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"Then how will you know?" asked Jack. "By means of my instruments. When the hand on this dial points to zero I will know that we are beyond the atmosphere, and that it is time to start the Etherium motor." "How do you know in which direction to steer?" asked Mark. "Can you see anything out of that window?" "Not a thing," replied the German. "Look for yourself."
"Well, I'll tell you that is, partly tell you, for some parts of my secret can never be revealed. I have discovered a wonderful power, more wonderful than man ever dreamed of before. I have called it Etherium, for the reason that I expect it to carry us through the ether, or space that exists outside of the atmosphere of this earth and that of Mars.
Within it were various machines, besides the Etherium motor, which would send the projectile along at the rate of one hundred miles a second. This great speed was necessary in order to reach the planet Mars, which, at the time our friends started for it, was about thirty- five millions of miles away from this earth. It has since receded some distance farther than this.
Roumann paid an early visit to the machine shop the next morning, he uttered a cry of surprise. "What is it?" asked Jack, who accompanied him. "The plates the plates of the Etherium motor!" cried the scientist. "They have been stolen!" For a moment Jack stared at Mr. Roumann. He did not appreciate the seriousness of the announcement.
The Etherium motor was almost finished, and the other, motor, which was to drive the Annihilator through the earth's atmosphere, was nearly ready to install. The steering apparatus necessitated considerable labor, and when it was finished Amos Henderson declared they had made a mistake, and would have to build it all over again.
Henderson, in the matter of inventions. Professor Roumann made a strange proposition. He said if the old scientist and his young friends would build the proper kind of a projectile, they could make a trip to the planet Mars, by means of a wonderful motor, operated by a power called Etherium, of which Mr. Roumann held the secret.
As this rendered it unnecessary for Washington to be there, the colored man went to his kitchen, while Andy again made a vain search of the projectile, looking for the crazy man. Though Mr. Roumann had provided duplicates of the power plates for the Etherium motor, it was quite a task to take out the broken pieces and insert the new ones.
The Etherium motor is working better than I dared to hope. It is perfect!" As they were constantly in the glare of the sun, there was no night for those aboard the Annihilator, and they had to select an arbitrary time for going to bed. When any one wanted to retire, he went to the bunk-room, which was kept dark, and there slumbered.
The motor was humming and snapping away, and a gage connected with it showed that it was forcing the Annihilator along at the rate of two hundred miles a second. "That is faster even than we moved when the Etherium machine was working at its best," said Mr. Roumann with a puzzled look. "Can I have made a mistake in my calculations? I hardly think so."
"But there is one point about my Etherium motor that still bothers me," said the German. "Can I help you solve it?" asked Mr. Henderson. "No, thank you. I think I am on the right track. I will have it perfected in a few days, and then we will be off for Mars.
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