Between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars they made a most valuable economy
by landing on Ceres, one of the largest of the asteroids, and travelling
about fifty million miles on her towards the orbit of the Earth without
any expenditure of force whatever. They found that the tiny world
possessed a breathable atmosphere and a fluid resembling water, but
nearly as dense as mercury. A couple of flasks of it form the greatest
treasures of the British Museum and the National Museum at Washington.
The vegetable world was represented by coarse grass, lichens, and dwarf
shrubs, and the animal by different species of worms, lizards, flies,
and small burrowing animals of the rodent type.
As the orbit of Ceres, like that of the other asteroids, is considerably
inclined to that of the Earth, the _Astronef_ rose from its surface when
the plane of the Earth's revolution was reached, and the glittering
swarm of miniature planets plunged away into space beneath them.
"Where to now?" said Zaidie, as her husband came down on deck from the
conning-tower.
"I am going to try to steer a middle course between the orbits of
Mercury and Venus," he replied. "They just happen to be so placed now
that we ought to be able to get the advantage of the pull of both of
them as we pass, and that will save us a lot of power. The only thing
I'm afraid of is the pull of the Sun, equal to goodness knows how many
times the attraction of all the planets put together.
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