These star residents have enjoyed this invention so long that they no longer appreciate its marvels.  You ask me if I tried to get the secret.  I saw the whole apparatus and the more I studied it, the more I was convinced that its storage battery contained heat energy.  So I concluded to solve the mystery.  I learned that there was a certain element found only in combination.  When this element is set loose by chemical process, it will rise at once toward a large planet that revolves around this sun.  This planet draws that particular element with six times more force than it is held by Alpha Centaurus.  The brilliant chemists, when they first made this discovery, separated enough of this element to carry a man upward from the sun’s surface.  Later on they made a counter discovery of equal value.

They found a substance that would destroy this attraction if it was placed between the element and the planet.  The discovery enabled a person to rise as high as he wished and then, by swinging the plate in position, the aerial carriage would either stand still or descend according to the wish of the operator.

What a boon it would be to our world if we had such an element for which Jupiter or the Sun would have so much fondness!  Then with our superior knowledge of propulsion we could forever settle the perplexing problem of aerial navigation.

These exceptional people, living in such terrible fire, wear pieces of garments made of the finest texture.  The hair-like threads are composed of metallic substances far more enduring than gold or platinum.

Of all the unthinkable things on this star none are so extreme as the manner in which these people hold conversation.  They have no organs to produce vocal sounds.

[Illustration:  Fire Life on a Fixed Star.]

They convey their ideas one to another by a vibration of the conversation flaps.  Either the air waves, or substantial emissions, excite the sensitive face of the listener so that the thought intended can be accurately received.

Having a strong curiosity, I remained and studied this fire life.  It opened to me new channels of thought and illustrated more emphatically than ever that all things are possible with Him who created the universe and upholds it by the word of His power.

Finally, I left this strange abode and proceeded to visit some of the eighteen worlds that revolve around Alpha Centaurus.

CHAPTER VII.

The Water World Visited.

As I lingered in the region of the constellation of Centaurus I was more and more profoundly impressed with the magnitude and variety of created worlds.

Among the eighteen planets that revolve around Alpha Centaurus, only six are inhabited.  One of these is a sinless world, or a world whereon sin never inaugurated its blighting reign; but I will say nothing of this orb as I did not have the choice opportunity of visiting it aright.  I saw its beauty only through a glass darkly.