I found myself lying prone3 upon a bed of yellowish, mosslike vegetation which stretched around me in all directions for interminable miles. I seemed to be lying in a deep, circular basin, along the outer verge5 of which I could distinguish the irregularities of low hills.
It was midday, the sun was shining full upon me and the heat of it was rather intense upon my naked body, yet no greater than would have been true under similar conditions on an Arizona desert. Here and there were slight outcroppings of quartz-bearing rock which glistened6 in the sunlight; and a little to my left, perhaps a hundred yards, appeared a low, walled enclosure about four feet in height. No water, and no other vegetation than the moss4 was in evidence, and as I was somewhat thirsty I determined7 to do a little exploring.
Springing to my feet I received my first Martian surprise, for the effort, which on Earth would have brought me standing8 upright, carried me into the Martian air to the height of about three yards. I alighted softly upon the ground, however, without appreciable9 shock or jar. Now commenced a series of evolutions which even then seemed ludicrous in the extreme. I found that I must learn to walk all over again, as the muscular exertion10 which carried me easily and safely upon Earth played strange antics with me upon Mars.
Instead of progressing in a sane11 and dignified12 manner, my attempts to walk resulted in a variety of hops13 which took me clear of the ground a couple of feet at each step and landed me sprawling15 upon my face or back at the end of each second or third hop14. My muscles, perfectly16 attuned17 and accustomed to the force of gravity on Earth, played the mischief18 with me in attempting for the first time to cope with the lesser19 gravitation and lower air pressure on Mars.
I was determined, however, to explore the low structure which was the only evidence of habitation in sight, and so I hit upon the unique plan of reverting20 to first principles in locomotion21, creeping. I did fairly well at this and in a few moments had reached the low, encircling wall of the enclosure.
There appeared to be no doors or windows upon the side nearest me, but as the wall was but about four feet high I cautiously gained my feet and peered over the top upon the strangest sight it had ever been given me to see.
The roof of the enclosure was of solid glass about four or five inches in thickness, and beneath this were several hundred large eggs, perfectly round and snowy white. The eggs were nearly uniform in size being about two and one-half feet in diameter.
Five or six had already hatched and the grotesque22 caricatures which sat blinking in the sunlight were enough to cause me to doubt my sanity. They seemed mostly head, with little scrawny bodies, long necks and six legs, or, as I afterward23 learned, two legs and two arms, with an intermediary pair of limbs which could be used at will either as arms or legs. Their eyes were set at the extreme sides of their heads a trifle above the center and protruded24 in such a manner that they could be directed either forward or back and also independently of each other, thus permitting this queer animal to look in any direction, or in two directions at once, without the necessity of turning the head.
The ears, which were slightly above the eyes and closer together, were small, cup-shaped antennae25, protruding26 not more than an inch on these young specimens27. Their noses were but longitudinal slits28 in the center of their faces, midway between their mouths and ears.
There was no hair on their bodies, which were of a very light yellowish-green color. In the adults, as I was to learn quite soon, this color deepens to an olive green and is darker in the male than in the female. Further, the heads of the adults are not so out of proportion to their bodies as in the case of the young.
The iris29 of the eyes is blood red, as in Albinos, while the pupil is dark. The eyeball itself is very white, as are the teeth. These latter add a most ferocious30 appearance to an otherwise fearsome and terrible countenance31, as the lower tusks32 curve upward to sharp points which end about where the eyes of earthly human beings are located. The whiteness of the teeth is not that of ivory, but of the snowiest and most gleaming of china. Against the dark background of their olive skins their tusks stand out in a most striking manner, making these weapons present a singularly formidable appearance.
Most of these details I noted33 later, for I was given but little time to speculate on the wonders of my new discovery. I had seen that the eggs were in the process of hatching, and as I stood watching the hideous34 little monsters break from their shells I failed to note the approach of a score of full-grown Martians from behind me.
Coming, as they did, over the soft and soundless moss, which covers practically the entire surface of Mars with the exception of the frozen areas at the poles and the scattered35 cultivated districts, they might have captured me easily, but their intentions were far more sinister36. It was the rattling37 of the accouterments of the foremost warrior38 which warned me.
On such a little thing my life hung that I often marvel39 that I escaped so easily. Had not the rifle of the leader of the party swung from its fastenings beside his saddle in such a way as to strike against the butt40 of his great metal-shod spear I should have snuffed out without ever knowing that death was near me. But the little sound caused me to turn, and there upon me, not ten feet from my breast, was the point of that huge spear, a spear forty feet long, tipped with gleaming metal, and held low at the side of a mounted replica41 of the little devils I had been watching.
But how puny42 and harmless they now looked beside this huge and terrific incarnation of hate, of vengeance43 and of death. The man himself, for such I may call him, was fully44 fifteen feet in height and, on Earth, would have weighed some four hundred pounds. He sat his mount as we sit a horse, grasping the animal's barrel with his lower limbs, while the hands of his two right arms held his immense spear low at the side of his mount; his two left arms were outstretched laterally45 to help preserve his balance, the thing he rode having neither bridle46 or reins47 of any description for guidance.
And his mount! How can earthly words describe it! It towered ten feet at the shoulder; had four legs on either side; a broad flat tail, larger at the tip than at the root, and which it held straight out behind while running; a gaping48 mouth which split its head from its snout to its long, massive neck.
Like its master, it was entirely49 devoid50 of hair, but was of a dark slate51 color and exceeding smooth and glossy52. Its belly53 was white, and its legs shaded from the slate of its shoulders and hips54 to a vivid yellow at the feet. The feet themselves were heavily padded and nailless, which fact had also contributed to the noiselessness of their approach, and, in common with a multiplicity of legs, is a characteristic feature of the fauna56 of Mars. The highest type of man and one other animal, the only mammal existing on Mars, alone have well-formed nails, and there are absolutely no hoofed57 animals in existence there.
Behind this first charging demon58 trailed nineteen others, similar in all respects, but, as I learned later, bearing individual characteristics peculiar59 to themselves; precisely60 as no two of us are identical although we are all cast in a similar mold. This picture, or rather materialized nightmare, which I have described at length, made but one terrible and swift impression on me as I turned to meet it.
Unarmed and naked as I was, the first law of nature manifested itself in the only possible solution of my immediate61 problem, and that was to get out of the vicinity of the point of the charging spear. Consequently I gave a very earthly and at the same time superhuman leap to reach the top of the Martian incubator, for such I had determined it must be.
My effort was crowned with a success which appalled62 me no less than it seemed to surprise the Martian warriors63, for it carried me fully thirty feet into the air and landed me a hundred feet from my pursuers and on the opposite side of the enclosure.
I alighted upon the soft moss easily and without mishap64, and turning saw my enemies lined up along the further wall. Some were surveying me with expressions which I afterward discovered marked extreme astonishment65, and the others were evidently satisfying themselves that I had not molested66 their young.
They were conversing67 together in low tones, and gesticulating and pointing toward me. Their discovery that I had not harmed the little Martians, and that I was unarmed, must have caused them to look upon me with less ferocity; but, as I was to learn later, the thing which weighed most in my favor was my exhibition of hurdling68.
While the Martians are immense, their bones are very large and they are muscled only in proportion to the gravitation which they must overcome. The result is that they are infinitely69 less agile70 and less powerful, in proportion to their weight, than an Earth man, and I doubt that were one of them suddenly to be transported to Earth he could lift his own weight from the ground; in fact, I am convinced that he could not do so.
My feat55 then was as marvelous upon Mars as it would have been upon Earth, and from desiring to annihilate71 me they suddenly looked upon me as a wonderful discovery to be captured and exhibited among their fellows.
The respite72 my unexpected agility73 had given me permitted me to formulate74 plans for the immediate future and to note more closely the appearance of the warriors, for I could not disassociate these people in my mind from those other warriors who, only the day before, had been pursuing me.
I noted that each was armed with several other weapons in addition to the huge spear which I have described. The weapon which caused me to decide against an attempt at escape by flight was what was evidently a rifle of some description, and which I felt, for some reason, they were peculiarly efficient in handling.
These rifles were of a white metal stocked with wood, which I learned later was a very light and intensely hard growth much prized on Mars, and entirely unknown to us denizens75 of Earth. The metal of the barrel is an alloy76 composed principally of aluminum77 and steel which they have learned to temper to a hardness far exceeding that of the steel with which we are familiar. The weight of these rifles is comparatively little, and with the small caliber78, explosive, radium projectiles79 which they use, and the great length of the barrel, they are deadly in the extreme and at ranges which would be unthinkable on Earth. The theoretic effective radius80 of this rifle is three hundred miles, but the best they can do in actual service when equipped with their wireless81 finders and sighters is but a trifle over two hundred miles.
This is quite far enough to imbue82 me with great respect for the Martian firearm, and some telepathic force must have warned me against an attempt to escape in broad daylight from under the muzzles83 of twenty of these death-dealing machines.
The Martians, after conversing for a short time, turned and rode away in the direction from which they had come, leaving one of their number alone by the enclosure. When they had covered perhaps two hundred yards they halted, and turning their mounts toward us sat watching the warrior by the enclosure.
He was the one whose spear had so nearly transfixed me, and was evidently the leader of the band, as I had noted that they seemed to have moved to their present position at his direction. When his force had come to a halt he dismounted, threw down his spear and small arms, and came around the end of the incubator toward me, entirely unarmed and as naked as I, except for the ornaments84 strapped85 upon his head, limbs, and breast.
When he was within about fifty feet of me he unclasped an enormous metal armlet, and holding it toward me in the open palm of his hand, addressed me in a clear, resonant86 voice, but in a language, it is needless to say, I could not understand. He then stopped as though waiting for my reply, pricking87 up his antennae-like ears and cocking his strange-looking eyes still further toward me.
As the silence became painful I concluded to hazard a little conversation on my own part, as I had guessed that he was making overtures88 of peace. The throwing down of his weapons and the withdrawing of his troop before his advance toward me would have signified a peaceful mission anywhere on Earth, so why not, then, on Mars!
Placing my hand over my heart I bowed low to the Martian and explained to him that while I did not understand his language, his actions spoke89 for the peace and friendship that at the present moment were most dear to my heart. Of course I might have been a babbling90 brook91 for all the intelligence my speech carried to him, but he understood the action with which I immediately followed my words.
Stretching my hand toward him, I advanced and took the armlet from his open palm, clasping it about my arm above the elbow; smiled at him and stood waiting. His wide mouth spread into an answering smile, and locking one of his intermediary arms in mine we turned and walked back toward his mount. At the same time he motioned his followers92 to advance. They started toward us on a wild run, but were checked by a signal from him. Evidently he feared that were I to be really frightened again I might jump entirely out of the landscape.
He exchanged a few words with his men, motioned to me that I would ride behind one of them, and then mounted his own animal. The fellow designated reached down two or three hands and lifted me up behind him on the glossy back of his mount, where I hung on as best I could by the belts and straps93 which held the Martian's weapons and ornaments.
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1
weird
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| adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的 | |
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sanity
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| n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确 | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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moss
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| n.苔，藓，地衣 | |
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verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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appreciable
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| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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sane
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| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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13
hops
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| 跳上[下]( hop的第三人称单数 )； 单足蹦跳； 齐足（或双足）跳行； 摘葎草花 | |
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14
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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15
sprawling
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| adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着） | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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attuned
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| v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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19
lesser
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| adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地 | |
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reverting
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| 恢复( revert的现在分词 )； 重提； 回到…上； 归还 | |
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21
locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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23
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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protruded
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25
antennae
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| n.天线；触角 | |
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protruding
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| v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸 | |
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27
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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28
slits
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| n.狭长的口子，裂缝( slit的名词复数 )v.切开，撕开( slit的第三人称单数 )；在…上开狭长口子 | |
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29
iris
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| n.虹膜，彩虹 | |
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30
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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31
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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32
tusks
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| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
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33
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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37
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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38
warrior
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| n.勇士，武士，斗士 | |
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39
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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40
butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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41
replica
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| n.复制品 | |
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42
puny
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| adj.微不足道的，弱小的 | |
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43
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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44
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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laterally
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| ad.横向地；侧面地；旁边地 | |
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46
bridle
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| n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒 | |
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47
reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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48
gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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49
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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50
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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51
slate
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| n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订 | |
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52
glossy
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| adj.平滑的；有光泽的 | |
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53
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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54
hips
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| abbr.high impact polystyrene 高冲击强度聚苯乙烯，耐冲性聚苯乙烯n.臀部( hip的名词复数 )；[建筑学]屋脊；臀围（尺寸）；臀部…的 | |
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55
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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56
fauna
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| n.(一个地区或时代的)所有动物，动物区系 | |
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57
hoofed
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| adj.有蹄的，蹄形状的，装蹄的v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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58
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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59
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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60
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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61
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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62
appalled
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| v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的 | |
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63
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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64
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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66
molested
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| v.骚扰( molest的过去式和过去分词 )；干扰；调戏；猥亵 | |
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67
conversing
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| v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 ) | |
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68
hurdling
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| n.跳栏赛跑 | |
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69
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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70
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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71
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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72
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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73
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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74
formulate
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| v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述 | |
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75
denizens
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| n.居民，住户( denizen的名词复数 ) | |
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alloy
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| n.合金，(金属的)成色 | |
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aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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caliber
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| n.能力；水准 | |
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projectiles
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| n.抛射体( projectile的名词复数 )；（炮弹、子弹等）射弹，（火箭等）自动推进的武器 | |
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radius
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| n.半径，半径范围；有效航程，范围，界限 | |
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wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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imbue
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| v.灌输(某种强烈的情感或意见)，感染 | |
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muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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strapped
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| adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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resonant
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| adj.(声音)洪亮的，共鸣的 | |
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pricking
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| 刺，刺痕，刺痛感 | |
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overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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straps
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| n.带子( strap的名词复数 )；挎带；肩带；背带v.用皮带捆扎( strap的第三人称单数 )；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带 | |
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cavalcade
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| n.车队等的行列 | |
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galloped
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| （使马）飞奔，奔驰( gallop的过去式和过去分词 )； 快速做[说]某事 | |
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