'Stepping out from behind my tree and looking back, I saw, through

the black pillars of the nearer trees, the flames of the burning

forest. It was my first fire coming after me. With that I looked for

Weena, but she was gone. The hissing and crackling behind me, the

explosive thud as each fresh tree burst into flame, left little

time for reflection. My iron bar still gripped, I followed in the

Morlocks' path. It was a close race. Once the flames crept forward

so swiftly on my right as I ran that I was outflanked and had to

strike off to the left. But at last I emerged upon a small open

space, and as I did so, a Morlock came blundering towards me, and

past me, and went on straight into the fire!

'And now I was to see the most weird and horrible thing, I think, of

all that I beheld in that future age. This whole space was as bright

as day with the reflection of the fire. In the centre was a hillock

or tumulus, surmounted by a scorched hawthorn. Beyond this was

another arm of the burning forest, with yellow tongues already

writhing from it, completely encircling the space with a fence of

fire. Upon the hill-side were some thirty or forty Morlocks, dazzled

by the light and heat, and blundering hither and thither against

each other in their bewilderment. At first I did not realize their

blindness, and struck furiously at them with my bar, in a frenzy of

fear, as they approached me, killing one and crippling several more.

But when I had watched the gestures of one of them groping under the

hawthorn against the red sky, and heard their moans, I was assured

of their absolute helplessness and misery in the glare, and I struck

104

The Time Machine