H G Wells

The War in the Air H G Wells

"This here Progress," said Mr. Tom Smallways, "it keeps on.""You'd hardly think it could keep on," said Mr. Tom Smallways. It was along before the War in the Air began that Mr. Smallways made this remark. Hewas sitting on the fence at the end of his garden and surveying the great Bun Hill gas-workswith an eye that neither praised nor blamed. Above the clustering gasometers threeunfamiliar shapes appeared, thin, wallowing bladders that flapped and rolled about, andgrew bigger and bigger and rounder and rounder-balloons in course of inflation for theSouth of England Aero Club's Saturday-afternoon ascent."They goes up every Saturday," said his neighbour, Mr. Stringer, the milkman. "It's onlyyestiday, so to speak, when all London turned out to see a balloon go over, and now everylittle place in the country has its weekly-outings-uppings, rather. It's been the salvation ofthem gas companies."