r hours, when the eastern hemisphere of
Earth was turned toward Mars, I searched with the radioscope until I got
the response of your instrument.

"I have kept my success in communicating with Earth a secret, as it
involves an invention of mine which I have not yet made public, and of
which I will now tell you. This invention is the radiphone, through
which we are now conversing, and to which the diaphragm of your
instrument responds, as it doubtless contains radium also. My entire
life has been devoted to the development of Martian-Earthly
communication, and this instrument has been the goal which I have
striven to reach since boyhood, and yet its success in communicating
with Earth came as a great surprise to me."

So accustomed was I to hear the Martian speak of the most miraculous
occurrences in an ordinary conversational tone, that the idea of there
still remaining something on Mars to be discovered appeared a still
greater wonder.

"We have made a most important discovery," pursued Almos. "I say 'we,'
as without the response of your instrument the action of a super-radium
current on sound-waves would not have been discovered."

"I feel that I can hardly share in the honors," I protested modestly.
"Without the super-radium current from Mars, I would still be
experimenting with the hope of finding a substitute for glass."

I now entered into a full account of the experiments I had conducted,
describing how, quite accidentally, I had made a substance responsive to
the waves from Mars. He was greatly amused upon hearing of my
astonishment at finding that Martians resembled the people on Earth; and
when I drew for him a verbal picture of the ferocious creatures the
inhabitants of Mars were supposed to be, he laughed aloud.

"We never suspected that the people of Earth did us such a great
injustice," he said, his whole countenance lighting up with good humor.
"I have several volumes here giving accounts of observations of Earth,
some of them written eight hundred years ago. It would perhaps interest
you to hear what the Martian conception of the inhabitants of Earth was
at that time."

"Indeed it would," I exclaimed, with rising curiosity.

"Well then," rejoined Almos, bringing one of the books and turning over
the leaves, while a curious smile still played about his mouth, "you
must understand that this was written over a hundred years before
super-radium was discovered, and at that time we had no means of
ob