Nicholl, disgusted by this obstinacy, tried to tempt Barbicane by offering him every chance. He proposed to fix the plate within two hundred yards of the gun.Barbicane still obstinate in refusal. A hundred yards?Not even seventy-five
"At fifty then!" roared the captain through the newspapers. "At twenty-five yards! and I'll stand behind!"
Barbicane returned for answer that, even if Captain Nicholl would be so good as to stand in front, he would not fire any more