Moreover, once
out of the atmosphere of Mars, it would be 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.
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