"Yes, I know," returned the superintendent, sharply. "Does any one know who dropped that knife in the machine?" he asked, in a loud voice, of the new-comers on the scene.
"What's the trouble?" asked Felter, pushing his way through the crowd and bestowing a dark look upon Franklin.
He was told by a fellow worker and at once turned to the superintendent.
"Bell threw that knife in himself," he said.
"He did?" cried several, in astonishment, for they had just listened to Franklin's denial.
"He did—or, at least, he was tinkering on the Machine with it," went on Felter.
"Did you see him?" demanded Mr. Buckman.
"I did, sir. He was around the machine just before quitting time yesterday.
"That is not true, Mr. Buckman!" burst out Franklin, indignantly.
"It is true," retorted Felter, with a wicked smile at the boy he was trying to injure. "I saw him and so did some of the others, I guess."
"I saw him," put in Mike Nolan, who had entered with Felter. "He was using one of the blades of the knife to lift the oil-plate with. I thought he was trying to learn how the machine worked, for he's always tinkering around the machines every chance he gets."
As this last statement was known to be in the
