he empty, yawning shell of an ocean that had long
vanished.

It was with no small difficulty, and only after the expenditure of
considerable time, that all the floating ships of the squadron were
gradually brought to rest on this lone mountain top of the moon. In
accordance with my request, Mr. Edison had the flagship moored in the
interior of the great ruined watch tower that I have described. The
other ships rested upon the slope of the mountain around us.

Although time pressed, for we knew that the safety of the earth depended
upon our promptness in attacking Mars, yet it was determined to remain
here at least two or three days in order that the wrecked car might be
repaired. It was found also that the passage of the highly electrified
meteor had disarranged the electrical machinery in some of the other
cars, so that there were many repairs to be made besides those needed to
restore the wreck.

Moreover, we must bury our unfortunate companions who had been killed by
the meteor. This, in fact, was the first work that we performed. Strange
was the sight, and stranger our feelings, as here on the surface of a
world distant from the earth, and on soil which had never before been
pressed by the foot of man, we performed that last ceremony of respect
which mortals pay to mortality. In the ancient beach at the foot of the
peak we made a deep opening, and there covered forever the faces of our
friends, leaving them to sleep among the ruins of empires, and among the
graves of races which had vanished probably ages before Adam and Eve
appeared in Paradise.

While the repairs were being made several scientific expeditions were
sent out in various directions across the moon. One went westward to
investigate the great ring of Plato, and the lunar Alps. Another crossed
the ancient Sea of Showers toward the inner Appenines.

One started to explore the immense Crater of Copernicus, which, yawning
fifty miles across, presents a wonderful appearance even from the
distance of the earth. The ship in which I, myself, had the good fortune
to embark, was bound for the mysterious inner mountain Aristarchus.

Before these expeditions started, a careful exploration had been made in
the neighborhood of Cape Heraclides. But, except that the broken walls
of the watch tower on the peak, composed of blocks of enormous size, had
evidently been the work of creatures endowed with human intelligence, no
remains were found indicating the former