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Chapter 22 — The Astonishing Communication of Mr. Julius Wendigee
Eversince1898hehaddevotedhimselfalmostentirelytothissubject,andbeingamanofamplemeanshehaderectedanobservatoryontheflanksofMonteRosa,inapositionsingularlyadaptedineverywayforsuchobservations.
Myscientificattainments,Imustadmit,arenotgreat,butsofarastheyenablemetojudge,Mr.Wendigee’scontrivancesfordetectingandrecordinganydisturbancesintheelectromagneticconditionsofspacearesingularlyoriginalandingenious.AndbyahappycombinationofcircumstancestheyweresetupandinoperationabouttwomonthsbeforeCavormadehisfirstattempttocalluptheearth.Consequentlywehavefragmentsofhiscommunicationevenfromthebeginning.Unhappily,theyareonlyfragments,andthemostmomentousofallthethingsthathehadtotellhumanity—theinstructions,thatis,forthemakingofCavorite,if,indeed,heevertransmittedthem—havethrobbedthemselvesawayunrecordedintospace.WeneversucceededingettingaresponsebacktoCavor.Hewasunabletotell,therefore,whatwehadreceivedorwhatwehadmissed;nor,indeed,didhecertainlyknowthatanyoneonearthwasreallyawareofhiseffortstoreachus.Andthepersistencehedisplayedinsendingeighteenlongdescriptionsoflunaraffairs—astheywouldbeifwehadthemcomplete—showshowmuchhismindmusthaveturnedbacktowardshisnativeplanetsinceheleftittwoyearsago.
YoucanimaginehowamazedMr.WendigeemusthavebeenwhenhediscoveredhisrecordofelectromagneticdisturbancesinterlacedbyCavor’sstraightforwardEnglish.Mr.
