“And it could kill any one?”
“It can kill any one; you’ve only got to aim at anybody,” and Krassotkin explained where the powder had to be put, where the shot should be rolled in, showing a tiny hole like a touch‐hole, and told them that it kicked when it was fired.
The children listened with intense interest. What particularly struck their imagination was that the cannon kicked.
“And have you got any powder?” Nastya inquired.
“Yes.”
“Show us the powder, too,” she drawled with a smile of entreaty.
Krassotkin dived again into his satchel and pulled out a small flask containing a little real gunpowder. He had some shot, too, in a screw of paper. He even uncorked the flask and shook a little powder into the palm of his hand.
“One has to be careful there’s no fire about, or it would blow up and kill us all,” Krassotkin warned them sensationally.
The children gazed at the powder with an awe‐stricken alarm that only intensified their enjoyment. But Kostya liked the shot better.
“And does the shot burn?” he inquired.