r, the sunlight, streaming through
one or more of the windows, was diffused and produced ordinary daylight.

But when we ventured outside we could only see things by halves. The
side of the car that the sun's rays touched was visible, the other side
was invisible, the light from the stars not making it bright enough to
affect the eye in contrast with the sun-illumined half.

As I held up my arm before my eyes, half of it seemed to be shaved
off lengthwise; a companion on the deck of the ship looked like half
a man. So the other electrical ships near us appeared as half ships,
only the illuminated sides being visible.

We had now got so far away that the earth had taken on the appearance
of a heavenly body like the moon. Its colors had become all blended
into a golden-reddish hue, which overspread nearly its entire surface,
except at the poles, where there were broad patches of white. It was
marvellous to look at this huge orb behind us, while far beyond it shone
the blazing sun like an enormous star in the blackest of nights. In the
opposite direction appeared the silver orb of the moon, and scattered
all around were millions of brilliant stars, amid which, like fireflies,
flashed and sparkled the signal lights of the squadron.

Danger Manifests Itself.

A danger that might easily have been anticipated, that perhaps had been
anticipated, but against which it would have been difficult, if not
impossible, to provide, presently manifested itself.

Looking out of a window toward the right, I suddenly noticed the
lights of a distant ship darting about in a curious curve. Instantly
afterward another member of the squadron, nearer by, behaved in the same
inexplicable manner. Then two or three of the floating cars seemed to be
violently drawn from their courses and hurried rapidly in the direction
of the flagship. Immediately I perceived a small object, luridly flaming,
which seemed to move with immense speed in our direction.

The truth instantly flashed upon my mind, and I shouted to the other
occupants of the car:

Struck By A Meteor!

"A meteor!"

And such indeed it was. We had met this mysterious wanderer in space
at a moment when we were moving in a direction at right angles to the
path it was pursuing around the sun. Small as it was, and its diameter
probably did not exceed a single foot, it was yet an independent little
world, and as such a member of the solar system. Its distance from
the sun being so n