Whether it was a parabola or a hyperbola,
however, or whether it was disturbed or not, made very little difference
as, in any case, the Projectile was bound to quit pretty soon the cone
of the shadow, at a point directly opposite to where it had entered it.
This cone could not possibly be of very great extent, considering the
very slight ratio borne by the Moon's diameter when compared with the
Sun's. Still, to all appearances, the Projectile seemed to be quite as
deeply immersed in the shadow as ever, and there was apparently not the
slightest sign of such a state of things coming soon to an end. At what
rate was the Projectile now moving? Hard to say, but certainly not
slowly, certainly rapidly enough to be out of the shadow by this time,
if describing a curve rigidly parabolic. Was the curve therefore _not_
parabolic? Another puzzling problem and sadly bewildering to poor
Barbican, who had now almost lost his reason by attempting to clear up
questions that were proving altogether too profound for his overworked
brains.
Not that he ever thought of taking rest. Not that his companions thought
of taking rest. Far from it. With senses as high-strung as ever, they
still watched carefully for every new fact, every unexpected incident
that might throw some light on the sidereal investigations.
Pages:
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302