"It's under him, sir, and he was a-lighting of it."
As he spoke, Sergeant Joe approached the form and with a shove of his foot pushed it over. It rolled slightly, unbent, and now lay at full length, facing them. Josie picked up the flashlight and turned it upon the face.
"Oh!" she cried aloud, and shivered anew, but was not surprised.
"I guess," said Joe slowly, "they'll have to get another school superintendent."
"But what's it all about? What did he do?" demanded Kauffman excitedly.
Joe took the light from Josie's hand and turned it upon a curious object that until now had been hidden by the dead man's body.
"It's a infernal machine, sir, an' I ain't sure, even yet, that it won't go off an' blow us all up. He was leanin' down an' bendin' over it, twisting that dial you see, when on a sudden I spotted him. I didn't stop to think. My Cap'n used to say 'Act first an' think afterwards,' an' that's what I did. I didn't know till now it was the school boss, but it wouldn't have made any difference. I done my duty as I saw it, an' I hope I did it right, Mr. Colton."
Kauffman was already stooping over the machine, examining it with a skilled mechanical eye.
"It's ticking!" he said, and began turning the dial backward to zero. The ticking stopped. Then the inventor stood, up and with his handkerchief wiped the perspiration from his face.
"Gott!" he exclaimed, "this is no joke. We've all been too near death to feel comfortable."