A thrill, born half of wonder, half of incredulity, ran through me at the touch of the soil of Mars. Here was I, actually on that planet, which had seemed so far away, so inaccessible, and so full of mysteries when viewed from the earth. And yet, surrounding me, were things--gigantic, it is true--but still resembling and recalling the familiar sights of my own world. After a little while our lungs became accustomed to the rarity of the atmosphere and we experienced a certain stimulation in breathing. Starting on our Travels. We then got upon our feet and stepped out from under the shadow of the gigantic tree. High above we could faintly see our electrical ship, gently swaying in the air close to the treetop. There were no electric lights in our immediate neighborhood, but we noticed that the whole surface of the planet around us was gleaming with them, producing an effect like the glow of a great city seen from a distance at night. The glare was faintly reflected from the vast dome of clouds above, producing the general impression of a moonlight night upon the earth. It was a wonderfully quiet and beautiful spot where we had come down. The air had a delicate feel and a bracing temperature, while a soft breeze soughed through the leaves of the tree above our heads. Not far away was the bank of a canal, bordered by a magnificent avenue shaded by a double row of immense umbrageous trees. We approached the canal, and, getting upon the road, turned to the left to make an exploration in that direction. The shadow of the trees falling upon the roadway produced a dense gloom, in the midst of which we felt that we should be safe, unless the Martians had eyes like those of cats. An Alarming Encounter. As we pushed along, our hearts, I confess, beating a little quickly, a shadow stirred in front of us. Something darker than the night itself approached. As it drew near it assumed the appearance of an enormous dog, as tall as an ox, which ran swiftly our way with a threatening motion of its head. But before it could even utter a snarl the whirr of Colonel Smith's disintegrator was heard and the creature vanished in the shadow. "Gracious, did you ever see such a beast?" said the Colonel. "Why, he was as big as a grizzly." "The people he belonged to must be near by," I said. "Very likely he was a watch on guard." "But I see no signs of a habitation." "True, but you observe there is a thick hedge on the side of the road opposite the canal. If we get through that perhaps we shall catch sight of something." A Palace in View.