On this personally I had never had the curiosity to look, as I knew that it was only a hideous idol stuck over with feathers and other bedizenments.

The flame shot suddenly straight into the still air and was followed a few seconds later by the sound of a dull explosion, after which it went out.

Also it was followed by something else--a scream of rage from an infuriated mob.
At the foot of the hill I stopped to wonder what these sounds might mean.

Then of a sudden appeared Bickley, who had been attending some urgent case, and asked me who was exploding gunpowder.

I told him that I had no idea.
"Then I have," he answered.