“We had better be fully armed,” counselled Dennis; “and then we’ll explore.” Accordingly, they each armed themselves with a brace of noiseless revolvers, containing fifty needle-like capsule-shots apiece, fired by compressed air; on striking, they flatten against the body and burst, emitting a powerful corrosive acid which instantly bites through every known substance to the skin, in which it at once becomes absorbed, and in the same second the whole of the blood is solidified. No cure or antidote has been found, and so certain is it in effect that death is inevitable. Having made the vessel immovable and secure, they stood at the foot of the ladder wondering which way to go. They were in a great clearing, carpeted with beautiful green grass as even and close as if freshly mown. On this grass were clusters of shrubs bearing reddish leaves and brilliant yellow blossoms, the whole forming a perfect, harmonious scheme of colour. Encircling this was a dense wood, and the visitors could not help noticing the strange fact that though the grass was as brilliantly green as any on Earth in spring, all other vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, was a russet-brown, here and there tinged with red, like the colours on Earth in autumn. Their attention was also forcibly drawn to the grass, which on Earth grows thin and sparsely under trees and in all places where light cannot reach it, but here was, in such situations, as thick and velvety and as luscious as in the open, proving that this vegetation was not so dependent on light as that on Earth. Almost immediately they had stepped on the thick, mossy turf they felt all their doubts needless, and there came over them a feeling of serenity and confidence that altogether disarmed suspicion of evil. Passing along this velvety carpet, they approached the bordering wood and entered its delightful shade. Here were thousands of flowers which on Earth bloom only in certain seasons, all growing together—the primrose, violet, daffodil, rose, chrysanthemum fuchsia, snowdrop, and countless others in splendid profusion, giving the air a ravishing perfume. A few yards further on was a long, untrimmed hedge of sweetbriar, and as the breeze bore its exquisite fragrance towards them, they could not withstand the desire to sit under its pleasant shade, quietly to enjoy the beauty of their surroundings. From the elevation of their approach in the ship, this Bonian “Kidney” had seemed to them an ideal place; the country waved in undulating stretches of land and water—here a sea, there a lake, and running between and beyond were many silver streaks of river, narrowing and fading into seeming strands of silver wire. As they lay beside the deliciously scented hedge, they saw beyond them a long level stretch of grass like a well-kept lawn, ending in a glimpse of blue sea.