The motor was humming and snapping away, and a gage connected
with it showed that it was forcing the Annihilator along at the
rate of two hundred miles a second.
"That is faster even than we moved when the Etherium machine was
working at its best," said Mr. Roumann with a puzzled look. "Can
I have made a mistake in my calculations? I hardly think so."
"Jack, run to the pilot house, and see if the automatic steering
apparatus is all right. Also see what the speed gage there
indicates." Jack hurried off, and soon returned.
"We're heading right for Mars, as indicated on the chart," he
said, for there was an arrangement whereby the projectile could
be automatically steered.
"What speed does the gage there show?" asked the German
scientist.
"Two hundred miles a second."
"The same as here," murmured Mr. Roumann. "I wonder what can
cause it?"
He leaned over the motor, and made some calculations. Then he
exclaimed:
"I have it!"
"What is the reason?" inquired the professor.
"It is because we are speeding through an atmosphere much less
dense than that of our earth.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164