“We’ll turn around and back down these stairs,” the skipper said. “As we descend, the gravity will become stronger, so that by the time we’re at the bottom we’ll be nearly at our earth weights.” Garry and Patch followed their new friend down the stairs, moving carefully and holding onto the railing, for they still felt giddy from the rotation of the central tube. By the time they were at the bottom, their heads had begun to clear. That is, they _thought_ their heads had begun to clear. But no sooner had they gotten this impression than they became giddy all over again at the sight that met their eyes. For it was just as if they had entered a tropical paradise! There were real flowers in bloom all about, and aquariums full of live fishes were set into the surrounding walls. The boys were too surprised to say anything. All they could do was just stare and stare in disbelief. 6. A _CAREFREE_ WORLD “How do you like my garden, fellows?” Captain Eaton asked. “It helps keep me from getting homesick. I used to have a most luxuriant garden back on earth.” “I can’t believe it!” Garry burst out. “It’s just as if we were outdoors on a summer day, it’s so real.” “There’s a goldfish pond, Garry,” Patch said, “with lily pads floating on top and a bench beside it.” “I never saw so many kinds of flowers,” Garry said, “and shrubs too.” “The flowers and shrubs serve a double purpose,” Captain Eaton explained. “They not only provide homelike pleasure to me and my friends, but they also help keep the air in the _Carefree_ supplied with oxygen.” “I remember,” Garry replied. “Plants in light breathe exactly opposite from the way we do. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.” Patch stooped down, examining the roots of a shrub. “Hey, the roots aren’t growing in soil! How can they live?” “The plants grow in richly fertilized liquid,” the captain answered. “In that way, they can be placed much closer together. Besides, some of the water making up the fertilized liquid comes from waste products within the ship. There are other reasons too.” Captain Eaton led the way along the aisle that ran beside the colorfully lighted aquariums. He stopped in front of a twenty-gallon tank which was in the process of being cleaned by two men. One of them was very tall, over six and a half feet. He was very thin and appeared to be in his late fifties. But the oddest thing about him, which made Garry and Patch stare at him in surprise, was the fact that he was in the full dress of a butler, complete with newly starched white shirt and neatly pressed coat and trousers! Although he was holding a bucket that was catching water from a draining aquarium, his clothing wasn’t in the least mussed.