lake, ocean, meadow, trees and flowers, winding
roadways, sun-kissed gardens -- scenes which
might have portrayed earthly views but for the
different colorings of the vegetation. The work
had evidently been wrought by a master hand, so
subtle the atmosphere, so perfect the technique;
yet nowhere was there a representation of a living
animal, either human or brute, by which I could
guess at the likeness of these other and perhaps
extinct denizens of Mars.

While I was allowing my fancy to run riot in
wild conjecture on the possible explanation of the
strange anomalies which I had so far met with on
Mars, Sola returned bearing both food and drink.
These she placed on the floor beside me, and seat-
ing herself a short ways off regarded me intently.
The food consisted of about a pound of some solid
substance of the consistency of cheese and almost
tasteless, while the liquid was apparently milk
from some animal. It was not unpleasant to the
taste, though slightly acid, and I learned in a short
time to prize it very highly. It came, as I later
discovered, not from an animal, as there is only
one mammal on Mars and that one very rare
indeed, but from a large plant which grows prac-
tically without water, but seems to distill its plenti-

-47-