"Yes, Temple, your fears were all unfounded," answered the Doctor. "Mars is inhabited by reasoning beings. I assure you it is most gratifying to find the speculations of my early days of study, and the conclusions of more matured years of experience, turning out to be absolute facts. When on Earth, I used to dream of a new race of intellectual beings, far away out here; to ponder over their pursuits and their appearance; to wonder if they were more highly developed, physically and mentally, than we. Now these strangers are but a few hours' walk away from us; and, if I mistake not, those beings that made and dwell in that fair city yonder are of a higher development even than ourselves. I prophesy their intellect is greater, their beauty fairer, their talents more numerous, their civilization more advanced, or not so much decayed as our own! To-morrow we will seek their acquaintance, and make ourselves known unto them!"
To-morrow! How can we spend the hours that divide us from then! But darkness is settling fast around us, and we must wait in patience the coming of a new day.
Never did four human beings await the coming of daylight with such feelings as ours. Not one of us slept for a moment, the livelong night; our excitement was too intense, and the result of our doings on the morrow too momentous. We were up and out of the _Sirius_ by sunrise, looking westwards across the undulating expanse of country, to obtain a glimpse of the fair city we saw yesterday; but vain were our endeavours; a group of low hills hid all from view. On a hill about twenty miles to the north of where we stood, however, we saw three mighty domes, the central one being more than twice the size of the others. From the way in which they glistened in the sunlight, we concluded that they were roofed with gold, or some metal unknown to us of the same colour and brilliancy. A large wood that surrounded them hid the remainder of the buildings from sight, but their size appeared to be enormous, dwarfing all earthly structures into utter insignificance.
We started off in the yet early morning, fully armed and equipped for our walk across country to the distant city, to make the acquaintance of its yet unknown inhabitants. That they were beings of noble stature we had not the slightest doubt; for only a race of giants could have reared such a colossal city; besides, the very physical conditions of Mars point to the existence of larger types of life than any now prevailing on earth.