PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 12

Our new acquaintances were from nine to ten feet tall andproportionately large every other way, so that they appeared quitemonstrous to us. But they were agile and even graceful in theirmovements, while in manner they were so gentle and pleasing that werecognized at once their high culture.

The vessel was soon under way and made rapid progress, and though ourvoyage was not very long, it proved to be an exceedingly profitable oneto the ship healer and me, for we learned more, through conversation with ournew friends, about the history and condition of Mars than we could havegained in any other way. The men were all kind to us and seemed to beall equally able to impart information, but most of our i*********e waswith Harod. He gave us much of his time, at intervals as he could bespared from work, for every man helped at the service of the ship. Thereseemed to be no system of leadership, but all appeared to know what wasto be done, and did it without orders and without clashing.

As we entered into conversation about the earth and Mars, I wassurprised to find the ship healer taking his full share in it with his usualintelligence. His questions and answers were all so pertinent that Ishould have supposed his mind was entirely unaffected, had I not knownto the contrary. When I saw he could hold his own so well, I determinedto take the first opportunity when we were alone to ask him again whoHanna was.

The conversation with our new friends was not all on one side, for wehad many questions to answer about the earth, the Martian mind showingas great a thirst for knowledge as ours. One of the first thingsHarod said after we had settled down to a good talk was:

"But, ship healer, your little head is so full of thought that it seems to meyou ought not to have been surprised to find us so large here. You knewbefore you came that Mars is much smaller than the earth and, therefore,the attraction of gravitation being less, that everything can grow moreeasily. Things may as well be one size as another if only they are welladapted to each other, and we would never have known we were large orthat you were small had we not been brought together. In the sight ofHim who made both the earth and Mars, and fashioned one for you and theother for us, we are neither great nor small. In fact, size is neverabsolute but only relative."

"That is very clear to us now," said the ship healer, "and I promise not tobe surprised again, even when I walk the streets of your cities and seeyou in your houses."

"Then, ship healer," said I, "if we had found inhabitants on the moon whatgreat folks they must have seemed to us."

This was an exceedingly foolish remark for me to make, for it resultedin the ship healer's almost betraying his condition to our friends.

Of course Harod was interested in what I said, and eagerly inquired:

"So you found no inhabitants in the moon?"

"Just one," spoke up the ship healer quickly.

"What! you found one and left him there?"

"It was a woman," said the ship healer.

This talk had been so rapid that I had not had a chance to interfere,but I saw that I must stop it now for the ship healer's sake. When I couldsee him alone I could tell him his memory was playing him a trick and hemust avoid that subject. So, before Harod could speak again, I said:

"Let me suggest, Harod, that we let the moon rest till we have heardmore of Mars, which I am sure is of greater importance. We have told youmany things in regard to our planet, and are willing to answer all thequestions you may please to ask from time to time, but now we would liketo listen a while."

"Yes," said the ship healer, "we started on this expedition to add to ourscientific knowledge, and we seem in a fair way to accomplish ourpurpose; so that, if you will find a way to send us back to the earthsome time, I think our friends will admit that we have been successful.But first we want to learn all we can about this wonderful world. Howlong has your race existed? Our astronomers tell us Mars is too oldto be inhabited, and, considering some of my own recent experiences infinding my science unreliable, it rather consoles me to discover thatthey are mistaken."

"They are right," Harod answered, "in believing that Mars is veryold, and so our race is nearing its maturity. It is impossible tojudge accurately of the age of the planet itself, but we know it isexceedingly old from the evidences of changes that have taken place onits surface. Neither can we tell when our race was born, though we havelegends and traditions dating back fifty thousand years, and authentichistory for nearly half that time."

The ship healer and myself now began to realize that we had indeed somethingto learn from these people, and I remarked:

"These figures astonish us, Harod, and you can hardly understand howinterested we are. But please continue. From what little I have seenI should think you are much farther advanced in everyway than theinhabitants of the earth."

"We believe," replied the Martian, "that our planet is much olderthan the earth, and if we are right in that it is but natural that ourcivilization should be older also. If the tendency of mind is towardperfection, if in your experience you have found that, in the main, menlook upward more than downward, what would you expect to find in a worldso beautiful as this and where life has existed so long? From what weknow of our own history and from what we have learned of the worldsaround us, we believe the life-bearing period of Mars has long sincepassed its middle point, and that both our planet and our race havepassed through convulsions and changes to which other worlds, perhapsthe earth, are now subjected."

This appeared so reasonable that I said to him:

"We must believe that Mars is an afternoon planet. And now we want tohear whatever you may choose to tell us about your civilization."

"That is a broad subject," replied Harod, "but it is something I liketo talk about. If I judge rightly of what you have already told me ofthe earth and its people, I think we were in just about your situationages ago and that we have merely matured. That is, the causes nowat work on the earth are having in us their legitimate effect. Theseprocesses are slow but sure. To the Infinite time is of no moreimportance in itself than is size.

"I know of no better topic to begin with," continued Harod, "than thematter of government. You wondered at the peculiar discipline on boardthis ship. It is but a type of what you will find on land. We haveno government in its strict sense, for there is no one that needsgoverning. We have organization for mutual help in many ways, but norulers nor legislators. The only government is that of the family. Herecharacter is formed so that when the children go forth into the world noone desires to wrong his neighbor. We know from our histories of allthe struggles our ancestors passed through before the days of universalpeace and brotherhood. Now we go and come as we please, with no fear ofharm. We are all one nation because all national boundaries havebeen obliterated, and we have a common language. There are no lawsof compulsion or restraint, for all do by instinct what is best forthemselves and their neighbors."