The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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ceased and everything, save for_the faint stir of_the growing vegetation, was very still . then abruptly there began an uproar, louder, more vehement, and nearer than any we had so_far heard . of a certainty it came from below . instinctively we crouched as flat as we_could, ready for a prompt plunge into_the thicket beside us . each knock and throb seemed to vibrate through our bodies . louder grew this throbbing and beating, and_that irregular vibration increased until the whole moon world seemed to_be jerking and pulsing .

" cover," whispered Cavor, and I turned towards the bushes .

at_that instant came a thud like the thud of a gun, and then a thing happened - it still haunts me in my dreams .I had turned my head to look at Cavor's face, and thrust out my hand in front of me as I so . and my hand met nothing ! plunged suddenly into a bottomless hole !

my chest hit something hard, and I_found myself with my chin on_the edge of an unfathomable abyss that had suddenly opened beneath me, my hand extended stiffly into_the void . the whole of_that flat circular area was no more than a gigantic lid, that was now sliding sideways from off the pit it had covered into a slot prepared for_it .

had it not been for Cavor i_think i_should_have remained rigid, hanging over this margin and staring into_the enormous gulf below, until at last the edges of_the slot scraped me off and hurled me into its depths . but Cavor had_not received the shock that had paralysed me . he had_been a little distance from_the edge when_the lid had first opened, and perceiving the peril that held me helpless, gripped my legs and pulled me backward . I_came into asitting position, crawled away from_the edge for a space on all fours, then staggered up and ran after him across the thundering, quivering sheet of metal . it seemed to_be swinging open with a steadily accelerated velocity, and_the bushes in front of me shifted sideways as I ran .

i_was none too soon .Cavor's back vanished amidst the bristling thicket, and as I scrambled up after him, the monstrous valve came into its position with a clang . for_a_long_time we lay panting, not daring to approach the pit .

but at last very cautiously and bit by bit we crept into a position from_which we_could peer down . the bushes about us creaked and waved with_the force of a breeze that was blowing down the shaft . we could_see nothing at first except smooth vertical walls descending at last into an impenetrable black . and then very gradually we became aware of a number of very faint and little lights going to and fro .

for a time that stupendous gulf of mystery held us so_that we forgot even our sphere . in_time, as_we grew more accustomed to_the darkness, we_could make out very_small, dim, elusive shapes moving about among those needle- point illuminations . we peered amazed and incredulous, understanding so little that we_could find no words to_say . we_could distinguish nothing that_would give_us aclue to_the meaning of_the faint shapes we saw .

" what can it be ? " I asked; " what can it be ? "

" the engineering ! .. . they_must live in_these caverns during the night, and come out during the day ."

"Cavor ! " I_said ." can they be - that - it_was something like -, men ? "

" that was not a man ."

" we dare risk nothing"

" we dare do nothing until we_find the sphere ! "

" we_can do nothing until we_find the sphere ."

he assented with a groan and stirred himself to move . he stared about him for a space, sighed, and indicated a direction . we struck out through_the jungle . for a time we crawled resolutely, then with diminishing vigour . presently among great shapes of flabby purple there came a noise of trampling and cries about us . we lay close, and for_a_long_time the sounds went to and fro and very near . but this_time we saw nothing .I tried to whisper to Cavor that I_could hardly go without food much longer, but my mouth had become too dry for whispering .

"Cavor," I_said, " I_must_have food ."

he turned a face full of dismay towards me ." it's a case for holding out," he_said .

" but I_must," I_said, " and look at my lips ! "

"I've been thirsty some_time ."

" if only some_of_that snow had remained ! "

" it's clean gone ! we're driving from arctic to tropical at_the rate of a degree a minute .. .. "

I gnawed my hand .

" the sphere ! " he_said ." there_is nothing for_it but the sphere ."

we roused ourselves to another spurt of crawling . my mind ran entirely on edible things, on_the hissing profundity of summer drinks, more particularly I craved for beer . i_was haunted by_the memory of asixteen gallon cask that had swaggered in my Lympne cellar . i_thought of_the adjacent larder, and especially of steak and kidney pie - tender steak and plenty of kidney, and rich, thick gravy between . ever and again i_was seized with fits of hungry yawning . we came to flat places overgrown with fleshy red things, monstrous coralline growths; as_we pushed against them they snapped and broke .I noted the quality of_the broken surfaces . the confounded stuff certainly looked of abiteable texture . then it seemed to_me that_it smelt rather well .

I picked up a fragment and sniffed at it .

"Cavor," I_said in a hoarse undertone .

he glanced at me with_his face screwed up ."Don't,"

he_said .I put down the fragment, and we crawled on through_this tempting fleshiness for a space .

"Cavor," I asked, " why_not ? "

" poison," I heard him say, but he_did_not look round .

we crawled some way before I decided .

"I'll chance it," said I .

he_made a belated gesture to_prevent me .I stuffed my mouth full . he crouched watching my face, his own twisted into_the oddest expression ." it's good," I_said .

"O lord ! " he cried .

he watched me munch, his face wrinkled between desire and disapproval, then suddenly succumbed to appetite and began to tear off huge mouthfuls . for a time we_did nothing but eat .

the stuff was not unlike a terrestrial mushroom, only it_was much laxer in texture, and, as one swallowed it, it warmed the throat . at first we experienced amere mechanical satisfaction in eating; then our blood began to run warmer, and we tingled at_the lips and fingers, and then new and slightly irrelevant ideas came bubbling up in_our minds .

" its good," said I ." infernally good ! what a home for_our surplus population ! our poor surplus population," and I broke off another large portion . it filled me with a curiously benevolent satisfaction that there_was such good food in_the moon . the depression of_my hunger gave way to an irrational exhilaration . the dread and discomfort in_which I had_been living vanished entirely .I perceived the moon no longer as a planet from_which I most earnestly desired the means of escape, but as a possible refuge from human destitution . i_think I forgot the Selenites, the mooncalves, the lid, and_the noises completely so soon as I had eaten that fungus .

Cavor replied to my third repetition of_my " surplus population" remark with similar words of approval . I_felt that my head swam, but I put this down to_the stimulating effect cf food after a long fast ." Ess' lent discov'ry yours, Cavor,' said I ."Se'nd on'y to_the 'tato ."

"Whajer mean ? " asked Cavor ."'Scovery of_the moon - se'nd on'y to_the 'tato ? "

I looked at him, shocked at his suddenly hoarse voice, and by_the badness of_his articulation . it occurred to_me in a flash that he_was intoxicated, possibly by_the fungus . it also occurred to_me that he erred in imaging that he had discovered the moon; he had_not discovered it, he had only reached it .I tried to lay my hand on_his arm and explain this to him, but the issue was too subtle for_his brain . it_was also unexpectedly difficult to express . after a momentary attempt to understand me - I remember wondering if_the fungus had made my eyes as fishy as his - he set off upon some observations on_his own account .

" we_are," he announced with a solemn hiccup, " the creashurs o' mat we eat and drink ."

he repeated this, and as i_was now in one of_my subtle moods, I determined to dispute it . possibly I wandered a little from_the point . but Cavor certainly did_not attend at all properly . he stood up as_well as he_could, putting a hand on my head to steady I himself, which_was disrespectful, and stood staring about him, quite devoid now of any fear of_the moon beings .

I tried to point out that_this was dangerous for some reason that was not perfectly clear to_me, but the word " dangerous" had somehow got mixed with " indiscreet," and came out rather more like " injurious" than either; and after an attempt to disentangle them, I resumed my argument, addressing myself principally to_the unfamiliar but attentive coralline growths on either side . I_felt that_it_was necessary to clear up this confusion between_the moon and a potato at once - I wandered into a long parenthesis on_the importance of precision of definition in argument . I_did my best to ignore the fact that my bodily sensations were no longer agreeable .

in some way that I_have now forgotten, my mind was led back to projects of colonisation ." we_must annex this moon," I_said ." there_must_be no shilly-shally . this_is part of_the white man's Burthen .Cavor - we_are - hic - Satap - mean Satraps ! Nempire Ceasar never dreamt .B' in all the newspapers .Cavorecia .Bedfordecia .Bedfordecia - hic - limited . mean - unlimited ! practically ."

certainly i_was intoxicated .

I embarked upon an argument to show the infinite benefits our arrival would confer on_the moon .I involved myself in a rather difficult proof that_the arrival of Columbus was, on_the whole, beneficial to America . I_found I had forgotten the line of argument I had intended to pursue, and continued to repeat "Simlar to C'lumbus," to_fill up time .

from_that joint my memory of_the action of_that abominable fungus becomes confused .I remember vaguely that we declared our intention of standing no nonsense from any confounded insects, that we decided it ill became men to hide shamefully upon amere satellite, that we equipped ourselves with huge armfuls of_the fungus - whether for missile purposes or not I_do_not know - and, heedless of_the stabs of_the bayonet scrub, we started forth into_the sunshine .

almost immediately we_must_have come upon_the Selenites . there were six of_them, and_they were marching in single file over a rocky place, making the most remarkable piping and whining sounds . they all seemed to_become aware of us at once, all instantly became silent and motionless, like animals, with their faces turned towards us .

for a moment i_was sobered .

"Insects," murmured Cavor, "insects ! and they_think I'm going to crawl about on my stomach - on my vertebrated stomach ! "

" stomach," he repeated slowly, as_though he chewed the indignity .

then suddenly, with a shout of fury, he_made three vast strides and leapt towards them . he leapt badly; he_made a series of somersaults in_the air, whirled right over them, and vanished with an enormous splash amidst the cactus bladders . what the Selenites made of_this amazing, and to my mind undignified irruption from another planet, I_have no means of guessing .I seem to remember the sight of_their backs as_they ran in all directions, but I_am not sure . all these last incidents before oblivion came are vague and faint in my mind . I_know I_made a step to_follow Cavor, and tripped and fell headlong among_the rocks . i_was, I_am certain, suddenly and vehemently ill .I seem to remember, a violent struggle and being gripped by metallic clasps .. ..

my next clear recollection is_that we were prisoners at we_knew not what depths beneath the moon's surface; we were in darkness amidst strange distracting noises; our bodies were covered with scratches and bruises, and_our heads racked with pain .

chapter 12

the selenite's face

I_found myself sitting crouched together in a tumultuous darkness . for_a_long_time I_could_not understand where i_was, nor how I had come to_this perplexity . i_thought of_the cupboard into which I had_been thrust at times when i_was a child, and then of a very dark and noisy bedroom in_which I had slept during an illness . but these sounds about me were_not the noises I had known, and there_was a thin flavour in_the air like the wind of a stable . then I supposed we_must still be at work upon_the sphere, and_that somehow I had got into_the cellar of Cavor's house .I remembered we had finished the sphere, and fancied I_must still be in_it and travelling through space .

"Cavor," I_said, "cannot we_have some light ? "

there came no answer .

"Cavor ! " I insisted .

i_was answered by a groan ." my head ! " I heard him say; " my head ! "

I attempted to press my hands to my brow, which ached, and discovered they were tied together . this startled me very_much .I brought them up_to my mouth and felt the cold smoothness of metal . they were chained together .I tried to separate my legs and made out they were similarly fastened, and also that i_was fastened to_the ground by a much thicker chain about_the middle of_my body .

i_was more frightened that I had yet been by anything in all our strange experiences . for a time I tugged silently at my bonds ." Cavor ! " I cried out sharply ."

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