when ralph burst into the machine room of the martian's flyer and saw alice lying dead in a pool of her own blood the shock was almost more than he could bear. falling on his knees beside her he caught her small, yet warm hand in his, calling her name again and again in agonized tones. he covered her lovely white face with kisses, while dry tearless sobs tore at his throat.
then, thinking that perhaps he had made a mistake, that her heart must still beat, he tried, with trembling hands to discover the extent of her injuries. llysanorh' had aimed at her heart but the dying man had missed his mark, and the sharp point of the dagger had slashed her arm, cutting into the large artery. and in those precious moments when ralph had been connecting the two flyers, and making his way from one to the other, her warm rich life's blood had ebbed rapidly away.
he lifted the lifeless body in his arms and carried it to his machine, where he laid it on his bed. his mind was confused and disordered and he was unable to think coherently. a sickening sensation of depression so overwhelmed him that he felt physically ill.
suddenly an electric thrill seemed to pass through his body and his clouded mental vision cleared. a picture[pg 196] flashed upon his mind. he saw himself in his laboratory on earth, bending over a "dead" dog. and there came to him a memory of the words of that dean of scientists:
"what you have done with a dog, you can do with a human being."
in that instant ralph was galvanized. for the first time in his life he doubted. could he do it? what if he failed? then he pushed such thoughts from him with stem resolution.
he would not fail!
he touched the body of the girl. it had not yet grown cold with the icy chill of death. he rushed for some electric heating pads, which he applied to her to keep what warmth remained.
then came that which proved itself a terrible ordeal for him. it was absolutely necessary to drain away all the remaining blood, so that it would not coagulate.
it had been a simple matter to empty the blood vessels of a dog, but this was the girl he loved, and he shuddered as he began his work.
he opened the large artery, and it was only with supreme courage that he forced himself to complete the heart=breaking task, while scalding tears ran down his cheeks unheeded.
he had scarcely terminated his work, when he heard steps in the corridor. he could feel his hair bristling, and he whirled to face the door, reaching for his radioperforer as he did so. could llysanorh'?... the next moment a large woman stood in the doorway.
ralph stared at her in amazement. then suddenly it dawned upon him that this must be the maid fernand had provided.
[pg 197]
she had hidden herself in abject terror when the darkness came down, and had only now mustered enough courage to investigate. the first object she had seen upon creeping to the machine room was the dead body of the martian. horrified, she had fainted away, but later, recovering, she crawled through the connecting tube.
she was weak, trembling with fright, and could be of no use, and ralph hastened to get her into another room, where he put her into a comfortable chair and left her, for he could not afford to lose a minute now.
a most important task was now before him. he had to pump an antiseptic solution through the veins of alice, and after that the blood vessels must be filled with a weak solution of radium-k bromide, which, taking the place of the blood would prevent her body from undergoing physical and chemical changes.
with infinite care ralph applied himself to his difficult task. after the blood vessels had been completely filled with the radium preparation, he sewed up the arteries. in this gruesome task he was assisted by lylette, who had recovered sufficiently to be of some help to him.
there remained only one more thing—to apply the permagatol, the rare gas, having the property of conserving animal tissue, which ralph had used successfully in his dog experiment, in keeping the respiratory organs from decomposing in the absence of blood in the blood vessels.
ralph then quickly constructed a case of flexible glass, which he fitted around the upper part of alice's body, covering her head and torso.
he took special precautions, moreover, to make the case air-tight.
when the case had been completed and the recording[pg 198] and registering instruments put in place, ralph went up to the laboratory to get the permagatol.
when, however, he tested the steelonium bomb, labeled "permagatol," he found it absolutely empty.
the discovery nearly paralyzed him. his head swam and he was forced to sit down to keep from slumping over in the gravitation-less flyer. this last blow was almost too much. his cup of hope, that alice could be brought back to life, had been snatched out of his hands.
without the permagatol, it was impossible to save her. there was nothing to keep the beautiful dead body from disintegrating. while the radium-k bromide stayed the process to a certain extent, the respiratory organs could only be saved by means of the precious permagatol.
could he use a substitute gas? it was a dangerous experiment to make, but he had nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
he threw himself with a frenzy into the work and in six hours had compounded a gas that, in its general structure and atomic weight, came close to the properties and characteristics of permagatol. the gas he evolved was armagatol, and while he knew that it had never been used for the purpose for which he intended it, he felt justified in risking the experiment.
after the air had been drawn from the glass case, he immediately introduced the armagatol into it.
the change in alice's face shocked him, as he watched the armagatol fill the case. the green gas-vapors cast an unearthly green pallor over her countenance, and the ghastliness was further enhanced by the deathly pallor of her face.
he arranged the electric heating pads around alice's[pg 199] body, and inspected the registering instruments.
it had now become necessary to take his bearings. he found to his amazement that instead of being close to mars, as he had expected, he was moving away from that body.
the two space flyers, although their machinery was not working, had been moving rapidly, due to the gravitational action of the nearest large celestial body. this body was not mars, however, but earth. although, at the time of the encounter with llysanorh', the two machines had been slightly nearer to mars, the larger mass, and consequently the stronger attraction of the earth had overcome the pull that mars exerted on the machines, and as a result the machines were now being drawn toward earth.
a glance at the celestial chart revealed to ralph that earth and mars would be in opposition the next day and that he was separated from earth by twenty-two million miles. he would have to move faster than earth if he were to overtake that body. besides, he was twenty-two million miles to the east of the planet.
the earth was traveling 65,533 miles per hour in its orbit. a simple calculation indicated that, by forcing his space flyer to the utmost, or 90,000 miles an hour, he could not hope to reach earth in less than fifty days, as he could only gain about 24,400 miles an hour on earth.
the next important step was to cut loose llysanorh's machine. he instructed lylette to get her things from the martian's flyer. she started to crawl through the connecting tube, and that was the last time ralph saw her alive.
a loud hissing noise, like escaping steam caused him to rush to the connecting tube, but he was too late. the[pg 200] automatic safety valve had sprung, and the circular door of the connecting tube had been hermetically closed.
the two machines had drifted apart, and as ralph peered anxiously through one of the windows, he was horrified at the sight of lylette, hanging by her feet from the circular connecting-tube door of llysanorh's machine.
the door had closed automatically when the two machines had become disconnected. the air had of course rushed out immediately from llysanorh's flyer. she had died in a few seconds and her body had become distended to a great many times its normal size. ralph, nauseated by the terrible spectacle, turned away from it. there was nothing he could do.
few people realize that it is nothing but the atmospheric pressure that keeps our bodies from falling apart; thus, it is well known that when flying at high altitudes on the earth, where the atmosphere becomes thin, blood will begin to flow from the mouth, nose and ears.
when he glanced backwards a few minutes later and saw llysanorh's machine he gave an exclamation of astonishment. the machine was not to be seen, but in its place was a wondrous comet, its tail streaming thousands of miles behind it!
llysanorh's flyer, which was somewhat larger in size than that of ralph's, had "captured" the artificial comet! there remained not a part of it attached to ralph's flyer. ralph reasoned that the air that had been contained formerly in llysanorh's machine had, upon rushing out of the flyer after lylette's fatal accident, mixed with the gases of the "comet" and thereby assisted the latter in detaching itself from ralph's flyer.
it remained within range of his vision for many weeks,[pg 201] before it was finally lost in the depths of infinite space, where it would, in all probability, rush through the boundless universe for aeon upon aeon, ere it would eventually collide with some other body, and would be reduced to cosmic dust.
the long days during ralph's flight back to earth left their indelible imprint upon his mind. never, in all the years to follow, could he look back upon them without a shudder, remembering the heart-break of the terrible hours in which he sat beside the bed on which lay his beloved.
the nearer he drew to earth, the more his dread of the coming ordeal increased. he was by no means sure that he could bring alice back to life; it was not even probable. it was but an experiment at best, the outcome of which could not be foretold. if armagatol would bring the same reactions as permagatol, there was a reasonable assurance of restoring alice to life, but ralph was inclined to doubt the efficiency of the substitute gas.
he examined her every few hours, and once in twenty-four he looked at the blood vessels. this was made possible by means of his platinum-barium-arcturium eyeglasses, which acted in a similar manner to the old-fashioned x-ray screen. inasmuch as all the blood vessels of alice's body were filled with radium-k bromide—which latter, like radium, excited the platinum-barium-arcturium eyeglasses—each blood vessel could be inspected with ease.
the invisible rays (the same as x-rays) emanating from the radium-k bromide solution in the blood vessels, showed ralph their exact condition.
[pg 202]
while all the blood vessels remained healthy, ralph became greatly alarmed over the change that slowly, but steadily, made itself apparent in the respiratory organs. some change was taking place which he did not understand. he knew it must be the action of the armagatol, but he was unable to do anything, as with the chemicals on hand it was impossible to produce the life-saving permagatol.
ralph grew more despondent each day, and his hope of bringing his betrothed back to life grew dimmer and dimmer as the hours rolled on. for the first time since he left the earth he became space-sick.
space-sickness is one of the most unpleasant sensations that a human being can experience. not all are subject to it, and it does not last longer than forty-eight hours, after which it never recurs.
on earth, gravitational action to a certain degree exerts a certain pull on the brain. out in space, with practically no gravitational action, this pull ceases. when this happens, the brain is no longer subjected to the accustomed pull, and it expands slightly in all directions, just as a balloon loses its pear shape and becomes round when an aeronaut cuts loose, to drop down with his parachute.
the effect on the brain results in space-sickness, the first symptoms being violent melancholy and depression followed by a terrible heart-rending longing for earth. during this stage, at which the patient undergoes great mental suffering, the optical nerves usually become affected and everything appears upside down, as if the sufferer were looking through a lens. it becomes necessary to take large doses of siltagol, otherwise brain fever may develop.
[pg 203]
at the end of two days the sickness left ralph, but it left him worn and exhausted physically and he was subject to terrible fits of depression. at these times the boundless space about him appalled him, weighing him down with its infinite immensity. the awful stillness crushed him. everything seemed dead—dead as was that silent motionless figure that had been a living laughing creature who had loved him—it seemed so long ago.
he felt that nature herself was punishing him for his daring assault upon her dominions. he had presumed to set the laws of life and death at variance, and this was the penalty, this living death, shut in with the living dead.
at such times a madness of fear and despair would grip him. he would fling himself down at alice's side, his face buried in her cold inert hand, and sob like a child in his loneliness and agony of spirit.
when this had passed he would return to his state of lethargy, sitting hours at a time staring moodily at the floor. gaunt, hollow-eyed and listless, he seemed more mad than sane.
and yet, the tremendous will-power of the man came into evidence when, within forty-eight hours' distance of earth he threw off his blinding lethargy, and made himself ready, mentally and physically, for his last fight for alice's life.
he had drawn close enough to earth now to use the radio apparatus, and soon he was in hourly communication with his laboratory. he gave his instructions clearly and definitely, and he soon had assurance that everything that could possibly be done for the dead girl had been carefully arranged.
ralph's flyer landed on top of his tower sixty-nine days[pg 204] after his departure. he was greatly impressed at the sight of the flags of the city at half mast. the town itself was very still. there were no aeroflyers, no vehicles in motion in the streets. business was at a standstill for ten minutes after ralph landed. thus the world expressed its deep sympathy.
within a few minutes alice had been placed on an operating table in ralph's laboratory, and 16k 5+, the world's greatest surgeon, who had been summoned, was in readiness. ralph was placed on an operating table to the right of alice. to the left lay cléose, a beloved cousin of alice.
in a few seconds alice's arteries had been opened and the radium-k bromide solution was drawn off. a quantity of warm, distilled water, containing antiseptic salts was then pumped through her blood vessels by two assistants. during this time the surgeon had opened the large arteries of both ralph and cléose, and had introduced a flexible glass tube into each. in a short time the blood of ralph and cléose began flowing rapidly through these tubes into alice's blood vessels.
simultaneously a third assistant administered oxygen to alice, while a fourth commenced to excite her heart rhythmically by means of electrical current.
the brain was stimulated energetically at the same time by means of the powerful f-9-rays, and while ralph and cléose grew paler and paler as their blood flowed out into alice's body, the latter began to acquire color by degrees, though there was no other sign of life. after enough blood had been taken from the two, the surgeon closed their arteries; and, while cléose had fainted during the ordeal,[pg 205] ralph, weakened as he was, remained conscious by sheer force of will.
the surgeon 16k 5+, asked ralph if he did not think it would be better for him to be removed to another room, but ralph refused so vehemently, despite his terribly depleted strength, that he was allowed to remain. he asked to be raised slightly higher that he might watch the work of restoring alice to life, and this request too, was granted.
almost two hours had passed since alice had first been laid upon the operating table, and still there was no sign of life. the suspense became well-nigh unendurable, not only to ralph, but to the workers as well.
was she lost after all?
was he fated never to see her alive again?
the great surgeon and his assistants were working desperately. every conceivable means was used to revive the inanimate body, but all was to no avail. as attempt after attempt failed the faces of the men grew graver. a tense silence prevailed throughout the laboratory, broken only by the surgeon's sharp low instructions from time to time.
it was then, when the tide of hope was at the lowest ebb, that ralph beckoned one of the assistants to his side. though unable to speak above a whisper, so weak was he, he managed with difficulty to convey his meaning to the man, who sprang to the side of the surgeon and in a low voice gave him ralph's message.
ralph had sent for a hypnobioscope, the head pieces of which they fastened to alice's temples. they brought a number of rolls and from them ralph chose one of the world's most beautiful love stories.
[pg 206]
it was the last trench in his desperate combat with nature. it was the supreme effort. it was the last throw of the dice in the game between science and death, with a girl as the stakes.
ralph knew that if the brain was at all alive to impressions, the effect of the story would stimulate it to voluntary action.
as the reel unrolled, ralph fixed his burning eyes on the closed ones as though he would drive by the very force of his will the impressions coming from the hypnobioscope deep into her brain.
then, while they watched, with bated breath, the slight body on the operating table quivered almost imperceptibly, as the water of a still pool is rippled by a passing zephyr. a moment later her breast rose gently and fell again, and from the white lips came the suggestion of a sigh.
when ralph saw this, his strength returned to him, and he raised himself, listening with throbbing heart to the soft breathing. his eyes glowed with triumph. the battle was won. his face was transfigured. all the agony, the heart-breaking foreboding of the past weeks passed from him, and a great peace settled upon his soul.
the surgeon sprang to catch him as he dropped, unconscious.
about a week later ralph was admitted by the nurse to the room where alice lay, regaining her strength. he was still weak, himself, from the loss of blood. alice had just awakened, and at his step, she turned her lovely face eagerly toward him. her cheeks were faintly tinged with the delicate pink of the seashell, her eyes were bright[pg 207] with the soft glow of health.
she beckoned to him smiling into his eyes, and he knelt down beside her, taking her hands in his own, and holding them close. she moved her lips and he bent his head close to them, so that her gentle breath fanned his cheek.
"i can't talk very loud," she whispered. "my lungs and vocal chords are not strong yet, but the nurse said i might speak just a few words. but i wanted to tell you something."
"what is it, my darling?" he asked tenderly.
she looked at him with the old sparkle of mischief in her dark eyes.
"dearest," she said, "i have just found out what your name really means."
ralph twined a little tendril of her hair around one of his fingers.
"yes?" he asked with a quizzical smile.
"well, you see," and the lovely color deepened to rose, "your name is going to be my name now, so i keep saying it over to myself—"
"my darling
one to foresee for one!"
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