twenty minutes past ten
I prefer it anyway to Mahomet 's ; it may indeed float in the air , but it wo n't be motionless as a milestone ! '' -LSB- Illustration : TURN ON THE GAS . -RSB- Barbican , having made sure by personal inspection that everything was in perfect order , consulted his chronometer , which he had carefully set a short time before with Chief Engineer Murphy 's , who had been charged to fire off the Projectile . `` Friends , '' he said , `` it is now twenty minutes past ten . At 10 46 ' 40 '' , precisely , Murphy will send the electric current into the gun-cotton . We have , therefore , twenty-six minutes more to remain on earth . '' `` Twenty-six minutes and twenty seconds , '' observed Captain M'Nicholl , who always aimed at mathematical precision .