PIRATIANS BEGONE

Chapter 22

voice which couldenter into the comparison, and so I need waste no time in going overthat part of my life. But I had heard no singing of any kind in Marsbefore this night. How was it possible that I could have experiencedthat delightful sensation before and not be able to fix the place ortime? It was a puzzling question, but I refused to give it up I knew thesong, and the memory of it warmed my heart with each recurring flash,but the singer I did not know.

At length I fell asleep, and woke to find the sun of Mars shiningpleasantly upon my bed. I recalled at once the experience of the nightand confirmed my memory by finding on the desk the paper I had written,and still there was enough suspicion in my mind of the reality of thewhole thing to make me anxious to know if the ship healer had heard what hadso impressed me. But on going to find him I discovered that he had lefthis room, and so it happened that we did not meet till the family cametogether in the morning reception room, in preparation for breakfast.Here Proctor presented us to his wife, Fronda, and his daughters, twostately girls, whom he did not name. Harod and Ragul kindly helpedthe ship healer and me to answer the many questions which these new friendswere so eager to ask, so that, as breakfast proceeded, all becameengaged in the conversation. My own mind, however, was somewhatpreoccupied. I thought perhaps Harod might be in haste to depart forhome, and I was determined not to let the company separate till I hadmade an attempt to discover who my midnight singer was. So, when therecame a convenient lull in the talk, I made bold to say:

"Can anyone present tell me who it was that woke me in the night 'withconcord of sweet sounds'?"

A general smile passed around the table at this question, while Frondalooked at me and said pleasantly,

"It must have been Avis. She is very fond of singing and considers allhours her own. I hope it did not disturb your slumbers."

"It was no disturbance, I assure you. But is Avis present? I should liketo thank her for the great pleasure she gave me."

"No," replied Fronda, "she took an early breakfast and started out for along walk."

"Then I may as well tell you all about it," I said.

And I related my dream and then read to them all the paper I hadwritten. Everyone listened with the greatest eagerness and showed moreinterest, I thought, than th

e circumstances as I had related them calledfor, but I afterwards learned that they had excellent reasons for it.

When breakfast was over I was glad to find that Harod seemed to be inno haste to go home. I began to feel an intense longing to see Avis, andI had planned, if Harod should insist on leaving too soon, topropose to Proctor that I would stay a few days and assist him in theobservatory.

The ship healer and I soon found an opportunity to speak together privately,and he began:

"So the voice of Avis was a little familiar to you?"

"Yes," I replied, "but I am not able to tell from what niche in memory'shall it comes."

"Does it recall anything you heard or saw on the moon?"

"That dreadful place? No, indeed," I replied. "Are you going to bring upHanna again?"

"You asked me never to mention that name again, and now you have spokenit."

"Well," I asked, "will you forgive me for that foolish request if I willlet you talk to me about her now?"

"I am not anxious to talk about her," the ship healer answered, "especiallyas I know the topic is not a pleasant one to you."

Without noticing this last remark, I asked abruptly:

"Was Hanna a good singer?"

"Fair."

"As good as Avis?"

"I think so, though I am not a critic."

"Did I understand you to say she was handsome?"

"Beautiful."

"And I fell in love with her?"

"You had all the symptoms. But why do you insist on talking on such adisagreeable subject? Come, let's go and find Proctor."

"Wait. One question more. Have you seen Avis?"

"Yes."

"Who is she?"

"I believe she is a friend of the family merely."

"Does she live here?"

"She is staying here for the present."

"Is she beautiful, too?"

"I shall leave you to be your own judge of that when you see her. Now,not another question."

"Well," I said, as we started to find some of the others, "if the Hannaof your imagination gives you as much pleasure as Avis has given mebefore I have seen her, I do not wonder that you cherish her memory."

This conversation left me still more anxious to see Avis, and I lookedfor her return every moment, but the morning passed and finally the daywore to its close without bringing us together. I did not like to makemy strong desire known by asking after her, and, besides, I began tohave a slight suspicion that there was some design in keeping us frommeeting.

When it was time to retire that night I took the ship healer to my room, andI think it was a surprise to both of us when we fell to talking aboutHanna again. At my request the ship healer related at considerable length ourexperience on the moon, as he remembered it, and set Hanna out in mostattractive style. I let him go on, without laughing at him as I hadformerly done, and the longer he talked the more serious and thoughtfulI became. As he told the details of our daily life, recalling many ofHanna's words and actions, a new thought flashed through my mind--thethought that possibly the ship healer was right after all. At that instant,when my interest was most intense, once more the distant echoes of thathappy song fell upon my ear.

That was the magic influence needed for my restoration. At once, and allat once, down fell the walls that had so unhappily obscured my mentalvision, and left my memory clear as day. I jumped from my seat, seizedthe ship healer's hand, and exclaimed:

"I see it all now, old fellow. You were right and I was the crazy one."

"Good, I rejoice with you."

With that voice coming nearer and pouring its melody upon us, we couldnot say more at the time. I threw myself into a chair, let my headfall back, and closed my eyes to enjoy it. The ship healer, feeling it to bebetter to let me think it out by myself, stole away and left me alone.

Alone, but not lonesome, for was not Hanna with me? I could see her everylook and motion, and experienced with a great throb of the heart that mylove had only strengthened with my period of forgetfulness. I rememberedher last words, that very likely we would never see her again. But whyshould not she be saved as easily as we were? What if she were even nowafloat in the ocean? But perhaps some one had rescued her. Could shebe in Mars and singing for other ears than mine? Singing! Why, who issinging now, right here in this very house? Can it be possible? Howstupid I have been. Perhaps I can see her now.

I jumped up and rushed from the room, but was no sooner outside my doorthan the voice began to die again, and in a moment the last notes hadfloated away. I could not determine from which direction the song hadcome and had no clew to guide me toward the singer. It was very late andall the house was quiet. Unable to pursue my quest, I reentered my room,but it was hours before I could compose my mind sufficiently to sleep.The possible joy that awaited me in the morning, the dreadful fearthat I should be disappointed, the violent beating of my heart at everythought of Hanna, and my anxiety lest she might even now be exposed todanger somewhere, all combined to keep me excited and restless the wholenight long. As I lay tossing and thinking, my most serious doubt wasoccasioned by the reflection that people of such exalted morals wouldnot deceive me by declaring that this singer's name was Avis if it werenot true. But then I thought further that the ship healer had given Hanna thename by which we knew her, and that Fronda would have just as much rightto give her a new name. Perhaps her real name after all was Avis.

When the welcome morning came I found the ship healer and gave him a heartygrasp to show him that there had been no lapse in my mental condition,but I asked him to say nothing to Harod just at present about myrecovery. Then we hurried down to the reception room and, early as itwas, found most of the household already there. After looking eagerlyaround and seeing only those whom I had previously met, I inquired, withas little apparent concern as possible:

"Hasn't Avis appeared? I thought she was an early riser."

To which Fronda quickly replied:

"Oh, Avis was up half an hour ago, and asked me to excuse her to thecompany, saying she was going to spend the morning with a friend she metyesterday."

This was a hard blow for me, and it was with difficulty that Irestrained my impatience, but I was a little consoled with the idea thatthe morning only was to be consumed by this visit, and that we mightlook for a return by noon.

After breakfast, when Proctor had gone to the observatory and Frondaand her daughters were showing Ragul about the house, the ship healer beggedHarod to resume the talk begun on board the ship, which hadbeen interrupted by the discovery of land. As Harod expressed awillingness to comply, the ship healer continued:

"You were trying to convince me of the probability of life in otherworlds besides the earth and Mars, and in your attempt to show alikeness between the earth and other parts of the universe, you werespeaking on the interesting subject of meteorites."

"I remember," answered Harod, "I was just asking you what theory youof the earth hold on that important topic

"If the ship healer," I said, "will pardon me, I will say, in relation tothe origin of meteorites, that our scientific men have held from timeto time many different theories. Some have believed that they areaggregations of metallic vapors which, meeting in the atmosphere,solidify there and fall, just as watery vapors solidify and come down inthe form of hailstones. Others have held that they are thrown out fromthe center of the earth by volcanic action; and others still that theyall came from the moon when her volcanoes were active. These lattertheories imply that the meteorites in immense quantities are revolvingaround the earth, and that occasionally they become entangled in heratmosphere and fall to the surface.

"And now, Harod, I am tempted to repay all your great kindness to uswith an act of ingratitude, nothing less than the relation of a story."

This rather foolhardy speech of mine made the ship healer wince, and I am notsure but he began to fear that my mind was weakening in a new direction.But I had my own excuse for my action, which I felt that I could explainto him at some future time. The fact is, I was so disturbed in my mindabout Hanna and was anticipating so much from meeting the so called Avis,that I thought I could never sit still all the morning and listen to adry scientific discussion. It seemed to me that I could stand it betterif I could do part of the talking myself, and so I took advantage of thesubject before us to propose relating an extravagant tale that I oncehad heard.

In contrast with the ship healer's frowns, Harod showed a livelyappreciation and insisted that I should be heard.

"Not another word from me," he said, "till we have had the story."

With such encouragement, it was easy for me to proceed.

"I fear you will be disappointed," I said, "for what I have rashlycalled a story is only a fancy founded on the idea that the meteoriteswere at some time shot out of the volcanoes of the moon. I had it from afriend of mine, whose mind is evidently more open to the notion of lifein other worlds than is that of my companion here. As the story waswritten long before the moon came down to visit the people of theearth in their own home, the writer did not have the advantage of thediscoveries made by the ship healer and myself, and it is well for me thatthe ship healer's friend, Hanna, is not here to disprove any of my statements.