and mad and when he saw a chance, he stole a stick of
dynamite from the shanty where it was kept. He stuck the dynamite in
his hat and then went around to the other laborers. 'Now, chust hit
dot hat vonce again of you dare!' he said."

"And nobody dared," added Roger, as a general laugh went up.

"I once saw a fellow take a stick of dynamite and burn it like a
torch," remarked Ben. "It gave me a cold chill to see him do it."

"And it didn't explode?" queried Roger.

"No. But I heard afterwards that if he had struck it ever so lightly,
it might have blown us all as high as a kite."

"It sure is great stuff," remarked Phil. "Say," he went on suddenly,
"I wish they were going to blow up old Sparr's hotel instead of the
bridge."

"So do I," added Ben. "He's about as mean as they make 'em."

"That man ought certainly to have something done to him," was Roger's
comment.

"Well, he won't make a success of his hotel if he treats everybody as
he treated Phil," said Dave.

"He doesn't deserve any success," growled the shipowner's son.

When the students arrived in the vicinity of the old bridge they found
a large crowd assembled, including many acquaintances from Rockville
Military Academy, and people from the town. Red flags had been placed
around, and nobody was allowed to get very close to the old
structure.

"There is where they have the dynamite stored," said Phil, pointing to
a shanty not far away. "See the sign?"

"That's a good spot to steer clear of," returned Dave, with a grin.

"Oh, I'm not afraid of the stuff," answered the shipowner's son.

In the crowd of men and boys the students became more or less
separated. There was a great thrill when the word was passed that
everything was in readiness for the blowing up of the old bridge.

"She's going!" cried Roger to Dave.

Boom! came the dull, heavy roar, and the boys saw the stones of the
old bridge flying upward in all directions. The ground shook all
around them, and the water from the creek was splashed on high. A
great cloud of smoke and dust filled the air. Then came silence,
followed by a wild cheering from the younger element.

"Certainly a great sight," was Dave's comment.

"Too bad it didn't last longer," sighed Buster.

"It wasn't quite as big as I thought it would be," said Luke. "I
thought some of the stones would fly about a mile high."

"Good enough for a free exhibition," put in Gus. "Beats fireworks all
hollow."

The boys walked