human
Now you know, mother, said I,
gpt
Only half-an-hour?
human
Well, an hour if you like, or two if they prefer it, I returned;
gpt
The explosive?
human
Yes. Its name is dynamite.
gpt
And what may that be, Jeff? Something very awful, I daresay,
human
Very awful, indeed, said I;
gpt
What! worse than gunpowder?
human
Ay, much worse, though I should prefer to say _better_ than gunpowder.
gpt
Dear me!
human
Yes, much better, I continued;
gpt
Pretty well that, Jeff, in the way of violence, isn't it?
human
Yes, but nothing to dynamite, for while powder only bursts things, dynamite shatters them.
gpt
How very dreadful! What _is_ dynamite?
human
That is just what I am about to explain, said I.
gpt
You must know, then, that it is a compound.
human
Dear, dear, sighed my mother;
gpt
Why, yes, mother; _you_ are a simple thing, and I only wish there were a good many more simple things like you in the world--
human
Don't be foolish, Jeff, but answer my question.
gpt
Well, mother, there are indeed some simple elements in creation, but dynamite is not one of them. It is composed of an excessively explosive oil named nitro-glycerine (itself a compound), and an earth called kieselguhr. The earth is not explosive, and is only mixed with the nitro-glycerine to render that liquid less dangerous; but the compound is named dynamite, in which form it is made up and sold in immense quantities for mining purposes. Here is some of it, I added, pulling from my pocket a cartridge nearly two inches in length, and about an inch in diameter.
human
It is a soft, pasty substance, done up, as you see, in cartridge-paper, and this little thing, if properly fired, would blow a large boulder-stone to atoms.
gpt
Bless me, boy, be careful!
human
There is no danger, I said, in reassuring tones,
gpt
And what is this wonderful detonator, Jeff, that so excites the latent fury of the dynamite?
human
You must know, I said,
gpt
I see; you mean that it goes off quickly,