"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."
"Are these hammers always quite so noisy, do you suppose?" I enquired, a little hopelessly.
"Oh, off and on!" he nodded, "Kick up a bit of a racket, don't they, but you get used to it in time, I could hear a pin drop. Look! since we've stood here they've got four more plates fixed—there goes the fifth. This way!"