“You are both excellent mind readers,” I responded. “And if I were as honest as you Martians are, I suppose I should have said in the first place that I preferred not to make such an extended journey. I suspect the doctor is willing to go ahead, as he is too sensible to be affected by such a feeling as now moves me. My thoughts turn back to our departure from the earth in a balloon, and I cannot rid my mind of the dreadful fear that perhaps we are now unconsciously bidding a long farewell to Mars.” Thorwald thanked me for my frankness and said they should certainly respect my sentiment. He then stepped to Foedric’s side to speak to him in regard to a change of course. At that moment I looked at the moon, which had been rapidly approaching us. What was it that suddenly gave it a deeper interest to me? A flash of intelligence suffused my being like an electric shock, frilling my imagination with the most beautiful vision and making the moon appear to me now as the one desirable place in all the universe. “Thorwald,” I exclaimed, “keep right on! I want to go now. I have changed my mind.” “Yes,” he responded, looking at me with a pleased smile, “and I see you have changed your face, too. You look like quite another man. Why this sudden transition?” “Don’t you know? Mona is there.” “Where?” “In the moon, of course.” “How do you know that? You seem to be pretty confident.” “Why, she must be there. You couldn’t find her on land or water, and you know you have no accidents in Mars, so she could not have come to any harm there. I know we shall find her in the moon. She must have been left behind in some way when the doctor and I were thrown off, and now she is no doubt expecting us to come back to her. Oh, let us make haste.” “Well,” answered Thorwald, “we were only waiting your consent, and we can now keep on as we are going and try to reach the moon. But I must give you a friendly warning not to let your hope get the better of your judgment in regard to finding your friend.” With this Thorwald and Foedric consulted a moment, and at once our speed increased till we were flying at a fearful rate, but none too fast for me. I knew now why I had been so reluctant to go so far away from Mars. It was because I thought Mona was there; but now, with my present opinion, the moon had suddenly changed its character and become to my imagination a bright and beautiful world. To such a degree does love transform the most unlovely objects. I was struck with the easy way in which Zenith had accepted the result of what I thought her sportive suggestion, and, not being able to fathom her thoughts, I said to her: “When we left home, this morning, you did not expect to be gone over night. Have you no anxiety about the house and the children?”