Instantly there was a trembling through t whole length of the
projectile. Would it move? Would it leave the earth and go to
Mars?
There was a moment of hesitancy, as if the great machine had not
quite decided.
Then came a more violent vibration. There was a humming,
throbbing, hissing sound. Suddenly the boys, and all within the
projectile, felt it swaying. A moment later it began to shoot
through space like a great rocket.
"Hurrah!" cried Jack. "We're off!"
"Yes," added Mr. Roumann joyfully, "we are on our way to Mars!"
and he grasped the steering wheel and peered through the thick
plate-glass windows of the pilot house into the vast space before
them.
CHAPTER XV
SOMETHING ABOUT MARS
"Are we really in motion?" asked Jack, after a moment's silence.
"It doesn't seem so."
"We are certainly in motion," declared Mr. Roumann. "See this
dial?"
He pointed to one near the steering wheel. The hand on it was
gently vibrating between some of the figures.
"We are traveling that many miles a second," went on the
scientist. "The atmospheric motor is not working as fast as I
hoped it would, but we are going fast enough.
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