Quotation from: Lost Continent

Written by: Edgar Rice Burroughs

The rest happened in the fraction of a second. There was a
rending crash above us, then a deafening explosion within
the chamber. Smoke and powder fumes filled the room. Half
stunned, I rose from the lifeless body of my antagonist just
in time to see Victory stagger to her feet and turn toward
me. Slowly the smoke cleared to reveal the shattered
remnants of the guard. A shell had fallen through the
palace roof and exploded just in the rear of the detachment
of guardsmen who were coming to the rescue of their emperor.
Why neither Victory nor I were struck is a miracle. The
room was a wreck. A great, jagged hole was torn in the
ceiling, and the wall toward the corridor had been blown
entirely out.