midday
He had been consumed with thirst until he found one of the water mains near the railway arch smashed , and the water bubbling out like a spring upon the road . That was the story I got from him , bit by bit . He grew calmer telling me and trying to make me see the things he had seen . He had eaten no food since midday , he told me early in his narrative , and I found some mutton and bread in the pantry and brought it into the room . We lit no lamp for fear of attracting the Martians , and ever and again our hands would touch upon bread or meat . As he talked , things about us came darkly out of the darkness , and the trampled bushes and broken rose trees outside the window grew distinct . It would seem that a number of men or animals had rushed across the lawn .