“Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-inch!” he said, smiling grimly.

“How much?” I yelled.

“She has four rat-tat-tat-tat inch and twelve rattle-tattle inch besides rat-tat-tat-tat!” he answered, nodding.

“Really!” I roared, “if those guns are half as big as I think, the Germans—”

“The Germans—!” said he, and blew his nose.

“How long did you say she was?” I hastened to ask as the hammers died down a little.

“Well, over all she measured exactly rat-tat feet. She was so big that we had to pull down a corner of the building there, as you can see.”

“And what’s her name?”

“The rat-tat-tat, and she’s the rattle-tattle of her class.”