We were, indeed, already deviating a little to the right from our straight course in answer to the gravitational pull of the tremendous mass of Jupiter, looming ever greater now ahead and to the right. We were to pass it by some fifteen million miles, more than twice the distance at which we had passed Mars, but the colossal planet, larger than all the other planets of the sun together, was already attracting us strongly despite our terrific speed and momentum. For the time being, though, we gave it but scant attention, concentrating our attention, as we did, upon the watch for farther asteroids, since we had not yet emerged from their great belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Sleepy and weary as we were from our hours upon the watch, we dared not relax from that watch, and so Whitely and Marlin and Randall still kept up their constant survey of the surrounding void, while I held the flashing space-flier's controls, turning more and more of our generators' power into the great force-ray that was hurtling us on. We had not dared to use the generators' power too swiftly upon our start, lest the too great acceleration kill us, despite our shock-absorbing apparatus. But steadily our speed, already colossal, was mounting, and we were racing on through the gulf toward the distant green spot of light that was Neptune. * * * * * On and on in those hours we shot, until it seemed to me, seated there at the controls, that always we had flashed thus through endless realms of tenantless space. For now but a few asteroids were sighted by our watching eyes, and the eventlessness and strange tension of our rush onward through space made it seem like a strange flight in some unending dream. On and on, with Marlin and Randall and Whitely watching ceaselessly about me, on with the throbbing of our generators beating in my ears in unhalting rhythm. Behind us Earth's bright white star was steadily growing smaller, but still our great force-ray, stabbing ceaselessly back from our flier with colossal power, was sending us racing on faster and faster with its huge reacting force. But our start from Earth, days, hours, before, the great mission upon which we were speeding outward to Neptune, these things I had forgotten, almost, as the dream-like quality of our onward flight gripped me.