o which it was
designed to ascend and, upon realizing this, I became aware that, for
safety, all aerenoids are limited to a certain height by the amount of
repelling metal used in their construction. The high-speed aerenoids,
owing to their build, being better adapted to withstand the atmospheric
conditions at a great altitude, can ascend several thousand feet, but
all are limited to what is considered a safe height for the class to
which they belong. The action of the repelling metal being independent
of the atmosphere, the danger of an aerenoid getting beyond control, and
rising above the envelope of air which surrounds the planet is thus
eliminated.

As these thoughts came into my mind, I glanced up into the heavens with
its countless stars--one being the world from which I came--when lo! a
remarkable phenomenon met my gaze. In the west hung a crescent moon,
somewhat smaller than Earth's moon, but extremely brilliant, while out
of the east rose another moon at its full. So rapidly did this latter
moon rise, that its journey through the heavens was perceptible, and it
was evident that within an hour it would sink into the western horizon,
having gradually changed its phase to a crescent. In seven hours it
would encircle Mars, and again appear above the eastern horizon.

My interest in this moon was intensified when I realized that it was
but a few thousand miles distant, and so small, that it would require
but a couple of days' comfortable walking to encircle it. Compared with
my journey from Earth, this few thousand miles seemed but an
insignificant distance, and I immediately thought of the possibility of
reaching it in a high-speed aerenoid to which a sufficient amount of the
repelling metal was attached to overcome the gravity of Mars. But I
instantly was aware of the fact that an attempt to reach this moon had
been made many years previously, and that the intrepid Martians who
undertook the hazardous journey, never returned. Although their aerenoid
carried enough oxygen to supply them for many days after they had left
the atmosphere of Mars, it was decided later that they had been lost in
space, unable either to reach the moon or return to Mars. The gravity of
so small a body would be insufficient to draw them to it, unless they
traveled straight in its direction, and, as the moon was moving rapidly
around Mars, the chances of this were admittedly small. Moreover, once
out of the atmosphere of Mars, it would be