"But you must always be
careful to carry one of these with you," and he handed to each of the
boys a steel rod about two feet long, at the end of which was a small
iron box, with perforations in the sides and top.
"What is this?" asked Jack. "It looks like a magician's wand."
"And that is exactly what it is," said Mr. Henderson. "As there is no
atmosphere fit to breathe on the moon, we have been forced to make our
own, boys. You each hold what may be called torches of life. To venture
out without them would mean instant death by suffocation or poison."
"And will these save our lives?" asked Mark.
"Yes," said Mr. Roumann. "In the iron boxes on those rods are certain
chemicals, rich in oxygen and other elements, which, when brought in
contact with the gases on the moon, will dispel a cloud of air about
whoever carries them--air such as we find on our earth. So, boys, be
careful never to venture out without the torches of life. I had them
prepared in anticipation of some such emergency as this, and all that
was necessary was to put in the chemicals.
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