The Face of Isis by Cyril G Page 5

  old high priest claimed; if the Pharoah had

  people’s ideas sir,” said Courtland in reply to really been shot out of the shaft by virtue of

  a particularly violent snort from the Professor, some unknown force and had never returned;

  as the result of the account of Cavor’s

  why should not modern man, with all the

  departure into space.

  resources of modern science at his command,

  “I am not objecting to the ideas, but to

  harness this force and actually extend his the lack of them,” grunted the Professor.

  kingdom to other planets.

  “These space flyers all go in the same way—

  To be Professor Wadsworth, the man

  straight up! Whereas, if you cut off the effect who discovered the proofs of an Egyptian

  of gravity upon a body, that body will not go

  migration to Mexico, was much. To be Myron

  up, at all!”

  Wadsworth, the man who took his life in his

  “Not go up!” exclaimed Courtland.

  hands and reached the moon—why, that was

  “Then where will it go?”

  more, infinitely more! Look at Lindbergh! He

  “Along of course!” said the Professor.

  flew a mere three thousand miles and became,

  “Along! I don’t understand.”

  almost overnight, the most talked of man in

  “Let me ask you a question,” said the

  history. But to fly to the moon and back; that

  Professor, sitting up in his deck chair.

  was equal to more than a hundred times the

  “Suppose you mounted an electromagnet on

  distance from New York to Paris!

  the edge of a large wheel and caused a piece

  The chemistry class at Blantford of soft iron to adhere to one pole of the College would have been much amazed to see

  magnet. When the wheel is rotating, in what

  their dignified, if somewhat portly professor,

  direction would the piece of iron move, if you

  dancing “ring-a-round-a-rosie” with a former

  suddenly shut off the magnetizing current?”

  pupil on the summit of a pinnacle eight

  Courtland thought for a moment.

  hundred feet high in the Atlas Mountains and

  “Why, at a tangent to the rim of the

  shouting at the top of his voice:

  wheel, I suppose,” he offered, finally.

  The Face of Isis

  19

  “Exactly! And when we shut off the

  reporters and curiosity mongers of all sorts.

  force of gravity between our car and the earth, That was the kind of thing they wished to

  it will move away from the earth tangentially,

  avoid. Once the journey was an accomplished

  not straight up.”

  fact, they, or at least the Professor, would

  “Well, but,” said Courtland slowly, welcome all the publicity in the world. As for

  “the shaft in the Dibel el Sheetan pointed

  Courtland, it was the adventure which

  straight up.”

  appealed to him. He cared nothing for the

  “Quite true,” said the Professor. “That

  fame it would bring.

  was because the High Priest knew nothing

  The work was carried on by foreign

  about the reason for making it any other way.

  workmen, brought from Boston. First

  As a matter of fact, the Pharoah’s chariot or

  Courtland and the Professor selected a suitable coffin, whichever you like to call it, never

  spot in the middle of a dense clump of trees at went through the hole in the temple roof, at

  the summit of a low hill. A roadway running

  all.”

  east and west was cleared and the tracks laid

  “Never went through the hole?” part way down the slope, although the queried Courtland doubtfully.

  Professor anticipated that the chariot would

  “Certainly not!” snapped the Professor.

  leave the ground within a hundred yards of the

  “When it started from the bottom, it traveled

  starting point.

  very slowly until it reached the mouth, level

  The chariot was to be long and

  with the floor of the temple.

  streamlined, to reduce friction while passing

  Then it flew off, not vertically but through the atmosphere. It was to be shaped horizontally, just skimming the floor.”

  like a torpedo cut in half lengthwise, so that

  “But in that case,” objected Courtland, “it

  the bottom was practically flat. Courtland

  would have crashed against the sides of the

  suggested and carried out a new method of

  stone bowl.”

  construction, consisting of many layers of

  “Undoubtedly it would have done so,

  very thin sheet steel, alternating with asbestos.

  but for the speed attained in the shaft, which

  These layers were built on a rough wooden

  was probably sufficient to lift it above the

  framework, and held together by rivets, none

  edge of the bowl. For this reason we should

  of which passed entirely through. This was to

  build our car on level tracks on the top of a

  reduce the heat-conducting powers of the

  hill. There is a hill near my home in New

  sides.

  Hampshire which will be perfectly suitable.”

  Upon Courtland devolved the work of

  WHEN the asbestos-steel body was complete,

  designing their “Chariot” as they always the wooden framework was removed and the called it. The Professor was wrapped up in the

  chariot was ready for its inner fittings.

  theoretical, the scientific end of the enterprise.

  During the evenings, the two

  He spent the days in the study of his cottage in adventurers had long talks. One of the first

  the New Hampshire hills, gushing forth, like a

  things Courtland wanted to know was how

  scientific fountain, a steady stream of long the journey would take.

  formulae, curves, graphs and drawings.

  “The motion of the chariot on leaving

  Meanwhile Courtland rushed back and

  the surface of the earth,” elucidated the

  forth from Boston with a truck they had Professor, “will be entirely due to the rotation bought and which he drove himself. Secrecy

  of the earth on its axis. The surface of the

  was essential. If once word of their plans

  earth in “this latitude is moving at

  leaked out, they would be overwhelmed by

  approximately 600 miles per hour. At that

  Amazing Stories

  20

  velocity it would take us seventeen days to

  The Professor was adamant. Once

  reach the moon.”

  convinced of the correctness of his translation,

  “That seems pretty slow traveling he adhered to it rigidly; neither would he compared to the interplanetary journeys in tolerate the wasting of one grain of the fiction,” objected Courtland.

  precious powder.

  “You must not overlook the fact that

  “Authorities! Experiments!” he

  there is a second factor which will greatly

  sputtered. “My authority is sufficient and

  increase our speed. From the moment we experiments are unnecessary. We will stake leave the earth, that body will cease to exist, our all on the one great experiment.”

  so far as any effect of gravity upon the cha
riot So the time passed until at last, the

  is concerned. We shall fall upon the moon

  chariot stood ready upon its rails. It measured with a continually accelerated velocity, just as only sixteen feet in length and about six in

  any free body in space would fall. Our speed

  diameter. The outside was painted dull black,

  at any moment will be the speed of a free,

  to enable it to absorb as much heat as possible falling body, plus six hundred miles per hour,

  from the sun’s rays. There were a number of

  which is our speed due to the centrifugal force small portholes, one of which was made

  of the earth’s rotation.”

  removable to enable the travelers to enter,

  But how shall we know the exact after which it could be made secure by means moment to start in order to hit the moon?”

  of bolts and a rubber gasket.

  asked Courtland. “With so many factors to

  In the interior were stored the various

  consider, it seems a frightfully complicated

  supplies required for the trip. There was food

  problem. What with the rotation of the earth,

  for two months, a special form of gasoline

  the earth’s movement in its orbit, the moon’s

  stove for cooking and heating, together with

  movement in its orbit and the attraction of the all sorts of scientific appliances. The pointed moon, our chances of making connection with

  ends of the chariot were partitioned off and

  the Face of Isis seem pretty slim.”

  filled with oxygen cylinders. There was an

  “The complication is only apparent,”

  apparatus which the Professor had designed

  replied the Professor, “because all movement

  for purifying the air, to keep the content of

  is purely relative and we are only concerned

  carbon dioxide to a breathable percentage.

  with the movement of the chariot in relation to Penetrating the sides of the chariot

  the moon. All we have to do is start at moon-

  were four curved tubes. The inner ends of

  rise, when the moon is full, with the chariot

  these tubes were provided with airtight

  pointing east; that is approximately at the breeches, like torpedo tubes, into which lunar sphere. The chariot, affected only by its charges of slow-burning explosive could be

  initial movement and by the attraction of the

  introduced for the purpose of controlling the

  moon, will follow a curve and fall to the

  movement of the chariot in space. As the

  surface of the moon. Accuracy of aim is not a

  Professor pointed out, when they reached a

  prime requisite at all.”

  predetermined point in their journey, it was

  More than once Courtland ventured to

  only necessary to rotate the chariot more or

  raise doubts as to the wisdom of expending so

  less on its longitudinal axis, in order to reduce much effort without first conducting some its speed to any amount desired. They would preliminary experiments with the contents of

  land on the moon “upside down,” so that the

  the casket. He also suggested the advisability

  gravity screen would not counteract the

  of calling into consultation some great attraction of the lunar mass. When they authority on Egyptian hieroglyphics.

  wished to return, they would simply roll the

  The Face of Isis

  21

  chariot over on its base, and they would be

  sentiments appropriate to the occasion. He

  off.

  thought of the dramatic effect, with which

  Most important of all was the Verne described the emotions of the three equipment for handling the anti-gravitational

  adventurers shut up in the projectile, as they

  powder itself. There was a false floor in the

  waited for the pressure of a button to blast

  chariot and under this were a series of flat

  them into space. He felt that on the eve of

  trays containing the powder. A most ingenious

  such an unprecedented adventure, he too,

  arrangement, designed by the Professor and

  should experience a great spiritual uplift or

  carried out by Courtland himself, allowed the

  depression, a flood of anticipation or fear.

  trays to be flooded with sulphuric acid by

  He tried in vain to bring his mind into

  simply closing a switch. Thus the gravity the state which all writers of fiction regard as screen would take effect over the whole floor

  indispensable to such a time. But somehow, it

  uniformly and there would be no danger of an

  wouldn’t do! His reason told him that in less

  upset at the start.

  than twelve hours he would be hurled into

  On March 27th, just five months from

  space, but his instincts simply refused to

  the day when they had set sail on their voyage

  believe his reason. This day was just like any

  to Morocco, all preparations were complete.

  other. The sun shone, the birds sang, the wind

  Everything that human ingenuity could devise

  whispered in the leaves. Everything was as

  to insure the success of the undertaking had

  usual except the gloomy shadow among the

  been done. There remained only one thing.

  trees on the hill top, that black mass crouching Would the mysterious powder acquire the like a devilish insect, or like an overgrown and properties they believed? Or was the old high

  misshapen slug.

  priest playing a joke on them?

  Courtland was for trying their fate at

  once, but the Professor urged that they should

  CHAPTER VI

  wait until the night of the full moon.

  The Flight of the Chariot

  “The moon will be full on April 1st,”

  he said. “By waiting until then, the moon,

  earth and sun will be in line, and there will be AFTER lunch, the two men made their final

  very little chance of the superior attraction of arrangements. No one knew of their rash plan-the sun diverting us from our course.”

  The Austrian mechanics had returned to town

  “Well, I’m not particularly keen to three days before. The Professor had given his investigate the solar granulations at close housekeeper a few days holiday to visit her quarters.” Courtland said, “But it seems like

  daughter in a near-by village. All personal

  tempting fate to start on a day like that. I’m

  matters had been arranged with a view to the

  not superstitious, but April 1st! I suppose possibility of disaster. Neither Courtland nor we’re a couple of fools, but that seems like

  the Professor had any near relatives to mourn

  rubbing it in!”

  them if they should never return.

  The fateful day dawned clear and

  At five o’clock they left the house and

  bright, a glory of blue and green and gold.

  walked to their chariot, the vehicle in which

  Nature went about her business as usual, quite

  they hoped to accomplish what their ancient

  unperturbed by the threatened invasion of her

  Egyptian forerunner had attempted so many

  planetary sanctuaries. When Courtland walked

  generations ago. Courtland helped the

  up the hill to make a last inspection of the

  Professor through the open porthole and

  chariot, he tried in vain to co
njure up followed him. They swung the heavy glass-

  Amazing Stories

  22

  door into place and secured it with the bolts

  sulphuric acid flooded the trays beneath the

  provided for that purpose. As Courtland floor. For an instant nothing happened. Then tightened the nuts, he found himself there was a rending, crashing roar. The chariot wondering if he would ever loosen them again

  rocked and trembled as if under the impact of

  or whether another hour would find the chariot

  a terrific bombardment. Courtland was hurled

  bearing two more corpses into space to join

  to the floor. His head came into violent

  the frozen body of Kut-Amen-Pash.

  contact with a box of supplies and he lost

  The Professor started the oxygen consciousness.

  apparatus and the carbon dioxide absorber.

  When Courtland came to his senses, it

  There was nothing more they could do. Their

  was with a terrible feeling of physical

  preparations were complete to the smallest

  oppression, unlike anything he had ever

  detail. Nine minutes had still to elapse before experienced. He was lying on his face and for

  the moon rose.

  a moment he thought that something must

  They took their places side by side in

  have fallen upon him from above; some

  the center of the chariot. Two heavy handles

  tremendous weight which had pinned him to

  were bolted to the sides, to be gripped at the

  the floor. He struggled vainly to raise himself moment of departure, thus counteracting any

  to his knees.

  possible shock, although the Professor

  There was no sensation of movement,

  believed that no such shock would be but he knew that there would be no such experienced.

  sensation if the chariot were flying through

  Through the front port, Courtland space, no matter what the velocity. He could see a little circle, the upper half, sky, wondered whether this pitiless pressure that