"We'll soon be on Mars now," observed Jack.
"Oh, we'll have to keep going for several days yet," declared Mr.
Roumann. "But I believe we shall eventually reach there. The
Etherium motor is working better than I dared to hope. It is
perfect!"
As they were constantly in the glare of the sun, there was no
night for those aboard the Annihilator, and they had to select an
arbitrary time for going to bed. When any one wanted to retire,
he went to the bunk-room, which was kept dark, and there
slumbered.
For two days the Etherium motor kept sending the projectile
through space. The adventurers divided their time in looking
after the machinery, taking scientific observations or reading
the books with which the small library was stocked. Occasionally
Jack or Mark would play the electric piano, getting much
enjoyment from the music.
"If folks on earth heard these tunes up in the air, I wonder what
they'd think?" asked Jack.
"Humph! I guess we're too far off for them to hear anything that
goes on inside this projectile," said Mark. "Why, we're nearly
seventeen millions of miles above the earth now.
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