is but half as long as ours, and this--impeding the laws of propagation,
thus making impossible the higher order of mankind--would naturally
have the effect of rendering their lives a short, reckless, and
ferocious existence, full of unrestrained cruelty and passions....'

"And now," continued Almos, with a smile, after closing the volume, "you
see there is no occasion for apologies from you."

"No," I answered, somewhat dryly.

"The fact is, my dear fellow," said Almos, laughing and seeming to enjoy
the situation immensely, "the entire solar system is pursuing the same
path; what A thinks of B, B has already thought of A."

The failing light on my instrument at this moment gave warning of the
passing of Mars out of wave contact, and we were obliged to bid each
other good-bye, Almos promising important revelations on the morrow.

As I stood for a moment before my instrument, now wrapped in darkness, I
was conscious of a strange feeling that, in bidding Almos adieu, I had
also parted from another inhabitant of Mars. Though well aware that I
had only seen and conversed with Almos, my mind, nevertheless, also
reproduced the likeness of a young girl, wonderfully beautiful. I had
first experienced this mental image immediately after my first
conversation with Almos. At that time I had tried hard to put it from me
as merely a delusion resulting from nervous tension. But I found that
after each interview with Almos, the image became clearer and more
definitely fixed in my mind, until now I firmly believed in the
existence of this beautiful being on Mars, and, remarkable though it
seemed, I could not deny my growing affection for her. I had not