The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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said Cavor ." but it_was lying on a bank of snow ."

I stared about me in_the vain hope of recognising some knoll or shrub that had_been near the sphere . but everywhere was aconfusing sameness, everywhere the aspiring bushes, the distending fungi, the dwindling snow banks, steadily and inevitably changed . the sun scorched and stung, the faintness of an unaccountable hunger mingled with_our infinite perplexity . and even as_we stood there, confused and lost amidst unprecedented things, we became aware for_the first time of a sound upon_the moon other_than the air of_the growing plants, the faint sighing of_the wind, or those that we ourselves had made .

boom .. .. boom .. .. boom .

it came from beneath our feet, a sound in_the earth . we seemed to hear it with_our feet as_much as with_our ears . its dull resonance was muffled by distance, thick with_the quality of intervening substance . no sound that I_can imagine could_have astonished us more, or have changed more completely the quality of things about us . for_this sound, rich, slow, and deliberate, seemed to_us as_though it could_be nothing but the striking of some gigantic buried clock .

boom .. .. boom .. .. boom .

sound suggestive of still cloisters, of sleepless nights in crowded cities, of vigils and_the awaited hour, cf all that_is orderly and methodical in life, booming out pregnant and mysterious in_this fantastic desert ! to_the eye everything was unchanged: the desolation of bushes and cacti waving silently in_the wind, stretched unbroken to_the distant cliffs, the still dark sky was empty overhead, and_the hot sun hung and burned . and through it all, awarning, a threat, throbbed this enigma of sound .

boom .. .. boom .. .. boom .. ..

we questioned one another in faint and faded voices .

"A clock ? "

" like aclock ! "

" what_is it ? "

" what can it be ? "

" count," was Cavor's belated suggestion, and at_that word the striking ceased .

the silence, the rhythmic disappointment of_the silence, came as a fresh shock . for a moment one could doubt whether one had ever heard a sound . or whether it might_not still be going on . had I indeed heard a sound ?

I_felt the pressure of Cavor's hand upon my arm . he spoke in an undertone, as_though he feared to wake some sleeping thing ." let_us keep together," he whispered, " and look for_the sphere . we_must get back to_the sphere . this_is beyond our understanding ."

" which_way shall we go ? "

he hesitated . an intense persuasion of presences, of unseen things about us and near us, dominated our minds . what could they be ? where could they be ? was_this arid desolation, alternately frozen and scorched, only the outer rind and mask of some subterranean world ? and if_so, what sort of world ? what sort of inhabitants might it not presently disgorge upon us ?

and then, stabbing the aching stillness as vivid and sudden as an unexpected thunderclap, came a clang and rattle as_though great gates of metal had suddenly been flung apart .

it arrested our steps . we stood gaping helplessly . then Cavor stole towards me .

" I_do_not understand ! " he whispered close to my face . he waved his hand vaguely skyward, the vague suggestion of still vaguer thoughts .

"A hiding- place ! if anything came .. ."

I looked about us .I nodded my head in assent to him .

we started off, moving stealthily with_the most exaggerated precautions against noise . we went towards a thicket of scrub .aclangour like hammers flung about a boiler hastened our steps ." we_must crawl," whispered Cavor .

the lower leaves of_the bayonet plants, already overshadowed by_the newer ones above, were beginning to wilt and shrivel so_that we_could thrust our way in among_the thickening stems without serious injury .a stab in_the face or arm we_did_not heed . at_the heart of_the thicket I stopped, and stared panting into Cavor's face .

" subterranean," he whispered ." below ."

" they_may come out ."

" we_must find the sphere ! "

" yes," I_said; " but how ? "

" crawl till we come to_it ."

" but if_we don't ? "

" keep hidden . see what they_are like ."

" we_will keep together," said I .

he thought ." which_way shall we go ? "

" we_must take our chance ."

we peered this_way and_that . then very circumspectly, we began to crawl through_the lower jungle, making, so_far as we_could judge, a circuit, halting now at every waving fungus, at every sound, intent only on_the sphere from_which we had so foolishly emerged . ever and again from out_of_the earth beneath us came concussions, beatings, strange, inexplicable, mechanical sounds; and once, and then again, we thought we heard something, a faint rattle and tumult, borne to_us through_the air . but fearful as_we were we dared essay no vantage- point to survey the crater . for long we saw nothing of_the beings whose sounds were so abundant and insistent . but for_the faintness of_our hunger and_the drying of_our throats that crawling would_have had the quality of a very vivid dream . it_was so absolutely unreal . the only element with any touch of reality was these sounds .

figure it to yourself ! about us the dream- like jungle, with_the silent bayonet leaves darting overhead, and_the silent, vivid, sun-splashed lichens under our hands and knees, waving with_the vigour of_their growth as a carpet waves when_the wind gets beneath it . ever and again one_of_the bladder fungi, bulging and distending under the sun, loomed upon us . ever and again some novel shape in vivid colour obtruded . the very cells that built up these plants were as large as my thumb, like beads of coloured glass . and all these things were saturated in_the unmitigated glare of_the sun, were seen against a sky that was bluish black and spangled still, in_spite of_the sunlight, with a few surviving stars . strange ! the very forms and texture of_the stones were strange . it_was all strange, the feeling of one's body was unprecedented, every_other movement ended in a surprise . the breath sucked thin in one's throat, the blood flowed through one's ears in athrobbing tide - thud, thud, thud, thud .. ..

and ever and again came gusts of turmoil, hammering, the clanging and throb of machinery, and presently - the bellowing of great beasts !

chapter 11

the Mooncalf Pastures

so we two poor terrestrial castaways, lost in_that wild-growing moon jungle, crawled in terror before_the sounds that had come upon us . we crawled, as it seemed, a long_time before we saw either selenite or mooncalf, though we heard the bellowing and gruntulous noises of_these latter continually drawing nearer to_us . we crawled through stony ravines, over snow slopes, amidst fungi that ripped like thin bladders at our thrust, emitting a watery humour, over a perfect pavement of things like puff-balls, and beneath interminable thickets of scrub . and ever more helplessly our eyes sought for_our abandoned sphere . the noise of_the mooncalves would at times be a vast flat calf- like sound, at times it rose to an amazed and wrathy bellowing, and again it would become aclogged bestial sound, as_though these unseen creatures had sought to eat and bellow at_the same time .

our first view was but an inadequate transitory glimpse, yet none the less disturbing because it_was incomplete .Cavor was crawling in front at_the_time, and he first was aware of_their proximity . he stopped dead, arresting me with a single gesture .

acrackling and smashing of_the scrub appeared to_be advancing directly upon us, and then, as_we squatted close and endeavoured to judge of_the nearness and direction of_this noise, there came a terrific bellow behind us, so close and vehement that_the tops of_the bayonet scrub bent before it, and one felt the breath of it hot and moist . and, turning about, we saw indistinctly through a crowd of swaying stems the mooncalf's shining sides, and_the long line of_its back loomed out against the sky .

of_course_it_is hard for_me now to_say how_much I_saw at_that_time, because my impressions were corrected by subsequent observation . first of all impressions was its enormous size; the girth of_its body was some fourscore feet, its length perhaps two hundred . its sides rose and fell with its laboured breathing .I perceived that its gigantic, flabby body lay along the ground, and_that its skin was of a corrugated white, dappling into blackness along the backbone . but of_its feet we saw nothing . i_think also that we saw then the profile at_least of_the almost brainless head, with its fat- encumbered neck, its slobbering omnivorous mouth, its little nostrils, and tight shut eyes .( for_the mooncalf invariably shuts its eyes in_the presence of_the sun .) we had a glimpse of a vast red pit as it opened its mouth to bleat and bellow again; we had a breath from_the pit, and then the monster heeled over like a ship, dragged forward along the ground, creasing all its leathery skin, rolled again, and so wallowed past us, smashing a path amidst the scrub, and was speedily hidden from_our eyes by_the dense interlacings beyond . another appeared more distantly, and then another, and then, as_though he_was guiding these animated lumps of provender to_their pasture, a selenite came momentarily into ken . my grip upon Cavor's foot became convulsive at_the sight of him, and we remained motionless and peering long after he had passed out of_our range .

by contrast with_the mooncalves he_seemed a trivial being, amere ant, scarcely five feet high . he_was, wearing garments of some leathery substance, so_that no portion of_his actual body appeared, but of_this, of_course, we were entirely ignorant . he presented himself, therefore, as a compact, bristling creature, having much of_the quality of a complicated insect, with whip- like tentacles and aclanging arm projecting from_his shining cylindrical body case . the form of_his head was hidden by his enormous many- spiked helmet - we discovered afterwards that he used the spikes for prodding refractory mooncalves - and a pair of goggles of darkened glass, set very_much at_the side, gave a bird- like quality to_the metallic apparatus that covered his face . his arms did_not project beyond his body case, and he carried himself upon short legs that, wrapped though they were in warm coverings, seemed to our terrestrial eyes inordinately flimsy . they had very short thighs, very long shanks, and little feet .

in_spite of_his heavy- looking clothing, he_was progressing with what would_be, from_the terrestrial point of view, very considerable strides, and_his clanging arm was busy . the quality of_his motion during the instant of_his passing suggested haste and a certain anger, and soon after we had lost sight of him we heard the bellow of amooncalf change abruptly into a short, sharp squeal followed by_the scuffle of_its acceleration . and gradually that bellowing receded, and then came to an end, as if_the pastures sought had_been attained .

we listened . for a space the moon world was still . but it_was some_time before we resumed our crawling search for_the vanished sphere .

when next we saw mooncalves they were some little distance away from_us in a place of tumbled rocks . the less vertical surfaces of_the rocks were thick with a speckled green plant growing in dense mossy clumps, upon_which these creatures were browsing . we stopped at_the edge of_the reeds amidst which we were crawling at_the sight of_them, peering out at then and looking round for a second glimpse of a selenite . they lay against their food like stupendous slugs, huge, greasy hulls, eating greedily and noisily, with a sort of sobbing avidity . they seemed monsters of mere fatness, clumsy and overwhelmed to a degree that_would make aSmithfield ox seem a model of agility . their busy, writhing, chewing mouths, and eyes closed, together with_the appetising sound of_their munching, made up an effect of animal enjoyment that was singularly stimulating to our empty frames .

"Hogs ! " said Cavor, with unusual passion ."Dis- gusting hogs ! " and after one glare of angry envy crawled off through_the bushes to our right .I stayed long enough to_see that_the speckled plant was quite hopeless for human nourishment, then crawled after him, nibbling a quill of it between my teeth .

presently we were arrested again by_the proximity of a selenite, and this_time we were able to observe him more exactly . now we could_see that_the selenite covering was indeed clothing, and not a sort of crustacean integument . he_was quite similar in_his costume to_the former one we had glimpsed, except that ends of something like wadding were protruding front his neck, and he stood on a promontory of rock and moved his head this_way and_that, as_though he_was surveying the crater . we lay quite still, fearing to attract his attention if_we moved, and after a time he turned about and disappeared .

we came upon another drove of mooncalves bellowing up a ravine, and then we passed over a place of sounds, sounds of beating machinery as_if some huge hall of industry came near the surface there . and while these sounds were still about us we came to_the edge of a great open space, perhaps two hundred yards in diameter, and perfectly level . save for a few lichens that advanced from its margin this space was bare, and presented a powdery surface of a dusty yellow colour . we were afraid to strike out across this space, but as it presented less obstruction to our crawling than_the scrub, we went down upon it and began very circumspectly to skirt its edge .

for a little while the noises from below ceased

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