uld explode harmlessly; it might be something that would give a
bad smell in burning, such as chicken-feathers. If he had thought that
it was gunpowder, he would have plucked up courage enough to give the
master some warning, though he might have got only a whipping for his
pains. While Jack was debating what he should do, the master called the
Fourth-Reader class. At the close of the lesson he noticed that Columbus
was shivering, though indeed it was more from terror than from cold.

"Go to the stove and stir up the fire, and get warm," he said, sternly.

"I'd--I'd rather not," said Lum, shaking with fright at the idea.

"Umph!" said Mr. Ball, looking hard at the lad, with half a mind to make
him go. Then he changed his purpose and went to the stove himself, raked
forward the coals, and made up the fire. Just as he was shutting the
stove-door, the explosion came--the ashes flew out all over the master,
the stove was thrown down from the bricks on which its four legs rested,
the long pipe fell in many pieces on the floor, and the children set up
a general howl in all parts of the room.

As soon as Mr. Ball had shaken off the ashes from his coat, he said: "Be
quiet--there's no more danger. Columbus Risdale, come here."

"He did not do it," spoke up Susan Lanham.

"Be quiet, Susan. You know all about this," continued the master to poor
little Columbus, who was so frightened as hardly to be able to stand.
After looking at Columbus a moment, the master took down a great beech
switch. "Now, I shall whip you until you tell me who did it. You were
afraid to go to the stove. You knew there was powder there. Who put it
there? That's the question. Answer, quick, or I shall make you."

The little skin-and-bones trembled between two terrors, and Jack, seeing
his perplexity, got up and stood by him.

"He didn't do it, Mr. Ball. I know who did it. If Columbus should tell
you, he would be beaten for telling. The boy who did it is just mean
enough to let Lummy get the whipping. Please let him off."

"_You_ know, do you? I shall whip you both. You knew there was gunpowder
in the fire, and you gave no warning. I shall whip you both--the
severest whipping you ever had, too."

And the master put up the switch he had taken down, as not effective
enough, and proceeded to take another.

"If we had known it was gunpowder," said Jack, beginning to tremble,
"you would have been warned. But we didn't. We only knew that something
had be