In London

           MyyoungerbrotherwasinLondonwhentheMartiansfellatWoking. Hewasamedicalstudentworkingforanimminentexamination,andheheardnothingofthearrivaluntilSaturdaymorning. ThemorningpapersonSaturdaycontained,inadditiontolengthyspecialarticlesontheplanetMars,onlifeintheplanets,andsoforth,abriefandvaguelywordedtelegram,allthemorestrikingforitsbrevity. 

           TheMartians,alarmedbytheapproachofacrowd,hadkilledanumberofpeoplewithaquick-firinggun,sothestoryran. Thetelegramconcludedwiththewords: "Formidableastheyseemtobe,theMartianshavenotmovedfromthepitintowhichtheyhavefallen,and,indeed,seemincapableofdoingso. Probablythisisduetotherelativestrengthoftheearth’sgravitationalenergy." Onthatlasttexttheirleader-writerexpandedverycomfortingly. 

           Ofcourseallthestudentsinthecrammer’sbiologyclass,towhichmybrotherwentthatday,wereintenselyinterested,buttherewerenosignsofanyunusualexcitementinthestreets. Theafternoonpaperspuffedscrapsofnewsunderbigheadlines. Theyhadnothingtotellbeyondthemovementsoftroopsaboutthecommon,andtheburningofthepinewoodsbetweenWokingandWeybridge,untileight. ThentheSt.James’sGazette,inanextra-specialedition,announcedthebarefactoftheinterruptionoftelegraphiccommunication. Thiswasthoughttobeduetothefallingofburningpinetreesacrosstheline. Nothingmoreofthefightingwasknownthatnight,thenightofmydrivetoLeatherheadandback. 

           Mybrotherfeltnoanxietyaboutus,asheknewfromthedescriptioninthepapersthatthecylinderwasagoodtwomilesfrommyhouse.