"There," said Edmund, pointing to the dome, "is the inside of the shell of cloud whose exterior, gleaming in the sunshine, baffles our astronomers in their efforts to see the surface of Venus. I believe that we shall find the whole of this hemisphere covered by it. It is a shield for the inhabitants against the fervors of an unsetting sun. Its presence prevents their real world from being seen from outside." "Well," said Jack, laughing, "I never heard before that Venus was fond of a veil." "Not only can they not be seen," continued Edmund, "but they cannot themselves see beyond the screen that covers them." "Worse and worse!" exclaimed Jack. "The astronomers have certainly made a mistake in naming this bashful planet Venus." We continued for a long time to gaze at the great dome, admiring the magnificent play of iridescent colors over its vast surface, until suddenly Jack, who had gone to the other side of the car, called out to us: "Come here and tell me what this is." We hurried to his side and were astonished to see a number of glittering objects which appeared to be floating in the atmosphere. They were arranged in an almost straight row, at an elevation of perhaps two thousand feet, and were apparently about three miles away. After a few moments of silence, Edmund said, in his quiet way: "Those are air ships." "Air ships!" "Yes, surely. An exploring expedition, I shouldn't wonder. I anticipated something of that kind. You know already how dense the atmosphere of Venus is. It follows that balloons, and all sorts of machines for aerial navigation, can float much more easily here than over the earth. I was prepared to find the inhabitants of Venus skilled in such things, and I'm not surprised by what we see." "Venus with wings!" cried Jack. "Now, Edmund, that sounds more like it. I guess we've struck the right planet after all." "But," I said, "you spoke of an exploring expedition. How in the world do you make that out?" "It seems perfectly natural to me," replied Edmund. "Remember the two sides of the planet, so wonderfully different from one another. If we on the earth are so curious about the poles of our planet, simply because they are unlike other parts of the world, don't you think that the inhabitants of Venus should be at least equally curious concerning a whole hemisphere of their world, which differs _in toto_ from the half on which they live?" "That does seem reasonable," I assented. "Of course it's reasonable, and I imagine that we, ourselves, are about to be submitted to investigation." "By Jo!" exclaimed Jack, running his hands through his hair, and smoothing his torn and rumpled garments, "then we must make ready for inspection. But I'm afraid we won't do much honor to old New York. Can I get a shave aboard your craft, Edmund?" "Oh, yes," Edmund replied, laughing. "I didn't forget soap and razors."