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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: knowledge of the Black Smoke came by hearsay. He heard
that about half the members of the government had gathered
at Birmingham, and that enormous quantities of high explo-
sives were being prepared to be used in automatic mines
across the Midland counties.
He was also told that the Midland Railway Company had
replaced the desertions of the first day's panic, had resumed
traffic, and was running northward trains from St. Albans
to relieve the congestion of the home counties. There was
also a placard in Chipping Ongar announcing that large
stores of flour were available in the northern towns and that
War of the Worlds | 
