The Time Machine - International World History Project

The Time Machineemotion, and it set me thinking and observing. Idiscovered then, among other things, that these littlepeople gathered into the great houses after dark, and sleptin droves. To enter upon them without a light was to putthem into a tumult of apprehension. I never found oneout of doors, or one sleeping alone within doors, afterdark. Yet I was still such a blockhead that I missed thelesson of that fear, and in spite of Weena’s distress Iinsisted upon sleeping away from these slumberingmultitudes.‘It troubled her greatly, but in the end her oddaffection for me triumphed, and for five of the nights ofour acquaintance, including the last night of all, she sleptwith her head pillowed on my arm. But my story slipsaway from me as I speak of her. It must have been thenight before her rescue that I was awakened about dawn. Ihad been restless, dreaming most disagreeably that I wasdrowned, and that sea anemones were feeling over myface with their soft palps. I woke with a start, and with anodd fancy that some greyish animal had just rushed out ofthe chamber. I tried to get to sleep again, but I felt restlessand uncomfortable. It was that dim grey hour when thingsare just creeping out of darkness, when everything iscolourless and clear cut, and yet unreal. I got up, and went70 of 148