“Well,” apologized Tommy, “his father was.” Thompson laughed. “The wisest things we say, my boy, are the things we say not knowing how wise they are. And so La Grange and the others laughed when you casually asked about the one thing you and Bill are so interested in?” Tommy almost lost his grip on the wheel. He slowed down so that they barely crawled, and asked, “Please, Mr. Thompson, did La Grange tell you?”
“No; he's never spoken to me about you.”
“Then how do you know?”
Tommy looked into Mr. Thompson's face intently. Thompson answered very quietly: “Didn't you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And didn't they?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, that's how I know.”
Tommy could grasp only that it was obvious to Mr. Thompson. He gave up trying to understand how such a mind worked, and began:
“You see, Mr. Thompson, it's this way. We think—”