War of the Worlds - Book One - The Coming of the Martians / Chapter 3 - On Horsell Commons

Huh. Go figure. A few months ago, we saw some flashes of light on the surface of Mars. Now a meteorite lands right here, in Horsell Commons! Weird that it's a cylinder though. Told those lads to stop throwing stones at it too, not sure what to make of the bloody thing. Pretty boring really. Not much more to see than if it were a downed tree or overturned cart...  Now... why the newsboys cried "Extra! Extra! Message from Mars!" is another mystery.