to some other planet, ten times larger, or ten times smaller than
the earth; he had been a pupil at the School of Navigation, you
see, and knew something of astronomy.

He jumped off and turned to the automatic figure, eager to find
out what it contained; his penny had hardly dropped when a little
flap opened and a large, white envelope, sealed with a big, red seal,
fell out. He couldn't make out the letters on the seal, but that
was neither here nor there, as he did not know who his correspondent
was.

He tore open the envelope and read ... first of all the signature,
just as everybody else does. The letter began ... but I'll tell
you that later on; it's sufficient for you to know now that he read
it three times and then put it into his breast-pocket with a very
thoughtful mien; a very thoughtful mien.

Then he penetrated into the heart of the passage, all the time
keeping carefully in the centre of the carpet. There were all sorts
of shops, but not a single human being, either before or behind
the counters. When he had walked a little way, he stopped before a
big shop window, behind which a great number of shells and snails
were exhibited. As the door stood open, he went in. The walls of
the shop were lined with shelves from floor to ceiling and filled
with snails collected from all the oceans of the world. Nobody was
in the shop, but a ring of tobacco smoke hung in the air, which
looked as if somebody had only just blown it. Victor, who was a
bright lad, put his finger through it. "Hurrah!" he laughed, "now
I'm engaged to Miss Tobacco!"