Машина времени
Chapter 5
Thereseveraltimes,asIscannedtheslope,Isawwhitefigures. TwiceIfanciedIsawasolitarywhite,ape-likecreaturerunningratherquicklyupthehill,andonceneartheruinsIsawaleashofthemcarryingsomedarkbody. Theymovedhastily.Ididnotseewhatbecameofthem. Itseemedthattheyvanishedamongthebushes. Thedawnwasstillindistinct,youmustunderstand. Iwasfeelingthatchill,uncertain,early-morningfeelingyoumayhaveknown. Idoubtedmyeyes.
‘Astheeasternskygrewbrighter,andthelightofthedaycameonanditsvividcolouringreturnedupontheworldoncemore,Iscannedtheviewkeenly. ButIsawnovestigeofmywhitefigures. Theyweremerecreaturesofthehalflight. "Theymusthavebeenghosts,"Isaid; "Iwonderwhencetheydated." ForaqueernotionofGrantAllen’scameintomyhead,andamusedme. Ifeachgenerationdieandleaveghosts,heargued,theworldatlastwillgetovercrowdedwiththem. OnthattheorytheywouldhavegrowninnumerablesomeEightHundredThousandYearshence,anditwasnogreatwondertoseefouratonce. Butthejestwasunsatisfying,andIwasthinkingofthesefiguresallthemorning,untilWeena’srescuedrovethemoutofmyhead. IassociatedtheminsomeindefinitewaywiththewhiteanimalIhadstartledinmyfirstpassionatesearchfortheTimeMachine. ButWeenawasapleasantsubstitute.Yetallthesame,theyweresoondestinedtotakefardeadlierpossessionofmymind.
‘IthinkIhavesaidhowmuchhotterthanourownwastheweatherofthisGoldenAge. Icannotaccountforit. Itmaybethatthesunwashotter,ortheearthnearerthesun. Itisusualtoassumethatthesunwillgooncoolingsteadilyinthefuture. Butpeople,unfamiliarwithsuchspeculationsasthoseoftheyoungerDarwin,forgetthattheplanetsmustultimatelyfallbackonebyoneintotheparentbody.
