shock, for the wound wasn't much; I fixed that up in five minutes. But I
don't blame you. In your place I should have been scared to the bottom of
my soul also. But look at yourself."

He held a pocket mirror before me, and then I saw that my hair was
streaked with gray!

"But we haven't been idle in the meanwhile," Edmund went on. "I've got
two sleds nearly completed, and to-morrow at midnight--earth time--I mean
to set out for the sunny lands of Venus."

"How in the world could you have worked so fast?" I asked in surprise.

"Because I had certain tools in the car which vastly facilitated the
operation; but I must admit that the savage blacksmiths worked well, too,
and showed surprising intelligence in comprehending my directions.
Perhaps that was because I had learned their language."

"Learned their language!" I exclaimed, staring in amazement.

"Well, perhaps that's putting it a little too strong; but I have learned
enough to establish a pretty good understanding with them. There's
nothing like working together to make intelligent creatures comprehend
one another."

"But what kind of a language is it, then?" I asked.

"A language to make your hair stand on end," put in Jack. "The language
that ghosts speak, I reckon! Not that I understand the least little bit
of it, but I judge from what Edmund says."