beneath my feet: could, indeed, almost see through it the Morlocks

on their ant-hill going hither and thither and waiting for the dark.

In my excitement I fancied that they would receive my invasion of

their burrows as a declaration of war. And why had they taken my

Time Machine?

'So we went on in the quiet, and the twilight deepened into night.

The clear blue of the distance faded, and one star after another

came out. The ground grew dim and the trees black. Weena's fears and

her fatigue grew upon her. I took her in my arms and talked to her

and caressed her. Then, as the darkness grew deeper, she put her

arms round my neck, and, closing her eyes, tightly pressed her face

against my shoulder. So we went down a long slope into a valley, and

there in the dimness I almost walked into a little river. This I

waded, and went up the opposite side of the valley, past a number

of sleeping houses, and by a statue--a Faun, or some such figure,

minus the head. Here too were acacias. So far I had seen nothing of

the Morlocks, but it was yet early in the night, and the darker hours

before the old moon rose were still to come.

'From the brow of the next hill I saw a thick wood spreading wide

and black before me. I hesitated at this. I could see no end to

it, either to the right or the left. Feeling tired--my feet, in

particular, were very sore--I carefully lowered Weena from my

shoulder as I halted, and sat down upon the turf. I could no

longer see the Palace of Green Porcelain, and I was in doubt of my

The Time Machine