Charles L. Fontenay

“ He was a little breathless about it. "We're being approached by Martians!"
"How do they act?" asked Captains Powers back at the G-boat, immediately.
"They don't act hostile, sir."
"Stand by, then, but don't take any chances. What do they look like?"
"They're quite a bit taller than we are, but their bodies are round and not much bigger than a child's. They've got real long legs and arms, and big heads with big eyes and ears."
"Are they intelligent? Are they civilized? How do they breathe?" ”

“ The Martian hunting party came back from the desert with word of the strange creatures who came, apparently, from another world.
"Whether they have weapons, we do not know," said the leader of the hunting party. "But they wished to harm our people, so we killed them all." ”

“ He pointed to the third planet, then at himself, then at his companions, one by one. Then he pointed at the fourth planet and at the Martians, one by one. To complete the matter, he pointed at the sky.
"We are Earthmen," he said. "You are Martians."
The trouble was that the Earthmen didn't realize the things the Martians had were weapons until they used them. They didn't realize it then, as a matter of fact, because the Earthmen were dead, all three of them. ”