Chapter 18

In the Sunlight

13 min

Presently we saw that the cavern before us opened upon a hazy void. In another moment we had emerged upon a sort of slanting gallery, that projected into a vast circular space, a huge cylindrical pit running vertically up and down. Round this pit the slanting gallery ran without any parapet or protection for a turn and a half, and then plunged high above into the rock again. Somehow it reminded me then of one of those spiral turns of the railway through the Saint Gothard. It was all tremendously huge. I can scarcely hope to convey to you the Titanic proportion of all that place, the Titanic effect of it. Our eyes followed up the vast declivity of the pit wall, and overhead and far above we beheld a round opening set with faint stars, and half of the lip about it well nigh blinding with the white light of the sun. At that we cried aloud simultaneously.

Soon we saw that the cavern ahead of us opened onto a hazy void. A moment later, we emerged onto a kind of sloping gallery. It jutted into a vast circular space, a huge cylindrical pit stretching vertically above and below us. The gallery wound around the pit one and a half times, with no railing or protection. Then, high above us, it plunged back into the rock. Somehow it reminded me of one of the railway’s spiral turns through the Saint Gothard. Everything was tremendously huge. I can hardly hope to convey the Titanic proportions of the place, or its Titanic effect. Our eyes followed the vast slope of the pit wall upward. Far overhead, we saw a round opening dotted with faint stars. Around half its rim, the white sunlight was nearly blinding. At that, we both cried out at once.

“Come on!” I said, leading the way.

“But there?” said Cavor, and very carefully stepped nearer the edge of the gallery. I followed his example, and craned forward and looked down, but I was dazzled by that gleam of light above, and I could see only a bottomless darkness with spectral patches of crimson and purple floating therein. Yet if I could not see, I could hear. Out of this darkness came a sound, a sound like the angry hum one can hear if one puts one’s ear outside a hive of bees, a sound out of that enormous hollow, it may be, four miles beneath our feet...

“But there?” said Cavor. He stepped very carefully closer to the edge of the gallery. I followed him and leaned forward to look down. But the gleam of light above dazzled me. I could see only a bottomless darkness with ghostly patches of crimson and purple floating in it. Yet although I could not see, I could hear. A sound came from the darkness, like the angry hum you hear with your ear outside a beehive. It came from that enormous hollow, perhaps four miles beneath our feet...

For a moment I listened, then tightened my grip on my crowbar, and led the way up the gallery.

I listened for a moment, then tightened my grip on my crowbar and led the way up the gallery.

“This must be the shaft we looked down upon,” said Cavor. “Under that lid.”

“This must be the shaft we looked down into,” said Cavor. “Under that lid.”

“And below there, is where we saw the lights.”

“And down there is where we saw the lights.”

“The lights!” said he. “Yes—the lights of the world that now we shall never see.”

“The lights!” he said. “Yes, the lights of the world we will never see again.”

“We’ll come back,” I said, for now we had escaped so much I was rashly sanguine that we should recover the sphere.

“We’ll come back,” I said. We had escaped so much that I was recklessly confident we would recover the sphere.

His answer I did not catch.

I didn't catch his answer.

“Eh?” I asked.

“Huh?” I asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” he answered, and we hurried on in silence.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, and we hurried on in silence.

I suppose that slanting lateral way was four or five miles long, allowing for its curvature, and it ascended at a slope that would have made it almost impossibly steep on earth, but which one strode up easily under lunar conditions. We saw only two Selenites during all that portion of our flight, and directly they became aware of us they ran headlong. It was clear that the knowledge of our strength and violence had reached them. Our way to the exterior was unexpectedly plain. The spiral gallery straightened into a steeply ascendent tunnel, its floor bearing abundant traces of the mooncalves, and so straight and short in proportion to its vast arch, that no part of it was absolutely dark. Almost immediately it began to lighten, and then far off and high up, and quite blindingly brilliant, appeared its opening on the exterior, a slope of Alpine steepness surmounted by a crest of bayonet shrub, tall and broken down now, and dry and dead, in spiky silhouette against the sun.

I suppose the sloping side passage was four or five miles long, allowing for its curves. It climbed at an angle that would have been almost impossibly steep on earth. But under lunar conditions, we walked up it easily. We saw only two Selenites during that part of our flight. As soon as they noticed us, they ran away at full speed. Clearly, word of our strength and violence had reached them. The way out was unexpectedly easy to find. The spiral gallery became a straight, steeply rising tunnel. Its floor bore many traces of the mooncalves. The tunnel was so straight and short compared with its vast arch that no part of it was completely dark. Almost immediately, the tunnel began to grow lighter. Then, far off and high above us, we saw its opening to the outside, dazzlingly bright. Beyond it was a slope as steep as an Alpine mountainside. At the top was a crest of bayonet shrub, now tall, broken down, dry, and dead, its spikes silhouetted against the sun.

And it is strange that we men, to whom this very vegetation had seemed so weird and horrible a little time ago, should now behold it with the emotion a home-coming exile might feel at sight of his native land. We welcomed even the rareness of the air that made us pant as we ran, and which rendered speaking no longer the easy thing that it had been, but an effort to make oneself heard. Larger grew the sunlit circle above us, and larger, and all the nearer tunnel sank into a rim of indistinguishable black. We saw the dead bayonet shrub no longer with any touch of green in it, but brown and dry and thick, and the shadow of its upper branches high out of sight made a densely interlaced pattern upon the tumbled rocks. And at the immediate mouth of the tunnel was a wide trampled space where the mooncalves had come and gone.

It was strange that we now looked at this same vegetation as a returning exile might look at his homeland. Only a short time ago, it had seemed so weird and horrible to us. We even welcomed the thin air, though it made us pant as we ran. Speaking was no longer easy, and we had to struggle to make ourselves heard. The sunlit circle above us grew larger and larger, while the nearer part of the tunnel faded into a rim of indistinguishable blackness. We saw that the dead bayonet shrub no longer had any green in it. It was brown, dry, and thick, and its upper branches were high out of sight. Their shadows formed a dense, interwoven pattern on the jumbled rocks. Just outside the tunnel mouth was a wide, trampled space where the mooncalves had come and gone.

We came out upon this space at last into a light and heat that hit and pressed upon us. We traversed the exposed area painfully, and clambered up a slope among the scrub stems, and sat down at last panting in a high place beneath the shadow of a mass of twisted lava. Even in the shade the rock felt hot.

At last, we came out into an open space where the light and heat struck and pressed against us. We crossed the exposed area with difficulty, then climbed a slope among the scrub stems. At last, we sat down panting on high ground, in the shadow of a mass of twisted lava. Even in the shade, the rock felt hot.

The air was intensely hot, and we were in great physical discomfort, but for all that we were no longer in a nightmare. We seemed to have come to our own province again, beneath the stars. All the fear and stress of our flight through the dim passages and fissures below had fallen from us. That last fight had filled us with an enormous confidence in ourselves so far as the Selenites were concerned. We looked back almost incredulously at the black opening from which we had just emerged. Down there it was, in a blue glow that now in our memories seemed the next thing to absolute darkness, we had met with things like mad mockeries of men, helmet-headed creatures, and had walked in fear before them, and had submitted to them until we could submit no longer. And behold, they had smashed like wax and scattered like chaff, and fled and vanished like the creatures of a dream!

The air was intensely hot, and we were very uncomfortable, but we were no longer in a nightmare. Beneath the stars, we seemed to be back in our own world. All the fear and strain of our flight through the dim passages and cracks below had fallen away. That last fight had given us enormous confidence in ourselves when it came to the Selenites. We looked back almost in disbelief at the black opening we had just emerged from. Down there, in a blue glow that now seemed almost like complete darkness in our memories, we had encountered creatures like mad parodies of men, with heads like helmets. We had walked in fear before them and submitted to them until we could submit no longer. And then they had shattered like wax, scattered like chaff, and fled and vanished like creatures in a dream!

I rubbed my eyes, doubting whether we had not slept and dreamt these things by reason of the fungus we had eaten, and suddenly discovered the blood upon my face, and then that my shirt was sticking painfully to my shoulder and arm.

I rubbed my eyes, wondering if we had fallen asleep and dreamed these things because of the fungus we had eaten. Suddenly, I noticed blood on my face. Then I noticed that my shirt was sticking painfully to my shoulder and arm.

“Confound it!” I said, gauging my injuries with an investigatory hand, and suddenly that distant tunnel mouth became, as it were, a watching eye.

“Damn it!” I said, feeling my injuries with my hand. Suddenly, the distant tunnel mouth seemed like a watching eye.

“Cavor!” I said; “what are they going to do now? And what are we going to do?”

“Cavor!” I said. “What are they going to do now? And what are we going to do?”

He shook his head, with his eyes fixed upon the tunnel. “How can one tell what they will do?”

He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the tunnel. “How can anyone tell what they will do?”

“It depends on what they think of us, and I don’t see how we can begin to guess that. And it depends upon what they have in reserve. It’s as you say, Cavor, we have touched the merest outside of this world. They may have all sorts of things inside here. Even with those shooting things they might make it bad for us....

“It depends on what they think of us, and I don’t see how we can even begin to guess that. It also depends on what else they have ready. As you say, Cavor, we’ve barely touched the surface of this world. They may have all sorts of things inside here. Even those shooting things could make trouble for us....

“Yet after all,” I said, “even if we don’t find the sphere at once, there is a chance for us. We might hold out. Even through the night. We might go down there again and make a fight for it.”

“But after all,” I said, “even if we don’t find the sphere right away, we still have a chance. We might hold out. Even through the night. We might go down there again and fight for it.”

I stared about me with speculative eyes. The character of the scenery had altered altogether by reason of the enormous growth and subsequent drying of the scrub. The crest on which we sat was high, and commanded a wide prospect of the crater landscape, and we saw it now all sere and dry in the late autumn of the lunar afternoon. Rising one behind the other were long slopes and fields of trampled brown where the mooncalves had pastured, and far away in the full blaze of the sun a drove of them basked slumberously, scattered shapes, each with a blot of shadow against it like sheep on the side of a down. But never a sign of a Selenite was to be seen. Whether they had fled on our emergence from the interior passages, or whether they were accustomed to retire after driving out the mooncalves, I cannot guess. At the time I believed the former was the case.

I looked around thoughtfully. The landscape had changed completely because the scrub had grown enormously and then dried out. We sat on a high crest with a wide view of the crater landscape. Now, in the late autumn of the lunar afternoon, it was all withered and dry. Long slopes and fields of trampled brown ground rose one behind another, where the mooncalves had grazed. Far away, a herd of them lay drowsily in the full blaze of the sun. Their scattered shapes each had a patch of shadow beside them, like sheep on a hillside. But there was no sign of a Selenite anywhere. I cannot guess whether they had fled when we came out of the passages below. They might instead have been in the habit of withdrawing after driving out the mooncalves. At the time, I believed they had fled.

“If we were to set fire to all this stuff,” I said, “we might find the sphere among the ashes.”

“If we set fire to all this stuff,” I said, “we might find the sphere among the ashes.”

Cavor did not seem to hear me. He was peering under his hand at the stars, that still, in spite of the intense sunlight, were abundantly visible in the sky. “How long do you think we’ve have been here?” he asked at last.

Cavor didn't seem to hear me. He shielded his eyes with his hand and looked at the stars. Many were still visible in the sky despite the intense sunlight. “How long do you think we've been here?” he asked at last.

“Been where?”

“On the moon.”

“Two earthly days, perhaps.”

“Perhaps two Earth days.”

“More nearly ten. Do you know, the sun is past its zenith, and sinking in the west. In four days’ time or less it will be night.”

“Closer to ten. You know, the sun has passed its highest point and is sinking in the west. In four days or less, it will be night.”

“But—we’ve only eaten once!”

“But, we’ve only eaten once!”

“I know that. And— But there are the stars!”

“I know that. And... But there are the stars!”

“But why should time seem different because we are on a smaller planet?”

“But why would time seem different because we’re on a smaller planet?”

“I don’t know. There it is!”

“How does one tell time?”

“How do you tell time?”

“Hunger—fatigue—all those things are different. Everything is different—everything. To me it seems that since first we came out of the sphere has been only a question of hours—long hours—at most.”

“Hunger, tiredness, all those things are different. Everything is different, everything. To me, it feels like only a few hours have passed since we first came out of the sphere. Long hours, at most.”

“Ten days,” I said; “that leaves—” I looked up at the sun for a moment, and then saw that it was halfway from the zenith to the western edge of things. “Four days! ... Cavor, we mustn’t sit here and dream. How do you think we may begin?”

“Ten days,” I said. “That leaves...” I looked up at the sun for a moment. It was halfway between its highest point and the western horizon. “Four days! ... Cavor, we mustn’t sit here and dream. How do you think we can begin?”

I stood up. “We must get a fixed point we can recognise—we might hoist a flag, or a handkerchief, or something—and quarter the ground, and work round that.”

I stood up. “We need a fixed point we can recognize. We could raise a flag, a handkerchief, or something. Then we can search the ground systematically, working around that point.”

He stood up beside me.

“Yes,” he said, “there is nothing for it but to hunt the sphere. Nothing. We may find it—certainly we may find it. And if not—”

“Yes,” he said, “we have no choice but to search for the sphere. None. We may find it. We certainly may find it. And if not...”

“We must keep on looking.”

“We must keep looking.”

He looked this way and that, glanced up at the sky and down at the tunnel, and astonished me by a sudden gesture of impatience. “Oh! but we have done foolishly! To have come to this pass! Think how it might have been, and the things we might have done!”

He looked around, glanced up at the sky and down at the tunnel, then surprised me with a sudden gesture of impatience. “Oh! We’ve been foolish! To have ended up like this! Think how different it might have been, and the things we might have done!”

“We might do something yet.”

“We might still be able to do something.”

“Never the thing we might have done. Here below our feet is a world. Think of what that world must be! Think of that machine we saw, and the lid and the shaft! They were just remote outlying things, and those creatures we have seen and fought with no more than ignorant peasants, dwellers in the outskirts, yokels and labourers half akin to brutes. Down below! Caverns beneath caverns, tunnels, structures, ways... It must open out, and be greater and wider and more populous as one descends. Assuredly. Right down at the last the central sea that washes round the core of the moon. Think of its inky waters under the spare lights—if, indeed, their eyes need lights! Think of the cascading tributaries pouring down their channels to feed it! Think of the tides upon its surface, and the rush and swirl of its ebb and flow! Perhaps they have ships that go upon it, perhaps down there are mighty cities and swarming ways, and wisdom and order passing the wit of man. And we may die here upon it, and never see the masters who must be—ruling over these things! We may freeze and die here, and the air will freeze and thaw upon us, and then—! Then they will come upon us, come on our stiff and silent bodies, and find the sphere we cannot find, and they will understand at last too late all the thought and effort that ended here in vain!”

“Never what we might have done. Here, beneath our feet, is a world. Think what that world must be like! Think of the machine we saw, and the lid and the shaft! They were just remote things on the outskirts. And the creatures we have seen and fought were no more than ignorant peasants living on the outskirts. They were country bumpkins and laborers, almost like animals. Down below! Caverns beneath caverns, tunnels, structures, passageways... The world must open out as one descends, becoming greater, wider, and more populous. Surely. And at the very bottom is the central sea, washing around the core of the moon. Think of its inky waters beneath the few lights, if their eyes need lights at all! Think of the cascading streams pouring down their channels to feed it! Think of the tides on its surface, and the rush and swirl as they rise and fall! Perhaps they have ships that sail on it. Perhaps down there are mighty cities and crowded passageways, and wisdom and order beyond human understanding. And we may die here without ever seeing the masters who must be ruling over all this! We may freeze and die here, and the air will freeze and thaw upon us, and then...! Then they will come upon us, upon our stiff and silent bodies. They will find the sphere we cannot find. And at last, too late, they will understand all the thought and effort that ended here in vain!”

His voice for all that speech sounded like the voice of someone heard in a telephone, weak and far away.

Throughout that speech, his voice sounded weak and far away, like someone speaking over a telephone.

“But the darkness,” I said.

“One might get over that.”

“Someone might get over that.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. How am I to know? One might carry a torch, one might have a lamp— The others—might understand.”

“I don’t know. How could I know? Someone might carry a torch, or have a lamp. The others might understand.”

He stood for a moment with his hands held down and a rueful face, staring out over the waste that defied him. Then with a gesture of renunciation he turned towards me with proposals for the systematic hunting of the sphere.

He stood for a moment with his hands at his sides and a regretful look on his face. He stared out over the barren expanse that had defeated him. Then, with a gesture of surrender, he turned to me and suggested we search systematically for the sphere.

“We can return,” I said.

“We can go back,” I said.

He looked about him. “First of all we shall have to get to earth.”

He looked around. “First, we'll have to get to the ground.”

“We could bring back lamps to carry and climbing irons, and a hundred necessary things.”

“We could bring back portable lamps, climbing irons, and a hundred other things we need.”

“Yes,” he said.

“We can take back an earnest of success in this gold.”

“We can take this gold back as a sign of our success.”

He looked at my golden crowbars, and said nothing for a space. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring across the crater. At last he signed and spoke. “It was I found the way here, but to find a way isn’t always to be master of a way. If I take my secret back to earth, what will happen? I do not see how I can keep my secret for a year, for even a part of a year. Sooner or later it must come out, even if other men rediscover it. And then ... Governments and powers will struggle to get hither, they will fight against one another, and against these moon people; it will only spread warfare and multiply the occasions of war. In a little while, in a very little while, if I tell my secret, this planet to its deepest galleries will be strewn with human dead. Other things are doubtful, but that is certain. It is not as though man had any use for the moon. What good would the moon be to men? Even of their own planet what have they made but a battle-ground and theatre of infinite folly? Small as his world is, and short as his time, he has still in his little life down there far more than he can do. No! Science has toiled too long forging weapons for fools to use. It is time she held her hand. Let him find it out for himself again—in a thousand years’ time.”

He looked at my golden crowbars and said nothing for a while. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring across the crater. At last he gestured and spoke. “I found the way here, but finding a way does not always mean controlling it. If I take my secret back to earth, what will happen? I cannot see how I could keep it secret for a year, or even part of a year. Sooner or later it must come out, even if other men discover it again. “And then ... Governments and powers will struggle to get here. They will fight one another and the moon people. It will only spread warfare and create more reasons for war. If I tell my secret, this planet will soon be strewn with human dead, even in its deepest galleries. It will happen very soon. Other things are uncertain, but that is certain. “It is not as though man had any use for the moon. What good would the moon be to men? What have they made of their own planet but a battlefield and a stage for endless folly? His world is small, and his time is short. Yet in his little life down there, man already has far more than he can do. No! Science has worked too long making weapons for fools to use. It is time she stopped. Let man find the way here again for himself in a thousand years.”

“There are methods of secrecy,” I said.

“There are ways to keep things secret,” I said.

He looked up at me and smiled. “After all,” he said, “why should one worry? There is little chance of our finding the sphere, and down below things are brewing. It’s simply the human habit of hoping till we die that makes us think of return. Our troubles are only beginning. We have shown these moon folk violence, we have given them a taste of our quality, and our chances are about as good as a tiger’s that has got loose and killed a man in Hyde Park. The news of us must be running down from gallery to gallery, down towards the central parts.... No sane beings will ever let us take that sphere back to earth after so much as they have seen of us.”

He looked up at me and smiled. “After all,” he said, “why should we worry? There’s little chance we’ll find the sphere, and trouble is brewing down below. We think of returning only because humans have a habit of hoping until they die. Our troubles are only beginning. We have shown these moon folk violence and given them a taste of what we’re like. Our chances are about as good as those of a tiger that has escaped and killed a man in Hyde Park. News of us must be spreading from gallery to gallery, down toward the central areas.... After all they have seen of us, no sane beings will ever let us take the sphere back to earth.”

“We aren’t improving our chances,” said I, “by sitting here.”

“We aren’t improving our chances,” I said, “by sitting here.”

We stood up side by side.

“After all,” he said, “we must separate. We must stick up a handkerchief on these tall spikes here and fasten it firmly, and from this as a centre we must work over the crater. You must go westward, moving out in semicircles to and fro towards the setting sun. You must move first with your shadow on your right until it is at right angles with the direction of your handkerchief, and then with your shadow on your left. And I will do the same to the east. We will look into every gully, examine every skerry of rocks; we will do all we can to find my sphere. If we see the Selenites we will hide from them as well as we can. For drink we must take snow, and if we feel the need of food, we must kill a mooncalf if we can, and eat such flesh as it has—raw—and so each will go his own way.”

“After all,” he said, “we must split up. We must put a handkerchief on these tall spikes and fasten it firmly. Then we must search the crater, starting from the handkerchief. You must go west, moving back and forth in semicircles toward the setting sun. First, move with your shadow on your right until it is at right angles to the direction of the handkerchief. Then move with your shadow on your left. I will do the same to the east. We will look into every gully and examine every rocky outcrop. We will do all we can to find my sphere. If we see the Selenites, we will hide from them as best we can. We must eat snow for water. If we need food, we must kill a mooncalf if we can and eat whatever flesh it has, raw. And so we will each go our own way.”

“And if one of us comes upon the sphere?”

“And what if one of us finds the sphere?”

“He must come back to the white handkerchief, and stand by it and signal to the other.”

“He must return to the white handkerchief, stand beside it, and signal to the other.”

“And if neither?”

“And what if neither?”

Cavor glanced up at the sun. “We go on seeking until the night and cold overtake us.”

Cavor glanced up at the sun. “We keep searching until night and cold catch up with us.”

“Suppose the Selenites have found the sphere and hidden it?”

“What if the Selenites have found the sphere and hidden it?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

He shrugged.

“Or if presently they come hunting us?”

“Or what if they come looking for us soon?”

He made no answer.

He did not answer.

“You had better take a club,” I said.

“You should take a club,” I said.

He shook his head, and stared away from me across the waste.

He shook his head and looked away from me, staring across the wasteland.

But for a moment he did not start. He looked round at me shyly, hesitated. “Au revoir,” he said.

But for a moment, he did not leave. He looked back at me shyly and hesitated. “Au revoir,” he said.

I felt an odd stab of emotion. A sense of how we had galled each other, and particularly how I must have galled him, came to me. “Confound it,” thought I, “we might have done better!” I was on the point of asking him to shake hands—for that, somehow, was how I felt just then—when he put his feet together and leapt away from me towards the north. He seemed to drift through the air as a dead leaf would do, fell lightly, and leapt again. I stood for a moment watching him, then faced westward reluctantly, pulled myself together, and with something of the feeling of a man who leaps into icy water, selected a leaping point, and plunged forward to explore my solitary half of the moon world. I dropped rather clumsily among rocks, stood up and looked about me, clambered on to a rocky slab, and leapt again....

I felt a strange pang of emotion. I realized how much we had irritated each other, especially how much I must have irritated him. “Damn it,” I thought, “we could have done better!” I was about to ask him to shake hands. Somehow, that was how I felt just then. But he put his feet together and leaped away from me toward the north. He seemed to drift through the air like a dead leaf. He landed lightly and leaped again. I stood watching him for a moment. Then I reluctantly turned west and pulled myself together. I chose a place to leap from and plunged forward to explore my solitary half of the moon world. I felt something like a man jumping into icy water. I landed rather clumsily among rocks, stood up, and looked around. Then I climbed onto a slab of rock and leaped again....

When presently I looked for Cavor he was hidden from my eyes, but the handkerchief showed out bravely on its headland, white in the blaze of the sun.

When I looked for Cavor a little later, I could no longer see him. But the handkerchief stood out boldly on its headland, white in the blazing sun.

I determined not to lose sight of that handkerchief whatever might betide.

I decided not to lose sight of that handkerchief, no matter what happened.