XVI
THE BLAST
"I am glad to see so many moving-picture men," said Mona
thoughtfully. "If it were not for photographs, I doubt if coming
generations would believe this."
And she turned her glasses again upon the scene. From the cockpit of
Fort's newest ornithopter, about three hundred yards from the ground
and less than that distance from the spot, she could watch
operations with exceptional ease. Fort agreed with her comment.
"Yes; to merely state that the mouth of that cannon is a hundred
feet in diameter, and that it is set a mile and a half into the
ground, at an angle of thirty degrees--it's too much of a strain on
the imagination. However, I understand they've taken flash-light
pictures from the interior, such as will make it easier to believe."
A huge compound crane was slowly swinging the first projectile into
place over the muzzle of that colossal gun. Mona eyed the immense
shell with curiosity.
"As I understand it," she said, "the projectile is really a number
of shells, telescoping, one within another.
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