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thereby to render it less violent.
The best arrangement of the first kind was certainly Barbican's
water-contrivance for counteracting the shock at starting, which has
been so fully described in our former volume. (See _Baltimore Gun Club_,
page 353.) But unfortunately it could be no longer employed. Even if the
partitions were in working order, the water--two thousand pounds in
weight had been required--was no longer to be had. The little still left
in the tanks was of no account for such a purpose. Besides, they had not
a single drop of the precious liquid to spare, for they were as yet
anything but sanguine regarding the facility of finding water on the
Moon's surface.
Fortunately, however, as the gentle reader may remember, Barbican,
besides using water to break the concussion, had provided the movable
disc with stout pillars containing a strong buffing apparatus, intended
to protect it from striking the bottom too violently after the
destruction of the different partitions. These buffers were still good,
and, gravity being as yet almost imperceptible, to put them once more in
order and adjust them to the disc was not a difficult task.
The travellers set to work at once and soon accomplished it. The
different pieces were put together readily--a mere matter of bolts and
screws, with plenty of tools to manage them. In a short time the
repaired disc rested on its steel buffers, like a table on its legs, or
rather like a sofa seat on its springs. The new arrangement was attended
with at least one disadvantage. The bottom light being covered up, a
convenient view of the Moon's surface could not be had as soon as they
should begin to fall in a perpendicular descent. This, however, was only
a slight matter, as the side lights would permit the adventurers to
enjoy quite as favorable a view of the vast regions of the Moon as is
afforded to balloon travellers when looking down on the Earth over the
sides of their car.
The disc arrangement was completed in about an hour, but it was not till
past twelve o'clock before things were restored to their usual order.
Barbican then tried to make fresh observations regarding the inclination
of the Projectile; but to his very decided chagrin he found that it had
not yet turned over sufficiently to commence the perpendicular fall: on
the contrary, it even seemed to be following a curve rather parallel
with that of the lunar disc. The Queen of the Stars now glittered with a
light more dazzling than ever, whilst from an opposite part of the sky
the glorious King of Day flooded her with his fires.
The situation began to look a little serious.
"Shall we ever get there!" asked the Captain.
"Let us be prepared for getting there, any how," was Barbican's dubious
reply.
"You're a pretty pair of suspenders," said Ardan cheerily (he meant of
course doubting hesitators, but his fluent command of English sometimes
led him into such solecisms).
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