Childers," said the young lieutenant, "the last experiment is
about to be made, and I think it will interest you even more than the
others. See, they are about to send off the electrical steam-pinnace."

As he spoke, a boat was being prepared alongside the ship.

"Why!" exclaimed my mother, almost speechless with surprise, "they have
forgotten to send its crew in it."

"No, madam," said Firebrand, with one of his blandest smiles, "they have
not forgotten her crew, but there are services so dangerous, that
although the courage of the British sailor will of course enable him to
face _anything_, it has been thought advisable not to put it to too
severe a test, hence this automatic boat has been invented. It is
steered, and all its other operations are performed, by means of
electricity, applied not on board the boat but on board of the
_Nettle_."

This was indeed the case. The electric pinnace went off as he spoke,
her steam-engines, steering-gear, and all the other apparatus being
regulated by electric wires, which were "paid out" from the ship as the
boat proceeded on her mission of supposed extreme danger. Right under
the withering fire of the imaginary enemy's batteries she went, and
having scorned the rain of small shot that swept over her like hail, and
escaped the plunging heavy shot that fell on every side, she dropped a
mine over her stern, exploded it by means of a slow fuse, turned round
and steamed back in triumph, amid the cheers of the spectators.

This last was really a marvellous sight, and the little boat seemed
indeed to deserve the encomiums of Firebrand, who said, that, "If cool,
calm pluck, in the face of appalling danger, merited anything, that
heroic little steam-pinnace ought to receive the Victoria Cross."

I was still meditating on this subject, and listening to the animated
comments going on around me, when I myself received a shock, compared to
which all the explosions I had that day witnessed were as nothing.

It suddenly recurred to my memory that I had left a compound in my
laboratory at home in a state of chemical preparation, which required
watching to prevent its catching fire at a certain part of the process.
I had been called away from that compound suddenly by Nicholas, just
before we left for London, and I had been so taken up with what he had
to tell me, that I had totally forgotten it. The mere burning of this
compound would, in itself, have been nothing, for my laborator