Appreciating the great wisdom and kindness of these people it seemed but natural to the explorers to tell them of the difficulty they were in with relation to the recovery of their lost companions, and after hearing the whole story in detail, and seeing the map of the heavens at the time, the natives told them that the planet selected had been for ages a member of the solar family, but it was not likely to be often seen from Earth, as it was one of the ‘variable stars.’ Some terrestrial months previously, however, they had seen it pass rapidly out of the solar system, becoming larger and larger as it drew into nearer view, and it was even now speeding forward some hundred million miles distant. On referring to the photograph, it was found to be the second of the two stars which Rollsborough had cleverly worked out; they had naturally taken that needing the least alteration in steering, but had they selected the second, they would by this time have had their companions on board. On their saying they must go to recover them, one of the natives asked if they had power to make their attraction felt by telepathy, seeing the world was really one of the solar family, but it was explained that so far they had never been able to telepath anywhere except to Earth, though the people on the other planets in the system communicated with each other freely, though none to Earth. Dennis, Ross and Gilbert, feeling proud of the enormous power they had under control, boastfully said—as a sort of set-off to the apparent stigma cast on Earth by its seeming to be the pariah of the solar system, which they took as personal—that it would be easy for the ship to arrest the planet in its present course, and draw it to them, if necessary, and letting their pride get the better of their judgment, they tried to persuade the passengers to agree to the planet’s course being changed towards them. Rollsborough, Sorrel, and some others strongly objected, saying that such a proceeding would be most unfair both to the people on the planet now giving them hospitality, and also to those on the world they proposed attracting, and insinuating that as many dangers had been so wonderfully overcome, they were allowing their heads to be turned by their successes, and grossly presuming on their powers over nature. The rival parties became considerably heated, one side enumerating some of the evils that might be expected to ensue, the other treating the matter as a joke, making light of the fears of the older section, until at last a vote was proposed and taken, and wisdom lost, as usual.