At the platform I received cordial words of cheer from the committee, my old comrades of the Ice King and my most intimate Altrurian friends. Speaking for the committee, Lal Roy, of Budistan said: "On behalf of the members of this committee, and especially of the members from the eastern hemisphere, I congratulate you upon the marked improvements you have made in our methods of aerial navigation. The construction of the Eolus marks an era in our progress that will be a monument to your memory. You will be honored and appreciated for generations to come." "Excuse me," I responded. "I am not entitled to the honor you would bestow upon me. Captain Battell made the first move toward the improvements that were consummated in the Eolus, and Captain Ganoe and Huston have both contributed their mechanical skill. Without them there would have been no Eolus." "Hold on Jack," said Battell. "In the consummation, we only carried out your suggestions. The improvements I started, were completed in accordance with your plans." "Yes," said Captain Ganoe, as he clasped my hand. "You were the first person I ever heard suggest the construction of an airship that could ride the storm, and but for your suggestions every one of which was tested in your experimental journeys to the verges, we never could have succeeded. And but for your intimate knowledge of the difficulties to be overcome, I never would have consented for you to go alone. Even as it is, notwithstanding the unanimous decision of the committee, I find it very hard to reconcile myself to the thought that you are to be exposed all alone, to the cold and the storms of the polar regions. Such dangers ought to be reserved for those who have nothing to live for, and not for the young, the refined and the educated who have a bright future before them." "Have no fears for me," I said. "You must not forget that it is now warm weather in the north frigid zone and I will not be exposed to intense cold, and the probability is that I will have no severe storms to contend with. But I will promise this: To be careful, and if I discover any defect in the Eolus that would make the journey too hazardous, I will return at once, rather than take any chances of defeating our purpose of communicating with the outer world when we have mastered the problem of riding the storm. No doubt my observations on this voyage, will open the way for other improvements. Keep up your courage. This is but the beginning of our work. We must have airships that will enable the most sensitive, to visit the outer world, and teach our countrymen the importance of cultivating the higher attributes of the soul, which can only be developed in their fullness under the benign influence of an Altruistic civilization." Oqua here stepped forward and took me by the hand, saying: