That was also impossible, because the "Baby Mine," the name of the little tender, had struck a piece of ice before reaching the town and sprung a leak, wetting all the fireworks.

The landlord, however, thought he could touch off one of the rockets anyway, so he seized a large detonator and with a red hot poker tried to see how it would work.

Finding the fuse, as he thought, too wet, he threw the rocket on the floor and left the room.

Directly after, Paul heard a hissing noise and realized that the landlord had succeeded in leaving a live spark in the fuse.

He simply drew the bedclothes around himself and let the rocket sizz.