It was not a roadway at all,
as Graham understood such things, for in the nineteenth century the
only roads and streets were beaten tracks of motionless earth, jostling
rivulets of vehicles between narrow footways. But this roadway was three
hundred feet across, and it moved; it moved, all save the middle,
the lowest part. For a moment, the motion dazzled his mind. Then he
understood.

Under the balcony this extraordinary roadway ran swiftly to Graham's
right, an endless flow rushing along as fast as a nineteenth century
express train, an endless platform of narrow transverse overlapping
slats with little interspaces that permitted it to follow the curvatures
of the street. Upon it were seats, and here and there little kiosks,
but they swept by too swiftly for him to see what might be therein. From
this nearest and swiftest platform a series of others descended to the
centre of the space. Each moved to the right, each perceptibly slower
than the one above it, but the difference in pace was small enough to
permit anyone to step from any platform to the one adjacent, and so walk
uninterruptedly from the swiftest to the motionless middle way. Beyond
this middle way was another series of endless platforms rushing with
varying pace to Graham's left. And seated in crowds upon the two widest
and swiftest platforms, or stepping from one to another down the steps,
or swarming over the central space, was an innumerable and wonderfully
diversified multitude of people.

"You must not stop here," shouted Howard suddenly at his side. "You must
come away at once."

Graham made no answer. He heard without hearing. The platforms ran with
a roar and the people were shouting. He perceived women and girls
with flowing hair, beautifully robed, with bands crossing between the
breasts. These first came out of the confusion. Then he perceived that
the dominant note in that kaleidoscope of costume was the pale blue that
the tailor's boy had worn. He became aware of cries of "The Sleeper.
What has happened to the Sleeper?" and it seemed as though the rushing
platforms before him were suddenly spattered with the pale buff of
human faces, and then still more thickly. He saw pointing fingers. He
perceived that the motionless central area of this huge arcade just
opposite to the balcony was densely crowded with blue-clad people. Some
sort of struggle had sprung into life. People seemed to be pushed up the
running platforms on either side, and ca