’She seemed to have fainted.  I put her carefully upon my shoulder and rose to push on, and then there came a horrible realization.  In manoeuvring with my matches and Weena, I had turned myself about several times, and now I had not the faintest idea in what direction lay my path.  For all I knew, I might be facing back towards the Palace of Green Porcelain.  I found myself in a cold sweat.  I had to think rapidly what to do.  I determined to build a fire and encamp where we were.  I put Weena, still motionless, down upon a turfy bole, and very hastily, as my first lump of camphor waned, I began collecting sticks and leaves.  Here and there out of the darkness round me the Morlocks’ eyes shone like carbuncles.

’The camphor flickered and went out.  I lit a match, and as I did so, two white forms that had been approaching Weena dashed hastily away.  One was so blinded by the light that he came straight for me, and I felt his bones grind under the blow of my fist.  He gave a whoop of dismay, staggered a little way, and fell down.  I lit another piece of camphor, and went on gathering my bonfire.  Presently I noticed how dry was some of the foliage above me, for since my arrival on the Time Machine, a matter of a week, no rain had fallen.  So, instead of casting about among the trees for fallen twigs, I began leaping up and dragging down branches.  Very soon I had a choking smoky fire of green wood and dry sticks, and could economize my camphor.  Then I turned to where Weena lay beside my iron mace.  I tried what I could to revive her, but she lay like one dead.  I could not even satisfy myself whether or not she breathed.

’Now, the smoke of the fire beat over towards me, and it must have made me heavy of a sudden.  Moreover, the vapour of camphor was in the air.  My fire would not need replenishing for an hour or so.  I felt very weary after my exertion, and sat down.  The wood, too, was full of a slumbrous murmur that I did not understand.  I seemed just to nod and open my eyes.  But all was dark, and the Morlocks had their hands upon me.  Flinging off their clinging fingers I hastily felt in my pocket for the match-box, and—­it had gone!  Then they gripped and closed with me again.  In a moment I knew what had happened.  I had slept, and my fire had gone out, and the bitterness of death came over my soul.  The forest seemed full of the smell of burning wood.  I was caught by the neck, by the hair, by the arms, and pulled down.  It was indescribably horrible in the darkness to feel all these soft creatures heaped upon me.  I felt as if I was in a monstrous spider’s web.  I was overpowered, and went down.  I felt little teeth nipping at my neck.  I rolled over, and as I did so my hand came against my iron lever.  It gave me strength.  I struggled up, shaking the human rats from me, and, holding the bar short, I thrust where I judged their faces might be.  I could feel the succulent giving of flesh and bone under my blows, and for a moment I was free.