e of chloroform, I could not
suppress a shudder at the thought of my spirit going out into the fury
of such a storm. It seemed as if Death, in the fear of being driven from
Earth and forever despoiled of his cruel victories, had turned loose the
elements in his fury, and waited without to wreak vengeance on my
audacious spirit as it sped through space.

An instant an intensely white glare on the surface of wires at this
moment gave evidence of the super-radium current. It was the signal for
my departure, and, with a brief but earnest prayer, I seized the cone,
and, taking my position on the couch, inhaled the fumes of chloroform.

* * * * *

CHAPTER X.

ZARLAH'S CONFESSION.

It was with a feeling of thankfulness that, upon opening my eyes, I
found myself in the virator. The storm, which I had feared might prove
disastrous, had been passed through safely, and now reigned the
wonderful quiet of Mars. The strange uneasiness, which I had experienced
upon my departure from Earth, was forgotten in the anticipation of the
great joy before me, or I would have noticed that the usual calm, ever
characteristic of Almos, was lacking.

It was already past the hour of my appointment with Zarlah, and, eager
to be with her, I hastily made the necessary preparations for my return
to Earth. Although these consisted merely of changing the current so
that it would flow from the virator to Earth, and adjusting the
clockwork for the hour of departure, I had decided upon the importance
of doing this beforehand, as any mistake made in the haste of departure
would prove fatal to either Almos or myself.

These preparations attended to, I now made my way to the balcony. I had
relied upon Almos' knowledge to guide me to Zarlah, and, as I reached
the open air, I at once felt his judgment assert itself. Two aerenoids
were moored to the balcony, a large high-speed one of the submarine-boat
type and a small open one. Into the latter I stepped, and, with a
perfect knowledge of its operation, glided out upon the cool night air.

Gently rising to about three hundred feet, I lay suspended between the
fairyland stretched beneath me and the brilliantly starred heavens. I
was perfectly aware of the direction in which I was to go, but for a few
moments I lay thus suspended, enjoying as could only an inhabitant of
Earth, the strangeness and marvel of it all.

The little vessel had reached the limit of height t