Герберт Джордж Уэллс
The War in the Air
“‘Not it,’ I says.
“‘I could,’ ‘e says, laughing and takes one out and opens it.
“I looked, and there, Teddy, was a cullud picture, oh, so lovely! It was a picture of women and serpents in a garden. I never see anything like it.
“‘This suits me,’ said old Higgins, ‘to rights.’
“And then kind of friendly he gave the book a pat —
Old Tom Smallways paused impressively.
“And then?” said Teddy.
“It all fell to dus’. White dus’!” He became still more impressive. “We didn’t touch no more of them books that day. Not after that.”
For a long time both were silent. Then Tom, playing with a subject that attracted him with a fatal fascination, repeated, “All day long they lie – still as the grave.”
Teddy took the point at last. “Don’t they lie o’ nights?” he asked.
Old Tom shook his head. “Nobody knows, boy, nobody knows.”
“But what could they do?”
“Nobody knows. Nobody ain’t seen to tell not nobody.”
“Nobody?”
“They tell tales,” said old Tom. “They tell tales, but there ain’t no believing ‘em. I gets ‘ome about sundown, and keeps indoors, so I can’t say nothing, can I? But there’s them that thinks some things and them as thinks others. I’ve ‘eard it’s unlucky to take clo’es off of ‘em unless they got white bones. There’s stories – ”
The boy watched his uncle sharply. “WOT stories?” he said.
“Stories of moonlight nights and things walking about. But I take no stock in ‘em. I keeps in bed. If you listen to stories – Lord! You’ll get afraid of yourself in a field at midday.”
The little boy looked round and ceased his questions for a space.
“They say there’s a ‘og man in Beck’n’am what was lost in London three days and three nights. ‘E went up after whiskey to Cheapside, and lorst ‘is way among the ruins and wandered. Three days and three nights ‘e wandered about and the streets kep’ changing so’s he couldn’t get ‘ome. If ‘e ‘adn’t remembered some words out of the Bible ‘e might ‘ave been there now. All day ‘e went and all night – and all day long it was still. It was as still as death all day long, until the sunset came and the twilight thickened, and then it began to rustle and whisper and go pit-a-pat with a sound like ‘urrying feet.”
He paused.
“Yes,” said the little boy breathlessly. “Go on. What then?”
“A sound of carts and ‘orses there was, and a sound of cabs and omnibuses, and then a lot of whistling, shrill whistles, whistles that froze ‘is marrer. And directly the whistles began things begun to show, people in the streets ‘urrying, people in the ‘ouses and shops busying themselves, moty cars in the streets, a sort of moonlight in all the lamps and winders. People, I say, Teddy, but they wasn’t people. They was the ghosts of them that was overtook, the ghosts of them that used to crowd those streets. And they went past ‘im and through ‘im and never ‘eeded ‘im, went by like fogs and vapours, Teddy. And sometimes they was cheerful and sometimes they was ‘orrible, ‘orrible beyond words. And once ‘e come to a place called Piccadilly, Teddy, and there was lights blazing like daylight and ladies and gentlemen in splendid clo’es crowding the pavement, and taxicabs follering along the road. And as ‘e looked, they all went evil – evil in the face, Teddy. And it seemed to ‘im SUDDENLY THEY SAW ‘IM, and the women began to look at ‘im and say things to ‘im – ‘orrible – wicked things. One come very near ‘im, Teddy, right up to ‘im, and looked into ‘is face – close. And she ‘adn’t got a face to look with, only a painted skull, and then ‘e see; they was all painted skulls. And one after another they crowded on ‘im saying ‘orrible things, and catchin’ at ‘im and threatenin’ and coaxing ‘im, so that ‘is ‘eart near left ‘is body for fear.”
“Yes,” gasped Teddy in an unendurable pause.
“Then it was he remembered the words of Scripture and saved himself alive. ‘The Lord is my ‘Elper, ‘e says, ‘therefore I will fear nothing,’ and straightaway there came a cock-crowing and the street was empty from end to end. And after that the Lord was good to ‘im and guided ‘im ‘ome.”
Teddy stared and caught at another question. “But who was the people,” he asked, “who lived in all these ‘ouses? What was they?”
“Gent’men in business, people with money – leastways we thought it was money till everything smashed up, and then seemingly it was jes’ paper – all sorts. Why, there was ‘undreds of thousands of them. There was millions. I’ve seen that ‘I Street there regular so’s you couldn’t walk along the pavements, shoppin’ time, with women and people shoppin’.”
“But where’d they get their food and things?”
“Bort ‘em in shops like I used to ‘ave. I’ll show you the place, Teddy, if we go back. People nowadays ‘aven’t no idee of a shop – no idee. Plate-glass winders – it’s all Greek to them. Why, I’ve ‘ad as much as a ton and a ‘arf of petaties to ‘andle all at one time. You’d open your eyes till they dropped out to see jes’ what I used to ‘ave in my shop. Baskets of pears ‘eaped up, marrers, apples and pears, d’licious great nuts.” His voice became luscious – “Benanas, oranges.”
“What’s benanas?” asked the boy, “and oranges?”
“Fruits they was. Sweet, juicy, d’licious fruits. Foreign fruits. They brought ‘em from Spain and N’ York and places. In ships and things. They brought ‘em to me from all over the world, and I sold ‘em in my shop. I sold ‘em, Teddy! me what goes about now with you, dressed up in old sacks and looking for lost ‘ens. People used to come into my shop, great beautiful ladies like you’d ‘ardly dream of now, dressed up to the nines, and say, ‘Well, Mr. Smallways, what you got ‘smorning?’ and I’d say, ‘Well, I got some very nice C’nadian apples, ‘or p’raps I got custed marrers. See? And they’d buy ‘em. Right off they’d say, ‘Send me some up.’ Lord! what a life that was. The business of it, the bussel, the smart things you saw, moty cars going by, kerridges, people, organ-grinders, German bands. Always something going past – always. If it wasn’t for those empty ‘ouses, I’d think it all a dream.”
“But what killed all the people, uncle?” asked Teddy.
“It was a smash-up,” said old Tom. “Everything was going right until they started that War. Everything was going like clock-work. Everybody was busy and everybody was ‘appy and everybody got a good square meal every day.”
He met incredulous eyes. “Everybody,” he said firmly. “If you couldn’t get it anywhere else, you could get it in the workhuss, a nice ‘ot bowl of soup called skilly, and bread better’n any one knows ‘ow to make now, reg’lar WHITE bread, gov’ment bread.”
Teddy marvelled, but said nothing. It made him feel deep longings that he found it wisest to fight down.
For a time the old man resigned himself to the pleasures of gustatory reminiscence. His lips moved. “Pickled Sammin!” he whispered, “an’ vinegar… Dutch cheese, BEER! A pipe of terbakker.”
“But ‘OW did the people get killed?” asked Teddy presently.
“There was the War. The War was the beginning of it. The War banged and flummocked about, but it didn’t really KILL many people. But it upset things. They came and set fire to London and burnt and sank all the ships there used to be in the Thames – we could see the smoke and steam for weeks – and they threw a bomb into the Crystal Palace and made a bust-up, and broke down the rail lines and things like that. But as for killin’ people, it was just accidental if they did. They killed each other more. There was a great fight all hereabout one day, Teddy – up in the air. Great things bigger than fifty ‘ouses, bigger than the Crystal Palace – bigger, bigger than anything, flying about up in the air and whacking at each other and dead men fallin’ off ‘em. T’riffic! But, it wasn’t so much the people they killed as the business they stopped. There wasn’t any business doin’, Teddy, there wasn’t any money about, and nothin’ to buy if you ‘ad it.”
“But ‘ow did the people get KILLED?” said the little boy in the pause.
“I’m tellin’ you, Teddy,” said the old man. “It was the stoppin’ of business come next. Suddenly there didn’t seem to be any money. There was cheques – they was a bit of paper written on, and they was jes’ as good as money – jes’ as good if they come from customers you knew. Then all of a sudden they wasn’t. I was left with three of ‘em and two I’d given’ change. Then it got about that five-pun’ notes were no good, and then the silver sort of went off. Gold you ‘couldn’t get for love or – anything. The banks in London ‘ad got it, and the banks was all smashed up. Everybody went bankrup’. Everybody was thrown out of work. Everybody!”
He paused, and scrutinised his hearer. The small boy’s intelligent face expressed hopeless perplexity.
“That’s ‘ow it ‘appened,” said old Tom. He sought for some means of expression. “It was like stoppin’ a clock,” he said. “Things were quiet for a bit, deadly quiet, except for the air-ships fighting about in the sky, and then people begun to get excited. I remember my lars’ customer, the very lars’ customer that ever I ‘ad. He was a Mr. Moses Gluckstein, a city gent and very pleasant and fond of sparrowgrass and chokes, and ‘e cut in – there ‘adn’t been no customers for days – and began to talk very fast, offerin’ me for anything I ‘ad, anything, petaties or anything, its weight in gold. ‘E said it was a little speculation ‘e wanted to try. ‘E said it was a sort of bet reely, and very likely ‘e’d lose; but never mind that, ‘e wanted to try. ‘E always ‘ad been a gambler, ‘e said. ‘E said I’d only got to weigh it out and ‘e’d give me ‘is cheque right away. Well, that led to a bit of a argument, perfect respectful it was, but a argument about whether a cheque was still good, and while ‘e was explaining there come by a lot of these here unemployed with a great banner they ‘ad for every one to read – every one could read those days – ‘We want Food.’ Three or four of ‘em suddenly turns and comes into my shop.
“‘Got any food?’ says one.
“‘No,’ I says, ‘not to sell. I wish I ‘ad. But if I ‘ad, I’m afraid I couldn’t let you have it. This gent, ‘e’s been offerin’ me – ’
“Mr. Gluckstein ‘e tried to stop me, but it was too late.
“‘What’s ‘e been offerin’ you?’ says a great big chap with a ‘atchet; ‘what’s ‘e been offerin you?’ I ‘ad to tell.
“‘Boys,’ ‘e said, ‘’ere’s another feenancier!’ and they took ‘im out there and then, and ‘ung ‘im on a lam’pose down the street. ‘E never lifted a finger to resist. After I tole on ‘im ‘e never said a word…”
Tom meditated for a space. “First chap I ever sin ‘ung!” he said.
“Ow old was you?” asked Teddy.
“‘Bout thirty,” said old Tom.
“Why! I saw free pig-stealers ‘ung before I was six,” said Teddy. “Father took me because of my birfday being near. Said I ought to be blooded…”
“Well, you never saw no-one killed by a moty car, any’ow,” said old Tom after a moment of chagrin. “And you never saw no dead men carried into a chemis’ shop.”
Teddy’s momentary triumph faded. “No,” he said, “I ‘aven’t.”
“Nor won’t. Nor won’t. You’ll never see the things I’ve seen, never. Not if you live to be a ‘undred… Well, as I was saying, that’s how the Famine and Riotin’ began. Then there was strikes and Socialism, things I never did ‘old with, worse and worse. There was fightin’ and shootin’ down, and burnin’ and plundering. They broke up the banks up in London and got the gold, but they couldn’t make food out of gold. ‘Ow did WE get on? Well, we kep’ quiet. We didn’t interfere with no-one and no-one didn’t interfere with us. We ‘ad some old ‘tatoes about, but mocely we lived on rats. Ours was a old ‘ouse, full of rats, and the famine never seemed to bother ‘em. Orfen we got a rat. Orfen. But moce of the people who lived hereabouts was too tender stummicked for rats. Didn’t seem to fancy ‘em. They’d been used to all sorts of fallals, and they didn’t take to ‘onest feeding, not till it was too late. Died rather.
“It was the famine began to kill people. Even before the Purple Death came along they was dying like flies at the end of the summer. ‘Ow I remember it all! I was one of the first to ‘ave it. I was out, seein’ if I mightn’t get ‘old of a cat or somethin’, and then I went round to my bit of ground to see whether I couldn’t get up some young turnips I’d forgot, and I was took something awful. You’ve no idee the pain, Teddy – it doubled me up pretty near. I jes’ lay down by ‘at there corner, and your aunt come along to look for me and dragged me ‘ome like a sack.
“I’d never ‘ave got better if it ‘adn’t been for your aunt. ‘Tom,’ she says to me, ‘you got to get well,’ and I ‘AD to. Then SHE sickened. She sickened but there ain’t much dyin’ about your aunt. ‘Lor!’ she says, ‘as if I’d leave you to go muddlin’ along alone!’ That’s what she says. She’s got a tongue, ‘as your aunt. But it took ‘er ‘air off – and arst though I might, she’s never cared for the wig I got ‘er – orf the old lady what was in the vicarage garden.
“Well, this ‘ere Purple Death, – it jes’ wiped people out, Teddy. You couldn’t bury ‘em. And it took the dogs and the cats too, and the rats and ‘orses. At last every house and garden was full of dead bodies. London way, you couldn’t go for the smell of there, and we ‘ad to move out of the ‘I street into that villa we got. And all the water run short that way. The drains and underground tunnels took it. Gor’ knows where the Purple Death come from; some say one thing and some another. Some said it come from eatin’ rats and some from eatin’ nothin’. Some say the Asiatics brought it from some ‘I place, Thibet, I think, where it never did nobody much ‘arm. All I know is it come after the Famine. And the Famine come after the Penic and the Penic come after the War.”
Teddy thought. “What made the Purple Death?” he asked.
“‘Aven’t I tole you!”
“But why did they ‘ave a Penic?”
“They ‘ad it.”
“But why did they start the War?”
“They couldn’t stop theirselves. ‘Aving them airships made ‘em.”
“And ‘ow did the War end?”
“Lord knows if it’s ended, boy,” said old Tom. “Lord knows if it’s ended. There’s been travellers through ‘ere – there was a chap only two summers ago – say it’s goin’ on still. They say there’s bands of people up north who keep on with it and people in Germany and China and ‘Merica and places. ‘E said they still got flying-machines and gas and things. But we ‘aven’t seen nothin’ in the air now for seven years, and nobody ‘asn’t come nigh of us. Last we saw was a crumpled sort of airship going away – over there. It was a littleish-sized thing and lopsided, as though it ‘ad something the matter with it.”
He pointed, and came to a stop at a gap in the fence, the vestiges of the old fence from which, in the company of his neighbour Mr. Stringer the milkman, he had once watched the South of England Aero Club’s Saturday afternoon ascents. Dim memories, it may be, of that particular afternoon returned to him.
“There, down there, where all that rus’ looks so red and bright, that’s the gas-works.”
“What’s gas?” asked the little boy.
“Oh, a hairy sort of nothin’ what you put in balloons to make ‘em go up. And you used to burn it till the ‘lectricity come.”
The little boy tried vainly to imagine gas on the basis of these particulars. Then his thoughts reverted to a previous topic.
“But why didn’t they end the War?”
“Obstinacy. Everybody was getting ‘urt, but everybody was ‘urtin’ and everybody was ‘igh-spirited and patriotic, and so they smeshed up things instead. They jes’ went on smeshin’. And afterwards they jes’ got desp’rite and savige.”
“It ought to ‘ave ended,” said the little boy.
“It didn’t ought to ‘ave begun,” said old Tom, “But people was proud. People was la-dy-da-ish and uppish and proud. Too much meat and drink they ‘ad. Give in – not them! And after a bit nobody arst ‘em to give in. Nobody arst ‘em…”
He sucked his old gums thoughtfully, and his gaze strayed away across the valley to where the shattered glass of the Crystal Palace glittered in the sun. A dim large sense of waste and irrevocable lost opportunities pervaded his mind. He repeated his ultimate judgment upon all these things, obstinately, slowly, and conclusively, his final saying upon the matter.
“You can say what you like,” he said. “It didn’t ought ever to ‘ave begun.”
He said it simply – somebody somewhere ought to have stopped something, but who or how or why were all beyond his ken.
