Mexico and Central America seemed almost as broad as that part of the
United States from San Francisco to Washington; the whole tapering down
from Canada to Cape Horn almost in the shape of a cone.
Aeronauts passing over a lake or river are able to see the bottom, owing
to their altitude; this was undoubtedly the explanation of the strange
appearance of the continents of North and South America. On account of
the enormous distance I was away from Earth, the shallow waters appeared
as land, obliterating completely the familiar coast line, and only the
extreme depth of an ocean showed a pale blue.
Night covered Europe and Africa, which would otherwise have been visible
to me, and the shadow of darkness was steadily creeping across the
Atlantic Ocean, as the Earth revolved upon its axis. I could not
suppress a shudder at the thought that I must cover that enormous
distance ere it revolved too far.
I now moved the lever that controlled the current, and at once the lens
in the receiving apparatus shone with a brilliant dark blue color. The
current of super-radium had reached Earth and returned in less than a
second, and I saw, beautifully pictured before me, an expanse of ocean
with waves tumbling and tossing so near me that it seemed as if I were
but a few feet above them.
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