Thisshootingglobesuddenlyappearinginshadowatadistanceofatmost200miles，ought，accordingtoBarbicane，tohaveadiameterof2，000yards。Itadvancedataspeedofaboutonemileandahalfpersecond。Itcuttheprojectile\'spathandmustreachitinsomeminutes。Asitapproacheditgrewtoenormousproportions。
Imagine，ifpossible，thesituationofthetravelers！Itisimpossibletodescribeit。Inspiteoftheircourage，their_sang-froid_，theircarelessnessofdanger，theyweremute，motionlesswithstiffenedlimbs，apreytofrightfulterror。
Theirprojectile，thecourseofwhichtheycouldnotalter，wasrushingstraightonthisignitedmass，moreintensethantheopenmouthofanoven。Itseemedasthoughtheywerebeingprecipitatedtowardanabyssoffire。
Barbicanehadseizedthehandsofhistwocompanions，andallthreelookedthroughtheirhalf-openeyelidsuponthatasteroidheatedtoawhiteheat。Ifthoughtwasnotdestroyedwithinthem，iftheirbrainsstillworkedamidallthisawe，theymusthavegiventhemselvesupforlost。
Twominutesafterthesuddenappearanceofthemeteortothemtwocenturiesofanguishtheprojectileseemedalmostabouttostrikeit，whentheglobeoffireburstlikeabomb，butwithoutmakinganynoiseinthatvoidwheresound，whichisbuttheagitationofthelayersofair，couldnotbegenerated。