any, with whom he was acquainted but that gentleman was at
the sea-side, and the business was necessarily postponed.

"Now," said Clewe to Margaret, "if I could do it, I'd like to take a
run up to the polar sea and see for myself what they have discovered.
Judging from Sammy's infrequent despatches, the party in general must be
getting a little tired of Mr. Gibbs's experiments and soundings; but I
should be intensely interested in them."

"I don't wonder," answered Margaret, "that they are getting tired; they
have found the pole, and they want to come home. That is natural enough.
But, for my part, I am very glad we can't run up there. Even if we
had another Dipsey I should decidedly oppose it. I might agree that we
should go to Cape Tariff, but I would not agree to anything more. You
may discover poles if you want to, but you must do it by proxy."

At this moment an awful crash was heard. It came from the building
containing the automatic shell. Clewe and Margaret started to their
feet. They glanced at each other, and then both ran from the office at
the top of their speed. Other people were running from various parts
of the Works. There was no smoke; there was no dust. There had been no
explosion, as Clewe had feared in his first alarm.

When they entered the building, Clewe and Margaret stood aghast. There
were workmen shouting or standing with open mouths; others were running
in. The massive scaffolding, twenty feet in height, on which the shell
had been raised so that the steel trough might be run under it, lay in
splinters upon the ground. The great automatic shell itself had entirely
disappeared.

For some moments no one said anything; all stood astounded, looking at
the space where the shell had been. Then Clewe hurried forward. In the
ground, amid the wreck of the scaffolding, was a circular hole
about four feet in diameter. Clasping the hand of a man near him, he
cautiously peered over the edge and looked down. It was dark and deep;
he saw nothing.

Roland Clewe stepped back; he put his hands over his eyes and thought.
Now he comprehended everything clearly. The weight of the shell had
been too great for its supports. The forward part, which contained the
propelling mechanism, was much heavier than the other end, and had
gone down first, so that the shell had turned over and had fallen
perpendicularly, striking the ground with the point of the cone. Then
its tremendous propelling energy, infinitely more