The War of the Worlds / Война миров. Уровень 2

Only the heap of sand saved the other crowd of people. They saw the flashes and the invisible hand that lit the bushes. Then, with a whistling note, the beam swung over their heads. Sparks and burning twigs began to fall into the road. Then came a crying. There were shrieks and shouts.

Everyone was trying to clear the way to Woking again. Where the road is narrow, the crowd jammed. Three persons at least, two women and a little boy, were crushed and trampled there. The crowd left them to die amid the terror and the darkness.

Chapter 7

How I Reached Home

I came into the road between the crossroads and Horsell, and ran along this to the crossroads. There I fell and remained still for some time.

Then I sat up, strangely perplexed. I did not clearly understand how I came there. A few minutes before, there were only three real things before me – the immensity of the night and space and nature, my own feebleness and anguish, and the near approach of death.

Now something altered abruptly. The cylinder and the flames became a dream. Did these things indeed happen?

I rose and walked unsteadily up the bridge. My muscles and nerves lost their strength.

I startled my wife at the doorway. I went into the dining room. I sat down and told her everything.

“There is one thing,” I said; “they are very sluggish creatures. They may kill people who come near them!”

My wife put her hand on mine.

“Poor Ogilvy!” I said. “He is dead there!”

“They may come for us,” my wife said.

I tried to reassure her.

“They can scarcely move,” I said.

The Martians can’t establish themselves on the earth. I talked about the gravitational difficulty. On the surface of the earth the force of gravity is three times more what it is on the surface of Mars. A Martian, therefore, will weigh three times more than on Mars, albeit his muscular strength will be the same.

The atmosphere of the earth contains far more oxygen or far less argon than does Mars’. I was reassuring my wife, and I was courageous.

“They have done a foolish thing,” said I. “They are dangerous because, no doubt, they are mad with terror. A shell in the pit[12 - a shell in the pit – снаряд по той яме] will kill them all.