The Meteor Hunt by Jules Verne & F. P. Walter (trans) & Walter James Miller (trans)

Author:Jules Verne & F. P. Walter (trans) & Walter James Miller (trans)
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: astronomy, SF, classics
ISBN: 9780803296343
Publisher: Bison Books
Published: 2006-05-15T05:21:30+00:00

We won't even attempt to describe the deep dismay felt by the Hudelson family. It was only matched by Francis Gordon's desperation. He was a decent young fellow and wouldn't have hesitated for a second to break off relations with his uncle, dispense with his consent, and face the inevitable consequences of his displeasure. But the steps he could take against Forsyth he couldn't against Dr. Hudelson. Once the doctor refused to give his daughter's hand to Francis, the young lawyer would have to give up any hope of marrying the girl. Mrs. Hudelson tried to get her husband's agreement, tried to make him reverse his decision, but it was no use-no amount of pleading or scolding could get that bullheaded man to back down. And even Loo, little Loo herself, was mercilessly rebuffed. She begged, she coaxed, she even wept, but none of it did the slightest good.

"No, no!" Dr. Hudelson repeated. "I'll never agree to an alliance between my family and the family of that man-he not only stole my meteor, he treated me like scum right out in public!"

Whereupon he himself had retaliated by labeling Forsyth "an outand-out criminal." So to coin a phrase, it takes two to tangle.

As for old Mrs. Mitz, she confined herself to addressing her boss along these lines: "Mr. Forsyth, you're a heartless brute!"

Anyhow Forsyth had eyes, and as night fell over Whaston, they took turns peering into the eyepiece of his telescope, watching for the meteor's arrival, checking to see if it was still slowing down.

But the globe of gold went by as usual from one horizon to the other, and thousands of skywatchers had no trouble viewing its magnificent brilliance.

When night was over, the sun appeared again; but the bells in St. Andrew's steeple, which were supposed to ring out for the wedding of Francis Gordon and Jenny Hudelson, kept mum that day.

However, the shooting star was indeed losing speed little by little, in accordance with a law of mechanics whose effects were currently being worked out by astronomers at the various observatories. One result of this loss of speed was that the meteor was getting lower in the sky, and it would fall to the ground once its speed was too slow to withstand the earth's gravitational pull. At the time of its discovery it was some twenty-five miles overhead, but this distance had undergone a twenty-five percent reduction and was now reckoned at only about eighteen miles.* So between its entrance and exit, it was onstage for a longer period of time, which meant you should have been able to study it under highly auspicious conditions. Unfortunately the east wind was in charge at that point, and it filled the sky with dense mists imported from the Atlantic. This heavy cloudbank made the meteor tricky to see. Besides, thanks to its reduced speed, it was moving along its orbit from the northeast to the southwest not just at night but at various times during the day, so it became harder and harder to keep an eye on it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.