Nicholl; "but one question."
"Well, captain?"
"Did you hear the detonation, which certainly ought to be loud?"
"No," replied Ardan, much surprised; "certainly I did not hear the
detonation."
"And you, Barbicane?"
"Nor I, either."
"Very well," said Nicholl.
"Well now," murmured the president "why did we not hear the detonation?"
The three friends looked at each other with a disconcerted air. It
was quite an inexplicable phenomenon. The projectile had started, and
consequently there must have been a detonation.
"Let us first find out where we are," said Barbicane, "and let down the
panel."
This very simple operation was soon accomplished.
The nuts which held the bolts to the outer plates of the right-hand
scuttle gave way under the pressure of the English wrench. These bolts
were pushed outside, and buffers covered with india-rubber stopped up
the holes which let them through. Immediately the outer plate fell back
upon its hinges like a porthole, and the lenticular glass which closed
the scuttle appeared. A similar one was let into the thick partition on
the opposite side of the projectile, another in the top of the dome, and
finally a fourth in the middle of the base. They could, therefore, make
observations in four different directions: the firmament by the side
and most direct windows, the earth or the moon by the upper and under
openings in the projectile.
Barbicane and his two companions immediately rushed to the uncovered
window. But it was lit by no ray of light. Profound darkness surrounded
them, which, however, did not prevent the president from exclaiming,--
"No, my friends, we have not fallen back upon the earth; no, nor are we
submerged in the Gulf of Mexico. Yes! we are mounting into space. See
those stars shining in the night, and that impenetrable darkness heaped
up between the earth and us!"
"Hurrah! hurrah!" exclaimed Michel Ardan and Nicholl in one voice.
Indeed, this thick darkness proved that the projectile had left the earth,
for the soil, brilliantly lit by the moonbeams, would have been visible
to the travellers, if they had been lying on its surface. This darkness
also showed that the projectile had passed the atmospheric strata, for
the diffused light spread in the air would have been reflected on the
metal walls, which reflection was wanting. This light would have lit
the window, and the window was dark. Doubt was no longer possible; the
travellers had left the earth.
Illustration: IT WAS AN ENORMOUS DISC.
"I have lost," said Nicholl.
"I congratulate you," replied Ardan.
"Here are the nine thousand dollars," said the captain, drawing a roll
of paper dollars from his pocket.
"Will you have a receipt for it?" asked Barbicane, taking the sum.
"If you do not mind," answered Nicholl; "it is more business-like."
And coolly and seriously, as if he had been at his strong-box, the
president drew forth his note-book, tore out a blank leaf, wrote a proper
receipt in pencil, dated and signed it with the usual flourish,* and gave
it to the captain, who carefully placed it in his pocketbook. Michel
Ardan, taking off his hat, bowed to his two companions without speaking.
So much formality under such circumstances left him speechless. He had
never before seen anything so "American."
* This is a purely French habit.
This affair settled, Barbicane and Nicholl had returned to the window,
and were watching the constellations. The stars looked like bright points
on the black sky. But from that side they could not see the orb of night,
which, travelling from east to west, would rise by degrees towards the
zenith. Its absence drew the following remark from Ardan.
"And the moon; will she perchance fail at our rendezvous?"
"Do not alarm yourself," said Barbicane; "our future globe is at its
post, but we cannot see her from this side; let us open the other."
As Barbicane was about leaving the window to open the opposite scuttle,
his attention was attracted by the approach of a brilliant object. It
was an enormous disc, whose colossal dimension could not be estimated.
Its face, which was turned to the earth, was very bright. One might have
thought it a small moon reflecting the light of the larger one. She
advanced with great speed, and seemed to describe an orbit round the
earth, which would intersect the passage of the projectile. This body
revolved upon its axis, and exhibited the phenomena of all celestial
bodies abandoned in space.
"Ah!" exclaimed Michel Ardan, "what is that? another projectile?"
Barbicane did not answer. The appearance of this enormous body surprised
and troubled him. A collision was possible, and might be attended with
deplorable results; either the projectile would deviate from its path,
or a shock, breaking its impetus, might precipitate it to the earth; or,
lastly, it might be irresistibly drawn away by the powerful asteroid. The
president caught at a glance the consequences of these three hypotheses,
either of which would, one way or the other, bring their experiment to
an unsuccessful and fatal termination. His companions stood silently
looking into space. The object grew rapidly as it approached them, and
by an optical illusion the projectile seemed to be throwing itself before
it.
"By Jove!" exclaimed Michel Ardan, "we shall run into one another!"
Instinctively the travellers drew back. Their dread was great, but it
did not last many seconds. The asteroid passed several hundred yards
from the projectile and disappeared, not so much from the rapidity of
its course, as that its face being opposite the moon, it was suddenly
merged into the perfect darkness of space.
"A happy journey to you," exclaimed Michel Ardan, with a sigh of relief.
"Surely infinity of space is large enough for a poor little projectile
to walk through without fear. Now, what is this portentous globe which
nearly struck us?"
"I know," replied Barbicane.
"Oh, indeed! you know everything."
"It is," said Barbicane, "a simple meteorite, but an enormous one, which
the attraction of the earth has retained as a satellite."
"Is it possible!" exclaimed Michel Ardan; "the earth then has two moons
like Neptune?"
"Yes, my friend, two moons, though it passes generally for having only
one; but this second moon is so small, and its speed so great, that the
inhabitants of the earth cannot see it. It was by noticing disturbances
that a French astronomer, M. Petit, was able to determine the existence
of this second satellite and calculate its elements. According to his
observations, this meteorite will accomplish its revolution round the
earth in three hours and twenty minutes, which implies a wonderful rate
of speed."
"Do all astronomers admit the existence of this satellite?" asked Nicholl.
"No," replied Barbicane; "but if, like us, they had met it, they could
no longer doubt it. Indeed, I think that this meteorite, which, had it
struck the projectile, would have much embarrassed us, will give us the
means of deciding what our position in space is."
"How?" said Ardan.
"Because its distance is known, and when we met it, we were exactly 4650
miles from the surface of the terrestrial globe."
"More than 2000 French leagues," exclaimed Michel Ardan. "That beats the
express trains of the pitiful globe called the earth."
"I should think so," replied Nicholl, consulting his chronometer; "it
is eleven o'clock, and it is only thirteen minutes since we left the
American Continent."
"Only thirteen minutes?" said Barbicane.
"Yes," said Nicholl; "and if our initiatory speed of 12,000 yards has
been kept up, we shall have made about 20,000 miles in the hour."
"That is all very well, my friends," said the president, "but the
insoluble question still remains. Why did we not hear the detonation of
the Columbiad?"
For want of an answer the conversation dropped, and Barbicane began
thoughtfully to let down the shutter of the second side. He succeeded;
and through the uncovered glass the moon filled the projectile with
a brilliant light. Nicholl, as an economical man, put out the gas,
now useless, and whose brilliancy prevented any observation of the
interplanetary space.
The lunar disc shone with wonderful purity. Her rays, no longer filtered
through the vapoury atmosphere of the terrestrial globe, shone through
the glass, filling the air in the interior of the projectile with silvery
reflections. The black curtain of the firmament in reality heightened the
moon's brilliancy, which in this void of ether unfavourable to diffusion
did not eclipse the neighbouring stars. The heavens, thus seen, presented
quite a new aspect, and one which the human eye could never dream of.
One may conceive the interest with which these bold men watched the orb
of night, the great aim of their journey.
In its motion the earth's satellite was insensibly nearing the zenith,
the mathematical point which it ought to attain ninety-six hours later.
Her mountains, her plains, every projection was as clearly discernible
to their eyes as if they were observing it from some spot upon the earth;
but its light was developed through space with wonderful intensity. The
disc shone like a platinum mirror. Of the earth flying from under their
feet, the travellers had lost all recollection.
It was Captain Nicholl who first recalled their attention to the vanishing
globe.
"Yes," said Michel Ardan, "do not let us be ungrateful to it. Since we
are leaving our country, let our last looks be directed to it. I wish to
see the earth once more before it is quite hidden from my eyes."
To satisfy his companions, Barbicane began to uncover the window at the
bottom of the projectile, which would allow them to observe the earth
direct. The disc, which the force of the projection had beaten down to
the base, was removed, not without difficulty. Its fragments, placed
carefully against the wall, might serve again upon occasion. Then a
circular gap appeared, nineteen inches in diameter, hollowed out of
the lower part of the projectile. A glass cover, six inches thick and
strengthened with upper fastenings, closed it tightly. Beneath was fixed
an aluminium plate, held in place by bolts. The screws being undone,
and the bolts let go, the plate fell down, and visible communication was
established between the interior and the exterior.
Michel Ardan knelt by the glass. It was cloudy, seemingly opaque.
"Well!" he exclaimed, "and the earth?"
"The earth?" said Barbicane. "There it is."
"What! that little thread; that silver crescent?"
"Doubtless, Michel. In four days, when the moon will be full, at the
very time we shall reach it, the earth will be new, and will only appear
to us as a slender crescent which will soon disappear, and for some days
will be enveloped in utter darkness."
"That the earth?" repeated Michel Ardan, looking with all his eyes at
the thin slip of his native planet.
The explanation given by President Barbicane was correct. The earth,
with respect to the projectile, was entering its last phase. It was in
its octant, and showed a crescent finely traced on the dark background
of the sky. Its light, rendered bluish by the thick strata of the
atmosphere was less intense than that of the crescent moon, but it was
of considerable dimensions, and looked like an enormous arch stretched
across the firmament. Some parts brilliantly lighted, especially on its
concave part, showed the presence of high mountains, often disappearing
behind thick spots, which are never seen on the lunar disc. They were
rings of clouds placed concentrically round the terrestrial globe.
Whilst the travellers were trying to pierce the profound darkness, a
brilliant cluster of shooting stars burst upon their eyes. Hundreds of
meteorites, ignited by the friction of the atmosphere, irradiated the
shadow of the luminous train, and lined the cloudy parts of the disc
with their fire. At this period the earth was in its perihelium, and
the month of December is so propitious to these shooting stars, that
astronomers have counted as many as twenty-four thousand in an hour. But
Michel Ardan, disdaining scientific reasonings, preferred thinking that
the earth was thus saluting the departure of her three children with her
most brilliant fireworks.
Indeed this was all they saw of the globe lost in the shadow, an inferior
orb of the solar world, rising and setting to the great planets like a
simple morning or evening star! This globe, where they had left all their
affections, was nothing more than a fugitive crescent!
Long did the three friends look without speaking, though united in heart,
whilst the projectile sped onward with an ever-decreasing speed. Then
an irresistible drowsiness crept over their brain. Was it weariness both
of body and mind? No doubt; for after the over-excitement of those last
hours passed upon earth, reaction was inevitable.
"Well," said Nicholl, "since we must sleep, let us sleep."
And stretching themselves on their couches, they were all three soon in
a profound slumber.
But they had not forgotten themselves more than a quarter of an hour,
when Barbicane sat up suddenly, and rousing his companions with a loud
voice, exclaimed,--
"I have found it!"
"What have you found?" asked Michel Ardan, jumping from his bed.
"The reason why we did not hear the detonation of the Columbiad."
"And it is--?" said Nicholl.
"Because our projectile travelled -faster than the sound!-"
CHAPTER III.
THEIR PLACE OF SHELTER.
This curious but certainly correct explanation once given, the three
friends returned to their slumbers. Could they have found a calmer or
more peaceful spot to sleep in? On the earth, houses, towns, cottages,
and country feel every shock given to the exterior of the globe. On sea,
the vessels rocked by the waves are still in motion; in the air, the
balloon oscillates incessantly on the fluid strata of divers densities.
This projectile alone, floating in perfect space, in the midst of perfect
silence, offered perfect repose.
Thus the sleep of our adventurous travellers might have been indefinitely
prolonged, if an unexpected noise had not awakened them at about seven
o'clock in the morning of the 2nd of December, eight hours after their
departure.
This noise was a very natural barking.
"The dogs! it is the dogs!" exclaimed Michel Ardan, rising at once.
"They are hungry," said Nicholl.
"By Jove!" replied Michel, "we have forgotten them."
"Where are they?" asked Barbicane.
They looked and found one of the animals crouched under the divan.
Terrified and shaken by the initiatory shock, it had remained in the
corner till its voice returned with the pangs of hunger. It was the
amiable Diana, still very confused, who crept out of her retreat, though
not without much persuasion, Michel Ardan encouraging her with most
gracious words.
"Come, Diana," said he; "come, my girl! thou whose destiny will be
marked in the cynegetic annals; thou whom the pagans would have given as
companion to the god Anubis, and Christians as friend to St. Roch; thou
who art rushing into interplanetary space, and wilt perhaps be the Eve
of all Selenite dogs! come, Diana, come here."
Diana, flattered or not, advanced by degrees, uttering plaintive cries.
"Good," said Barbicane; "I see Eve, but where is Adam?"
"Adam?" replied Michel; "Adam cannot be far off; he is there somewhere;
we must call him. Satellite! here, Satellite!"
But Satellite did not appear. Diana would not leave off howling. They
found, however, that she was not bruised, and they gave her a pie, which
silenced her complaints. As to Satellite, he seemed quite lost. They had
to hunt a long time before finding him in one of the upper compartments
of the projectile, whither some unaccountable shock must have violently
hurled him. The poor beast, much hurt, was in a piteous state.
"The devil!" said Michel.
They brought the unfortunate dog down with great care. Its skull had been
broken against the roof, and it seemed unlikely that he could recover
from such a shock. Meanwhile, he was stretched comfortably on a cushion.
Once there, he heaved a sigh.
"We will take care of you," said Michel; "we are responsible for your
existence. I would rather lose an arm than a paw of my poor Satellite."
Saying which, he offered some water to the wounded dog, who swallowed it
with avidity.
This attention paid, the travellers watched the earth and the moon
attentively. The earth was now only discernible by a cloudy disc ending
in a crescent, rather more contracted than that of the previous evening;
but its expanse was still enormous, compared with that of the moon, which
was approaching nearer and nearer to a perfect circle.
Illustration: THEY GAVE HER A PIE.
"By Jove!" said Michel Ardan, "I am really sorry that we did not start
when the earth was full, that is to say, when our globe was in opposition
to the sun."
"Why?" asked Nicholl.
"Because we should have seen our continents and seas in a new light,--the
first resplendent under the solar rays, the latter cloudy as represented
on some maps of the world. I should like to have seen those poles of the
earth on which the eye of man has never yet rested.
"I dare say," replied Barbicane; "but if the earth had been -full-, the
moon would have been -new-; that is to say, invisible, because of the
rays of the sun. It is better for us to see the destination we wish to
reach, than the point of departure."
"You are right, Barbicane," replied Captain Nicholl; "and, besides, when
we have reached the moon, we shall have time during the long lunar nights
to consider at our leisure the globe on which our likenesses swarm."
"Our likenesses!" exclaimed Michel Ardan; "they are no more our likenesses
than the Selenites are! We inhabit a new world, peopled by ourselves--the
projectile! I am Barbicane's likeness, and Barbicane is Nicholl's. Beyond
us, around us, human nature is at an end, and we are the only population
of this microcosm until we become pure Selenites."
"In about eighty-eight hours," replied the captain.
"Which means to say?" asked Michel Ardan.
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