t."

Controlling her aversion and fear, the girl turned the bomb over and
over, giving it a thorough examination. She had never seen such a thing
before, but they had often been explained to her and she had an inkling
as to the general method of their construction. This one before her was
of beautiful workmanship, its surface as carefully turned and polished
as if it had been intended for public exhibition. Grooves had been cut
in the outer surface and within these grooves lay the coils of the time
fuse, which was marked with black ink into regular sections. The first
section from the end of the fuse was marked "6;" the next section "5"
and so on down to the section nearest the bomb, which was divided by
the marks "1"--"1/2"--"1/4."

"I see," said Josie, nodding her head with intelligent perception.
"Each section, when lighted, will burn for one hour, running along its
groove but harmless until the end of the fuse is reached. If the entire
fuse is lighted, it will require just six hours to explode the bomb,
while if it is cut off to the last mark and then lighted, the bomb will
explode in fifteen minutes. The operator can set it to suit himself, as
circumstances require."

The manner in which the fuse was attached to the bomb was simple. The
hole made in the bomb was exactly the size of the fuse inserted into
it. There were two little knobs, one on each side the hole. After
pushing the fuse into the hole a fine wire was wound around it and
attached to the tiny knobs, thus holding it firmly in place.

Josie took a pair of small pincers, unwound the wire and cautiously
withdrew the fuse from the hole. Examining the end of the fuse she saw
it was filled with a powdery substance which, when ignited, would
explode the bomb. She had recourse to her hairpin again and carefully
picked the powder out of the fuse for the distance of the entire first
section. This proved difficult and painstaking work, but when completed
not a grain of the powder remained in the woven cotton casing for the
distance of six inches from the end.

Having accomplished that much, Josie sat looking at the thing in a
speculative way. She could not have told you, at the moment, why her
first act had been to render the bomb impotent in so queer a manner
when she could have simply destroyed the entire fuse. But, of course,
no one would try to use the fiendish contrivance unless it was supplied
with a fuse.

After a period of thought the girl decided w