G,McLEOB:WIll m ^■^^^^^s M^^Bj^^Kai^ ^-t^W-.- — ,^ — .^ HH^^^ ^^^ l^^^i^i i'T^ . ■ HHi^^£5£^=^ '"— — HliS^^^^~::^=— ^^^^^^^^HUthu«.tL^.^ ^' ,-'-'- *- ^^^^^^^^^j^W-Cis^. - ^ — l^fe^ — ::f= — z^ IflH^ ^^ ■ife^^^fe'fe^^^-T.^ _ HHI , ^ ~^- ^^^ffi?t3Jt^iJ)4jt t- ..V-^^^'JT"^ !^La-a^^^=:=:;^ HlMi^'T'"^"""' ~"^" ^H^^^H^^^3^^^_- — — ^^^^^fe'^^rrr -~"~ ^^^^^^B^K? &»(;-.-?".. '^^^HT-.^^f^i:^ ^^^^^lBfl'il[jjij|j''| 1 1 -=- ^^^^BIB|Bifti~— ^i= ^^^^^^J^^^^^^^^^ ^M^^B^^^BBM'liliI ^'I'l |^*T IH^^HlKk^^^^^ CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Mr. Upson Cornell University Library PR 6045.I568S7 1919 Station X, 3 1924 013 239 698 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013239698 STATION X STATION X BY G. McLEOD WINSOR PHILADELPHIA & LONDON J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STATION X IN the first place, to explain to those to whom it is not already clear, why Station X came to exist. It may be taken as universal knowledge that the maintenance of the Empire depends on the existence of one of two things : either a miUtary force only to be obtained by conscription, or a sea force of unchallengeable superiority. The development on the other side of the North Sea of a powerful naval rival, rendered our superi- ority at home only possible by such a concentra- tion of our forces as left our world-wide trade routes and colonies inadequately protected. The essence of Sea Power is mobiUty, and this is possessed as much by our rivals as by ourselves, and is the pith of the remark of an EngUsh First Lord of the difference between an average moment and a selected moment. It appUes with especial force to the more distant seas. It is then a ques- tion of a selected place and moment. We know 5 6 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STATION X where our enemy's land fortresses are, but with respect to fortresses that can travel at twenty- five knots we want news. Until comparatively recently we relied abso- lutely on submarine cables, which, from a military point of view, are unreliable and insecure, because they can be cut, or worse still tapped in mid- ocean, and false news transmitted. Those responsible for our naval strategy re- garded the invention of long-distance wireless telephony as of the utmost importance. The advantage of a sufficient number of suitably placed stations to bring our scattered units of Empire within speaking distance was obvious. Stations for this purpose required a system of wiring so extensive as to preclude its emplo5niient afloat. At one station, known as Station X, the wiring covered a considerable area. There was the advantage that the etheric waves produced could not be interfered with or detected by any shipboard equipment. The result of the Imperial Telephone Stations was that the whole world that mattered was placed within speaking communication with Whitehall, with no risk of interruption or interference with- out some warning being given. Each station was thus able to speak with its surrounding neigh- bours by telephone, and to communicate with any ship within its radius of action by the ordinary wireless telegraphy. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STATION X 7 It was because of the combined importance and. isolation of the Australasian Dominions that it was considered worth while to make assurance doubly sure by establishing an alternative secret route for messages, by means of a station of more than ordinarily powerful equipment on a small islet in the Central Pacific, able to speak with Queens- land on the one side and British Columbia on the other. This was Station X, the name under which the Admiralty knew it, a previously uninhabited, barren atoU, lost in the vastest of oceans, and trusting solely for its defence to being utterly unsuspected. Originally the crater of an extinct volcano, and long sunk beneath the ^yaves, it had been built up to sea level by coral insects, and subsequently, in some upheaval, Ufted a couple of hundred feet or so above the waves. About a mile in diameter, and roughly circular, the islet offers precipitous sides to the sea, and slopes gradu- ally down from the surrounding ridges towards the centre, having consequently a cup-like, or rather saucer-like, form. Covering a consider- able part of the central area, quite hidden from the sea, the network of wires of by far the most powerful wireless telephone station in the world spreads itself. The station-house sat in the centre, like a spider in the midst of a gigantic web. To ensure secrecy, the staff was of the smallest number possible, consisting of a naval officer in 8 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STATION X charge, a young man holding the rank of lieu- tenant, who had received special instruction in wireless work ; an electrical engineer whose special training had made him competent both at the signaller's desk and to effect repairs ; and thirdly, an attendant for the menial work of the station. The of&cer in charge alone knew anything suffi- ciently definite of the latitude and longitude to be able to direct any one to it, a point considered so important that a knowledge of navigation would have disqualified the wireless mechanician for the post. Six months on duty and six off, the extreme isolation and monotony was rendered tolerable only by a correspondingly high rate of pay. G. M. W. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STATION X . 5 I THE NEW POST .... II II THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X . .20 III WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED . 38 IV THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE . . . 51 V MURDER MOST FOUL ... 69 VI PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES . 85 VII THE VOICE FROM MARS . . . 100 VIII AT STATION X . . . . II4 IX MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION . . 128 X THE VENERIAN'S ANXIETY . . I41 XI DANGER IMMINENT . . . 152 XII THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT . . 163 XIII THE SAGITTA ARRIVES . . .175 9 10 CONTENTS CUAriCR PAGB XIV CAPTAIN EVERED's DECISION . , 187 XV MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED . . I99 XVI THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES . 215 XVII PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM . 233 XVIII PANIC 249 XIX PROFESSOR RUDGE LANDS AT STATION X 263 XX THE FLEET ASSEMBLES . . . 279 XXI A BATTLE OF GIANTS . , . 289 STATION X CHAPTER I THE NEW POST AS Alan Macrae watched from Plymouth Hoe the last hues of the sunset pale over Mount Edgcumbe, he stood out in marked contrast to the stoUd West Country types around him. His tall loose-Umbed figure. Ids brooding gaze, his nervous highly-strung manner, marked him as a stranger, A touch on the arm recalled him from his apparently sombre thoughts— the touch of a girl who had approached him unobserved. At the sight of her his melancholy vanished. "I'm so sorry I'm late, Alan," she cried gaily, " but the manager had a fit." "A fit ? " questioned Macrae. " Yes, of work," explained the girl ; " and he kept me doing letters, quite indifferent to the fact that this is our last night together. Let's walk, shall we ? " 11 12 STATION X As they walked slowly along the Hoe, the con- trast between the two was remarkable. The brisk alertness of May Treherne seemed to ac- centuate her companion's moodiness and psychic gloom. They had been engaged for a year, and were waiting only for Fortune to smile upon them to get married. As May had expressed it, " Bread and cheese and love are all right ; but you must be sure of the bread and cheese." Macrae had by sheer merit obtained an appoint- ment at " a foreign wireless station." That was all he knew, beyond the fact that the salary was a handsome one. On the morrow he was to start for his unknown destination, where for a period of six months he would be lost to the world. He would be allowed neither to send nor to receive letters, and was sworn to divulge nothing as to where he had been or upon what engaged. " Perhaps I've been a fool to take the post," he said, looking down at his companion with pessi- mistic eyes. "That's not flattering, Alan," said the girl gaily, determined to cheer him out of his gloomy mood. ' You did it so that we could " She paused. " Get married," he concluded the sentence for her. " Yes, I know ; but think of six months without you, in a place that I know nothing about." THE NEW POST 13 " Cheer up, Alan ! " cried May brightly. " It'U soon pass. It was splendid of you to accept it. I'm tired of Sales, Limited, and still more tired of its manager. He's such a moth-eaten little worm." " Well, yes, you are right, May. The time will seem long, no doubt ; but as it carries double pay I ought not to grumble." He smiled down at her, adding, " That it will bring a certain day nearer is the best part of it." " Meanwhile," said May, " I shall picture you leading a sort of lighthouse existence, and in off- duty moments thinking about me." As she spoke her eyes rested on the beam of Eddystone, which the gathering darkness already made plainly visible off the Cornish coast. " You are right ! On duty and off, my thoughts will run pretty much on you, dear," he said. " Now, Alan, tell me why you aren't, or should I say weren't, a bit cheerful this evening. It's a compliment, of course, but is there anything that's worrying you ? " She looked up at him inquiringly. " I suppose I've got the blues. I find myself oppressed with the feeling that something is going to happen. I can't teU what, but I feel that the future holds Something dark and horrible." " Tell me, Alan, dear, do you know of any- thing in your coming duties that suggests danger 14 STATION X to you ? Will you be among savages ? Has anything happened to any one at the post ? Or is it only just a feeling ? " " It rests on nothing, but " " Then for goodness' sake, my dear boy, don't worry yourself about nothing," said May, with relief. " Here," wheeling him round, " let us face the wind, and it will blow such cobwebs out of your head." She cast about in her mind how to hearten her lover, and her eye caught sight of the statue of Sir Francis Drake. " Did you ever hear of Drake, Alan ? " she asked, thinking it possible that he might not, knowing his educational shortcomings, for which she had decided that the future should yet make amends. As they approached the statue, she told about Drake and that immortal game her favourite hero had played on this spot, of the threatening danger, and how the great Devonian refused to let the breathless messenger worry or even hurry him. The Celt, ever quick of apprehension and self- application, had no need for the point to be laboured. " Different men have different natures," said Macrae, in a restrained voice. " It does not follow that any one kind has all the courage. It is not for me to say if I would also have done THE NEW POST 15 my duty then, but this I know, I would not have been able to finish that game of bowls. It's all a question of nerves. As to the other matter, I knew you would not understand. You are a town girl, and I am from the lonely glen. There are some things that are only to be felt. The forest, the stream, the rocks and the mountain, can teach something to a child that cannot be learnt later. It's a sort of sixth sense. Some of us have it. I don't claim to, myself, yet I feel the approach of a cloud. As a boy I loved to wander alone, listen to the roaring torrent, climb the steep precipices of the mountain-side, and often when up at cloud level, I have watched a great fleecy mass approaching, slowly while in the distance, but seemingly faster and faster as it came near. Then suddenly it would swallow me up. Well, dearest May, there is a cloud approach- ing now that is destined to swallow me up ; no light and fleecy mass, but dark and terrible, full of Ughtnings and of danger, and I do not see myself liberated from its embrace." "Alan, dear, do not keep anything from me. If you know anything dangerous connected with your new post, teU it me. You say you value this opportunity because it brings a certain day nearer. As you are going away, I'll confess that it is for the same reason I too value it. When your position is established, we can be so happy together. At present, as you know, I am anything but that. i6 STATION X Yet, I would far rather you threw it all up if there is any special danger." " If there is, I know nothing about it," he re- plied, with a smile. "Unfortunately, you dis- covered my mood, and made me tell you of this impression, which really rests on nothing. But," he added hastily, " let's talk of other things." May sighed as she recognized it would be useless to say more on the subject. She knew Macrae's highly-strung nervous temperament, but also that in aU circumstances he would be sure to do his duty. She could not understand his fore- bodings; but recognizing that the moment of parting was drawing near, she allowed the subject to drop. Alan Macrae had been a poor, half-starved youth from the Highlands, who had by mere chance been engaged in an unskilled capacity at the Marconi station of wireless telephony that the Government had established on the north-east coast of Scotland. He had shown such willing- ness, industry and interest in the working of the station, that opportunity had been given him to acquire further knowledge of it. The ad- vantage he took of this was so satisfactory that he had been given every encouragement and chance to perfect himself. After some years, he had become one of the most competent wireless elec- tricians on Marconi' s staff . A chance discovery had then caused his transference to Poldhu in ComwalL THE NEW POST , 17 When telephony by wireless was in its infancy it was no easy matter to catch the words, and acute hearing was absolutely necessary in the operator. To a certain extent it still is, for there is always a zone surrounding any station, near the limit of audibility, where acuteness of hearing makes all the difference between the possibihty and impossibility of communication. It was found that Macrae's endowment in this respect was little short of phenomenal, and this it was that caused him to be sent to the Cornish station used for transatlantic message^. Later it had been one of the reasons, combined with his steadiness and competence, that had caused him to be selected for this mysterious Government appoint- ment. When the moment approached for going on board the cruiser that was to trajUsport him to his unknown destination. May Treherne, prin- cipally for the sake of filling some of the unoccu- pied time that she feared would hang heavily on his hands, asked him to keep a diary, so that she might at some future time have the pleasure of reading it. This he promised to do, and after a tender parting he strode rapidly off in the direc- tion of where the cruiser's boat was awaiting him. That night he reported himself to Captain Evered of H.M.S. Sagitta, where he made the acquaintance of Lieutenant Wilson, who would be in command of Station X, to which Macrae was B i8 STATION X going. Knowing how much they would be thrown together. Captain Evered was anxious that these two should make a mutually favourable impres- sion upon each other ; but his instinct told him from the first that such was far from being the case. Wilson, in speaking to his brother of&cers that night, made no secret of his dismay. " This is rough luck," said he, "to be boxed up for six months with that miserable mechanic ! " For his part, Macrae said nothing, but felt instinctively the complete lack of sympathy be- tween him and his future superior. It was only after making Lieutenant Wilson's acquaintance that he realized the isolation of the post to which he was going. He felt no resentment against Wilson for what he recognized was a mutual mis- fortune — that they could nev^r be companions, and he saw that one of the chief reasons was his own lack of education. Captain Evered found an early opportunity of taking Wilson to task, and of giving him some sound advice, pointing ouf^the bearings of the thing from the Government's point of view, the responsibility of his post, and the desirabiUty of cultivating good relations with his companion who had had less advantages than himself, etc., etc. He nevertheless came to the conclusion, long before the voyage was over, that they were as ill-assorted a pair as he had ever seen. The voyage was uneventful. In the Indian THE NEW POST 19 Ocean, they picked up from another cruiser, a Hong-Kong Chinaman, a quiet methodical sort of creature, who had been engaged to act as servant at the station. The otherwise nameless islet, known to the Admiralty as Station X, was made on the morning of September 7. A short time sufficed for the landing of the new staff and stores, and the taking on board of those relieved. Before the new trio had realized the strangeness of their position, the Sagitta, that greyhound of the waters, had dis- appeared below the horizon. One of the first things, however, that Lieutenant Wilson did reaUze after taking command was that Macrae, whatever his social shortcomings, was a most intelligent and thoroughly competent "wireless" engineer and operator. CHAPTER II THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X A MONTH passed, during which Captain Evered's forebodings as to the lack of S5nnpathy between Wilson and Mac- rae were thoroughly reaUzed. Upon Macrae, who had been accustomed from his childhood to soUtude, the effect was not markec^ ; but with Lieutenant Wilson it was different. He grew irritable, unreasonable, and almost morose. His victim was the Chinaman, Ling, upon whom he seemed to take a savage pleasure in venting his spleen. When off duty, Macrae would wander off to the cliff, 'and there, for hour after hour, would sit brooding or writing up the diary that May Tre- herne, with remarkable foresight, had urged him to keep. His earher entries were devoted to a description of many incidents of the voyage, and the hundred and one impressions made on a pecu- liarly receptive mind. He found in the diary a new niedium of expres- 20 THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 21 sion, a relief from the brooding of his boyhood. At first he discovered great difficulty in expressing himself, but gradually found himself writing with increasing ease and facility. One day, on looking back through the earlier pages, he was surprised to find how awkwardly they read. He realized that they did not well represent or reflect his life. He knew that he could now do it better. He decided to begin again, and, now that he was more accustomed to expressing himself in writing, to give a description of his life at Station X. On the 5th October, he wrote : You can scarcely realize the task you set me — I mean, its difficulty — ^when you asked me to keep a diary. It is a great pleasure, as nothing caUs up so clearly your sweet face as writing to you aU that is in my mind. It is the next best thing to speaking to you. I have already told you that I am forbidden to tell of the place or of my duties. They are very light, although of the utmost importance in these times. As a soldier would put it, we are a reserve rather than an active force, liable to be called up, but, for an important reason, used as little as possible. We interchange a daily word or two to see that we are in working order. I am afraid you will find this diary uninteresting sometimes, but you will know that I have some excuse. Even the weather is uneventful here. 22 STATION X How little we know at home how wearisome and monotonous perpetual blue skies can be ! During the long hours off duty, I sit here in this loftiest nook on the cliff overlooking the ocean, writing to you, dozing, or looking out over the limitless expanse of waters. The long slow swell seems to move like enchanted waves, until my own thoughts too seem lulled to harmony with their changeless rhythm. It is just in such moments that the ominous impression of the approach of that shadow I spoke to you about seems to become more real. I have learnt here that the feeling of isolation, when confined with an uncongenial companion, is more oppressive than if I were entirely alone. How different things would be if only Lieutenant Wilson were a different sort of man. I often think I should get on much better with many a worse man than he. He is most exact so far as performance of duty is concerned, it seems to me even too exact. There is no possibility of any one under him for one moment shirking duty, and of course I have no wish to do so. As a matter of fact, there is so little of it that I would willingly take mine and half his if he would permit it. He treats me with the most rigid politeness, but I can always feel a something at the back of it. I am aware of my social shortcomings, and can make every excuse for him not having a companion more to his liking. He feels the Ufe THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 23 as much as I do, but does not appear able to unbend. You would be surprised at how few words we exchange in the twenty-four hours, often, in relieving each other at the door of the signal room, saluting without a word at all! At first it struck even the Chinaman as curious, for I have more than once seen him regarding us, out of his almond eyes, with the suspicion of a grin for a moment humelnizing his impenetrable countenance. I wonder if aU Chinamen are like this one, and I wonder what this one is like ! He is a walking image of inscrutabiHty and silence ; his very footfall makes no sound. I think, if one wanted to pretend to be very wise, a perfect storehouse of wisdom that one did not really possess, the great thing to do would be to say nothing. This can be quite impressive if it is done in the right way. The Chinaman does it in the right way, while, as Lieutenant Wilson does it, it is not impressive, but only irritating. The Chinaman's duties are light, and he does them very methodically. He gives no sign as to whether he likes or dishkes them, or if the slow hours sometimes hang heavy on his hands or not. I think he must be a philosopher, taking it all as the expenditure of so much time for so much pay, and carrying out his contract with a calm that seems to hold in it an element of con- 24 STATION X tempt for all the world and all that is in it. As I have already mentioned, Lieutenant Wilson can convey contempt ; but to me. that of the Chinee appears much the loftier of the twoi And yet it is of this placid individual that Lieutenant WUson manages to fall foul. I am well convinced that it is not so much through any fault in Ling, as the necessity for some safety valve for the escape of the lieutenant's temper. I am forbidden him by the regulations. He really is most unreasonable. A few minutes' delay in the performance of some slight duty or service, when heaven knows an hour would make little enough difference, is enough to provoke an outburst. Lieutenant Wilson's displays of temper always show a harsh and overbearing, I might almost say a bullying disposition. You will see, therefore, that apart from my slight duties, there is little to occupy my time, and I am reduced to being my own companion, a miserable substitute at best for pleasant com- pany. That is where my diary comes in, and saves me from what would otherwise be many a tiresome hour. I wonder sometimes whether this was not in your mind when you set me the task. I think it must have been, seeing that although I write to you, I cannot post what I write. If so, thank you for the promise you exacted. What would I not give, dearest May, even for a few minutes of your company THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 25 ()th October. If I lived long in this place I should have to become an astronomer. I am not allowed to give you many details, but you know that we are isolated and overlook the sea. When, by day, I sit and watch the ocean around, or, by night, the ocean above, both of which have now become so familiar to me, these seem my real companions, less remote, in spite of their immensity, than the two feUow humans with whom my lot is cast. I think it is the mystery of things that is the attrac- tive power. The sea-birds alone are a perpetual marvel. As long ago as I can remember any- thing, I remember watching the eagle with wonder and delight ; but these sea-birds seem to surpass even him in magic. They come from the in- visible distance, sail to and fro, to and fro, up and down, and away again beyond the horizon, and it is even rare to see the beat of a pinion. It is not flying but floating, but the secret of it is their owin, or at aU events it is beyond the range of my mechanics. But what are such mysteries compared with those that are spread above ? If you have heard me grumble at the monotony of perpetual blue skies, you wiU never hear me grumble at these nights. It is then I feel the burden of my ignor- ance, watching nightly the march of these star battalions, and not knowing even the name of one. I look forward to being your scholar in 26 STATION X this as in other studies, when, if ever, the oppor- tunity comes. No doubt this increased desire for information about the starry hosts is partly because I never knew before that there were so many of them. There must be ten stars here for every one in a Scotch sky at the best of times. But the principal reason is that there would be so much the more to think about, for I have made another discovery, that an ignorant man alone, is more lonely than a man of knowledge can ever be. Yet I dare say the knowledge of the wisest is a small matter compared with the measure of his ignorance. If I could not turn my thoughts to you, dear May, sometimes, I think I should almost lose my reason. The place, or rather, the circumstances of my life here, are getting on my nerves, and I start almost at a shadow, or the slightest sound. I must indeed pull myself together, and think stiU more of you and the double pay that is leading to you, and turn my back resolutely upon things " based on nothing," as you say,' " cobwebs," as you call them. I would not have you different from what you are for all the world, and the greatest stroke of luck of my life was finding you. With your level little head and matter-of-fact good sense to guide me, what have I to fear ? It is now the hour for relieving Lieutenant Wilson at the Signal Station] one of us must THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 27 -always be within hearing of the call signal. He has never had to wait for me yet ! Good-bye, dear May, until to-morrow. yth October. If these lines were destined to meet your eye at once I would not write them, as they could only worry you. Something has happened. No cobweb this time. My wretched foreboding has always been so vague that it has seemed part of my trouble that I could not tell in what direction to look for it. It never occurred to me that Lieutenant Wilson's temper would pass from an inconvenience into a danger, but what occurred to-day has shown me that in relying on the im- movable calm of Ling, I have been building on the sand. The two things may stiU be quite uncon- nected, as to-day's affair only concerns me indirectly ; but from now I shall live in extra dread of what may happen here. Ling was a few minutes behind time in the per- formance of some slight duty, and so had laid himself open to rebuke. This had taken the usual form, and had included the additional feature of the threat of a rope's-ending. When possible, I manage to be absent on these occasions, but I happened just then to be watching the Chinaman, and was startled to see the veil of his everlasting calm for a moment lifted. A look flashed from him entirely transforming his features. 28 STATION X Just for one fleeting instant only was it there, but long enough to reveal to me the existence of an unsuspected volcano beneath ; then the im- penetrable mask again descended. But that glance of fiendish and vindictive hate is enough to show me that my reading of his character was wrong, and that there may be a tragedy here at any time. Never more will I complain of mono- tonous days. May every day I remain here be as monotonous as hitherto, and may the time at length safely arrive when together we shall laugh all my fears out of countenance. Never did I feel the need of you, dear May, more than now ; for if anything of the kind I dread should happen, I fear it would put the finishing touch on my jarred nerves. B>th October. Can it be but yesterday that I wrote the last Une in this book ? So far as the hours are con- cerned, it appears even less, for I know nothing of the passage of the greater part of them ; but reckoning by events, which were crowded into seconds, that time seems ages ago. The bolt has fallen. Never more, May, shall I sit a:nd write you my thoughts in the shadow of that rock on the chff overlooking the sunlit waves. But I will now, to the best of my abiUty, write down the awful account of what has happened, and the strange thing that has followed it. I am thankful to have had my nerves sufficiently restored to do THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 29 so. They are restored, in fact, to an extent that seems wonderful even to myself. A short, time ago I was too distracted to write anything. My last letter to you was written, as usual, while sitting at my favourite spot on the cliff. Having closed the diary on the ominous words I had concluded my letter with, I was sitting half asleep, dreamily watching some sea-birds of tre- mendous wing, the name of which is unknown to me, and lazily wondering, as I always do, at their easy defiance of the laws of gravitation, when I was suddenly roused more effectually than by clap of thunder. They say I have phenomenal powers of hearing, and no doubt it is extra acute, but the latent fear that since the day before had lain at the back of my mind, coupled with the nervous strain that had so long oppressed me, would in any case have made me quick to catch any unusual sound from the station — ^nearly half a mile distant. What I did hear was an angry shout as of surprise, rage, and something else that seemed to freeze the blood, a moment's mingling of two voices in excitement, a pistol-shOt, and that was all. The very silence that succeeded seemed to lend horror to my mind. I had sprung to my feet at the first sound, but stood speU-boimd for th^ few moments the sounds continued, and then at my utinost speed I ran for the station-house. During the two or three minutes this may have 30 STATION X taken, I could not prevent the thought of a hun- dred awful possibilities from jostUng each other through my mind. I feared to find terrible injury to one or other, perhaps both, of my com- panions — perhaps Ling even dead, for I knew the fatal accuracy of Lieutenant Wilson with a pistol. The reality surpassed it all. Poor Wilson lay on his side, bent backward Uke a bow. His attitude and expression were too frightful to recall, the last convulsive twitchings of life were still faintly perceptible. In his back was the Chinaman's knife, driven to the hilt. The China- man lay like one asleep, but in this case it was the sleep that knows no waking, with a face on which its habitual calm had already reasserted itself, and a pistolr bullet through his brain. My dear May, I cannot give you the history, of the time that immediately succeeded my dis- covery; it has become a blank. Whether I actually lost consciousness at the shock or not, I do not know, but my memory holds no record of what must have been a considerable time. I remember ultimately finding myself standing on the same spot, and, raising my eyes from the awful scene at my feet, I noticed that the sun was already in the western sky. I was shaking like an aspen leaf. I struggled to collect my ideas into a coherent train of thought, instinctively realizing that something must be done — at once. The thought of those murdered bodies lying so THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 31 near me in the pale starlight through the silent watches of the night was intolerable. I resolved to bury them while daylight lasted, just as they were, as deep as I could — out of sight — out of sight ! I cannot dwell, even now, on all the details of this task. I dragged them as far as possible from the station-house, where their life's blood had made terrible token of the spot where they fell, just outside the door (thank Heaven, outside), I was determined that deep they should lie, but the ground was rocky, and my tools not intended for this use. Thankful to have digging tools at all, I at length completed my task. I confess that the hardness of the ground was not my only difficulty, for more than once I leapt up from my work with the vivid impression of the contorted face of the Chinaman, as I had once seen it, close to my shoulder. Nothing but the alternative of their ghastly company above ground drove me to the completion of what I had com- menced. I was none too soon, for by the time I had finished, the brief twiUght was already on the island. Such, however, was my unreasoning, frantic desire to obUterate all traces of the tragedy, that ere black night descended, the bloodstains also had been washed away. Entering the building, my loneliness rushed down upon me and seemed to wrap me round. I beUeve it was more this feeUng than the duty of reporting the occurrence, that took me straight 32 STATION X to the instrument. I longed to hear the voice of my fellow-man. At the signal-table there is provided, for the purpose of wireless telephony, a headpiece that fits over both ears, without requiring to be held by the hands, that they may be left free for taking down the message, and that shuts out all sounds except those coming through the instrument. As I put on this headpiece I felt severely the physical and mental strain to which I had been subjected, and suffered a curious feeling that I do not know how to describe, except that it seemed half utter fatigue, and half excitement. I passed the signal, and then spoke the call word, and nearly jumped out of the chair at the sound of my own voice. This should not have been very distinct to me, |so effective are the ear- pieces or receivers, as excluders of all sounds not coming by "wirelfess" ; yet I seemed to have shouted. Trying again, and speaking softly, it had the same effect. Having waited in vain for an answer from the neighbouring (neighbouring ! — three thou- sand miles) station, I removed the headpiece and sat still for a moment. Then I found why my voice had seemed a shout. My nerves, or what- ever the proper word may be, were in a state of unnatural exaltation. Incredible as it may ap- pear, the murmur of the wavelets all round the islet was clearly audible to me. The gentlest THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 33 of breezes seemed to hiss over the bungalow. The creak of a board was like a pistol-shot. Once more I assumed. the headpiece and sig- nalled again, and again. The clang of the call- signal at the receiving station is audible for some distance ; it is not necessary to have on the head- piece to receive it. The fact of getting no reply proved there was no one in attendance, at the moment, at either of the two stations we com- municated with. It is true the hour was an unusual one, in fact one at which no call had ever been sent before, and that could be the only reason why I was left without reply. It was an illustration of how even the best can get slack under such circumstances. I felt at the time that this went some way to vindicate Lieutenant Wilson's methods, whose faults, whatever they might have been, certainly did not lie in the direction of slackness. No one could have sig- nalled us at any moment, day or night, during his command here, without receiving an immediate answer. Keeping on the headpiece, I waited, calling up at intervals. > How long this went on I cannot say, but after some shorter or longer time a thing happened that I cannot explain unless by supposing it the result of the state of physical exhaustion to which I had reduced myself. While I waited, I fell asleep. My head must have dropped forward on the 34 STATION X signal-table, at which I sat, and with the head- piece stiU attached, sleep suddenly overcame me. On waking, I seemed to come suddenly to my fuU senses, and it immediately struck me with a shock of surprise that it was no longer night ! It did not take me a moment to realize the fearful neglect of duty of which I had been guilty, recalling as I did the fact .that it could not have been much more than an hour after sunset when I fell asleep. My first act was to look at the chronometer. It marked four o'clock. This was absolutely bewildering, for at four o'clock it would not be already light. Hastily removing the head- piece, I walked out of the station-house. The sun was approaching the west ! There could only be one explanation — I had slept over twenty hours. Remembering that as yet no account of the tragedy of yesterday had been despatched, and the urgent need of bringing the facts to the know- ledge of the Admiralty, so that relief might be sent, I hastened back to the instrument. Here another astounding surprise awaited me, to make you understand which, a little explanation is necessary. It is part of our instructions that, when telephoning, every word as spoken must be written down in shorthand, and every word spoken at the other end, must be taken down as THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 35 received. This gives the Admiralty two records of everything that passes, one at each station, which should exactly correspond. On opening the Record Book, imagine my surprise to find written down, in my own short- hand, the report of a; long conversation with the Queensland Station, in which I had apparently given a full account of everything that had hap- pened, and received replies and instructions, I tried to recollect something of this, but in vain. My memory was, as it still is, and no doubt always will be, a complete blank respecting it. The only explanation that seemed possible was that I had done this in my sleep, or in some state resembling sleep, brought on by the abnormal condition in which I had been the evening be- fore. It now occurred to me for the first time what a great change there was in me, as compared with the day previous. Incredible as this unremem- bered signalling appeared, and nothing but the evidence of my own notes staring me in the face would have convinced me of it, it seemed almost as strange that such a disturbed sleep as it evi- dently must have been, could have restored me in the way it had. My nervous condition had quite vanished, for I found myself as collected as ever before in my Ufe. It might therefore be said I was more than restored, for I could scarcely recognize myself as the same individual that had 36 STATION X spent the last few weeks, and especially the last days, in torturing worry and foreboding. It seemed- as though the very catastrophe I had apprehended had, by its occurrence, relieved my mind from the strain. If any one had told me some months ago, say when last we saw each other, that under such circumstances as these — of horror, isolation, responsibihty — I should be able to take it so calmly, I should have been the last to believe it. It next occurred to me that I was fearfully hungry, as well might be the case, and the need suddenly appeared so pressing that it had to be at once attended to. Never had food tasted so good, and yet, before I had proceeded far, a mouth- ful seemed to turn to ashes. The Record Book certainly contained an account of messages in my handwriting, but what evidence was there that it was other than an acted dream ? Dropping my food, hunger forgotten, I went to the instru- ment, and in less than a minute was talking with Queensland. My relief was great as I found my account fully confirmed. They had received my report, and have now renewed the instruction to keep as constantly on duty as I am physically capable of. Since finishing my interrupted meal, I have written you this account, while keeping within sound of the call-signal. It is almost the hour at which I yesterday fell asleep at the instrument. THE TRAGEDY AT STATION X 37 That will not happen again, but I shall put on the headpiece. It is not necessary, but somehow, I feel as though called to the instrument. So good-bye, \ dear May, for the present. CHAPTER III WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED IT was the afternoon of the nth of October. The cruiser Sagitta was taking a wireless telegraph staff, men whose leave had expired, from New Zealand, where their last duty had been, to the relief of the station at Wei-hai-wei. About six bells, a wireless message was received in code from a station on the Eastern Extension Cable. "Take staff on board with all dispatch to relief of Station X. All communication ceased. Re- port on arrival." When Captain Evered received this communi- cation he was already well north of the Bismarck Archipelago. As he read it his face could not have become graver had he seen an approaching typhoon on the horizon. In a figurative sense that is what he did see. Promptly the nose of his thirty knotter was deflected to the north-east, and she was sent racing at her best pace on the new route, which lay through the countless islands of the Caroline 38 WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 39 and Marshall groups, to where the bottom of the Pacific falls into the Ammen Deep, near which his goal was situated. He knew that something unusual must have happened, but the secrecy of the Servicp precluded the possibiUty of his asking questions. It was very possible, he thought, that Whitehall knew no more than he. " AU communication ceased " was what lent colour to the natural thought that had instantly occurred to him. Two young and healthy men are not likely to be totally incapaci- tated from duty at the same moment — ^from natural causes. Thinking of the two young men concerned in the present case, his thoughts took another turn, and, judging by his expression, it did not seem a particularly pleasant one. Encountering the ship's doctor on deck soon after the change of course, he said : "What do you think of this message, Ander- son ? Have you any theory ? " " Illness, probably," was the reply. " Perhaps," said Captain Evered in a tone of doubt, " or worse." " What do you mean, sir ? " was the startled retort. " Do you think that Germany " " My first thought was that the storm had burst," said Captain Evered ; " but if such an idea had been entertained at home, the message would have been worded differently. We live 40 STATION X in such ticklish times that every precaution must be taken, but I don't think that is the explana- tion." " Then have you some other theory ? " " I don't like to call it a theory, but I brought those two fellows out from England, and I can't forget what an ill-paired couple they were." Captain Evered lit a cigarette. " In other words, you think it possible there has been trouble ? " queried the doctor. " You were not with us on the outward voyage, and so have not met them. Wilson showed every sign of being a martinet, and a surly one at that. Macrae, the engineer and operator, is more diffi- cult to describe. He is well-meaning, but with little education, very nervous, and of weak will ; no vice, but no ballast. So we have the undisci- plined temper of one, the pecuUar, unstable char- acter of the other, and extremely trying con- ditions — ^how trying they can be is known only to those who have been boxed up together for months in that way." " I hope there has been no row between them ! " " Very likely not ; but nothing would surprise me very much. The one thing certain is that neither of them is on duty, and the more I think of it, the less I believe in outside interference. Such a thing would be an overt act of war, of which there would be other signs by now." Station X was thoroughly fitted for wireless WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 41 telegraphy, as well as with the incomparably larger plant for long-distance telephony. As the distance between herself and the island diminished, the Sagitta made repeated efforts to call up the station, but received no reply. On the morning of the 14th the island was raised, a tiny speck on the ocean's rirh. When near enough for the glass to show every detail on cliff and shore, the cruiser made the tour of it, as a measure of precaution ; but no sign of life was visible, either on land or water. She then fired a rocket to attract attention, and waited, but in vain. Captain Evered's face was the picture of as- tonishment. What had happened to the China- man, even assuming the worst in regard to Macrae and Wilson ? Turning to his first lieutenant, he said : " Mr. Fletcher, take the cutter and go and investigate. Anderson will go with you. Let the men stay by the boat while you and Anderson land. If you see no sign of any one, signal me to that effect, and proceed to the station-house. Take your revolvers. Be careful to disturb nothing that has any bearing on what has hap- pened, and return as soon as you can." The boat's crew were piped away and were soon pulling for the shelving beach. The two officers landed and proceeded to cUmb the cliff. They stood for a moment, the whole interior of the 42 ^ STATION X island lying like a map before them. The)/ were watched with much curiosity from the Sagitia. In order to preserve the secret of Station X every precaution had been taken to hide from the non-commissioned ranks the fact that there was any secret connected with it, or anything different from the other various stations periodically visited. As it is always the unusual that is most Ukely to be talked about, Captain Evered intended to take every means to hide any discovery of a remark- able nature in connection with the present visit. That there was something out of the usual routine could not be hidden, but he hoped that the state- ment that there was a case of sickness on the island would be sufficient explanation, whatever the full facts of the case might be. This was why the doctor had been made one of the landing- party. The agreed sign that nothing was visible was made, and the two men disappeared over the cUff. " The station looks all right, at all events," said the doctor, " but no sign of anybody. Where the dickens can the fellows have got to ? " They pressed on for the station-house, and pushed open the door, which was closed but not latched. On the floor, on its back, lay the body of Macrae, with an overturned chair beside him. The appear- ance irresistibly suggested that the poor fellow had been sitting at the table in front of the instru- WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 43 ment, when, from some unexplained cause, he had fallen backward, chair and all, striking the floor with the back of his head. There was no sign that he had made any subsequent effort. " Dead ! " said the doctor, after a brief examina- tion ; " but where are the others ? " The various rooms of the bungalow-built station- house were thoroughly searched, but there was nothing to throw any Ught on their absence. " Can you tell the cause of the operator's death, Anderson ? " inquired Lieutenant Fletcher. " No," repUed the doctor ; "there is no sign of violence. It's very strange." " Possibly the papers will show something of what has happened," suggested Fletcher, " but I think we'd better not interfere with them. I'll go back and report. No doubt the chief will then come ashore." " Right-oh ! " said the doctor, who had turned his attention again to the body in the signal- room. Lieutenant Fletcher accordingly returned to the Sagitta and made his report, with the result that Captain Evered immediately decided to go ashore himself and make a personal examination of the island. On arriving at the station-house, he went straight to the signal-room, where he found Dr. Anderson kneeling by the body of Macrae. " Fletcher and I thought you had better see 44 STATION X the place before anything was touched, sir," said Anderson, looking up. " He's dead ? " questioned Captain Evered, indicating Macrae. " I thought so at first," was the reply. Captain Evered looked sharply at the speaker, for both in the words and tone there was a signi- ficance. Answering the look, Anderson proceeded : "I have made ,a further examination, and I'm not now certain that my first report was correct." While speaking he was placing the body in what, for a living person, would have been a more easy attitude. " It is true that I can find no sign of life what- ever, neither pulse nor temperature ; but on the other hand, I can find no certain sign of death. You see there is no rigor, nor any sign of decay. The cessation of signals implies that he may have lain in this state for four days, and in this climate too." " But," said Captain Evered, " is such a state of death in life possible ? " "It is difficult to say what is possible in this way," said the doctor; " but if this is trance, it is the most extraordinary case that has ever come to my knowledge." " Meanwhile what should be done ? " " He must be got on board as quickly as pos- sible, and receive treatment." WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 45 Captain Evered did not reply for a moment. He was looking at the thing from the Service point of view. " Well," he said at length, " what must be, must be ; it is true we could not very well leave him here, but it's unfortunate. But what of the others ? Where are they ? " " We've seen no sign of them," said Anderson, " and in your absence Fletcher would not refer to the signal records to see what light they might throw on things." Acting on the hint. Captain Evered went to the signal-book and began to read. The first thing he noticed, for in the circumstances he began at the end, was that the last signalling which took place was on October loth, that is the day before he had been ordered to change his course. Turn- ing back the leaves, he at once came upon Macrae's report of the tragedy. This showed him that the Admiralty was already in possession of the facts so far. It did not show him the first arrangement made for Macriae's relief, and which, for the sake of greater despatch when Macrae no longer re- sponded, had been altered by sending the Sctgitta. Captain Evered now gave the terrible details to his companion, and requested him to find the place where the bodies were buried. While Anderson was thus employed. Captain Evered turned to Macrae's diary, which under the circumstances he felt justified in examining. 46 STATION X • This he scanned over from the beginning, reading a little here and there, and soon seeing that it was a most improper account to have written, containing many indications that, in certain hands, would have afforded undesirable clues. As he came to Macrae's description of the death of his companions and the effect on himself. Cap- tain Evered became confirmed in the view he had always held, that Macrae had never been a man suited to this kind of duty. As he read the astonishing document, he came to the inevitable conclusion that the poor fellow's brain had been turned by the event that had hap- pened and that the latter part of the diary was but the ravings of a lunatic. In fact, Macrae seemed, pathetically enough, to have had a sus- picion of the fact himself. Putting down the diary as the doctor returned to the signal-room. Captain Evered said : " Well, have you found the spot ? " " Yes, sir, I've found the grave," was the reply. " Then that so far verifies his report, but it is necessary that our arrival and discovery should be reported for the information of the Admiralty. I believe you are a motorist, Anderson, and no doubt you can re-charge with petrol and start the engine." Whilst Dr. Anderson busied himself about this. Captain Evered wrote out his report for despatch. This concluded, he turned to the doctor. WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 47 " That a row of some sort should have hap- pened here would not have surprised me, but to find all dead is beyond my worst anticipations. What do you now make of him ? " " I can only repeat what I have before said. He must be brought on board," said the doctor, " but T have little hope of him." " Then," was the reply, " when the report is sent and the relief staff landed, you must take him on board on a covered stretcher with as little remark as possible. Say he is in a comatose condition, and too ill to remain here. With care, his pecuHar state need not be made apparent. The absence of the other two wiU not be spoken of, and there wiU not be much to call special attention to the affair among the crew." Leaving Dr. Anderson in charge of the station, Captain Evered went down to the boat and re- turned on board. He explained the situation to the officer about to take charge, and sent him, with his engineer-operator and servant to take immediate possession on the island, instructing him to call up British Columbia, and advise that the station was again in working order. Under the excuse of waiting until the repairs rendered necessary by " the recent explosion at the station " had been carried out, the Sagitta stood by until sunset. In the fading hght the " injured " operator was placed on a Utter, and, under the doctor's supervision, brought on board. 48 STATION X Long before that, the Sagitta had received her orders from home to proceed to Hong-Kong. Captain Evered had brought Macrae's diary away with him, and now went carefully through the latter part of it. He was quite convinced of the truth of the version given respecting the fatal occurrence between Wilson and the China- man. There were further entries under the dates of the two subsequent days. The former had been first written in shorthand, in the manner a message is taken down as received, which, in fact, it pretended to have been ; and had after- wards been re-written in longhand. The entry under the second date, the last entry in the diary, was still in shorthand only. It was the former that had been considered by Captain Evered, when on the island, to be proof of the writer's insanity. At the first opportunity he spoke to Dr. Ander- son on the subject. " I should like you," he said, " to run through this entry of his. The poor fellow seems to have had the most extraordinary delusion one could imagine. What do you make of him now ? " " Absolutely no change. In my opinion, if it is trance, it must end in death, with probably nothing to show the precise moment of the change. Do these writiiigs of his throw any light on how he came in the position in which we found him ? " " So far as it is written out, no ; but half of it WHAT THE SAGITTA DISCOVERED 49 is still in the original shorthand. This I can't read myself, and I rather hesitate about putting it in the hands of any one on board who can." " Well, as you propose to hand the papers to me, I'll see what I can make of it. If it's Pit- man's, and fairly weU written, I thiiik I may be able to make it out, and if you wish, I'll write it out for you." " Thanks. If it's anything Uke the record of the day previous, I confess I should Uke to see it, wild delusion though it be. But take it and read it. Its very existence, from beginning to end, shows how unfit he was for the secret service of one of these stations.. Where his madness began I leave you to decide. At all events he seems mad enough towards the finish." " What do you suppose caused him to lose his reason ? " " I don't feel the least doubt about that," said Captain Evered. " He was a young fellow of considerable ability, but of the nervous, imagina- tive sort, unsuited in any case to the Ufe incidental to such a post ; and when the event happened that left him there alone, under circumstances that would have been trying to any one, he simply went all to pieces. However, read the first part of this, that is already written out, and teU me what you think of it." Brain and nerve disorders had always been the branch of his profession that had special attraction D 50 STATION X for Dr. Anderson, and the vagaries of unhinged and abnormal minds had been a particular study of his. It was, therefore, with scientific interest that he took Macrae's writings for perusal. After reading the part that has already been repeated here, he came to the point where Macrae, in the signal-room, finished his daily entry or letter with the avowed intention of going to the instru- ment and putting on the receiver or headpiece; to quote his own words, " as though called upon " to do so. w CHAPTER IV THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE HAT Dr. Anderson began to read in his cabin ran as follows :■ — It is not very agreeable, my dear May, to write what I feel must inevitably make you to believe me to b6 perfectly mad. And will you be far wrong ? That is the question I am constantly asking myself. At all events, here are what appear to me to be the exact particulars of my experience. After finishing my letter to you yesterday, I went and put on the headpiece, without knowing myself quite why I did so. Almost immediately after the receivers were covering my ears I heard a voice, and it at once struck me as a very peculiar voice, very pleasant and musical, but quite different somehow from any I had ever heard. It said, " Macrae, are you there ? " Having answered, I was surprised, after a short interval, to hear the voice repeat the same 61 52 STATION X question, as though I had not been heard. But then it occurred to me that I had repUed in a very low tone, instead of the rather loud and distinct manner of speaking we are instructed to use. So I endeavoured this time to reply louder, but found that I seemed to have almost entirely lost my voice. I could only answer in the same manner as before. There was a minute's silence, and then the same question repeated. My inability to reply otherwise than as before was most discon- certing, for, I reflected, while that state of things continued, I was, for the purpose of wireless telephony, absolutely useless. As the only one at the station, this would be serious. Using my best effort, but without any extra result from it, I answered, " Yes ! I am attending. Who are you ? " Once more the same question came through the receiver. While I sat still, wonder- ing what I should do about it, the voice spoke again. I had been heard. And now, dear May, try to behave me, however difficult. Think, should I choose such a terrible time as this for romancing ? No ! either this great marvel has really happened, or else I am — but no ; I must, must keep away that terrible thought. The voice said, " You attend ! Now, hsten, and do not be induced to leave the instrument, or fail in the closest attention, by the surprise of what you hear. Also understand that six minutes THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 53 will elapse before any answer can reach you in reply to any question or remark of yours. I am not speaking to you from any point on your planet, but from your nearest neighbouring world, which you call Venus." " But," I interrupted, " you called me by name !," " This," went on the voice, " is an event in the history of your world, the immense importance of which, others of your fellow-beings will be much better able to reaUze than you. Of greater im- portance to your world than ours, in view of the fact that we are more advanced in intellect and knowledge than yourselves, and have therefore less to learn from you than you from us. Having gleaned aU we can from yourself, I will, pending arrangements that must be made for your savants to converse with us, give you some information respecting ourselves and the world from which I speak to you. Yes ; I caUed you by name ! You do not remember, but we have been in con- versation already for twenty hours — as long as your nature could hold out. This I will at once explain to you. " What you call wireless telegraphy is the launching through space of etheric impulses, which travel outward from the generating centre inde- finitely in all directions. The medium in which these impulses are propagated is universal. Unlike sound signals, which, propagated in the air, must 54 STATION X be bounded by the atmosphere, these etheric signals have no definite bounds ; they are easily detectable here, and much further. Consequently, your wireless conversations have been eagerly Hstened to on my world, and have aroused an interest that you wiU scarcely understand. " From a time, thousands of years before your recorded history commences, we have desired to converse with you. During aU these ages we have been able to see you, but not to speak to you. This we have ardently wished, not only that we might help you forward, but that we might have the means of solving a thousand problems relating to your world, and especially to your (to us) bewilderingly incomprehensible 'human' nature, as denoted by your acts. So, although the subject-matter of most of your wireless mes- sages is of trivial interest in itself, the light it has thrown on the mentality of your species lends to every word a profound interest. " When, at last, you discovered telephony we recognized that communication should soon follow, and we did aU we could to attract your attention. But you persistently remained deaf to our words. From this we found out that your powers of hear- ing were insufficient for the purpose of inter- planetary communication, which would there- fore remain for ever impossible unless some means of establishing mental rapport with some one of you could be devised. In the latter event. THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 55 through the exalted condition of the sensorial faculties that could be induced, and especially as controlled by hypnotic influence, we still hoped success might be obtained. " The difficulty, however, of bringing this about remained insoluble, and, in the event, chance alone has decided it, " This chance depended on the accident of one of your own particular nature or character being thrown by unwonted circumstances, and your isolated position, into a mental condition, one symptom of which was an abnormal functional exaltation of the sensorial ganglia. " On the night of what you call October 7, in this condition of nervous exaltation, and physical exhaustion, you, to outward appearance, fell asleep at the instrument. Sleep is one of the natural phenomena that, with you, seem to be still curiously uncomprehended. For the present, I will merely say that your sub-consciousness was especially wide awake, and could hear my caU. You answered, and the rest was easy. Improving the adjustment of your already responsive con- dition by hypnotic suggestion, for twenty hours we remained in the closest mental rapport. This time was employed, except for short intervals, when I assisted you in the performance of the work of your station, in getting from you aU the information on things human and terrestrial that you are capable of giving. You have resolved a 56 STATION X thousand questions that have been debated here iox millenniums. We regret to find your strange lack of information on subjects evidently within the present acquirements of your race. Why are not all — ^but of that, another time. It may please you to know that, although at present an undistinguished individual on Earth, you are at this moment the most celebrated on Venus." The voice ceased, and can you wonder, dear May, that words in reply failed me for a time? Among a hundred thoughts crowding through, my mind the one -which persisted with most force was. Could this be real ? " Your nearest neigh- bour," the voice said. I do not know what it means. The horrible idea took shape, this is delusion, madness ! I cannot blame you tha,t, like any one else, you will be driven to that con- clusion. It must be so much easier to think that trouble has driven another poor wretch out of his mind, than to believe that some one has spoken to him from the stars ! After a time — I do not know how long — I pulled myself together sufficiently to make an answer. I tried to speak into the receiver, but found that I could only speak in the same low tone as before. " How is it, then," I asked, " if I could only hear you at first in consequence of a special state I wafe then in, that I can hear you now ? " But, try as I would, I could not raise my THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 57 voice. Finally, I gave up the attempt, and sat liejected at this impotence. While I sat with my head bent, the voice began to speak — ^to answer ! I was astounded that so low a tone should have been effectual. " Because you are still in a ' special state,' as you call it," the voice said; "that is, imder my hypnotic control, as established by me at our first interview. It is in obedience to my sugges- tion that you came to this interview, and that you can now only speak in a low tone to me. To others you are able to speak as loudly as you desire. Although your consciousness is now awake, and you do not feel the control, still it is perfect, as your loss of voice proves. This I ordered, partly that I might have that proof, which is necessary, and partly that our conver- sation might be private, as none of your feUow- beings can hear you, and you alone can of course hear me." " How then are others going to talk with you ? " " At first through you ] then, I hope, directly, in a way you will see when the time comes." " But no one will believe me. Every one wiU think me mad, rather than suppose a hunuin voice has reached me from such a distance." " There will be no difficulty ; at this, or subse- quent interviews, there will be plenty of subject- matter in your notes, that it will be evident did not emanate from you. But do not say ' a human 58 STATION X voice ' ; you must not suppose me to be in the least human." " What are you then ? " I said, and, dear May, you have no idea what a horrible shiver ran down my spine as I asked. I had become already a little accustomed to the ringing musical voice, and, drawn by it, had, I think, all unconsciously, begun to picture a fellow-being speaking to me from this other world, not without sympathy. But now all that feeling instantly vanished] nothing remained but a sense of the hideous un- canniness of it all. " 1 am," answered the voice, " one of the dominating race on Venus, just as you are one of the dominating race on Earth, and do not be sur- prised or offended when I inform you that, were we on your Earth, and able to live there, we should, by virtue of our greater mental powers, have no more difficulty in dominating you than you have in dominating your horses and cattle/' If this is true. May, thank God for the gulf of distance between us ! While speaking of distance, do not forget that in these conversations there is always a wait of about six minutes for repUes. If, as I suppose, this is in consequence of the dis- tance, it gives me some idea of what it must be. In signalling Queensland or British Columbia I have often noticed there is no interval at all detectable. " How is it then," I asked, " that if you are THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 59 not a human being, you speak to me with a human voice ? " " A very reasonable question," said the voice, " showing that you realize that the sounds of human speech could only be made by human, or in some measure human-Uke, organs. But the explanation is very simple. When first wireless telephony was invented by you, that is, when first we heard your voices on our receivers, we immedi- ately learnt your languages. (That you should have more than one shows how crude is still your social — ^but of that later.) Our next care was to make a mechanism that could give out the sounds alluded to. This I employ as you might play on an organ, and it is sounds so produced that you hear." As I Ustened to these last words of the voice I felt a Ughtening of the load of dread, the sus- picion of my own insanity, that weighed on me. Surely, mad or sane, no such ideas could spring up spontaneously in my head. Some one, some- where was communicating with me. " Until you used wireless telephony, we were ignorant of the sounds you made in communicat- ing with each other ; and it seems to be practic- ally sounds alone that you employ — a curious limitation ! " " But," I said, " you could see us before that ? You knew that this world was inhabited ? " " We have known it for a hundred thousand 6o STATION X years, and more, and during all that time have been close and interested observers of the happenings on your globe, placed as you are peculiarly well for our observation. While we were still not, on the whole, more advanced mentally than you are now, we had already constructed an instrument which enabled us to do this. The fact that you have not yet done so is because you are mentally constituted in a totally different manner, which incUnes you to devote your study and efforts in other directions. That is to say, primarily so. The observation of nature, and the universe in which we live, would appear to you of infinitely less importance than matters \yhich, to us, appear futile and trivial." " I am sorry that I have not had the time to study these things," I said, " but I thought Mars was the nearest world to us, not Venus ; and I have seen some talk about its being perhaps inhabited. I should take an interest in science, but I have had no time, with my living to get." " No doubt," said the voice, " but your savants will be under no misapprehension as to the relative distances of Venus and Mars. You have seen more respecting Mars because it is better placed for your observation. I can inform you that it is inhabited. Of all the things we shall speak of, this is the most vital to you. But we will not enter on it until to-morrow, as the time for our present conversation is now nearly ended." THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 6i This, of course, seemed very surprising to me, and I cannot now see at all what it could mean. It does not seem to me that any news about the inhabitants of Mars could be of as much impor- tance to us as information of practical benefit to ourselves. On hearing that the present con- versation was about to end, I said, " Will you. or can you, give me some proof, that others will accept, that this conversation has actually taken place, and is not merely my own imagination." " What kind of proof do you suggest ? " " Something that could not be known to me in any other way, as, for instance, a description of the thing you said you could see us with so long ago, when no cleverer than we are. Nobody could believe that I had invented such a thing as that must be." " Very well ! As you may not be able to foUow all the description, which I must render short, write with care the words you hear, so that others may be able to understand it, even where you may not be able to do so. " Given perfect workmanship, the power of a telescope depends on the area of its objective lens. This is not on account of any superiority of definition, but on its greater light-gathering power. The image it produces is capable of greater magnification because better illuminated. But . beyond certain moderate dimensions the practical '. difficulties in the making of optically perfect 62 STATION X objectives increases out of proportion to the extra area. For this reason our savants turned their endeavours to the discovery of some way of making a number of objectives, arranged in series, yield one perfect image of the object. "There are certain crystals, which probably you have personally never heard of, which are doubly refracting. When a single ray of light enters one of these crystals in a certain direction it divides into two, which proceed in diverging paths and emerge as two rays. If the ray or beam of light entering the crystal carries an image of some object, the sides of the crystal can easily be so cut that both the emerging beams carry perfectly the same image. Conversely, if two rays enter the crystal in the paths by which the first mentioned left it, they wUl unite and emerge as one ray. "The rest is obvious. A battery of objectives and as many intervening crystals is arranged. Into each intervening crystal enter two beams in the requisite paths mentioned, the one of which comes from the object direct through one of the objectives, the other is the emerging beam from the crystal next before it in series, and which is the united beams from an objective and the crystal still next before. By this means the beam emerging from the crystal last in series is com- posed of the united beams of all the objectives, and, if the manufacture and optical arrangement THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 63 is perfect, will carry a perfect image of the object, with light in proportion to the united area of all the objectives. The arrangement of the minor lenses, and the method of dealing with the polarization, will be so obvious to your opticians that it can be here omitted." " What," I said, " is polarization ? " " There is no time now," said the voice, " for further description, and the fact that you do not know, renders my description the more valuable to you for the purpose for which you asked it. Your people will know all about it. We must now cease to communicate, and you will be unable to hear until to-morrow at the same hour as to- day, when you will come again to the instrument." So there our conversation ceased, and I said no more ; in fact, I had a curious feeling as though forbidden to do so, I hope I shall soon be re- lieved of this dreadful post. Headquarters tell me relief is coming as quickly as possible. I have nothing to say against the friendly sort of voice I have listened to, or the communication it has made. I owe it something for having, at our first interview, in my sleep, evidently quieted my nerves, when I was probably on the high road to madness. Very possibly that saved my reason. All the same, I cannot forget that I am hundreds of miles from a living soul, and it makes my flesh creep to listen to the voice of one who tells me openly he is not a human being at all ! What, I 64 STATION X >vonder, can he be like ! I dare not think of it ! I have not reported officially any of the above conversation. What would be the use ? At least I am now sure of the existence of some one who has talked to me. I can feel his personal influence too strongly to doubt it, apart from any other evidence. But that does not prove his words true, or that he speaks from Venus. Per- haps some lying and wandering spirit — ^but I will not think about it. What would I not give to be off this awful rock that seems lost in the remotest wilderness of the ocean. I used to Uke to look around from the cliff edge, and see the far-off circle of the horizon without a spot in any direction to break its line, but now I dread it. I have resolved not to attend at the instrument at the time the voice has appointed. Let the next conversation be when there are others here. If it were with a fellow, human being, it would be different. With a few love sentences, principally expressing the desire for an early reunion, the diary ended for the day. Under date of the next day, and precisely at the hour appointed by the voice, evidently in spite of Macrae's resolve to the con- trary, a further conversation had taken place and been recorded. This was only in shorthand, and, while the doctor was puzzling over the first words of it, the door opened and Captain Evered entered. THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 65 " Well, Anderson ! What do you think of the poor fellow's ravings? Curious delusion, wasn't it?" " More than curious ; but between ourselves they don't read to me like ravings at aU ! There is a curious problem here that at the moment, I must admit, puzzles me. If Macrae were a man of scientific attainments it would be still very curi- ous as an instance of self-delusion. But the num- ber of such cases is very great, and this could simply pass as a noteworthy specimen among them. But if he was only the uneducated man you have given me to understand, then this docu- ment is the most astonishing thing I've ever heard of. Yet I suppose we can accept his own version of it ? " " WeU, you know more about this kind of thing than I, but to me it simply reads like the ravings of a lunatic ! " " But these are not ravings ! What he has written as the words of the voice indicate con- siderable scientific knowledge, and if Macrae did not himself possess it, the theory of his mad- ness would not account for it. Let us dissect it a little. Either he had considerable scientific knowledge when he landed " " My dear Anderson, I watched him closely during a long voyage while endeavouring to establish better relations between him and poor Wilson. I had several conversations with him. 66 STATION X and drew him out, and you may absolutely rely on it that he was just an ignorant, unread moun- tain lad, but very imaginative. He had applied himself diligently to the practical part of wireless telegraphy — ^and subsequently telephony. He knew next to nothing of the scientific theory of it, but was very competent in the engineering and general working. As for general scientific knowledge, he simply had none." " Perhaps," pursued the doctor, " he took books with him and studied on the island." " Nothing of the kind was landed." "Or he was instructed by Wilson during their spare time," suggested the doctor. " Absolutely out of the question. Wilson would as soon have thought of instructing a mountain goat." " Then he has been in wireless communication with some one, somewhere, who has thought it worth his while to hold this conversation with him ; that is the only explanation of this," said Dr. Anderson, tapping the manuscript before him. " There are," said Captain Evered, " only two stations on earth that have the necessary appara- tus for communication, by telephone, with Station X. No one at either, unless as mad as Macrae himself, would venture so far to contravene the regulations for such a purpose. Using the Morse code, the signals of any vessel within a wide range are received, but it is forbidden to THE MYSTERIOUS VOICE 67 answer. Therefore, if we are driven to believe he received the messages from somewhere, we must, it seems, accept the version of Jupiter, or wherever it is he claims it for." Anderson did not join in the Captain's laugh. " Well, then," said Captain Evered, " as you will not, I see, accept my simple explanation, tell me what it is in his account that causes the difficulty." " Certainly. Did you notice this account of a kind of compound telescope ? " " I saw there was some description of something in that way," was the reply ; " is there any thing in it?" " I do not say it is workable ; in fact, in my opinion it is not, but it is quite understandable ; and the theory is all right . The difficulties, although probably fatal, are merely mechanical. So far as I am aware, the idea is quite new. In the hands of superior beings, such as this Venerian claims they are, mechanical difficulties would disappear. So that, in the first place, the story hangs together all right, and secondly Macrae could not have in- vented it. Further, while reading it, I checked off the position of Venus at the date of the writ- ing, and calculated roughly the distance. I find that at the speed of these Hertzian waves it would be almost exactly a three-minute journey. So that Macrae's six minutes for replies is quite correct. Again, there are the remarks of the 68 STATION X supposed Venerian as to the backward state, socially, of us terrestrials, in not adopting a universal language, and on other social questions. Can you imagine them as emanating from Macrae ? Speaking of languages, does this writing strike you, where the Venerian is supposed to be speak- ing, as being in Macrae's style ? " " By Jove ! Anderson, you are right ! Now this really is interesting. Perhaps this short- hand that follows will throw light on it, as well as on his present condition. By the by, I hope it won't last much longer. , It becomes increasingly difficult to keep it from the crew." " I am glad to see you are at last interested. But there is a task before me here. It is so long since I used Pitman that I have almost forgotten the signs." It proved quite as difficult as the doctor ex- pected, and it was far into the night before he had finished, but he was too absorbed in the contents to leave it before it was done. CHAPTER V MURDER MOST FOUL THE next morning Dr. Anderson handed to Captain Evered his transcription of Macrae's shorthand. ' " What do you make of it ? " was the question as they walked towards the captain's cabin. " I'd rather not say until you've read it, sir," was the response, " lest you think me as mad as you think Macrae. Now I'm going to turn in. I've not long finished it." In order to keep Macrae's condition from the crew, and for the doctor's better private observa- tion of him, Anderson had given up his cabin, and was for the time accommodated in a screened- off comer of the barbette. Captain Evered shut himself in his cabin, and unfolded the memuscript, which ran : " Are you there, Macrae ? " " Yes, I am here, although on thinking it over, after our talk yesterday, I decided not to be." 69 70 STATION X " Why ? " " I decided I would prefer to leave it until there were others here with me. Since you told me I was not listening to a human voice, I seem, somehow, to shrink from it ; it is uncanny. Also, some time after I left the instrument, the doubt came back, that it might be all delusion." " So you decided not to come to the instrument for this appointment, but, as the time approached, you altered your mind, or rather, your mind altered, and you felt inclined to attend ; is that so ? " " Well, yes, that is exactly how it was." " Quite so ; that is as it should be. While you are talking with me, do you entertain any doubt of my existence ? " " Not at the time. I can distinctly feel that you are somewhere ; that there is some one besides myself." " Exactly. Across the abyss you feel my per- sonal influence. I think, Macrae, you must be exceptionally adapted, even among your impres- siona:ble species, for the r61e you are filling. Be quite convinced of my objective reality; from this time onward dismiss any idea to the contrary from your mind ; let no such doubt occur to you again. With respect to the other point you raise, although you do not know anything of bodily forms here, do not let that trouble you. The curiosity that will doubtless exist among your MURDER MOST FOUL 71 fellow-beings respecting us shall be fully satisfied later. For the present, try to reaUze that the body is but the raiment ; it is the being who is clothed with it that alone signifies. " In view of what I am about to say to you, it is essential that you should keep that fixed in your mind, as it wiU help you to understand. For the rest, look upon us here as the friends of your kind. How urgently you are in need of our assist- ance you are about to learn ; for it has been decided here that, in view of this wonderful opportunity, which accident might interfere with, not another day should be lost in acquainting you with the particulars. As the message is not for you alone, be very careful in your written report of it. Now listen attentively, " A terrible danger threatens, from which no- thing but the fortunate accident of your getting in communication first with me, may save you — if saved you are to be. " That you should the better understand what you are about to hear, it is necessary to begin by recounting to you some long past events, relating to life in other worlds than yours or mine. " The mystery of the origin of life, like that of matter, is an ocean depth where no plummet of the finite mind can find a bottom. It is sufficient illustration of the crudity of your ideas on the subject that there should be any doubt among you as to the other planetary members of our 72 STATION X System being inhabited. You now have proof that one other is so, and must take my word for it that there is good reason why no planet under such temperature and other conditions as render life possible, can remain barren of organic develop- ment, h " But there have been times in the past when such conditions have not obtained, when the various members of our System have been too heated for life to be possible. In consequence of the more rapid cooling of the smaller planets, the first to be the scene of life was your satellite, the Moon. This was millions of years ago, and the climatic conditions on it then were very different from now. It then had abundant atmosphere and humidity and afforded a site for life development long ages before your world, or ours, was so suited. " The inevitable result under these conditions followed. It became covered with a myriad forms of living creatures, out of which finally emerged one, by virtue of its mental superiority, combined with sufficient bodily fitness, to dominate all. In obedience to the laws of development, this race advanced to higher and higher powers, attaining a position similar to that held by you in your world, and by us in ours. Now you must con- ceive the lapse of a vast period of time before the great tragedy, of which I am about to speak, took place. " In the course of unnumbered thousands of MURDER MOST FOUL 73 years, the Lunarians, as we will call them, had developed in powers, both mental and physical, far beyond either yours or ours at the present day. At that time the Earth and Venus were still without other than the lower forms of life, in consequence of their more recent habitability. The only other place where life had now advanced to the higher plane was the much smaller planet, Mars. At the time when the dominating race on Mars had arrived approximately at your present mental status, the Lunarians were vastly in advance of them. / " The Moon was palpably growing old, and unfitted for the easy maintenance of its inhabi- tants. As it had been the first to be habitable, so it would be the first to be uninhabitable. As to the causes of this, I cannot enter now, but wUl explain them on a future occasion. The near neighbourhood of your Earth had much to do with it. The Lunarians saw ahead of them the time when daily revolution would altogether cease, and induce conditions, apart from the shrinkage of atmosphere and moisture, impossible for them any longer to combat. Generation after genera- tion the contest with Nature, under less and less easy terms, became more strenuous. In judging the Lunarians, it is but just to recall all the facts. "The science and intellect of these beings enabled them to make a minute investigation into the local conditions prevailing on the other mem- 74 STATION X bers of the Solar System, or at all events, of the four inner members of it. They began to discuss the question — were there any among these that would afford a better home, if attainable ? There was one— Mars ! But this was already inhabited by beings of high intelligence, and with whom the Lunarians had succeeded in establishing com- munication. Could Mars be reached ? There was a way : so horrible in its selfishness, so fiendish in its unspeakable wickedness, that the mind shrinks from thought contact with it, even after the lapse of a million years. But it is now my painful duty to tell you the terrible narrative. " The Lunarians knew the double impracticabi- lity of transferring their bodies to Mars ; impossible to launch themselves those millions of miles across the Zodiac and live, impossible to continue exist- ence in the new world, even if they could safely arrive there. " The conditions of health quite as much as the conditions of disease, depend on the microscopic forms of life, which team both in our bodies and in our surroundings. The greater number of the latter are only innocuous because, by being, ah initio, accustomed to their action, we have acquired immunity. But these bacterial and other low forms of life are quite different on Mars from those which are common to the Earth and her satellite. The result would be that no animal form of life from the one could continue to exist on the other. MURDER MOST FOUL 75 It would be the defenceless victim to unnumbered new diseases, any one of which would be fatal. Yet there was a way. " Have you thought of the fact that so far as your will is concerned you are now completely under my influence ? That it was an easy thing for me to hold intercourse with you for twenty hours without your knowledge ? That without even knowing why, without consciousness of the out- side influence, you came to this present interview at the appointed moment, and in spite of your having resolved to the contrary ? What you do not realize is that you had no option in the matter. That lay entirely with me. But such powers as mine, while no doubt greater in degree, although not perhaps very different in kind, from what is known on your Earth, are as nothing compared to the powers possessed by the Lunarians, both now and at the time I speak of, when neither your world nor mine had a reasoning being on it. " It was an easy thing for a Lunarian to estab- lish with a fellow-being, by mutual consent, a mental rapport, and not only thus to exchange ideas without outward physical means, but even to exchange personalities, which practically amounts to exchanging bodies. But it need not be with a fellow Lunarian. It could be with any being of sufficiently high mental status to be brought on the same plane of mental rapport, and mere physical distance had nothing to do with it. 76 STATION X In the case of weaker beings, no mutual consent was necessary. Once that intercourse enabled them by hypnotic influence to establish this rapport, they could compel the weaker wiU. The awful idea was conceived, and in due course re- morselessly carried out, of effecting bodily ex- change with the unfortunate Martians of those days. " Into all the details of this appalling crime, extending over weeks, it is not necessary to enter. The science of the Lunarians, amplified as to Martian local conditions by intercourse with their intended victims, enabled them to acquire in advance all the needed particulars and data 'for successfully mastering, and dealing with, the new conditions, so that in taking possession of theur, to them, new bodies, they were at no loss as to procedure. On the contrary, each Martian awoke from his hypnotic sleep to find himself, not him- self, so far as his bodily form was concerned, but some strange, and, to him, loathsome creature, in a world of which he knew nothing. Reason could not stand so great a shock ; in raving demen- tia he died. So six hundred million beings of high intellect and culture perished. This is the greatest tragedy that our Sun has ever looked on. " The invaders now inhabited a new world fuU of life and beauty, with a fauna and flora of infinite variety, splendour and novelty, and general con- ditions of life making their existence as a race MURDER MOST FOUL 77 pleasant and easy. But everything in the Uni- verse is a means to an end, and crime is no excep- tion, and its end is not happiness. The essence of crime is selfishness. The crime of the Lunar- ians, whom we will henceforth speak of as Mar- tians, was a race crime. It was not lacking in heroic qualities so far as the individuals who carried it out were concerned. To them per- sonally the advantage was questionable, the sacri- fice inevitable. " It must be remembered that each of them, no less than his victim, now inhabited a body at least as unattractive to him as his to the poor unfortunate who had been forced into it. More so : the older and vastly superior of the two races could not but feel degraded by the more primitive and undeveloped bodily form, and one far less suited, by the modelling effect of ages of adapta- tion, to be the tools of his will. In this connection the matter of language alone need be mentioned, it having to be translated into entirely new sounds of articulation. Time only could aUeviate these conditions, and the passing of the generation alone entirely remove them. " The excuse the Martians made for themselves \vas that the conditions of Lunar life were becom- ing such as to threaten, by deteriorating their bodily welfare, to impair their mental powers, to lower, and ultimately extinguish, the splendid intellect of which they were so justly proud. If, 78 STATION X they pleaded, one of the two races must perish, why should not the higher survive ? Note that their argument, in speaking of races,, disdains the mere physical part, and deals alone with that which dwells in it ; for of course, in their transfer, so far as the physical form was concerned, it was the higher which perished. " And now the sequel. Too late it came to their knowledge, in the light of the future ages, that their previous abode had not been so near uninhabitability as they had feared ; that it had been calculated to last as their abode as a race, possible of habitation, until its greater companion sphere was fit for their reception; that the increasing difficulties of lunar existence were exactly calculated, not to destroy, but to stimu- late and enhance their powers of both mind and body, until their physical transfer to Earth were possible ; that their growing science would have been in good time sufficient to carry this out in a perfectly legitimate way, by launching their bodies across the comparatively trivial distance to their terrestrial goal, where they would have been com- petent to live and advance ; for the bacterial forms of life on the Earth audits satellite are the same. "At this moment, so great has been their scientific advance, that the problem of making the journey and arrving safely on Earth, not merely from the Moon, but from Mars, is within their ability to solve; but, as already mentioned, it MURDER MOST FOUL 79 would, from the latter, be fatal, as Martian organ- isms could not exist on Earth, or, we are thankful to say, on Venus either. From this natural and happy denouement they have, therefore, for ever cut themselves off, to their eternal regret. They see the error of the evil deed of their ancestors, but do not see any way to avoid its consequence by any deed less evil. But they are as anxious to leave Mars as their ancestors were to gain it. One reason is that from the moment of their arrival on Mars, a result that they wholly failed to foresee, they have intellectually ceased to ad- vance. Scientifically, only, have they advanced ; a very different thing. The other reason is that Mars is now growing old. " Before the evil thought occurred to the Lunar- ians, they were, in all respects, an advancing and a noble people ; natural heirs to a heritage the full extent of which is even now not apparent. Wherever their gaze might fall on the worlds around them, they could see that there was nothing equal to themselves. Their industry ever kept pace with their intellect ; their stupendous energy was always equal to the heightening struggle with Nature. The mastery they gained over their globe and its conditions surpassed praise. As water, and even atmosphere, began to fail them, the enormous circular reservoirs they made for its conservation, and which must be so plainly visible from your Earth, stand to this day, in their Bo STATION X roofless ruin, everlasting monuments to their abilities. "It is now maddening to the Martian, still immeasurably our superior, to see us ever advanc- ing, however slowly, however painfully, ever advancing on the road where he stands motion- less, destined, as it seems, to be overtaken and passed in the race. From the days of his fore- fathers' iniquity his former nobility seems dead. His intellect, vast as it is beyond our power to measure, seems no longer harmonized to high ideals, but to evil, which is probably the reason why it is stagnant. " And now we come to your danger, and, with your mind prepared by the history to which you have listened, it can be stated in a single sentence. As he treated the former Martians, so he " Here the shorthand manuscript ceased abruptly. It was evidently at this point that the occurrence happened, whatever it might have been, that caused Macrae not only to cease his notes, but to fall to the floor in the remarkable condition in which he still lay. For some minutes Captain Evered sat gazing straight in front of him. Then he rang for his orderly and instructed him to ask Dr. Anderson to come to his cabin at once. As he entered, Anderson looked quickly at his superior. ' ' Sit down," was all Captain Evered said. MURDER MOST FOUL 8i After fully a minute's pause, he continued: " Mad as a March hare, what ? " " I question it," remarked Anderson dryly, not yet recovered from the unceremonious interruption of his long-deferred sleep. "But the fellow didn't know what he was writing about," persisted Captain Evered. " Well, somebody did ! " said Anderson quietly. " I don't think you can read this over carefully, arid seriously believe that it bears any resemblance to the incoherences of madness, or could be com- posed by any one who did not know what he was doing." " Great Scot ! You are not telling me that you beUeve this story ? " " That is hardly the question, sir. I think we may leave the truth or otherwise of the narrative on one side for the moment. The question is : where did it come from ? " " Well, it came from Macrae, of course. We can't go beyond that." " I never saw Macrae to speak to," said Ander- son ; " you have. You have described him to me, his character, and his education, or rather, lack of it. I accept your account of him as correct. But that story," pointing to the papers in Evered's hand, " touches on points of astronomy, evolu- tion, physiology and other sciences, and always after the manner of one well acquainted with them, or at least, in a way certaiiily impossible 82 STATION X to one so entirely ignorant of them as you know Macrae to have been." Dr. Anderson leaned back with the air' of a man who challenges confutation. " Quite so ! " said Captain Evered. " I see your point. I'll go through this again, and we will have a further talk about it. What is your theory ? " " So far, I have none, sir," replied Anderson ; " none whatever ! I'm completely at fault ! " In the course of the day Captain Evered read Macrae's story again, looking out for the different points indicated by the doctor, and he realized the force of his observations. " Anderson is right," he muttered. " Macrae no more wrote this out of his own head than I did ; couldn't have done it. Who the devil did it ? " Captain Evered had arrived at the same point previously reached by Dr. Anderson. The doctor was meanwhile curious as . to the result of Evered's further study of the document. Towards evening he was sent for. " Queer thing, this wireless telegraphy and telephony, Anderson," said Captain Evered, as the doctor entered his cabin. " Do you believe in the planets being inhabited ? " " Professor Rudge is firmly convinced that one at least is. He considers Schiaparelli's discover- ies to have absolutely proved it so far as Mars is concerned. He wants in fact to try and signal MURDER MOST FOUL 83 to them in some way. Other scientists are con- vinced that, if that planet is not inhabited, it shows many signs that it is not uninhabitable." " So Rudge wants to get into communication with them, does he ? A possibly dangerous pro- ceeding, according to this," said Captain Evered, tapping the manuscript. Their eyes met for a moment. The doctor remained silent. " Look here, Anderson, I believe we're both agreed that this yam of Macrae's is quite the tallest we've ever heard, and also that there is some mystery about it that wants clearing up. The infernal thing has been running through my head all day, and I am no forwarder. Are you ? " " Your case, sir, is mine exactly. I'm stuck," Anderson confessed. " Then what ought I to do ? " " If you really wish to know what I should do were I in your place, sir, I should ask the Admir- alty to trust some eminent scientist, such as Pro- fessor Rudge, whom we just mentioned, with the secret of the Station, and place Macrae's writings in his hands — and so wash yours of aU respon- sibility." " Capital ! That's what I'll do. There is a further point in its favour. Professor Rudge, as the inventor of the method of this new system of telephony, without which these long distance in- stallations would have been impossible, was called 84 STATION X into consultation when they were contemplated and their sites chosen. He already knows of the existence of Station X." " Then there can be no difficulty. I only wish in addition to placing the papers in his hands, we could place there Macrae also, poor fellow." " You still see no chance of his recovery ? If he is not actually dead, Jt cannot be quite hope- less, can it ? " " I'm quite convinced he will not recover, but insensibly merge from his trance into death," said Anderson, with conviction. Here their conversation was interrupted by some one knocking at the door. " Come in," said Captain Evered, and a sailor put in his head. " If you please, sir, Mr. Macrae has got out of his bunk, and is walking about the ship in his blanket, asking for you, sir. He seems a bit dazed like." " Ye gods ! " muttered Anderson, as he and Captain Evered left the cabin. CHAPTER VI PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES NEVER was a medical man more pleased at a wrong diagnosis than Dr. Ander- son in regard to the mysterious case of Alan Macrae. To the natural satisfaction of seeing the return to life of a patient of whom he had despaired, was added the anticipation of probing further the interesting problem that now engrossed their thoughts. There was now a chance that he would be able to investigate for himself, not only into the mental state of Macrae, but also into his character and attainments, and so defin- itely satisfy himself as to whether this alleged communication had taken place. He had already convinced himself that a belief in its possibility was far from scientifically absurd, and he knew that in this he was backed by some of the most eminent scientists of the day. On taking charge of his patient, he at once saw that the poor fellow was not so much " dazed" as excited, and it was some time before he could ss 86 STATION X be soothed — ^not, in fact, until it had been ex- plained to him how he came to be on board the Sagitta. Dr. Anderson answered his questions while getting him as quickly as possible back to his cabin. Macrae then gradually calmed down, took some nourishment, and slept, thereby reliev- ing Dr. Anderson from the fears he was beginning to entertain. After this he made a quick recovery, showing that there was nothing organically wrong, and that the elasticity of youth had not been per- manently impaired. Two days elapsed before Dr. Anderson would allow his patient to be ques- tioned as to what had happened to him in the signal-room of Station X. Macrae on his part showed no disposition to discuss the subject. It was partly on account of this tacit avoidance of it on the invalid's part that Dr. Anderson deprecated the subject being forced on him too soon. " The blow," he said, " whatever it was, was struck on the nervous system, and if there is any danger for him, it is there we must look for it." Toward the close of the second day, Macrae seemed so fuUy himself again, apart from some physical weakness, that the doctor decided that there would be no harm in a little judicious ques- tioning. He had already convinced himself that there was not the least trace of insanity in his patient. He therefore determined to ascertain if Macrae PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 87 were really averse to entering on the topic, and, if not, to prepare him for a visit from Captain Evered. " Stirely, sir," said Macrae, on seeing the doctor enter, " I am well enough to get up now. In fact, there is nothing the matter with me except weakness through lying here so long ! " " And not having had anything to eat for a week before that, my lad ; you might include that, eh ? However, I intend to let you loose to- morrow. You must not think a couple of days' rest and judicious stoking too much after your experience. |Talking about your experience, there is no wish to press you to go into that subject before you feel well enough, but the Captain wants to have a talk with you." f " I have been expecting this, sir. I must of course explain, although the thing I shaU have to tell has nothing to do with my official duties." " What thing ? " asked the doctor. " My experience on the island, sir. It's so strange that no one will beUeve it. I can scarcely beheve it myself. It is not very pleasant to know that I shall be looked upon as either mad or a liar." ".Don't be so sure of that, and you musn't regard your talks with the Captain or me as official examinations. That will, no doubt, come later in London. You shall tell us just as much or as little as you wish, and on no account go into any- thing that will unduly excite you." 88 STATION X " When speaking of it, sir, I would prefer to tell the whole thing, but I don't quite know hoW to begin. The Captain of course knows how I came to be alone on the island." " Yes — ^ah, here he is ! " he broke off, as Captain Evered entered. " WeU, Macrae," he said, smiling pleasantly, " feel better ? " " I am all right now, I think, sir ; but this dreadftd affair with Lieutenant Wilson, and the mysteries on top of it, have been a bit too much for me." " You were surprised to find yourself on board the Sagitta, I expect ? " suggested Captain Evered. " Yes, sir, I did not expect that." " Do you remember £dl that took place at the station ? Of course I have seen the ofl&cial record, and have also looked through yoiu: private account of your experiences. I am afraid it will have to be impounded, as it contains several things that might give away the position of the station if it fell into'impropCT hands." "I'm very sorry, sir," said Macrae, colouring, " if I've done anything wrong." " Not intentionally, I am sure," said Captain Evered kindly ; " but perhaps you have not quite reaUzed the extreme caution requisite. To- morrow, probably, we shall be landing you at Hong-Kong. Remember the solemn engagement you made when signing on not to commimicate PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 89 anything to an unauthorised person in any way referring to Station X. We wiU speak of that again in the morning. Just now Dr. Anderson and I wish to hear your last recollections on the island. Can you teU us how you came to be as we found you ? " " I am glad to hear that you have read my diary, sir, for although it was not intended for any one but the girl I am engaged to, it saves a lot of explanation now. I can quite well see that any one reading what I have written must naturally put me down for either a liar or a lunatic. But I can solemnly assure you, sir, that what I have written is the truth." " You remember all you have written ? " asked Captain Evered. " You remember having con- versations with some one who informed you he was speaking to you from another planet — in fact, from Venus ? " " I remember all quite clearly," said Macrae earnestly, " and I have written down the exact words that passed. The last conversation is still in shorthand only. If you wish, sir, I will now write it out." " I was about to tell you when Captain Evered came in," said Anderson, " that I have tran- scribed your shorthand. So that brings us down to the point where it ends so abruptly." Macrae hesitated for a moment, as if loth to enter upon so distasteful a topic. 90 STATION X "Yes," he said, at length, "it does leave off suddenly. That was when the interruption came." " The interruption ? " said the doctor. " What interruption ? " " WeU, sir, it all began and ended in a few seconds. I scarcely know how to describe it. The voice was speaking to me, and seemed to be about to warn me of something, when suddenly there was another voice, a greater voice, oh ! a voice " — Macrae sat up, and his hearers were surprised to see the look of awe that ca ae into his face — " I cannot describe it. It seemed to have great authority." " What did it say ? " said the doctor. After a pause, during which Macrae was evi- dently taxing his memory, he said : " I cannot recall it. I seem to have a sort of remembrance of something ; that is the only way I can say it, but it is misty, all covered up. I can't remember the words, only the voice." Seeing the examination had proceeded as far as was good for his patient. Dr. Anderson half rose with a view to close the conversation, but Captain Evered motioned htm to sit down again. He then said to Macrae : " You said, ' a greater voice.' Do you mean a louder voice, one that you could hear more dis-- tinctly, and which drowned the other ? " " I don't know that it was a louder voice," said Macrae ; " but there was something in the tone, PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 91 the force of it, that would make one attend. I can't describe it any more." " It had a great influence on you, then ? " in- quired Captain Evered. " Yes ; a great ^influence," repUed Macrae, with an involuntary shudder. " How long did it last ? " " At once there was an interruption from the first voice, and sounds like a dispute, but not in words. It all began and ended so quickly, that it's a sort of jumble in my recollection. The only thing that remains clear is that two voices came through the instrument, and spoke to fne at the same time. Although I can't remember the words, I know both seemed to exert an influence on me. The one seemed fighting the other, but the second voice was gaining. Then there was suddenly something like darkness, and a sharp command from the first voice. I seemed to be struck a violent blow on the back of my head. The next thing I knew was finding myself on board this ship." " That is absolutely aU you know about it ? " questioned Captain Evered. " That is all, sir." " Try and forget it for to-night," said the doctor. " Get to sleep as fast as you can, and to-morrow get up and have a turn on deck." They wished 'him " good-night," and left the cabin. For hours the two men talked in the privacy of Captain Evered' s cabin, but they 92 STATION X ended as they began. Each knew that he was half carried away by the story Macrae had told, both from the internal evidence of the report itself, and his evident sincerity. At the same time each saw its extraordinary nature too clearly to admit yielding an entire beUef in it, even to him- self, much less to any one else. " He seems perfectly sane to you ? " questioned Captain Evered. " Quite so ; as rational as you or I," was the response. " Well, 1 shall follow your advice respecting Professor Rudge," said Captain Evered. " There should be no difficulty in his seeing Macrae. We shall land him to-morrow, and from Hong-Kong he will be invalided home, accompanied by my report, and, of course, these writings of his. I shall report him as not in my opinion suited to this kind of service. You will be able to endorse that." " I can," said Anderson. " Macrae is one of the subjective sort. Did you notice how full his diary is of himself ? " " Exactly. By the by, what did you make of the two voices, and a blow on the head ? " " Well, I suppose two voices are not more mys- terious than one," said Anderson. " If you can beheve in one, why not two ? According to him, there would appear to be disagreement sometimes, even among our friends the Venerians. There's PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 93 a party, I suppose, who want to have nothing to do with us." " Probably," smiled Captain Evered, adding, " I intend, in addition to suggesting that this account of his be submitted to Professor Rudge, to drop a private line or two to the Professor himself, letting him know there is something in the wind. A Government Department, my dear Anderson (being in this case the Admiralty, I hope I am not speaking blasphemy), will go about as far as it is kicked. But I think Rudge will not let them shelve it." So it came about that Macrae found himself on the homeward journey much before he had anticipated when leaving England. It did not exhilarate him, as he was oppressed with a feeling of failure, without being able to see how he could have done differently. He was afraid that what would be looked upon as a preposterous story would militate against him, and the Government might not find him even home emplo5Tnent. This feeling of depression lasted until entering the Bay of Biscay, when grey skies reminded him of his native hills. The wind of the Atlantic, with a tooth in it, blew on him, and his spirits rose. A telegram advised May Treheme of her lover's unexpected return, and she was at Portsmouth to meet him. Hers was one of the first faces he saw, and her welcome completed the cure that northern skies had begun. 94 STATION X Macrae's keen eyes did not fail to see in hers the involuntary question that tact was keeping from her lips, and he wondered how he was going to answer it, seeing how he was bound to secrecy. It was no secret that he had been at a " wire- less " station, and there could not be any breach of trust in saying the position was somewhat isolated. There were plenty which that descrip- tion would suit. So he told her how, during a short absence of his from the station-house, his feUow workers had been murdered, and he had returned to find their dead bodies, and himself the only survivor ; how he had fallen unconscious ; how, in consequence of the shock to his system, he had been reUeved, and placed on sick leave and ultimately sent back for service at a home station. He added that there were some other details which, in view of the strictness of of&cial secrecy he could not divulge. She was horrified at the tale, and clung to him in her gratitude that he had escaped. " Suppose, dear Alan, you had been at the station when those wretches murdered your com- panions. You would have been murdered too. Oh ! I am glad you are back in England. When I got your telegram I was awfuUy sur- prised." He saw his explanation had relieved her mind of something. It also seemed to have loosened her tongue, for now he had very little to do but be PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 95 a pa/tient listener, and hear a full account of her somewhat uneventful history during his absence, and discuss plans for the future as modified by this new development. That evening May Treherne returned to Ply- mouth, and Macrae proceeded to report himself in London. The next morning he presented him- self at the Admiralty, and was given an hour at which to attend the next day, " when the report respecting him would have been read." He then found himself put through a very searching examination, for there had been considerable nervousness that some scheme of a possible enemy was at the bottom of the business. It came as a surprise to the officials to find that after the most exhaustive questioning, nothing could be gleaned to lend colour to this suspicion. It was obviously a relief to his examiners to find that everything went to indicate that the deaths took place as officially reported, first by Macrae himself, and afterwards by the Captain of the Sagitta. For the rest, it had of course been a curious case of delusion while under the influ- ence of nervous shock. His diary was confiscated^ He was reprimanded for having written it, and especially fca: including expressions that would serve as indications of things that were Govern- ment secrets. He would for the future be retained at home stations so long as no further indiscretion was committed, and was further directed to present 96 STATION X himself for duty at the end of a month, granted as leave of absence. The next day found Macrae at Plymouth, and now appeared the wisdom of Captain Bvered in writing to Professor Rudge ; for had he not done so, nothing further would have been heard of Macrae's experiences on the island of Station X. The letter he received had not contained much information, but enough to make him want to know more. He had an interview with the First Lord and, as a result, Macrae's account of his experiences was placed in his hands, with the request that all requisite caution should be em- ployed. Professor Rudge read Macrae's account with unbounded astonishment. When he had read the pages a second time his mind was made up. He was a man of tjuick decision, and equally quick action. The next morning Macrae received a letter from Professor Rudge, enclosing a remittance for expenses, and asking him as a favour to come back to town, and call on him at his earUest con- venience, " with a view to the further investiga- tion of your recent remarkable experience." This phrase showed Macrae that his correspondent must be in touch with the authorities, and he felt bound to comply at once, although not without a grumble both on his part and that of his fiancie. Again Macrae found himself put through his PROFESSOR RtJDGE INVESTIGATES 97 examination. This time it was more searching, more detailed, more minute, than any he had had before. Absolutely no point escaped the savant. He was at least as competent as Dr. Anderson to investigate the examinee as to his mental health, far more competent to probe his character, dis- position, ways of thought and general knowledge, and form an accurate opinion as to his personal peculiarities. Macrae himself described the pro- cess as that of being turned completely inside out. Before it was finished, he had taken a great liking to the Professor. The training of the scien- tist had taught Professor Rudge to approach his subject without prejudice, and, under the influ- ence of his sympathetic manner, Macrae opened out and laid himself bare, as he would not have believed possible. Next, the conversation was turned on the wireless installation at the station, and Macrae found that, on the subject he knew most of, his knowledge was small compared with that of his examiner. He was questioned on every detail, however apparently irrelevant. Finally they went through, almost word for word, the communications of " the voice." In- numerable questions were asked respecting the voice itself. He was specially closely questioned, he could not tell why, regarding any peculiarity in respect to stress or accent on the various syllables, and modulation of intonation. He was able to reply very intelligently to this, being quick 98 STATION X to understand the meaning of the question, no doubt the more so from being himself bi-lingual. He noticed that the Professor seemed pleased at eliciting the information that, while the articula- tion and pronunciation were accurate, accent and modulation were notably deficient, making the style rather monotonous. A special peculiarity volunteered by Macrae, was that every sentence seemed to end abruptly, with no falling of the voice, as though, in fact, it had been intended to add more. At last, when the examination seemed almost over, Macrae himself ventured to put the question as to what conclusion, if any, his questioner had come to. " I have come to several, Macrae ; and as I observed that you have an uncomfortable feeling that people will doubt your sincerity, let me at once say that such a thing is not intelligently possible. Even with the greatest desire to de- ceive, you could not possibly have duped me for a moment on this matter." " The voice spoke to me ? " asked Macrae eagerly. " Undoubtedly. There is not the least possi- bility that you are yourself deceived in that," replied the professor. " I am very glad I came to see you, sir," said Macrae, with a sigh of relief ; " and all I ask now is to forget the whole thing, voice, island and all." PROFESSOR RUDGE INVESTIGATES 99 " Then you ask a great deal too much, my boy ! " said Professor Rudge, with a smile. " Shall I tell you how much you have interested me ? The best way to do so is to tell you the intention I have formed. I am going to visit Station X, and I am going to take you with me ! " CHAPTER VII THE VOICE FROM MARS IF the questioh had been asked. Who is the most eminent scientist of the day ? nine out of ten would have answered, Stanley Rudge. His distinguishing characteristic was his open- mindedness. If, for example, he had been a church dignitary, his tolerance would have become a scandal. The same quality in him that would have caused him to make ribbons of the rubrics, caused him to encounter an occasional sidelong look, even in the halls of science. It was disgust- ing to some of his confreres, that a man whose scientific attainments and labours could not be gainsaid, whose position was unchallengeable, should dabble with the, to them, unclean thing ; should dare to assert the possibility of the exist- ence of what could not be put under the micro- scope. The value of his scientific work admitted, be- cause it was undeniable, his leaning towards spiritualism was looked upon as a strange weak- lOO THE VOICE FROM MARS loi ness in an otherwise fine intellect. The extra narrow-minded believed that there must be a bee in his bonnet somewhere. The Professor was by no means thin-skinned, but there are few who do not chafe, however slightly, under ridicule. He was well aware that this had been the attitudd with which his psychological investigations had been regarded, and that the results which he believed himself to have verified, were met with undisguised in- credulity. He knew also that his treatise on the habitability of Mars had met with a cold reception. His own opinion on the universahty of life, that it would be found, could the fact be ascertained, to exist wherever the conditions necessary to organic chemistry rendered its presence possible, he kept to himself. That such conditions existed on Mars, and probably other planets, he con- sidered to be perfectly established. In this view he did not stand alone, but many hesitated. It win not be difficult to beUeve, in the cir- cumstances of such division of opinion in the scientific world, that when the case of Macrae was brought to Professor Rudge's notice he took it up with enthusiasm. The more he pondered over Macrae's story, the more interested he be- came. He was convinced by his examination of Macrae that there was no intentional deception, and the peculiar conditions existing seemed abso- lutely to exclude any explanation other than the 102 STATION X one advanced. Of this he was so convinced that he resolved at once to pursue the investigations on the spot, in spite of its remoteness. " I am going to visit Station X," he said, " and I am going to take you with me ! " Macrae's reply surprised him. " No, sir ! Anything else that I can do to obhge you, I will do, but I will never, never set foot on that island again." " What nonsense ! Why, man, I cannot imag- ine a being on earth not grasping with avidity at such a chance to make himself for ever cele- brated. You have already convinced me of the truth of your account, but I assure you others will not be so readily persuaded." " I cannot help it, sir," said Macrae with quiet determination, " and I am very sorry indeed to disoblige you." " But you can, and shall help it," said the Professor. " You must understand that because, pending investigation, I accept your story, that does not prove it. It merely induces me to take you with me to the spot and devote the time necessary for its confirmation." " I regret, sir, very much that " " Now, Macrae," interrupted Professor Rudge, " on this point I will take no refusal. You are at once to put any fanciful objections you may have on one side. I shall procure an order from the Admiralty, and that will settle it." (< THE VOICE FROM MARS 103 I would rather resign my appointment than go there," said Macrae doggedly, " I beg of you, sir, to excuse me. Ask anything else of me, but I cannot go back to that station." " I intend to reward you liberally for your time and services while we are away ; on a much higher scale than the pay you receive from the Admiralty." " Thank you, sir, but " " When you think of Miss Treherne, of whom you profess to be fond, are you justified in refus- ing ? She is waiting until you are in a position to marry her, and here are the very means you require, and you refuse them." Professor Rudge regarded Macrae as an obstacle in his path of investigation. It was a shrewd question. Macrae was silent. He shuffled his feet and looked much disturbed. The Professor, thinking his victory nearly won, added, " Surely also there is not a man in the world who will not envy you your fame. Think too of this yoimg lady's pride and pleasure, and of the immeasurable use you will be to all your species, a use it would have been criminal to neglect by a persistence in your refusal. What is any recom- pense that I can give you compared to the rewards the world will shower on you ? " Macrae looked as if he were being torn between two impulses ; his face was a picture of contending emotions. At length he found his voice, sajdng, in a scarcely audible tone : 104 STATION X " I am very sorry, but I cannot return to Station X ! " It was the Professor's turn to be silent. He was astounded. He looked at Macrae with a glance that said plainly, Have I, after all, mis- read your character ? Yet in the face of the young fellow before him there was no trace of obstinacy. Its expression was rather one of unrelieved dis- tress, such as one might feel on being asked the impossible by a friend whom he particularly wished to oblige. Making an effort to conceal his annoyance, Professor Rudge at last said : " Of course you have had a terrible experience there, and it is quite possible that you have not yet quite got over the shock of it. I wUl not detain you longer at present. Return to Ply- mouth, and you will hear from me again soon." Macrae took his leave, and made his way to Paddington in a state as depressed as well could be. He did not deceive himself into the idea that Professor Rudge had given up the scheme. Macrae was convinced that he would apply for an Admir- alty order. This, if granted, meant yielding or loss of his berth. Nevertheless, he felt it literally true, what he had said, not that he would not, but that for some reason, he could not agree to go. His only hope now was in the Admiralty refusing the required permission. This was not, however, the case. The appli- THE VOICE FROM MARS 105 cation was received with surprise; but the fact that so great a scientist, after full investigation, was sufficiently interested to be willing to make such a journey, showed that he, at all events, did not consider it a mere hallucination, and cer- tainly not as intentional deee{t. Permission was consequently given him to take Macrae to Station X, and authority would be given him to have the Signal House placed at his disposal for such time as he might require it, consistent with the of&cial duties of the post. Armed with this. Professor Rudge went to Plymouth, and had another long interview with Macrae. It was not in the Professor's nature to use the document he had in the way Macrae had feared. No threats were employed, but every other means was taken to alter his determination. Macrae had taken such a genuine liking to the Professor that the interviews were quite painful to him, as he stiU felt unable to accede to his request. Any one acquainted with Professor Rudge knew that he was not a man Hghtly to give up a thing on which he had set his mind. If he had been one easily diverted from his purpose, his own early struggles would not have led to his present suc- cess. A comparatively small matter was often sufficient to show the firm tenacity of his nature ; but this to him was no small matter. As long therefore as he desired Macrae to accompany him io6 STATION X to Station X, so long would he continue to fight to that end. He would have gone off by himself at once, but his long experience and profound know- ledge of psychic phenomena taught him that it would be useless. He fully understood that the ability to hear this voice across the void, always supposing it to be genuine, depended infinitely more on the previously established mental rapport of the speaker and Ustener, than on the ears of the latter. ^ He saw how the sensorial organism of Macrae when he first heard the voice, an exceptional con- dition of an exceptional being, poised by com- bined exhaustion and horror on a needle point of unstable equilibrium, had enabled him to feel, rather than hear, the etheric impulse of the far- flung call. By one chance in a million, or rather, in countless millions, Macrae while in a sub-con- scious state, had over his ears the receiver of the most powerful wireless installation on earth. By such a chance, rapport had been established, and now it only remained to take advantage of that fact. Macrae must be brought again to the instrument. But how was his obstinacy to be subdued ? To the scientist everything reduces itself to a problem. He knows there is no cause without effect, or effect without a cause. Professor Rudge had ascertained Macrae to be a young man of keen intelligence but weak will. The human will THE VOICE FROM MARS 107 is like everything else in this, that the weaker has to give way to the stronger. Rudge had no doubt as to his own will being much the stronger ; yet -Macrae did not give way. There was the problem, evidently containing an unknown quan- tity somewhere for further investigation. The Professor decided meanwhile to try to over- come the obstacle by further pressure, and to that end made the acquaintance of May Treheme. He had learnt that she made her living as a typist in Pl5anouth. He was agreeably surprised when he met her. He perceived at once that she had been much better educated than Macrae, that she was a strong character, of sound common sense. He had intended to enlist her aid by demonstrating to her the material advantages to Macrae, and even- tually to herself. He quickly saw that she would be capable of enthusiasm without regard to sordid considerations, and began to ask himself how much he might tell her. He decided that he was bound to respect the Govepiment secret, but that he would trust her with what he considered his own, thus showing the confidence with which she had inspired him. He was surprised to find how little Macrae had told. This had been due to the rebuke adminis- tered by Captain Evered on the Sagitta. Of that the Professor knew nothing. Under pledge of secrecy, May Treheme was io8 STATION X placed in possession of the facts, except that Pro- fessor Rudge was careful to omit everything that could indicate the existence of such a place as Station X. Her enthusiasm was pleasant to witness, and surpassed the Professor's expectations. -The re- cord of " the voice " was placed in her hands, and she was told it was a part, in fact the end, of a diary that Macrae had kept while at the station, in the form of daily letters addressed to her- self. " Then you did do it, after all," she said, turn- ing to Macrae, and there was that in her look and tone that showed the previous absence of the diary had not escaped her attention. Yet she had never once alluded to what must have appeared to her an unfulfilled promise. " Where, then," she asked, " is the rest of it ? " The Professor told her that at the Admiralty it had been considered to contain remarks referring too closely to what were Government secrets, and that it had been confiscated in consequence. " I may add," said he, " that I think they were on the whole justified." "Oh!" she said, and for a moment appeared about to say more, but she took the discreet but unfeminine course of adding nothing. She put a great many questions to Macrae on the subject on which Professor Rudge had en- lightened her. During these the Professor, who THE VOICE FROM MARS 109 was on the watch to intervene if necessary, was struck by the tactful way in which she kept within the bounds of that subject and did not tread on forbidden ground. " And to you, Alan," she glowed, " has come this distinction ! You must go with Professor Rudge, as he wishes, and return the most famous man in the world." Professor Rudge saw at once what a powerful ally he had enUsted, and he could not doubt the result. But he wais mistaken. Macrae was as immovable as ever. Not being able to spend further time at Ply- mouth, the Professor left the lovers to fight it out, and returned to town. But he had not abandoned the thing. He knew he had for the moment played his best trump, and, while awaiting events, he carefuUy studied the subject. He gave special attention to what information he had been able to get from Macrae respecting the time when he lost consciousness. He was particularly struck with the words employed in describing it to Dr. Anderson — " Then suddenly something like darkness descended on me, accompanied by some sharp command of the first voice, and I was ap- parently struck a violent blow in the darkness on the back of my head." A theory was beginning to form itself in his mind, but before working further on it he decided to await news from Ply- mouth. no STATION X It was toward the end of Macrae's month when there came a letter from May : " Dear Professor Rudge, — " I have not met with any success with Alan, and cannot Understand him. I thought I had the stronger will of the two. I have done all I can to persuade him to do as you wish, but failed. He is not obstinate about it ; on the contrary, he is greatly upset apparently at not being able to humour me. In the circumstances I cannot do more, and I beg of you not to write to him again oh the subject ; it worries him so. I am very sorry to disappoint you. " Yours sincerely, " May Treherne." Professor Rudge laughed when he read the letter. " The little traitress ! Got out of her depth and had to scramble back, and now stands on the side of the enemy. Put not thy confidence in woman ! That girl is a brick, and would scratch my face cheerfully if I returned to the charge. But I know now all about it. My theory is absolutely estabUshed." May received the following reply : " My dear Miss Treherne, — " Short of hearing the voice myself, I could THE VOICE FROM MARS iii not desire any better confirmation of its reality, and that of the personality behind it, than your letter. This remark may appear to you cryptic, so I will explain. Your opinion respecting the will of Mr. Macrae compared with yoxir own, and, I may say, with mine, is correct. When I found we did not succeed, a reason for this had to be sought. On reading over the reports in my pos- session, I find that at the moment when he lost consciousness, he had the distinct impression of an order being given him. The order itself, quite in accordance with the well-known laws of hypno- tism, does not now rise to the level of consciousness, but, none the less, absolutely decides his will and conduct. "We have both been wasting our exertions, and distressing our friend, uselessly. He does not yield because he cannot. It is, in fact, not him we are up against, but the Veneriari ! There- fore there is the Venerian. It is possible, although not certain, that, by means of hypnotism, the order itself might be discovered, but I think the course would be open to objection in this case. For the purpose of the investigation I am now so interested in, it will be better to do nothing hastily that might interfere with the influence now at work. The order may have been a prohibition from returning to the instrument for ever, or for a time only. In the latter case it may not be a long time. So I propose to wait awhile, and do nothing. I wish 113 STATION X the whole matter to remain a secret for the present, so will you please burn this so soon as read. " With kind regards, " Believe me, " Yours sincerely, " Stanley Rudge." May was pleased with the letter, principally because Alan was not going to be worried any more. On the general argument she did' not feel compe- tent to form an opinion. Seeing the whole sub- ject had become very distasteful to him, Macrae was not even shown the letter, which May Tre- heme duly burnt, as requested. It must not be supposed that the subject by any means died out of the Professor's thoughts. He continued at intervals to give it careful study. He often puzzled over the mystery of the two voices. Why were there two ? What was the disagreement among the Venerians ? It was in- conceivable that there could be any person or party who could have any objection to communi- cate with the Earth. The voice had distinctly said they had longed for it for thousands of years, that nothing but our own backwardness had prevented it. In its last words, according to Macrae's report, the voice had appeared to be about to give a warning, when the other voice, the " greater voice" " My God ! "—the Pro- THE VOICE FROM MARS 113 fessor sprang from his chair in the excitenaent of his discovery — " That's it," he said to himself ; " the whole thing is clear ! Clear as possible J That voice was from Meirs ! " CHAPTER VIII AT STATION X ARRIVED at this new hypothesis, Pro- fessor Rudge felt as a man might who had been hammering away with hammer and cold chisel at some old shell from a battle- field, and suddenly discovered before it was too late, that the shell was charged. He fully realized that if his surmise were correct, the situation was not to be played with. He also remembered that he had once made an attempt to establish com- munication, or at least to exchange signals, with Mars. He had failed. " Fools rush in where angels fear to tread," he muttered to himself (no one else would have used the word as applied to him). " How fortunate that the influence of the Venerian was too strong for my meddlesome interference ! " Time passed with things in this state, no one having the least desire to make any further move. It was as though Station X had never existed. 114 AT STATION X 115 At the expiration of Macrae's leave of absence, he had been ordered to one of the home stations, after a medical examination as to fitness. From there May Treherne received frequent letters from him. She thought she could perceive by these that he seemed in some way changed by his experiences. There was none of the buoyancy of former days. She wondered if it was regret at the loss of the double pay that had lasted so short a time, and the consequent postponement of their plans. If his life were as monotonous as hers, she could forgive him any amount of depres- sion. On the loth of June of the following year. Professor Rudge, who had come with regret to fear that the whole episode was closed, w£is sur- prised to receive a letter from Macrae, written from the West of Ireland installation, known as the Cruaghaun Station, which looks down on the Atlantic rollers from a height of two thousand feet. "Dear Sir" (it ran),— " If you still have the same wish as you had when last I saw you, I would be glad to hear from you. For my part, I am now quite willing to go with you to the place you wished to visit. Look- ing back on it, I feel quite ashamed of my previous obstinacy, and am at a loss to account for it. My inclination now is quite the other way. I wish ii6 STATION X to go there, and dream of it continually, not only in sleep, but frequently in a sort of waking dream, while in this lonely spot, almost as lonely as that other. I seem as though called, requested, to come. Even a date seems put into my head, and I feel a great desire to be there at that time. You will think this a fanciful thing in the extreme, but would it be possible to be there on the 27th of July ? I am writing you in the hope that your wish is the same, and that the time is sufficient. I think it is, by the time it took me to return. Hoping to hear from you soon, " I remain, dear sir, " Yours faithfully, "Alan Macrae." " That," said the Professor to himself, " quite settles one question. He was forbidden for a time, not for always ; evidently a definite named time. How tremendous must be the psychic force wielded by these beings ! " He saw there would be time to reach Station X by the date given, with a little Government assistance at the other end. Obeying his first impulse, he at once replied to Macrae's letter. While in the middle of his letter, he paused. A thought had occurred to him which completely altered the aspect of the affair. He felt perfect confidence in obeying the wishes of the Venerian, but Macrae had heard two voices, both of which AT STATION X 117 he described as addressing him with imperative orders of some kind. He had also the impression that they were in opposition to each other. By which influence, then, was he now being swayed ? This it was vital to ascertain ; but how ? He decided not to proceed further unless, or until, this question could be answered. For a moment he saw no way of doing so, but presently a possible clue occurred to him. He turned up a book containing some astronomical tables. After making a short calculation he gave vent to a sigh of relief. What he had discovered was that, on the 27th of July, Mars was in conjunction, that is, at the extreme other side of his orbit from the Earth, and with the Sun itself intervening. " Well done, Venerian ! " he exclaimed aloud. " Caught unawares, evidently utterly by surprise and unprepared, with not a second to lose, con- tending in a losing battle with a being greater than himself, and every instant fuU of peril, the Venerian had kept his head. In a moment of time he had decided on a plan of action, made the astronomical calculation mentally, forced his order on Macrae, and sent him into temporary oblivion, to be out of harm's way. ' Something like dark- ness descended on me,' Macrae had said, ' accom- panied by some sharp command of the first voice, and I was apparently struck a violent blow on the back of my head.' The floor struck him. In his conversation with Macrae the Venerian claimed ii8 STATION X the mental superiority. It is already placed beyond dispute ; he has given his proofs." Professor Rudge was not a man who easily showed excitement, or allowed himself to' be influenced perceptibly by his emotions, but for once he seemed a little carried away. The thing he had desired, more than he knew, seemed at last to show probability of realization, to be almost within his grasp. In point of fact there was, in his attitude for the moment, something of the man as well as of the scientist. He reflected that if this discovery fell to him, he would not only have made an advance, the extent of which was beyond human power to estimate, but also he would have his opponents beaten. The renewal of the Admiralty permission, and Macrae's leave of absence, were easily obtained. It remained but to pack up the few things necessary for the journey, and those that might be wanted at Station X. Here Professor Rudge was in a quandary. He could not decide how much or Uttle to encumber himself with. Should he take books of reference ? What was really going to happen, if aU went well ? A scientific discussion ? Would he not, according to what had been spoken to Macrae, be in the position of a pupil, with much to learn and little to impart ? He became so en- grossed with the possibilities of the affair before him, that his absent-mindedness became so pro- nounced that his sister, who kept house for him. AT STATION X 119 had the gravest suspicions that he must have fallen in love at last. It was decided to go by P. & O. steamer to Hong-Kong, and there the Admiralty had arranged to take them on board one of the cruisers attached to the China Station and convey them to Station X. The authorities were quite willing to make this slight return for the valuable services the scientist had previously rendered in connection with wireless telephony, and the choice and equip- ment of these stations ; services for which he had refused remuneration. The leave-taking between Macrae and May Treherne again took place on Plymouth Hoe, and again it fell to her lot to hearten her lover. She could not fail to see how depressed he was. " Are you sure you want to go on this journey, Alan ? " she asked. " You remember we 'agreed that it should be given up." " I must go, May," he replied, with decision ; " in fact, nothing would prevent me. But do you remember, dear, the last time we said good- bye, when I went to — to that place ? I spoke to you then of a cloud looming in the future." " Yes, Alan, and you were justified," May said ; " but that is all past now, isn't it ? " " When I came back you said what had hap- pened had proved me right, and I let it go at that. But in spite of that the cloud has not passed 120 STATION X away. It remains ahead. May, darker than ever, and very much nearer," He shuddered involuntarily. Greatly distressed, the girl endeavoured to dissuade him, even at this last moment, from starting on such an ill-presaged journey, but with- out success. Just as it had been before im- possible to incline him to go, now his one idea was to start. She saw that further words would be wasted. She was not herself unduly im- pressed with his premonition, yet she would have been quite willing for him to give up the idea. Finding him immovable, she did her best to cheer him, and with some success. Yet the parting was a sad one, the outward cheerfulness of both somewhat forced. The voyage passed uneventfully, and on the 28th of July, only a day from the time desired, they were landed at Station X. Professor Rudge, having made the acquaint- ance of Lieutenant Hughes, the officer in charge, found that arrangements against his arrival had been made, and qusirters allotted him and Macrae. He handed Lieutenant Hughes the written author- ity he had brought with him respecting the use of the signal-room, and so great was his impatience to put the purpose of his journey to the test, that he and Macrae went to the signal-table that same evening. Macrae put on the receivers. " Are you AT STATION X 121 there ? " he said, and it struck him at once that he had, without premeditation, used the same low tone as in his previous conversations. He then sat silent. Professor Rudge was sufficiently convinced of the interest of the Venerians to feel confident that his and Macrae's coming to Station X had been observed, having the Venerian's own word for it that such observation was within their power. A prompt reply obviously depended on that. The time seemed interminable. The Professor could not take his eyes off his companion, nor could he sit stiU upon his chair. Neither could he, now that the great moment had come, entirely drive from his mind that " second voice." He felt as one reaching out in the dark, expecting to grasp a desired object, but with an uncomfortable feeling of not being certain on what his fingers might close. One, two, three minutes passed. He drummed with his fingers upon the table. Would the time never pass ? His watch was lying before him. Four, five minutes passed. Six minutes, the interval in Macrae's previous conversations elapsed, and there was no reply. He felt his throat dry. The second hand of his watch crawled on. Suddenly Macrae gave a start, at the sight of which the Professor almost jumped out of his chair. " Yes, I am here," said Macrae. Then, turning 122 STATION X from the mouthpiece to the Professor, he said as had been agreed — " It is he ! " After an interval (the Professor soon became accustomed to . these intervals) he saw Macrae begin to take shorthand notes. He repeated the words as he wrote, and thus Professor Rudge was able to follow the conversation. " You have some one with you ? " The con- versations are given without reference to the intervals. " Yes, there is a scientific gentleman with me, and he hopes to speak with you." " We have already heard of Professor Rudge. At this moment he could not hear my voice, and you are necessary, but for a reason I will explain to him when possible, it is desirable to estabhsh direct communication at once. Ask him if he is willing to place himself under my control, in full rapport with me." Professor Rudge on hearing these words as repeated by Macrae at once understood what was required, but not the means by which it was to be achieved. For a moment he was silent. It was a risk. It was surrendering his ego to another. For a few seconds he thought rapidly. Then he seemed to come to a decision. He inotioned Macrae to remove the receivers from his ears. " Macrae, do you stUl clearly recall the two AT STATION X 123 voices you heard at the moment you were last here?" " Very clearly, sir. I shall never forget either ! " " Are you quite certain, absolutely certain, that the voice you now hear is the first voice, the one with whorti you had conversations ? " " Quite sure, sir." " Did the voices have any resemblance ? " " None whatever ! The second voice," he added, and the Professor noticed the same tone and look of awe that had struck his two hearers on board the Sagitta, " was — ^was — I felt a worm. This is the friendly voice that spoke to me all through." After another short pause, the Professor said, " Reply that I am willing to do as desired." He added to himself, " But I cannot see how it is to be done." Macrae then replied to the voice, " Yes, he is willing." In due course came the direction, " Face each other." Professor Rudge perceived that Macrae was in some way about to be used as the medium, but could not guess the intended proceedings. He knew that his companion's will was so much the weaker, that of his own power he would be quite incapable of acquiring the necessary dominance. The voice then addressed Macrae. " Although you are under my influence, and it is by the 124 , STATION X rapport so established that you hear me, that is not enough for the present purpose. In the present phase of the rapport, the attempt would fail ; in the first place because you would prob- ably be incapable of influencing Professor Rudge, who has probably the stronger mind, and in the second place because, if you succeeded, he would be under your influence, not mine, and therefore be still incapable of hearing me. It is necessary that you pass on into the second phase, in which your consciousness is merged in mine. You will now sleep, and then act as I shall direct you. In thought contact there wiU be little need of words." At the first suggestion, at the mention of the word sleep, Macrae instantly responded and, offer- ing no resistance, his hold on consciousness sUpped from him, as it might from one who had taken an anaesthetic. Professor Rudge saw the change, and his own knowledge of the subject enabled him to gather that the second phase had been brought about. " Look fixedly in my eyes," said the voice of the unconscious operator, and, on being obeyed, he moved his hand in backward sweeps above the other's head. As they remained eye to eye the Professor began to notice a very peculiar expression that he had never noticed before, in the eyes before him. Was it expression, or was it something in their contour? Certainly very peculiar — and yet not AT STATION X 125 altogether new to him. How strangely fixed and unwinking they seemed. He had never before seen anything Uke that in Macrae's eyes — ^nor in those of any other human being. What are those creatures that have eyes that these reminded him of ? His memory seemed vague — ^those passes were very soothing. " Sleep 1 " said Macrae, in a quiet but firm tone. The Professor nodded. " Sleep ! " said Macrae. The Professor's head fell forward. Presently Macrae, evidently in obedience to instructions, rose, saying, " Come, sit in this seat ; take the headpiece and put it on, and hear the voice that will speak to you." The other, looking like a somnambulist, changed places with him. He put on the headpiece, and Macrae, in obedience to a last suggestion, gradu- ally rose to consciousness. He then saw the change that had been brought about, and moved away toward the entrance. He stood there a moment, looking at the Professor, then heard him say, " Yes ! I am here." Macrae quietly closed the door after him. It was eight o'clock, and night had descended. He went to the door of the outer entrance, but, feeling no desire to join the station staff, stood there watching a bright star that shone with silvery and steady beam, in the western sky. He knew that star was Venus. 126 STATION X An hour passed. He waited, dozing on the bench in the comer of the Uttle outer lobby of the station-house. Then he slept. When he woke it was with a start ; broad day, a hand upon his shoulder. Looking up, he saw it was Professor Rudge standing beside him. He immediately rose. " Good morning, sir. It has been a success ? You have heard ? " He noticed that the Professor wore a puzzled look. " The fact is," said the latter, " I have heard nothing. I know nothing, even of how I came to be sitting with the receiver on my head. Can you give me some information ? " Macrae at once understood the situation. He remembered his own twenty-hour spell ; the Professor's seemed to have been only about twelve hours. He explained that this was doubt- less a similar experience. Professor Rudge now understood what had happened. He realized that he, like a bag full of information, had been untied, taken by the bottom comers, and held upside down. It seemed undignified. But presently the sane and healthy man came to the surface, and he laughed, recovered his temper — and his appetite. " Have you had anything to eat since yester- day, Macrae ? " he asked. " No, sir," said Macrae, smiling. " Then, my boy, let us attend to that at once. Everything else can wait." AT STATION X ; 127 So the station staff took possession of the signal-room, and the Professor took possession of the attendant, and the two men ate. Six feet of burly brawn and muscle represented a powerful engine, not to be kept going without considerable stoking. After this, he and his companion thoroughly explored the island. The Professor was always careful to keep himself in thorough physical trail- ing, and his companion would have been aU the better had he followed the same course. This was Macrae's conclusion after the walking and cliff-climbing of the next two hours. He returned to the station-house nearly run off his feet. Pro- fessor Rudge believed in the strenuous life, and lived up to his creed. CHAPTER IX MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION IN the afternoon, as soon as the instrunent was again at his disposal, Professor Rudge and Macrae took possession of the signal-room. The Professor was impatient to find out if he would now be able to hear the voice himself, and at once put on the headpiece. " Are you there ? " The tone was a little unsteady from suppressed excitement. After the usual interval, it was with a thrill of pleasure that he heard, faint but clear, a voice,, the voice. There, could be no mistaking its agree- ment with Macrae's description. " Yes, Professor Rudge," it said, " I am here ; but speak low, as Macrae did. Your other stations will then not hear you, but I shall hear you. Also, that you may have a record of our conversation, repeat my words aloud to Macrae, and he will take them down. " I foresee," proceeded the voice, " that you may disapprove of the manner of our first inter- 128 MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 129 course during the past night. It was the best way. It saved time, which is most vital. You have supplemented to the utmost of your ability the information given by Macrae, and our future conversations can be devoted to the return you will no doubt desire, except for a matter on which I must speak before you remove the receiver. On what topic would you first wish to compare Ven- erian opinions with your own ? " As he heard these words, Professor Rudge felt that the great moment of his Ufe had come. Although he had rehearsed a hundred imaginary conversations with the " voice," on as many topics, now that the choice was suddenly offered him, he was momentarily at a loss what to say. At last he spoke. " Now that this new door to knowledge has been so unexpectedly opened to mankind, I hope it will never be closed again. I hope that the time is near when, under your instruction, our know- ledge win be equal to your own, so far as our lesser minds are capable of understanding all that constitutes your attainments." " We shall," said the voice, " withhold no information we can give you. It is not in our power to make you our equals. The increase of knowledge will tend to develop your minds, but you must ever remember that the two things are entirely separate entities," " I realize that," said the professor, " and that I I30 STATION X as you are the greater in both respects, you are the best judge of what should be our subject now. As I have the use of the instrument for a Umited time, I will leave the choice to you and remaui a Ustener, to save the intervals of waiting for replies." The Venerian commended the course proposed by Professor Rudge, and at once proceeded with what was practically a long scientific lecture, that held his auditor spellbound with interest. The attainments displayed, the sweep of intellect indicated, caused Professor Rudge to feel himself a novice again. The Venerian commenced by saying, " Do not suppose we arrogate to ourselves anything ap- proaching infallibility. We are but fellow travel- lers with yourselves toward the great goal — Truth." The subject he chose was the Venerian theory of the imiverse corresponding to what is known as .the La Placian theory, but to which it had no resemblance. "Your theory," he said, "contemplates a universal loss of energy, until space is peopled only by dead suns ; a universe with all heat, light, life, extinct ; without one ray to wander through its blackness of darkness, or one sigh to break its eternal silence. To minds cultivated as are ours, such a development, with an eternity still to come, would be sufficient refutation." MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 131 The Venerian then proceeded, to give the theory accepted in his world, and to support it with such evidence that Professor Rudge's acceptance of it was complete and inevitable. It proved to him the perfect and complete conservation of solar energy beyond possibihty of dispute. As soon as the enunciation of the new theory and its demonstration were completed, the Vener- ian said, " We felt that this was due to you as a first fruit of the information we hope to give you on many subjects in return for the information you have given us respecting your terrestrial affairs ; but we must now speak on a subject of more immediately vital importance. Do not re- peat my words to Macrae. What follows is for yomrself alone," At this moment some one was heard knocking at the door of the signal-room. Evidently they were about to be interrupted. In dtunb show Macrae imparted the fact. "Go," said the Pro- fessor, " and see if the instrument is wanted. If so, ask if we can retain it for a few min- utes." Macrae presently returned from the door to say that Lieutenant Hughes wished to send a message, but that it could wait a few minutes. On replacing the receivers, that he had re- moved to hear Macrae's answer, the Professor found that the Venerian had ceased speaking. He had heard the words to Macrae. 132 STATION X Presently the voice resumed : " Are you there, Professor Rudge ? " On receiving the af&rmative reply, the voice proceeded : "Do not speak ! Remember that on the subject I am about to speak on nothing must be said to Macrae. There was great anxiety here lest you and he should not arrive in time. By good fortune you did. But every day now the position becomes less secure. When my last interview with Macrae, on his first visit to this Station, was brought to an abrupt conclusion, it was on account of an unforeseen interruption from Mars." (" I was right," thought the pro- fessor.) " By an exhibition of powers that we did not know even them to possess, Macrae was reached, indirectly, through his rapport with me. I was rapidly being overborne in my defence of him, when I succeeded in entrancing him, and had only just time to give him instructions to remain so until far from the island, and not to retvirn to it until the 27th of July. "My instructions were inadequate, and even faulty, but the situation at the moment of giving them was extremely difficult. We have now taken adequate precautions that the same thing shall not happen to you, but we cannot undo the evil that may have been done in the case of Macrae, nor say, for the present, the extent of it. It is this latter point that we wish to test. We have MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 133 reason to suppose that it is of a serious nature, in fact fatal, unless guarded against. " With such extremely little time for thought, my instructions to him were, not to return to the island before the 27th of July, the date suggested by the next conjunction of Mars. With time for reflection, I should have taken a much more drastic course. For this reason I feel, to a certain extent, responsible for the position that has arisen ; a position much too full of danger. Our reason now for fearing that the malign influence was successfully brought to bear on him is that, although I did not bid him return, yet he showed an anxious desire to be here by the expiration of the forbidden period. His experiences at the Station were not of a kind to make that desire natural as a spontaneous wish. " We therefore conclude that he is now, of course quite unconsciously to himself, under the Mar- tian's ijifluence, and that to allow him to go to the receiver after Mars has passed from behind the solar screen would be to run the greatest risk. To-day is safe, probably to-morrow, but it is best to be on the safe side, for those beings always seem to surpass our calculations. My instruc- tions to you are, to see to it, as though your life depended on it, which it may, that Macrae never again puts on the headpiece, and that you find out by watching him, whether he shows any secret desire to do so, or is prompted to do so. 134 STATION X That is all. Do not reply. I will be ready to continue our discourse when you next come to the instrument." " We will now tell Lieutenant Hughes that the signal-room is at his disposal," said the Profes or. " What did the voice say, the last minute or two ? " asked Macrae, as they went out. " He spoke to me about the receiver," said the Professor calmly. " With the instructions he will give me I hope to be able to make improve- ment in that part of the instrument. Let us take a turn round the island." Night was f alUhg as they returned to the station- house, and Macrae was told to defer writing out his report until next morning. Being tired, he was glad of this respite, and was soon fast asleep. Professor Rudge also retired early to his room, but not to sleep. That afternoon had opened up to him novel views, not merely on one, but on many scientific subjects. He was a student again, his whole world revolutionised. Sleep ! What man could sleep in such circumstances ? Ultimately, after the first bent of the scientist had had its way with him, he came down to the urgent matter dealt with in the Venerian's last words. Late that night it was not musings on science that kept him awake, but a sense of peril. Every detail of the tragedy of Mars of long ago, as recounted in Macrae's report, came vividly before his mind. There was no mystery about MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 135 the manner of it. He quite understood the method of the whole unspeakable crime, from its fell conception to its ghastly perpetration. He knew better than to look upon it as a fable, or old wife's tale. The earnestness of the Venerian carried conviction. In imagination he placed himself in the posi- tion of the Lunarians. Just as a drowning man will grasp at a straw, so those apparently perishing beings had allowed the instinct of self-preservation to stifle conscience. He tried to realize the nature and power of the present Martians. His most vivid idea of them, however, he got by realizing the evident terror with which they inspired the Venerians. If any Martian could gain a footing on the earth by grasping at the personality of one of its inhabitants, and so animating a human form, the whole world, by virtue of his psychic force and intellect, would be at his mercy and that of all his kin who would follow. The more the Pro- fessor thought of it the more terribly he felt the weight of his responsibility, knowing the fate that was now threatening the world, and that only he and this far-off Venerian stood between it and catastrophe. More than once during the night the Professor left his room and paced the little entrance lobby of the station-house, into which both his and the signal-room opened. Each time that he closed 136 STATION X his eyes, before a momentary doze had tme to merge into sleep, some weird nightmare, con- nected with the subject of his thoughts, effectually roused him. The night seemed interminable. It came to an end at last without incident. At the earliest opportunity he asked Lieutenant Hughes if he could be provided with a key to the signal-room. He had noticed that the door was never locked, and seldom shut except in windy weather. " Certainly, sir," said Lieutenant Hughes, rather mystified by the request. He was a good-natured young fellow, who stood rather in awe of Professor Rudge, on account of his fame. " Thank you," said the Professor. " You may have wond.ered why I have come to this station. The full details will I hope be known in due time, but I may say that it is in connection with an experiment in wireless telephony. As you know, this is the most powerful installation that exists, and it is the only one adapted to my purpose." " I thought it must be something of that sort, sir." " Let me explain," said the Professor, " what may have seemed an odd request. Macrae, who assists me, is a very good fellow, very competent, intelligent and interested in what I am doing, but you wiU understand that in some experiments MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 137 the slightest unconsidered action may be very prejudicial. I wish to make quite certain that he does not, even with the best intentions, meddle with any part of the mechanism in the signal- room when I am not there." "Certainly, sir," said Hughes; "the door can be kept locked." " If the keys can be foimd." " If not, I wiU have ^ couple made at once. That will be no trouble to Jones." Jones was the wireless engineer acting with Lieutenant Hughes. The Professor was several times on the point of taking Hughes to some extent into his confidence. He saw both the advantages in and objections to doing so. He finally decided to say nothing as yet. By mid-day a key was handed to him. " The only other," said Hughes, " remains with me ; so that will be all r ght." This greatly allayed Professor Rudge's immedi- ate sense of danger. At the appointed time, accompanied by Macrae, he went to the signal- table to resume the conversation of the day before. His first call was answered. " Is Macrae with you ? " came- the question. " Yes." " Then we will go on with our discourse of yes- terday, but at its term'nation send him from the room before you put down the receivers, that we may speak of our difficulty respecting him." 138 STATION X Then, the Profes or repeating to Macrae, a furthe long exposition on various branches of science followed. The listener was soon entranced by h s interest in, and lost in admiration of the long strides Venerian science had made beyond the bounds of himian knowledge. He was carried so far beyond his depth that he found it impos- sib'e, while repeating the words, mentally to follow the argument with the same rapidity. Giving up the attempt as confusing and tending to error, he repeated mechanically, wisely deciding to defer thought or study until he could read the communicat on at his leisure. At its conclusion there was a short pause, evidently intended to put the Professor on his guard. Then the voice resumed : " Do not repeat ! Find some reason to dismiss Macrae." " That seems all on the subject for the present, Macrae. I think of asking a few questions, but shall not require your help. You must l^e pretty tired of it, as the subject is rather beyond you, is it not ? " " I do not understand it at all, sir," said Macrae, stifling a yawn. " Then take the shorthand notes into your room and write them out for me while it is still day- light." Macrae left the signal-room. Re-adjusting the headpiece, the Professor said — MACRAE UNDER SUSPICION 139 " I am now alone." " Have you taken adequate precautions against Macrae coming to the instrument ? " " Yes. The door is now kept constantly locked when no messages are being sent." " That is well, but I assure you that very great vigilance is necessary, and we do not feel con- vinced that you are sufficiently alive to the danger that threatens you. Our only hope is based on the knowledge that you are not a man of small mind, or lacking in imagination. If such were the case, we should despair of being able to assist you. You would in that case infallibly regard the danger as remote, almost unintelligible, even imreal. We are convinced that such is not the case with you, but we doubt if you adequately appreciate the peril and its imminence. " Although you already know its general nature, let me, at the risk of being wearisome, again speak of it. I am not able to tell you how the baleful influence will act on Macrae, but you must be pre- pared for every subtle means of gaining its end. Have you seen anything as yet to arouse sus- picion ? " " Nothing whatever." " Three days have now elapsed since the time of conjunction. Mars is now rapidly increasing his angle with the sun. The time of danger is now very near. If there is no sign of the influence we fear within a day or two, all is well, and the 140 STATION X evil was not wrought. Remember, whatever the time of day or night, let me know at once of any overt sign." " I will of course do so," said the Professor. " On no account let yourself be lulled into any false idea of security by rel5dng on the great physical superiority ^ you may possess. In the event of the occurrence of what we strive to guard against, that would be entirely useless. You, and all your race, would be brought to the means of communication like lambs to the slaughter. We can resume our conversation to-morrow at the same hoiu:, if no previous call is rendered neces- sary." Regarding this as dismissal for the time, Pro- fessor Rudge removed the receivers and sat for a time gazing at the instnmient before him, but not thinking of it. It was with a very worried air that he ultimately rose and left the Signal-room. CHAPTER X THB VENERIAN's ANXIETY \ WITH the Venerian's words of warning still ringing in his ears, Professor Rudge left the signal-room and went to his own apartment. He was soon lost in thought, but it was not on general science that his mind was concentrated. He was revolving the matter so urgently pressed on his attention by the Venerian. He was chiefly impressed by perceiving that however keen his own sense of the danger from the Martians, his informant was much more im- pressed, and he did not forget that that informant was a being of higher mental status than himself. He remembered words that, although accom- panied by some complimentary remark, gave the impression that if the speaker's sense of the danger arose principally from a knowledge of the char- acter of the Martian, it came also partly from a lack of reliance on the character of humanity, even as exemplified by himself. He was told to be on the look-out for every kind 141 142 STATION X of subtle means that the unseen enemy could possibly seize on to achieve his ends. At the same time, he was unable to conceive of any means available, or against which he could set a guard, beyond taking the obvious precaution of keeping Macrae from the signal-table. This he had done effectually, but the Venerian, in spite of the Professor's promise, was evidently not fully reassured. This gave Professor Rudge an uneasy feeling ; for he did not disguise from him- self for a moment the fact as to which possessed the better knowledge and judgment. The Venerian had claimed for his race a great superiority over humanity, and had given more than ample -proof of it. It was, however, clear that, while having the greatest admiration for the science and mental status of the Martians, the Venerian, when acting in opposition to them, felt his inferiority and danger of defeat. How much greater must man's inferiority be ! If the Venerian felt the greater anxiety, it could but arise from a greater knowledge of the foe. Tax his brain as he would. Professor Rudge could not see what more he could do. He longed for the arrival of the Sagitta. He knew the impossi- bility of any one doing without sleep. If his responsibility meant continual watchfulness, day and night, he saw that time was fighting against him. Everything depended upon the arrival of the cruiser. THE VENERIAN'S AI^XIETY 143 To ease his mind of mere useless worry, he strove to fix his attention on the scientific revela- tions to which he had just Ustened. Had they stood alone, he would have been able to think of nothing else. They were epoch-making, colossal ; yet it now required a distinct effort of will on his part to give to them the requisite con- centration of mind. In this, however, he at length succeeded. Scientific riches had been poured out to him with an unstinted hand. He saw that this new knowledge meant revolution in the scientific world, for it not only went far beyond the dreams of our greatest thinkers, but was at variance with many theories long accepted. Each branch of science being so interwoven with others on which it impinges, it was evident how deeply even those he had not heard dealt with would be affected. As an instance, he remembered the long dispute between the geologists and the astronomers as to the age of the earth, in which each side claimed to have proved the other wrong by many millions of years. He saw that the whole argument fell to the ground before this new and splendid theory of the maintenance of the cosmos. Feeling at length that deep thought was not helping him to keep his brain prepared for its possible coming contest with sleepless hours, he decided to drop the subject until next morning and seek the company of Lieutenant Hughes at 144 STATION X their evening meal. He realized that the time he had hitherto given to that young man, con- sidering that he was practically the host, was scarcely sufficient for the needs of politeness. He also wished to sound him, with a view to deciding how far it would be possible, or rather, desirable, to confide in him. Professor Rudge found Hughes a cheerful light- hearted fellow, who proved pleasant company. He made one or two attempts to interest him in scientific subjects, but saw that although the young officer gave him polite and even deferential attention, his leaning was certainly not in that direction, and his information in such things was quite superficial. The Professor was confirmed in his opinion that to say nothing was best. In passing to his own room. Professor Rudge once more tried the door of the signal-room. It was securely locked. He prepared himself to pass a night of watchfulness. He felt the dis- advantage of not knowing what form the danger would take, or the direction from which it would come. Its intangibility might have caused it temporarily to fade from his mind, and allow him a few hours' rest, but he was deterred by his knowledge of the anxiety of one better able than he to gauge the possibiUties of the situation. Through such uneasy somnolence as he allowed himself, and however much he endeavoured to THE VENERIAN'S ANXIETY 145 keep that being in the mental background, there would persist in sometimes looming up before him the menace of the Martian. The next morning Professor Rudge rose early. In spite of his disturbed rest, he felt his anxiety less insistent than on the night before. His was a spirit that soon rebounded from depression. With the daylight he felt again almost his own sanguine and jovial self. It was not that he forgot for one moment his danger and responsibility, but that the morning brought him greater confidence in his abihty to meet the situation. He roused Macrae, and together they set off to the cliff and inhaled the breeze from the ocean, cool in the early hours. He took Macrae with him, partly that he might not be left at the station without his supervision, and partly that he might take the earUest oppor- tunity of tactfully probing his mind and thoughts on the subject of his experiences on his first visit to the island. He wished to see if any further hght could be thrown on Macrae's desire to return to Station X, Professor Rudge was careful not to let it appear to his companion that he was being examined, or that the talk was with any definite object. The point raised by the Venerian, that there was groimd for suspicion in the desire of Macrae to return to Station X, where his previous experi- ence had been so terrible, would not have occurred 146 STATION X to the Professor, but he now saw the full force of it. He remembered that Macrae had never given him any reason for his wish, and now ascertained, without abruptly asking the question, that he had none to give. This did not come as a surprise to the Professor, who knew more than most men about that obscure subject of the subconscious ego. He saw that the fact went to support the Venerian's opinion. When they returned from their walk, both eager for their breakfast. Professor Rudge was thoroughly satisfied that Macrae had no conscious wish to communicate with the Martian, " the second voice," as he invariably called it. The Professor noticed that whenever Macrae used that phrase, and he never did unless led to it, the same expression of awe crept into his look and tone as had been noticed on that first occasion on board the Sagitta. Short as the contact had been, almost momen- tary, and few, if any, the words that could have passed, the impression made on Macrae had been enormous. It was something, however, to know that if Macrae were likely to attempt anything that had to be guarded against, he was himself totally ignorant of the fact. With this partial reUef of his anxiety, the natural bent of Professor Rudge' s mind asserted itself. His thoughts again reverted to the great acquisition of knowledge so strangely given him. THE VENERIAN'S ANXIETY 147 He got from Macrae the written report of the conversation of the previous afternoon. He spent the greater part of the morning on this and in making notes of subjects he desired to speak about on the next occasion. At the usual hour he and Macrae went again to the signal-room. The Professor noticed that his first call was answered without a second's avoidable interval. The fact impressed him with the fact of the con- stant attention evidently now given at the other end. Whatever uneasiness he might feel, he became confirmed that greater uneasiness existed there, a circumstance that increased his own. It was not so much his own acquaintance with the facts of the case that maintained his fears at the necessary level, as the evident anxiety felt on Venus. Apart from that, and the daily reiteration of the warning, those fears would inevitably have become lulled by the complete absence of any outward sign to stimulate them. Promptly to the usual call, " Are you there ? " came the reply. " Do not repeat ! Answer with one word, yes or no. Has there been any sign or indication of what we fear ? " " No." " On what subject. Professor Rudge, do you wish to converse to-day ? " A long discourse ensued that ranged over a 148 STATION X variety of subjects, all of such intense interest to Professor Rudge, as indeed they would have been to any man of scientific leanings, or even ordinary intelligence, that, for the time, all worry over other matters was forgotten. These subjects included among others — ^Nature's general method, always, in the material realm, proceeding in cycles, never toward finality. This was no new theory to Professor Rudge, but now elucidated and exemplified in a way that thrilled him with admiration. The origin of life was shown to be a thing quite outside the bounds of any finite intelligence, whether human, Venerian, or even Martian. The absolute futility was indi- cated of the hmnan endeavour to find out when and how matter first began to live, the fact being that no matter ever did or ever would live. The mystery of death was shown to be the mere withdrawal of a hand from a machine that would no longer work. The illusion was caused by the fact of our waking consciousness being able only to see the machine. He was given the geological period, with dates, of man's evolution as such, and a short account of the ancestry of the present human races, going back to remote times, to which Oiir historic period is as yesterday.' This was followed by a comparison of the present poUtical and social state of the two worlds. Here again Professor Rudge caught every word with intense avidity. THE VBNERIAN'S ANXIETY 149 He quickly saw two things : one that in this respect the state of things in the Venerian world was ideal beyond his previous dreams of what any state could be ; the other that it would be worse than useless here, spelling absolute anarchy. At the conclusion of this part of the discourse there was a pause and, remembering the similar pause of the day before, the listener was on his guard. Then the voice resumed : "Do not repeat ! Let Macrae now leave you." Turning to his companion and displacing the receivers, the Professor said, " WiU you take your notes of what has passed into your room, please, and write them out for me. Give them to me as soon as they are ready." A minute later he turned to the mouthpiece. " I am alone," he said. In due course the voice resumed : " I must come back to the subject of the threatening danger. We have now every reason to believe that the most careful vigilance* is necessary. Although there has been no sign, we beheve that the influence of the enemy has now the oppor- tunity to make itself felt. If it is as we fear, Macrae may be prompted to do what he would himself be at a loss to give any intelligent reason for. Watch him constantly ! " " I shall be extremely glad when he is out of the island. That wiU be in two days," said Pro- fessor Rudge. " Meanwhile, every precaution shaU be taken." 150 STATION X " Every precaution ! You speak the words too lightly. Professor Rudge. I cannot describe to you the anxiety on your behalf that is felt here ; and when I say your behalf, I mean all your kind. It is necessary to speak plainly. You are not sufficiently in earnest in this matter. Your whole world is now relying upon you alone. If you only had a fuller grasp of the nature of the beings cirrayed against you, compared with whom we are children, it might help you, if indeed it did not paralyse you. I charge you, let there be no unprotected moment. But two days ! " Professor Rudge was profoundly impressed by the solemnity of this warning. He did not know quite how to reply to it. At another time he might have, felt some resentment. Knowing the care he w&s taking, and the anxious time he had been having, he could scarcely admit the justice of the Venerian's words. They did, however, make him realize still more fully the concern and solicitude that obviously inspired them, and so they fulfilled their purpose of heightening his own appreciation of the gravity of the situation. " I feel sure," he said, " that you know better than I how full the position is of peril. Thank you for the further warning. I promise to use the utmost care of which I am capable. Do you suppose our conversation is being overheard on Mars ? " " We are, comparatively speaking, so near, and THE VENERIAN'S ANXIETY 151 that planet at present so far removed, and un- favourably placed, that we do not think it can be. But it is uncertain. We only know that, if the positions were reversed, we should be unable to hear. There is one other thing I must request of you — to come to the instrument at once if Macrae shows any overt sign of the influence we fear. If suspicion becomes converted into cer- tainty, then indeed our line of action must be reconsidered. If there is nothing of this nature to communicate, come to the instrument again to-morrow at the same time ; but from now there will always be some one to answer your call. That is all for the present." Professor Rudge took off the headpiece and passed his hand over his forehead. For a long time he sat lost in thought. With an air even more worried than on the day before he ultimately rose and left the signal-room. He locked the door, and was in the act of dropping the key in his pocket when Macrae joined him. " You have finished ? " " Yes, sir ; here is the report," said Macrae, adding, " if you have no further need of me to- day, sir, I should hke to lie down. My head aches a Uttle." " Certainly," said the Professor. " I shall not require you. I hope you will be all right again in the morning." nr CHAPTER XI DANGER IMMINENT HE Professor sat down on the one seat in I the little entrance lobby. This had three "*■ doors entering into it : the staton entrance, and entrances to the signal-room and the room the Professor was occupying. From his seat he there- fore commanded all three doors. Sitting here, he attempted to utihse the last rays of dayUght in reading over the communication he had that afternoon received, but even before the fading light compelled him, gave it up. He was too worried for mental concentration. He gave rein to his thoughts. The papers sHpped from his fingers to the floor, and lay there unheeded. He recognized that no smaU part of the trouble that oppressed him was due to the vagueness of its nature. He was acting in obedi- ence to a warning which was in itself as mysteri- ous as the danger indicated. He was warned of an attack, but not informed of its method. As to preventing Macrae from communicating, 162 DANGER IMMINENT 153 with Mars, or with any one else, that was simple. The seeming simplicity did not, however, remove the unpleasant sensation of impending danger. If there were but some outward sign he told him- self his nerves would brace themselves to the occasion and he would be easier in his mind. It was like fighting a phantom, or expecting an attack in the dark, but without knowing by what, or from what direction. After a time Lieutenant Hughes joined the Pro- fessor, and they were for a few minutes together at the supper-table. The young man had been puzzling himself for two days how this learned scientist had acquired the reputation of being socially of a jovial disposition. His learning was no doubt indisputable, but for the rest, perhaps he had been overrated. To-night especially, he seemed taciturnity itself. At a comparatively early hour Professor Rudge retired for the night. The monqtony of Ufe at Station X conduced to early hours. His room was reaUy that of Lieutenant Hughes, good- naturedly given up to him during his stay. Pro- fessor Rudge left the door open, and drew his httle camp bedstead to a point from whence he could see the signal-room door. He only partly im- dressed, and decided to keep awake. There was just sufficient light to see objects indistinctly. The time passed very slowly. Once, a grim sort of smUe without any mirth in it passed over 154 STATION X his face, as he compared his present situation with his usual life. That life seemed almost as though it belonged to a distant past. How far away London seemed ! How far away everything seemed — except danger ! Knowing that, however great the need of watch- fulness, it would be impossible to go entirely without sleep the whole of the time until the Sagitta was due, he formed a plan of contenting himself with a comparatively short nap once a day, while the signal-room was officially occupied. As a young man he had been able to sleep just when and where he chose, and was relying on this faculty now. At first he experienced no great difficulty in keeping awake, in spite of the little sleep he had had since landing. He rightly attributed his wakefulness to the strangeness of his experience, and the pecuUar uncanniness of the danger that threatened. He could not bring himself to expect that anything would happen now at night. There could be no possibiHty of wireless communication, for the door was locked and the key in the pocket of his coat, hanging on the peg within reach of his hand. A hundred crowding thoughts passed through his mind. He lost count of time. After at least a couple of hours, it may have been about midnight, the soft tread of bare feet, but distinctly audible in the stillness, was heard peis- sing his door in the direction of the signal-room. DANGER IMMINENT i55 A form was just visible as it crossed the entrance lobby. A good deal startled at this unexpected develop- ment, the Professor rose. Going quickly to the doorway, he put out his head for a better view of the intruder. The light was just sufficient to enable him to recognize the figure of Macrae trying the signal-room door. Knowing it to be securely locked. Professor Rudge stood a few seconds awaiting events. Several times the handle was turned back, and a quiet attempt made to push open the door. Speaking quietly, the Professor asked, "What are you doing there, Macrae ? " There was no answer, but Macrae turned and began to come back towards him, passing without taking any notice although within a foot of him. Macrae walked out of the lobby and toward his own apartment. After turning, having such light as there was upon his face, the Professor could see that Macrae was fast asleep. Professor Rudge knew the danger of awaking a sleep-walker, and allowed him to go without further interference. He felt that he had at last something tangible. Macrae had shown him the Martians' method to be somnambulism. That made much clear to him that he had been before unable to understand. There was no longer the shadow of doubt but that Macrae was under hypnotic influence and suggestion, and was acting 156 STATION X during sleep in obedience to another will. Un- fortunately, there could be just as little doubt as to whose will that was. Still now that the Pro- fessor knew what he had to fight against, the enemy's plan of action, the strain was reHeved and he felt safe. With the door locked there was security. To-morrow he would report the occur- rence and get advice. He drew forward a deck chair and resumed his vigil. How slowly the time passed ! Once or twice, feeling a drowsiness, the reaction from the few minutes' excitement he had experienced, he rose and went to the outer door, gazing at the won- drous pageant spread above him. Long he looked at many a familiar constellation jewelling the tropic night, and at others, southward, not so famUiar. He watched their ordered ranks, their silent, ceaseless westward march. It brought his thoughts to the mysterious voice that had come to him across the zodiac, faint but clear, like the sound of silver bell from that silvery star. Soothed by his gaze into the infinite distances, he went back again to await the remaining hours of the night. He sat in the silence, thinking more or less coherently of this and that, his head nodding, heavy with sleep. All at once he started up, wide awake, not knowing for the moment how, or in fact why, he DANGER IMMINENT 157 found himself thus suddenly upon his feet. He would have repudiated the suggestion that hehad, even for a moment, lost consciousness. That is a thing on which it is so easy to be mistaken. It was now between three and four o'clock, and still dark, but for the starlight. For a second he stood tensely listening. Then came a sound, an unmistakable sound of some one in the signal- room. His mind instantly turned to Hughes, as the only other person who had a key — ^but what could he be doing there now ? Either he or his assistant, in one or other of their little apartments, was supposed to be awake, lest the gong of the call-signal should be sounded from one of the communicating stations. But it certainly had not sounded. The Professor stretched out his arm to take the key from his jacket pocket. He was delayed a moment by the fact that it had by some means come off the peg, and was lying on the floor. He found it and searched for the key. It was gone ! With one bound he was out into the lobby, with a second into the signal-room, the door of which was wide open, and reached the signaller's seat to find Macrae in it, with the headpiece above his head, just fitting the receiver over his ears. To seize the headpiece with one hand, and to hurl the lank figure of the somnambulist sprawling 158 STATION X headlong on the floor with the other, was the work of a moment. He found that his own knees were shaking under him, and the perspiration pouring from him. He sank down heavily into the seat he had so lately emptied. Macrae lay for a second or two where he had fallen. Then he began to pull himself together, and finally rose and stood, lifting his hands to his head and looking round him with an air of fear and bewilderment. The little moan that escaped him instantly brought Professor Rudge to his assistance. He had already realized that in the excitement of the moment action had preceded judgment. He regretted the roughness he had displayed, telling himself that to have seized the jheadpiece would have been enough. By the time he reached Macrae's side, the latter, now thoroughly awake, said, " How did I come here ? What is the meaning of this ? " The Professor noticed an air of rising nervous excitement about him. He decided to make as little of the affair as possible. " You have been walk ng in your sleep, my lad," he said soothingly, " and the fall to the floor woke you rather suddenly. You were in here when I found you. There's no harm done, I hope. Did you ever walk in your sleep before ? " " Never, sir ! " " And how do you feel now ? " DANGER IMMINENT 159 " My head seems completely dazed. I'U go back to bed. Perhaps I shall be better in the morning. I shall be glad to leave this dreadful island." He then added, " Why I ever wished to come to it is a mystery ! " The Professor again noticed a slight rising inflexion of excitement. He therefore took Macrae's arm and led him' towards his room. " To walk in your sleep is no very uncommon experience. It is the shock of the sudden awaken- ing that upsets you. Lie still now and get to sleep again." The Professor remained with him for some time, still feeling rather conscience- stricken. " I might have killed him," he thought, " and after all, it was my fault. After this I can never trust myself again." While waiting untU Macrae should drop off, he reflected on the powerful influence that had acted on him the second time that night, and, this second time, to take the key from where the waking Macrae had seen it placed. He shud- dered as, finally, he rose to leave the room, notic- ing, as he did so, that dawn was beginning to break. He decided to go at once back to the signal- room to redeem his promise, and to place, if possible, the affair in hands more competent than his own had proved. As he took the headpiece in his hands, again he experienced that uncom- fortable shudder. Who would answer his call ? i6o STATION X Suppose — ^no ! Refusing to follow that train of thought,' and calling his courage to his aid, he placed the receivers. " Are you there ? " he said. The interval of waiting was not longer than usual, but it had never seemed so long. Then came the well-known, welcome voice, " I am here. What has happened ? " The professor gave a full account of the night's experiences. Recounting them brought more vividly than anything else would have done, his own remissness. He remembered that he had, at a repeated special request, promised to report at once anything that proved Macrae to be imder other influence, and, in his foolish feeling of security, he had not done so. As he related the events that proved he must have fallen asleep, he felt utterly unworthy of his responsibihty. He was glad when the story was ended, including his unnecessary violence to the sleeper. He ex- pected reproaches. He was prepared to take with humility anything that might be addressed to him. He waited. The interval was longer in reality this time than he had ever known it. Six ' minutes passed. Ten minutes. At last came the answer. There were no reproaches. " Write a note to the officer in charge, request- ing him not to disturb you for two hours in the signal-room. Place that outside the door, and then repiain in the room, locking the door on the DANGER IMMINENT i6i inside. Remain with the headpiece on until calle^." The Professor did as he was ordered. He sat patiently awaiting his further instructions. At the end of a quarter of an hour a voice said, " Are you there. Professor ? " He repUed, and coloured when he found that no remark followed. Every quarter of an hour the question was repeated, and every time, in a tone that betrayed no resentment, the Professor replied, " I am here." At about the seventh call, the voice further said : " We have called a councU, as the matter is too serious for my sole decision. We have come to a conclusion, and I now ask you to place yomrself in my hands entirely. I wish you to yield your will to mine, and to pass into the second, or unconscious, phase, and fear no harm. Rest forward on your arms and yield to my sug- gestion to sleep. I cannot succeed in spite of you, but earnestly request you to assist. Banish all questionings, and, as it becomes possible, all thoughts from your mind. Sleep." The voice continued in quiet insistent mono- tone, urging sleep. At the first request Pro- fessor Rudge shrank back from the suggestion. He wanted to ask questions. He remained silent, however, while the voice continued. Finally he decided to acquiesce. He yielded to the request made him, put his head on his arms, and tried to thirik of nothing but the suggestion made i63 STATION X him by the being under whose influence he ahready was. Very gradually consciousness faded entirely from him. An apparently sleeping figure rested on the signal-table. CHAPTER XII THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT IN telling Professor Rudge of the power of the Martians to force their spiritual possession on beings of less strength than themselves, the Venerian had mentioned that it was within their, the Venerians', power to effect this psychic exchange with the assent of the other being con- cerned. " It was the overwhelming force of the Martian, enabling him to dispense with such assent, that gave him his terrible power for evil. In the request and directions addressed by the Venerian to Professor Rudge at the signal-table, it was such an exchange that he intended. That a foreign or outside spirit could possess or take possession of the personality of a human being was well known to man long before the beginning of modem civilization, a fact of which there is abundant scriptural and other warrant. Such foreign intruder might either impose itself on, or cast out and replace, the spirit in rightful possession. 163 i64 STATION X When the two hours had expired, Lieutenant Hughes went to see if there were any sign of Pro^ fessor Rudge coming out. There was no special need of the room for official use, but Hughes was curious. He was also puzzled. The whole affair was a mystery. The more he thought about it the more remark- able it seemed. A man of eminence, usefulness and known industry such as Plrofessor Rudge would not be wasting his time at Station X with- out some very important object. Surely it was not for the purpose of spending a short time each day in conversation with another station. If that had been the only purpose of his visit, why was the engineer-operator brought ? If, as it was natural to suppose, the latter had come for the purpose of making some change in the system of wiring, or in some other part of the apparatus, under the Professor's instruction, why was there no sign of it ? If there were a mystery, Hughes had no inten- tion of trying to pry into it. He was anxious to do nothing to obstruct, but he asked himself why he was being kept so completely in the dark, even if he could not assist. Such were the thoughts that occupied Lieutenant Hughes's mind as he waited for the door to be opened. It is probable that even then the pro- blem would not have occupied a minute of that easy-going young man's thoughts, but for a short THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT 165 conversation that had just taken place with Jones, his assistant at the station. The man told of a sound he had heard in the signal-room the pre- vious night, first a scuffle and then a moan ; after- wards voices. He had put his ear to the wall and was prepared to swear they were the voices of the Professor and Macrae. " You must have been dreaming," said Hughes. " What could they be doing there at that time ? Had they a hght ? " " There was no light from the window, sir ; the place was in darkness." "That's a queer story, Jones, Why did you not go and see about it ? " " Well, sir, I didn't care to go," replied Jones. " Why not ? " queried Lieutenant Hughes. " I didn't care to interfere when I heard that scuffle in the dark. They do say there was a couple of men murdered here not long ago." " There were two deaths here, certainly." " I don't know if it's true, sir, but there's a yam on the Sagiita that those two men killed each other." " But we were talking about last night," said Hughes. " Well, sir, I didn't care to interfere when I heard that scuffle arid groan," said Jones, with hesitation. " Why ? " " Talking now, sir, in broad daylight, it soimds i66 STATION X silly, but last night I remembered reading in tales about murder scenes being acted all over again and " " That will do, Jones ! I gave you credit for more sense." " I am sure now that it was only the two I said. But I'll find out," said Jones. " How ? " inquired Hughes. " While off duty I'll go down for a bit of fishing, and I'll ask Macrae to come with me. He seems to have nothing to do about this time. I'll lead round to the subject when I get a chance." " There must be no cross-questioning ! " warned Hughes. " Oh no, sir ; if he seems unwilling ; but I'll be able to see." With that they separated. Lieutenant Hughes waited some time longer. As the hour approached for the daily exchange of signals, he decided to hint to the Professor that the time asked for had more than expired. Before knocking, he went over to a seat he often occupied, just outside the window, so placed that it commanded a view of the interior, and made the hearing of a signal call certain. From here, he caught sight of the Professor standing in the middle of the room. He was regarding everything in turn minutely, the sig- nalling apparatus, table, chairs, even the floor, walls and ceiling, as though he had never seen the THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT 167 place before. More remarkable still, he seemed to be even studying himself ! " Hang it all ! " grumbled Hughes, " the Govern- ment service can't wait for this kind of thing ; " and he went round to the door and knocked. Evidently the Professor had reached it at the same moment, for even as he knocked the key turned and the door opened. The Professor stood before him, and for a second it seemed to Hughes that he was being scrutinized in the same inquiring way ; but if so, it was only momentarily. On his part, Hughes now observed something unfamiliar in the manner of Professor Rudge. He noticed that the pupils of the eyes looking into his own were unusually dUated, and that their quiet intense regard made him feel curi- ously uncomfortable. They seemed in some strange way to grasp and hold him, mentally and bodily, and he Uterally had to force himself to make the simple remark that he feared he must now take possession of the signal-room. He noticed that in replying the Professor seemed to fumble over his words, as a man might who is speaking in a tongue he knows, but has not used for years. " I am sorry if I have remained in it too long," he said. " Can you tell me where Macrae is ? " " I think he has gone down to the beach with Jones, fishing," said Hughes. " Yes," he added, " there they are," pointing to two figures, half a i68 STATION X mile distant, just disappearing over the edge of the cliff. The professor thanked him, and as he caught his eye for a moment at parting, Hughes was again conscious of a queer sensation ; involimtarily he shivered. Whatever else was in that quiet but penetrating look, it conveyed to him the un- comfortable impression that not only were his words heard, but his inmost thoughts read. Hughes went to the signal-table to give the call, and the Professor moved from the door, allowing his eye to wander over the island, as he slowly walked over its jagged, rocky surface. The intense blueness of the sky above seemed to claim his admiration. He presently increased his pace, and walked off toward the point of the cliff where the two men had disappeared. Having exchanged signals, and learned that there was nothing further required, Hughes came out of the room, and, taking a book, sat on his accustomed seat so as to be within hearing of t|ie signal call during the time that he was on duty. Soon he began to doze. The two figures that Hughes had seen disap- pearing in the distance, and which he had in- formed Professor Rudge were Jones and Macrae, were in fact Jones and the attendant. Not having recovered from his shaking-up of the night before, Macrae had felt no inclination to join Jones in his sport, preferring to rest quietly on his bed. THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT 169 where he ahnost at once dropped off to sleep. Presently he rose, evidently not fully awake, and walked past the sleeping Hughes. Quietly and slowly he entered the signal-room and made direct for the instrument. When the supposed Professor Rudge came to the cliff edge, and looked down on the sea and beach, he saw no one. It was evident the two men had walked round on the shingle, one way or the other. As either way would almost imme- diately take them out of sight round the curving cHff, the question was, which way. As, in the absence of footmarks there was nothing to guide him, the Professor promptly turned to the right, but first glanced over the island, as if to make sure neither of them was returning to the station. He moved much more rapidly now, as if already dissatisfied with the position, and having gone some httle way, and seeing no sign of those he sought, he turned, not to retrace his steps but to ascend the cliff quickly at the place he then was, and again look over the island. He was evidently determined that neither should return to the station without his knowledge. Seeing no one, he walked quickly across, without again descending, to a point as far on the other side of the place of his descent, and, looking over the cliff, at once saw the two young fellows. He called to Macrae. 170 STATION X Hearing the call Jones looked up, saw the Pro- fessor, and supposing he must be short-sighted answered, " Mr. Macrae is not with us, sir. We left him at the station." The figure above instantly disappeared, and if Jones could have seen over the cliff edge, he would have been astonished to see the burly figure of the Professor making a pace for the station-house that he would not have given him credit for/ Before the latter quite gained it, he saw through the open door of the signal-room something that seemed further to lend him wings — some one sitting at the signal-table, while Hughes was sitting outside. Lieutenant Hughes glanced up from his book at the sound of rapid footsteps, saw the hunying figure coming quickly toward him. The peculiar something he had before noticed in the eyes again fixed on him was no longer a mere suggestion, that left him uncertain if it were real or imagin- ary ; it blazed forth. He literally shrank upon his chair as the other passed, and at the words addressed to him : "Sit where you are ! Be powerless to rise until I give you permission ! " At the sound of the words, at that terrible glance, all power and volition seemed to ooze from him. He found he could not even will to get up from his seat. The other had already entered the signal-room. He crossed the room toward the signaller's chair. THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT 171 Macrae was removing the headpiece. At the sight the Professor paused, while Macrae rose from his chair as he put down the headpiece, and swinging round, in contrast to Macrae's usual manner, with a quick lithe movement instinct with energy. " Come here," he said, indicating the chair from which he had just risen, and speaking in a ringing level tone of assured command. The figure before him did not move. He looked up. Their eyes met. On the instant of the Martian's recognizing his unexpected enemy, and that a physical con- test alone could decide the mastery, his plan was laid. It was to wear down his opponent in a fight, neutralizing his greatly superior strength in one continuous struggle when he was already short of breath through running, and playing for all they were worth the points in his own favour, youth and agility. He sprang forward, but was promptly knocked down. Scarcely seeming to touch the ground, with panther-like elasticity, he was up again and attacking. There was no pause or respite in the ferocious struggle that followed. It was a fight to km. To and fro the bodies swayed. Chairs and whatever happened in the way were hurled aside and smashed. The bungalow shook with the impacts of the two bodies. 172 STATION X The Venerian saw his enemy's plan and its danger. He regretted too late his race back from the cliff in such haste. His endeavour to save the situation threatened now to be the means of his undoing. He tried to use his superior physique to smash his opponent once for aU while some breath remained. But that opponent seemed on aU sides of him at once. He was like the spirit of a Fury in a body of steel wire. Locked in a momentary hold, they hurtled through the doorway, past the terrified Hughes, and the fight was continued in the open. The Martian knew that he now fought in view of other witnesses, his kin, far off across the void. He fought as a protagonist, not for himself alone, but for all his race, whose existence also de- pended on the strength of his single arm. The knowledge added to an energy already super- human. With eyes bulging, Hughes, powerless to inter- vene, watched the contest. It was the most frenzied duel that had ever been. He felt almost physically sick at the sight of a fight where there were neither rules nor respite. Blows were fast and furious. The Venerian' s hope of a, quick decision faded. Gasping and sobbing for breath, he felt the end was near. The indomitable invading spirit that had seized Macrae's body was driving it to victory, but not without paying the price — a price THE MARTIAN TRIUMPHANT 173 that would have lain Macrae himself helpless in the dust. In the end his science won, his superior know- . ledge of the human frame, how obtained who knows ? He got in a blow on the solar plexus, evidently knowing the exact spot of that ganglion, and man's champion was down, his fight lost. The Martian knelt over his prostrate opponent, and, whispering something to him while still in his agony, forced his will at last. Presently the two rose together, physically and psychically the conqueror and the conquered. The Venetian was taken to the wireless operator's chair, and he put on the receivers. To Hughes the mystery of it was insoluble. For some minutes he watched the form of the Professor and noted how it bore itself erect and with an indescribable, and in the circumstances wonderful, calm and dignity even in defeat. He looked at the dark inscrutable features of him standing over the chair like a tail sinister spirit of evil, and for a moment caught a flash from those eyes. Then the scene quivered and faded before Hughes. Sagging sideways in his seat, he fainted. A minute later the figure in the operator's chair also wilted, seeming about to fall, then pulling himself together somewhat, sat up, but limply now. Professor Rudge put up trembling hands to 174 STATION X remove the headpiece. He found himself in the operator's chair at Station X. He staggered to his feet and, turning round, looked into the eyes of the Martian. CHAPTER XIII THE SAGITTA ARRIVES FOR one awful moment victory and despair gazed at each other. The aura of the Martian was rendering his victim powerless to oppose his will. He motioned the Professor to re-seat himself at the instrument. He assisted to put the receivers on the head of the dazed and horror-struck man. While doing so his hand faltered and he staggered. At the same moment the Professor felt as though a weight had been suddenly lifted from his mind, as though a spring that had been pressing his wiU into subservience to another had suddenly snapped. He looked up. The Martian's face was deathly white. He tottered. In another moment he collapsed on the floor. The spirit might be daunt- less, but the human body it had invaded, and by which alone it could act on the material plane, had for the moment given way under its late ordeal and present burden and fainted. The Professor rose from his chair and for a 176 176 STATION X moment stiood motionless. Then, realizing what had happened, hope once more re-asserted itself. " Hughes," he shouted, " come and help me bind this — er — ^madman, before he recovers ! " Hughes jumped up with alacrity, relieved to find himself free from the inexplicable influence that had bound him. He ran for cord, and in a few seconds returned. The sailor and the scien- tist made a very thorough and complete job, that looked as if it could safely be trusted to defy any efforts on the part of the Martian to free himself. They then carried him into Macrae's room, and deposited him on the floor. " I'U wait here until he comes to," said the Professor. "No doubt you wish to make your report of what has happened." As soon as Hughes had left the room, Professor Rudge proceeded to gag the Martian as effectually as he had bound him. He had not made up h^ mind how much to tell Hughes of the real state of affairs. He wanted a quiet moment to think. He waited until there were signs of returning consciousness. They were to be felt as well as seen. He then hastily withdrew, locking the door behind him. He passed into the signal-room and listened to the report Hughes was making to the Admiralty. He made no attempt to interrupt or suggest in any way. He wished it to be Hughes' report, made from the view point of his present knowledge. THE SAGITTA ARRIVES 177 While giving half, his attention to the report. Professor Rudge was debating with himself how much or httle of the true position he should tell Hughes. Finally he decided to tell him all. When Hughes had finished sending his message, the Professor told him he had something to say. He began at the beginning, with Macrae's first coming to the island and all that had, step by step, followed. Professor Rudge was prepared for surprise from Hughes, even for his look of increduUty. As he proceeded he saw the surprise heighten and the incredulity disappear. When he had finished, it was with great satis- faction that the Professor heard Hughes' assurance that he would stand by him in any course he might have to adopt, even the most drastic. Even the most drastio — for that was the way his thoughts were tending. " And now, Hughes," Rudge said, " the ques- tion of all others is — ^what are we to do next ? " Hughes was silent, not venturing to make a suggestion. " I thought it best," said Professor Rudge, " to let you make your report before explaining mat- ters. It had to be made, and for you to haye entered on the actual facts as now known to you would have been useless and undesirable. The knowledge would have hampered you." " Most certainly it would," said Hughes. M 178 STATION X " If it has to be gone into now," said Professor Rudge, " it must be by me. The question whether to do so or not is worrying me." " Had I known all I know now," said Hughes, " I don't know how I should have been able to make a report at all ! " " I feel that time should not be lost," said the Professor. " I know what I consider ought to be done, but as it entails what the courts would call murder, I hesitate to assume the responsibility, ; especially as the Sagitta is due." "It's a good thing that Captain Evered knows so much about it," said Hughes. " He will be the better prepared for what has happened now." " I wish he were here," said Professor Rudge. " I used to think, with the Venerian's warning ringing in my ears, that once I knew the form of danger that threatened, then my anxieties would be relieved. I never anticipated a situation like this." " At all events we've got him trussed like a turkey," said Hughes. " We're safe for the present." Professor Rudge' s anxiety was not lightened by these words. A live Martian and safety were ideas that did not easily assimUate in the Pro- fessor's mind. " I only hope to heaven," he said, " that Cap- lain Eve;ed wiU hsten to me when he does come, and will kill that fiend." THE SAGITTA ARRIVES 179 " He'll be sure to make his report first," said Hughes, with conviction. " By heaven, Hughes, you are right ! " cried the Professor. "If he goes first to the signal-room, we are done for. That decides me. I'll take the bull by the horns and make my own report now, il I can get the First Lord at the other end. He is already half prepared for what I have to tell him." He asked Hughes to call up the Admiralty and say that Professor Rudge at Station X wished to speak at once to Mr. Mansfield, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Although the call came two hours before his usual hour for rising, in one hour Hughes was able to report that Mr. Mansfield was waiting to hear Professor Rudge's communication. Rudge had passed this hour, during which dark- ness had descended on Station X, with a restless- ness he could not restrain. He went more than once to the door of Macrae's room and listened, but there was no sound from within. Thinking this absolute silence might be only while he was Usten- ing, he walked away and, after an interval, re- turned to the door noiselessly. Still profoimd silence. Was the Martian dead ? The Professor was not troubling himself about whether or no he had killed the Martian. The question with him was, what was he doing if aJive ? Not for a moment did he beheve his i8o STATION X prisoner dead. But, although bound quite securely, some movement on the floor was pos- sible, if he were struggling to be free and, although gagged, an inarticulate moan could be emitted. But there was not a sound. The Professor once put his hand in his pocket for the key. The action recalled the occasion when another hand had taken a key from that pocket. The memory caused him to desist. He went and stood at the star-lit entrance of the station-house. He recalled the words of the Venerian : " You are not nearly sufficiently in earnest, Professor Rudge." Would he say the same thing now, was the uncomfortable thought. Perhaps ! If the Venerian were speaking to him now, Rudge knew in his heart what the advice would be. He could in imagination almost hear the Vener- ian's stem words : " Kill, kill ! " After a time some impulse prompted him to return and use that key. Some impulse, for he had no clearly defined object in going to the room where the Martian lay. When Macrae's hand had taken a key from that pocket it had been a moment of crisis indeed ; perhaps not greater than this one in its possibilities. The hand was different, but the directing mind was the same. On the first occasion it had acted from afar ; now it was perilously near. A few seconds later Professor Rudge was again THE SAGITTA ARRIVES i8i at the entrance to the signal-room, with white face, seeking the company of Hughes. At that moment the message came through that the First Lord was at the instrument. The Professor assumed the headpiece. He gave a detailed account of all that had happened at Station X from the time of his arrival down to the time of speaking. He reminded Mr. Mansfield of their conversation in London, when he had requested permission to come with Macrae to the station, and made sure that the account he then gave of his interviews with Macrae, resulting in his complete assurance of the latter's bona fides, was clearly remembered by Mr. Mansfield. He found that the contents of Macrae's diary, and the evidence he had given before his examiners at the Admiralty, was better remembered than he had expected by the First Lord. Professor Rudge was satisfied so far, and with the fact that Mr. Mansfield seemed a good deal startled at the assertion that a Martian was now at Station X, a being with powers of imknown extent, but certainly vastly superhuman. He answered a great many questions, and ultimately himself asked the plain question, if Mr. Mansfield himself accepted the fact of the Venerian com- munication and his, Rudge' s, evidence as to the present position. The answer was disappointingly non-committal, and some further conversation that ensued left i82 STATION X Professor Rudge with the conviction that it would be worse than useless to ask authority for Cap- tain Evered to hold an inquiry with plenary powers for the Martian's execution, should the evidence satisfy him of its necessity. Better make his appeal to Captain Evered with the question open than meet with a direct refusal binding Evered's hands. Professor Rudge left the instrument depressed with the feeUng that he had done very httle if any good, for the ultimate decision had been that Captain Evered's confirmation and advice must now be awaited. The real purpose of his going first to the instrument had not been accomplished. Mansfield was interested in what he had just heard, and in the whole " Macrae affair," as he called it, and curious as to the denouement. He had sufficient knowledge to see that the alleged communication contradicted no law of science. Knowing that the etheric waves on which wireless depended would travel from the centre of pro- pagation throughout space indefinitely, he real- ized that the reception of a wireless message from a neighbouring planet was a mere question of the competence of the receiver to detect it. As to its having been done in this instance, he wished to keep an open mind. This attitude was to Professor Rudge as useless as would have been entire incredulity. Those who were not with him were against him. The THE SAGITTA ARRIVES 183 Martian peril had not sufficiently impressed Mr. Mansfield to make him see the need for instant action. He lacked the penetration of mind re- quired. Sitting amid his comfortable surround- ings in London, he was incapable of realizing that an event now happening on a remote islet of the Pacific could constitute a menace to the whole world. This attitude did not prevent him from specu- lating as to Captain Evered's account of affairs when he arrived. Knowing that, accident apart, this must be within a very few hours, he gave instructions before leaving the Admiralty wireless room that he was to be called so soon as Captain Evered's arrival at Station X was reported. As the day passed and he received no call, his curiosity deepened into concern. By evening he felt the necessity of seeking further information, and returned to make inquiries of Station X as to the Sagitta's whereabouts. He knew that the vessel, whether delayed or not, must for the last twenty-four hours have been within wireless sig- nalling distance of the island. He gave instructions for Station X to be called up. After the space of a quarter of an hour he was informed that there was no reply. Meanwhile, at Station X, as the night wore on, neither Professor Rudge nor Hughes could rest. Sometimes they talked together in the signal- room ; at others, singly or together, they paced i84 STATION X up and down under the stars. Never had hours passed so slowly, so anxiously, as those preceding the arrival of the Sagitta. They were walking to and fro together outside, when the Professor said, " I think perhaps we are better and safer outside. The place may not be healthy for us." " Not healthy ! What do you mean, sir ? " said Hughes. By way of reply. Professor Rudge began to speak of auras, emanations of telepathic nature and kindred subjects where Hughes could follow him only with difi&culty. " By way of showing you that the things I speak of are not only real, but of practical importance for us to remember, I will tell you of something I foolishly did while waiting for you to get through to Mr. Mansfield. I had been thinking on what the Venerian wotild do if in my place. I went to look at our bound enemy. I have Uttle doubt now where the thought emanated from. I un- locked the door and went in. By the starlight I could see the figure on the floor. Suddenly an influence assaUed me, attacking my power of will and resistance to impulse. In an instant I realized where this must come from, and its im- port. Only just in time I managed to get outside, beyond its range apparently. Now Usten ! This was the thing, the thought, if thought it can be called, that assailed me, in which my own volition THE SAGITTA ARRIVES 185 in another moment would have been submerged — if I had remained I should have unbound the Martian." Hughes gasped. This was vuicanny beyond his weirdest dreams. They were still speaking of it as they paced to and fro before the station-house, when the signal bell rang. It was the Sagitta. According to the instructions he had received, Hughes at once proceeded to report the late occur- rences on the island. Professor Rudge then added considerably to the official statement, so that by the time the Sagitta was near the island, Captain Evered knew everything. When the cruiser had anchored. Captain Evered sent a boat and wirelessed that Professor Rudge and Hughes should come on board, with Jones and the attendant. They at once left the signal-room, and Hughes gave the necessary orders. As they were passing Macrae's door their atten- tion was caught by sounds from within as of some- one tumbling violently about the room. Both had been convinced that no man living could free himself bound as they had left the Martian. But as they now exchanged a startled glance, the same thought struck both — the Mar- tian was partially imbound ! They stood as though paralysed. Crash ! The body was precipitated violently against the door i86 STATION X at which they were standing. Panic seized them, and they ran for the cUff, calling loudly for Jones and the attendant to follow them. Suddenly Professor Rudge stopped, and darted back to the signal-room. What he went to do was soon done, and he was out again, running after Hughes. When half the distance to the boat had been covered the Professor looked over his shoulder. No one was visible, not even the other two men. Unaware of the urgency of the call, they had not obeyed it with alacrity. A few minutes later the Professor was tumbling into the boat, and the order was given to shove off. When near the Sagitta, a searchlight was thrown in their direction. It illuminated their track and the point of the shore from which they had started. A figure was plainly visible under its beam, standing on the cliff, watching them. The professor gave one glance. It was the Martian — free I CHAPTER XIV CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION WHEN Professor Rudge reached the Sa- gitta's deck he found Captain Evered eagerly awaiting him. The Professor knew that to convince Captain Evered of the full meaning of what had happened was of the greatest importance. Adequate pre- cautions and prompt action were vital. It was significant that, when the searchlight showed up the figure of the Martian standing on the cliff, he gave orders that, as soon as the boat was hoisted on board, the Sagitta should stand off from the island. But the sight of that unbound figure had also suggested to him a flaw in the account he had received. Captain Evered decided to hear the report of Lieutenant Hughes first. He listened attentively and asked many questions as to the Ufe and mutual harmony, or otherAvise, between Professor Rudge and Macrae while at the station. He satisfied himself that there was nothing 187 i88 TATION X there that could in any way account for the con- flict that had taken place. He then sent and asked Professor Rudge and Dr. Anderson to join them. " I am very sorry, Professor Rudge," he said, " for the way you have been served, but glad that you bear your injuries with so little concern." " My dear Evered," said the Professor, " I have no time to think about them, no thought for any- thing so trivial in view of the urgency of the matter before us." " What's to be done ? " asked Captain Evered. " I have heard all Hughes can tell me." " You accept, then," said the Professor, " my account in general of what has happened, and of where we now stand ? " " It would never occur to me," said Captain Evered, " to doubt your sincerity or competence to judge of this matter better than any man ahve." " It is a great reUef," said Professor Rudge, " to know that you are with me." " It was because I was certain of you that I first had the matter brought to your notice. At first I set it all down as a delusion of Macrae's ; but Anderson converted me. Are you convinced that it is within the power of these beings to force themselves on human beings and act for their destruction ? " "I can speak from experience," said the Pro- CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION 189 fessor, " that, with mutual consent, this is within the power of the Venerians. There is now, alas ! proof that tne Martians can effect this transference without any such consent of their victina." " You mean that it has happened in Macrae's case, and that his body is now animated by a Martian spirit ? " " Undoubtedly," said the Professor. "Why," asked the Captain, "have they not made us all their victims ? " " Because," said the Professor, " the first part of the procedure appears to be something in the nature of hypnotism. To establish the necessary rapport, some channel of communication with the victim must exist. In the case of these powerful beings, the sound of their voice even on the tele- phone, wireless or otherwise, is sufficient." " Still," said Captain Evered, " I do not under- stand " " I see your point," said the Professor. " Our security is this. In the normal state, our sense of hearing is not acute enough to enable their voice to reach us. It is rendered so only in the abnor- mal state of receptivity set up by previous rap- port existing between the speaker and listener." " And this rapport was established between the Martian and Macrae " "In some way," said the Professor, "through the Venerian, even to his surprise. The explana- tion of that lies far outside our present knowledge igo STATION X of the subj ect. While the method is a mystery, we have this isolated instance to prove that one mind can be made a sort of stepping-stone between two others, at least when one of them is a Martian." " You consider, then," said Captain Evered, " that this difficulty of initial communication, which appears to be our only safeguard, is in con- sequence of the inter-planetary distance only." " No doubt," was the reply. " You maintain," said Captain Evered, " that at this moment there is a Martian within two or three miles of us, and in command of the greatest wireless station existing ? " " I am glad," said Professor Rudge, " that you have seen this. It is convincing proof that you appreciate our peril. If the Martian were in absolute control of the Station X installation we should not now be sitting here. After Hughes and I had already started to make a bolt for it, it flashed across my mind that running would be useless, so I rushed back to the signal-room and detached the coherer from both instruments — and there they are ! " The Professor produced from his pocket the two coherers and put them on the table. " They are," he added, " at once indispensable and irreplaceable from any material on the island." Captain Evered looked at Rudge with frank admiration. Then after a pause he said, " I am not going to attempt any communication with CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION 191 Station X; we'll leave it alone. I hope to God its present occupant will leave us alone." "I think he'll have to," said Professor Rudge. " Well, as to that I rely on you," said Captain Evered. " You remember. Professor Rudge," said Dr. Anderson, " what the Venerian said — that the Martian's performance always surpasses anticipa- tion." " Yes," said the Professor gravely ; " there is no knowing what the Martian may be able to do in the way of replacing the lost coherers. His chemistry may be capable of transmuting the elements." " Suppose," said Anderson, " our wireless opera- tor received a call up from Station X." Captain Evered looked swiftly from Anderson to Professor Rudge. " Just now," said the Professor to Captain Evered, " you referred to taking measures for the Martian's extermination. Would you take those measures now ? " " Would you advise a landing party ? " asked Captain Evered. " No," said the Professor, " the risk is too great. The Venerian warned me that compared with the Martians we are as children. Further, there is this that we have to reckon with. There are three men on the island, and any one of these may now be the Martian." 192 STATION X The Professor's words seemed to bring vividly to his hearers' minds the tremendous power and subtlety of the enemy. " But," continued the Professor, " you have good guns on board." He looked at Captain Evered. " They would scarcely do our business so far as the Martian is concerned," was the reply. " One of the reasons why this island was chosen is that owing to its contour, nothing but the sur- rounding cliff is visible from the sea. Perhaps if we had an observation balloon — ^but we haven't. Is that your solution, Professor ? " " The guns, yes," was the reply. " Suppose the Martian can replace the missing coherers. Our only hope is to blow the whole installation to atoms ! " The suggestion seemed rather to stagger the two men. For a few seconds Captain Evered looked at Professor Rudge without speaking, evidently revolving the idea in his mind. " Well," he said at length, " so far as I am con- cerned, I have crossed the Rubicon. They say one may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. Hav- ing taken the responsibility of acting without official authority, the only logical course is to follow wherever it leads." After a full minute's sUence, he added : " And I'U do it ! " He then left the cabin. When he had gone Rudge heaved an immense sigh of relief. " I think, Anderson," he said, " the world has CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION 193 you to thank for Captain Evered's present atti- tude. It is due to your having taken advantage of your opportunities that we have not now to convince him of the danger." " I hope he'll act on your suggestion," said Anderson. " It would be a great reUef. I don't feel a bit safe " " As to the Martian repairing the damage ? " " Yes." " I should be the last," said Rudge, " to under- rate his powers, but without either coherer or detector, and I have taken both, there can be no wireless. This is no ordinary installation. Its ef&cacy consists in the balance of two elements in the coherer of mutually opposing force, mercury and arsenic. These for the coherer, and tantalum for the detector, are absolutely indispensable for this instrument, which, by the way, is my own invention. Neither of the three elements exists on the island ; so that unless he can create them by transmutation overnight, he is powerless." " Yes," said Anderson again, but his tone did not indicate any great conviction. So soon as the light of dawn was sufficient, the Sagitta took up a position off the island to enable her to sheU the signal-house and installation gene- rally. When her 6-inch guns had done speaking, nothing but the ruin could have remained of the installation of Station X. While Captain Evered had been watching the 194 STATION X working of the guns he was himself under the observation of Anderson, who was standing on the cruiser's deck in company with Professor Rudge. The doctor could read his superior's face like a book, and note the signs, sUght as they were, of the mental disturbance that the business in hand caused him. Presently Anderson said to his companion : " The way the chief has risen to the occasion is splendid. Only one who knows him as well as I do can realize the wrench it must be. He knows it must mean court-martial," "In all probability," said Professor Rudge, " he will never be called to account for it at all." " Why not ? " asked Anderson. " Because if the world escapes the fate that threatens, it will be because it accepts our reports and evidence and takes the necessary measures before it's too late. If it does not escape — and I am much afraid that is after all the most probable outcome — ^then there's an end to all of us." " Do you really think that the chances are against us ? " " I am afraid they are," was the grave reply ; " but we have certainly a fighting chance yet." " I'm rather surprised at your view," said the doctor. " Last night it was I who was most afraid of him." "Your fears," said the Professor, "were of CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION 195 what he might do on the material plane. You thought he might reinstate wireless overnight. I did not think so. There are impossibilities even to a Martian. We know the few material ele- ments he has, and that nothing short of transmu- tation would give him what he requires. This reaction is beyond man's power with all the means we can command. I did not thmk that even he could do it overnight in the circumstances." " You are right," said Anderson. " To succeed under such limitations is inconceivable." " You have, however, left out the principal limitation," remarked the Professor. " What ? The principal limitation ? " queried the doctor. " Time ! If he does succeed, it will be through too much time being given him. All depends on our being able to convince our feUow men of the danger that threatens before it is too late. But it is on the psychic plane I fear him most. If he can attack again there, he wins. We are power- less to hit back. We have only escaped so far by a succession of miracles." " We have certainly had wonderful luck," said Anderson, " Yet mark this," said the Professor, " although missing his aim every time through some narrow chance, he has on each occasion gained something. First when Macrae was in rapport and conversation with the Venerian, he reached out in that incom- 196 STATION X prehensible way and almost grasped his victim. Although thrown off, he implanted an order that served its purpose later, Secondly, when he actually seized Macrae, only to meet the Venerian, he, by doing the apparently impossible, came face to face with me. Here again, although he just missed success through physical collapse, he pro- gressed. He has gained the island, and it is we who are turned out. He has at last a pied-d-terre where he will be difficult to deal with. One more such failure, and our ruin will be certain." A few minutes after the noise of the guns had ceased, Captain Evered went below without giving the expected saihng orders. Almost immediately word was brought to Professor Rudge that he was wanted in the Captain's cabin. As he entered. Captain Evered said, " I have done what I have done because I believe the cir- cumstances required it. I do not profess that it has been easy. If I had had to do with an enemy more — what shall I call it ? — ^more obvious, and got back shot for shot, I should be quite content. But this is different." " I congratulate you on having done a finer thing," said Professor Rudge. " You have risked everything for what you felt to be your duty. If we succeed against our terrible enemy, humanity will owe its escape and thanks to you." "At all events," said Captain Evered, " one step outside precedent appears to call for another. CAPTAIN EVERED'S DECISION 197 I want your approval of what I now propose. Having done what will be certain to end in a court- martial, I want to make for the nearest point where I can report. Is there any objection to this ? " "I thought of it last night," said the Professor, "while we were waiting for dayUght. I knew what your wish would be. I want you to stay here." " My action," said Captain Evered, " has been largely owing to my faith in you. I don't see what more I can do here at present, but in an affair of this kind I recognize you are the best judge." " I have reasoned it this way," said Professor Rudge. " As soon as they find at the Admiralty that Station X is for some unknown reason cut off, and there is no news of the Sagitta, they will send a cruiser, the nearest available, to investigate ; that is to say, straight to Station X. If she gets here, all that has been done has been done in vain." " By the Lord Harry, yes ! " said Captain Evered. " But do you see where that leads to ? " " It leads to the necessity of out taking counter measures," said Rudge. " In other words," said Captain Evered, " to await that boat's arrival and prevent her, if pos- sible, by physical force if necessary, from carry- ing out her mission. The height of mutiny ! " igS STATION X Professor Rudge hesitated before replying. He thought he detected a suggestion of hesitation in Captain Evered's tone. He confessed to himself that it would be a terrible position for him. He therefore decided to avoid if possible following that line of thought. For his own part, he knew it would be a thousand times justified to s nk the whole navy if only by that means mastery was to be gained over this deadly enemy. He could not for a moment forget that the fate of the whole world was in the balance. " If we meet the vessel a considerable distance from the island we may be able to dissuade her commander from communicating with the station. That gives us at least a chance which leaving now would lose us. We cannot afford to lose any chances, Evered ! As to what to do if the com- mander is not amenable to reason, we shall have a further opportunity of discussing it. We need not decide for the moment." " Very well," said Captain Evered, at length. " So be it ! Professor Rudge heaved a sigh of relief. " Thank God 1" he muttered. CHAPTER XV MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED THE morning after his talk with Professor Rudge Mr. Mansfield was astir before his usual hour, after a bad night. The mystery of Station X would not be banished. He tried to persuade himself that the anxiety he felt was due to the unexplained silence of the station, apart from anything Professor Rudge had told him. He strove to convince himself that the latter' s statements were too wildly extravagant for acceptance. Long accustomed to listen to extravagant state- ments, both in the House and elsewhere, he had learnt that, although they may have a certain force for the moment, due to the eloquence with which they have been urged, their effect is brief. Yet here was a typical example that, to his surprise, had taken an opposite course. Pro- fessor Rudge had spoken with his customary force, so there was nothing surprising if his narrative had for the moment carried his listener with him. 199 200 STATION X The effect ought gradually to have faded, but it had not; What was then the special quality in this account that caused it to obtrude itself upon his thoughts ? Not its lack of extravagance, he told himself. Why, during the night, had it haunted him? Curiously enough, the more it haunted him the less extravagant it seemed. That characteristic seemed to peel off, and what remained was alarm- ing. It began to dawn upon him that what he had described to himself as extravagant might be better defined as unprecedented, and that the two things are different. During the hours of darkness Mr. Mansfield made progress toward the truth. He did not, however make sufi&cient progress to be prepared to admit it. This morning he had an appointment with the First Sea Lord at the Admiralty, and he had asked Sir John Sarkby, the Home Secretary and his most intimate friend in the Cabinet, to be also present- He had already ascertained that it was stiU impossible to get any reply from Station X. Too early for the appointment, he strolled in St. James's Park, and soon he found his spirits rising in response to the beauty of the morning. Great is the man whose judgment is not at all affected by his physical surroundings. Mr. Mans- field was clever, but not great. He was a strict MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 201 guardian of his personal dignity, and keenly sus- ceptible to ridicule. He looked at the cheerful sky, at the green of the park, the waterfowl, the chattering sparrows. He asked himself, if, after all, the fears that had oppressed him during the night were not chimerical. The more they looked so to him, the more ill at ease he became, the more distasteful seemed the coming interview. He tried to convince himself that the sole busi- ness in hand was the silence of Station X, and the report from Hughes that had preceded it. But wriggle as he might he could not deceive himself as to his duty. He must give Professor Rudge's version of the present position at the station, and his opinion of the awful consequences that might follow. And—r-here was the difficult part — ^he must admit that he was himself to some extent troubled about it. It was an unpleasant thing to do before a man like Admiral Benson. Suddenly an idea occurred to him, and he looked at his watch. There would be time. He made for the Mall, and hailed a taxi. He looked on it as an inspiration that he should have just remembered that Professor McFaden of Edinburgh was now in London. McFaden rivalled Rudge's eminence in the scientific world. Each had his special set of admirers, but practi- cally all regarded them as the two greatest men in their particular sphere. Rudge led in dis- covery ; McFaden was his equal in knowledge, 202 STATION X and the more orthodox. There was not supposed to be overmuch love lost between them. Professor McFaden was surprised to receive so important a visitor just as he was finishing break- fast. " I hope," said Mansfield, " an old friend will excuse this lack of ceremony ; but I want you to come back with me to the Admiralty. Can you manage it ? " " Certainly," said McFaden ; " but what's it all about ? " " You know that Rudge discovered a new method of wireless of so powerful a nature that it made wireless telephony over world-wide dis- tances possible ? " " I am not, denying that the thing stands to his credit," said McFaden, speaking with a decided Scotch accent. " You were one of the very few to whom this method was communicated," said Mansfield. " I myself am ignorant of the method, but that does not matter. It exists, and we hope and believe is not known to any foreign Power. For naval purposes a very powerful installation, far surpass- ing all others, exists in the Paicific, and Rudge is now there." "Rudge there !" said McFaden, greatly sur- prised. " I knew he was away, but man, why on earth is he wandering the Pacific ? " Mansfield hesitated. " I cannot answer that MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 203 question now," he said. " I shall have to leave it for the meeting." " Why do you want me there ? " asked McFaden. " Well," said Mansfield, " the reason is this. We have received a report from Rudge that is astounding beyond all precedent. It requires scientific knowledge to examine it. I want your support. I picture myself speaking of it before Admiral Benson, to whom the reasoning wiU be simply unintelligible. I am not saying that Rudge is not mistaken. If, when you have heard the report, you say he is, you relieve me of a world of responsibility. WTiat I want to secure is that Rudge shall not be set aside by mere ignorance." " Well, it's mysterious enough, I'll grant," said McFaden, with a smUe, as they walked out into the hall and he picked up his hat and stick. " Let us be off." Arrived at the Admiralty, they went to Mr. Mansfield's room. Although it still wanted a few minutes to the appointed hour, the other two men were there. Mr. Mansfield introduced Professor McFaden, and explained that in consequence of the nature of the communication he had to make, he con- sidered that some one with ability to judge of its scientific value should be present. " We are here, I believe," said Admiral Benson, " because we have lost touch with Station X, and 204 STATION X to decide without further delay " — ^he glared at Mr. Mansfield and Sir John Sarkby — " what is to be done about it." " Exactly," began Mr. Mansfield, " and " " As it is perfectly obvious," broke in the Adnjiral, " that the one thing to do is to send and find out what's the matter, our decision should be soon arrived at." " No doubt," resumed Mr. Mansfield, " and I anticipate that your view will not be disputed. This affair, is, however, complicated with another matter which cannot be so promptly disposed of." There was a pronounced snort from the Admiral, who looked at his watch. Mr. Mansfield was pal- pably ill at ease. " I am afraid," he said, with quiet dignity, " I shall have to claim a certain amount of your time. I have here a report from Professor Rudge as given me by wireless from Station X, where he now is." " And never ought to have been," growled the Admiral. " What business has a school man at a naval station ? " The contemptuous tone annoyed Professor McFaden, " Man," said he, nowise impressed by the Admiral's manner, " do you not know that but for the school man, as you call him, the naval station would never have existed ? " Admiral Benson merely growled. MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 205 The Home Secretary was beginning to enjoy himself. He liked being amused. Mr. Mansfield then proceeded to tell the story from the beginning. An hour had elapsed before he concluded. Ad- miral Benson showed the greatest impatience, and, as the nature of the subject became apparent to him, interrupted more than once. McFaden sat silent and inscrutable, slowly twirling his thumbs, his eyes on the floor. The Home Secretary seemed interested, but did not volunteer any remark. " And now gentlemen," Mr. Mansfield con- cluded, " you know as much of it as I do. I have called this informal meeting because something has to be done at once. The simple question is, whether a cruiser is to be despatched to Station X, or other precautionary measures taken pending further news. I ask you. Professor McFaden, after hearing Professor Rudge's report and knowing the silence that has so strangely ensued, if you think it desirable to do so." " I see no reason," said McFaden, " for not doing so." " And I say the boat ought to have been hun- dreds of miles on her course by now," said Admiral Benson. " And you ? " said Mansfield, turning to the Home Secretary. " You see," said Sir John Sarkby, with his 2o6 STATION X pecxiliar smile, " I do not know anything about naval matters ! " " You know precisely as much about them as I do ! " said Mansfield. Admiral Benson's look gave clear expression to his own view of civilian heads of service depart- ments. " Well, sending another cruiser," said Sir John, " seems the obvious thing to do. I am sorry about poor Rudge." The meeting broke up with the decision to send a fast cruiser, and it was left in the hands of Admiral Benson to say from where she should be sent. He detached the powerful battle cruiser Sea Lion from the China fleet for the purpose. Whether on account of her armament or her tremendous speed he did not say. Many of the thousands who passed threw a glance at the building, and above it at the aerials of the mysterious wireless. Fortunately none knew that from that installation a fateful message had just flown, or the terrible consequences that were destined to result from it. Mr. Mansfield left the Admiralty with Professor McFaden. " I don't know why," he said, " but in my heart I am not really quite easy about this. Why are you in favour of sending this cruiser ? " " Partly because I do not see in any case why a cruiser should not be sent. And I also fear MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 207 there can be little doubt that Rudge is quite insane on this subject. He always had a weakness on the metaphysical side, and this Macrae business hit him on his vulnerable spot. He is now as mad as a hatter, but may not appear so. . I know him. He may be quite capable of getting over the naval captain of that cruiser. It looks to me as if he has done so." " Do you think then," said Mr. Mansfield, " that Captain Evered's silence as well as that of Station X is simply attributable to Rudge's insane influence ? What about Macrae's experiences ? " " With respect to Macrae," said MacFaden, " you were not very clear, but I came to the con- clusion that investigation would show all that business could be traced to Rudge. From your first question, I do think so. For with all working parts in duplicate, a wireless station is practically immune from such long interruption to the ser- vice, as far as the installation is concerned. We have therefore to deal with the personnel, friend or foe. In the absence of war, the foe is eUmin- ated. This brings us to the resident staff, Rudge and his companion, and the cruiser. If you ask who of these is responsible for the interruption, I say, without hesitation, Rudge." " Your logic," said Mr, Mansfield, " seems un- answerable. Only now be equally convincing as to his insanity, and I shall be eternally grateful to you." 208 STATION X " That," said McFaden, " can only be a matter of opinion." " Is it not possible," said Mr. Mansfield, " that, though sane, he is being in some way himself deceived ? " " Deceived ! Yes," said McFaden, " but only because he is a monomaniac on this subject. On any other he is possibly stiU sane enough. I will say this for him, although we have not always agreed : there is not a cleverer investigator, or, leaving out his one weakness, a man more difficult to deceive than Rudge." " Good ! " said Mansfield. " Your position is now clear to me. You believe that Station X, together with the Sagitta, is now in the hands of a monomaniac, and for that reason advised the despatch of another cruiser." " Precisely," said McFaden ; " and now I wiU ask you to lend me the whole dossier of the Macrae affair. Your exposition of it could not always be quite followed. I have already said what I expect to find." " And if you do not find it ? " " Then," said McFaden, "I will recall what I have said of friend Rudge." " But," said Mr. Mansfield, " it will be too late to recall the cruiser ! " " Not at all," said the cool Scot. " It will be a good few hours before she is beyond the wireless." " I could not contemplate the cruiser's recall MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 209 now she is well under way," said Mr. Mansfield. " And burning coal, no doubt, at a great rate," said McFaden, quite coolly. "A thousand to one she is right. But I have it in mind to study the papers, which I shall do at once, and see you again if my opinion of it is changed." " Would it not have been better," said Mr. Mans- field, rather stiffly, " to have studied the docu- ments before the order was given ? " " The chance is so very small," said McFaden. " There is just a point or two that wants clearing up. No doubt they will be clear enough when I can give the matter quiet attention. It's diffi- cult te give anything quiet attention with that stormy petrel Benson within hail." Mr. Mansfield thought that perhaps McFaden was a Uttle frightened of Admiral Benson, as he was himself. He assumed that the recall of the Sea Lion was very unlikely. He knew that war- ships of that description were not sent to and fro while a professor studied a bundle of documents. He saw, however, that McFaden was not to be in the least impressed by such a consideration. The papers were given to Professor McFaden, and by eleven o'clock he was busily engaged with them in his own study. Feeling now convinced that McFaden's solution was the correct one, that Admiral Benson was placated for the moment and that the right thing had been done, Mr. Mansfield sighed his relief 210 STATION X and gave himself up to his secretary and the day's correspondence. At three o'clock in the "afternoon he was sur- prised to hear that Professor McFaden was asking for an interview. " Show him up immediately," he told the atten- dant. Professor McFaden was nearer appearing excited than ever before in his hfe. He plunged at once into his subject. "I have been very carefully through these papers," he said. " I tell you at once, the thing amazes me. My theory would explain Rudge fine, but man, it doesn't explain Macrae. The point you failed to make clear and left open is that before Macrae's account was written, he and Rudge had not met, nor did they know of one another's existence. That alters the whole aspect of the evidence. The assumption on which my reasoning was based goes from under me." " Have you reversed your opinion, then ? " asked Mr. Mansfield. " I will tell you the opinion I have now formed. Meanwhile, I take it there is plenty of time to recall the Sea Lion, should you desire it." " I shall want to hear remarkably solid reasons first," said the First Lord. Nevertheless, he rang the bell and sent to inquire how long Hong-Kong would be in touch by wireless with that warship. He was told there would still be several hours. MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 211 " I will again ask you the question I put to you this morning," said Mr. Mansfield, " Do you believe that there has been interplanetary com- munication ? " " When you asked me that question before," said McFaden, " I was convinced that on probing the affair I should find it rested on Rudge's evi- dence, and I said. No. I have now probed it. I find that Rudge can be eliminated, and I say, I do not know ! " " On what do you rest ycur opinions now ? " " On what happened to the operator, and the circumstances in which it happened. Scientifi- cally the evidence is very strong." " I may gather then," said Mr. Mansfield, " that you do not consider a wireless signal from a neighbouring planet scientifically impossible ? " " Hitherto I have always held it to be practi- cally impossible," said McFaden. "I said scientifically," persisted Mr. Mans- field. " Seeing that the required medium for it un- doubtedly exists all the way, one might hesitate at such a statement." " Now tell me what evidence you have seen in the documents that I did not mention," said Mr. Mansfield, leaning forward, the morning's anxiety redoubled. " I have already said there is the fact that Macrae's papers were all written before he met 212 STATION X Rudge. For the rest, I will deal with two points. First, Macrae gave what he said was the Vener- ian's description of a telescope. As we are dealing only with evidence, we need say nothing of its merits or demerits. We have the fact that it describes an instrument such as does not exist on earth, and the description requires scientific knowledge that Macrae could not possibly pos- sess." " That," said Mr. Mansfield, " is certainly strong evidence." " The second point," said McFaden, " is even stronger. A date was put in his head, for his future return to the island. I am quite satisfied that neither Rudge nor any man else gave him that date. It turns out to be the exact day of the conjunction of Mars. This does not happen so often that it could be hit on by chance. It would be the day chosen according to his story, and only according to that. Apart from it, the date would have no meaning. Can you not see that such evidence is significant ? " " It is irresistible," cried Mr. Mansfield, " and includes not only the Venerian, but the Martian also ! " " Logically, it does," said McFaden. " Then do you still think the Sea Lion ought to have been sent before we learn the position at Station X ? " " There is still nothing before us to ind cate MR. MANSFIELD ALARMED 213 any danger in sending the cruiser to the station," said McFaden. " It might perhaps have been left awhile." Professor McFaden was half regretful that he had given such unqualified acquiescence to the Sea Lion's despatch, but he refrained from saying so. " Benson would make an awful row," mused Mr. Mansfield. For a minute or two he was unde- cided. At length he said, " I have made up my mind what to do. To-morrow there will be a Cabinet Council. The decision shall be left to it. I will send instructions to the Sea Lion to go so far on her journey as will not take her out of touch with Hong-Kong, and await orders there." This he ordered to be done, in spite of Admiral Benson's protests. Later in the afternoon a cable was received from Hong-Kong that some- thing was wrong with the wireless, and no message could be sent to the Sea Lion or anywhere else. At the same time his secretary mentioned that there was something wrong with the Admiralty wireless. Struck by this coincidence, Mr, Mans- field went himself to investigate, and was told that no message could be heard in consequence of what appeared to be some new kind of electric storm. He even put on the receivers himself, and heard a continuous babel of inarticulate sounds — 214 STATION X loud, distracting, emanating from no one could tell whence. It rendered anything in the nature of wireless telephony, or even ordinary wireless,, quite impossible. CHAPTER XVI THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES THAT evening Mr. Mansfield called on his friend the Home Secretary. " This thing is getting too much for me, Sarkby," he said. " I begin to think that events are moving fast, but what they are, why they are, or who is pulling the strings and from where, are questions to whiih there seems no present answer." " You mean the Rudge business," said Sir John. " Yes ; but since the meeting McFaden has read all the details of the affair from the begin- ning. I had to leave out many details this morn- ing, and it seems that among them were things that were important as evidence. McFaden is not the confident man he was. He came to me immediately after he had digested all the facts." " What about the Sea Lion ? " asked Sarkby, quickly. " Yes : among other things he seemed more than 216 2i6 STATION X willing for her to be recalled, although not pro- fessing to see any particular reason for it." ■ " What in particular weighs on your mind ? " " It's the cumulative effect of the evidences that there may be truth in what Rudge said, I was at the time impressed by him, but reflection enabled me partially to throw off the effect, owing to the unprecedented nature of his statements." " Well." said Sarkby, " what alters that ? " " This," said Mansfield — " that the Sagitta is lost to us, and Station X inexplicably silent, are facts, and they seem to strengthen Rudge's story. Now, on the evidence, of which he must be a far better judge than you or I, even McFaden is on the wriggle. And on the top of it, there is this wireless storm, or whatever it is. I begin to think it is all connected." " Well, for my part," said Sarkby, lighting a cigar, " I am not taking any of this story. The whole thing is curious, I admit. But see what miraculous coincidences do happen. There will come along some simple explanation of it all. Don't let it get on your nerves, old chap. Let's talk about it to-morrow at the Cabinet Meeting, and so get rid of individual responsibihty." " But I would rather, if it could have been avoided, that it didn't come before the Cabinet." " Why not ? " " I was going to bring it up, more particularly as to the Sea Lion going to Station X or not. That THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 217 being taken out of our hands, what is the good ? It ought to be kept secret for the present." " Blasphemer ! Do you insinuate that secret things may not come before the whole Cabinet ? " said Sir John, with twinkling eyes. " You know perfectly well, Sarkby," said Mans- field, " there are one or two among us before whom it would not be safe to mention that the cat had kittens, if it were important to keep it from the papers." " Well, Mansfield, go your way," said Sarkby. " My way is now straight to No. 10," said Mans- field. " I wiU explain the thing as well as I can to the Chief, and try and persuade him to have it up before a Committee of the Cabinet only. I hope I shall find him in." " Hope you will," said Sir John ; and so it came about that the matter of Station X was not brought before the Cabinet. In the course of the day Admiral Benson woke a few echoes at the Admiralty. Some one, pos- sibly with a certain humour, suggested to him that he should try what he could do at the wireless, as nobody else could make himself heard. He took the suggestion, went up to the wireless room, and put on the receivers. He did not, however, open his mouth. His face became a study of surprise and bewilderment. Presently he gently put the receivers on the table. " WeU ! " he said. " Of all the unquaUfied " 2i8 STATION X Admiral Benson's idiom was notorious at the Admiralty. In the afternoon an informal meeting took place, at the Prime Minister's, and the Station X affair was fuUy discussed. The Prime Minister's attitude seemed to coincide with that of the Home Secretary, without being quite so positive. He thought the present mystery would soon clear it- self up, either by the recovery of the wireless and news from Station X, or the arrival of the Sagitta somewhere with a satisfactory explanation, pro- bably a very simple one when known. Mr. Mansfield saw that it would be useless for him to say more, and it was therefore decided with apparent unanimity to let things take their course until something fresh happened, and in view of the secrecy of the station, on no account to allow any alarmist story to get to the Press. It was easy to make these plans, but when several people are concerned it is easy for whis- pers to get about. So far as the " wireless storm," as it somehow got to be called, was concerned, there was of course nothing secret about that. The state of things was soon ascertained to be world-wide. Wireless communication had entirely ceased. It became the general topic of conversation. Every day columns of the papers were full of it. When it was found, as day followed day, that the phenomenon continued, the savants of all nations THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 219 took up the investigation by every means that their science could suggest. Meanwhile, in letters to the Press, a great many fantastic explanations were put before a bewil- dered public. Most of the amateurs decided that the cause was electric. The less they knew about electricity the more they used that hard-worked word. One man suggested that it was a mani- festation of the Almighty's anger with the world " for its excessive secularity." It was suggested that any peculiar behaviour of the Aurora in polar regions should be studied. Even the zodiacal light was not unsuspected. One pessimist surmised that it indicated a disturbance of the ether by some cometary or other body of high electric charge approaching from outer space with frightful speed, coming, very possibly, straight for us, and that the escape of our globe in the circumstances was problematical indeed. His idea caused some amusement, but if he had been capable of interpreting his dream in terms of the spirit instead of terms of matter, he would not have been so very wide of the truth. While the public was thus occupied with con- jecture, there were two groups deeply interested, the scientists and the politicians. The latter in more than one country were asking themselves if this new thing could be of other than human origin, and if of human origin, what it might por- tend. 220 STATION X The situation in Europe was delicate, and such a thing as the universal interruption of wireless communication caused suspicion.- Each of the Great Powers was suspected by the others. A great deal of secret service money was spent with- out result. Still the days passed during which there was not one moment of the twenty-four hours when the wireless receivers were not fuU of this extraordinary and meaningless din. The scientific world was entreated by the Govern- ments to spare no labour and no expense in their efforts to find out the cause — ^how, where, and if possible, why, it was being done. Whether it was because our Empire is wider flung than others, or because with certain envious rivals we are supposed to be masters in the art of grab, it became whispered that England was emitting this impediment to communication for some sinister reason of her own. The echo of this soon found its way to the House of Commons, and was persistently voiced by the peculiar people there whose delight it is to snipe the front bench. The Prime Minister for the most part answered the questions, and, being a master of sarcasm, gave his questioners full measure in his repUes. But secretly he was uneasy. He knew the Govern- ment was anything but firmly seated, that a very little additional unpopularity in the House would topple it over ; that many members were, while THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 221 maintaining silence, suspecting it of being up to some folly respecting this mystery. This was aggravated by Professor Rudge's name becoming mixed up with it. AU the world at once wanted to hear him on the subject, and, needless to say, all the papers at once published the fact that he could not be found. The Prime Minister felt the awkwardness of his very obvious dilemma. He could neither teU what he knew of Rudge's absence without being made tell much that he was determined not to tell, nor produce him. It was a very short time after that Professor Rudge reheved the tension of the situation by producing himself, and things began to move swiftly. 'Before any one knew where they were, the Sagitta was at Falmouth, and Professor Rudge and Captain Evered in London. The Prof essor broke his journey for a few hours at Plymouth to see May Treheme. On his jour- ney home he had been wondering how he would manage about secretarial assistance. He knew of no one just fitted for the occasion. The secrecy imposed seemed of itself sufficient to preclude any idea of a confidant. Suddenly Miss Treherne's name occurred to him as an inspiration. He recalled her personality, her brisk cheerfulness, her energy and quick intelligence, her courage and common sense. He remembered how devoted she had been to Macrae. 222 STATION X He reflected that it might be put to his door that Macrae was lost to her, for if it had not been for him, Macrae would never have had the oppor- tunity of returning to Station X. Macrae was doubtless " dead," as we use the word, pushed before his time beyond the veil, while strange to say, his body, the mortal part, was not dead, but animated by a fierce and power- ful spirit now fighting, not against a man, but against humanity. Professor Rudge found May Treherne at her old address. She, too, it appeared, was ready to reproach herself for the efforts she had made to infuse enthusiasm and ambition into Macrae, when his own prophetic warning of coming disaster held him back. She listened to all Professor Rudge felt he could tell her, accepted his proposal, gasped a little at the handsome salary he suggested, and walked with him to the station to catch the London mail, promising to follow in a day or two. On Professor Rudge' s arrival in town he went straight to his house in Great Queen Street, where he Uved with a sister, considerably his senior, and impressed with the conviction that her sole mis- sion in life was to look after her wonderful brother. A simple, kindly soul, thoroughly competent to fill the office she had assumed, she would herself have laughed at the accusation of being possessed of intellect. THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 223 Professor Rudge went home, but he had no thought of rest. Miss Rudge was troubled at the signs of worry that she instantly detected in him, but she waited with feminine tact to learn what the trouble was. She seized upon the subject of his clothes and wanted to know how he dared scandalize the neighbou hood by appearing in such clothes, such linen. Within an hour he escaped, " decent and respect- able," he was told, and certainly with the best meal he had eaten since he had left home. CaUing a taxi, he drove straight to Mr. Mans- field's house. Mr. Man field was no less pleased than surprised when Professor Rudge was announced. At last he would learn something to lighten the darkness in which he seemed to be groping. At last there was some one to whom he could refer his colleagues, and on whom he might throw responsibility. " This is a great surprise," he said, as the Pro- fessor entered. " I did not anticipate seeing you to-day. When the Sagitta was signalled I was told you were on board." " Have you seen Captain Evered ?" asked Rudge. " Not yet," was the reply. " He is no doubt finding out what is going to happen to him. Ben- son s furious with all things, from etheric inter- ruptions to recalcitrant captains. It will mean court-martial and half-pay for Evered, I fear." " We shall see," said Professor Rudge quietly. 224 STATION X " I have come here at once, Mr. Mansfield, because the matter before us and the world must suffer no delay. There are details of the position here of which I am ignorant, and of which you can enUghten me." " Everything I know is quite at your disposal, but I feel more in need of enlightenment myself than qualified to spread it," said Mansfield, with a smile. " I know, of course, about the interruption to the wireless," said Rudge ; " but, partly in conse- quence of that, I know nothing else — the Govern- ment's opinion, popular information, or measures taken or proposed regarding the affair of Station X. I want you to bring me up to date in these . things." Mr. Mansfield proceeded to enlighten his visitor as to the occurrences in London and Europe since Station X had been cut off from the rest of the world. Professor Rudge was not surprised at what he heard ; he had expected it. It proved to him that any chance that remained for mankind on this planet depended on himself and, under Pro- vidence, himself alone. " When," he asked, " will be the next Cabinet CouncU ? " " This day week," said Mr. Mansfield. " There must," said Rudge, " be one to-morrow morning early." THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 225 " There will certainly not be a meeting of the Cabinet to-morrow, early or late," was the dry of&cial rejoinder. Mr. Mansfield did not like Pro- fessor Rudge's 'must,' or his manner. The Professor looked at Mr. Mansfield for a moment without speaking. " Will you," he asked, " come with me now to see the Prime Minister ? " " I do not think Lord Saxville would be able to receive you at present," was the reply. " He will receive me all right," said Professor Rudge grimly. Mr. Mansfield stiffened still more. " I regret," he said, " that I am unable to go with you just at present." " Well, good-bye, Mr, Mansfield," said Pro- fessor Rudge, with imperturbable good humour, ^^,he rose to go. " Thank you for all the informa- tjjQn you have given me. til wanted to know just hoyri matters werei before seising Lord Saxville'. We shall meet rflgain tormorrow."^ I'll r ^^ : '* .,; After Professor f Rudge Imd feken his' leave Mr. ^ansfeld remembered^ the inaanyn things he had w.aiited: toyask him aboutijand that hfr-had leamt nothing. ,. 1 - -i : . " i-irn^t.fc;;. as -. md f'--dc I g, If Professor, iRudge!s ititerviewi with the First J^^:|Jjhadi been* lacking in isyrii|)iathyl that with' the Prime Minister was stormy. ii > ■ .xNoj;C«ne! had' ever seen; the Professbr in this humour before. To-day he was not slbpping'to 226 STATION X plead or to explain : he was a battering ram. At No. ID he was at first refused an interview. Without wasting time he wrote a note and asked to have it taken to Lord Saxville. His name at least procured this service. The note did the rest. He was shown into the waiting-room, from which a few minutes later he was conducted to a room where Lord Saxville was seated at a table covered with papers. " So, Mr. Rudge," began the Prime Minister, in an even voice, " you threaten me ! " " I dare anything at present," said Professor Rudge, looking straight at Lord Saxville. " There is too much at stake to-day for the ordinary rules to obtain. I have learnt from Mr. Mansfield that you and the Government know my opinion respect- ing the present position at Station X and its danger. I know that that opinion is not generally accepted among you. It is vital that it should be, and measures must be taken without delay. I ask that the Cabinet should meet to-morrow, early, and that Captain Evered, of the Sagitta, and the most eminent men of science now in London, or within reach, shall be present ; furthermore, that I shall have an opportunity of laying my opinion before the meeting, with all the facts, vouchers, evidence that I shall be able to produce in support of it." " I'm afraid it is impossible," said Lord Sax- ville coldly. THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 227 " Then you refuse ? " said Professor Rudge. " I'm afraid it is impossible." " You have read my note ? " asked the Pro- fessor. " I have." " And still you refuse ? " " I repeat your request is impossible," said Lord Saxville. " I prefer not to refer to the threat in your note." " Will the meeting be held ? " perssted the Professor. " It will certainly not ! " " Then my threat, as you describe it, will be carried out," said Professor Rudge. Assiuning his haughtiest attitude, the Prime Minister intimated that the interview was ended, and left the room. Feeling sanguine about the meeting on the morrow. Professor Rudge left Downing Street. He knew Lord Saxville' s fear of the Press, and Professor Rudge' s threat of publicity had im- pressed him. He was not mistaken. He had been at home about three hours when a messenger came from Mr. Mansfield to say that the Prime Minister had communicated with him on the ' subject in which Professor Rudge was interested, and that while a Cabinet Meeting in the ordinary sense could not be held to-morrow, it was possible that an informal meeting of some members of the Government might take place, to hear Professor 228 STATION X Rudge ; and would he now say who were the men of science he desired should be present, so that they might be communicated with. "So!" thought Rudge. "My lord capitu- lates. A bitter pill ! " With infinite tact, he wrote a letter of thanks to Lord Saxville, at the same time apologising for the rather unceremonious manner in which he had descended upon him, and any heat he might have displayed. The names on the list that Professor Rudge prepared were not chosen because they were men with whom he was in most general agreement, or men that he thought he could most easily influ- ence. His worst enemy could not deny that it would have been impossible to find six more dis- tinguished scientists in the country. Later, this fact greatly impressed Lord Saxville. They were all personally known to Professor Rudge, and as, next day, he entered the room where the meeting was to be held, he noticed that they were all present. Knowing well that a cer- tain branch of his past investigations had brought him some sharp criticism in other days, he could not help an inward smile. " They think they have me now ! " he thought. The Prime Minister was not the first to speak. Sir John Sarkby had evidently been delegated to introduce the subject of the meeting and act as the principal speaker. THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 229 In his suavest manner he explained that " Pro- fessor Rudge had requested the Government to give him an opportunity of bringing before them and his brother scientists a subject that he con- sidered of the greatest and most urgent impor- tance in regard to the interests of the State, and in fact, the world." " The Prime Minister," he continued, evidently addressing his remarks to the scientists present, " and some other members of the Cabinet had already heard an outline of the subject to be dealt with. While they did not profess to follow Pro- fessor Rudge in all the opinions he advanced, yet in view of the eminence of the man and the im- portance of the subject, if he should be right. Lord SaxviUe, with characteristic open-minded- ness and liberality, had decided that Professor Rudge should have his opportunity to place before them his opinions on certain recent events, and the grounds on which he held those opinions. It was gratifying to him and his colleagues to see present six other men in the first rank of science ready to support a brother savant so far " — ^Sir John Sarkby was especially suave here, and his voice rose half a note — " as they were able to endorse his conclusions." Professor Rudge was a clear thinker gifted with the faculty of lucid exposition. During his voy- age to England he had prepared himself for this moment. Every voucher for what he was about 230 STATION X to say was to his hand. Not the smallest point tha:t could bear for or against his argument would be allowed to escape his attention. As he rose he was fully conscious of the keen intellects present and of the fact that if there was the smallest flaw n his armour of proof, it would be seized on with avidity. He knew that these six were not only the most critical, competent and dangerous, but actually, in the last resort, the only part o:' his audience that mattered. He knew that if he carried them, he carried the whole world of science, and with that backing he could . defy any Government. To these therefore he mentally addressed him- self and cast the politician temporarily from his thoughts. First, however, he paid a tribute to Lord Saxville's promptness in according to what many men in his position would have regarded as an unreasonable request. Lord Saxville bowed slightly in acknowledgment of this peace-offering. In the course of his speech Professor Rudge read many papers, with the exception of Macrae's diary, mostly official ; but it was chiefly with his extempore eloquence that for nearly three hours he held his audience. All remained tensely eager to hear every word, even where the greater number of them were, through lack of knowledge, out of their depth and unable to foUow the argu- ment. When he finally sat down there was a minute's THE PRIME MINISTER CAPITULATES 231 silence, during which the politicians present, with- out consulting each other, aU felt that it would be best to wait for a lead from the sc entific bench. Professor McFaden was the first to speak. " Rudge, man," he said, from where he sat, and there was genuine admiration in the Scotchman's tone, " we all knew you had the gift of speech, but you have siurpassed yourself. And I'm no sur- prised at it, for ye certainly had the greatest theme any professor ever dealt with." " Thank you, McFaden," said Professor Rudge, speaking a trifle hoarsely after his effort, " but let us not waste a moment over compliment. I want your judgment." " No doubt," said the Scot, " and ye shall have it. For the present we all doubtless want to consider the matter. I can say it wears a very different aspect to what it did before I heard you." He rose to his feet, and evidently considered that so far as he was concerned the meeting was over. It was clear that what a mere Prime Minister might have to say had Uttle interest or him. Lord Saxville, however, while seeing that I'ttle more could be done at the moment, had a word to say before the meeting broke up. " Professor Rudge," he said, " I wish to say to you, in the presence of all here, that after hearing 232 STATION X you I think you were quite justified in desiring this meeting, and to some extent " — there was a just perceptible hesitation between his words that indicated they were being chosen with some care ■ — " in the steps you took to procure it. Without caressing any opinion before further consultation, and especially before learning the views of these gentlemen present, who are best qualified to judge of its many scientific points, I candidly admit that you now appear to me to have a much stronger case than I had dreamt of. For any abruptness in my manner at our last interview I express my regret." ' And so the meeting broke up. CHAPTER XVII PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM THROUGH the action o' Admiral Benson Captain Evered was not present at the meeting to hear Professor Rudge, who had desired his presence so that he might be there to answer questions on matters of fact within his knowledge. His absence made no difference, however, as the need of additional testimony was not felt by any one. As soon as the meeting was over. Professor Rudge joined Mr. Mansfield and spoke of the position of Captain Evered. " What," he added, " is now going to be done ? " " A cotirt-martial," said Mansfield. " You must see that is inevitable. Benson wants his head on a charger at once. I am afraid his con- nection with the Service is over. If he is put on half-pay he will be extremely lucky." " Of course," said Professor Rudge, " you will readily understand that holding the opinion I do, 233 234 STATION X I wish to save Captain Evered from what must appear to me an act of great injustice. So faf from thinking him worthy of punishment, I am convinced that his action alone saved the situation in so far as it has been saved, and but for him we should not be here now." " Of course I quite see that," said Mr. Mans- field. " If, after hearing me," said Rudge, " you now hold my views, you must feel the same. Whether that is the case or not, I do not ask, but I do ask you as First Lord to stop this court-martial, at least for the present." ' You see," said Mr. Mansfield, " there are regular rules for all such cases. My connection with either of the services is short, and I know very little of such procedures. Of course I can see that Evered' s breach is glaring. And then Benson is such an unpleasant man to interfere with." " But if it were a matter of policy ? " "That," said Mr. Mansfield, "would be a different matter. Then Benson's wishes could be set aside." "Well," said Rudge, "I consider it is. My statement is now before you and the other mem- bers of the Government, and a decision on it one way or the other must be come to without delay. Is it policy to hold a court-martial on Evered while the question whether his action was neces- PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 235 sary or not is sub judice ? And remember that the Government decision is not the final decision ; that time alone will show — show very soon, I greatly fear. What I ask therefore is that the court-martial should be held over, and Evered's services retained, until his judges will have solid grounds for their decision." " There is great point to your argument cer- tainly," said Mr. Mansfield, in a hesitating way. " Put it before Lord Saxville," said Professor Rudge, " and say that it is my earnest request. Say that Evered acted under my advice, and that I will stick at nothing to defend him. Be sure you say that." Mansfield wa somewhat behind the scenes. He smiled and promised. In the result Captain Evered was placed under " open arrest," retaining for the time his post on the Sagitta. The members of the Government evidently held a private meeting after hearing Professor Rudge, for before the day was out each of the scientists received a request to draw up, so soon as possible— the following morning was suggested — ^a written statement o' his opinion on the subject of Pro- fessor Rudge' s statement. ' The scientists also had their meeting, the result of which was that one gave it as his opinion that Professor Rudge was deluded in some way not clear, admitting that it had been in circumstances 236 STATION X and through a curious sequence of events, that abnost excused him. One decUned to express an opinion one way or the other until the present state of the wireless, or rather, the cause of it, had been solved, giving it as his opinion that if Professor Rudge were correct, the clamour on the wireless would be found connected with it, and therefore that the first thing to do before accepting hypotheses as facts, was to solve that mystery. The other four, and they were those who were distinguished for common sense as well as science, considered that Professor Rudge had made out a sufficient case to justify the Government in taking instant action as though its truth were incontest- able. Their argument was that absolute proof, as the phrase is used in science, was not necessary to their conclusion, for when so much was at stake, action for safety was clearly indicated. After his efforts Professor Rudge went home feeling the inevitable reaction. Every bodily comfort that affection could suggest was lavished upon him, but he wanted something more. It was one of those times when even the stoutest and most self-reliant natures feel the need of some sympathetic soul that can understand and en- courage. He knew of none. The secrecy imposed on him seemed in itself sufficient to preclude any idea of a confidant. Perhaps it was that thought that PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 237 brought to his mind one who akeady knew much of the matter and who could certainly be trusted with the remainder — May Treheme. To-morrow she would be under his roof. The thought somehow cheered and comforted him. He felt it would be good to have sortie one, not alone for the purpose of relieving him of much clerical work, but to whom he could talk on mat- ters about which to others his lips were sealed. Feeling relieved, his courage re-asserted itself, and he went to his laboratory. An idea had occurred to him. He had a small wireless installation at his house for experimental purposes, and at this, with receivers on, he sat and listened. The wireless storm was still going on. As unintelligible as ever, it seemed neverthe- less to have a new interest for him. The investi- gation he was engaged on lasted for many hours. It was almost dawn when he ultimately retired, and his first act on waking was to return to his laboratory. At length he seemed satisfied. In the morning the Prime Minister and his col- leagues had the six reports before them, and a very short interchange of views showed Lord Sax- ville that there would be trouble from the diver- gence of views within the Cabinet. Partly because he could not but be influenced by the majority of the reports, and no doubt partly because he saw the party danger of delay, he decided that the matter should be promptly dealt with. He 238 STATION X asked the more important members to meet him at the Admiralty in two hours' time for a further talk with Professor Rudge and the other six scientists. At this meeting Lord Saxville himself opened the proceedings. " Gentlemen," he said, addressing himself directly to Professor Rudge and his confreres " since we met yesterday we have received the reports you have sent us on the Martian danger. One of you declines to accept it ; Professor Sten- ham, of Oxford, wants further evidence on a cer- tain point that he thinks has relation to it ; but the other four strongly advise immediate action on such evidence as we already possess. In face of such a majority, to remain inactive is impos- sible. " The primary purpose of this meeting is there- fore not to decide if we shall act, but to receive your advice as to what course that action should take. It is not an ordinary matter, and, for its efficient handling, it is evident that the most up- to-date knowledge on subjects which active poli- ticians have, I fear, little time to study, is indis- pensable. " I may doubtless take it that action means taking measures for the destruction of a being now on the island known as Station X. " The destruction of a man on that island, or any number of men, would be a simple matter, PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 239 but the kernel of the whole affair before us is the assertion of Professor Rudge that this being is not a man. He tells us he is a Martian, and informs us that his powers are so vastly superhuman that a single error in our measures would inevitably be fatal, and that every hour's delay is dangerous. " Tell us, then, geritlemen, before we go fur- ther, what, on the supposition that Professor Rudge is right, are the measures you advise." " Saxville," whispered the Home Secretary and would-be Prime Minister, to the colleague sitting next him, " is supposed to be addressing himself, solely to the scientists, but you will notice how adroitly he is endeavouring to force our hands with his ' primary purpose of this meeting.' Like Mansfield, he is getting under the influence of this Rudge." " Perhaps Rudge is himself the Martian," laughed the other. " Gad," said the Home Secretary, " it looks like it." Meanwhile Professor Rudge had begun to speak, " Of the reports to which Lord SaxviUe has alluded, it is an immense relief to me to find that four are everything I could ask, and that it is intended to act in accordance with them. " I now wish to refer to one of the other reports, that of my friend Professor Stenham, because the point it raises is a very reasonable one, and because I beUeve I have found the answer to it. He refers 240 STATION X to the present interruption to wireless communica- tion. It was a very shrewd suggestion that this was related to the Martian invasion, and it struck me so yesterday. I have spent the night on it. " I have an instrument in my laboratory, of my own invention, which I had intended to hand to the world at the next meeting of the Royal Society. With this it is an easy matter to detect at any moment the direction and length of the Hertzian waves on which wireless depends. " I have spent over twelve hours in taking observations, and my first showed that all the etheric waves came from the same direction. I had* anticipated thiit, having the idea that they pejrhapsi came from Sta.ti©%X.( ;But an observa- tion taken one hour later showed that thi^jall canae irom j a ■ new?. diflec^niygfTrhis sfiertie^ 'in- explicable, for certainly Station X had ndtmOvedl Every j succeeding > observation stowed , t further divergence. At the end of twelve hour's.' r their direction was exactly opposite to iwheiirl/atarljed. ;?p" That /garve me; the clue, j Following it, I sbon found that lalthougkfthe line ofadifectiori made! a constantly chan^ng litngle Iwjth ithe horizon; it pointed to iaj fixed point in spacer j That! point is in Aifies.. I meednotremiijid my dmifri^res ihere that at present YenusJsi in Aries ! " nt r^. io uib 03 The poUticians ipresent didnot seem at once to see the drifts of this, but among thei scientists PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 241 there was a sudden movement of the keenest interest. McFaden banged his right fist into his left pahn. " Ma conscience, he's got it ! " he cried. " May I," said Lord Saxville, with a smile. " ask what it is that Professor Rudge has got ? " " The explanation," said Professor Rudge, " is that the Venerians are undoubtedly making this etheric disturbance. I am the only man now on earth rendered by the wonderful rapport they can establish capable of hearing their voices, and for that a Station X installation would be required ; but they have found a means of hurling into space this continuous blast of etheric impulses. They are of every possible wave-length that can give rise to sound in our instruments. Hence the impossibility of our wireless stations inter-com- municating." " What is their motive ? " said Lord Saxville. " In my opinion," said Rudge, " it clearly indicates that the Venerians have seen either that the Martian is reconstructing or has recon- structed the installation of Station X, or that he has or is about to escape from the island. They are doing this to prevent his communicating with Mars or with ourselves by wireless, so that we may for a longer time have him alone to deal with, and a better chance of victory in consequence." " That," said McFaden, " is so." Professor Stenham rose and said, " In face of 242 STATION X this discovery I desire my report to be amended to concur with those of my four friends." The sixth man looked at the Home Secretary. He appeared unhappy, but did not speak. What Sir John Sarkby's real opinion of the matter was was only known to himself, but his actions proved him determined to work solely for the furtherance of his personal ends. " With the powerful alliance of the learned Professor's celestial friends," he said, quietly, " we shall now have ample time to consider our measures. Personally, I very much deprecate any precipitate action." " We can discuss that," said Lord SaxviUe, " after this meeting." " So far as deciding on a definite line of action is concerned," said Professor Rudge, " your decision, gentlemen, I fear, must be taken now." Lord Saxville knit his brows. " I object," said Sir John Sarkby, " to the use of the word ' must ' from any man holding no office whatever." " It is not I," said Professor Rudge ; " it is the emergency that imposes the ' must.' " " That is for the Government to judge." " It is but slightly altering Lord Saxville's own words," said Professor Rudge, " if I say it is rather, in this instance, for science to judge, and for the Government to act." " And if our action," said the Home Secretary, PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 243 " does not meet with your full approval " " If your decision does not meet with the full approval of myself and my colleagues," said Rudge, in firm and level tones, " and if that decision is not taken now, my measures are already complete for the whole matter, before this day is out, to be laid as fully before the French, German, Italian, United States and Japanese Governments as it is now before yourselves, and at the same time," he continued, looking straight at the Prime Minister, " in the fullest detail given to the Press of the world." Lord Saxville knew that Professor Rudge was in a position to carry out his threat. He had been informed that he was a wealthy man and was spending money freely ; that since he had landed there were constant emissaries between him and Paris. There was also a frequent exchange of code telegrams. Sir John Sarkby's obvious desire was to sow dissension among the Cabinet in order to serve the ends he had in view. Lord SaxvUle was already half convinced that Professor Rudge was right. He knew also that there was a section of the Cabinet, headed by the Home Secretary, that did not share this view. The situation was full of difficulties and potential complications. It was agreed that instructions should be given the Admiralty to detach a portion of the China 244 STATION X fleet for the purpose of reinforcing the Sea Lion and effectually surrounding and preventing inter- course with Station X, and with the use of obser- vation balloons and aeroplanes, destroying by bombardment from a distance, any one visible on the island. These vessels were to remain at their posts until the arrival of Professor Rudge, and then to be guided by his advice and direction. These directions were given as soon as the meeting was over, and Professor Rudge was satisfied that all that could be done at the moment had been done. Immediately after the meeting the Home Secre- tary buttonholed Mr. Mansfield as the man responsible for movements of the fleet, to feel his way with him, but found that the First Lord was solid for the Prime Minister. He then got together the other members of the Government that were of his cabal, with Admiral Benson and the one objector among the scientists, a man who was selling his conscience and prosti- tuting his knowledge, and they held a consultation among themselves. While they professed not to believe in the Martian, they were more than willing to make use of him for the purpose of the poUtical re- arrangement they desired. Several schemes for doing so were brought forward and debated, but the one finally adopted was startling in its boldness. PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 245 " Let us," said the Home Secretary, " take Rudge at his word and show him that things will not pan out as he thinks. He will be on the high seas, and we shall have a clear field. Let us, without ourselves appearing, see to it that the Press get hold of the story, and that through it the public get it in its most ludicrous aspects. In this way it will be possible to smother the whole thing, Saxville included, with ridicule." Once convinced that Professor Rudge might well be right. Lord Saxville decided to let him have his own way. The Sagitta, with Captain Evered still in com- mand, was to take Professor Rudge back to Station X for what he supposed was going to be his second and final round with his deadly foe. It was sufficiently evident that no court could now punish Captain Evered for having done what a fleet was being despatched to do over again if necessary. He was released from open arrest, to the scandal of Admiral Benson. Fvirthermore, Captain Evered was made Commodore in command of the operations against the Martian. On returning to his home Professor Rudge found that May Treheme had arrived, for which he was thankful. " Stanley," said Miss Rudge dryly, as he entered, " I approve of your taste in private secretaries," and for some reason Professor Rudge felt himself flushing. 246 STATION X " I felt sure you would," he said, at length. " She is certain to do her best, and she is very capable." " She is very bright," said Miss Rudge, " and remarkably pretty." " I am glad to think you'll get on together," said Rudge. " So am I," was the response. " I was thinking of your future. Girls are very insidious." " I can't imagine what, you're talking about," was the Professor's response ; " but listen. I am leaving England again at once, and I shall be away for a considerable time. I hope you'll make Miss Treheme feel at home here." And Mi s Rudge promised with alacrity. CaUing May Treherne into his laboratory later, where he knew there could be no interruption, Professor Rudge told her what had happened. She was amazed at what she heard, for beyond the short cable message announcing Macrae's death, she was ignorant of recent developments. She listened without interruption. With chin on palm she sat, and her eyes, with dUated pupils, watched the speaker, as she drank in the facts. Tears once had to be brushed away, but her attention ' did not wander. " And now. Miss Treherne," said Professor Rudge, after he had finished, " I want you to take up your duties here, and it will have to be in my absence." PROFESSOR RUDGE'S ULTIMATUM 247 " You are going away at once ? " she asked. " Yes," he said, " and your presence here is a great relief to me. Some one who will be watchful and loyal to my view may be required here while I am away. I know you will do your best." " I will, indeed. Professor Rudge ; you may be sure I win do aU I can," she said, and her tone carried conviction. " The worst part," said Rudge, " is that I have no confidence in the Government, and its members are divided among themselves. I have spoken with Professor McFaden, and he and I are now absolutely at one in this affair. Keep in touch with him. He is shrewd as well as rehable." He then astonished May by teUing her that £5,000 was deposited in the bank in her name, and handed her the cheque-book. " Spend it in this cause," he said, " under McFaden' s advice, if and as required. Fight whoever opposes me. Don't let the money ques- tion bother you." " But — Miss Rudge ? " said the woman in May. " My sister remains mistress of my house. In that she is competent ; in this she would not be. In the matter you deal with she wou'd be worse than useless, and, fortunately, she knows it. Let each of you keep to her own duties, and all will go well." May Treheme's eyes shone. She thought of her late position at Sales, Ltd. 248 STATION X She was proud, but a little nervous of her responsibilities. She had plenty of pluck, but was glad of McFaden as a counsellor. The Sagitta sailed. Professsor Rudge's one prayer was that the voyage might be an unevent- ful one, but the times were not uneventful. She was not far on her course when trouble began at home, thanks to self-seeking in high places. This rapidly developed until it became the greatest horror of its kind that Europe had ever experi- enced. Leaving details of that for the moment, it may be mentioned that the first news of the panic and uproar came to the Sagitta by the secret naval code while she was coaling at Singapore. Professor Rudge and the officers were horrified at the short epitome they got of events at home, but while they were lamenting it a cable message from the admiral commanding on the China station was handed by Captain Evered, the moment he had read it, to Professor Rudge. It at once drove all thoughts of what they had been speaking of out of his head. It said : " Sea Lion not at Station X. No one apparently on island." Rudge went pale. The paper fluttered to the deck. " My God, Evered," he said. " We are too late ! " CHAPTER XVIII PANIC WHEN the Sagitta, with Professor Rudge on board, left England, it would have been difficult to define precisely the average opinion respecting the Martian danger held by the comparatively few people who knew anything about it. There were at least half a dozen who had no doubt whatever that humanity was now in the actual presence of the most awful peril that had ever threatened it. These few included McFaden, and certainly two of his brother scientists. There were one or two others among scientists and members of the Cabinet who were sufficiently persuaded by the evidence to be anxious that every means should be employed to combat the danger. Among the rest, opinions graduated, until one came to the few who flatly denied the whole thing, and while excusing their increduUty by asserting 249 250 STATION X that Rudge was mad, were naturally too illogical to see that their solution, if accepted, scarcely weakened the evidence. Things might have remained in that position and the public have been protected by their ignorance from the horrors that followed, but for the action of certain opportunists who thought they saw a chance of personal profit. The Sagitta was scarcely out of the Channel before paragraphs began to appear in the papers respecting rumours that a being from Mars had appeared on earth. Considerable ability was shown in making his appearance and wanderings highly ridiculous. The subject lent itself weU to the illustrated comic Piress. He bcame a music- hall gag and a subject of encore verses to popular songs. " Have you seen the Martian ? " became a catch phrase. Not the slightest hint was allowed to creep into these references that poUtics was behind it all. But the desired end was achieved. All the world laughed — truly aU the world, for the man from Mars was as popular on the Paris boulevards and in Italy as in London. In view of the more mercurial character of the people, it was not surprising that the jurore for the absurd Martian rose to much greater heights abroad than in England. No cinema programme was com- plete without him in some form or other. This continental part had not been in the PANIC 251 original scheme of the plotters. The infection had simply -crossed the Channel and spread. The conspirators were satisfied with the result of their plot, and considered its aim achieved, that end being, of course, to make the popular conception of the Martian so completely and irretrievably ridiculous as would make the Govern- ment's action more than difficult to defend, and bring it down in ruin. It was therefore the time to strike and charge them with having taken the joke seriously, and with the squandermg of public funds over it. At first, guarded hints appeared, somewhat indefinite, but sufficient for their purpose of starting on the trail that ever-wakeful creature, the inveterate parliamentary sniper. They had a glorious time, without knowing or caring whose interests they were serving. Their questions became every day more and more embarrassing. Lord Saxville suspected the source of his new trouble. His instinct told him that very soon the enemy's heavy batteries would be unmasked and an opportunity be asked for to discuss the charges of having moved a considerable fleet on a fantastical business instead of leaving it where it was really wanted, and with blocking the wireless so as temporarily to cover their stupidity. He saw that unless something were done his downfall was certain. 252 STATION X The public were quite able to see that there must be something about which it had not been informed, and Lord Saxville realized that it was not only necessary for his own safety to let some of the truth be known, but that it was getting beyond his power to keep it back. So another account of things began to get pub- lished, and the public pricked up its ears. It recognized at once a different tone in these state- ments. The Martian assumed another form, no longer a myth, but real ; another expression, no longer comic, but sinister and menacing. But it was overdone. Just as the original idea to make everything ridiculous had been over- done, so these later representations were deliber- ately designed to throw up all in a lurid light. There was little or no thought for the consequence. It was simply politician against politician. The result of the sudden revulsion of feeling was doubtless unforeseen, and to a great extent imforeseeable. The poUtician had saved his seat, but neither attacker nor attacked had regarded the cost of their game. Statesmanship would have known that the actual position de- manded a certain reticence, but it was bungled. The demand now for full and exact information became irresistible. The clamour throughout Europe was not to be denied. If there had been no lampooning and only the information necessary given with proper discre- PANIC 253 tion, the situation might well have remained under control. As it was, the people remembered that at the thing which now filled them with dread they had been encouraged to laugh. It could not be expected that foreign govern- ments would accept the Martian seriously on such very questionable evidence as was yet before them. So when they became aware that a considerable British fleet had been moved, nobody knew where or why, and that with our control of the cables, and the block (possibly our block) of the wireless, anything might be happening, their London Embassies became busy. Feeling the need of shifting some of the responsi- bihty at home, and of having for the purposes of the Foreign Office, a more scientific account than it could prepare for itself, Lord Saxville, driven almost to his wits' end, sent a confidential mes- senger to Professor Rudge's house to ask who now represented him in this country. The messenger was rather surprised to be re- ceived by May Treherne as the person he sought. Having learnt his errand. May Treherne asked if Lord SaxviUe would make an appointment to meet Professor McFaden, and was told that he would be glad if the Professor would call on him so soon as possible. May went immediately to McFaden and told him the Prime Minister wanted to see him at once. " Why ? " asked the Professor. 254 STATION X " I don't know exactly," said May, " but it is about the Martian." " Well," he said, " I suppose to hear is to obey. Will you come with me ? " She declined the honour. " But you will be careful, won't you. Professor ? They are so wily, these politicians." Her anxiety lest in some way he should be over- reached in Downing Street, while acting for Professor Rudge, amused McFaden considerably. " rU do my very best, young lady," he said. " I am sure you will," she said. " Professor Rudge is so clever, so strong, so brave, that any one must feel it an honour to act for him." " Is that so ? " said McFaden dryly. " Why, of course it is so," said May Treheme, with conviction. For a moment she almost repented her decision not to go too. • " I wUl see you when I return," said McFaden, " and you shall learn what two able advocates Rudge has left behind him." " Two ? " said May. " Aye, two," said McFaden. Lord Saxville did not allude to Foreign Office difficulties to McFaden. He explained his wish that the Professor should at once prepare a short treatise explaining in 'a scientific manner the present position in respect to the Martian, and dealing very fully with the evidence, and above all let him have this so soon as possible. PANIC 255 He was also to embody this in articles suited to the scientific journals for the better and more general information of the educated public. " An attempt has been made by certain people," said Lord Saxville, " to misrepresent the facts, and measures to correct this have followed, vidth the result that the public is confused and alarmed. I hope, therefore, you will publish the thing in a form adapted for the information of those capable' of appreciating the evidence, as distinguished from the ignorant and impulsive masses. For these, the influential pubUc, are also getting restive, regarding neither of the accounts hitherto sent out, as acceptable." "WiU that," asked McFaden, "allay the alarm ? " " It wiU be for the Govenmient to deal with the symptoms of the rising panic. I wish your presentment to convince the thipking section that the measures taken were justified, and that everything necessary has been done." " I doubt," said McFaden, " if we remain under that impression long." " You think our measures inadequate ? " " I doubt," said McFaden, " if any measures within our power would be adequate." " Do you mean that this Martian is going to succeed against a world in arms ? " There was anxiety in Lord SaxvUle's tone. " The world," said McFaden, " is not in arms 256 STATION X that I am aware of. After it reads my report perhaps it will consider it better that it should be." " You are not going to write an alarmist docu- ment ? " asked Lord Saxville anxiously. " I am going," said McFaden, " to write the facts. Unless my mind deceives me, that will be a more alarmist document to the man who can think — there are not many ! — ^than any or all of the cock-and-bull stories now current." " Well," said Lord SaxviUe, extending his hand, " I hope you will let me have your statement so soon as possible to-morrow, and that things are not quite so bad meanwhile as you fear." Professor McFaden had not been slow to see that Lord Saxville was primarily fighting for his own hand, but was also genuinely desirous of allaying the popular alarm and killing the various pernicious and exaggerated tales going about. The vital and urgent business of fighting the Martian had, however, retired into the background of his mind. Professor McFaden was so far right. The truth had no element of reassurance or consolation in it. He was a deep and clear thinker, and had given time and study in visualizing the possible powers of the superman. It had not left him an optimist. It had not convinced him that enough was being done. He kept his word to May Treheme, and reported PANIC 257 his interview. She discovered his doubts of success. " We have one element in our favour," he said, " in that we have a good man at the hehn in Rudge. Within hmnan limits he wiU not fail." He seemed willing to talk for once, and he had a sympathetic listener. " Well, Professor McFaden," she said, as he rose to go, " your sex, I believe, is inclined to deny mine reason, but at least admits us instinct. Now, your reason tells you that we are going to fail in spite of Professor Rudge, but I have an instinct that teUs me we shall win because of Professor Rudge." " Well, lassie," he said, in going, " then I'll also be having an instinct — ^that if friend Rudge does win yonder he'll come back to meet wi' another difficulty, and be beaten to a frazzle, as the Yankee said." He went away chuckling, leaving May Treheme with no idea of what he was talking about. Professor McFaden' s articles appeared, and their influence was marked. They killed a great many wild and absurd rumours, and thus did good, but the people to whom they were really addressed were exasperated at having been played with and kept so long in the dark. Letters and articles appeared in all the big daihes, wanting to know why facts had been sup- pressed, while lampoons of so terrible a thing were 258 STATION X being sent about. Why this incredible muddling, etc., etc. The savants of the Continent also did not dis- semble their indignation at the way the Eng- lish Government had treated them, and its easy- going way with the peril itself, which after all was an international affair. " This matter," they said, " is not a British question ; it is a world question. It is not for any one nation, but for humanity, to say what measures should be taken ; and it is urgent." The daily Press of every country, now thor- oughly informed of the facts, filled its columns with details, explanations, poUtical recriminations and advice. Pulpit and platform dealt with it, and as its horror became more clearly realized, its danger understood, the world rang with it. Much that was written and said publicly, al- though true in the main part, was highly injudi- cious, and the effect on the masses deplorable. Once the thing had really seized on the popular imagination nothing availed to stay the panic. The very intangibihty, the ghastly character of this psychic threat, so awful, so imminent, gripped even those whose temperament would have enabled them to meet an every-day material danger unmoved. The power of this invader to seize on other personalities struck a note of terror that found PANIC 259 an answering chord in minds even the most phlegmatic. Its effect on the nervous and hysterical was terrible. Unfortunately, among the densely ignorant peasantry of the south and east of Europe there are several horrible superstitions, of which the seizing and entering into possession of people by evil and unshriven spirits, is a prominent part. They were therefore the less inclined to wonder at or doubt this power of the Martians, and were ready in many cases to fight the foe with exorcis- ing rites of the most fiendish description. Everywhere people began to look in the eyes even of their most intimate friends with a sus- picion, a question in their glance. Among the more superstitious section of the community, if a person behaved in an aggressive or eccentric manner, his life was in peril. In this connection there were daily happenings of a most deplorable nature — assaults, murders. In order to stay the wild panic, the utmost publicity was given to the information that the danger was small, because locahsed by the Sea Lion having now been reinforced by a fleet suffi- cient to prevent the escape of the Martian from the island of Station X. The reassuring nature of this was qualified by the picture it drew of what must be the Martian's power when such measures were necessary. Then on the very heels of this, the tidings came 26o STATION X through that the Martian had seized the Sea Lion, and, in full command of her crew, had left the island for no one knew where. Without thought of the consequences, this news was pub- lished. The floodgates of panic and unreason were opened. Scenes were enacted that would have been almost incredible as occurring in mediaeval or ancient times, but which ho one would have believed possible in ours. Along the east Mediterranean littoral and throughout the Slavonic countries,, and in certain parts of south- east and eastern Europe, including Russia itself, the state of panic rose to its greatest heights. Here it was no longer a question of one Martian, but of thousands — everywhere. Hope of escape seemed to be relinquished. The world was panic-stricken. People fought like cornered animals. Pitched battles, originat- •ing in some trifling incident, no one knew what, took place between contending mobs, until streets ran blood. The very scenes their own madness enacted confirmed each that he (or, alas ! she) was fighting for life against Martians in human form. Things did not come to this pass in the west of Europe, but in several countries it was a fact, perhaps not altogether to be wondered at, in the atmosphere that surrounded them, that the rulers as well as ruled lost their heads. One thing was, however, settled at once without PANIC 261 opposition — and it was the wisest decision that could have been arrived at — that there should be unity of direction in what concerned all equally, and that, while he was available. Professor Rudge's advice should be law. McFaden maintained an impassible exterior, and tried to busy himself with other things, but he knew it was a miserable failure. He, the reputed misogynist, fell into a habit of going round to Great Queen Street and having a cup of tea. May Treherne's confidence and bright optimism comforted him. It was impossible at this time to talk about any but one subject, and here was the only place where he cared to talk about that. If May Treherne's brave spirit, that shed and refused all doubts and fears, seemed good to cynical McFaden, it was still more so to Miss Rudge. That good lady, beginning by liking the girl, soon passed all the stages to loving her. " What should I have done," she said, " in a time like this if my brother — ^may God protect him ! — had not provided me with May to cheer me? " " She is a fine lass, and a sensible," said Mc- Faden, " and her confidence is wonderful." "Her confidence," said Miss Rudge, " is in my brother." " I notice that," said McFaden dryly. 26a STATION X Miss Rudge caught the tone of the remark, " I was," she said, " at first afraid for Stanley, not knowing what the girl was like, and seeing that there must be about twenty years between them. But now I should think him lucky to have such a wife as May would make him." May Treheme would have been surprised had she heard this conversation, and it would not have pleased her. She believed herself now and for always true and devoted for life to the memory of her dead lover. She had had httle enough time to analyse her feelings, and she was not introspective. The truth was that her love for Macrae had been half mother love. She had now for the first time come in contact with a brave spirit, kindred to her own. She had felt the glow of its influence, without comprehending. If the sun shone the seed would grow. Her memory of the dead would not necessarily all die. It would grow less a part of her Hfe. The moon shines by day, but few see it. CHAPTER XIX PROFESSOR RUDGE LANDS AT STATION X PROFESSOR RUDGE, at Singapore, recover- ing from the shock he had received, braced himself to meet the new situation. He recognized that it was now critical. It was evident that once again the Martian had taken a long stride forward. Moreover, he had won and retained all the manifest advantages of the initiative. He had this time left his opponents in the dark as to the exact nature of the blow he had struck, or where the next might be expected. " I suppose there can be no doubt," said Cap- tain Evered, " that the Martian is really respon- sible for the Sea Lion's disappearance ? " " It is almost acertainty," said Rudge. " There was the clearest understanding with Captain Connell that he should not leave the neighbour- hood of the island nor communicate with it. There is no doubt in my mind that it was on the latter point that the wily foe outwitted him. In that case the situation we have now to deal with 263 264 STATION X is a thousand times worse than if that unfor- tunate vessel had never been sent. I fear we must reckon now with a Martian in command of the Sea Lion." The picture was sufficiently alarming, and over the cable Professor Rudge learned of the effect of the news in Europe and elsewhere. It was even more terrible- than he had expected. The reason, he was quick to appreciate, was due to the public perception of the increased difficulty in dealing with the situation that had now arisen. Its effect from that cause was enhanced by its being universally felt that here was now an overt act that utterly removed the comforting idea that the thing might not, after all, be as bad as had been represented. This further and conclusive proof of the reality of the danger against which they were called upon to act, and the difficulty of deciding on the lines that action should take, affected different states- men in different ways. The lethargic it roused to nervous energy ; the naturally nervous it reduced to a state -bordering on helplessness. The first impulse everywhere was to get the advice of Professor Rudge as to the next thing to be done. His reply was prompt. " Let two of the fleet at Station X remain to guard it and the remainder endeavour to get information of the direction taken by the Sea Lion. Above all, every wire- PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 265 less installation in the world must be instantly dismantled in case the Venetians close their wire- less barrage." Commodore Evered agreed that, by scattering, news might be got from some merchant ship. Professor Rudge found that he would have no difficulty in procuring the measures that he con- sidered necessary. In view of the internal state of each country, apart from the danger and urgency of the thing to be dealt with, no urging on his part was required. All were anxious to do everything possible in the endeavour to overcome this world menace, and to seek Rudge' s advice and assistance. He could not but contrast the Government's attitude now with that when he had first put the affair before them. Then he could only gain attention under threats ; now he was being overwhelmed with inquiries as to what should be done. He was begged to remain in port so as to be in touch with the cable until everything had been arranged. AU foreign Governments seemed to regard him as their chief adviser, as being the most likely to be able to divine the Martian's intentions. This he utterly repudiated, repeating to all that it would be absurd for any human being to pretend to be able to fathom the Martian's"; plans. " The thoughts of these beings," he cabled to Whitehall, " are undoubtedly so far above our reach that it is useless to make an endeavour to 266 STATION X read their minds. The only thing for us to do at present is to seek the enemy in every direction to the utmost of our power, and destroy him without parley. " We know his object, and we know his starting place. The rest is surmise. That is why I say we must seek in every direction." It says much for the energy of 'the various Governments that before many hours were passed various units of the fleets were being despatched to their allotted stations with instructions to get in touch with each other so soon as possible, to gather all information 'possible from merchant ships, and every other source available, and to use every endeavour to prevent the Sea Lion making any Continental landing. The various fleets were allotted areas according to their position when the orders were given. The Japanese and British ships of the China squadron were ordered to cover the north and Asian coast line. The fleets of American Powers were to keep watch on the East Pacific. Warships were rushed from the Mediterranean to cover the African littoral. European warships were sent, some by Suez, some by the Cape. Vessels of every size and accompanied with balloons and seaplanes rushed to their posts. All the navies of the world were galvanized into sudden activity, the unifying idea of the whole being to form as quickly as possible a vast ring enclosing as much of the PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 267 Pacific as possible, with the object of enclosing the Sea Lion and finding her. As soon as the plan was settled, the Sagitta proceeded with Professor Rudge on her journey to Station X. On hearing of the disappearance of the Sea Lion an idea had come to the Professor, and he was anxious to be at the island as soon as possible. In his mind time was of the essence of the thing. In the conversations that took place on board he gave his views for what they were worth. He was careful to explain how little their worth might be. It was all hypothetical, and the plans of the Martian were an impenetrable mystery. " By some means beyond our power to guess at," he said, " he may have got away from the island, and the Sea Lion has gone in chase. The Sea Lion may have been attacked and sunk, and the Martian and his two slaves be still in hiding on the island. Thirdly, most dangerous, and seemingly to us most probable of all, the Martian obtained command of the battle cruiser, and has gone off in her — ^where ? " He also said that as the Martian's aim was to bring other Martians in the same horrible way as he himself had arrived, it seemed plausible to suppose that he would desire to get where he would be safe from sea bombardment and have at com- mand a sufficient population to be his slaves in the work of erecting a powerful wireless station 268 STATION X for communication with his own world. The ultimate purpose would be to turn all into Mar- tians, until an army of these existed before which an3rthing in the nature of human opposition would be out of the question. It was impossible to say if he had decided "upon Asia, Africa, or America, or upon any of the many large islands extending from south-eastern Asia. He might even decide upon Australia. The fleets had therefore been sent to defend and cut off his access to aU these coast lines. Would they be in time ? Professor Rudge kept as brave an exterior as he could assume, but in his secret heart he was not sanguine. He con- sidered the chances were on the side of the Mar- tian. Stout-hearted as he was, he felt at times that the anxieties of the moment were too great for any man's shoulders to bear, and without parallel in the world's history. In the past there had been some vital decisions, when arms and valour had decided in a few hours the broad lines of history for centuries. These had been such questions as to whether Europe should grow into all we mean by that word, a lamp by which all the world should be lit and led, or be forever a mere appanage and dependency of Asia. Never before had it been the case of a day, or perhaps an hour, deciding the fate of the whole human race. PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 269 Professor Rudge considered it fortunate that the large and efficient naval force of Japan was promptly ready to reinforce our eastern squadrons, as it seemed to him that China and India, with their enormous populations, must have great attractions for the Martian. Once either of those countries was attained, the Martian's victory was certain. Every available vessel was pressed into the service, even destroyers and submarines. Sea- planes were based in the larger warships, and thus greatly extended their radius of observation. By the time the Sagitta reached Station X, the combined sea and air fleets of the world had drawn a kind of cordon round a vast expanse of the Pacific, within which it was reasonable to suppose the Sea Lion existed. No news had been received of her having appeared on any coast, or having been sighted by any of those on the look-out for her afloat. This was not conclusive that she had not been seen, for some of the ships were far from any cable station, and it was strictly forbidden to carry wireless. In any case it would have been useless whUe this mysterious interruption lasted. Under Professor Rudge's advice, it was univer- sally made a capital offence to have a wireless installation, big or little. Any person, official or private, was empowered and enjoined to shoot, or in any way kill at sight, any one contravening 270 STATION X this order. A large reward accompanied- the rendering of this pubHc service. It was true that this order caused the deaths of many innocent people. In the state of public feeling that was inevitable. The danger was, however, so great, so overwhelming, that the order, with all its drawbacks, was considered more than justified because of the risk of the Martian succeeding in circumventing the pro- tective action of the Venerians, and so establishing rapport with some unfortunate operator some- where, thus nullifying aU the efforts being made. There was one exception to the wireless order. On board the Sagitta was a small installation under Professor Rudge's own sole control. This he had arranged for a purpose of his own, so that it could be rendered efficient by touching a switch, to the extent of just enabling him to hear the sound of the Venerian interruption, but nothing else. In his dread of the Martian, he had arranged it so that should a single syllable come through, the pressure of a finger would instantly cut the connection. He had been busy during the voyage over this installation, its beginning dating from when the news had been received that the Sea Lion had disappeared. An idea had come into his head that he spoke of to no one until Station X was reached. As the Sagitta approached the island, he had PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 271 more than once put his ears to the receivers for a moment. The gabble of the interruption he found still going on. Part of the Sagitta's new equipment for this voyage was a captive balloon of the long or ob- servation type. When only a couple of miles from the island, Professor Rudge asked Com- modore Evered not to approach nearer, but to steam slowly round it. He himself went to his wireless and listened. The interruption con- tinued. He listened. Will they invite me to land ? he thought. It was what he had come for. He was convinced the Venerians were the cause of this etheric disturbance, and that it was done on our behalf ; neither had he any doubt that the present position of the Sagitta was being closely observed. Suddenly the interruption ceased. Hope once more lit the features that had lately grown so haggard. Confidence returned. The cessation of sound could be no coincidence, nor — the thought crept in — a Martian trick ? He went on deck, and found that under Com- modore Evered' s direction the gas cylinders had been brought out, and the balloon was being inflated. A keen-eyed young officer volunteered to man it, and, with balloon aloft at a sufficient height to command the whole island, the Sagitta again steamed round it. 272 STATION X As soon as the balloon was hauled down, the observer reported. " I cannot see any one on the island," he said, "nor any obvious hiding-place, but the rough surface of the ground would make it possible for any one to hide without danger of being dis- covered. The shell holes caused by the bombard- ment are quite visible. The station buildings have not been re-erected. There appears to have been no attempt in that direction. There has been somethrag done to the installation, though ! A lot of poles have been erected, and the wiring looks quite in order. It might now be a per- fectly going concern for anything one can see to the contrary." The pleased look on Professor Rudge's face still further increased ; he even rubbed his hands. " Commodore," he said, " I want you now to load and train your guns forward and steam slowly to within half a mile of the shore. In- struct your gunners to fire at anything that moves. Also post some snipers in the fighting top. I don't think we shall see any one. The island is, I believe, abandoned, but we must reduce all risks to a minimum." The Sagitta slowly advanced. There was an acute tension on board. Officers and crew knew that all the world was in uproar, that mankind felt itself trembling on an insecure foothold, on the brink of a bottomless abyss of ruin. They PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION/ X 273 knew that ahead of the Sagitta, behind that fringe of diff, lay the source and centre — or what had recently been the centre — of the terror. When about half a mile distant the Sagitta's engines were stopped. It was evident to all that something had inspired the Professor with con- fidence. He was sUghtly flushed as he turned to the Cornmodore. " Evered," he said, " I have something to tell you of the greatest importance, unless my reading of it is completely wrong." He drew him aside to where they covild not be overheard. " While we were at Singapore, and the news that Station X was apparently deserted was brought to us, I wondered how this might affect the wireless interruption by the Venerians. That is why I rigged up this installation. I knew that in the present relative position of the planets all our movements were being closely watched by our powerful aUies. Their having started their wireless interference implied that the Martian was refitting the wireless at Station X. Would they continue their block if it should be true that the station was deserted, and before any other should be erected, *'/ / approached the island ? " In the absence of poor Macrae I am now the only one with whom they can communicate. Would they, if possible, do so ? As we steamed s 274 STATION X round the island I awaited a sign that our posi- tion was noted, and an encouragement to pro- ceed. They must be well aware of the dread we should have in doing so. They look upon us as anything but a courageous race. To put the matter to the final test, I requested you to ap- proach the island as though to land. My hope is fulfilled. The interruption is silent. At this moment there is nothing to interfere with wireless communication ! " Commodore Evered appreciated the significEgice of this. " Feeling," went on the Professor, " that the need might arise, I have written the fullest advice for the future, under different contingencies, so far as I can foresee them. You will find this in my cabin, addressed to you." "But you're not going to leave us!" said Evered. " I am now going to land on the island," was the reply, " to communicate, if all goes well, with the Venerians." "But that will not take long, will it ? " asked the Commodore. "The conversation," said Professor Rudge, " will, I think, for a good reason, be short ; but I shall be permanently lost to you." " Lost to us ! " was the surprised reply. " How lost to us ? " " Please give the order," was the quiet rejoinder. PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 275 " Time presses. Have a boat loaded with pro- visions sufficient for a month or two, with a tent and camp bed. Food and water, of course. While this is being done I will explain to you my reading of the situation. It is essential that we do not lose time." The Commodore looked at the Professor for a second or two in surprise; although he could not tmderstand the drift of them, he gave the neces- sary orders. Professor Rudge continued his explanation. " I land," he said, " in the one hope of getting into communication once more with the "Venerian. If I have read the signs correctly, I shall do so. If I am wrong, which weU may be, I shaU" — he paused — " become as Macrae has become." " If this is some risky service, then I insist on going," said Commodore Evered. " Larch can take my place ; there is nobody to take yours." " That's impossible," said Professor Rudge, " as you would not be able to speak with the Venerian." " Then at least I can come and assist you " " No, Evered. I thank you heartily, but it would be the useless risk of a valuable life. I must go alone." " But it beats me why you cannot get your conversation over while we wait for you, and let us take you back." 276 STATION X " That," said Professor Rudge, " is the most impossible thing of all. If the island is deserted and the installation in order, or so that I can quickly put it so, I shall have a communication to make you that I hope will save the present desperate situation. For I confess, although every one is now doing his best, I had very little hope. Our chances, in consequence of the long start of the Sea Lion, seemed very small. If the island is not deserted, and I tell you it is quite possible, then I shall meet the Martian. " Which happens may not be apparent to you. Therefore after I have landed, you must not allow me to return or approach the Sagitta, any more than you would if you knew me to be the Martian. I shall take a line with me, and if all goes weU, I shall fasten a bottle containing a note to the end of it. In this there will be a place mentioned. It •vviU be where the Martian is. Go there imme- diately with all the most powerful war vessels you can collect en route. See that you have more than ample force to deal with several Sai Lions. " Let nothing escape. Sink, bum and destroy all you find. Let no living creature evade destruc- tion under any plea or pretence. Impress it on all. It will be the one chance given us ! Remem- ber the stake, Evered ! I have not time to say more. Remember that if ever the moment comes of which I speak, as God grant it may, everything PROFESSOR RUDGE AT STATION X 277 we hold dear, in a fuller sense than ever the words were used before, everything depends on your ruthlessness and thoroughness." Professor Rudge was satisfied with the expres- sion he saw on the Commodore's face, and with the knowledge he had of his character. " And now," he said, in less forceful tones, " to the thing immediately before us. Remember, if all goes well, I shall not ask to be taken on board again. Disregard any message of the kind I may send you, or any wile of mine with that end in view. If there is any advice or instruction contained in my note beyond the mention of a place, probably indicated by latitude and longi- tude, do not act on it. Remember also that the place I mention may be fraudulent. If so, it will for a time weaken our total force by a few vessels, but that risk is worth taking. That is all, and I see my boat is ready ! " The Professor went below for a few moments, during which he wrecked his wireless. Commodore Evered, as he shook hands with him, said: " And they said. Professor, that the human race lacked courage ! They said it to you I They must be a pecuUar people, these Venerian friends of ours ! " Professor Rudge only smiled in answer. The " Good-bye and good luck ! " was soon spoken, and the self-marooned man pushed off 278 STATION X alone with his laden boat. They watched him land, fasten his boat and scale the cUff. In another second he was lost to view behind it. CHAPTER XX THE FLEET ASSEMBLES FOR a few seconds the Commodore gazed at the spot on the cliff where Professor Rudge had disappeared. " That," he said, " is the real thing." When he had scaled the steep cliff and lost sight of the Sagitta and of the sea, as he walked down the gentle incline of the island, Professor Rudge was afraid. He did not know who, or what, might be watch- ing him, like a spider watching an approaching fly. He knew that somewhere in the world there was a mighty embodied spirit of evil, not human, vastly superhuman ; one whose . dominant gaze he would be unable to meet, in whose grasp — not physical, but spiritual — ^his spirit would be powerless, a mere wisp of thistledown to be caught up, hurled aside, at that being's pleasure. Not knowing what any moment might produce he walked straight on. A shiver ran along his spine, causing his scalp 279 28o STATION X to tingle. He was in the presence or neighbour- hood of the uncanny. Still he walked straight on. The little scene before him was very familiar. One accustomed object was missing — the wooden bungalow. Some small fragments of it were scattered about. But all else, every other detail that met his eyes, was subsidiary to the answer they received to the great question that had been worrying him — the wireless. A glance showed that it had been re-erected. The conclusion that it would be there he had arrived at by deduction. His coming to the island at all was the result of that reasoning ; the deduction simpUcity itself, but, like many other simple processes, requiring the one man. His argument was : the Martian is at Station X ; the Venerians are blocking the wireless ; therefore there is again wireless at Station X. The labour for three pairs of hands must have been enormous, almost unthinkable. There must have been a powerful motive. He could guess that motive. Poor wretches of the Sea Lion! He noticed that very little of the wood of the bungalow now existed. As he strode forward he wondered what had become of it. Fuel for some chemical work, or as a source of carbon? The thought of carbon reminded him of the missing coherer. He saw the system was different, THE FLEET ASSEMBLES 281 but he was confident no mere carbon coherer could be made do. Certainly the efforts to solve this was not essen- tial at the moment. Indirectly it was beneficial, as it diverted his thoughts. On arriving at the spot where the wireless operator's seat and fittings had been, and, in other form, stiU were, he noticed near him a large tank filled with viscous fluid, divided into small compartments. He tested these fluids with finger and tongue ; some strongly alkaline, the base soda ; others corrosively acid, chlorine the active agent. So that was how it had been done ! A Martian battery ! There was a dynamo also, a mystery totally unlike any machine of the kind he had. ever seen. Here is a rich harvest, thought the scientist, if only we come through. Effective ? Through the incautious movement of a. finger, in attaching the storage tank, he very nearly received a charge that would have ended his life in a moment. In the smallest possible space of time Professor Rudge had sufiiciently mastered the arrange- ment, although in many details quite novel to him, and put the receivers over his ears. The great moment had arrived. A violent shudder shook him from head to foot. Yet he did not now consciously feel fear, although he noticed that his hand trembled. 282 STATION X As he opened his mouth to utter the well-known call, an involuntary glance round was taken. Somewhere in his brain something seemed to say, " Heaven shield me from an answer at my elbow 1 " " Are you there ? " he said. Professor Rudge had informed himself as to the exact positions of both Venus and Mars. The former was approaching superior conjunction, but still making a considerable angle with the sun. Her distance, measured in etheric wave terms, was six minutes. Mars was coming near, although a long way from direct opposition. One result of these relative positions was that the dark or night side of the earth was turned to Mars, the bright or day side to Venus. Rudge saw that there might be an advantage in our doings being visible from the latter but not by our enemies. The quickest answer he could receive to his call was in twelve minutes. The earUest answer from Mars would take more than double that, but that did not affect him, as he was not in the neces- sary rapport with any Martian for a call from that distance to reach him. But he knew that if the Martian now somewhere on earth had his instru^- ment ready, his call might come through at any moment. It was under such terrifying conditions that he prepared to keep his ears to the receivers twelve minutes, with what fortitude he could. But he had reckoned without the Venerian. THE FLEET ASSEMBLES 283 When he had been waiting six minutes a voice came through. The voice — ^how well he knew those silver tones ! — Never did voice sound so much like heavenly music as did this to Pro- fessor Rudge. At the first sound of it he realized that he must have been closely observed. His call had not been awaited. It said, " We have seen you come to the island with pleasure, Professor Rudge. It was well thought of and bravely done, and gives your race stiU a chance when nothing else could. " First, the present position. The Sea Lion came within three miles of the island, and the Martian doubtless swam to her at night, for we saw next morning that he was in command of her. We had been erecting a plant for the emission of interference waves, but it was not finished in time to prevent the horrible occurrence of that day. This interference emission is not under sufficient control to be made a means of com- munication. It can only prevent communication. The Sea Lion's crew are nearly all Martians. We blocked the communication before their evil work was quite completed. For once they were taken by surprise. " Finding what we were doing, they evidently at once decided to begin elsewhere the erection of an installation that would overpower any attempt on our part to interfere. We do not 284 STATION X know what form this can take, but know the Mar- tians well enough to be sure they will succeed. " Evidently it requires connected positions further apart than is possible at Station X. They have consequently left, on the Sea Lion, for the larger island at longitude i8o, latitude 50 north. Write that at once : longitude 180, N. lat. 50. They are now there, erecting their plant. If they finish it before they are interfered with, the world is theirs. " And now, secondly, what you must do is to collect with all speed at least ten times greater fighting strength, and go to the place named. There must be no near approach to the Sea Lion nor any Martian. By bombardment, at greatest distance practicable, destroy first the installation, then all life on ship and island, man and Martian. " Your fate depends on two things — arriving at the place in time, and the complete destruction of every living creature. Go at once. If all goes well we can converse later. You may lose by one day, one minute even. That is all." The last word had scarcely been spoken when the jangle of the interference recommenced. Pro- fessor Rudge had no doubt that his return to the boat would be taken as sufficient sign that he had heard and understood, and that, if he remained, a further opportunity would be given him. That being unnecessary, he put off the receivers and ran for the shore. THE FLEET ASSEMBLES 285 Hope lent youth to his feet and thrilled every nerve. The tremendous reaction he felt was the measure of his late depression. He felt that this last chance had not been given to lose now. There must not be a moment's slackening. He did not forget that on every previous occasion, every time of crisis, the Martian had not only extricated himself, but had gained something. There was no room for him to gain anything more, unless the earth were to lose all. Man had his back to the wall. Arrived by his boat, he wrote the Venerian's own words from memory. They had burnt them- selves into his mind. He had made only one note, the latitude and longitude of the island. This he carefully copied. The paper was put into the bottle and flung into the sea. The half-mile of line was pulled in. With his field glasses the Professor watched the Commodore read the note. " I wiU judge by his promptness now," he thought. In ten seconds the screws were revolving. He smiled. It was a good omen. A distant hand wave, and the Sagitta was on her course. Professor Rudge saw her signal to the two other cruisers, and saw them start in the same direction. The lonely watcher scaled the cliff again, and watched them till they were mere 286 STATION X specks on the horizon ^ Another minute, and those too had disappeared. Professor Rudge would have given anything he possessed to be on board the Sagitta. He had seen no other way without undue risk, but it was a hard fate that had kept him from the final scene, and parted him from his companions. He saw a long and anxious time ahead of him, and considered the best medicine would be pre^ occupation. He turned to the work of getting all his stores on the island and his tent pitched. With muscles of iron and the agility of youth, it did not mean so much as it would to most men over forty. So well did his natural bent and the habit of many years serve him, that his last thought that night was what a storehouse of science the work of the Martian had now left to his investigation. On board the Sagitta Commodore Evered received the bottle that was hauled aboard with eager hands, and did not stop to draw the cork. In two seconds he was devouring the contents. His spirits bounded. As he read the last word his hand was on the indicator — ^full speed ahead. " Now," he said, " we have them ! Signal the cruisers to keep company. Set a course to the WNW." Then he turned and waved his farewell, his THE FLEET ASSEMBLES 287 one regret being the leaving of Professor Rudge behind. He did not require a chart to tell him that the place mentioned as the position of the Sea Lion was due north of him, as the longitude given was practically the same as that of Station X. He guessed the place must be one of the Rat Islands of the Aleutian group, but found it was just south of them. His plan w^s made with the promptness char- acteristic of him. To make, at the Sagitta's best speed, for Japan, knowing he would be sure to pick up her fleet en route. To cable from Japan for the fleet guarding the North American coast to join them with the utmost despatch at long. 180, lat. 45 N., and then with the united fleets steam north together and attack the Martians. It would be the quickest way of assembling for the attack the greatest ntimber of units avail- able. It would take a little longer than going straight from Station X, but that would be to go with a weak force. He remembered Rudge' s earnest admonition not to underrate his enemy. Of all enemies to underrate, the Martian was surely the last. In any case he considered himself bound to report at once and state the plan he was acting under, pending orders. While still a considerable distance from land. 288 STATION X about 148 E. long., he encountered a Japanese cruiser, a unit of the fleet now guarding her eastern coasts. He reported the facts to her commander, and instructed him to inform the fleet with the utmost despatch and convey his orders that as many as possible should proceed to long. 180, lat. 45, while he went on to Tokyo for the purpose of getting to the cable. Thus the world became aware of the result of the Sagitta's visit to Station X. The salutary effect was tremendous. It calmed the overstrained nerves of humanity and greatly lessened the resulting tumult. The Commodore's plan was confirmed, and aU the warships then available in the North Pacific were ordered to the rendezvous and to place themselves under his orders. These included units of British, United States, Russian and Japanese nationality, of which the last named made the most powerful contribution. CHAPTER XXI A BATTLE OF GIANTS TWO days after the marooning of Professor Rudge, and while he was engaged on his investigation of the Martian's work at Station X, he was astonished to hear the hum of an aeroplane's engines. Looking up, he saw a seaplane flying toward the island, in fact, aheady over the cliff. Its observer had evidently already seen him, for the machine was coming straight in his direction. Rudge watched to see the land- ing, wondering how this was going to be effected on so rock-strewn a surface. The pilot seemed himself to have some doubts, for he re-crossed the cUff and proceeded to land on the narrow strip of sand between cliff and sea. The pilot met the Professor on the top of the cliff, and, saluting stiffly, apologised if he were intruding, and announced himself as an officer of the German air force attached to the cruiser visible from where they were standing, about two miles from the island, 289 T 290 STATION X He explained that, the use of the island being now no longer a secret, the cruiser had been sent to pay it a visit and see if it could be of any use against the common enemy. The reason given was so out of harmony with the situation at the moment, that Professor Rudge at once rightly gauged it as a prying ex- pedition. " Your visit," he said, mentioning who he was, then the best known name in all the world, and immediately obtaining another salute, "could scarcely in any circumstances have been of any use, but might easily have been very disastrous. As it is, it can do no harm, and I would like to go on board your cruiser to speak with the captain." The airman turned facing the cruiser, and began swinging his arms, spelling out the request. In two minutes a boat was lowered, and after more salutings, carried Professor Rudge on board. Here there were further salutings, until Professor Rudge began to wonder if they resulted in un- usual muscular development amoiig Germans of the mUitary and aerial caste. In his conversation with the captain of the cruiser, he did not scruple to say that the visit showed a complete want of understanding of the character and powers of the Martian. He ex- plained his own presence on the island, gave the information of the augmented force of the enemy and their present whereabouts, and the fight A BATTLE OF GIANTS 291 planned to take place there for their extermina- tion. Into the doubts and queries that had caused this cruiser to be sent to Station X there is no need to enter. The report of the airman and Pro- fessor Rudge's words appeared to have settled them. The captain expressed his willingness to accom- modate Professor Rudge on board, and needed no pressing to steam at once for the island where the world's fate would be dec ded. This was all the Professor wanted, and more than he had dreamed of occurring. He could almost forgive the real nature of the visit in his joy at getting passage to where he wished to be. He would not hear of going ashore again for his k t, and with nothing but what he stood up in, the vessel started. Professor Rudge soon noticed that her speed was far less than that of the Sagitta. Meanwhile, 1,600 miles to the north" of Station X, a fleet of fourteen war vessels, ranging from battleships to small cruisers, was assembling. Commodore Evered found that starting with this force would save him a day, and it seemed far more than sufficient against one battle cruiser, for it included three battleships, two battle- cruisers, six cruisers of powerful armament, bes'des three smaller vessels. It would also be followed in twenty-four hours by a considerable augmenta- tion. 29a STATION X The Commodore decided to remain on the Sagitta. His reasons were her speed and because in the novel nature of the coming contest he did not know what unprecedented service might be called for, and he knew his crew and his ship and could depend on both. There was none among the civilised nations ignorant of the Martian and the danger he repre- sented. None the less, there was surprise even among the officers of the fleet at the rendezvous on account of the size of the force assembled against " so small a foe." They were able to gauge only the material danger. The force against them was the battle cruiser Sea Lion, and to their minds, that alone counted. As soon as the fleet was assembled the Com- modore made the signal " Captains repair on board." He explained " his plans and handed to each a copy of his detailed general instruc- tions. So soon as all were again on their respective ships, he made the signal to start for the Martian's island, then about ten hours' steam for the Saggita, to the north. It was then four bells in the morn- ing watch. In the afternoon of the same day, a little after three bells, the island was raised, and the Commo- dore sent up a couple of seaplanes to reconnoitre, but with strict orders not to approach nearer than four miles. It was a good day for observa- A BATTLE OF GIANTS 293 tion, a clear sky and atmosphere, no wind and a sea without a ripple. The observers reported that the Sea Lion was visible, and that many people were scattered about the place, working at something apparently connected with a wireless installation already existing. One reason for the choice of this island by the Martians was at once apparent in its peculiar shape and contour, which the naval chart did not fully indicate. It was seen to be a mountainous ridge of almost bare precipitous rock, four miles long, running in an east and west direction, but some- what curved, the convex side to the north. At its highest point it rose nearly a thousand feet above sea-level. This was about a mile from its eastern end, where it had nearly a mile in width, and from which point a branch or offset divided from the island and ran in a westerly direction, leaving a channel of several hundred yards in width, and of considerable depth, between it and the main part of the island. This spur had little width, but precipitous sides, both inside and out, and a razor-like edge at its summit, something after the style of the Needles, but much longer than either of them. It was in the inlet so formed that the Sea Lion was lying, invisible except by aeroplane, and immune from direct bombardment. The Commodore placed his ships so as to 294 STATION X -^ ;3> 7