TheLanaIronclads.

ByH.G.WELLS.1."-~nddownhesatatoncewithouttheshadowHEyounglieutenantlaybesideofanatta~kandbegangrubbingtrenchesforthewarcorrespondentandhimself,a~thoughhemean~tositdownadmiredtheidylliccalmofthetheretotheveryendoftime.Hewasenemy'slinesthroughhisfield-slow,butmuchmorewarythantheworldglass.hadbeenledtoexpect,andhekeptconvoys"SofarasIcansee,"hetuckedinandshieldedhisslowmarchingsaidatlast,"oneman."infantrysufficientlywell,topreventanyheavy,,'What'shedoing?"askedthewarcorre-adversescoring.spondent..."Buthe°':lg~ttoattack,"theyoung"Field-glassatus,"saIdtheyounglIeutenanthadInsIsted.lieutenant."He'llattackusatdawn,somewherealong"Andthisiswar!"thelines.You'llgetthebayonetscoming"No,"saidtheyounglieutenant;"it'sintothetrenchesjustaboutwhenyoucanBloch.;'see,"thewarcorrespondenthadhelduntila"Thegame'sadraw."weekago."No!They'vegottowinorelsetheyTheyounglieutenantwinkedwhenhesaidlose.Adraw'sawinforourside."that.TheyhaddiscussedthepoliticalsituationWhenoneearlymorningthementhefiftytimesorso,andthewarcorrespondentdefenderssenttolieoutfivehundredyardswaswearyofit.Hestretchedouthislimbs.beforethetrenches,withaviewtotheun-"Aaais'poseit

!"heyawned.expectedemptyingofmagazinesintoany

"FlutI"

nightattack,gavewaytocauselesspanicand"Whatwasthat?"blazedawayatnothingfortenminutes,the"Shotatus."warcorrespoQ.dentunderstoodthemeaningThewarcorrespondentshiftedtoaslightlyofthatwink.lowerposition."Nooneshotathim,"he"Whatwouldyoudoifyouwerethecomplained.enemy?"saidthewarcorrespondent,suddenly."Iwonderiftheythinkweshallgetso"IfIhadmenlikeI'vegotnow?"boredweshallgohome?""Yes."Thewarcorrespondentmadenoreply."Takethesetrenches.""There'stheharvest,ofcourse...""How?"Theyhadbeenthereamonth.Sincethe"Oh-dodges!Crawlouthalf-wayatfirstbriskmovementsafterthedeclarationofnightbeforemoonriseandgetintotouch~arthingshadgoneslowerandslower,untilwiththechapswesendout.Blazeat'emItseemedasthoughthewholemachineofiftheytriedtoshift,andsobagsomeof'emeventsmusthaverundown.Tobeginwith,inthedaylight.Learnthatpatchofground!heyhadhadalmostascamperingtime;thebyheart,liealldayinsquattyholes,andInvaderhadcomeacrossthefrontieronthecomeonnearernextnight.There'sabitverydawnofthewarinhalf-a-dozenparalleloverthere,lumpyground,wheretheycouldcolumnsbebindacloudofcyclistsandgetacrosstorushingdistance-easy.Inacavalry,withageneralairofcomingstraightnightorso..Itwouldbeameregameforonthecapital,andthedefender-horsemenourfellows;it'swhatthey'remadefor....hadheldhimup,andpepperedhimandGuns?Shrapnelandstuffwouldn'tstopforcedhimtoopenouttooutflank,andhadgoodmenwhomeantbusiness."thenboltedtothenextpositioninthemost"Whydon't

they

dothat?"approvedstyle,foracoupleofdays,untilin"Theirmenaren'tbrutesenough;that'stheafternoon,bump!theyhadtheinvaderthetrouble.They'reacrowdofdevitalizeda~ainsttheirpreparedlinesofdefence.Hetownsmen,andthat'sthetruthofthematter.didnotsuffersomuchashadbeenhopedandThey'reclerks,they'refactoryhands,they'ree~pected:hewascomingonitseemedwithstudents,they'recivilizedmen.Theycanhiseyesopen,hisscoutswindedtheguns,write,theycantalk,theycanmake

and

501

allsortsof!hings,butthey'repooramateursatwar.They'vegotnophysicalstayingpower,andthat'sthewholething.They'veneversleptintheopenonenightintheirlives;they'veneverdrunkanythingbutthepurestwater-companywater;they'venevergoneshortofthreemealsadaysincetheylefttheirdevitalizingfeeding-bottles.Halftheircavalrynevercockedlegoverhorsetillitenlistedsixmonthsago.Theyridetheirhorsesasthoughtheywerebicycles-youwatch'em!They'refoolsatthegame,andtheyknowit.Ourboysoffourteencangivetheirgrownmenpoints.....Verywell-"Thewarcorre-spondentmusedonhisfacewithhisnosebetweenhisknuckles."Ifadecentcivilization,"hesaid,"cannotpro-ducebettermenforWarthan--"Hestoppedwithbelatedpoliteness."Imean-""Thanouropen-airlife,"saidtheyounglieutenant,politely."Exactly,"saidthewarcorre-spondent."Thencivilizationhastostop."

"It

lookslikeit,"theyounglieutenantadmitted."Civilizationhasscience,youknow,"saidthewarcorrespondent."Itinventedanditmakestheriflesandgunsandthingsyouuse.""Whichournicehealthyhuntersandstockmenandsoon,rowdy-dowdycow-punchersandhorse-whackers,canusetentimesbetterthan--

What'sthat?"

"What?"saidthewarcorrespondent,andthenseeinghiscompanionbusywithhisfield-glassheproducedhisown."Where?"saidthewarcorrespondent,swpingthe

enemy'sImes."It'snothing,"saidtheyounglieutenant,stilllooking.

"What'snothing?"Theyounglieutenantputdownhisglass

"*,

andpointed."Ithoughtthere,behindthestemsSomethingblack.Whatknow."Thewarcorrespondenttriedtbyintensescruti~v.0geteVen"Itwasn'tany

thl1iO'''Sal

the

.Co,youn

~enant,rolhngQvertoregardthedarkligleu-mgsky,andgeneralized:"ThngeVen-bh

.erenever'

IeanytmganymoreforeverUI

WJj

.ness"ewarcorrespondentloo

ked

ulry

"Th.

,eymaygetthenstomachswr.ong,orSome-thmg-livingwith-outproperdrains."AsOundofbuglescamefromthetentsbehindThewarcorre:spondentslidback-warddownthesandandstood

up,

Boom!"came

fromsomewherefarawaytotheleft.

Halloa!"hesaid,

hesitated,andcrawledbacktopeeragain.

Fir-ingatthistimeisjollybadmanners."Theyounglieu-tenantwasincom-municativeagainforaspace.Thenhepointedtothedistantclumpoftreesagain."Oneofourbigguns.Theywerefiringatthat,"hesaid,"Thethingthatwasn'tanything?""Somethingoverthere,anyhow."Bothmenweresilent,peeringthrou,g~theirglassesforaspace.

ustwhenIts

twilight,"thelieutenantcomplained.Hestoodup."Imightstayhereabit,"saidthewarcorrespondent.,Thelieutenantshookhishead."Theresnothingtosee,"heapologized,andthe~,wffitdowntowherehislittlesquadofs~n(brown,loose-limbedmenhadbeenyarnJn~inthetrench.Thewarcorresponde~stoodupalso,glancedforamomentatt

business-likebustlebelowhim,gaveperhaPs

--..I

treetwentysecondstothoseemgmatlcaagain,thenturnedhisfacetowa:'dthecamP,Isawsomethingofthosetrees.itwasIdon't

",BOOM!'CAMEFROMSO>lEWHEI<EFARAWAYTOTHELEFT."

--""'"

Hefoundhimselfwonderingwhetherhiseditorwouldconsiderthestoryofhowsome-bodythoughthesawsomethingblackbehindaclumpoftrees,andhowagunwas'firedatthisillusionbysomebodyelse,tootrivialforpublicconsul1-t-tion."It'stheonlygleamofashado,wofinterest,"saidthewarcorrespo~t;'"fortenwholedays.""No,"hesaid,presently;"I'llwritethatotherarticle,'Is\VarPlayedOut?'"Hesurveyedthedarklinglinesinper-spective,thetangleoftrenchesonebehindanother,onecommandinganother,whichthedefenderhadmadeready.Theshadowsandmistsswalloweduptheirrecedingcon-tours,andhereandtherealanterngleamed,andhereandthereknotsofme.nwerebusyaboutsmallfires."Notroopsonearthcoulddoit,"hesaid....Hewasdepressed.Hebelievedthattherewereotherthingsinlifebetterworthhavingthanproficiencyinwar;hebelievedthatintheheartofcivilization,forallitsstresses,itscrushingconcentrationsofforces,itsinjusticeandsuffering,therelaysomethingthatmightbethehopeoftheworld,andtheideathatanypeoplebylivingintheopenair,huntingperpetually,losingtouchwithbooksandartandallthethingsthatintensifylife,mighthopetoresistandbreakthatgreatdevelopmenttotheendoftime,jarredonhiscivilizedsoul.Apttohisthoughtdefendersoldiersandgleamofaswingingtheway.Heglancedattheirred-litfaces,andoneshoneoutforamoment,acommontypeoffaceinthedefender'sranks:ill-shapednose,sensuouslips,brightcleareyesfullofalertcunning,slouchhatcockedononesideandadornedwiththepeacock'splumeoftherusticDonJuanturnedsoldier,ahardbrownskin,asinewyframe,anopen,tirelessstride,andamaster'sgripontherifle.Thewarcorrespondentreturnedtheirsalutationsandwentonhisway."Louts,"hewhispered."Cunning,ele-mentarylouts.Andtheyaregoingtobeatthetownsmenatthegameofwar!"Fromtheredglowamongthenearertentscamefirstoneandthenhalf-a-dozenheartyvoices,bawlinginadrawlingunisonthewordsofaparticularlyslabandsentimentalpatrioticsong."Oh,

it!"mutteredthewarcorre-spondent,bitterly.cameafileofthepassedhiminthelampthatmarkedn.lTwasoppositethetrenchescalledafterHackbone'sHutthatthebattlebegan.Therethegroundstretchedbroadandlevelbetweenthelines,withscarcelyshelterforalizard,andit(seemedtothestartled,just-awakenedmen'whocamecrowdingintothetrenchesthatthiswasonemoreproofofthatgreeninexperien~ltheenemyofwhichtheyhadheards6much.ThewarCOrre-spondentwouldnotbelievehiseJ.rsatfirst,andsworethatheandthewarartist,who,stillimperfectlyroused,wastryingtoputonhisbootsbythelightofamatchheldinhishand,werethevictimsofacommonillusion.Then,afterputtinghisheadinabucketofcoldwater,hisintelligencecamebackashetowelled.Helistened."Gollys!"hesaid;"that'ssomethingmorethanscarefiringthistime.It'sliketenthousandcartsonabridgeoftin."Therecameasortofenrichmenttothatsteadyuproar."Machineguns!"Then,"Guns!"Theartist,withonebooton,thoughttolookathiswatch,andwenttoithopping."Halfanhourfromdawn,"hesaid."Youwererightabouttheirattacking,afterall...."Thewarcorrespondentcameoutofthetent,verifyingthepresenceofchocolateinhispocketashedidso.Hehadtohaltforamomentorsountilhiseyesweretoneddowntothenightalittle."Pitch!"hesaid.HestoodforaspacetoseJ.sonhiseyesbeforehefeltjustifiedinstrikingoutforablackgapamongtheadjacenttents.Theartistcomingoutbehindhimfelloveratent-rope.Itwashalf-p'lsttwoo'clockinthemorningofthedarkestnightintime,andagainstaskyofdullblacksilktheenemywastalkingsearchlights,awildjabberofsearchlights."He'stryingtoblindourrifle-men,"saidthewarcorrespondentwithaflash,andwaitedfortheartistandthensetoffwithasortofdiscreethasteagain."Whoa!"hesaid,presently."Ditches!"Theystopped."It'stheconfoundedsearchlights,"saidthewarcorrespondent.Theysawlanternsgoingtoandfro,nearby,andmenfallingintomarchdowntothe.trenches.Theywereforfollowingthem,andthentheartistbegantofeelhisnighteyes."Ifwescramblethis,"hesaid,"andit'sonlyadrain,there'saclearrunupto.theridge."Andthatwaytheytook.LIghtscameandwentinthetentsbehind,asthementurned<;Jut,andeverandagaintheycame