A Revised Calendar
: BOOK IIAll previous hypotheses, then, were now forgotten in the presence of the
one great fact that Gallia was a comet and gravitating through remote
solar regions. Captain Servadac became aware that the huge disc that
had been looming through the clouds after the shock was the form of the
retreating earth, to the proximity of which the one high tide they had
experienced was also to be attributed.
As to the fulf
return to the terrestrial sphere, that was a point on which it must
be owned that the captain, after the first flush of his excitement was
over, was not without many misgivings.
The next day or two were spent in providing for the accommodation of the
new comer. Fortunately his desires were very moderate; he seemed to live
among the stars, and as long as he was well provided with coffee, he
cared little for luxuries, and paid little or no regard to the ingenuity
with which all the internal arrangements of Nina's Hive had been
devised. Anxious to show all proper respect to his former tutor,
Servadac proposed to leave the most comfortable apartment of the place
at his disposal; but the professor resolutely declined to occupy it,
saying that what he required was a small chamber, no matter how small,
provided that it was elevated and secluded, which he could use as
an observatory and where he might prosecute his studies without
disturbance. A general search was instituted, and before long they were
lucky enough to find, about a hundred feet above the central grotto, a
small recess or reduct hollowed, as it were, in the mountain side, which
would exactly answer their purpose. It contained room enough for a bed,
a table, an arm-chair, a chest of drawers, and, what was of still more
consequence, for the indispensable telescope. One small stream of
lava, an off-shoot of the great torrent, sufficed to warm the apartment
enough.
In these retired quarters the astronomer took up his abode. It was on
all hands acknowledged to be advisable to let him go on entirely in his
own way. His meals were taken to him at stated intervals; he slept but
little; carried on his calculations by day, his observations by night,
and very rarely made his appearance amongst the rest of the little
community.
The cold now became very intense, the thermometer registering 30 degrees
F. below zero. The mercury, however, never exhibited any of those
fluctuations that are ever and again to be observed in variable
climates, but continued slowly and steadily to fall, and in all
probability would continue to do so until it reached the normal
temperature of the regions of outlying space.
This steady sinking of the mercury was accompanied by a complete
stillness of the atmosphere; the very air seemed to be congealed; no
particle of it stirred; from zenith to horizon there was never a cloud;
neither were there any of the damp mists or dry fogs which so often
extend over the polar regions of the earth; the sky was always clear;
the sun shone by day and the stars by night without causing any
perceptible difference in the temperature.
These peculiar conditions rendered the cold endurable even in the open
air. The cause of so many of the diseases that prove fatal to Arctic
explorers resides in the cutting winds, unwholesome fogs, or terrible
snow drifts, which, by drying up, relaxing, or otherwise affecting the
lungs, make them incapable of fulfilling their proper functions. But
during periods of calm weather, when the air has been absolutely still,
many polar navigators, well-clothed and properly fed, have been known
to withstand a temperature when the thermometer has fallen to 60 degrees
below zero. It was the experience of Parry upon Melville Island, of
Kane beyond latitude 81 degrees north, and of Hall and the crew of the
Polaris, that, however intense the cold, in the absence of the wind
they could always brave its rigor.
Notwithstanding, then, the extreme lowness of the temperature, the
little population found that they were able to move about in the open
air with perfect immunity. The governor general made it his special care
to see that his people were all well fed and warmly clad. Food was
both wholesome and abundant, and besides the furs brought from the
Dobryna's stores, fresh skins could very easily be procured and
made up into wearing apparel. A daily course of out-door exercise was
enforced upon everyone; not even Pablo and Nina were exempted from the
general rule; the two children, muffled up in furs, looking like little
Esquimeaux, skated along together, Pablo ever at his companion's
side, ready to give her a helping hand whenever she was weary with her
exertions.
After his interview with the newly arrived astronomer, Isaac Hakkabut
slunk back again to his tartan. A change had come over his ideas; he
could no longer resist the conviction that he was indeed millions and
millions of miles away from the earth, where he had carried on so varied
and remunerative a traffic. It might be imagined that this realization
of his true position would have led him to a better mind, and that,
in some degree at least, he would have been induced to regard the few
fellow-creatures with whom his lot had been so strangely cast, otherwise
than as mere instruments to be turned to his own personal and pecuniary
advantage; but no--the desire of gain was too thoroughly ingrained into
his hard nature ever to be eradicated, and secure in his knowledge that
he was under the protection of a French officer, who, except under the
most urgent necessity, would not permit him to be molested in retaining
his property, he determined to wait for some emergency to arise which
should enable him to use his present situation for his own profit.
On the one hand, the Jew took it into account that although the chances
of returning to the earth might be remote, yet from what he had heard
from the professor he could not believe that they were improbable; on
the other, he knew that a considerable sum of money, in English and
Russian coinage, was in the possession of various members of the little
colony, and this, although valueless now, would be worth as much as ever
if the proper condition of things should be restored; accordingly, he
set his heart on getting all the monetary wealth of Gallia into his
possession, and to do this he must sell his goods. But he would not
sell them yet; there might come a time when for many articles the supply
would not be equal to the demand; that would be the time for him;
by waiting he reckoned he should be able to transact some lucrative
business.
Such in his solitude were old Isaac's cogitations, whilst the universal
population of Nina's Hive were congratulating themselves upon being rid
of his odious presence.
As already stated in the message brought by the carrier pigeon, the
distance traveled by Gallia in April was 39,000,000 leagues, and at the
end of the month she was 110,000,000 leagues from the sun. A diagram
representing the elliptical orbit of the planet, accompanied by
an ephemeris made out in minute detail, had been drawn out by the
professor. The curve was divided into twenty-four sections of unequal
length, representing respectively the distance described in the
twenty-four months of the Gallian year, the twelve former divisions,
according to Kepler's law, gradually diminishing in length as they
approached the point denoting the aphelion and increasing as they neared
the perihelion.
It was on the 12th of May that Rosette exhibited this result of his
labors to Servadac, the count, and the lieutenant, who visited his
apartment and naturally examined the drawing with the keenest interest.
Gallia's path, extending beyond the orbit of Jupiter, lay clearly
defined before their eyes, the progress along the orbit and the solar
distances being inserted for each month separately. Nothing could look
plainer, and if the professor's calculations were correct (a point upon
which they dared not, if they would, express the semblance of a doubt),
Gallia would accomplish her revolution in precisely two years, and would
meet the earth, which would in the same period of time have completed
two annual revolutions, in the very same spot as before. What would be
the consequences of a second collision they scarcely ventured to think.
Without lifting his eye from the diagram, which he was still carefully
scrutinizing, Servadac said, "I see that during the month of May, Gallia
will only travel 30,400,000 leagues, and that this will leave her about
140,000,000 leagues distant from the sun."
"Just so," replied the professor.
"Then we have already passed the zone of the telescopic planets, have we
not?" asked the count.
"Can you not use your eyes?" said the professor, testily. "If you will
look you will see the zone marked clearly enough upon the map."
Without noticing the interruption, Servadac continued his own remarks,
"The comet then, I see, is to reach its aphelion on the 15th of January,
exactly a twelvemonth after passing its perihelion."
"A twelvemonth! Not a Gallian twelvemonth?" exclaimed Rosette.
Servadac looked bewildered. Lieutenant Procope could not suppress a
smile.
"What are you laughing at?" demanded the professor, turning round upon
him angrily.
"Nothing, sir; only it amuses me to see how you want to revise the
terrestrial calendar."
"I want to be logical, that's all."
"By all manner of means, my dear professor, let us be logical."
"Well, then, listen to me," resumed the professor, stiffly. "I presume
you are taking it for granted that the Gallian year--by which I mean
the time in which Gallia makes one revolution round the sun--is equal in
length to two terrestrial years."
They signified their assent.
"And that year, like every other year, ought to be divided into twelve
months."
"Yes, certainly, if you wish it," said the captain, acquiescing.
"If I wish it!" exclaimed Rosette. "Nothing of the sort! Of course a
year must have twelve months!"
"Of course," said the captain.
"And how many days will make a month?" asked the professor.
"I suppose sixty or sixty-two, as the case may be. The days now are only
half as long as they used to be," answered the captain.
"Servadac, don't be thoughtless!" cried Rosette, with all the petulant
impatience of the old pedagogue. "If the days are only half as long
as they were, sixty of them cannot make up a twelfth part of Gallia's
year--cannot be a month."
"I suppose not," replied the confused captain.
"Do you not see, then," continued the astronomer, "that if a Gallian
month is twice as long as a terrestrial month, and a Gallian day is only
half as long as a terrestrial day, there must be a hundred and twenty
days in every month?"
"No doubt you are right, professor," said Count Timascheff; "but do you
not think that the use of a new calendar such as this would practically
be very troublesome?"
"Not at all! not at all! I do not intend to use any other," was the
professor's bluff reply.
After pondering for a few moments, the captain spoke again. "According,
then, to this new calendar, it isn't the middle of May at all; it must
now be some time in March."
"Yes," said the professor, "to-day is the 26th of March. It is the
266th day of the Gallian year. It corresponds with the 133d day of the
terrestrial year. You are quite correct, it is the 26th of March."
"Strange!" muttered Servadac.
"And a month, a terrestrial month, thirty old days, sixty new days
hence, it will be the 86th of March."
"Ha, ha!" roared the captain; "this is logic with a vengeance!"
The old professor had an undefined consciousness that his former pupil
was laughing at him; and as it was growing late, he made an excuse
that he had no more leisure. The visitors accordingly quitted the
observatory.
It must be owned that the revised calendar was left to the professor's
sole use, and the colony was fairly puzzled whenever he referred to such
unheard-of dates as the 47th of April or the 118th of May.
According to the old calendar, June had now arrived; [illustration
omitted] [page intentionally blank] and by the professor's tables Gallia
during the month would have advanced 27,500,000 leagues farther along
its orbit, and would have attained a distance of 155,000,000 leagues
from the sun. The thermometer continued to fall; the atmosphere remained
clear as heretofore. The population performed their daily avocations
with systematic routine; and almost the only thing that broke the
monotony of existence was an occasional visit from the blustering,
nervous, little professor, when some sudden fancy induced him to throw
aside his astronomical studies for a time, and pay a visit to the common
hall. His arrival there was generally hailed as the precursor of a
little season of excitement. Somehow or other the conversation would
eventually work its way round to the topic of a future collision between
the comet and the earth; and in the same degree as this was a matter
of sanguine anticipation to Captain Servadac and his friends, it was a
matter of aversion to the astronomical enthusiast, who had no desire to
quit his present quarters in a sphere which, being of his own discovery,
he could hardly have cared for more if it had been of his own creation.
The interview would often terminate in a scene of considerable
animation.
On the 27th of June (old calendar) the professor burst like a
cannon-ball into the central hall, where they were all assembled, and
without a word of salutation or of preface, accosted the lieutenant in
the way in which in earlier days he had been accustomed to speak to an
idle school-boy, "Now, lieutenant! no evasions! no shufflings! Tell me,
have you or have you not circumnavigated Gallia?"
The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly. "Evasions! shufflings! I am not
accustomed, sir--" he began in a tone evidencing no little resentment;
but catching a hint from the count he subdued his voice, and simply
said, "We have."
"And may I ask," continued the professor, quite unaware of his previous
discourtesy, "whether, when you made your voyage, you took any account
of distances?"
"As approximately as I could," replied the lieutenant; "I did what I
could by log and compass. I was unable to take the altitude of sun or
star."
"At what result did you arrive? What is the measurement of our equator?"
"I estimate the total circumference of the equator to be about 1,400
miles."
"Ah!" said the professor, more than half speaking to himself, "a
circumference of 1,400 miles would give a diameter of about 450 miles.
That would be approximately about one-sixteenth of the diameter of the
earth."
Raising his voice, he continued, "Gentlemen, in order to complete my
account of my comet Gallia, I require to know its area, its mass, its
volume, its density, its specific gravity."
"Since we know the diameter," remarked the lieutenant, "there can be no
difficulty in finding its surface and its volume."
"And did I say there was any difficulty?" asked the professor, fiercely.
"I have been able to reckon that ever since I was born."
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" cried Ben Zoof, delighted at any opportunity of
paying off his old grudge.
The professor looked at him, but did not vouchsafe a word. Addressing
the captain, he said, "Now, Servadac, take your paper and a pen, and
find me the surface of Gallia."
With more submission than when he was a school-boy, the captain sat down
and endeavored to recall the proper formula.
"The surface of a sphere? Multiply circumference by diameter."
"Right!" cried Rosette; "but it ought to be done by this time."
"Circumference, 1,400; diameter, 450; area of surface, 630,000," read
the captain.
"True," replied Rosette, "630,000 square miles; just 292 times less than
that of the earth."
"Pretty little comet! nice little comet!" muttered Ben Zoof.
The astronomer bit his lip, snorted, and cast at him a withering look,
but did not take any further notice.
"Now, Captain Servadac," said the professor, "take your pen again, and
find me the volume of Gallia."
The captain hesitated.
"Quick, quick!" cried the professor, impatiently; "surely you have not
forgotten how to find the volume of a sphere!"
"A moment's breathing time, please."
"Breathing time, indeed! A mathematician should not want breathing
time! Come, multiply the surface by the third of the radius. Don't you
recollect?"
Captain Servadac applied himself to his task while the by-standers
waited, with some difficulty suppressing their inclination to laugh.
There was a short silence, at the end of which Servadac announced that
the volume of the comet was 47,880,000 cubic miles.
"Just about 5,000 times less than the earth," observed the lieutenant.
"Nice little comet! pretty little comet!" said Ben Zoof.
The professor scowled at him, and was manifestly annoyed at having the
insignificant dimensions of his comet pointed out in so disparaging
a manner. Lieutenant Procope further remarked that from the earth
he supposed it to be about as conspicuous as a star of the seventh
magnitude, and would require a good telescope to see it.
"Ha, ha!" laughed the orderly, aloud; "charming little comet! so pretty;
and so modest!"
"You rascal!" roared the professor, and clenched his hand in passion, as
if about to strike him. Ben Zoof laughed the more, and was on the point
of repeating his satirical comments, when a stern order from the captain
made him hold his tongue. The truth was that the professor was just as
sensitive about his comet as the orderly was about Montmartre, and if
the contention between the two had been allowed to go on unchecked, it
is impossible to say what serious quarrel might not have arisen.
When Professor Rosette's equanimity had been restored, he said, "Thus,
then, gentlemen, the diameter, the surface, the volume of my comet are
settled; but there is more to be done. I shall not be satisfied until,
by actual measurement, I have determined its mass, its density, and the
force of gravity at its surface."
"A laborious problem," remarked Count Timascheff.
"Laborious or not, it has to be accomplished. I am resolved to find out
what my comet weighs."
"Would it not be of some assistance, if we knew of what substance it is
composed?" asked the lieutenant.
"That is of no moment at all," replied the professor; "the problem is
independent of it."
"Then we await your orders," was the captain's reply.
"You must understand, however," said Rosette, "that there are various
preliminary calculations to be made; you will have to wait till they are
finished."
"As long as you please," said the count.
"No hurry at all," observed the captain, who was not in the least
impatient to continue his mathematical exercises.
"Then, gentlemen," said the astronomer, "with your leave we will for
this purpose make an appointment a few weeks hence. What do you say to
the 62d of April?"
Without noticing the general smile which the novel date provoked, the
astronomer left the hall, and retired to his observatory.
More
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The basic trouble with McGuire was that, though "he" was a robot spaceship, nevertheless "he" had a definite weakness that a man might understand.... No. Nobody ever deliberately named a spaceship that. The s... A Spy's Startling Story
WE remained fully two hours in the noisome Treasure-chamber of the Sanoms, the early history of which was lost in the mist of legendary lore, then after careful and minute examination of the rifled chests, worked our way to the base of the shaft, ... A Story Of The Days To Come
I--THE CURE FOR LOVE The excellent Mr. Morris was an Englishman, and he lived in the days of Queen Victoria the Good. He was a prosperous and very sensible man; he read the Times and went to church, and as he grew towards middle age an e... A Story Of The Stone Age
I--UGH-LOMI AND UYA This story is of a time beyond the memory of man, before the beginning of history, a time when one might have walked dryshod from France (as we call it now) to England, and when a broad and sluggish Thames flowed thro... A Strange Awakening
My first sensation was one of sudden and intense cold--a chill that shot through my body and engulfed it like a charge of electricity. For a moment I was conscious of nothing else. Then I knew that I was sinking in cold water, and that I was fight... A Strange Experiment
Soon after my arrival in London, I called on Brande, at the address he had given me in Brook Street. He received me with the pleasant affability which a man of the world easily assumes, and his apology for being unable to pass the evening with me ... A Strange Promise
BY the light of the flambeaux the sleek, black, oily-looking natives managed their clumsy craft, which, dipping suddenly now and then, shipped great seas, compelling us to hang on for life. The sails creaked and groaned as they bent to the wind, s... A Strange World
I WAS UNCONSCIOUS LITTLE MORE THAN AN INSTANT, for as I lunged forward from the crossbeam to which I had been clinging, and fell with a crash to the floor of the cabin, the shock brought me to myself. My first concern was with Perry. I was horr... A Struggle Against The Impossible
For a long time Barbicane and his companions looked silently and sadly upon that world which they had only seen from a distance, as Moses saw the land of Canaan, and which they were leaving without a possibility of ever returning to it. The proje... A Submarine Forest
We had at last arrived on the borders of this forest, doubtless one of the finest of Captain Nemo's immense domains. He looked upon it as his own, and considered he had the same right over it that the first men had in the first days of the world. ... A Sunrise
A MONTH after this, on the evening of the 20th of August, Simon Ford and Madge took leave, with all manner of good wishes, of four tourists, who were setting forth from the cottage. James Starr, Harry, and Jack Ryan were about to lead Nell's ste... A Suspicious Fishing-smack
A raw north wind swept over the island of Walcheren and the mouth of the West Schelde, ruffling into tiny waves the water of the broad stream, which in the twilight looked like a shoreless sea. Only those acquainted with the ground knew that the f... A Task For Loyalty
Long and loud was the applause that rose above the Field of Jetan at Manator, as The Keeper of the Towers summoned the two Princesses and the victorious Chief to the center of the field and presented to the latter the fruits of his prowess, and then... A Telegraphic Dispatch
The great works undertaken by the Gun Club had now virtually come to an end; and two months still remained before the day for the discharge of the shot to the moon. To the general impatience these two months appeared as long as years! Hitherto t... A Telepathic Telegram
I left the room and hurried outside without any positive plan for my movements. My brain was in such a whirl I could form no connected train of thought. These men, whose conversation was a jargon fitting only for lunatics, had proved that they cou... A Third Machine
I confess that at first this letter dumfounded me. "Ohs!" and "Ahs!" slipped from my open mouth. The old servant stared at me, not knowing what to think. "Oh, sir! is it bad news?" I answered for I kept few secrets from this faithful soul... A Transmutation Of Muddles
An experienced horse-trader, bargain-haggler, and general swapper has a very special talent for turning two headaches into one aspirin pill.... The rugged little stellar scout ship flared down to the surface of Kappa Orionis VII about a mile ... A Vanished Continent
The next morning, the 19th of February, I saw the Canadian enter my room. I expected this visit. He looked very disappointed. "Well, sir?" said he. "Well, Ned, fortune was against us yesterday." "Yes; that Captain must needs stop exactly at... A Vigil In The Night
Although Lennard had always recognised the possibility of such a catastrophe as that which John Castellan threatened, and had even taken such precautions as he could to prevent it, still this direct menace, coming straight from the man himself, br... A Visit To The Panchronicon
At precisely eight o'clock that evening, a knock was again heard at the door of the Wise home, and Droop was admitted by the younger sister. She did not speak, and her face was invisible in the dark hall. The visitor turned to the right and entere... A Voyage
The sun was up when Felix awoke, and as he raised himself the beauty of the Lake before him filled him with pleasure. By the shore it was so calm that the trees were perfectly reflected, and the few willow leaves that had fallen floated without dr... A Voyage Of Discovery
It would be altogether impossible for me to give any idea of the utter astonishment which overcame the Professor on making this extraordinary discovery. Amazement, incredulity, and rage were blended in such a way as to alarm me. During the whol... A Walk On The Bottom Of The Sea
This cell was, to speak correctly, the arsenal and wardrobe of the Nautilus. A dozen diving apparatuses hung from the partition waiting our use. Ned Land, on seeing them, showed evident repugnance to dress himself in one. "But, my worthy Ned,...