 This is Chapter 14, Book 3, of a journey in other worlds. At daybreak the thundershower passed off, but was followed by a cold, drenching rain. Everything errault had remained in the Callisto, Bearwarden and Cortland did not feel anxious, and not wishing to be wet through, remained in the cave, keeping up a good fire with the wood they had collected. Towards evening a cold wind came up, and, thinking this might clear the air, they ventured out. But finding the ground saturated and that the rain was again beginning to fall, they returned to shelter, prepared a dinner of canned meat, and made themselves as comfortable as possible for the night. "'I am surprised,' said Cortland, that Dick did not try to return to us, since he had the Macintoshes. "'I dare say he did try,' replied Bearwarden, but finding the course inundated, and knowing we should not need the Macintoshes, if we remained under cover, decided to put back. The Callisto is, of course, as safe as a church. "'I hope,' said Cortland, no harm has come to him on the way. "'It will be a wait off my mind to see him safely with us.' "'Should he not turn up in the morning,' replied Bearwarden, we must begin a search for him bright and early. Finding up the fire as near the entrance of the cave as they could find a dry place, so that Errol should see it if he attempted to return during the night, they piled on wood and talked of their recent experiences. "'However unwilling I was,' said Cortland, to believe my senses, which I felt were misleading me, I can no longer doubt the reality of that spirit bishop, or the truth of what he says. When you look at the question dispassionately, it is what you might logically expect. In my desire to disprove what is to us supernatural, I tried to create, mentally, a system that would be a substitute for the one he described, but could evolve nothing that so perfectly filled the requirements, or that was so simple. Everything seems more natural than that man having been evolved from stone should continue his assent till he discards material altogether. The metamorphism is more striking in the first change than in the second. Granted that the soul is immaterial, and that it leaves the body after death, what is there to keep it on earth? Nothing cannot affect it. What is more likely than that it is left behind by the earth in its orbit, or that it continues its forward motion. But in a straight line till reaching the pass of the greater planets, it is drawn to them by some affinity or attraction that the earth does not possess, and that the souls held in that manner remain here on probation, developing like young animals or children, till, by gradually acquired power resulting from their wills, they are able to rise again into space, to revisit the earth, and in time to explore the universe. It might easily come about that, by some explainable sympathy, the infant good souls are drawn to this planet, while the condemned pass on to Cassandra, which holds them by some property peculiar to itself, until, perhaps they, too, by virtue of their wills, acquire new power, unless involution sets in and they lose what they have. The simplicity of the thing is what surprises me now, and that for ages philosophers have been racking their brains with every conceivable fancy, when by simply extending and following natural laws they could discern the whole. It is the old story, said Bearwarden, of Columbus and the Egg. Schopenhauer and his predecessors appear to have tried every idea, but the right one, and even Darwin and Huxley fell short in their reasoning because they tried to obtain more or less than four by putting two with two. Thus they sat and talked while the night wore on, neither thought of sleeping, hoping all the while that Errol might walk in as he had the night before. At last the dawn began to tint the east, and the growing light showed them that the storm had passed. The upper strata of Saturn's atmosphere being filled with infinitesimal particles of dust as a result of its numerous volcanoes, the conditions were highly favorable to beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Soon colored streaks extended far into the sky, and though they knew that when the sun's disc appeared it would be small, it filled the almost boundless eastern horizon with the most variegated and gorgeous hues. Moving away from the welcome sight, for their minds were ill at ease, they found the light strong enough for their search to begin. Writing on a sheet of paper in a large hand, Have gone to the Callisto to look for you, shall afterwards return here. They pinned this in a conspicuous place and set out due west, keeping about a hundred yards apart. The ground was wet and slippery, but overhead all was clear, and the sun soon shone brightly. Looking to right and left, and occasionally shouting and discharging their revolvers, they went on for half an hour. I have his tracks, called Bearwarden, and Cortland hastened to join him. In the soft ground sure enough they saw Erol's footprints, and from the distance between them concluded that he must have been running or walking very fast, but the rain had washed down the edges of the incision. The trail ascended a gentle slope, where they lost it, but on reaching the summit they saw it again with the feet together, as though Erol had paused, and about it were many other impressions with the feet turned in as if the walkers or standards had surrounded Erol, who was in the center. I hope, said Cortland, these are nothing more than the footprints we have seen formed about ourselves. See, said Bearwarden, Dick's trail goes on, and the others vanish. They cannot have been made by savages or Indians, for they seem to have had weight only while standing. They then resumed their march, firing a revolver shot at intervals of a minute. Finally they came upon a tall, straight tree, uprooted by the wind, and lying diagonally across their path. Following with their eyes the direction in which it lay, they saw a large, hollow trunk, with the bark stripped off, and charred as if struck by lightning. Oblige to pass near this by the uprooted tree, whose thick trunk upheld by the branches at the head lay raised about two feet from the ground, both searchers gave a start, and stood still as if petrified. Inside the great trunk they saw a head, and on looking more closely, described Erol's body. Grasping it by the arms they drew it out, the face was pale, and the limbs were stiff. Dick Cortland unfastened the collar, while Bearwarden applied a flask to the lips, but they soon found that their efforts were in vain. The spirit ejaculated Cortland. Dick may be in a trance, in which case he can help us. Let us will, hard and long. Accordingly they threw themselves on their faces, closing their eyes that nothing might distract their concentration, minutes which seemed like ages passed and there was no response. Now, said Bearwarden, willed together, hard! Suddenly the stillness was broken by the spirit's voice, which said, I felt more than one mind calling, but the effect was so slight I thought first I was mistaken. I will help you in what you want, for the young man is not dead, neither is he injured. Saying which, he stretched himself upon Erol, worked his lungs artificially, and willed with an intensity the observers could feel where they stood. Quickly the color returned to Erol's cheeks, and with the spirit's assistance he sat up and leaned against the tree that had protected him from the storm. Your promise was realized, he said, addressing the spirit. I have seen what I shall never forget, and lest the anguish, the vision of which I saw come true, let us return to the earth, and not leave it till I have tasted in reality the joys that in the spirit I seem to have missed. I have often longed in this life to be in the spirit, but never knew what longing was, till I experienced it as a spirit, to be once more in the flesh. You see the mercy of God, said the spirit, in not ordinarily allowing the spirits of the departed to revisit earth until they are prepared, that is, until they are sufficiently advanced to go there unaided, by which time they have come to understand the wisdom of God's laws. In your case the limiting laws were partially suspended, so that you were able to return at once with many of the faculties and senses of spirits, but without their accumulated experience. It speaks well for your state of preparation that without having had those disguised blessings, illness or misfortune you were not utterly crushed by what you saw when temporarily released. While in the trance you were not in hell, but experienced the feelings that all mortals would if allowed to return immediately. Thus no lover can return to earth till his fiance has joined him here, or till perceiving the benevolence of God's ways he is not distressed at what he sees, and has the companionship of a host of kindred spirits. The spirits you saw in the cemetery were indeed in hell, but had become sufficiently developed to revisit the earth, though doing so did not relieve their distress, for neither the development of their senses which intensifies their capacity for remorse and regret, nor their investigations into God's boundless mercies which they have deliberately thrown away can comfort them. Some of your ancestors are on Cassandra, and others are in Purgatory here. Though a few faintly felt your prayer, none were able to return and answer beside their graves. It was at your request and prayer that he freed your spirit, but you see how unhappy it made you. "'I see,' replied Aril, that no man should wish to anticipate the workings of the Almighty, although I have been unspeakably blessed in that he made an exception, if I may so call it, in my favor. Since in addition to revealing the responsibilities of life, it has shown me the inestimable value and loyalty of woman's love. I fear, however, that my return to earth greatly distressed the waterer of the flowers you showed me.' She already sleeps,' replied the spirit, and I have comforted her by a dream in which she sees that you are well. "'When shall we start?' asked Bearwarden. "'As soon as you can get ready,' replied Aril, I would not risk running short of enough current to generate the apogee needed to get us back. I daresay when I have been on earth a few years, and have done something for the good of my soul, which, as I take it, can be accomplished as well by advancing science as in any other way, I shall pine for another journey in space as I now do to return. How I wish I were engaged,' said Bearwarden, glancing at Cortland, and overjoyed at Aril's recovery. Accordingly they resumed their march in the direction in which they had been going when they found Aril and were soon beside the Callisto. Cortland worked the combination lock of the lower entrance through which they crawled. Going to the second story they opened a large window and let down a ladder on which the spirit ascended at their invitation. Bearwarden and Aril immediately set about combining the chemicals that were to produce the force necessary to repel them from Saturn. Bubbles of hydrogen were given off from the lead and zinc plates, and the viscous primary batteries quickly had the wires passing through a vacuum at a white heat. "'I see you are nearly ready to start,' said the spirit. "'So I must say farewell. "'Will you not come with us?' asked Aril. "'No,' replied the spirit. "'I do not wish to be away as long as it will take you to reach the earth. The Callisto's atmosphere could not absorb my body, so that should I leave you before your arrival you would be burdened with a corpse. I may visit you in the spirit, though the desire and effort for communion with spirits to be of most good, most needs come from the earth. "'Are long, my intuition tells me, we shall meet again. The vision of your own grave,' he continued, addressing Cortland, "'may not come true for many years, but however long your lives may be, according to earthly reckoning. Remember that when they are past they will seem to have been hardly more than a moment, for they are the personification of frailty and evanescence.' He held up his hands and blessed them, and then, repeating, farewell and a happy return, descended as he had come up. The air was filled with misty shadows and the pulsating hearts, luminous brains, and centers of spiritual activity quivered with motion. They surrounded the incarnate spirit of the bishop, and set up the soft, musical hum the travellers had heard so often since their arrival on Saturn. "'I now understand,' thought Erel, "'why the spirits I met kept repeating that I should be happy. They perceived I was to be translated, and though they doubtless knew what suffering it would cause, they also knew I should be awakened to a sense of great realities of which I understood but little. They drew up the ladder and turned on the current, and the Callisto slowly began to rise, while the three friends crowded the window. "'Goodbye,' called the spirit's pleasant voice, to which the men replied in chorus. The sun had set on the surface of the planet while they made their preparations, but as the Callisto rose higher it seemed to rise again, making the sides of their car shine like silver, and carefully closing the two open windows they watched the fast receding world, so many times larger and more magnificent than their own. This is the end of Chapter 14, in Book 3 of A Journey in Other Worlds, Recording by Tom Weiss. This is Chapter 15, Book 3, of A Journey in Other Worlds. This Librebox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Tom Weiss. A Journey in Other Worlds, Book 3, Chapter 15, Mother Earth. There is something sad, said Cortland, about the end of everything, but I am more sorry to leave Saturn than I have ever been in taking leave of any other place. When beyond the limits of the atmosphere, they applied the full current, and were soon once more cleaving the ether at cometary speed, their motion towards the sun being aided by that great body itself. They quickly passed beyond the outer edge of the vast silvery rings, and then crossed one after another the orbits of the moons. From the last of which, Lepidus, they obtained their final course in the direction of the earth. They had an acute feeling of homesickness for the mysterious planet on which, while yet mortal, they had found paradise, and had communed with spirits as no modern man ever did. Without deviating from their almost straight line, they passed within a million miles of Jupiter, which had gained in its smaller orbit on Saturn, and a few days later crossed the track of Mars. As the earth had completed nearly half a revolution in its orbit since their departure, they here turned somewhat to the right by attracting the ruddy planet, in order to avoid passing too near the sun. On some future expedition, said Errol, and when we have a supply of blue glasses, we can take a trip to Venus if we can find a possible season in her year. Compared with this journey, it would be only like going round the block. Two days later, they had rounded the sun and laid their course in pursuit of the earth. But the astronomers in the dark hemisphere were at their posts and saw them was evident, for a brilliant beam of light again flashed forth, this time from a point a little south of the Arctic Circle, and after shining one minute, telegraphed this message. Rejoiced to see you again, hope all are well. Since they were not sufficiently near the moon's shadow, they directed their light beam into their own, which trailed off on one side and answered, All well, thank you, have wonderful things to relate. The men at the telescopes then, as before, read the message and telephone the light this next question. When are you coming down, that we may notify the newspapers? We wish one more sight of the earth from this height by daylight. We are now swinging to get between it and the sun. We have erected a monument in Van Cortland Park, and engraved upon it, at this place James Bearwarden, Henry Chalmsford Cortland, and Richard Ropey-Aerald Left Earth, December 21, A.D. 2000, to visit Jupiter. Add to it, they returned on the 10th of the following June. Soon the Callisto came nearly between the earth and the sun, when the astronomers could see it only through darkened glasses and it appeared almost as a crescent. The sight the travelers then beheld was superb. It was about 11 a.m. in London, and Europe was spread before them like a map. All its peninsulas and islands, enclosed blue seas and bays came out in clear relief. Gradually Russia, Germany, France, the British Isles, and Spain moved towards the horizon as in grand procession, and at the same time the western hemisphere appeared. The hour of day at the longitude above which they hung was about the same as when they set out, but the sun shone far more directly upon the northern hemisphere than then, and instead of bleak December this was the leafy month of June. They were loathed to end the lovely scene, and would feign have remained where they were while the earth revolved again, but, remembering that their friends must by this time be waiting, they shut off the repulsion from the earth. We need not apply the apogee to the earth until quite near, said Aerald, since a great part of the top speed will be taken off by the resistance of the atmosphere, especially as we go in base first. We have only to keep a sufficiently strong repulsion on the dome to prevent our turning over and to see that our speed is not great enough to heat the car. When about fifty miles from the surface they felt the expected check, and concluded they had reached the upper limits of the atmosphere. This increased, notwithstanding the decrease in their speed, showing how quickly the air became dense. When about a mile from the earth they had the Callisto well in hand, and allowed it to descend slowly. The ground was already black with people, who, having learned where the Callisto was to touch, had hastened to Van Cortland Park. I am overjoyed to see you, said Sylvia, when she and Aerald met. I had the most dreadful pre-sentiment that something had gone wrong with you. One afternoon and evening I was so perplexed, and during the night had a series of nightmares that I shall never forget. I really believed you were near me, but your nature seemed to have changed, for instead of its making me happy I was frightfully distressed. The next day I was very ill and unable to get up, but during the morning I fell asleep, and had another dream which was intensely realistic, and made me believe, yes, convinced me, that you were well. After that dream I soon recovered, but oh the anguish of the first. Aerald did not tell her, then, that he had been near her, and of his unspeakable suffering, of which hers had been but the echo. Three weeks later a clergyman tied the knot that was to unite them forever. While Sylvia and Aerald were standing up to receive the congratulations of their friends, their warden in shaking his hand said, Remember, we have been to neither Uranus nor Neptune nor Cassandra, which may be as interesting as anything we have seen, should you want to take another trip, count me as your humble servant. And Cortland, following behind him, said the same thing. Shortly after this Sylvia went upstairs to change her dress, and when she came down she and Aerald set out on their journey together through life, amid a chorus of cheers and a shower of rice. Cortland then returned to his department at Washington, and Bear Warden resumed his duties with the terrestrial access strengthening company in the presidential chair. This is the end of a journey in other worlds, recording by Tom Weiss.