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13 - How I Fell In with the Curate - The War of the Worlds - H G Wells · Classic Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirteen, how I fell in with the curate. After
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  Speaker 1: getting this sudden lesson in the power of terrestrial weapons,
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  Speaker 1: the Martians retreated to their original position upon haws or Common,
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  Speaker 1: and in their haste, and encumbered with the debris of
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  Speaker 1: their smashed companion, they no doubt overlooked many such a
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  Speaker 1: stray and negligible victim as myself. Had they left their
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  Speaker 1: comrade and pushed on forthwith there was nothing at that
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  Speaker 1: time between them and London but batteries of twelve pounder guns,
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  Speaker 1: and they would certainly have reached the capital in advance
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  Speaker 1: of the tidings of their approach. As sudden, dreadful, and destructive,
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  Speaker 1: their advent would have been as the earthquake that destroyed
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  Speaker 1: Lisbon a century ago. But they were in no hurry.
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  Speaker 1: Cylinder followed Cylinder on its interplanetary flight every twenty four
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  Speaker 1: hours brought them reinforcement. And meanwhile, the military and naval authorities,
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  Speaker 1: now fully alive to the tremendous power of their antagonists,
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  Speaker 1: worked with furious energy. Every minute a fresh gum came
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  Speaker 1: into position, until before twilight, every copse every row of
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  Speaker 1: suburban villas on the hilly slopes about Kingston and Richmond
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  Speaker 1: masked an expectant black muzzle, and through the charred and
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  Speaker 1: desolated area perhaps twenty square miles altogether that encircled the
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  Speaker 1: Martian encampment on Horsell Common, through charred and ruined villages,
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  Speaker 1: among the green trees, through the blackened and smoking arcades
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  Speaker 1: that had been but a day ago. Pine spinneys crawled
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  Speaker 1: the devoted scouts with the heliographs that were presently to
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  Speaker 1: warn the gunners of the Martian approach. But the Martians
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  Speaker 1: now understood our command of artillery and the danger of
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  Speaker 1: human proximity, and not a man ventured within a mile
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  Speaker 1: of either cylinder, save at the price of his life.
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  Speaker 1: It would seem that these giants spent the earlier part
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  Speaker 1: of the afternoon in going to and fro transferring everything
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  Speaker 1: from the second and third cylinders, the second in Addlestone
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  Speaker 1: golf Links, and the third at Purford to their original
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  Speaker 1: pit on Horsel Common. Over that above, the blackened heather
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  Speaker 1: and ruined buildings that stretched far and wide stood one
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  Speaker 1: as sentinel, while the rest abandoned their vast fighting machines
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  Speaker 1: and descended into the pit. They were hard at work
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  Speaker 1: there far into the night, and the towering pillar of
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  Speaker 1: dense green smoke that rose therefrom could be seen from
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  Speaker 1: the hills about Merrow, and even it is said, from
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  Speaker 1: Banstead and Epsom Downs. And while the Martians behind me
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  Speaker 1: were thus preparing for their next sally, and in front
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  Speaker 1: of me humanity gathered for the battle. I made my
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  Speaker 1: way with infinite pains and labor from the fire and
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  Speaker 1: smoke of burning Weybridge towards London. I saw an abandoned boat,
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  Speaker 1: very small and remote, drifting down stream and throwing off
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  Speaker 1: the most of my sodden clothes. I went after it,
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  Speaker 1: gained it, and so escaped out of that destruction. There
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  Speaker 1: were no oars in the boat, but I contrived to
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  Speaker 1: paddle as well as my parboiled hands would allow down
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  Speaker 1: the river towards Haliford and Walton, going very tediously and
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  Speaker 1: continually looking behind me. As you may well understand, I
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  Speaker 1: followed the river because I considered that the water gave
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  Speaker 1: me my best chance of escape should these giants return.
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  Speaker 1: The hot water from the Martian's overthrow drifted downstream with me,
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  Speaker 1: so that for the best part of a mile I
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  Speaker 1: could see little of either bank. Once, however, I made
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  Speaker 1: out a string of black figures hurrying across the meadows
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  Speaker 1: from the direction of Weybridge, Haliford. It seemed was deserted,
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  Speaker 1: and several of them. The houses facing the river were
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  Speaker 1: on fire. It was strange to see the place quite tranquil,
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  Speaker 1: quite desolate, under the hot blue sky, with the smoke
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  Speaker 1: and little threads of flame going straight up into the
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  Speaker 1: heat of the afternoon. Never before had I seen houses
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  Speaker 1: burning without the accompaniment of an obstructive crowd. A little
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  Speaker 1: farther on the dry reeds up the bank were smoking
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  Speaker 1: and glowing, and a line of fire inland was marching
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  Speaker 1: steadily across a late field of hay. For a long
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  Speaker 1: time I drifted, So painful and weary was I after
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  Speaker 1: the violence I had been through, and so intense the
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  Speaker 1: heat upon the water. Then my fears got the better
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  Speaker 1: of me again, and I resumed my paddling. The sun
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  Speaker 1: scorched my bare back. At last, as the bridge at
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  Speaker 1: Walton was coming into sight round the bend, my fever
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  Speaker 1: and faintness overcame my fears, and I landed on the
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  Speaker 1: Middlesex Bank and lay down deadly sick among the long grass.
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  Speaker 1: I suppose the time was then about four or five o'clock.
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  Speaker 1: I got up, presently walked perhaps half a mile without
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  Speaker 1: meeting a soul, and then lay down again in the
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  Speaker 1: shadow of a hedge. I seemed to remember talking wonderingly
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  Speaker 1: to myself during that last spurt. I was also very
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  Speaker 1: thirsty and bitterly regretful I had drunk no more water.
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  Speaker 1: It is a curious thing that I felt angry with
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  Speaker 1: my wife. I cannot account for it, but my impotent
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  Speaker 1: desire to reach leatherhead worried me excessively. I do not
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  Speaker 1: clearly remember the arrival of the curate, so that probably
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  Speaker 1: I dozed. I became aware of him as a seated
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  Speaker 1: figure in soot smudged shirt sleeves and with his upturned,
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  Speaker 1: clean shaven face, staring at a faint flickering that danced
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  Speaker 1: over the sky. The sky was what is called a
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  Speaker 1: mackerel sky, rows and rows of faint down plumes of
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  Speaker 1: claud just tinted with the midsummer sunset. I sat up,
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  Speaker 1: and at the rustle of my motion, he looked at
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  Speaker 1: me quickly. Have you any water, I asked abruptly. He
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  Speaker 1: shook his head. You have been asking for water for
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  Speaker 1: the last hour, he said, for a moment we were silent,
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  Speaker 1: taking stock of each other. I dare say he found
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  Speaker 1: me a strange enough figure, naked, save for my water
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  Speaker 1: soaked trousers and socks scalded, and my face and shoulders
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  Speaker 1: blackened by the smoke. His face was a fair weakness,
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  Speaker 1: his chin retreated, and his hair lay in crisp, almost
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  Speaker 1: flaxen curls on his low forehead. His eyes were rather large,
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  Speaker 1: pale blue, and blankly staring. He spoke abruptly, looking vacantly
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  Speaker 1: away from me. What does it mean? He said? What
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  Speaker 1: are these things mean? I stared at him and made
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  Speaker 1: no answer. He extended a thin white hand and spoke,
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  Speaker 1: in almost a complaining tone. Why are these things permitted?
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  Speaker 1: What sins have we done? The morning service was over.
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  Speaker 1: I was walking through the roads to clear my brain
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  Speaker 1: for the afternoon and then fire, earthquake, death, as if
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  Speaker 1: it were sodom and gomorrah, all our work undone, all
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  Speaker 1: the work? What are these martians? What are we? I answered,
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  Speaker 1: clearing my throat. He gripped his knees and turned to
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  Speaker 1: look at me again. For half a minute, perhaps he
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  Speaker 1: stared silently. I was walking through the roads to clear
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  Speaker 1: my brain, he said, and suddenly fire, earthquake, death. He
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  Speaker 1: relapsed into silence, with his chin now sunken almost to
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  Speaker 1: his knees. Presently he began waving his hand. All the work,
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  Speaker 1: all the Sunday schools? What have we done? What has
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  Speaker 1: Weybridge done? Everything gone? Everything destroyed? The church we rebuilt
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  Speaker 1: it only three years ago, gone, swept out of existence? Why?
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  Speaker 1: Another pause, and he broke out again, like one demented.
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  Speaker 1: The smoke of her burning goeth up forever and ever.
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  Speaker 1: He shouted. His eyes flamed, and he pointed a lean
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  Speaker 1: finger in the direction of Weybridge. By this time I
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  Speaker 1: was beginning to take his measure. The tremendous tragedy in
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  Speaker 1: which he had been involved. It was evident he was
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  Speaker 1: a fugitive from Weybridge had driven him to the very
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  Speaker 1: verge of his reason. Are we far from Sunbury? I said,
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  Speaker 1: in a matter of fact tone. What are we to do?
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  Speaker 1: He asked? Are these creatures everywhere? Has the earth been
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  Speaker 1: given over to them? Are we far from Sunbury? Only
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  Speaker 1: this morning, I officiated at early celebration. Things have changed,
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  Speaker 1: I said quietly. You must keep your head. There is
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  Speaker 1: still hope, hope, yes, plentiful hope. For all this destruction.
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  Speaker 1: I began to explain my view of our position. He
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  Speaker 1: listened at first, but as I went on, the interest
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  Speaker 1: dawning in his eyes gave place to their former stare,
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  Speaker 1: and his regard wandered from me. This must be the
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  Speaker 1: beginning of the end, he said, interrupting me. The end,
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  Speaker 1: the great and terrible day of the Lord, when men
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  Speaker 1: shall call upon the mountains and the rocks to fall
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  Speaker 1: upon them and hide them, hide them from the face
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  Speaker 1: of Him that sitteth upon the throne. I began to
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  Speaker 1: understand the position. I ceased my labored reasoning, struggled to
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  Speaker 1: my feet, and, standing over him, laid my hand on
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  Speaker 1: his shoulder. Be a man, said I, you were scared
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  Speaker 1: out of your wits. What good is religion if it
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  Speaker 1: collapses under calamity. Think of what earthquakes and floods, wars
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  Speaker 1: and volcanoes have done before to men. Did you think
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  Speaker 1: God had exempted Weybridge, He is not an insurance agent.
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  Speaker 1: For a time he sat in blank silence. But how
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  Speaker 1: can we escape, he asked. Suddenly they are invulnerable, they
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  Speaker 1: are pitiless, neither the one nor perhaps the other, I answered,
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  Speaker 1: And the mightier they are the more sane and wary
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  Speaker 1: should we be. One of them was killed Yonder not
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  Speaker 1: three hours ago. Killed, he said, staring about him. How
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  Speaker 1: can God's ministers be killed? I saw it happen. I
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  Speaker 1: proceeded to tell him. We have chance to come in
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  Speaker 1: for the thick of it, said I. And that is all.
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  Speaker 1: What is that flicker in the sky, he asked abruptly.
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  Speaker 1: I told him it was the heliograph signal, that it
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  Speaker 1: was a sign of human help and effort in the sky.
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  Speaker 1: We are in the midst of it, I said, quiet
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  Speaker 1: as it is. That flicker in the sky tells of
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  Speaker 1: the gathering storm. Yonder, I take it are the Martians
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  Speaker 1: and London Wood, where those hills rise about Richmond and Kingston,
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  Speaker 1: and the trees give cover. Earthworks are being thrown up
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  Speaker 1: and guns are being placed. Presently the Martians were becoming
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  Speaker 1: this way again. And even as I spoke, he sprang
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  Speaker 1: to his feet and stopped me by a gesture. Listen,
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  Speaker 1: he said. From beyond the low hills across the water
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  Speaker 1: came the dull resonance of distant guns and a remote
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  Speaker 1: weird crying. Then everything was still A cockchafer came droning
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  Speaker 1: over the hedge and pasted us. High in the west,
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  Speaker 1: the crescent moon hung faint and pale above the smoke
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  Speaker 1: of Weybridge and Shepperton, and the hot, still splendor of
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  Speaker 1: the sunset. We had better follow this path, I said.
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  Speaker 1: Northward end of Section thirteen.