\"Byfillingthevestibuleasfullaspossible,\"saidBearwarden,\"andsodisplacingmostofitsair,weshallbeabletoopentheoutsidedooroftenerwithoutdangerofrarefaction。\"
Thethingstheyhaddischargedflewoffwithconsiderablespeedandweresoonoutofsight;butitwasnotnecessaryforthemtomovefast,providedtheymovedatall,for,theresistancebeingnil,theywouldbesuretogobeyondtherangeofvision,providedenoughtimewasallowed,eveniftheCallisto\'sspeedwasnotbeingincreasedbyapergy,inwhichcasearticlesoutsideandnotaffectedwouldbequicklyleftbehind。
Theearth,whichatfirsthadfillednearlyhalftheirsky,wasrapidlygrowingsmaller。Beingalmostbetweenthemselvesandthesun,itlookedlikeacrescentmoon;andwhenitwasonlyabouttwentytimesthesizeofthemoontheycalculatedtheymusthavecomenearlytwohundredthousandmiles。Themoonwasnowonwhatasailorwouldcallthestarboardbow——i。e。,totherightandahead。Beingalittlemorethanthreequartersfull,andonlyaboutfiftythousandmilesoff,itpresentedasplendidsight,brilliantaspolishedsilver,andabouttwenty—fivetimesaslargeastheyhadeverbeforeseenitwiththeunaidedeye。
Itwasjusttenhourssincetheyhadstarted,andatthatmoment9A。M。inNewYork;but,thoughitwasnightthere,theCallistowasbathedinafloodofsunlightsuchasnevershinesonearth。
TheonlynighttheywouldhavewasonthesideoftheCallistoturnedawayfromthesun,unlesstheypassedthroughsomeshadow,whichtheyintendedtoavoidonaccountofthedangerofcollidingwithameteorinthedark。ThemoonandtheCallistoweremovingonconverginglines,thecurveonwhichtheyhadenteredhavingswungthemtothesidenearesttheearth;buttheysawthattheirowntremendousandincreasingspeedwouldcarrytheminfrontofthemooninitsnearlycircularorbit。Wishingtochangethedirectionoftheirflightbythemoon\'sattraction,theyshutoffthepowerdrivingthemfromtheearth,whereupontheCallistoturneditsheavybasetowardsthemoon。Theywerealreadymovingatsuchspeedthattheirmomentumalonewouldcarrythemhundredsofthousandsofmilesintospace,andwerethenalmostabreastoftheearth\'ssatellite,whichwasbutafewthousandmilesaway。Thespectaclewasmagnificent。Astheylookedatitthroughtheirfieldglassesorwiththeunaidedeye,thegreatcracksandcratersshowedwiththeutmostclearness,sweepingpastthemalmostasthelandscapefliespastarailwaytrain。Therewassomethingawe—inspiringinthevastantiquityofthatfurrowedlunarsurface,byfartheoldestthingthatmortaleyecansee,since,whileobservingtheceaselesspoliticalorgeologicalchangesonearth,thefaceofthisdeadsatellite,onaccountoftheabsenceofairandwaterandconsequenterosion,hasremainedunchangedforbygoneages,asitdoubtlesswillformanymore。