Opening of the book
Tales of Space and Time
Tales of Space
and Time
By H. G. WELLS, Author
of "When the Sleeper
Wakes" "The War of the
Worlds" etc.
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
LONDON AND NEW YORK
1900
Copyright, 1899, by Harper & Brothers
All rights reserved
Transcriber's
Note:
Minor
typographical
errors
have
been
corrected without note. Dialect and
variant
spellings
have
been
retained.
Contents
PAGE
The Crystal Egg
1
The Star
35
A Story of the Stone Age
59
A Story of the Days to Come
165
The Man who could Work Miracles
325
THE CRYSTAL EGG
There was, until a year ago, a little and very grimylooking shop near Seven Dials, over which, in weather-worn yellow lettering, the name of "C. Cave, Naturalist and
Dealer in Antiquities," was inscribed. The contents of its window were curiously variegated. They comprised some elephant tusks and an imperfect set of chessmen, beads and weapons, a box of eyes, two skulls of tigers and one human, several moth-eaten stuffed monkeys (one holding a lamp), an old-fashioned cabinet, a flyblown ostrich egg or so, some fishing-tackle, and an extraordinarily dirty, empty glass fish-tank. There was also, at the moment the story begins, a mass of crystal, worked into the shape of an egg and brilliantly polished. And at that two people, who stood outside the window, were looking, one of them a tall, thin clergyman, the other a black-bearded young man of dusky complexion and unobtrusive costume. The dusky young man spoke with eager gesticulation, and seemed anxious for his companion to purchase the article.
While they were there, Mr. Cave came into his shop, his beard still wagging with the bread and butter of his tea.
When he saw these men and the object of their regard, his countenance fell. He glanced guiltily over his shoulder, and softly shut the door. He was a little old man, with
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