Leatherhead is about twelve miles from Maybury Hill. The air smelled like grass and flowers during the drive. The sound of the guns stopped suddenly. The evening became very quiet and peaceful. We arrived at Leatherhead at nine o’clock. The horse rested for one hour. I had dinner with my cousins and left my wife with them.
My wife did not speak much during the drive. She was very afraid and thought something bad would happen. I tried to make her feel better. I said the Martians were very heavy. I told her they could only crawl slowly out of their pit. But her face was very white when I said goodbye.
I was very excited all day. I wanted to go back to Maybury Hill. I wanted to see the end of the fight. I thought the soldiers would win quickly. I wanted to be there when the soldiers killed the Martians.
I started my trip back at eleven o’clock. The night was very dark and hot. There was no wind, but the clouds moved fast in the sky. My cousins’ servant lit the lamps on the dog cart (a small cart pulled by a horse). I knew the road very well. My wife watched me from the door until I drove away.
I felt a little sad because my wife was worried. But soon I thought about the Martians again. I did not know what happened in the fight during the evening. I saw a red light in the sky toward the west. A big storm was coming. The black and red smoke mixed with the clouds.
The streets in the villages were empty. I saw a few people standing together, but they did not speak to me. I did not know if the people in the houses were sleeping or if they were hiding. The houses were dark and silent.
I drove into a valley and I could not see the red light anymore. Then I drove up a small hill. I heard the church clock hit midnight. I saw Maybury Hill in the distance. The roofs of the houses looked black against the red sky.
Suddenly, a bright green light filled the road. I pulled the reins (the long leather ropes used to control a horse) to stop the horse. I saw a flash of green fire fall from the clouds into a field. It was the third falling star from Mars!
Then I saw a flash of purple lightning. The thunder was very loud. The horse was very scared and it started to run. We ran fast down the hill. The lightning was very bright and it did not stop. Big pieces of ice fell from the sky and hit my face.
I looked at the road in front of me. Then I saw something moving on Maybury Hill. At first, I thought it was the wet roof of a house. But more lightning showed that the object was moving fast. It was a strange and scary sight.
I saw a giant tripod (a machine with three long legs). It was taller than many houses. It walked over the trees and broke them easily. It was a giant machine made of shiny metal. Long metal ropes hung from its body like arms. It moved very fast across the land.
The machine looked like a giant stool walking on the ground. Then the trees in front of me broke. A second giant machine appeared. It ran toward me very fast. I was terrified. I pulled the horse’s head to the right.
The cart turned over and the wood broke with a loud noise. I fell into a small pool of water. I crawled out and hid under some bushes. My feet were still in the water. The horse did not move. Its neck was broken and the poor animal was dead.
The giant machine walked past me. It was not just a machine. It seemed to think. It had long, shiny tentacles (long, thin arms that can bend) that moved around its body. One tentacle held a small tree. The top of the machine moved like a head looking for something.
I saw green smoke come out of the machine as it ran. It made a very loud and happy shout: “Aloo! Aloo!” This sound was louder than the thunder. The machine went to the other machine in a field. They stood over the third cylinder from Mars.
I lay in the rain and the dark for many minutes. I watched the giant metal monsters move in the distance. Sometimes the lightning showed them clearly. Then the night became black and they disappeared.
I was very wet and cold. Finally, I stood up and ran to a small wooden house. I hit the door, but no one answered. I crawled into a ditch (a long, narrow hole for water) so the machines could not see me. I reached the woods near my house.
I walked through the dark trees. The rain was very heavy and I was shivering. I did not know what to do. I should have gone back to my wife in Leatherhead. But I was tired and my body hurt. I only wanted to go to my own house.
I walked through the trees and fell into a hole. Finally, I reached the road near my house. The rain moved the sand down the hill like a river. A man ran into me in the dark. He was very scared. He screamed and ran away before I could speak.
I walked up the hill. I hit something soft on the ground. A flash of lightning showed a man lying near a fence. He wore a black coat and boots. I waited for more lightning. I saw the man was lying in a strange way.
I was afraid to touch a dead person, but I checked his heart. He was dead. His neck was broken. The lightning flashed again and I saw his face. I jumped up. It was the owner of the Spotted Dog. I was using his horse and his cart.
I walked past the dead man and went to my house. The hill was not burning now, but I saw a red light from the common. My house was safe. I heard voices on the road, but I was too afraid to shout.
I went inside and locked the door. I sat down at the bottom of the stairs. I was shaking very much. I could only think about the giant metal monsters and the dead man on the hill.