Chapter XIV
Science to the Rescue
On the second night after the bombardment of London, James Tarrant, the unknown scientist, was talking earnestly with several admirals, politicians, and cabinet ministers, who crowded round him in the temporary quarters of the Bureau of War. The room they were in was a cave dug underground in the solid rock and lighted by the Menling light, that sparkled from gold lace, cocked hats, and epaulets. Far down as they were in the depths of the earth, the booming of the cannon from a neighbouring fort made the walls of the cavern shake; for the war was still raging all over the face of the earth. Piled up on a number of tables
