Homeward Bound

After leaving Saturn the Astronef pursued her lonely course on her
homeward voyage across the fields of space, while the Ringed World,
which had so nearly proved the end of Lord and Lady Redgrave's
wanderings, grew dimmer every hour behind them.

On the morning of the fourth day from Saturn Lord Redgrave went as
usual into the conning-tower to examine the instruments and to see
that everything was in order. To his intense surprise he found, on
looking at the gravitational compass, which was to the Astronef what
the ordinary compass is to a ship at sea, that the vessel was a long
way out of her course.

Such a thing had never yet occurred. Up to now the Astronef had obeyed
the laws of gravitation and repulsion with absolute exactness. He made
another examination of the instruments; but no, all were in perfect
order.

"I wonder what the deuce is the matter," he said, after he had looked
for a few moments with frowning eyes at the Heavens before him. "By
Jove, we're swinging more. This is getting serious."

He went back to the compass. The long, slender needle was slowly
swinging farther and farther out of the middle line of the vessel.

"There can only be two explanations of that," he went on, thrusting
his hands deep into his trouser pockets; "either the engines are not
working properly, or some enormous and invisible body is pulling us
towards it out of our course. Let's have a look at the engines first."

When he reached the engine-room he said to Murgatroyd, who was
indulging in his usual pastime of cleaning and polishing his beloved
charges:

"Have you noticed anything wrong during the last hour or so,
Murgatroyd?"

"No, my lord, at least not so far as concerns the engines. They're all
right. Hark now, they're not making more noise than a lady's sewing
machine," replied the old Yorkshireman with a note of resentment in
his voice. The suspicion that anything could be wrong with his shining
darlings was almost a personal offence to him. "But is anything the
matter, my lord, if I might ask?"

"We're a long way off our course, and for the life of me I can't
understand it," replied Redgrave. "There's nothing about here to pull
us out of our line. Of course the stars--good Lord, I never thought of
that! Look here, Murgatroyd, not a word abuut this to her ladyship.
and stand by to raise the power by degrees, as I signal to you."