The evening of this third of December wore away without further
incident. As soon as Barbican had announced that the Projectile was
still winging its way, though with retarded velocity, towards the lunar
disc, the travellers quietly retired to rest.
[Illustration: POOR SATELLITE WAS DROPPED OUT.]
CHAPTER VI.
INSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATION.
On the fourth of December, the Projectile chronometers marked five
o'clock in the morning, just as the travellers woke up from a pleasant
slumber. They had now been 54 hours on their journey. As to lapse of
_time_, they had passed not much more than half of the number of hours
during which their trip was to last; but, as to lapse of _space_, they
had already accomplished very nearly the seven-tenths of their passage.
This difference between time and distance was due to the regular
retardation of their velocity.
They looked at the earth through the floor-light, but it was little more
than visible--a black spot drowned in the solar rays. No longer any sign
of a crescent, no longer any sign of ashy light. Next day, towards
midnight, the Earth was to be _new_, at the precise moment when the Moon
was to be _full_.
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