Cobb ceased speaking, and paced the floor in an excited manner. It was evident that this man, much as he talked of severing his connections with the present, was still loath to attempt this terrible ordeal. Yet, it was also apparent to both that he would not hesitate in his purpose. He was a man of too strong will; he would make the sacrifice. His friends knew it and felt it. Ceasing his walk, Cobb faced them and said: "Before I leave, before I enter this dormant state, I must secure my position in the army beyond the possibility of losing it. How I am to do this, has long been a problem. If I am dead, I will be dropped from the rolls of the army; if I go on leave, I must return at the expiration of that leave, or, failing to do so, be declared a deserter. There seems to be but one way for me to accomplish my object. I will explain it." Cobb now entered his little room, and soon returned with a small sporting rifle and a paper box. It was an ordinary thirty-calibre rifle, such as is used in sporting galleries. Approaching his friends, he opened the box and showed them a row of small cartridges. They differed very little from those used in the ordinary rifle. Handing one to Craft, he said: "Do you notice anything peculiar about that cartridge?" "Well," and Craft examined it critically, turning it over and over, "it seems to be nothing but a solid thirty-calibre bullet. I cannot see that it is a cartridge at all," and he handed it to Hathaway. The latter examined it closely. It was, indeed, to all appearance, but an ordinary bullet with the base filled flush with some black substance; in length it was only seven-tenths of an inch; in calibre, thirty one-hundredths. Taking one of them between his thumb and forefinger, Cobb twirled it about and said: "This is one of my new cartridges for use in actual service. It seems to you, no doubt, very small, very inadequate to the needs of actual warfare. You would both naturally say that it is too small for long range, too small for executive work; that it is altogether unfit for the purposes for which bullets are made." A smile played about his lips. Then, continuing, as he held up one of these bullets: "This is an ordinary thirty-calibre bullet, but the grand principle is in the explosive used with it. Heretofore it has required about fifty grains of powder to send such a missile on an effective mission. Now, fifty grains of powder require quite a good-sized space; it requires a case to hold it, and all this lengthens out the cartridge. If a magazine gun is used, but few such cartridges can be placed in the magazine. I have overcome all this by using a new explosive of my own manufacture. I take the ordinary bullet and simply fill the hollow end with one grain of my new compound, covering the whole with a fine and durable cement. All this saves space, and enables me to put about forty cartridges in my gun. Do you comprehend the drift of my remarks?" Both of his listeners nodded assent.