big enough and airy enough for anyone. Then there s cellars, vaults,
stores, from which bolting passages may be made to the drains. And the
railway tunnels and subways. Eh? You begin to see? And we form a
band able-bodied, clean-minded men. We re not going to pick up any
rubbish that drifts in. Weaklings go out again.
As you meant me to go?
Well I parleyed, didn t I?
We won t quarrel about that. Go on.
Those who stop obey orders. Able-bodied, clean-minded women we want
also mothers and teachers. No lackadaisical ladies no blasted rolling
eyes. We can t have any weak or silly. Life is real again, and the
useless and cumbersome and mischievous have to die. They ought to die.
They ought to be willing to die. It s a sort of disloyalty, after all,
to live and taint the race. And they can t be happy. Moreover, dying s
none so dreadful; it s the funking makes it bad. And in all those
places we shall gather. Our district will be London. And we may even be
able to keep a watch, and run about in the open when the Martians keep
away. Play cricket, perhaps. That s how we shall save the race. Eh?
It s a possible thing? But saving the race is nothing in itself. As I
say, that s only being rats. It s saving our knowledge and adding to it
is the thing. There men like you come in. There s books, there s
models. We must make great safe places down deep, and get all the books
we can; not novels and poetry swipes, but ideas, science books. That s
where men like you come in. We must go to the British Museum and pick
all those books through. Especially we must keep up our science learn
more. We must watch these Martians. Some of us must go as spies. When
it s all working, perhaps I will. Get caught, I mean. And the great
thing is, we must leave the Martians alone. We mustn t even steal. If
we get in their way, we clear out. We must show them we mean no harm.
Yes, I know. But they re intelligent things, and they won t hunt us
down if they have all they want, and think we re just harmless vermin.
The artilleryman paused and laid a brown hand upon my arm.
After all, it may not be so much we may have to learn before Just
imagine this: four or five of their fighting machines suddenly starting
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