Zarlah the Martian | Page 4

which should
prove the truth or falsity of my surmises.
The day had closed, and I spent the remaining time speculating upon the results of my
labors. But even the wildest flights of my imagination did not picture, in the smallest
degree, the wonderful transformation which my new instrument would make in what had
appeared before as a shadow on the film. Little did I imagine to what an extent the
unknown was to be revealed to me.
As I stood by the side of the frame all in readiness, Mars appeared, but it still had a little
farther to climb before it would be visible from the level of the wires. Nevertheless, I
turned on the current from the batteries. All was darkness; never before had darkness
seemed to me so profound, so absolutely appalling. Minutes passed like hours, but still
that ominous darkness reigned. I felt the keen disappointment of failure; I grew
incredulous as the time passed, and found myself admitting and rehearsing the absurdity
of it all. I even blamed myself for having been so easily deflected from my former
experiments, by what now seemed to be merely an idle fancy.
Suddenly I bent over the frame and gazed eagerly at the surface of wires, for there, on the
top edge, appeared a touch of the phosphorus-colored glow. My heart thumped with wild
excitement. I stooped down until my eyes were on the level of the wires, and looking up
toward the window I could just see the rim of Mars appearing above the casement. A
shout of joy burst from my lips at the sight of it, for it was now beyond all doubt that the

phenomenon was attributable to Mars. Brighter and brighter became the light as it
covered the surface of wires, until all its resemblance to a phosphorus glow had gone, and
it shone with such brilliancy that my eyes, accustomed as they were to the darkness of the
room, quailed before it. Turning away so that my eyes might gradually become
accustomed to the glare, I noticed that in spite of the brilliant white light on the surface of
the wires, the room was in perfect darkness--the light had no power of illumination!
Impenetrable mystery enshrouded the agent which Mars was employing to communicate
with Earth!
A curious humming sound issuing from the frame, much louder than I had noticed the
night before, caused me to turn involuntarily, and as I did so I uttered a cry of wonder at
the marvelous vision that met my eyes. There lay before me, as bright as daylight, a
picture that a thousand times surpassed my highest, wildest hope. The great secret of
another planet was revealed, and I stood motionless, beholding an inhabitant of a star
millions of miles away.
Among the vast multitude who for centuries have yearned for a glimpse into the unknown
worlds that surround us, I stood alone gazing upon the image of a Martian. The thought
stunned me; I was seized with a wild impulse to rush out into the street and bring in the
throng, that they might look upon the form of this wonderful being on our sister planet.
But what proof was there to give them that this was so? I would undoubtedly be ridiculed
and accused of trickery. The very fact that had brought a cry of amazement to my
lips--the remarkable brilliancy and clearness of the image, and the appearance of the
Martian himself--would serve to bring discredit upon anything I might say. Personally I
had ample proof that the image was that of a Martian, but what instant proof could I give
a jeering crowd? I had expected to find in a Martian a strange grotesque being in
appearance, if not in mind, much after the weird and fierce character so many authors
have portrayed him. Judge, then, my astonishment when I beheld one who, in every
particular of form and feature, resembled the people of Earth.
He appeared to be a man of about forty years of age, judging by our earthly standard of
time, possessing clear-cut features and dark complexion. His face, which was
clean-shaven, was remarkably handsome, and his piercing dark eyes, although they
enhanced the smile that greeted my appearance at the instrument, seemed to search into
my very soul and to hold me spellbound with mute challenge. Nor could I, upon
afterthought, remember having shown the common courtesy of returning his greeting.
My astonishment was so great that every faculty seemed to leave me, and I stood
transfixed, staring at the image of the Martian without even the power of thought.
Gradually recovering my senses, however, I took note of the man and his surroundings.
He stood in a room of about the same dimensions as my laboratory,