now that overhead the turgid murk had turned into the blue of
distance. A sky. It was faintly sky-blue, and seemed hazy, almost as
though clouds were forming. It had been cold when we started. The
exertion had kept us fairly comfortable; But now I realized that it was
far warmer. This was different air, more humid, and I thought the smell
of moist earth was in it. Rocks and boulders were strewn here on the
floor of this giant valley, and I saw occasional pools of water. There
had been rain recently!

The realization came with a shock of surprise. This was a new world! A
faint, luminous twilight was around us. And then I noticed that the
light was not altogether coming from overhead. It seemed inherent to the
rocks themselves. They glowed, very faintly luminous, as though
phosphorescent.

We were now well embarked upon this strange journey. We seldom spoke.
Glora was intent upon guiding us. She was trying to make the best
possible speed. I realized that it was a case of judgment, as well as
physical haste. We had dropped into that six-foot pit. Had we waited a
few moments longer, the depth would have been a hundred feet, two
hundred, a thousand! It would have involved hours of arduous descent--if
we had lingered until we were a trifle smaller!

We took other pellets. We traveled perhaps an hour more. There were many
instances of Glora's skill. We squeezed into a gully and waited until it
widened; we leapt over expanding caverns; we slid down a smooth
yellowish slide of rocks, and saw it behind and over us, rising to
become a great spreading ramp extending upward into the blue of the sky.
Now, up there, little sailing white clouds were visible. And down where
we stood it was deep twilight, queerly silvery with the dim light from
the luminous rocks, as though some hidden moon were shining.

Strange, new world! I suddenly envisaged the full strangeness of it.
Around me were spreading miles of barren, naked landscape. I gazed off
to where, across the rugged plateau we were traversing, there was a
range of hills. Behind and above them were mountains; serrated tiers;
higher and more distant. An infinite spread of landscape! And, as we
dwindled, still other vast reaches opened before us. I gazed overhead.
Was it--compared to my stature now--a thousand miles, perhaps even a
million miles up to where we had been two or three hours ago? I thought
so.

Then suddenly I caught the other viewpoint. This was all only an inch of