"My orders," said Merman, "were that no explorations would be conducted without proper authorization. They went on their own, principally because of Lady Dewitt's refusal to use the river water and because our distilled water can't be rationed in her favor. I don't see why--"
"You are engaged here in an emergency conference," said Henry, "to determine what can be done about Tommy Weston's gang. If you're worried, why don't you stall for time by organizing the whole camp into a search party--including Weston's men? The physical action and the adventure of it will be tantamount to a psychological weapon against anarchy."
Martia beamed at Henry in pride and gratitude, but most of the men guffawed.
"Ye gods!" exclaimed one of the other congressmen. "That sounded like it was going to be a filibuster! Talk about lobbying! This kid is Capitol material!"
"But it isn't getting us anywhere," said Burley.
"Just a minute," said a small, dark-complexioned man wearing a black shirt, white slacks and dark glasses. "I've heard, second-handedly, some interesting ideas from this boy." Henry had learned that this was Dr. Jules Bauml, a noted astro-physicist attached to the Mount Palomar Observatory. "He thinks we have been transported through time and that it is futile to try contacting our own civilization unless we avail ourselves of a time machine. Of course that is a pessimistic view, but owing to observations of my own I should like to hear his reasons for arriving at such a conclusion."
"Oh hell!" ejaculated one of the businessmen present. "We're probably down in the Caribbean somewhere!"
"No, by God!" said another one. "That wouldn't explain the permanent daylight and no sun!"
"A freak of Nature," insisted the first one. "You've heard of the Land of the Midnight Sun. What's so different about this?"
They all looked at him, startled, including Uncle Andy.
Henry addressed Dr. Bauml. "As an astronomer you will understand the nature and importance of the ionosphere," he said, amidst raised eyebrows all around. "It is that layer of the atmosphere which protects us from the dangerous short radiations from the sun. These quanta, striking atoms of oxygen, create ionized oxygen and ozone, forming the ionosphere. Such atoms are necessarily in such rapid motion that they would be lost in space were it not for the magnitude of Earth's gravitation. That is why Earth bears--or _bore_--a high form of intelligent life whereas Mars must continue to lose its ionized oxygen into space and could therefore not support a high form of life."