ranguing the vacillating multitude; but more were stolidly
pushing with the rabble or being hustled by it.

Only one sign of order and forethought was apparent. Evidently for
better safety and for an easier defence, the women and children had been
taken to a central park or pleasure ground, and left there with a small
guard of soldiers. The men to whom they belonged had apparently all gone
elsewhere.

"Doctor, we must put an end to this fear and frenzy at the earliest
possible moment. If we are not destroying those people, we are exciting
them to destroy each other, which is equally blameworthy. We must go
down at once, but we had best avoid the frantic men. The women seem far
more reposeful. Let us drop quietly into that open field in the park,
and I will make friendly signs to the women, pat the children on the
head, and give them all to understand that we mean no harm."

He evidently saw that we had quite overdone the scare, and was as much
impressed by the terrible picture below as I was. We turned down without
delay, and landed quietly behind a clump of trees. I took a tin of sweet
biscuits under my arm, and the doctor following me, with a generous
handful of his trinkets and tinsel toys, we left the projectile, and
rounding the grove of dwarfed trees we approached the romping children
first. I patted their flaxen curls, lightly pinched their cheeks, and
handed each of them a sweet biscuit. Then, while the doctor distributed
strange toys amongst them, I put on my most courtly ways and addressed
myself to the women. Their first impulses of fear had been somewhat
allayed by our attentions to the children, and I bowed profusely and
made bold to kiss the hands of a few of the youngest of them. Each of
these looked to see if I had left anything visible or harmful on her
hand, from which I judged the custom was wholly strange to them. The
others looked on askance and whispered excitedly among themselves.

One of the soldiers who had seen us approach, but offered no resistance,
had now started to run, as fast as his jumping-staff would carry him,
toward the palace. I knew at once that this meant some new development,
and I hoped it meant a report of our friendly actions and a truce all
around. But the doctor reminded me that we must be prepared for
surprises and treachery. Therefore we re-entered the projectile, and out
of the sight of all the Martians I re-loaded the rifles, and then we
waited a long time.

Our pati