"Plenty of air and water there, sir?" inquired the orderly.

"Yes; as far as I can tell, plenty," replied Servadac.

"Then why shouldn't we go and visit Venus?"

Servadac did his best to explain that as the two planets were
of about equal volume, and were traveling with great velocity
in opposite directions, any collision between them must be attended
with the most disastrous consequences to one or both of them.
But Ben Zoof failed to see that, even at the worst, the catastrophe
could be much more serious than the collision of two railway trains.

The captain became exasperated. "You idiot!" he angrily exclaimed;
"cannot you understand that the planets are traveling a thousand
times faster than the fastest express, and that if they meet,
either one or the other must be destroyed? What would become
of your darling Montmartre then?"

The captain had touched a tender chord. For a moment Ben Zoof stood with
clenched teeth and contracted muscles; then, in a voice of real concern,
he inquired whether anything could be done to avert the calamity.

"Nothing whatever; so you may go about your own business,"
was the captain's brusque rejoinder.

All discomfited and bewildered, Ben Zoof retired without a word.

During the ensuing days the distance between the two planets continued