Chapter XIV

1 _The implements of war_. 8 _The engines that did fly_. 14 _Concerning the Mad Major_. 25 _The men of En employ tonics_. 34 _Wherefore the men of Hu cry out_.

Now _these be_ the implements of war, and all these things did men use at that time when the nations of the earth banded themselves together for the fight.

2 Now there were guns of great magnitude that _did_ hit hard so that there was nothing that could withstand them, and, against them, the fortifications of the cities _were_ as snow when the sun cometh out.

3 And the guns did scatter death on _all_ sides, above and about, so that there was no living thing left nigh unto the place where they _did_ strike; and the compass of a gun, it was _beyond_ the sight of human eye.

4 And there were mines that the engineers did make them _underneath_ the ground; and all that which was above the ground, _that_ did they scatter unto the heavens so that when it returned again to earth, behold, it _was_ not.

5 Also was there gas, and it was made of a vile poison; and when any man did deeply breathe of it, that man would most assuredly die; and the manner of his death, it _was_ terrible.

6 And they that first made use of the gas that was poison _were_ the men of Hu, for it was _in them_ to do so because their minds did travel unto such things.

7 And there was liquid that _was_ fire, and it was sent against an host for to burn up the flesh _of them_ that came in the way. And this was also _from_ the men of Hu and was bred of their refinement. And neither of these things did the nations of Eur use in any war that they did wage _before_.

8 ¶ And there were engines that did fly through the air, fearsome weapons of war that _did_ deal out death and destruction from an ambush of clouds.

9 And they were of two kinds. And the Zeps _were_ fat-bellied, being of the men of Hu.

10 These did carry on their goings out a great weight of _matter_ that _was_ death. And they did drop it _at a venture_ so that it fell amongst peaceful dwellers in the land; and the women and children that did perish by this means, it _was_ a great number.

11 And there were also engines that did fly which men called planes: and _these_ were of both sides. And they were speedy things _and_ nimble.

12 And those that did ride in them were brave men and skilful. And the men of Hu prospered not with the planes save only _in the_ flight, at which they were exceeding quick.

13 And so there came a time when the men of Hu forbore to go up into the air for to fight _because_ the hazard of such an enterprise, it was very great.

14 ¶ Now the bravery of the warriors of En that did ride in the planes was in the mouths of all the peoples _of_ the earth. And there was one whom men _did call_ the Mad Major because of his daring.

15 And it was said concerning him that he and death played them a long game wherein the dice were loaded on _the side_ of death.

16 And he would venture forth and would fly from the camp of the men of En until he came unto a place whence he could see the hosts of Hu _spread out_ beneath him.

17 Then would he choose him a target from amongst the strong _places_ that were below, and he would swoop him down _on a sudden_ so that he was but a few cubits on high.

18 And the men of Hu would use _all_ manner of weapons against him, and they would send projectiles that did scatter _about_ for to bring him down amongst them.

19 Yea, from the places that _were_ nigh unto him and from the places that _were_ afar off would they send of their munition, seeking only that they might slay him. And the heavens were filled with a multitude of balls so that men said, Verily, in the place _where_ he is, in that place only is it possible for man to live.

20 And when he that was called the Mad Major was _low enough_, then would he drop him a bomb. And it came to pass that all that which was _underneath_, it was destroyed, and the men that _were_ there did assuredly perish.

21 Then would he ascend into the air unto a certain height, for that which he had come for to do, _it was_ done.

22 And he would loop him _a loop_; yea, even over the hosts of Hu would he loop him _a loop_, for he was of a merry spirit and it was _in him_ to laugh in this manner.

23 And when he had looped him _a loop_ he would return unto the men of En, and he _would_ say unto them, The bombs that thou gavest unto me _went_ off. Give me, therefore, some more that I may dispose _of them_ in likewise.

24 And he was not alone in the things that he did do, for there _were_ many like unto him. And concerning the deeds of some thou shalt find it writ in the books; but concerning many, thou shalt find no record of _their_ deeds in the chronicles of that time.

25 ¶ And the men of En did make them chariots of strange and wonderful design, and they _did_ call them tanks. And there was no man throughout all the land that did say, I made not this chariot; but every man did draw his neighbour _unto the side_, and did speak unto him privily, saying, Shush! Let it not be known. I tell thee that I, even I, did take _an hand_ in this thing.

26 And the shape of the tanks was for a long time known only to the few. And some said they were _like unto_ a lizard that is blown out mightily, that walketh as a man plagued with _the_ corns.

27 And others said they were _like unto_ an hippopotamus that doth wobble itself amazingly so that no man knoweth whither it intendeth; yet, _of a certainty_, doth it get there.

28 And others said they were _like unto_ nothing on earth, being for the most part belly of a fashion _that is_ given unto no living thing.

29 And that _which_ was a shield and a covering unto the tanks was tough past all belief; yea, even the hide of the rhinoceros did not compare unto this. And all the missiles that the men of Hu did send _against_ it were as peas upon a roof that is whole, and it availed them nothing.

30 And in its gait it was like unto a man that hath taken strong drink, having first devoured much rice. For in such case does the belly grow big and the footsteps do _become_ unsteady. Wherefore it was a thing _for_ laughter amongst the men of En; but in the hosts of Hu it was a thing _for_ fear.

31 And men told strange tales of the _things_ that it did do. And it was said that upon an occasion it did sally forth and, in its adventuring, it did meet with an habitation.

32 And it did go up unto the habitation and it _did_ look upon it. And it did go _against_ the habitation _with a purpose_ so that the walls did fall about it and there was ruination on all sides.

33 And after it had shaken itself free from all that _which_ had fallen upon it, it did betake itself with modesty unto another place as a man that is overcome with shyness and seeketh to _pass it over_. Verily, it recked _nothing_ of the thing that it had done.

34 ¶ Wherefore, and because it did smite them hip and thigh, sparing not any man that did come up against it, the men of Hu _were_ afraid, and they did cry out with loud lamentations, saying, Why do ye so despitefully _use_ us? Know ye not that it is not _in the war_ to do these things?

35 And because men _knew_ them, they heeded not their groans, so that it availed them nothing; and the tank remained a thing of terror throughout all their hosts.

36 And in this thing the men of En _were_ first amongst all the fighters of Eur, for _it was_ new. And the people rejoiced, being satisfied that it was given unto them as a sign that the rulers were _becoming_ awake.