by Jules Verne
CHAPTER III.
THEIR PLACE OF SHELTER.
This curious but certainly correct explanation once given, the threefriends returned to their slumbers. Could they have found a calmer ormore peaceful spot to sleep in? On the earth, houses, towns, cottages,and country feel every shock given to the exterior of the globe. On sea,the vessels rocked by the waves are still in motion; in the air, theballoon oscillates incessantly on the fluid strata of divers densities.This projectile alone, floating in perfect space, in the midst of perfectsilence, offered perfect repose.
Thus the sleep of our adventurous travellers might have been indefinitelyprolonged, if an unexpected noise had not awakened them at about seveno'clock in the morning of the 2nd of December, eight hours after theirdeparture.
This noise was a very natural barking.
"The dogs! it is the dogs!" exclaimed Michel Ardan, rising at once.
"They are hungry," said Nicholl.
"By Jove!" replied Michel, "we have forgotten them."
"Where are they?" asked Barbicane.
They looked and found one of the animals crouched under the divan.Terrified and shaken by the initiatory shock, it had remained in thecorner till its voice returned with the pangs of hunger. It was theamiable Diana, still very confused, who crept out of her retreat, thoughnot without much persuasion, Michel Ardan encouraging her with mostgracious words.
"Come, Diana," said he; "come, my girl! thou whose destiny will bemarked in the cynegetic annals; thou whom the pagans would have given ascompanion to the god Anubis, and Christians as friend to St. Roch; thouwho art rushing into interplanetary space, and wilt perhaps be the Eveof all Selenite dogs! come, Diana, come here."
Diana, flattered or not, advanced by degrees, uttering plaintive cries.
"Good," said Barbicane; "I see Eve, but where is Adam?"
"Adam?" replied Michel; "Adam cannot be far off; he is there somewhere;we must call him. Satellite! here, Satellite!"
But Satellite did not appear. Diana would not leave off howling. Theyfound, however, that she was not bruised, and they gave her a pie, whichsilenced her complaints. As to Satellite, he seemed quite lost. They hadto hunt a long time before finding him in one of the upper compartmentsof the projectile, whither some unaccountable shock must have violentlyhurled him. The poor beast, much hurt, was in a piteous state.
"The devil!" said Michel.
They brought the unfortunate dog down with great care. Its skull had beenbroken against the roof, and it seemed unlikely that he could recoverfrom such a shock. Meanwhile, he was stretched comfortably on a cushion.Once there, he heaved a sigh.
"We will take care of you," said Michel; "we are responsible for yourexistence. I would rather lose an arm than a paw of my poor Satellite."
Saying which, he offered some water to the wounded dog, who swallowed itwith avidity.
This attention paid, the travellers watched the earth and the moonattentively. The earth was now only discernible by a cloudy disc endingin a crescent, rather more contracted than that of the previous evening;but its expanse was still enormous, compared with that of the moon, whichwas approaching nearer and nearer to a perfect circle.
Illustration: THEY GAVE HER A PIE.
"By Jove!" said Michel Ardan, "I am really sorry that we did not startwhen the earth was full, that is to say, when our globe was in oppositionto the sun."
"Why?" asked Nicholl.
"Because we should have seen our continents and seas in a new light,--thefirst resplendent under the solar rays, the latter cloudy as representedon some maps of the world. I should like to have seen those poles of theearth on which the eye of man has never yet rested.
"I dare say," replied Barbicane; "but if the earth had been _full_, themoon would have been _new_; that is to say, invisible, because of therays of the sun. It is better for us to see the destination we wish toreach, than the point of departure."
"You are right, Barbicane," replied Captain Nicholl; "and, besides, whenwe have reached the moon, we shall have time during the long lunar nightsto consider at our leisure the globe on which our likenesses swarm."
"Our likenesses!" exclaimed Michel Ardan; "they are no more our likenessesthan the Selenites are! We inhabit a new world, peopled by ourselves--theprojectile! I am Barbicane's likeness, and Barbicane is Nicholl's. Beyondus, around us, human nature is at an end, and we are the only populationof this microcosm until we become pure Selenites."
"In about eighty-eight hours," replied the captain.
"Which means to say?" asked Michel Ardan.
"That it is half-past eight," replied Nicholl.
"Very well," retorted Michel; "then it is impossible for me to find eventhe shadow of a reason why we should not go to breakfast."
Indeed the inhabitants of the new star could not live without eating, andtheir stomachs were suffering from the imperious laws of hunger. MichelArdan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function,which raised no rival. The gas gave sufficient heat for the culinaryapparatus, and the provision-box furnished the elements of this firstfeast.
The breakfast began with three bowls of excellent soup, thanks to theliquefaction in hot water of those precious cakes of Liebig, prepared fromthe best parts of the ruminants of the Pampas. To the soup succeeded somebeefsteaks, compressed by an hydraulic press, as tender and succulent asif brought straight from the kitchen of an English eating-house. Michel,who was imaginative, maintained that they were even "red."
Preserved vegetables ("fresher than nature," said the amiable Michel)succeeded the dish of meat; and was followed by some cups of tea withbread and butter, after the American fashion.
The beverage was declared exquisite, and was due to the infusion of thechoicest leaves, of which the Emperor of Russia had given some chestsfor the benefit of the travellers.
And lastly, to crown the repast, Ardan brought out a fine bottle of Nuits,which was found "by chance" in the provision-box. The three friends drankto the union of the earth and her satellite.
And, as if he had not already done enough for the generous wine whichhe had distilled on the slopes of Burgundy, the sun chose to be of theparty. At this moment the projectile emerged from the conical shadowcast by the terrestrial globe, and the rays of the radiant orb struckthe lower disc of the projectile direct occasioned by the angle whichthe moon's orbit makes with that of the earth.
"The sun!" exclaimed Michel Ardan.
"No doubt," replied Barbicane; "I expected it."
"But," said Michel, "the conical shadow which the earth leaves in spaceextends beyond the moon?"
"Far beyond it, if the atmospheric refraction is not taken intoconsideration," said Barbicane. "But when the moon is enveloped in thisshadow, it is because the centres of the three stars, the sun, the earth,and the moon, are all in one and the same straight line. Then the _nodes_coincide with the _phases_ of the moon, and there is an eclipse. If wehad started when there was an eclipse of the moon, all our passage wouldhave been in the shadow, which would have been a pity."
Illustration: THE SUN CHOSE TO BE OF THE PARTY.
"Why?"
"Because, though we are floating in space, our projectile, bathed in thesolar rays, will receive their light and heat. It economizes the gas,which is in every respect a good economy."
Indeed, under these rays which no atmosphere can temper, either intemperature or brilliancy, the projectile grew warm and bright, as ifit had passed suddenly from winter to summer. The moon above, the sunbeneath, were inundating it with their fire.
"It is pleasant here," said Nicholl.
"I should think so," said Michel Ardan. "With a little earth spread onour aluminium planet we should have green peas in twenty-four hours. Ihave but one fear, which is that the walls of the projectile might melt."
"Calm yourself, my worthy friend," replied Barbicane; "the projectilewithstood a very much higher temperature than this as it slid throughthe strata of the atmosphere. I should not be surprised if it did notlook l
ike a meteor on fire to the eyes of the spectators in Florida."
"But then Joseph T. Maston will think we are roasted!"
"What astonishes me," said Barbicane, "is that we have not been. Thatwas a danger we had not provided for."
"I feared it," said Nicholl simply.
"And you never mentioned it, my sublime captain," exclaimed Michel Ardan,clasping his friend's hand.
Barbicane now began to settle himself in the projectile as if he wasnever to leave it. One must remember that this aerial car had a basewith a superficies of fifty-four square feet. Its height to the roofwas twelve feet. Carefully laid out in the inside, and little encumberedby instruments and travelling utensils which each had their particularplace, it left the three travellers a certain freedom of movement. Thethick window inserted in the bottom could bear any amount of weight, andBarbicane and his companions walked upon it as if it were solid plank;but the sun striking it directly with its rays lit the interior of theprojectile from beneath, thus producing singular effects of light.
They began by investigating the state of their store of water andprovisions, neither of which had suffered, thanks to the care taken todeaden the shock. Their provisions were abundant, and plentiful enoughto last the three travellers for more than a year. Barbicane wished tobe cautious, in case the projectile should land on a part of the moonwhich was utterly barren. As to water and the reserve of brandy, whichconsisted of fifty gallons, there was only enough for two months; butaccording to the last observations of astronomers, the moon had a low,dense, and thick atmosphere, at least in the deep valleys, and theresprings and streams could not fail. Thus, during their passage, andfor the first year of their settlement on the lunar continent, theseadventurous explorers would suffer neither hunger nor thirst.
Now about the air in the projectile. There, too, they were secure.Reiset and Regnaut's apparatus, intended for the production of oxygen,was supplied with chlorate of potassium for two months. They necessarilyconsumed a certain quantity of gas, for they were obliged to keep theproducing substance at a temperature of above 400 deg. But there againthey were all safe. The apparatus only wanted a little care. But it wasnot enough to renew the oxygen; they must absorb the carbonic acidproduced by expiration. During the last twelve hours the atmosphere ofthe projectile had become charged with this deleterious gas. Nicholldiscovered the state of the air by observing Diana panting painfully. Thecarbonic acid, by a phenomenon similar to that produced in the famousGrotto del Cane, had collected at the bottom of the projectile owing toits weight. Poor Diana, with her head low, would suffer before her mastersfrom the presence of this gas. But Captain Nicholl hastened to remedy thisstate of things, by placing on the floor several receivers containingcaustic potash which he shook about for a time, and this substance, greedyof carbonic acid, soon completely absorbed it, thus purifying the air.
An inventory of instruments was then begun. The thermometers andbarometers had resisted, all but one minimum thermometer, the glass ofwhich was broken. An excellent aneroid was drawn from the wadded boxwhich contained it and hung on the wall. Of course it was only affectedby and marked the pressure of the air inside the projectile, but it alsoshowed the quantity of moisture which it contained. At that moment itsneedle oscillated between 25.24 and 25.08.
It was fine weather.
Barbicane had also brought several compasses, which he found intact.One must understand that under present conditions their needles wereacting _wildly_, that is without any _constant_ direction. Indeed, atthe distance they were from the earth, the magnetic pole could have noperceptible action upon the apparatus; but the box placed on the lunardisc might perhaps exhibit some strange phenomena. In any case it wouldbe interesting to see whether the earth's satellite submitted likeherself to its magnetic influence.
A hypsometer to measure the height of the lunar mountains, a sextantto take the height of the sun, glasses which would be useful as theyneared the moon, all these instruments were carefully looked over, andpronounced good in spite of the violent shock.
As to the pickaxes and different tools which were Nicholl's especialchoice; as to the sacks of different kinds of grain and shrubs whichMichel Ardan hoped to transplant into Selenite ground, they were stowedaway in the upper part of the projectile. There was a sort of granarythere, loaded with things which the extravagant Frenchman had heaped up.What they were no one knew, and the good-tempered fellow did not explain.Now and then he climbed up by cramp-irons riveted to the walls, but keptthe inspection to himself. He arranged and rearranged, he plunged hishand rapidly into certain mysterious boxes, singing in one of the falsestof voices an old French refrain to enliven the situation.
Barbicane observed with some interest that his guns and other arms hadnot been damaged. These were important, because, heavily loaded, theywere to help to lessen the fall of the projectile, when drawn by thelunar attraction (after having passed the point of neutral attraction) onto the moon's surface; a fall which ought to be six times less rapid thanit would have been on the earth's surface, thanks to the difference ofbulk. The inspection ended with general satisfaction, when each returnedto watch space through the side windows and the lower glasscoverlid.
There was the same view. The whole extent of the celestial sphere swarmedwith stars and constellations of wonderful purity, enough to drive anastronomer out of his mind! On one side the sun, like the mouth of alighted oven, a dazzling disc without a halo, standing out on the darkbackground of the sky! On the other, the moon returning its fire byreflection, and apparently motionless in the midst of the starry world.Then, a large spot seemingly nailed to the firmament, bordered by asilvery cord: it was the earth! Here and there nebulous masses like largeflakes of starry snow; and from the zenith to the nadir, an immense ringformed by an impalpable dust of stars, the "Milky Way," in the midst ofwhich the sun ranks only as a star of the fourth magnitude. The observerscould not take their eyes from this novel spectacle, of which nodescription could give an adequate idea. What reflections it suggested!What emotions hitherto unknown awoke in their souls! Barbicane wishedto begin the relation of his journey while under its first impressions,and hour after hour took notes of all facts happening in the beginningof the enterprise. He wrote quietly, with his large square writing, ina businesslike style.
