The War of the Worlds, The War of the Worlds: Chapter 13

The War of the Worlds: Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen How I Fell in with the Curate

But they were in no hurry. Cylinder followed cylinder on its interplanetary flight; every twenty-four hours brought them reinforcement. And meanwhile the military and naval authorities, now fully alive to the tremendous power of their antagonists, worked with furious energy. Every minute a fresh gun came into position until, before twilight, every copse, every row of suburban villas on the hilly slopes about Kingston and Richmond, masked an expectant black muzzle. And through the charred and desolated area—perhaps twenty square miles altogether—that encircled the Martian encampment on Horsell Common, through charred and ruined villages among the green trees, through the blackened and smoking arcades that had been but a day ago pine spinneys, crawled the devoted scouts with the heliographs that were presently to warn the gunners of the Martian approach. But the Martians now understood our command of artillery and the danger of human proximity, and not a man ventured within a mile of either cylinder, save at the price of his life.

I saw an abandoned boat, very small and remote, drifting down-stream; and throwing off the most of my sodden clothes, I went after it, gained it, and so escaped out of that destruction. There were no oars in the boat, but I contrived to paddle, as well as my parboiled hands would allow, down the river towards Halliford and Walton, going very tediously and continually looking behind me, as you may well understand. I followed the river, because I considered that the water gave me my best chance of escape should these giants return.

The hot water from the Martian's overthrow drifted downstream with me, so that for the best part of a mile I could see little of either bank. Once, however, I made out a string of black figures hurrying across the meadows from the direction of Weybridge. Halliford, it seemed, was deserted, and several of the houses facing the river were on fire. It was strange to see the place quite tranquil, quite desolate under the hot blue sky, with the smoke and little threads of flame going straight up into the heat of the afternoon. Never before had I seen houses burning without the accompaniment of an obstructive crowd. A little farther on the dry reeds up the bank were smoking and glowing, and a line of fire inland was marching steadily across a late field of hay.

For a long time I drifted, so painful and weary was I after the violence I had been through, and so intense the heat upon the water. Then my fears got the better of me again, and I resumed my paddling. The sun scorched my bare back. At last, as the bridge at Walton was coming into sight round the bend, my fever and faintness overcame my fears, and I landed on the Middlesex bank and lay down, deadly sick, amid the long grass. I suppose the time was then about four or five o'clock. I got up presently, walked perhaps half a mile without meeting a soul, and then lay down again in the shadow of a hedge. I seem to remember talking, wanderingly, to myself during that last spurt. I was also very thirsty, and bitterly regretful I had drunk no more water. It is a curious thing that I felt angry with my wife; I cannot account for it, but my impotent desire to reach Leatherhead worried me excessively.

I do not clearly remember the arrival of the curate, so that probably I dozed. I became aware of him as a seated figure in soot-smudged shirt sleeves, and with his upturned, clean-shaven face staring at a faint flickering that danced over the sky. The sky was what is called a mackerel sky—rows and rows of faint down-plumes of cloud, just tinted with the midsummer sunset.

I sat up, and at the rustle of my motion he looked at me quickly.

“Have you any water?” I asked abruptly.

He shook his head.

“You have been asking for water for the last hour,” he said.

For a moment we were silent, taking stock of each other. I dare say he found me a strange enough figure, naked, save for my water-soaked trousers and socks, scalded, and my face and shoulders blackened by the smoke. His face was a fair weakness, his chin retreated, and his hair lay in crisp, almost flaxen curls on his low forehead; his eyes were rather large, pale blue, and blankly staring. He spoke abruptly, looking vacantly away from me.

“What does it mean?” he said. “What do these things mean?”

I stared at him and made no answer.

He extended a thin white hand and spoke in almost a complaining tone.

“Why are these things permitted? What sins have we done? The morning service was over, I was walking through the roads to clear my brain for the afternoon, and then—fire, earthquake, death! As if it were Sodom and Gomorrah! All our work undone, all the work—— What are these Martians?”

“What are we?” I answered, clearing my throat.

He gripped his knees and turned to look at me again. For half a minute, perhaps, he stared silently.

“I was walking through the roads to clear my brain,” he said. “And suddenly—fire, earthquake, death!”

He relapsed into silence, with his chin now sunken almost to his knees.

Presently he began waving his hand.

“All the work—all the Sunday schools—— What have we done—what has Weybridge done? Everything gone—everything destroyed. The church! We rebuilt it only three years ago. Gone! Swept out of existence! Why?”

Another pause, and he broke out again like one demented.

“The smoke of her burning goeth up for ever and ever!” he shouted.

His eyes flamed, and he pointed a lean finger in the direction of Weybridge.

By this time I was beginning to take his measure. The tremendous tragedy in which he had been involved—it was evident he was a fugitive from Weybridge—had driven him to the very verge of his reason.

“Are we far from Sunbury?”

I said, in a matter-of-fact tone.

“What are we to do?” he asked. “Are these creatures everywhere? Has the earth been given over to them?”

“Are we far from Sunbury?” “Only this morning I officiated at early celebration——” “Things have changed,” I said, quietly. “You must keep your head. There is still hope.”

“Hope!”

“Yes. Plentiful hope—for all this destruction!”

I began to explain my view of our position. He listened at first, but as I went on the interest dawning in his eyes gave place to their former stare, and his regard wandered from me.

“This must be the beginning of the end,” he said, interrupting me. “The end! The great and terrible day of the Lord! When men shall call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall upon them and hide them—hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne!”

I began to understand the position. I ceased my laboured reasoning, struggled to my feet, and, standing over him, laid my hand on his shoulder.

“Be a man!” said I. “You are scared out of your wits! What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent.”

For a time he sat in blank silence.

“But how can we escape?” he asked, suddenly. “They are invulnerable, they are pitiless.”

“Neither the one nor, perhaps, the other,” I answered. “And the mightier they are the more sane and wary should we be. One of them was killed yonder not three hours ago.”

“Killed!” he said, staring about him. “How can God's ministers be killed?”

“I saw it happen.” I proceeded to tell him. “We have chanced to come in for the thick of it,” said I, “and that is all.”

“What is that flicker in the sky?” he asked abruptly.

I told him it was the heliograph signalling—that it was the sign of human help and effort in the sky.

“We are in the midst of it,” I said, “quiet as it is. That flicker in the sky tells of the gathering storm. Yonder, I take it are the Martians, and Londonward, where those hills rise about Richmond and Kingston and the trees give cover, earthworks are being thrown up and guns are being placed. Presently the Martians will be coming this way again.”

And even as I spoke he sprang to his feet and stopped me by a gesture.

“Listen!” he said.

From beyond the low hills across the water came the dull resonance of distant guns and a remote weird crying. Then everything was still. A cockchafer came droning over the hedge and past us. High in the west the crescent moon hung faint and pale above the smoke of Weybridge and Shepperton and the hot, still splendour of the sunset.

“We had better follow this path,” I said, “northward.”

The War of the Worlds: Chapter 13 Der Krieg der Welten: Kapitel 13 La guerra de los mundos: Capítulo 13 La guerre des mondes : chapitre 13 La guerra dei mondi: capitolo 13 Wojna światów: rozdział 13 A Guerra dos Mundos: Capítulo 13 Dünyalar Savaşı: Bölüm 13 Війна світів: Розділ 13

Chapter Thirteen How I Fell in with the Curate Capítulo Treze Como eu me relacionei com a cura

After getting this sudden lesson in the power of terrestrial weapons, the Martians retreated to their original position upon Horsell Common; and in their haste, and encumbered with the débris of their smashed companion, they no doubt overlooked many such a stray and negligible victim as myself. Depois de receber essa lição repentina sobre o poder das armas terrestres, os marcianos recuaram para sua posição original em Horsell Common; e em sua pressa, e sobrecarregados com os escombros de seu companheiro esmagado, eles sem dúvida deixaram passar muitas vítimas perdidas e insignificantes como eu. Had they left their comrade and pushed on forthwith, there was nothing at that time between them and London but batteries of twelve-pounder guns, and they would certainly have reached the capital in advance of the tidings of their approach; as sudden, dreadful, and destructive their advent would have been as the earthquake that destroyed Lisbon a century ago. Se tivessem deixado seu camarada e prosseguido imediatamente, não havia nada naquela época entre eles e Londres, exceto baterias de canhões de doze libras, e certamente teriam alcançado a capital antes da notícia de sua aproximação; tão repentino, terrível e destrutivo seu advento teria sido como o terremoto que destruiu Lisboa um século atrás. Если бы они оставили своего товарища и двинулись вперед, то в то время между ними и Лондоном не было бы ничего, кроме батарей двенадцатифунтовых орудий, и они, несомненно, достигли бы столицы раньше, чем известия об их приближении; таким же внезапным, ужасным и разрушительным было бы их появление, как землетрясение, разрушившее Лиссабон столетие назад.

But they were in no hurry. Mas eles não tinham pressa. Cylinder followed cylinder on its interplanetary flight; every twenty-four hours brought them reinforcement. Cilindro seguiu cilindro em seu vôo interplanetário; a cada vinte e quatro horas trazia reforços. And meanwhile the military and naval authorities, now fully alive to the tremendous power of their antagonists, worked with furious energy. E, enquanto isso, as autoridades militares e navais, agora plenamente vivas para o tremendo poder de seus antagonistas, trabalharam com furiosa energia. Every minute a fresh gun came into position until, before twilight, every copse, every row of suburban villas on the hilly slopes about Kingston and Richmond, masked an expectant black muzzle. A cada minuto, uma nova arma entrava em posição até que, antes do crepúsculo, cada bosque, cada fileira de vilas suburbanas nas encostas montanhosas de Kingston e Richmond, mascarava um focinho negro expectante. Каждую минуту новое орудие устанавливалось на позиции, пока перед сумерками каждая роща, каждый ряд пригородных вилл на холмистых склонах вокруг Кингстона и Ричмонда не маскировали выжидающее черное дуло. And through the charred and desolated area—perhaps twenty square miles altogether—that encircled the Martian encampment on Horsell Common, through charred and ruined villages among the green trees, through the blackened and smoking arcades that had been but a day ago pine spinneys, crawled the devoted scouts with the heliographs that were presently to warn the gunners of the Martian approach. E através da área carbonizada e desolada - talvez vinte milhas quadradas no total - que circundava o acampamento marciano em Horsell Common, através de aldeias carbonizadas e arruinadas entre as árvores verdes, através das arcadas enegrecidas e fumegantes que tinham sido apenas um dia atrás, pinheiros spinneys, rastejaram os devotados batedores com heliografias que deveriam alertar os artilheiros da aproximação marciana. But the Martians now understood our command of artillery and the danger of human proximity, and not a man ventured within a mile of either cylinder, save at the price of his life. Но марсиане теперь понимали наше владение артиллерией и опасность близости людей, и ни один человек не отваживался приблизиться на милю к любому из цилиндров, кроме как ценой своей жизни.

It would seem that these giants spent the earlier part of the afternoon in going to and fro, transferring everything from the second and third cylinders—the second in Addlestone Golf Links and the third at Pyrford—to their original pit on Horsell Common. Over that, above the blackened heather and ruined buildings that stretched far and wide, stood one as sentinel, while the rest abandoned their vast fighting-machines and descended into the pit. Acima dela, acima da urze enegrecida e dos edifícios em ruínas que se estendiam por toda a parte, estava um como sentinela, enquanto o resto abandonou suas enormes máquinas de combate e desceu para o fosso. They were hard at work there far into the night, and the towering pillar of dense green smoke that rose therefrom could be seen from the hills about Merrow, and even, it is said, from Banstead and Epsom Downs. Eles trabalharam arduamente lá noite adentro, e a coluna imponente de densa fumaça verde que se erguia dela podia ser vista das colinas ao redor de Merrow e até, dizem, de Banstead e Epsom Downs.

And while the Martians behind me were thus preparing for their next sally, and in front of me Humanity gathered for the battle, I made my way with infinite pains and labour from the fire and smoke of burning Weybridge towards London. E enquanto os marcianos atrás de mim estavam se preparando para sua próxima investida, e na minha frente a Humanidade se reunia para a batalha, eu abri meu caminho com infinitas dores e trabalho do fogo e da fumaça da queima de Weybridge em direção a Londres. И пока позади меня марсиане таким образом готовились к своему очередному вылазке, а передо мной человечество собралось для битвы, я с бесконечными болью и трудом пробирался от огня и дыма горящего Вейбриджа к Лондону.

I saw an abandoned boat, very small and remote, drifting down-stream; and throwing off the most of my sodden clothes, I went after it, gained it, and so escaped out of that destruction. Eu vi um barco abandonado, muito pequeno e remoto, navegando rio abaixo; e jogando fora a maior parte das minhas roupas encharcadas, fui atrás dele, ganhei-o e assim escapei daquela destruição. Я увидел брошенную лодку, очень маленькую и далекую, плывущую по течению; сбросив с себя большую часть промокшей одежды, я пошел за ней, добыл ее и таким образом спасся от этого разрушения. There were no oars in the boat, but I contrived to paddle, as well as my parboiled hands would allow, down the river towards Halliford and Walton, going very tediously and continually looking behind me, as you may well understand. I followed the river, because I considered that the water gave me my best chance of escape should these giants return. Segui o rio, porque considerava que a água me dava a melhor chance de escapar caso esses gigantes voltassem.

The hot water from the Martian’s overthrow drifted downstream with me, so that for the best part of a mile I could see little of either bank. A água quente da derrubada do marciano correu rio abaixo comigo, de modo que, por quase um quilômetro, pouco pude ver de qualquer das margens. Горячая вода после падения марсианина плыла вместе со мной вниз по течению, так что большую часть мили я почти не видел ни одного берега. Once, however, I made out a string of black figures hurrying across the meadows from the direction of Weybridge. Uma vez, no entanto, divisei uma série de figuras negras correndo pelos prados na direção de Weybridge. Halliford, it seemed, was deserted, and several of the houses facing the river were on fire. Halliford, ao que parecia, estava deserta e várias das casas de frente para o rio estavam em chamas. It was strange to see the place quite tranquil, quite desolate under the hot blue sky, with the smoke and little threads of flame going straight up into the heat of the afternoon. Era estranho ver o lugar bastante tranquilo, bastante desolado sob o céu azul escaldante, com a fumaça e pequenos fios de chamas subindo direto para o calor da tarde. Странно было видеть это место совершенно безмятежным, совершенно пустынным под жарким голубым небом, с дымом и струйками пламени, уходившими прямо в полдень. Never before had I seen houses burning without the accompaniment of an obstructive crowd. Nunca antes tinha visto casas queimando sem o acompanhamento de uma multidão obstrutiva. A little farther on the dry reeds up the bank were smoking and glowing, and a line of fire inland was marching steadily across a late field of hay. Um pouco mais adiante, nos juncos secos, subindo a margem, fumegava e brilhava, e uma linha de fogo para o interior marchava continuamente através de um campo de feno tardio.

For a long time I drifted, so painful and weary was I after the violence I had been through, and so intense the heat upon the water. Por muito tempo vaguei, tão dolorido e cansado estava eu depois da violência que havia sofrido, e tão intenso o calor sobre a água. Я долго дрейфовал, так болезненно и устало было мне после пережитого насилия и такого сильного зноя на воде. Then my fears got the better of me again, and I resumed my paddling. Então meus medos tomaram conta de mim novamente, e eu retomei meu remo. Затем мои страхи снова взяли верх надо мной, и я возобновил греблю. The sun scorched my bare back. O sol queimou minhas costas nuas. At last, as the bridge at Walton was coming into sight round the bend, my fever and faintness overcame my fears, and I landed on the Middlesex bank and lay down, deadly sick, amid the long grass. Por fim, quando a ponte em Walton estava aparecendo na curva, minha febre e fraqueza superaram meus medos, e eu pousei na margem do Middlesex e me deitei, mortalmente doente, em meio à grama alta. I suppose the time was then about four or five o’clock. Suponho que a hora era cerca de quatro ou cinco horas. I got up presently, walked perhaps half a mile without meeting a soul, and then lay down again in the shadow of a hedge. Eu me levantei imediatamente, caminhei talvez meia milha sem encontrar ninguém e então me deitei novamente à sombra de uma cerca viva. I seem to remember talking, wanderingly, to myself during that last spurt. Parece que me lembro de ter falado, vagamente, comigo mesma durante aquele último jorro. I was also very thirsty, and bitterly regretful I had drunk no more water. Eu também estava com muita sede e lamentava amargamente não ter bebido mais água. It is a curious thing that I felt angry with my wife; I cannot account for it, but my impotent desire to reach Leatherhead worried me excessively. É curioso sentir raiva de minha esposa; Não posso explicar, mas meu desejo impotente de chegar a Leatherhead me preocupava excessivamente.

I do not clearly remember the arrival of the curate, so that probably I dozed. Não me lembro com clareza da chegada do cura, de modo que provavelmente cochilei. I became aware of him as a seated figure in soot-smudged shirt sleeves, and with his upturned, clean-shaven face staring at a faint flickering that danced over the sky. Tomei consciência dele como uma figura sentada em mangas de camisa manchadas de fuligem e com seu rosto bem barbeado e voltado para uma luz bruxuleante que dançava no céu. The sky was what is called a mackerel sky—rows and rows of faint down-plumes of cloud, just tinted with the midsummer sunset.

I sat up, and at the rustle of my motion he looked at me quickly. Sentei-me e com o farfalhar do meu movimento ele olhou para mim rapidamente.

“Have you any water?” I asked abruptly. "Você tem água?" Eu perguntei abruptamente.

He shook his head. Ele balançou sua cabeça.

“You have been asking for water for the last hour,” he said. “Você tem pedido água há uma hora”, disse ele.

For a moment we were silent, taking stock of each other. Por um momento ficamos em silêncio, avaliando um ao outro. I dare say he found me a strange enough figure, naked, save for my water-soaked trousers and socks, scalded, and my face and shoulders blackened by the smoke. Ouso dizer que ele me achou uma figura bastante estranha, nua, exceto pelas minhas calças e meias encharcadas de água, escaldada, e meu rosto e ombros enegrecidos pela fumaça. His face was a fair weakness, his chin retreated, and his hair lay in crisp, almost flaxen curls on his low forehead; his eyes were rather large, pale blue, and blankly staring. Seu rosto era uma fraqueza razoável, seu queixo recuou, e seu cabelo estava em cachos crespos, quase louros em sua testa baixa; seus olhos eram bastante grandes, de um azul claro e fixos sem expressão. He spoke abruptly, looking vacantly away from me. Ele falou abruptamente, olhando vagamente para longe de mim.

“What does it mean?” he said. "O que isso significa?" ele disse. “What do these things mean?” “O que essas coisas significam?” «Что это значит?»

I stared at him and made no answer. Eu o encarei e não respondi.

He extended a thin white hand and spoke in almost a complaining tone. Ele estendeu a mão magra e branca e falou quase em um tom de reclamação.

“Why are these things permitted? “Por que essas coisas são permitidas? «Почему это дозволено? What sins have we done? Que pecados cometemos? The morning service was over, I was walking through the roads to clear my brain for the afternoon, and then—fire, earthquake, death! O culto da manhã acabou, eu estava andando pelas estradas para limpar meu cérebro para a tarde e então - fogo, terremoto, morte! As if it were Sodom and Gomorrah! Como se fosse Sodoma e Gomorra! All our work undone, all the work—— What are these Martians?” Todo o nosso trabalho desfeito, todo o trabalho—— O que são esses marcianos? ”

“What are we?” I answered, clearing my throat. "O que nós somos?" Eu respondi, limpando minha garganta.

He gripped his knees and turned to look at me again. Ele agarrou os joelhos e se virou para olhar para mim novamente. For half a minute, perhaps, he stared silently. Por meio minuto, talvez, ele olhou em silêncio.

“I was walking through the roads to clear my brain,” he said. “And suddenly—fire, earthquake, death!”

He relapsed into silence, with his chin now sunken almost to his knees. Ele recaiu no silêncio, com o queixo agora afundado quase até os joelhos.

Presently he began waving his hand. Logo ele começou a acenar com a mão.

“All the work—all the Sunday schools—— What have we done—what has Weybridge done? “Todo o trabalho - todas as escolas dominicais - O que nós fizemos - o que Weybridge fez? Everything gone—everything destroyed. Tudo se foi - tudo destruído. The church! A Igreja! We rebuilt it only three years ago. Nós o reconstruímos há apenas três anos. Gone! Swept out of existence! Why?”

Another pause, and he broke out again like one demented. Outra pausa, e ele irrompeu novamente como um louco.

“The smoke of her burning goeth up for ever and ever!” he shouted. "A fumaça da queima dela sobe para todo o sempre!" ele gritou.

His eyes flamed, and he pointed a lean finger in the direction of Weybridge. Seus olhos brilharam e ele apontou um dedo magro na direção de Weybridge.

By this time I was beginning to take his measure. A essa altura, eu estava começando a medi-lo. The tremendous tragedy in which he had been involved—it was evident he was a fugitive from Weybridge—had driven him to the very verge of his reason. A tremenda tragédia em que estivera envolvido - era evidente que ele era um fugitivo de Weybridge - o levara até o limite de sua razão. Ужасная трагедия, в которую он попал, — было очевидно, что он был беглецом из Вейбриджа, — довела его до крайности.

“Are we far from Sunbury?” “Estamos longe de Sunbury?”

I said, in a matter-of-fact tone. Eu disse, em um tom casual.

“What are we to do?” he asked. “O que devemos fazer?” ele perguntou. “Are these creatures everywhere? “Essas criaturas estão em todos os lugares? Has the earth been given over to them?” A terra foi entregue a eles? " Земля им дана?»

“Are we far from Sunbury?” “Only this morning I officiated at early celebration——” “Estamos longe de Sunbury?” “Só esta manhã eu oficializei na celebração antecipada——” “Things have changed,” I said, quietly. “As coisas mudaram,” eu disse, calmamente. “You must keep your head. “Você deve manter sua cabeça. There is still hope.” Ainda há esperança."

“Hope!”

“Yes. Plentiful hope—for all this destruction!” Muita esperança - por toda essa destruição! ”

I began to explain my view of our position. Comecei a explicar minha visão de nossa posição. He listened at first, but as I went on the interest dawning in his eyes gave place to their former stare, and his regard wandered from me. Ele ouviu a princípio, mas conforme eu continuei, o interesse surgindo em seus olhos deu lugar ao olhar anterior, e seu olhar se afastou de mim.

“This must be the beginning of the end,” he said, interrupting me. “Deve ser o começo do fim”, disse ele, me interrompendo. “The end! "O fim! The great and terrible day of the Lord! O grande e terrível dia do Senhor! When men shall call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall upon them and hide them—hide them from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne!” Quando os homens clamarem às montanhas e às rochas para cair sobre eles e escondê-los - esconda-os da face d'Aquele que está assentado no trono! ” Когда люди призовут горы и скалы, чтобы они обрушились на них и скрыли их — спрячьте их от лица Сидящего на престоле!»

I began to understand the position. Comecei a entender a posição. I ceased my laboured reasoning, struggled to my feet, and, standing over him, laid my hand on his shoulder. Eu parei de raciocinar com dificuldade, lutei para ficar de pé e, de pé sobre ele, coloquei minha mão em seu ombro.

“Be a man!” said I. "Seja um homem!" disse eu. “You are scared out of your wits! “Você está morrendo de medo! What good is religion if it collapses under calamity? De que adianta a religião se desmorona sob a calamidade? Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars and volcanoes, have done before to men! Pense no que terremotos e inundações, guerras e vulcões já fizeram aos homens! Did you think God had exempted Weybridge? Você acha que Deus isentou Weybridge? He is not an insurance agent.” Ele não é um agente de seguros. ”

For a time he sat in blank silence. Por um tempo ele ficou em um silêncio vazio.

“But how can we escape?” he asked, suddenly. “Mas como podemos escapar?” ele perguntou, de repente. “They are invulnerable, they are pitiless.” “Eles são invulneráveis, eles são impiedosos.”

“Neither the one nor, perhaps, the other,” I answered. “Nem um nem, talvez, o outro”, respondi. “And the mightier they are the more sane and wary should we be. “E quanto mais poderosos eles são, mais sensatos e cautelosos devemos ser. One of them was killed yonder not three hours ago.” Um deles foi morto lá há menos de três horas. "

“Killed!” he said, staring about him. "Morto!" disse ele, olhando ao redor. “How can God’s ministers be killed?” “Como os ministros de Deus podem ser mortos?”

“I saw it happen.” I proceeded to tell him. “Eu vi isso acontecer.” Eu comecei a contar a ele. “We have chanced to come in for the thick of it,” said I, “and that is all.” "Temos a chance de entrar no meio disso", disse eu, "e isso é tudo." -- Мы случайно попали в самое пекло, -- сказал я, -- и все.

“What is that flicker in the sky?” he asked abruptly.

I told him it was the heliograph signalling—that it was the sign of human help and effort in the sky. Eu disse a ele que era o sinal do heliógrafo - que era o sinal da ajuda humana e do esforço no céu. Я сказал ему, что это сигнал гелиографа, что это знак человеческой помощи и усилий в небе.

“We are in the midst of it,” I said, “quiet as it is. “Estamos no meio disso,” eu disse, “tranquilo como está. That flicker in the sky tells of the gathering storm. Essa luz bruxuleante no céu fala sobre a tempestade que se aproxima. Yonder, I take it are the Martians, and Londonward, where those hills rise about Richmond and Kingston and the trees give cover, earthworks are being thrown up and guns are being placed. Lá, suponho que sejam os marcianos e Londonward, onde aquelas colinas se erguem ao redor de Richmond e Kingston e as árvores dão cobertura, terraplenagens estão sendo erguidas e armas estão sendo colocadas. Вон там, я полагаю, марсиане и Лондон, где эти холмы возвышаются вокруг Ричмонда и Кингстона, и деревья укрывают их, возводятся земляные укрепления и устанавливаются пушки. Presently the Martians will be coming this way again.”

And even as I spoke he sprang to his feet and stopped me by a gesture. E, enquanto eu falava, ele se levantou de um salto e me deteve com um gesto.

“Listen!” he said. "Ouço!" ele disse.

From beyond the low hills across the water came the dull resonance of distant guns and a remote weird crying. Além das colinas baixas através da água, veio a ressonância maçante de armas distantes e um choro estranho e remoto. Then everything was still. Então tudo ficou quieto. A cockchafer came droning over the hedge and past us. Um besouro veio zumbindo sobre a sebe e passou por nós. High in the west the crescent moon hung faint and pale above the smoke of Weybridge and Shepperton and the hot, still splendour of the sunset.

“We had better follow this path,” I said, “northward.” “É melhor seguirmos este caminho”, eu disse, “para o norte”.