{"product_id":"2940013761421","title":"Homeward Bound","description":"After leaving Saturn the Astronef pursued her lonely course on her\u003cbr\u003ehomeward voyage across the fields of space, while the Ringed World,\u003cbr\u003ewhich had so nearly proved the end of Lord and Lady Redgrave's\u003cbr\u003ewanderings, grew dimmer every hour behind them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn the morning of the fourth day from Saturn Lord Redgrave went as\u003cbr\u003eusual into the conning-tower to examine the instruments and to see\u003cbr\u003ethat everything was in order. To his intense surprise he found, on\u003cbr\u003elooking at the gravitational compass, which was to the Astronef what\u003cbr\u003ethe ordinary compass is to a ship at sea, that the vessel was a long\u003cbr\u003eway out of her course.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuch a thing had never yet occurred. Up to now the Astronef had obeyed\u003cbr\u003ethe laws of gravitation and repulsion with absolute exactness. He made\u003cbr\u003eanother examination of the instruments; but no, all were in perfect\u003cbr\u003eorder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I wonder what the deuce is the matter,\" he said, after he had looked\u003cbr\u003efor a few moments with frowning eyes at the Heavens before him. \"By\u003cbr\u003eJove, we're swinging more. This is getting serious.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe went back to the compass. The long, slender needle was slowly\u003cbr\u003eswinging farther and farther out of the middle line of the vessel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There can only be two explanations of that,\" he went on, thrusting\u003cbr\u003ehis hands deep into his trouser pockets; \"either the engines are not\u003cbr\u003eworking properly, or some enormous and invisible body is pulling us\u003cbr\u003etowards it out of our course. Let's have a look at the engines first.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen he reached the engine-room he said to Murgatroyd, who was\u003cbr\u003eindulging in his usual pastime of cleaning and polishing his beloved\u003cbr\u003echarges:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Have you noticed anything wrong during the last hour or so,\u003cbr\u003eMurgatroyd?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"No, my lord, at least not so far as concerns the engines. They're all\u003cbr\u003eright. Hark now, they're not making more noise than a lady's sewing\u003cbr\u003emachine,\" replied the old Yorkshireman with a note of resentment in\u003cbr\u003ehis voice. The suspicion that anything could be wrong with his shining\u003cbr\u003edarlings was almost a personal offence to him. \"But is anything the\u003cbr\u003ematter, my lord, if I might ask?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We're a long way off our course, and for the life of me I can't\u003cbr\u003eunderstand it,\" replied Redgrave. \"There's nothing about here to pull\u003cbr\u003eus out of our line. Of course the stars--good Lord, I never thought of\u003cbr\u003ethat! Look here, Murgatroyd, not a word abuut this to her ladyship.\u003cbr\u003eand stand by to raise the power by degrees, as I signal to you.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145828581616,"sku":"2940013761421","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013761421_p0.jpg?v=1763598669","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013761421","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}