astonishing swiftness that it accomplishes its revolution around the
Earth in about 3 hours and 20 minutes!"

"Whew!" whistled Ardan, "where should we be now if it had struck us!"

"You don't mean to say, Barbican," observed M'Nicholl, "that Petit has
seen this very one?"

"So it appears," replied Barbican.

"And do all astronomers admit its existence?" asked the Captain.

"Well, some of them have their doubts," replied Barbican--

"If the unbelievers had been here a minute or two ago," interrupted
Ardan, "they would never express a doubt again."

"If Petit's calculation is right," continued Barbican, "I can even form
a very good idea as to our distance from the Earth."

"It seems to me Barbican can do what he pleases here or elsewhere,"
observed Ardan to the Captain.

"Let us see, Barbican," asked M'Nicholl; "where has Petit's calculation
placed us?"

"The bolide's distance being known," replied Barbican, "at the moment we
met it we were a little more than 5 thousand miles from the Earth's
surface."