One of his assistants, under the
direction of Lieutenant Marbury, placed in the three openings
bombs, made of light cardboard, just the size of a regular bomb,
but filled with a white powder that would, on breaking, make a
dust-cloud which could be observed from the airship.
"I have first to determine where I want to drop the bomb," Tom
explained, "and then I have to get my distance from it on the
range-finder. Next I have to know how fast I am traveling, and
how far up in the air I am, to tell what the velocity of the
falling bomb will attain at a certain time. This I can do by
means of these instruments, some of which I have adapted from
those used by the government," he said, with a nod to the
officer.
"That's right--take all the information you can get," was the
smiling response.
"We will now assume that the bombs are in place in the holes in
the floor of the cabin," Tom went on. "As I sit here I have
before me three buttons. They control the magnets that hold the
bombs in place. If I press one of the buttons it breaks the
electrical current, the magnet no longer has any attraction, and
it releases the explosive.
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