Page:Life in a thousand worlds.djvu/68

 who, in some unaccountable manner, had received the gift of intelligence. But this opinion did not gain ground, as no one could account for the manner of my clothing and especially for my pocket knife and other accompaniments. No one believed that I came from another world, and yet no one could see how or where I had originated on Mars.

Finally one of the company struck upon a popular theory. He argued that I belonged to a tribe of creatures that had developed far away in one of their almost unending forests, and that I was the first of my kind that had ever ventured so far from home.

"But how did he learn our language?" queried one.

"Any intelligent creature would by nature alone come to our language," was the conceited explanation of another.

Another gave a better theory which was at length accepted. He said that no doubt I belonged to a company that had emigrated long, long ago from one of the valleys.

After all their pains I satisfied their ruling desire by speaking. They knew not what