The answer being delayed he again put the question with the same clear and precise accent; then he added-- "We are here to discuss the moon, not the earth." "You are right, sir," answered Michel Ardan, "the discussion has wandered from the point; we will return to the moon." "Sir," resumed the unknown man, "you pretend that our satellite is inhabited.

So far so good; but if Selenites do exist they certainly live without breathing, for--I tell you the fact for your good--there is not the least particle of air on the surface of the moon." At this affirmation Ardan shook his red mane; he understood that a struggle was coming with this man on the real question.

He looked at him fixedly in his turn, and said-- "Ah! there is no air in the moon! And who says so, pray ?" "The _savants_." "Indeed ?" "Indeed." "Sir," resumed Michel, "joking apart, I have a profound respect for _savants_ who know, but a profound contempt for _savants_ who do not know." "Do you know any who belong to the latter category ?" "Yes; in France there is one who maintains that, 'mathematically,' a bird cannot fly, and another who demonstrates that a fish is not made to live in water." "There is no question of those two, sir, and I can quote in support of my proposition names that you will not object to." "Then, sir, you would greatly embarrass a poor ignorant man like me!" "Then why do you meddle with scientific questions which you have never studied ?" asked the unknown brutally.
"Why ?" answered Ardan; "because the man who does not suspect danger is always brave! I know nothing, it is true, but it is precisely my weakness that makes my strength." "Your weakness goes as far as madness," exclaimed the unknown in a bad-tempered tone.
"So much the better," replied the Frenchman, "if my madness takes me to the moon!" Barbicane and his colleagues stared at the intruder who had come so boldly to stand in the way of their enterprise.

None of them knew him, and the president, not reassured upon the upshot of such a discussion, looked at his new friend with some apprehension.

The assembly was attentive and slightly uneasy, for this struggle called attention to the dangers and impossibilities of the expedition.
"Sir," resumed Michel Ardan's adversary, "the reasons that prove the absence of all atmosphere round the moon are numerous and indisputable.
I may say, even, that, _a priori_ if that atmosphere had ever existed, it must have been drawn away by the earth, but I would rather oppose you with incontestable facts." "Oppose, sir," answered Michel Ardan, with perfect gallantry--oppose as much as you like." "You know," said the unknown, "that when the sun's rays traverse a medium like air they are deviated from a straight line, or, in other words, they are refracted.