ric fountain, a kind
of chimney in the atmosphere. And if the Cavorite itself hadn't been loose
and so got sucked up the chimney, does it occur to you what would have
happened?"

I thought. "I suppose," I said, "the air would be rushing up and up over
that infernal piece of stuff now."

"Precisely," he said. "A huge fountain--"

"Spouting into space! Good heavens! Why, it would have squirted all the
atmosphere of the earth away! It would have robbed the world of air! It
would have been the death of all mankind! That little lump of stuff!"

"Not exactly into space," said Cavor, "but as bad--practically. It would
have whipped the air off the world as one peels a banana, and flung it
thousands of miles. It would have dropped back again, of course--but on
an asphyxiated world! From our point of view very little better than if it
never came back!"

I stared. As yet I was too amazed to realise how all my expectations had
been upset. "What do you mean to do now?" I asked.

"In the first place if I may borrow a garden trowel I will remove some of
this earth with which I am encased, and then if I may avail myself of your
domestic conveniences I will have a bath. This done, we will converse more
at leisure. It will be wise, I think"--he laid a muddy hand on my arm--"if
nothing were said of this affair beyond ourselves. I know I have caused
great damage--probably even dwelling-houses may be ruined here and there
upon the country-side. But on the other hand, I cannot possibly pay for
the damage I have done, and if the real cause of this is published, it
will lead only to heartburning and the obstruction of my work. One cannot
foresee everything, you know, and I cannot consent for one moment to
add the burthen of practical considerations to my theorising. Later
on, when you have come in with your practical mind, and Cavorite is
floated--floated is the word, isn't it?--and it has realised all you
anticipate for it, we may set matters right with these persons. But not
now--not now. If no other explanation is offered, people, in the present
unsatisfactory state of meteorological science, will ascribe all this to a
cyclone; there might be a public subscription, and as my house has
collapsed and been burnt, I should in that case receive a considerable
share in the compensation, which would be extremely helpful to the
prosecution of our researches. But if it is known that _I_ caused this,
there will be no public subscription, and ev