VI

the pictures. but, to his surprise, he could see nothing except a few distant stars.

“Th the star–” stammered Jim.

“What about the star?”

“Is gone.” finished Jim.

“What? The star gone?” Then it dawned on him that he had forgotten to slow up. “I understand, we’ll take pictures on the way back.”

The next few days went on as before. The man never spoke except as a request. Then, as before, the teacher shouted, “Land Ho!” This time, his charts informed him that it was Mars. Jim looked down and saw Mars. Under the plane some of the boldest men of Mars, were preparing to fight, while the others fled to the woods. Under them was a village of mud huts.

“So there,” thought Jim, “is where those people live. They must not be very civilized.”

These people were subject to a people on the other side of the sea. It was like the Spaniards on our continent, only their captors were the Cappers. (so they said)

But even if they were subject to a civilized nation it did not keep them from killing their victims.

The man made a perfect landing. Suddenly the chief yelled and started for the man. They put up a desperate fight, but were outnumbered. It was their custom to poke their spears into their victims before they burned them. the men had no noses. The chief poked his spear into Jim, who woke up, to find Sewell poking him with a stick, and telling him that it was time to go to bed.

The End