The War of the Worlds, The War of the Worlds: Chapter 3

The War of the Worlds: Chapter 3

Chapter Three On Horsell Common

I found a little crowd of perhaps twenty people surrounding the huge hole in which the cylinder lay. I have already described the appearance of that colossal bulk, embedded in the ground. The turf and gravel about it seemed charred as if by a sudden explosion. No doubt its impact had caused a flash of fire. Henderson and Ogilvy were not there. I think they perceived that nothing was to be done for the present, and had gone away to breakfast at Henderson's house.

There were four or five boys sitting on the edge of the Pit, with their feet dangling, and amusing themselves—until I stopped them—by throwing stones at the giant mass. After I had spoken to them about it, they began playing at “touch” in and out of the group of bystanders.

Among these were a couple of cyclists, a jobbing gardener I employed sometimes, a girl carrying a baby, Gregg the butcher and his little boy, and two or three loafers and golf caddies who were accustomed to hang about the railway station. There was very little talking. Few of the common people in England had anything but the vaguest astronomical ideas in those days. Most of them were staring quietly at the big tablelike end of the cylinder, which was still as Ogilvy and Henderson had left it. I fancy the popular expectation of a heap of charred corpses was disappointed at this inanimate bulk. Some went away while I was there, and other people came. I clambered into the pit and fancied I heard a faint movement under my feet. The top had certainly ceased to rotate.

It was only when I got thus close to it that the strangeness of this object was at all evident to me. At the first glance it was really no more exciting than an overturned carriage or a tree blown across the road. Not so much so, indeed. It looked like a rusty gas float. It required a certain amount of scientific education to perceive that the grey scale of the Thing was no common oxide, that the yellowish-white metal that gleamed in the crack between the lid and the cylinder had an unfamiliar hue. “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for most of the onlookers.

At that time it was quite clear in my own mind that the Thing had come from the planet Mars, but I judged it improbable that it contained any living creature. I thought the unscrewing might be automatic. In spite of Ogilvy, I still believed that there were men in Mars. My mind ran fancifully on the possibilities of its containing manuscript, on the difficulties in translation that might arise, whether we should find coins and models in it, and so forth. Yet it was a little too large for assurance on this idea. I felt an impatience to see it opened. About eleven, as nothing seemed happening, I walked back, full of such thought, to my home in Maybury. But I found it difficult to get to work upon my abstract investigations.

In the afternoon the appearance of the common had altered very much. The early editions of the evening papers had startled London with enormous headlines:

“A MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM MARS.”

“REMARKABLE STORY FROM WOKING,”

and so forth. In addition, Ogilvy's wire to the Astronomical Exchange had roused every observatory in the three kingdoms.

There were half a dozen flies or more from the Woking station standing in the road by the sand pits, a basket-chaise from Chobham, and a rather lordly carriage. Besides that, there was quite a heap of bicycles. In addition, a large number of people must have walked, in spite of the heat of the day, from Woking and Chertsey, so that there was altogether quite a considerable crowd—one or two gaily dressed ladies among the others.

Going to the edge of the pit, I found it occupied by a group of about half a dozen men—Henderson, Ogilvy, and a tall, fair-haired man that I afterwards learned was Stent, the Astronomer Royal, with several workmen wielding spades and pickaxes. Stent was giving directions in a clear, high-pitched voice. He was standing on the cylinder, which was now evidently much cooler; his face was crimson and streaming with perspiration, and something seemed to have irritated him.

A large portion of the cylinder had been uncovered, though its lower end was still embedded. As soon as Ogilvy saw me among the staring crowd on the edge of the pit he called to me to come down, and asked me if I would mind going over to see Lord Hilton, the lord of the manor.

The growing crowd, he said, was becoming a serious impediment to their excavations, especially the boys. They wanted a light railing put up, and help to keep the people back. He told me that a faint stirring was occasionally still audible within the case, but that the workmen had failed to unscrew the top, as it afforded no grip to them. The case appeared to be enormously thick, and it was possible that the faint sounds we heard represented a noisy tumult in the interior.

I was very glad to do as he asked, and so become one of the privileged spectators within the contemplated enclosure. I failed to find Lord Hilton at his house, but I was told he was expected from London by the six o'clock train from Waterloo; and as it was then about a quarter past five, I went home, had some tea, and walked up to the station to waylay him.

To hear audio for this text, and to learn the vocabulary sign up for a free LingQ account.

Откройте этот урок на LingQ

The War of the Worlds: Chapter 3 Der Krieg der Welten: Kapitel 3 La guerra de los mundos: Capítulo 3 La guerre des mondes : chapitre 3 La guerra dei mondi: capitolo 3 A Guerra dos Mundos: Capítulo 3 Война миров: Глава 3

Chapter Three On Horsell Common

I found a little crowd of perhaps twenty people surrounding the huge hole in which the cylinder lay. I have already described the appearance of that colossal bulk, embedded in the ground. Já descrevi a aparência daquela massa colossal, cravada no solo. The turf and gravel about it seemed charred as if by a sudden explosion. No doubt its impact had caused a flash of fire. Henderson and Ogilvy were not there. Henderson e Ogilvy não estavam lá. I think they perceived that nothing was to be done for the present, and had gone away to breakfast at Henderson’s house. Acho que perceberam que nada havia a ser feito no momento e foram tomar o café da manhã na casa de Henderson.

There were four or five boys sitting on the edge of the Pit, with their feet dangling, and amusing themselves—until I stopped them—by throwing stones at the giant mass. Havia quatro ou cinco meninos sentados na beira do Poço, com os pés balançando, e se divertindo - até que eu os impedi - jogando pedras na massa gigante. After I had spoken to them about it, they began playing at “touch” in and out of the group of bystanders. Depois que eu falei com eles sobre isso, eles começaram a tocar "tocar" dentro e fora do grupo de espectadores. После того, как я поговорил с ними об этом, они начали играть в «прикосновение» в группе наблюдателей и вне их.

Among these were a couple of cyclists, a jobbing gardener I employed sometimes, a girl carrying a baby, Gregg the butcher and his little boy, and two or three loafers and golf caddies who were accustomed to hang about the railway station. Среди них были пара велосипедистов, садовник, которого я иногда нанимал, девочка с ребенком на руках, мясник Грегг и его маленький мальчик, а также двое или трое бездельников и кедди для гольфа, которые привыкли слоняться по вокзалу. There was very little talking. Few of the common people in England had anything but the vaguest astronomical ideas in those days. Poucas pessoas comuns na Inglaterra tinham qualquer coisa além das idéias astronômicas mais vagas naquela época. Most of them were staring quietly at the big tablelike end of the cylinder, which was still as Ogilvy and Henderson had left it. I fancy the popular expectation of a heap of charred corpses was disappointed at this inanimate bulk. Imagino que a expectativa popular de uma pilha de cadáveres carbonizados ficou desapontada com esse volume inanimado. Some went away while I was there, and other people came. I clambered into the pit and fancied I heard a faint movement under my feet. The top had certainly ceased to rotate.

It was only when I got thus close to it that the strangeness of this object was at all evident to me. At the first glance it was really no more exciting than an overturned carriage or a tree blown across the road. Not so much so, indeed. Na verdade, não tanto. It looked like a rusty gas float. Он был похож на ржавый газовый поплавок. It required a certain amount of scientific education to perceive that the grey scale of the Thing was no common oxide, that the yellowish-white metal that gleamed in the crack between the lid and the cylinder had an unfamiliar hue. “Extra-terrestrial” had no meaning for most of the onlookers. «Внеземной» не имел значения для большинства зрителей.

At that time it was quite clear in my own mind that the Thing had come from the planet Mars, but I judged it improbable that it contained any living creature. Naquela época, estava muito claro para mim que a Coisa viera do planeta Marte, mas achei improvável que contivesse alguma criatura viva. I thought the unscrewing might be automatic. Achei que o desaparafusamento poderia ser automático. In spite of Ogilvy, I still believed that there were men in Mars. Apesar de Ogilvy, eu ainda acreditava que havia homens em Marte. My mind ran fancifully on the possibilities of its containing manuscript, on the difficulties in translation that might arise, whether we should find coins and models in it, and so forth. Minha mente percorreu fantasiosamente as possibilidades de seu manuscrito conter, as dificuldades de tradução que poderiam surgir, se deveríamos encontrar moedas e modelos nele, e assim por diante. Yet it was a little too large for assurance on this idea. No entanto, era um pouco grande para garantir essa ideia. I felt an impatience to see it opened. Senti uma impaciência ao vê-lo aberto. About eleven, as nothing seemed happening, I walked back, full of such thought, to my home in Maybury. Por volta das onze, como nada parecia acontecendo, voltei, cheio de pensamentos, para minha casa em Maybury. But I found it difficult to get to work upon my abstract investigations. Mas achei difícil trabalhar em minhas investigações abstratas.

In the afternoon the appearance of the common had altered very much. À tarde, a aparência do comum mudou muito. К вечеру вид обыкновенного сильно изменился. The early editions of the evening papers had startled London with enormous headlines: As primeiras edições dos jornais vespertinos surpreenderam Londres com manchetes enormes:

“A MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM MARS.” “UMA MENSAGEM RECEBIDA DE MARTE.”

“REMARKABLE STORY FROM WOKING,” “HISTÓRIA NOTÁVEL DE WOKING,”

and so forth. e assim por diante. In addition, Ogilvy’s wire to the Astronomical Exchange had roused every observatory in the three kingdoms. Além disso, a ligação de Ogilvy ao Astronomical Exchange havia despertado todos os observatórios nos três reinos.

There were half a dozen flies or more from the Woking station standing in the road by the sand pits, a basket-chaise from Chobham, and a rather lordly carriage. Havia meia dúzia de moscas ou mais da estação de Woking paradas na estrada perto dos poços de areia, uma carruagem de cesto de Chobham e uma carruagem bastante nobre. На дороге у песчаных карьеров стояло с полдюжины или больше мух со станции Уокинг, корзина-фаэтон из Чобхэма и довольно вельможная карета. Besides that, there was quite a heap of bicycles. Além disso, havia um monte de bicicletas. In addition, a large number of people must have walked, in spite of the heat of the day, from Woking and Chertsey, so that there was altogether quite a considerable crowd—one or two gaily dressed ladies among the others. Além disso, um grande número de pessoas deve ter caminhado, apesar do calor do dia, de Woking e Chertsey, de modo que havia ao todo uma multidão considerável - uma ou duas senhoras bem vestidas entre as outras.

It was glaringly hot, not a cloud in the sky nor a breath of wind, and the only shadow was that of the few scattered pine trees. The burning heather had been extinguished, but the level ground towards Ottershaw was blackened as far as one could see, and still giving off vertical streamers of smoke. A urze em chamas havia sido extinta, mas o terreno plano em direção a Ottershaw estava enegrecido até onde se podia ver, e ainda emitia faixas verticais de fumaça. Горящий вереск был потушен, но ровная местность в направлении Оттершоу была черной, насколько можно было видеть, и все еще испускала вертикальные полосы дыма. An enterprising sweet-stuff dealer in the Chobham Road had sent up his son with a barrow-load of green apples and ginger beer. Um empreendedor negociante de doces na Chobham Road mandou seu filho com um carrinho de mão cheio de maçãs verdes e cerveja de gengibre. Предприимчивый торговец сладостями на Чобхэм-роуд прислал своего сына с тачкой зеленых яблок и имбирного пива.

Going to the edge of the pit, I found it occupied by a group of about half a dozen men—Henderson, Ogilvy, and a tall, fair-haired man that I afterwards learned was Stent, the Astronomer Royal, with several workmen wielding spades and pickaxes. Indo para a borda do poço, encontrei-o ocupado por um grupo de cerca de meia dúzia de homens - Henderson, Ogilvy e um homem alto e louro que depois soube que era Stent, o Astrônomo Real, com vários trabalhadores empunhando espadas e picaretas. Stent was giving directions in a clear, high-pitched voice. Stent dava instruções com uma voz clara e estridente. He was standing on the cylinder, which was now evidently much cooler; his face was crimson and streaming with perspiration, and something seemed to have irritated him. Ele estava de pé no cilindro, que agora estava evidentemente muito mais frio; seu rosto estava vermelho e escorrendo de suor, e algo parecia tê-lo irritado.

A large portion of the cylinder had been uncovered, though its lower end was still embedded. Uma grande parte do cilindro havia sido descoberta, embora sua extremidade inferior ainda estivesse embutida. As soon as Ogilvy saw me among the staring crowd on the edge of the pit he called to me to come down, and asked me if I would mind going over to see Lord Hilton, the lord of the manor. Assim que Ogilvy me viu no meio da multidão que olhava fixamente à beira da cova, ele me chamou para descer e perguntou se eu me importaria de ir ver Lord Hilton, o senhor do feudo.

The growing crowd, he said, was becoming a serious impediment to their excavations, especially the boys. A multidão crescente, disse ele, estava se tornando um sério impedimento para as escavações, especialmente os meninos. They wanted a light railing put up, and help to keep the people back. Eles queriam colocar uma grade leve para ajudar a manter as pessoas afastadas. Они хотели установить легкие перила и помочь удержать людей. He told me that a faint stirring was occasionally still audible within the case, but that the workmen had failed to unscrew the top, as it afforded no grip to them. Ele me disse que ocasionalmente ainda se ouvia um leve movimento dentro da caixa, mas que os operários não conseguiram desatarraxar a tampa, pois ela não dava para segurá-la. Он сказал мне, что иногда в ящике все еще было слышно слабое шевеление, но рабочие не смогли отвинтить крышку, так как она не позволяла им ухватиться. The case appeared to be enormously thick, and it was possible that the faint sounds we heard represented a noisy tumult in the interior. A caixa parecia ser enormemente densa e era possível que os sons fracos que ouvíamos representassem um tumulto barulhento no interior. Корпус оказался чрезвычайно толстым, и, возможно, слабые звуки, которые мы слышали, представляли собой шумную суматоху внутри.

I was very glad to do as he asked, and so become one of the privileged spectators within the contemplated enclosure. Fiquei muito feliz em fazer o que ele pediu, e assim me tornar um dos espectadores privilegiados dentro do recinto contemplado. I failed to find Lord Hilton at his house, but I was told he was expected from London by the six o’clock train from Waterloo; and as it was then about a quarter past five, I went home, had some tea, and walked up to the station to waylay him. Não consegui encontrar Lord Hilton em sua casa, mas me disseram que ele era esperado de Londres no trem das seis horas de Waterloo; e como já eram cerca de cinco e quinze, voltei para casa, tomei um chá e subi até a estação para atacá-lo. Мне не удалось найти лорда Хилтона в его доме, но мне сказали, что его ждут из Лондона шестичасовым поездом из Ватерлоо; а так как было тогда около четверти пятого, я пошел домой, выпил чаю и пошел на станцию, чтобы подкараулить его.