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Through Space to Mars

R >> Roy Rockwood >> Through Space to Mars



Scanned by Sean Pobuda (jpobuda@adelphia.net)


THROUGH SPACE TO MARS

Or the Longest Journey on Record

By Roy Rockwood

#4 in the "Great Marvel Series"



CHAPTER I

TWO CHUMS


"Mark, hand me that test tube, will you, please?"

The lad who had made the request looked over at his companion, a
boy of about his own age, who was on the other side of the
laboratory table.

"The big one, or the small one?" questioned Mark Sampson.

"The large one," answered Jack Darrow. "I want to put plenty of
the chemical in this time and give it a good try."

"Now be careful, Jack. You know what happened the last time."

"You mean what nearly happened. The tube burst, but we didn't
get hurt. I have to laugh when I think of the way you ducked
under the table. Ha, ha! It was awfully funny!"

"Humph! Maybe you think so, but I don't," responded Mark with
rather a serious air. "I noticed that you got behind a chair."

"Well, of course. I didn't want broken glass in my eyes. Come
on, are you going to hand me that test tube, or will I have to
come and get it? We haven't much more time to-day."

"Oh, here's the tube," said Mark as he passed it over. "But
please be careful, Jack."

Jack measured out some black chemical that resembled gunpowder,
and poured it into the test tube which Mark handed him. Then he
inserted in the opening a cork, from which extended a glass tube,
to the outer end of which was fastened a rubber pipe.

He paused in his experiment to laugh again.

"What are you making--laughing gas?" asked Mark.

"No. But--excuse me--ha, ha! I can't help laughing when I
think of the way you ducked under the table the other day."

"Maybe you'll laugh on the other side of your countenance, as
Washington White would say," commented Mark; "especially if that
big tube bursts."

"But it isn't going to burst."

"How do you know?"

"Well, I worked out this experiment carefully. I've calculated
just how strong the new gas will be, and--"

"Ah, that's just it. It's a new gas, and you've never yet
succeeded in making it, have you?"

"No; but--"

"And it takes a different combination of chemicals to make it
from any you ever experimented with before, doesn't it?" asked
Mark.

"It does. But--"

"Yes, and I don't see how you can tell, with any amount of
calculation, just how much force will develop from those
chemicals, as no one ever put them together before."

"Well, maybe I can't," admitted Jack. "But this tube is very
strong, and even if it does break nothing very serious can
happen."

"Unless the gas you expect to generate is stronger than you have
any idea of."

"Well, I'm going to do it. I've got half an hour before
Professor Lenton and his class comes in, and that's time enough.
Here, just hold this rubber tube under this jar, will you? And
be sure to keep the edge of the jar below the surface of the
water. I don't want any of the gas to escape."

He handed Mark the end of the rubber tube, and the somewhat
nervous student, who was helping his chum Jack in the experiment,
inserted it under the edge of a large bell-glass, the open mouth
of which was placed just under the surface of water in a shallow
pan.

The two lads were students at the Universal Electrical and
Chemical College. They stood high in their classes, and were
often allowed to conduct experiments on their own responsibility,
this being one of those occasions. Jack, who was somewhat older
than his companion, was of a more adventurous turn of mind, and
was constantly trying new things. Not always safe ones, either,
for often he had produced small explosions in the laboratory of
the college. Only minor damage had been done thus far, but, as
Mark said, one could never tell what was going to happen when
Jack mixed certain things in test tubes and placed them over a
spirit lamp, or the flame of a Bunsen burner.

"Have you got that tube under the jar?" asked Jack as he lighted
a large Bunsen flame.

"It's under," answered Mark. "But say, what are you going to do
in case you prove that your theory is right, and that you can
make a new kind of gas? What good will it be?"

"Lots of good. If I'm right, this will be the lightest gas ever
made. Much lighter than hydrogen--"

"Lighter than the kind Professor Henderson made for use in the
Flying Mermaid, in which we went to the center of the earth?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't equal his gas; but then, no one can ever
hope to. I'm going to make a new gas, though, and I'll show you
that it will be much lighter and more powerful than hydrogen."

"More powerful, eh? Then I wish you'd have some one else hold
this. I'm afraid the test tube will burst."

"What if it does? It can't hurt you--very much. But here, since
you're so nervous, I'll put a pile of books all around the tube
and the burner. Then, if it bursts, the books will prevent the
pieces of glass from flying all about. Does that satisfy you?"
and Jack began heaping some books about the burner, over which he
was about to suspend the test tube containing the queer chemical.

"Yes," returned Mark doubtfully. "I suppose it's all right--unless
the books will be blown all over."

"Well, I'll be jig-sawed!" exclaimed Jack with a laugh. "There's
no satisfying you. You're too particular, Mark."

"Maybe; but I don't want to get hurt."

"You'll not be injured in the least. Look, you're quite a
distance away, and even if it does explode and the books are
scattered away, it can't hurt much to be hit by one of these
volumes. There, I'm all ready now. Hold the tube firmly."

He placed the test tube in a support, clamping it fast, so that
it would be held steady over the flame. Then he turned on more
of the illuminating gas, which, coming through the Bunsen burner,
was made intensely hot. A little column of flame now enveloped
the big test tube containing the powder.

There was a little crackling sound as the heat expanded the
powder, and the end of the test tube became quite red from the
flame.

"That tube'll melt!" exclaimed Mark, peering over the pile of
books. "It's too near the flame."

"Guess you're right," admitted Jack. "I'll raise it up a bit."

He turned down the flame and elevated the tube slightly. Then he
took a position where he could watch the process of making what
he hoped would be a new kind of gas. He wanted to be where he
could see the vapor beginning to collect in the top of the tube,
pass off through the glass in the cork, and then through the
little rubber hose to the bell glass held by Mark. If the gas
was generated too quickly, Jack knew he would have to turn down
the heat slightly.

The crackling sound continued. Then, as Jack watched, he saw a
thick, yellowish vapor collecting in the top of the test tube
near the cork.

"It's coming!" he cried. "There's my new gas!"

"What's the name of it?" asked Mark.

"I haven't named it yet. I want to collect it in the jar and
show it to Professor Lenton. He said he didn't believe I could
make it."

The boys resumed their careful watching of the experiment. It
was a nervous moment, for, from experience, Mark knew you never
could tell what would happen when Jack began to try new
combinations of chemicals. He was ready to drop down on an
instant's warning, out of the way of flying missiles.

"See any bubbles in that pan of water yet?" cried Jack.

"No, not yet."

"That's queer. The test tube is full of the yellow gas, and some
ought to be over to where you are now. I'm going to turn on some
more heat."

He increased the Bunsen flame. The crackling noise was louder.
The test tube became a fiery red.

"It's bubbling now!" suddenly called Mark.

"That's good! The experiment is a success! I knew I could make
it. Is any of the gas coming up in the glass jar?"

Mark bent over to make a closer examination. There were a few
seconds of silence, broken only by the roaring of the burner and
the crackling of the black powder.

"Yes, there is vapor in the jar," he said.

"Good! That's the stuff!" cried Jack. "Now I guess Professor
Lenton will admit that I'm right."

He turned the Bunsen flame up higher. A moment later he uttered
a cry, for he saw the cork being forced from the test tube. The
pressure of the new gas was too much for it.

"Lookout!" cried Jack. "She's going up!"

Then followed a sharp explosion, and the laboratory seemed filled
with fragments of broken glass and torn books.





CHAPTER II

JACK MAKES OXYGEN


"There it goes! There it goes!" cried Mark, making a dive for
the laboratory door, but slipping and sprawling on the floor.
"There it goes, Jack!"

"No; it's gone already!" cried Jack, who, even in the midst of
danger and excitement, seemed to remain calm and still to have
his appreciation of it joke.

"Come on!" cried Mark as he scrambled to his feet. "We must get
out of here, Jack!"

"What's the use now? It's all over."

There was a tinkling sound, as fragments of the broken test tube,
the bell-jar and other things began falling about the room.

Mark was fumbling at the door of the laboratory, seeking to
escape.

"Come on back," said Jack. "It's all over. There's no more
danger. We'll try it again."

Just then one of the pile of books, that had been blown on an
upper shelf, came down, landing on Mark's head.

"No danger?" cried Mark, trembling from excitement. "No danger?
What do you call that?" and he pointed to the books at his feet,
while he rubbed his head ruefully.

"Well, there aren't any more," observed Jack, with a look upward.

Just then the door opened, and an elderly gentleman, wearing
spectacles, entered the laboratory. He seemed much excited.

"What happened? Is any one hurt? Was there an explosion here?"
he asked.

Then he saw the devastation on all sides--the broken glass, the
scattered and torn books--and he noticed Mark rubbing his head.

"There was--er--a slight explosion," replied Jack, a faint smile
spreading over his face.

"Are you hurt?" the professor asked quickly, stepping over to
Mark. "Shall I get a doctor?"

"A book hit him," explained Jack.

"A book! Did a book explode?"

"No, sir. You see, I was making a new kind of gas, and Mark was
helping me. He was afraid the test tube would explode, so I
piled books around it, and--"

"And it did blow up!" cried Mark, still rubbing his head. "The
test tube, and the other tube, and the rubber hose, and the
bell-jar. I told you it would, Jack."

"Then you weren't disappointed," retorted Jack, this time with a
broad smile. "I don't like to disappoint people," he added.

"What kind of gas was it, Darrow?" asked Professor Lenton.

"Well, I hadn't exactly named it yet," answered the young
inventor. "I was going to show it to you, and see what you
thought of it. It's the kind you said I couldn't make."

"And did you make it?" asked the instructor grimly.

"Yes, sir--some."

"Where is it?"

"It's--er--well, you can smell it," replied Jack.

Sure enough, there was a strong, unpleasant odor in the
laboratory, but that was usual in the college where all sorts of
experiments were constantly going on.

"Hum--yes," admitted the professor. "I do perceive a new odor.
But I'm glad neither of you was hurt, and the damage doesn't seem
to be great."

"No, sir. It was my own apparatus I was using," explained Jack.
"I'll be more careful next time. I'll not put in so much of the
chemical."

"I don't believe there had better be a 'next time' right away,"
declared Mr. Lenton.

"The next attempt you make to invent a powerful gas, you had
better generate it in something stronger than a glass test tube.
Use an iron retort."

"Yes, sir," replied Jack.

"And now you had better report for your geometry lesson," went on
the professor. "I need the laboratory now for a class in
physics. Just tell the janitor to come here and sweep up the
broken glass. I am very glad neither of you boys was seriously
injured. You must be more careful next time."

"Oh, Mark was careful enough," said Jack. "It was all my fault.
I didn't think the gas was quite so powerful."

"All right," answered the professor with a smile as Jack and Mark
passed out on their way to another classroom.

The two lads, whom some of my readers have met before in the
previous books of this series, were friends who had become
acquainted under peculiar circumstances. They were orphans, and,
after having had many trying experiences, each of them had left
his cruel employers, and, unknown to each other previously, had
met in a certain village, where they were obliged to beg for
food. They decided to cast their lots together, and, boarding a
freight train, started West.

The train, as told in the first volume to this series, called
"Through the Air to the North Pole," was wrecked near a place
where a certain Professor Amos Henderson, and his colored helper,
Washington White, lived. Mr. Henderson was a learned scientist
who was constantly building new wonderful machines. He was
working on an airship, in which to set out and locate the North
Pole, when he discovered Jack and Mark, injured in the freight
wreck. He and Washington White carried the lads to the
inventor's workshop, and there the boys recovered. When they
were well enough, the professor invited them to live with him,
and, more than that, to take a trip with him North Pole.

They went, in company with Washington and an old hunter, named
Andy Sudds, and some other men, whom the professor took along to
help him.

Many adventures befell the party. They had battles with wild
beasts in the far north, and were attacked by savage Esquimaux.
Once they were caught in a terrible storm. They actually passed
over the exact location of the North Pole, and Professor
Henderson made some interesting scientific observations.

In the second volume of this series, entitled "Under the Ocean to
the South Pole," Professor Henderson, Jack, Mark, Washington and
old Andy Sudds, made even a more remarkable trip. The professor
had a theory that there was an open sea at the South Pole, and he
wanted to prove it. He decided that the best way to get there
was to go under the ocean in a submarine boat, and he and the
boys built a very fine, craft, called the Porpoise, which was
capable of being propelled under water at a great depth.

The voyagers had rather a hard time of it. They were caught in a
great sea of Sargasso grass, monstrous suckers held the boat in
immense arms, and it required hard fighting to get free. The
boys and the others had the novel experience of walking about on
the bottom of the sea in new kinds of diving suits invented by
the professor.

On their journey to the South Pole, the adventurers came upon a
strange island in the Atlantic, far from the coast of South
America. On it was a great whirlpool, into which the Porpoise
was nearly sucked by a powerful current. They managed to escape,
and had a glimpse of unfathomable depths. They passed on, but
could not forget the strange hole in the island.

Mark suggested that it might lead to the center of the earth,
which is hollow, according to some scientists, and after some
consideration, Professor Henderson, on his return from the South
Pole, decided to go down the immense shaft.

To do this required a different kind of vessel from any he had
yet built. He would need one that could sail on the water, and
yet float in the air like a balloon or aeroplane.

How he built this queer craft and took a most remarkable voyage,
you will find set down in the third book of this series, entitled
"Five Thousand Miles Underground."

In their new craft, called the Flying Mermaid, the professor, the
boys, Washington and Andy, sailed until they came to the great
shaft leading downward. Then the ship rose in the air and
descended through clouds of vapor. After many perils they
reached the center of the earth, where they found a strange race
of beings.

One day, to their horror, an earthquake dosed the shaft by which
they had come to the center of the earth. The boys were in
despair of ever getting to the surface again, but the professor
had been prepared for this emergency, and he had built a strong
cylinder, into which all the travelers placed themselves. Then
it was projected into a powerful upward shooting column of water,
which Professor Henderson hoped would take them to the surface of
the earth. Nor was he mistaken. They had a terrible journey,
but came safely out of it.

They opened the cylinder, to find themselves floating on the sea,
and they were rescued by a passing vessel. Of course, they had
abandoned the Mermaid, leaving the craft in the center of the
earth, but they had brought back with them some valuable
diamonds, which formed their fortune.

This ended, for a time, the experiments of the professor, who
decided to settle down to a quiet life, and write out the
observations he had made on the three voyages. The boys wanted
to get an education, and, investing their share from the sale of
the diamonds, they took up a course at the Universal Electrical
and Chemical College. Each had an ambition to become as great an
inventor as was Professor Henderson, with whom they continued to
live in a small city on the Maine coast. Washington White and
Andy Sudds also dwelt with the professor, Andy going off on
occasional hunting trips, and Washington acting as a sort of body
servant to Mr. Henderson.

Jack and Mark had completed one term at the college, and were in
the midst of the second when this story opens.

They had not lost their love for making queer voyages, and one of
their greatest desires was to help the professor turn out a craft
even more wonderful than the Electric Monarch, the Porpoise or
the Flying Mermaid. It was in this connection that Jack was
experimenting on the new gas, when the slight accident happened.

"Are you going to try that again?" asked Mark, as he and his chum
walked along to their geometry class.

"Sure," replied Jack. "I want that to succeed. I know I am on
the right track."

"You came near getting blown off the track," remarked his
companion, which was as near to a joke as he ever would come,
for, though Jack was jolly and full of fun, Mark was more
serious, inclined to take a sterner view of life.

"Oh, I'll succeed yet!" exclaimed Jack. "And when I do--you'll
see something--that's all."

"And feel it, too," added Mark, putting his hand on his head, the
book having raised quite a lump.

It was several days after this before the boys had the chance to
work alone in the laboratory again, and Jack had to promise not
to try his experiment with the new gas before this privilege was
granted him.

"Want any help?" asked Dick Jenfer, another student, as he saw
Jack and Mark enter the laboratory.

"Yes, if you want to hold a test tube for me," answered Jack.
"I'm going to try a new way of making oxygen."

"No, thanks! Not for mine!" exclaimed Dick as he turned away.
"I don't want to be around when you try your new experiments.
The old way of making oxygen is good enough for me."

"Well, I have a new scheme," went on Jack.

Soon he and Mark, whom he had again induced to help him, were
busy with test tubes, rubber hose, Bunsen flames, jars of water,
and all that is required to make oxygen.

Somewhat to his own surprise, the experiment Jack tried was a
success. He collected a jarful of oxygen, generated in a way he
had thought out for himself. It was much simpler than the usual
method.

Just as he concluded the test, some one opened the laboratory
door. It was Professor Lenton.

"I have a telegram for you," he said.

"A telegram?"

"Yes. It just arrived."

Jack tore open the yellow envelope.

"It's from Professor Henderson," he said.

"Is anything the matter?" asked Mark.

"I don't know," answered Jack. "It says: 'Come home at once.'
I wonder what's wrong?"

"I hope nothing serious," said Professor Lenton.

"You may both prepare to leave this afternoon. I Am sorry. Let
me hear from you when you reach Professor Henderson. I trust
nothing has happened to him. He is too great a scientist for us
to lose."




CHAPTER III

WASHINGTON MEETS THE BOYS


All thoughts of experiments were driven from the minds of Jack
and Mark by the telegram. They imagined that something had
happened to their old friend, and it worried them. If he was
dangerously hurt, as might be, for he was constantly experimenting
in a small way, it would mean that a great change must take place
in their lives.

"What do you suppose can have happened?" asked Mark, as he and
Jack went to their rooms to get ready to leave the college.

"I haven't the least idea. Maybe he wants us to go on another
trip."

Mark finished packing, and Jack was not far behind him. Then the
lads went to the railroad station, where they purchased tickets
for home and were soon on a train. On the journey they could not
help but refer occasionally to the telegram, though Jack kept
insisting that nothing so serious had happened. Mark was not
quite in such good spirits.

"Well, here we are," announced Jack, about three hours later, as
the train pulled into a small station. "And there's Washington
on the platform waiting for us."

Jack hurried out of the car, followed by Mark.

"Hello, Wash!" cried the fat lad. "How are you? Catch this
valise!" and he threw it to the colored man before the train had
come to a stop. Washington deftly caught the grip, though he had
to make a quick movement to accomplish it.

"I 'clar t' gracious!" he exclaimed. "Dat suttinly am a most
inconsequential mannah in which to project a transmigatory object
in contiguousness to mah predistination."

"Whoa, there!" cried Jack. "Better take two bites at that,
Wash!"

"Dat's all right, Massa Jack," answered the colored man. "I'se
glad to see yo', an' I suttinly hopes dat de
transubstantiationableness ob my--"

"Wow!" cried Jack. "Say that over again, and say it slow."

"Don't yo' foregather mah excitability?" asked the colored man
rather anxiously.

"Yes, I guess so. What's the answer? How's the professor?
How's Andy? What's the matter? Why did he send for us?"

"Wait! Wait! Please wait!" begged Washington. "One ob dem
interrogatorial projections at a time, Massa Jack. Where am
Massa Mark?"

"Here I am," replied Jack's chum, as he followed him out on the
platform of the train, which had come to a stop.

"Dats right!" exclaimed Washington. "Let me hab yo' extended
article ob transportation an' I'll jest expidite it in--"

"I guess you mean it, all right," interrupted Jack. "But what's
up? Why did the professor send for us?"

"I doan't know, Massa Jack."

"You don't know?"

"Nopy. He jest done gone tell me to send dat transmigatory
telegraph, an' dat's all."

"But why does he want us? He's not sick, is he?" asked Mark.

"Never felt bettah!" exclaimed Washington as he walked along the
street leading from the depot, a valise in either hand. "His
state ob health am equal to de sophistication ob de
soporiferousness."

"You mean he sleeps well?" questioned Jack.

"Dat's what I done meant to convey to yo', Massa Jack."

"Well, why don't you say it?" asked Mark.

"Dat's jest what I done. I said--"

"Never mind," interrupted Jack.

"Then you can't tell us why the professor sent for us?"

"He's got company," went on Washington, as if he had just thought
of that.

"Company?" exclaimed both boys.

"Yyais."

"Who is it?"

"Why, his name am Santell Roumann."

"What an odd name!" commented Mark.

"Is he a doctor?" asked Jack.

"He speaks wid a Germannes aceetnuation," said Washington. "He
suttinly uses de most ogilistic conglomerations--"

"If he can beat you, he's a wonder," said Jack. "But where did
he come from?"

"I 'clar t' goodness I doan't know. All I knows is dat he jest
comed. One day he wasn't dere, and come next day he was."

"Does the professor know him?"

"Suah! He's a friend ob de perfesser," added Washington. "De
perfesser was pow'ful glade t' see him."

"'Then he must be some scientist," said Mark.

"Dat's it! He's chock full obscientistical bombasticness an'
labiodentalisms," said the colored man.

"I guess the professor wanted us to meet him and learn something
that we couldn't in college," spoke Mark. "Well, we'll soon be
there."

"Yes," assented Jack. "I want to find out what it's all about.
Santell Roumann--that's an odd name."

"An' he's a mighty odd man," supplemented Washington.

They reached the house a few minutes later, and went in the front
door. The sounds of two voices came from the library. One of
them was that of Professor Henderson. He was saying:

"I tell you it can't be done! It is utterly impossible! It is
madness to think of such a terrible trip!"

"And I tell you it can be done--it shall be done and you are the
very man to accomplish it," insisted the other. "You and your
young assistants will succeed. I know you will. You will go
with me, and we will make the longest journey on record."




CHAPTER IV

WONDERFUL PLAN


"I wonder what they can be talking about?" asked Mark of Jack, as
they paused outside the library door.

"I don t know, but it concerns us."

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