“Now see what you have done!” exclaimed Mr. Waddie, when he, as well as I, had in some measure recovered from the shock.
“I didn’t do it,” I replied, indignantly.
“Yes, you did, you fool! Didn’t you pull the string?”
“Not much! You pulled it yourself,” I protested.
“At any rate, we are both of us in a very sweet scrape.”
“I’m not in it; I didn’t know anything about it, and I’m not going to stay here any longer,” I retorted, moving off.
“Stop, Wolf!”
He pointed the pistol at me again. I had had about enough of this sort of thing, and I walked back to him.
“Now, Wolf, if you want to”—
I did not wait for him to say any more. Choosing my time, I sprang upon him, wrested the pistol from his grasp, threw him over backwards, and made good my retreat to a grove near the spot, just as the people were hurrying down to ascertain the cause of the explosion.