I was led to the head of the table. There I was invited to
enlarge my story as given in the Hall of Attention, and I was told to
tell it in English. A scribe near me conveyed to pads of paper my
narrative.
"When I had finished an audible murmur of approval filled the room, and
the most aged of the older men arising, and speaking in Martian,
translated to me by the scribe, said:
"'My friend, you have delighted us. The time is approaching when we can,
I trust, receive such visitors from all the worlds, and gradually bring
it to pass that the visible universe may be bound together through the
power and sympathy of language. The Council desires that at present you
refrain from sending your second message until you have visited Scandor,
and seen something of this new world upon which you have so auspiciously
alighted.
"'Heroma (Sir, Sire, etc., etc.), Chapman will accompany you. The
government at Scandor should be apprized of certain strange celestial
conditions, and we are in receipt of news that at Scandor also unusual
things are happening. While all we know or have observed could be
transmitted to Scandor, and all their own knowledge in turn sent to us
by wireless telegraphy, for reasons which we are not at liberty to
explain at present, it has been thought best to send the approved diary
of the Patenta to the government, and also learn in return, by word of
mouth, what has transpired at our capital. It will afford you some
opportunity to visit the Martian Mountains, and be more informed for the
second message you are expected to transmit to the Earth when you
return.
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