His audience seemed to grasp the fact that the _Sphere_ had come from a distant planet. In fact, it appeared that he had but confirmed some previous guess on their part. They nodded knowingly to each other as their spokesman resumed his own gesticulations in an effort to communicate with the professor, smiling in a friendly fashion and rubbing his Roman nose with a trace of self-consciousness as he proceeded to invite them, with elaborate gestures, to visit their country beyond. His companions also pointed repeatedly toward the foliage in the distance, and to vacant seats in their vehicle. “What do you think, boys?” asked the professor, turning to Robert and Taggert. “How about boosting the _Sphere_ over there? That will be better than leaving it out here where we can’t keep an eye on it.” “Suits me,” Robert replied. “That’s the stuff,” said Taggert. “Don’t let these dagos separate you from your return trip if you can help it.” So with more gestures Professor Palmer explained their intentions to the Martians, who finally understood apparently and seemed satisfied. By careful manipulation of the speed of the gyrostats and the disk shutters, Robert raised the _Sphere_ slowly to a height of about fifty feet. The Martians looked on in wonder from their conveyance, which, getting under way, preceded them across the floor of the desert. The broad, flat wheels of this conveyance, notched to give greater traction, carried it over the sand at a good clip. Steering seemed to be controlled by an automatic dial-and-lever device, operated easily by the driver with one hand. The usual staggering of the front wheels through loose soil seemed entirely eliminated. Contrary to their original impression, the floor of the desert in this direction was a stony, windswept waste with much bare rock visible. The faces of these rocks were polished by grains of sand blown across them by the winds of centuries. Here and there was one with fractured and crumbling surface, probably cracked by the rapid, alternate heating and chilling of the blazing rays of the sun and the cold nights, and not yet healed. As the _Sphere_ drew near the fertile land, they observed that it was densely wooded with trees of varied height and foliage. From their close proximity to the ground it looked like a vast, boundless forest which might extend many miles beyond. Professor Palmer had estimated the usual width of these irrigated strips at from one to several miles, though he had mentioned observing one of nearly twenty miles in width. At the forest’s edge Robert brought the _Sphere_ to rest Here they were in a quandary as to what to do about the _Sphere_. It was obvious that they could not study the life of the planet without leaving the _Sphere_. Yet they were naturally reluctant to trust it unguarded into the hands of these strange inhabitants.