Cylinder lands unknown time later

Then came the night the first missile approached Earth. It was thought to be an ordinary falling star, but the next day there was a huge crater in the middle of the Common, and Ogilvy came to examine what lay there. A cylinder, thirty yards across, glowing hot, and with faint sounds of movement coming from within. Suddenly the top began moving, rotating, unscrewing, and Ogilvy feared there was a man inside trying to escape. He rushed to the cylinder but the intense heat stopped him before he could burn himself on the metal...

The Eve of the War