First Men in the Moon Page #5

For instance...

cavorite trays and boots.

Boots! Yes, of course! Simply enamel

the soles and a man would just...

Just like that.

That's right.

I thought of boots last night.

Army surplus boots.

- It's a basic idea...

- Only way to do it.

Perhaps not the only way,

but for a start.

We can do it together. Room enough

in the sphere for two people.

You're not serious about going to

the moon, are you? Wasn't it a joke?

We'd be firing ourselves off

the globe for nothing.

If there was anything on the moon

worth discovering, there...

It's exceptionally high in minerals.

- Minerals?

- Minerals.

- Including gold?

- Including gold.

There's a theory that the minerals on

the moon are not in a molten magma...

but dotted about...

in nuggets.

Rather like raisins in a fruitcake.

Better than weightless boots, isn't it?

Come on, I've got something to show you.

How far would it be?

What, to the moon?

About a quarter of a million miles.

About quarter of a million... Come on.

You'll have to forgive this

confusion, untidiness.

I'll get it cleared up one day.

Oh, my goodness! That's much too high.

It's to carry the hot gases

from the furnace. I'll explain later.

It's all right! He's a friend!

My guards. Better than dogs.

They're harmless.

There's Gwendoline, Aristotle.

- It's hot!

- 123 degrees!

- No?

- Yes! Come on!

Out of the way, out the way!

The sphere.

- You've actually built it.

- Yes.

It's taken time, mind you. Years, years.

Well, here it is. The sphere.

It's double-walled.

The shell inside is complete.

This outer frame is covered with

roller blinds and old railway buffers.

The blinds will be covered

with cavorite.

When they're extended, they'll cut

off the force of gravity.

Yes, that's right. That's very good.

You open and shut the blinds to cut

off gravity from the Earth...

- ...moon or any other bodies in space.

- Space.

You really mean it.

I'll tell you something.

If the last batch of cavorite

is successful...

we start coating the sphere

tonight. It's in the furnace now.

It's exciting, isn't it?

I really must say, I'm...

- Opening all right?

- Yes, perfectly.

Good!

Oh, my little kingdom.

- What happened?

- I don't know!

The furnace.

Come on, Bedford old man, hurry up!

Bedford, hurry!

I'll be back. I'll be back!

I thought something happened to you.

Something happened all right.

I told Gibbs to watch the furnace!

Bedford, from now on, you stoke it.

- But it exploded!

- No, it worked!

It worked! It really worked!

- I'll say!

- It's enough power to lift the sphere!

What's he talking about?

What does he mean?

Those diving suits.

- You're not going deep-sea diving!

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