Page:A thousand years hence. Being personal experiences (IA thousandyearshen00gree).djvu/407

 objects than mere curiosity, scientific or general. We had our eye upon capturing a good slice of the nebula itself, and were to take the necessary cross-electric apparatus for the purpose, having already, by anticipation, for the safety of all the travelling world, chalked out the path of the mass, after we had detached it and sent it speeding homewards, and having intimated publicly the time of start and rate of travel, according to all customary precaution. In fact, a powerful syndicate had been formed regarding this nebula-prizing. Brown and I were appointed the managing agents, and our mere joint brokerage, even at a thirty-second, further reduced, by return commission, to a sixty-fourth, was not to be despised.

Well, we were both duly at White's office to secure and pay for our passages. I saw Brown's hand deep into his breeches pocket for the needed energy notes, and at the same time I marked a pang flitting over his face at having to part with so much hard-earned money. White, who stood by, getting impatient at this hesitation and delay, with all the waiting crowd of passengers behind, roared out to us to make haste; and thereupon, sad to say, I awoke, and all our greatness and progress was but a dream!