Arriving at the aerenoid at last, after a journey that seemed to consume hours, I jumped in and closed the door.  Frantically I seized the lever that controlled the ascension and, pulling it so that the full repelling power was instantly exposed, the car bounded high into the air with terrific force.

The shock hurled me off my feet, but in an instant my eyes were again fixed upon a mere speck many miles distant, which I knew to be the aerenoid containing all that life possessed for me.  As the car plunged forward at great speed, the speck disappeared, and I at once realized that Zarlah had reached a canal, into which she had turned her aerenoid.  It was now impossible for me to see which direction she took, and unless I arrived at the canal within a few seconds, I felt that all hope of overtaking her would have vanished, as she would doubtless proceed at full speed and soon be lost to sight.

Opening to its fullest extent the valve that controlled the exhaustion of air in the chamber beneath, the velocity of the car soon became terrific, and, rising still higher as I sped along, I caught sight of Zarlah’s aerenoid proceeding in a northerly direction.

With a disregard for all safety I swerved to the north, thus forming the third side of a triangle, of which the other sides were the course Zarlah had taken.  This movement reduced the distance between the two aerenoids considerably, and upon turning into the speedway of the canal, I was greatly relieved to find that I was but a few miles in the rear.  The hope that Zarlah might see the car speeding so close behind her, flashed through my mind, but instantly I realized the impossibility of such a thing, for a glance behind, even for a second, while travelling with such frightful velocity, would entail certain destruction by being dashed to pieces against the sides of the canal.  My only chance lay in overtaking her and making some signal, and with my free hand I wrenched at the speed valve, endeavoring to open it wider.

On we sped in our wild career over the planet’s surface.  Hundreds of miles were quickly swept beneath us, but not one foot did I seem to gain.  Vainly did I strive to put from my mind the fears that lurked there, by seeking a plausible reason for Zarlah’s strange action.

On, on we flew, each aerenoid going at its maximum speed; surely Zarlah had gone far enough north; she must slacken her speed soon to turn down a branch canal, and I would then be able to run alongside of her car and signal my presence.  There was a gleam of hope in this, and to it I clung like a drowning man to a straw.

The air in the car, which had steadily grown colder, was now biting in its sharpness, and as I clutched the steering apparatus with numbed hands, a white object loomed up in the distance and in a second flew beneath me—­another came, then another, and another, and as they appeared in greater numbers, I observed that they were huge blocks of ice.  The sight filled me with grave apprehension.  It was now impossible to stop our terrific momentum, yet in spite of this great danger, on and on we sped, still farther north.