My hands were so tightly chained that barely contrive to reach the bowl; but saw the effort , two dexterously released turns wrist Their tentacle hands were soft and cold to my skin I immediately seized mouthful food It had the same laxness in texture that all organic structures seem moon; it tasted rather like gauffre or damp meringue, but in no way disagreeable two other mouthfuls " - foo' ! " said I, tearing off still larger piece . .

For time we ate with an utter absence of selfconsciousness We ate and presently drank like tramps in soup kitchen Never before nor since have I been hungry ravenous pitch, and save that this very experience never have believed that, quarter of million of miles out proper world, in utter perplexity of soul, surrounded, watched, touched by beings more grotesque and inhuman worst creations of nightmare, it possible to eat in utter forgetfulness of all these things They stood about us watching us, and ever and again making slight elusive twittering that stood the suppose, stead of speech even shiver at their touch And first zeal feeding was over, note that Cavor, too, eating same shameless abandon

Chapter 14

Experiments in intercourse

WHEN at last we had made an end of eating, the Selenites linked our hands closely together again, and then untwisted the chains about our feet and rebound them, so limited freedom of movement Then they unfastened the chains about our waists all this they had to handle us freely, and ever and again one queer heads came down close to my face, or soft tentacle-hand touched my head or neck I don't remember that afraid then or repelled by their proximity incurable anthropomorphism made us imagine there were human heads inside their masks The skin, like everything else, looked bluish, but that was on account light; and hard and shiny, quite beetle-wing fashion, not soft, or moist, or hairy, as vertebrated animal's Along the crest head was low ridge of whitish spines running from back to front, and much larger ridge curved on either side over the eyes The Selenite who untied me used his mouth to help his hands

"They releasing us," said Cavor "Remember moon ! Make no sudden movements ! "

" going that geometry ? "

"If I get chance But, , make an advance first "

We remained passive, Selenites, having finished their arrangements, stood back , and seemed looking at us seemed , because as their eyes were side and not in front, one had the same difficulty in determining the direction they were looking as one has case of hen or fish They conversed with one another in their reedy tones, that seemed impossible to imitate or define The door behind us opened wider, and, glancing over my shoulder, vague large space beyond, quite little crowd of Selenites were standing They seemed curiously miscellaneous rabble

"Do us to imitate those sounds ? " I asked Cavor

"I don't think so,"

"It seems trying us understand something "

" 't make anything gestures notice , worrying head like man with an uncomfortable collar ? "

" shake our heads at him "

that, and finding it ineffectual, attempted an imitation Selenites' movements That seemed to interest them At any rate they all set up the same movement But seemed to lead to nothing, we desisted at last and so did they, and fell into piping argument among themselves Then , shorter and thicker others, and with particularly wide mouth, squatted down suddenly beside Cavor, and put his hands and feet same posture as Cavor's were bound, and then by dexterous movement stood up

"Cavor," I shouted, " us up ! "

He stared open-mouthed "That's it ! "

And with much heaving and grunting, because our hands were tied together, we contrived to struggle to our feet The Selenites made way elephantine heavings, and seemed to twitter more volubly we were feet the thick-set Selenite came and patted each faces tentacles, and walked towards the open doorway That also was plain enough, and we followed him We saw that four Selenites standing doorway were much taller others, and clothed same manner we had seen crater, namely, with spiked round helmets and cylindrical body-cases, each four carried goad with spike and guard made same dull-looking metal bowls These four closed about us, one on either side of each of us, emerged chamber cavern the light had come

get our impression cavern all at once Our attention was taken up movements and attitudes Selenites immediately about us, and necessity of controlling our motion, lest startle and alarm them and ourselves by some excessive stride In front of us short, thick-set being who had solved the problem of asking us up, moving with gestures that seemed, almost all , intelligible , inviting us him His spout-like face turned from one of us other with quickness that was clearly interrogative For time, , we were taken up things

But at last the great place that formed background to our movements asserted itself It became apparent source of much, , tumult of sounds which had filled our ears we had recovered stupefaction fungus was vast mass of machinery in active movement, whose flying and whirling parts were visible indistinctly over the heads and bodies Selenites who walked about us And did the web of sounds that filled the air proceed mechanism, but also the peculiar blue light that irradiated the whole place We had taken it as natural thing that subterranean cavern artificially lit, and even now, though the fact was patent to my eyes, really grasp its import until presently the darkness came The meaning and structure huge apparatus we saw explain, because we neither of us learnt what for or how it worked One after another, big shafts of metal flung out and up from its centre, their heads travelling in what seemed parabolic path; each dropped sort of dangling arm as it rose towards the apex flight and plunged down into vertical cylinder, forcing this down before it moved the shapes of tenders, little figures that seemed vaguely different beings about us As each three dangling arms machine plunged down, clank and then roaring, and top vertical cylinder came pouring this incandescent substance that lit the place, and ran over as milk runs over boiling pot, and dripped luminously into tank of light below cold blue light, sort of phosphorescent glow but infinitely brighter, and tanks into which it fell it ran in conduits athwart the cavern

Thud, thud, thud, thud, came the sweeping arms unintelligible apparatus, light substance hissed and poured At first the thing seemed only reasonably large and near , and then how exceedingly little the Selenites upon it seemed, and I realised the full immensity of cavern and machine I looked tremendous affair faces Selenites with new respect I stopped, and Cavor stopped, and stared thunderous engine

"But stupendous ! " "What can it be for ? "

Cavor's blue-lit face was full of an intelligent respect " 't dream ! Surely these beings - Men make thing like that ! Look at those arms, are they on connecting rods ? "

The thick-set Selenite had gone some paces unheeded back and stood great machine I avoided seeing him, because I guessed somehow that his idea was to beckon us onward He walked away direction us , and turned and came back, and flicked our faces to attract our attention

Cavor and I looked at one another

"Cannot we show him interested machine ? "