“Think!” cried Godfrey, enthusiastically, “think! I think it is great—very great—and that you are a triad of very clever—idiots, shall I say, for going to risk a flight to the sun! Never mind, if there is any truth at all in what you have been told about this bug, it shall succeed; I tell you it _shall!_ and we four will test the net on old Sol himself. But I’m going too fast, I’m losing my reason. I must not be carried away with enthusiasm; as yet I’m in my right mind, so I’ll not go further than that, or talk about settling on the sun till we see how my grubs turn out.” During the whole of this conversation all had been so interested that they had not paid any attention to the vessel, for there was little danger of chance collision, as the great repulsive force would keep any ordinary world or planetoid from her path, and in the case of a more powerful world, any deviation from her straight flight, or any strong attractive force which she might enter, would automatically signal itself, and show the strength on the gravitometer. Also the _Regina_ was, to a certain extent, self-adjusting, and would thus go rounds or away from, any large and powerful object, and after the influence had ceased to be felt, she would resume her original straight course, for it is evident that if the force of A equals the force of B, they are both equal, consequently neither can be drawn to the other, and the nearer they approach the greater will be the repulsion which drives both away, for the gravity and repulsion of both are equal. The _Regina_, therefore, now she had been perfected as far as modern science permitted, could never by any possibility collide with anything, no matter how powerful, for her force would now always equal the opposing force. In the case of landing, this could be effected in two ways: by increasing the _Regina’s_ gravitating force, by converting some of her repulsion into gravitation (or attraction), and thus drawing the other world to her, because of her greater attractive powers; or by retarding her repulsive force, and thus bringing her within the attraction of the world on which she wished to settle. This latter was the usual method of alighting, as the former would most certainly have upset the fixed orbits of the worlds displaced. Suddenly the needle on the indicator swerved, giving its familiar tinkle, which signified the nearness of approach to a world or object having gravitating force. Ross, who was nearest the observatory door, rushed up and then called Dennis and Gilbert, who ran up the steps and looked out of the dome, which gave them a view in every direction except vertically downwards.