CHAPTER XVIII.

RELIEF EXPEDITION FROM PLANET MARS

It had been decided by the members of the Pleiades Club to send out a special train with attendants to gather in any and all stray members found loitering, so to speak, at the different wayside stopping places between the Earth and Mars and bring them all into the fold under the shadow of the Telegraphers’ Tabernacle. There were a number who did not respond to the roll call, and while not believing that anything could be lost in God’s great economic universe, still it was thought only right to gather everybody in and have all in their respective places.

Commodore R. R. Haines, who was a leader during his sojourn on Earth, was appointed Captain of the expedition and a delegation selected from every section of the country and Canada were invited to accompany the craft to identify all telegraph people eligible for membership who were idling their time away among the many stopping places on this long journey.

It had been resolved to begin at the moon and work the way back, so Luna was the first satellite to be visited and, lo and behold, Edward C. Cockey came to greet the searching party.

Mr. Cockey was astonished to see his visitors and was not at all loath to join them, the only regret he expressed being that now the sentimental young ladies would have no one to watch over them from the moon. He asked if the “Man in the Moon” was still talked about on Earth and was assured that he was. Aaron Hilliker sang:

“I’m in love with the man in the moon, And I’m going to marry him soon, And behind some dark cloud, where there’s no one allowed, I’ll make love to the man in the moon.”

“That settles it and I’m with you even if I must desert my kingdom forever,” cried “Happy” Cockey, as he took passage in Electric No. 1, bound for the outer regions.

The next stopping place will be “500,000-mile station,” said Captain Haines, “and I believe we will find some notable personage there.”

It took but one hour for Electric No. 1 to make the journey to Skippityvous, as the retreat was named by Tom Dushane, the only Frenchman aboard.

“What do you know about that?” cried Ed. C. Keeler, “I’ll be jiggered if there isn’t Col. L. D. Parker, Charles Thomas, Frank Kingsbury and Arthur W. Copp sitting out there under a big oak tree playing a series of delightful games.”

_Colonel L. D. Parker Remembers Friends_

Col. Parker expressed his satisfaction with his present surroundings, but did not object to joining the merry party, as he remembered the many happy days spent with his comrades on Earth. Charlie Thomas, Arthur Copp and Frank Kingsbury were ready to say goodbye to 500,000-mile station when told of the doings on the planet Mars.

“We will stop off at Angel’s Camp and pick up Samuel J. Kelley, who was with me in Los Angeles once upon a time,” remarked Captain Haines, as they started out into space.

It did not take many hours to reach Angel’s Camp, where the whistles of their aeroplane tooted “73” to Sam Kelley, which brought that brother to the front, accompanied by Charles Stone.

The loiterers were taken aboard the car without much ceremony, neither having to undergo that irksome task of shaving and changing his clothes and both were delighted to be in such excellent company, with the prospect of meeting still more friends.

At Salt Creek, a surprise met the voyagers when it was ascertained that Frank P. Medina would be on hand to join the party. Medina had stopped off at Salt Creek with his friend, Jack O’Brien, of San Francisco, and had been having an enjoyable time, but was now ready to climb higher toward the goal.

And so it kept up all day, the passengers regaling themselves by merry songs and stories, in which Col. L. D. Parker took a leading part.

The Colonel was anxious to hear the latest news from Mother Earth and affectionately inquired after Edward J. Nally, Edgar W. Collins, A. B. Richards, A. A. Briggs, Thomas P. Wheeler, Harry A. Tuttle and many others, all old co-workers, and he listened with much interest to Arthur Copp’s history of each of these individuals.

Many more stops were made en route back to the planet Mars and many noted telegraph men were gathered into the van, notably James Bell, of Nevada; John Henderson, of Chicago; Ed. Sholes, Fred Benson, George and Joe Harris, of St. Paul; Ruby Sheldon, of Cleveland; Charles Catlin, Robert W. Chapman, George B. Simpson and Charles D. Burke, of Chicago.

Many songs were sung, everyone joining in singing “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?” and “Hail! the Conquering Hero Comes,” until the long journey was at an end and they landed safely upon the planet Mars.

A big program of entertainment had been prepared to welcome the loiterers to their new resting place and a special bulletin of the two days’ proceedings was prepared by Secretary Fred B. Moxon to be transmitted to his terrestrial partner, who would then disseminate the same through the columns of Telegraph and Telephone Age to all parts of the earthly globe.

_Exodus to Jupiter Contemplated_

A movement was now on foot to have an exodus from Mars to Jupiter, and this proposition was being much canvassed, particularly by the real old timers on Mars.

General George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lord Wellington, William Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus, Americus Vespucius, Abraham Lincoln and many other leaders while on Earth had manifested their disposition in favor of making the trip, all realizing, however, that there was no comeback.

“We understand,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson, “that we are in God’s kingdom, and that we will be as safe up there in Jupiter as we are right here on Mars, and the thought of God’s omnipresence should remove doubt and fear from every heart.”

Much interest but no anxiety was felt for the members who were determined to proceed, yet there were many who desired to await the arrival of some particular dear one from Earth and those decided they had “better bide-a-wee.”

Preparations for this hegira are now going on.