he
two satellites, until Phobos, rapidly gaining upon the other, had left
its rival far behind.

Suddenly Colonel Smith, who took very little interest in these
astronomical curiosities, touched me, and pointing ahead, said:

"There they are."

Rejoining the Fleet.

I looked, and sure enough there were the signal lights of the principal
squadron, and as we gazed we occasionally saw, darting up from the vast
cloud mass beneath, an electric bayonet, fiercely thrust into the sky,
which showed that the siege was still actively going on, and that the
Martians were jabbing away at their invisible enemies outside the curtain.

In a short time the two fleets had joined, and Colonel Smith and I
immediately transferred ourselves to the flagship.

"Well, what have you done?" asked Mr. Edison, while others crowded around
with eager attention.

"If we have not captured their provision train," said Colonel Smith, "we
have done something just about as good. We have foraged on the country,
and have collected a supply that I reckon will last this fleet for at
least a month."

"What's that? What's that?"

"It's just what I say," and Colonel Smith brought out of his pocket one
of the square cakes of compressed food. "Set your teeth in that, and see
what you think of it, but don't take too much, for it's powerful strong."

"I say," he continued, "we have got enough of that stuff to last us all
for a month, but we've done more than that; we have got a surprise for
you that will make you open your eyes. Just wait a minute."

Caring for the Rescued Girl.

Colonel Smith made a signal to the electrical ship which we had just
quitted to draw near. It came alongside, so that one could step from
its deck onto the flagship. Colonel Smith disappeared for a minute in
the interior of his ship, then re-emerged, leading the girl whom we had
found upon the planet.

"Take her inside, quick," he said, "for she is not used to this thin air."

In fact, we were at so great an elevation that the rarity of the
atmosphere now compelled us all to wear our air-tight suits, and the girl,
not being thus attired, would have fallen unconscious on the deck if we
had not instantly removed her to the interior of the car.

There she quickly recovered from the effects of the deprivation of air
and looked about her, pale, astonished, but yet apparently without fear.

Every motion of this girl convinced me that she not only recognized
us as members of