His voice had the interest now of man who has discerned pretty sequence of reasoning

"Yes," , "Kepler sub-volvani was right after all "

" you had taken the trouble that out before we came,"

He answered nothing, buzzing to himself softly, as he pursued his thoughts My temper was going

"What has become sphere, anyhow ? " I asked

"Lost," , like man who answers an uninteresting question

"Among those plants ? "

"Unless they find it "

"And then ? "

"How can I tell ? "

"Cavor," , with sort of hysterical bitterness, "things look bright Company . "

no answer

"Good Lord ! " I exclaimed "Just think of all the trouble we took pickle ! What did we come for ? we after ? the moon or we moon ? We wanted , We started the little things first you proposed the moon ! Those Cavorite spring blinds ! certain worked them for terrestrial purposes Certain ! Did you really understand what I proposed ? steel cylinder - "

"Rubbish ! " said Cavor

We ceased to converse

For time Cavor kept up broken monologue without much help from me

" find it," he began, " find it . with it ? Well, that's question It that's the question They won't understand it, anyhow understood that sort of thing come long since earth Would they ? Why shouldn't they ? But sent something - they couldn't keep their hands off such possibility No ! But examine it Clearly intelligent and inquisitive examine it - get inside it - trifle studs Off ! . mean the moon for all the rest lives Strange creatures, strange knowledge . "

"As for strange knowledge - " said I, and language failed me

"Look here, Bedford," said Cavor, "you came expedition of your own free will "

"You said , 'Call it prospecting' "

"There's always risks in prospecting "

"Especially unarmed and without thinking out every possibility "

" so taken up sphere The thing rushed on us, and carried us away "

"Rushed on me, you mean "

"Rushed on me just How was I when I set to work on molecular physics business would bring me here - of all places ? "

"It's this accursed science," I cried "It's the very Devil The medieval priests and persecutors were right Moderns are all wrong You tamper with it - and it offers you gifts And directly you take them it knocks you to pieces in some unexpected way Old passions and new weapons - now it upsets your religion, now it upsets your social ideas, now it whirls you off to desolation and misery ! "

"Anyhow, it's no use your quarrelling with me now These creatures - these Selenites, or whatever we choose them - have got us tied hand and foot Whatever temper you choose through with it in, through with it . . experiences need all our coolness "

He paused he required my assent But I sat sulking "Confound your science ! "

"The problem is communication Gestures, , different Pointing, for example No creatures but men and monkeys point "

That was too obviously wrong "Pretty nearly every animal," I cried, "points with its eyes or nose "

Cavor meditated over that "Yes," at last, "and we don't There's such differences - such differences ! "

"One might . . But how can I tell ? speech The sounds they make, sort of fluting and piping I don't see how to imitate that their speech, that sort of thing ? They different senses, different means of communication minds and minds; something in common Who knows how far not get to an understanding ? "

"The things are outside us," "They're more different strangest animals on earth different clay the good of talking like this ? "

Cavor thought "I don't see that Where minds something similar - even though they evolved on different planets question of instincts, or no more than animals "

"Well, are they ? They're much more like ants on their hind legs than human beings, and who ever got to any sort of understanding with ants ? "

"But these machines and clothing ! No, I don't hold , Bedford The difference is wide - "

"It's insurmountable "

"The resemblance must bridge it I remember reading once paper late Professor Galton possibility of communication planets Unhappily, it seem probable that of any material benefit , and give it the attention done - in view state of affairs Yet . . Now, let me see !

"His idea was with those broad truths underlie all conceivable mental existences and establish basis on those The great principles of geometry, with He proposed some leading proposition of Euclid's, and show by construction that its truth was known , to demonstrate, for example, angles base of an isosceles triangle are equal, equal sides be produced the angles other side base are equal also, or square hypotenuse of right-angled triangle is equal sum squares two other sides By demonstrating our knowledge things demonstrate our possession of reasonable intelligence . Now, suppose I . draw the geometrical figure with wet finger, or even trace it air . "

He fell silent I sat meditating his words For time his wild hope of communication, of interpretation, weird beings held me Then that angry despair that was part exhaustion and physical misery resumed its sway I perceived with sudden novel vividness the extraordinary folly of everything I had ever done "Ass ! " ; "oh, ass, unutterable ass . . I seem to exist only about doing preposterous things Why did we ever leave the thing ? . Hopping about looking for patents and concessions craters moon ! . If only we had had the sense to fasten handkerchief to stick to show where we had left the sphere !

I subsided, fuming

" clear," meditated Cavor, " intelligent One can hypotheticate certain things not killed us at once, ideas of mercy Mercy ! at any rate of restraint Possibly of intercourse meet us And this apartment glimpses we had guardian These fetters ! high degree of intelligence . "

" to heaven," cried I, "I'd thought even twice ! Plunge after plunge First one fluky start and then another my confidence in you ! Why didn't I stick to my play ? That was what equal to That was my world life I for finished that play I'm certain . good play I had the scenario as good as done Then . . Conceive it ! leaping moon ! Practically I've thrown my life away ! That old woman inn near Canterbury had better sense "

I looked up, and stopped in mid-sentence The darkness had given place bluish light again The door was opening, and several noiseless Selenites were coming chamber I became quite still, staring at their grotesque faces