So he waited and kept his eyes open, but he never discovered the shot-thrower. There was much more misbehavior during the days that followed, and the struggle to keep even a semblance of order made the term a nightmare to the harassed teacher. Little real work was accomplished. The board, anxious to have a good school, but ignorant of principles and methods, saw its desire come to nothing. Marston’s ideas of discipline seemed to be centered on “making an example” of some one offender, and the school took a mischievous satisfaction in shielding each offender from discovery. [Sidenote: Explosion] The crisis came late in January. Marston had just put a full scuttle of coal on the blazing fire in the big stove, when a sharp noise and a great puff of smoke and flame burst from it. The explosion broke apart the sections of the stove, and a serious fire was averted with some difficulty. When they had made things safe and could look at each other with smoke-grimed faces, teacher and pupils knew that a reckoning was at hand. “John Coffey, you brought in that coal. Did you put the gunpowder in it?” John was fairly cool, and the reckless boys had been cowed and sobered by the extent of the mischief that had been done. “No, sir, I didn’t,” replied John; and his denial rang true. “Did you, Carl?” “No, sir.” Marston went around the circle, as he had many times before; and all denied their guilt. Finally Marston turned to the school. “You may all go home now. We can’t have school until this mess is cleaned up, of course. I shall see the board at once.” The board decided, at a called meeting, that it would best get a new teacher, and Marston resigned with infinite relief. The board sent to a state normal school, explained the situation, and asked for a strong man. ILLUSTRATION (RURAL SCHOOL) The president of the normal school sent them Isidor Thomberg, a man of experience and high scholarship. He came with the understanding that the board was to support whatever he did, and he agreed to reduce the school to order. He was confident, fearless, and told no one of his plans. But he did meet the board on the night of his arrival, and heard their full account of the troubles. The next morning school opened as usual, with the new teacher and the new stove dividing the honors of attention. Mr. Thomberg made just one reference to the situation: “Of course you know why I’m here,” he said. “I want to say one thing. I shall never waste a moment’s time trying to find out who does anything bad. We have to make up for a great deal of lost time this winter; you’ll have to work hard from now until spring. We shall have no school but a good one. Now we’ll go to work.”