the engine some more, quietly, but without results.
"Finally darkness came on. The Martians were camped about the Sphere but all seemed anxious to give it a wide berth, for the nearest were a hundred paces or more away. They were scattered pretty well, so I took a long chance and slipped out into the darkness, snapping the trap-door shut. Luck was with me. You know the rest."
"But man, you were banking on a chance in a thousand of getting through!"
"Oh, chances. Like kisses, they are to be taken."
They both laughed a little at this, and it lightened their spirits. The situation did not seem so hopeless after all.
"Then the Sphere is still unharmed," mused Robert.
"Not only unharmed but not far from us right now. Look over there."
Robert looked off to their right as indicated by Taggart. A familiar dark shape reared itself above the level of the desert, probably a quarter of a mile distant. He breathed a sigh of relief. Though useless to them just then it relieved him to know that the Martians had not wrecked it.
The still glare of the stars piercing the narrow Martian belt of clear atmosphere shone coldly upon them.
Robert wondered which of them was the good old Earth. Ah, to be safely back there again!—the professor, Taggert—and Zola. Would they all see each other again? Could he expect Zola to give up her father and other kin, her friends—everything she had learned to love in her own world? She had said she would go with him. Would her decision withstand the final parting from pleading friends and kinsmen, even if her father would let her go? Would she be happy on his Earth, if he succeeded in rescuing her from her present peril? Could he honestly urge her to leave with him?
These questions raced through his mind as his strength surged back to him. There was but one answer: if they could get away he would take her with him if he could possibly get her to go willingly. That he could make her happy he felt certain, for he would devote his entire life to doing so.
He became aware of Taggert's prodding him vigorously in the ribs.
"'Can' the star-gazing, old dear. It's time we were wriggling merrily on our way," he whispered.
They bestirred themselves reluctantly from the latent warmth of the sand. Waiting until the picket was once more on his way from them, they staggered to their feet and made a dash of it.
When they had traversed perhaps three quarters of a mile they slackened their pace to a walk. About two miles ahead of them lay the city's outskirts.
Approaching the lines of the city's defense they faced a danger similar to that from which they had just escaped. They might be mistaken for foes and fired upon when discovered.
Discovery came sooner than they expected. A Svergadian picket popped up suddenly from a pit dug in the sand and challenged them sharply, training his gun the while upon Robert, who was in the lead.
Robert explained who they were and asked permission to go to Hakon. The sentry seemed dubious but finally summoned an officer, who heard their story and promptly promised to have them escorted into Hakon's presence.
21
Their escort was dismissed upon their arrival at Hakon's quarters, by his aid, who recognized Robert and Taggert at once.
