The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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impatient way, that so my travelling might end .

but at last I ceased to move about, and sat, wrists on knees, staring at a distant red light . it swayed up and down, rocking, rocking . my excitement passed .I realised I had yet to_spend another night at_least in_the sphere .I perceived myself infinitely heavy and fatigued . and so I fell asleep .

a change in my rhythmic motion awakened me .I peered through_the refracting glass, and saw that I had come aground upon a huge shallow of sand . far away I seemed to_see houses and trees, and seaward a curve, vague distortion of a ship hung between sea and sky .

I stood up and staggered . my one desire was to emerge . the manhole was upward, and I wrestled with_the screw . slowly I opened the manhole . at last the air was singing in again as once it had sung out . but this_time I_did_not wait until the pressure was adjusted . in another moment I had the weight of_the window on my hands, and i_was open, wide open, to_the old familiar sky of earth .

the air hit me on_the chest so_that I gasped .I dropped the glass screw .I cried out, put my hands to my chest, and sat down . for a time i_was in pain . then i_took deep breaths . at last I_could rise and move about again .

I tried to thrust my head through_the manhole, and_the sphere rolled over . it_was as_though something had lugged my head down directly it emerged .I ducked back sharply, or I should_have_been pinned face under water . alter some wriggling and shoving I managed to crawl out upon sand, over which the retreating waves still came and went .

I_did_not attempt to stand up . it seemed to_me that my body must_be suddenly changed to lead . mother earth had her grip on me now - no Cavorite intervening .I sat down heedless of_the water that came over my feet .

it_was dawn, a gray dawn, rather overcast but showing here and there a long patch of greenish gray . some way out a ship was lying at anchor, a pale silhouette of a ship with one yellow light . the water came rippling in in long shallow waves . away to_the right curved the land, a shingle bank with little hovels, and at last a lighthouse, asailing mark and a point . inland stretched a space of level sand, broken here and there by pools of water, and ending a mile away perhaps in a low shore of scrub . to_the north- east some isolated watering- place was visible, a row of gaunt lodging-houses, the tallest things that I could_see on earth, dull dabs against the brightening sky . what strange men can_have reared these vertical piles in_such an amplitude of space I_do_not know . there they_are, like pieces of Brighton lost in_the waste .

for_a_long_time I sat there, yawning and rubbing my face . at last I struggled to rise . it made me feel that i_was lifting a weight .I stood up .

I stared at_the distant houses . for_the first time since our starvation in_the crater i_thought of earthly food ." bacon," I whispered, "eggs . good toast and good coffee .. .. and how the devil am I going to all this stuff to Lympne ? " I wondered where i_was . it_was an east shore anyhow, and I had seen Europe before I dropped .

I heard footsteps scrunching in_the sand, and a little round- faced, friendly- looking man in flannels, with abathing towel wrapped about his shoulders, and_his bathing dress over his arm, appeared up the beach . I_knew instantly that I_must_be in England . he_was staring most intently at_the sphere and me . he advanced staring .I dare say I looked a ferocious savage enough - dirty, unkempt, to an indescribable degree; but it did_not occur to_me at_the_time . he stopped at a distance of twenty yards ."Hul-lo, my man ! " he_said doubtfully .

"Hullo yourself ! " said I .

he advanced, reassured by_that ." what on earth is_that thing ? " he asked .

" can_you tell me where I_am ? " I asked .

" that's Littlestone," he_said, pointing to_the houses; " and_that's Dungeness ! have_you just landed ? what's that thing you've got ? some sort of machine ? "

" yes ."

" have_you floated ashore ? have_you been wrecked or something ? what_is it ? "

I meditated swiftly . I_made an estimate of_the little man's appearance as he drew nearer ." by Jove ! " he_said, " you've had a time of it ! i_thought you - well - where were you cast away ? is_that thing a sort of floating thing for saving life ? "

I decided to_take that line for_the_present . I_made a few vague affirmatives ." i_want help," I_said hoarsely ." i_want to_get some stuff up the beach - stuff I_can't very_well leave about ." I became aware of three other pleasant- looking young men with towels, blazers, and straw hats, coming down the sands towards me .Evidently the early bathing section of_this Littlestone .

" help ! " said the young man: " rather ! " he became vaguely active ." what particularly do_you_want done ? " he turned round and gesticulated . the three young men accelerated their pace . in a minute they there about me, plying me with questions i_was indisposed to answer ."I'll tell all that later," I_said ."I'm dead beat .I'm a rag ."

" come up_to_the hotel," said the foremost little man ." we'll look after_that thing there ."

I hesitated ." I_can't," I_said ." in_that sphere there's two big bars of gold ."

they looked incredulously at one another, then at me with a new inquiry .I went to_the sphere, stooped, crept in, and presently they had the Selenites' crowbars and_the broken chain before them . if I had_not_been so horribly fagged I_could_have laughed at them . it_was like kittens round a beetle . they didn't know what to_do with_the stuff . the fat little man stooped and lifted the end of one_of_the bars, and then dropped it with a grunt . then they all did .

" it's lead, or gold ! " said one .

"Oh, it's gold ! " said another .

" gold, right enough," said the third .

then they all stared at me, and then they all stared at_the ship lying at anchor .

" I_say ! " cried the little man ." but where did you get that ? "

i_was too tired to_keep up a lie ."I got it in_the moon ."

I_saw them stare at one another .

" look here ! " said I, "I'm not going to argue now . help me carry these lumps of gold up_to_the hotel - I guess, with rests, two of you_can manage one, and I'll trail this chain thing - and I'll tell you more when I've had some food ."

" and how about_that thing ? "

" it won't hurt there," I_said ."Anyhow - confound it ! - it must stop there now . if_the tide comes up, it_will float all right ."

and in a state of enormous wonderment, these young men most obediently hoisted my treasures on their shoulders, and with limbs that felt like lead I headed a sort of procession towards that distant fragment of " sea- front ." half- way there we were reinforced by two awe- stricken little girls with spades, and later a lean little boy, with apenetrating sniff, appeared . he_was, I remember, Wheeling a bicycle, and he accompanied us at a distance of about a hundred yards on_our right flank, and then I suppose, gave_us up as uninteresting, mounted his bicycle and rode off over the level sands in_the direction of_the sphere .

I glanced back after him .

" he won't touch it," said the stout young man reassuringly, and i_was only too willing to_be reassured .

at first something of_the gray of_the morning was in my mind, but presently the sun disengaged itself from_the level clouds of_the horizon and lit the world, and turned the leaden sea to glittering waters . my spirits rose .a sense of_the vast importance of_the things I had done and had yet to_do came with_the sunlight into my mind .I laughed aloud as_the foremost man staggered under my gold . when indeed i_took my place in_the_world, how amazed the world would_be !

if_it had_not_been for_my inordinate fatigue, the landlord of_the Littlestone hotel would_have_been amusing, as he hesitated between my gold and my respectable company on_the one and my filthy appearance on_the other . but at last I_found myself in a terrestrial bathroom once more with warm water to wash myself with, and a change of raiment, preposterously small indeed, but anyhow clean, that_the genial little man had lent me . he lent me a razor too, but I_could_not screw up my resolution to attack even the outposts of_the bristling beard that covered my face .

I sat down to an English breakfast and ate with a sort of languid appetite - an appetite many weeks old and very decrepit - and stirred myself to answer the questions of_the four young men . and i_told them the truth .

" well," said I, " as_you press me - I got it in_the moon ."

" the moon ? "

" yes, the moon in_the sky ."

" but how do_you_mean ? "

" what I_say, confound it ! "

" then you_have just come from_the moon ? "

" exactly ! through space - in_that ball ." and i_took a delicious mouthful of egg . I_made a private note that when I went back to_the moon i_would take a box of eggs .

I could_see clearly that they_did_not believe one word what i_told them, but evidently they considered me the most respectable liar they had ever met . they glanced at one another, and then concentrated the fire of_their eyes on me .I fancy they expected aclue to_me in_the way I helped myself to salt . they seemed to_find something significant in my peppering my egg . these strangely shaped masses of gold they had staggered under held their minds . there the lumps lay in front of me, each worth thousands of pounds, and as impossible for any_one to steal as a house or a piece of land . as I looked at their curious faces over my coffee- cup, I realised something of_the enormous wilderness of explanations into which i_should_have to wander to render myself comprehensible again .

" you don't really mean -" began the youngest young man, in_the tone of one who speaks to an obstinate child .

" just pass me that toast-rack," I_said, and shut him up completely .

" but look here, I_say," began one_of_the others ." we're not going to_believe that, you_know ."

"Ah, well," said I, and shrugged my shoulders .

" he doesn't want to_tell us," said the youngest young man in a stage aside; and then, with an appearance of great sang-froid, " you don't mind if I take a cigarette ? "

I waved him a cordial assent, and proceeded with my breakfast . two of_the others went and looked out_of_the farther window and talked inaudibly . i_was struck by a thought ." the tide," I_said, " is running out ? "

there_was a pause, a doubt who_should answer me .

" it's near the ebb," said the fat little man .

" well, anyhow," I_said, " it won't float far ."

I decapitated my third egg, and began a little speech ." look here," I_said ." please don't imagine I'm surly or telling you uncivil lies, or anything of_that sort .I'm forced almost, to_be a little short and mysterious . I_can quite understand this_is as queer as it can_be, and_that your imaginations must_be going it . I_can assure you, you're in at a memorable time . but I_can't make it clear to_you now - it's impossible .I give_you my word of honour I've come from_the moon, and_that's all I_can tell you .. .. all the same, I'm tremendously obliged to_you, you_know, tremendously . I_hope_that my manner hasn't in any_way given you offence ."

"Oh, not in_the least ! " said the youngest young man affably ." we_can quite understand," and staring hard at me all the time, he heeled his chair back until it very nearly upset, and recovered with some exertion ." not a bit of it," said the fat young man .

"Don't you imagine that ! " and_they all got up and dispersed, and walked about and lit cigarettes, and generally tried to show they were perfectly amiable and disengaged, and entirely free from_the slightest curiosity about me and_the sphere ."I'm going to_keep an eye on_that ship out there all the same," I heard one_of_them remarking in an undertone . if only they could_have forced themselves to_it, they_would, I believe, even have_gone out and left me .I went on with my third egg .

" the weather," the fat little man remarked presently, " has_been immense, has it not ? I don't know when we_have_had such a summer ."

Phoo-whizz ! like a tremendous rocket !

and somewhere a window was broken .. ..

" what's that ? " said I .

" it isn't - ? " cried the little man, and rushed to_the corner window .

all the others rushed to_the window likewise .I sat staring at them .

suddenly I leapt up, knocked over my third egg, rushed for_the window also .I had just thought of something ." nothing to_be seen there," cried the little man, rushing for_the door .

" it's that boy ! " I cried, bawling in hoarse fury; " it's that accursed boy ! " and turning about I pushed the waiter aside - he_was just bring me some more toast - and rushed violently out_of_the room and down and out upon_the queer little esplanade in front of_the hotel .

the sea, which had_been smooth, was rough now with hurrying cat's-paws, and all about where the sphere had_been was tumbled water like the wake of a ship . above, a little puff of

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