ns. Let us beard the lion in his den. Let us ourselves
turn conquerors and take possession of that detestable planet, and if
necessary, destroy it in order to relieve the earth of this perpetual
threat which now hangs over us like the sword of Damocles."

Chapter II.

This enthusiasm would have had but little justification had Mr. Edison
done nothing more than invent a machine which could navigate the
atmosphere and the regions of interplanetary space.

He had, however, and this fact was generally known, although the details
had not yet leaked out--invented also machines of war intended to meet
the utmost that the Martians could do for either offence or defence in
the struggle which was now about to ensue.

A Wonderful Instrument.

Acting upon the hint which had been conveyed from various investigations
in the domain of physics, and concentrating upon the problem all those
unmatched powers of intellect which distinguished him, the great inventor
had succeeded in producing a little implement which one could carry in
his hand, but which was more powerful than any battleship that ever
floated. The details of its mechanism could not be easily explained,
without the use of tedious technicalities and the employment of terms,
diagrams and mathematical statements, all of which would lie outside
the scope of this narrative. But the principle of the thing was simple
enough. It was upon the great scientific doctrine, which we have since
seen so completely and brilliantly developed, of the law of harmonic
vibrations, extending from atoms and molecules at one end of the series up
to worlds and suns at the other end, that Mr. Edison based his invention.

Every kind of substance has its own vibratory rhythm. That of iron
differs from that of pine wood. The atoms of gold do not vibrate in the
same time or through the same range as those of lead, and so on for all
known substances, and all the chemical elements. So, on a larger scale,
every massive body has its period of vibration. A great suspension
bridge vibrates, under the impulse of forces that are applied to it,
in long periods. No company of soldiers ever crosses such a bridge
without breaking step. If they tramped together, and were followed by
other companies keeping the same time with their feet, after a while the
vibrations of the bridge would become so great and destructive that it
would fall in pieces. So any structure, if its vibration rate is known,
could