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Rh stream of volatized artemisium was never set flow- ing at full moon, when the lunar globe is above the horizon only during the hours of darkness." "I see," I said, "whence eame the nuggets on the mountain. Some of the atoms, owing to the resist- ance of the air, fell short and settled in the form of impalpable dust until the winds and rains collected and compacted them in the. cracks and crevices of the roeks." "That was it, of course." "And now," I added, my amazement at the suc- cess of Hall's experiments and the accuracy of Mb deductions increasing every moment, "do you say that you have also discovered the means employed by Dr. Syx to obtain artemisium from the moon?" "Not only that," replied my friend, "but within the next few minute3 I shall have the pleasure of presenting to you a button of moon metal, fresh from the ^ 3 of Artemis herself." CHAPTER XI The Looting ot the Moon •'TTSHALL spare the reader a recital of tireless I efforts, continuing through many almost sleep- JL less weeks, whereby Andrew Hall obtained his clew to Dr. Syx's method. It was manifest from the beginning that the agent concerned must be some form of etheric, or so-called electric energy; but how to set it in operation was the problem. Finally he hit upon the apparatus for his initial experiments which I have already described. "Recurring to what had been done more than half a century ago by Hertz, when he concentrated electric waves upon a focal point by means of a concave mirror," said Hall, "I saw that the key 1 wanted lay in an extension of these experiments. At, last I found that I could transform the energy of an engine into undulations of the ether, which, when they had been concentrated upon a metallic object, like a chunk of gold, imparted to it an in- tense charge of an apparently electric nature. Upon thus charging a metallic body enclosed In a vacuum, I observed that the energy imparted to it possessed the remarkable power of disrupting its atoms and projecting them off in straight lines, very much as occurs with a cathode in a Crookes's tube. But — and this was of supreme importance — I found that the line of projection was directly towards the appa- ratus from which the impulse producing the charge had come. In other words, I could produce two poles between which a marvellous interaction occurred. My transformer, with its concentrating mirror, acted as one pole, from which energy was trans- ferred to the other pole, and that other pole im- mediately flung off atoms of its own substance in the direction of the transformer. But these atoms were stopped by the glass wall of the vacuum tube; and when I tried the experiment with the metal removed from the vacuum, and surrounded with air, it failed utterly. "This at first completely discouraged me, until I suddenly remembered that the moon is in a vacuum, the great vacuum of interplanetary space, and that it possesses no perceptible atmosphere of its own. At this a great light broke around me, and I shouted 'Eureka!' [Without hesitation I construct- ed a transformer of great power, furnished with a' large parabolic mirror to transmit the waves in' parallel lines, erected the machinery and buildings here, and when all was ready for the final experi- ment I telegraphed for you," Details o£ Hall's Experiments PBEPAEED by these explanations I was all on fire to see the thing tried. Hall was no less eager, and, calling in his two faithful assist- ants to make the final adjustments, he led the way into what he facetiously named "the lunar chamber." "If we fail," he remarked with a smile that had an element of worriment in it, "it will become the 'lunatic chamber'— but no danger of that. You ob- serve this polished silver knob, suported by a metal- lic rod curved over at the top like a crane. That constitutes the pole from which I propose to transmit the energy to the moon, and upon which I expect the storm of atoms to be centred by reflec- tion from the mirror at whose focus it is placed." "One moment," I said. "Am I to understand that you think that the moon i3 a solid mas3 of artemi- sium, and that no matter where your radiant force strikes it a 'cathodic pole' will be formed there from which atoms will be projected to the earth?" "No," said Hall, "I must carefully choose the point on the lunar surface where to operate. But that will present no difficulty. I made up my mind as soon as I had penetrated Syx's secret that he obtained the metal from those mystic white streaks whieh radiate from Tycho, and which have puzzled the astronomers ever since the invention of tele- scopes. I now believe those streaks to be composed of immense veins of the metal that Syx has most appropriately named artemisium, which you, of course, recognize as being derived from the name of the Greek goddess of the moon, Artemis, whom the Romans called Diana. But now to work!" It was less than a day past the time of new moon, and the earth's satellite was too near the sun to be visible in broad daylight. Accordingly, the mirror had to be directed by means of knowledge of the moon's place in the sky. Driven by accurate clock- work, it could be depended upon to retain the proper direction when once set. With breathless interest I watched the proceed- ings of my friend and his assistants. The strain upon the nerves of all of us was such as could not have been borne for many hours at a stretch. When everything had been adjusted to his satis- faction, Hall stepped back, not without betraying his excitement in flushed cheeks and flashing eyes, and pressed a lever. The powerful engine under- neath the floor instantly responded. The experi- ment was begun. "I have set it upon a point about a hundred miles north of Tycho, where the Yerkes photographs show a great abundance of the white substance," said Hall. Then he waited. A minute elapsed. A bird, fluttering in the opening above, for a second or two, wrenched our strained nerves. Hall's face turned pale. "They had better keep away from here," he whis- pered, with a ghastly smile. Two minutes! I could hear the beating of my heart. The engine shook'" the floor. Three" minutes ! Hall's face Was wet with perspi-