to drown
them out. I am sorry for them, but I guess there will be as many left as
will be good for us, anyhow."

We had not long to wait for the flood. As the dawn began to streak the
east, we saw its awful crest moving out of the darkness, bursting across
the canals and plowing its way into the direction of the crowded shores
of the Lake of the Sun. The supply of water behind that great wave
seemed inexhaustible. Five thousand miles it had traveled, and yet its
power was as great as when it started from the Syrtis Major.

We caught sight of the oncoming water before it was visible to the
Martians beneath us. But while it was yet many miles away, the roar of
it reached them, and then arose a chorus of terrified cries, the effect
of which, coming to our ears out of the half gloom of the morning, was
most uncanny and horrible. Thousands upon thousands of the Martians
still remained here to become victims of the deluge. Some, perhaps, had
doubted the truth of the reports that the banks were down and the floods
were out; others, for one reason or another had been unable to get away;
others, like the inhabitants of Pompeii, had lingered too long, or had
returned after beginning their flight to secure abandoned treasures, and
now it was too late to get away.

With a roar that shook the planet the white wall rushed upon the great
city beneath our feet, and in an instant it had been engulfed. On went
the flood, swallowing up the Lake of the Sun itself, and in a little
while, as far as our eyes could range, the land of Thaumasia had been
turned into a raging sea.

We now turned our ships toward the southern border of the land,
following the direction of the airships carrying the fugitives, a few of
which were still navigating the atmosphere a mile beneath us. In their
excitement and terror the Martians paid little attention to us,
although, as the morning brightened, they must have been aware of our
presence over their heads. But, apparently, they no longer thought of
resistance; their only object was escape from the immediate and
appalling danger.

When we had progressed to a point about half way from the Lake of the
Sun to the border of the sea, having dropped down within a few hundred
feet of the surface, there suddenly appeared, in the midst of the raging
waters, a sight so remarkable that at first I rubbed my eyes in
astonishment, not crediting their report of what they beheld.

Standing on the apex of a sandy elevat