the scientific salvation of the
world?"

"There is nothing new about the idea," replied Lennard, "except its
application to the present circumstances. Of course you have read Jules
Verne's _Journey to the Moon_? Well, my plan is simply to do the same
thing on a much bigger scale, only instead of firing men and dogs and
chickens out of my cannon, I am going to fire something like a ton and a
half of explosives.

"The danger is in the contact of the nucleus of the comet with the
earth's atmosphere. If that can be prevented there is no further cause
for alarm; so, to put the matter quite shortly, my projectile will have
an initial velocity of ten miles a second, and therefore a range that is
practically infinite, for that velocity will carry it beyond the sphere
of the earth's attraction.

"Hence, if the gun is properly trained and fired at precisely the right
moment, and if the fuse does its work, the projectile will pass into the
nucleus of the comet, and, before the heat has time to melt the shell,
the charge will explode and the nucleus--the only dangerous part--will
either be blown to fragments or dissipated in gas. Therefore, instead of
what I might be allowed to call a premature Day of Judgment, we shall
simply have a magnificent display of celestial fireworks, which will
probably amount to nothing more than an unparalleled shower of shooting
stars, as they are popularly called.

"The details of the experiment will be practically the same as those
Jules Verne described--I mean as regards the making and firing of the
cannon--only, as we haven't time to get a big enough hole dug, I should
strongly advise the acceptance of Lord Westerham's very opportune
offer."

"That's so," said Mr Parmenter, quietly, "but I've got a sort of fancy
for running this business myself. My reflector discovered this comet,
thanks, of course, to the good use you made of it, and it seems to me
that I'm in a way responsible for making it harmless if that can be
done, and so I'm not disposed to take that convenient colliery as a gift
from anyone, no, not even you, Lord Westerham. You see, my lord, all
that I can do here is just finding the dollars, and to a man in your
position, doing his best to get as many men and horses and guns together
for the defence of his country, money is money. Will you take a quarter
of a million pounds for that colliery?"

"No, I won't, Mr Parmenter," laughed Lord Westerham. "In the first
place, the collier