Первые люди на Луне
Chapter 13 — Mr. Cavor Makes Some Suggestions
“Now,”hesaid,“itseemssuchanobviousthing.”
“Ofcourse!Themoonmustbeenormouslycavernous,withanatmospherewithin,andatthecentreofitscavernsasea.
“Oneknewthatthemoonhadalowerspecificgravitythantheearth,oneknewthatithadlittleairorwateroutside,oneknew,too,thatitwassisterplanettotheearth,andthatitwasunaccountablethatitshouldbedifferentincomposition.Theinferencethatitwashollowedoutwasasclearasday.Andyetoneneversawitasafact.Kepler,ofcourse—”
Hisvoicehadtheinterestnowofamanwhohasdiscernedaprettysequenceofreasoning.
“Yes,”hesaid,“Keplerwithhissub-volvaniwasrightafterall.”
“Iwishyouhadtakenthetroubletofindthatoutbeforewecame,”Isaid.
Heanswerednothing,buzzingtohimselfsoftly,ashepursuedhisthoughts.Mytemperwasgoing.
“Whatdoyouthinkhasbecomeofthesphere,anyhow?”Iasked.
“Lost,”hesaid,likeamanwhoanswersanuninterestingquestion.
“Amongthoseplants?”
“Unlesstheyfindit.”
“Andthen?”
“HowcanItell?”
“Cavor,”Isaid,withasortofhystericalbitterness,“thingslookbrightformyCompany...”
Hemadenoanswer.
“GoodLord!”Iexclaimed.“Justthinkofallthetroublewetooktogetintothispickle!Whatdidwecomefor?Whatareweafter?Whatwasthemoontousorwetothemoon?Wewantedtoomuch,wetriedtoomuch.Weoughttohavestartedthelittlethingsfirst.Itwasyouproposedthemoon!ThoseCavoritespringblinds!Iamcertainwecouldhaveworkedthemforterrestrialpurposes.
