"Whyfor you don't tell us there's a fire down Ringgold way?" asked the woman.
"There wa'n't no fire when I left," he answered.
"When did you leave?" asked Tom.
"'Round noon."
"I guess you just missed it," replied Tom. He was on fairly safe ground now. "The fire didn't start until after one o'clock."
"Huh!" grunted the boy.
"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man again. "What happened?"
"Let's have a shirt," said Tom. "I'll tell you about it while you're finding the shirts." The old man turned toward the littered shelves and commenced pawing over the merchandise which had accumulated there. The woman and the boy drew closer, waiting anxiously for the news. "I was waiting for the passenger train at Ringgold," continued Tom. "But the train didn't come. After a while we saw some smoke to the southward and we thought that was the train. But it wasn't. The smoke just stayed in one spot."
"Y' don't say so!" exclaimed the man, stopping his search.
"Yep," answered Tom, "but find the shirt for me. After a few minutes the station agent…."