"What's the matter with you?" asked Michel Ardan, much surprised.
"The matter! why if at this moment the velocity was already diminished one-third by friction, the initial speed ought to have been—"
"Sixteen thousand five hundred and seventy-six metres!" answered
Nicholl.
"But the Cambridge Observatory declared that 11,000 metres were enough at departure, and our bullet started with that velocity only!"
"Well?" asked Nicholl.
"Why it was not enough!"
"No."
"We shall not reach the neutral point."
"The devil!"
"We shall not even go half way!"