from the neck down, were almost beautiful with a natural raiment of
golden white, as soft as silk and as brilliant as floss? I never could
explain it, and Edmund was no less puzzled by this peculiarity. The
immense size of their eyes did not seem astonishing after we began to
reflect upon the consequences of the relative lack of light in their
world. It was but a natural adjustment to their environment; with such
eyes they could see in the dark better than cats. Their feet were bare
and covered on the soles with thick soft skin, while the insides of their
long hands were almost as white and delicate as those of a human being.

Their intelligence was sufficiently demonstrated by the construction of
the hundreds of rocky steps leading from the caverns to the surface of
the ground, and by their employment of fire, and manufacture of the
metallic braziers which contained it. But this was not all. We found that
in some of the winding passages connecting the caverns they cultivated
food. It consisted entirely of vegetables of various kinds, and all
unlike any that I ever saw on the earth. Water dripped from the roofs of
these particular passages, and the almost colorless vegetation thrived
there with astonishing luxuriance. They had many simple ways of cooking
their food, and it was evident that they possessed some form of salt,
though we did not discover the deposit from which they must have drawn
it. They collected water in cisterns hollowed in the rock.

Although we still had abundance of food in the car, Edmund insisted on
trying theirs, and it proved to be very palatable.

"This is fortunate, though hardly surprising," said Edmund. "If we had
found the food on Venus uneatable, we should indeed have been in a fine
fix. While we remain here we will eat as the natives eat, and save our
own supplies for future need."