For a moment he stared in silence through the glasses, then he turned to Arnold and said in a voice that trembled with violent emotion—
"Good God, that is awful! The whole of the centre citadel is gone as though it had been swept off the face of the earth. I can hardly see even the ruins of it. Surely that's murder rather than war!"
"No more murder than the use of torpedoes in naval warfare, as far as I can see," replied Arnold coolly. "Remember, too," he continued in a sterner tone, "that fortress belongs to the power that flogged Radna and has captured Natasha. Come, let's see what execution you can do."
He crossed the deck and set the other gun by its scale, saying as he did so—
"Put your finger on the button and press when I tell you."
Colston did as he was bid, and as his finger touched the little knob his hand was as firm as though he had been making a shot at billiards.
"Now!"
He pressed the button down hard. There was the same sharp sound, and a second messenger of destruction sped on its way towards the doomed fortress.
"Good God, that is awful."