"Twenty-five—why?"
"Look," he said, "if that atomic fire is running out there, then how did the World War Two end?"
"They brought high officials over to see the awful pillar of fire. They didn't tell them that the atomic flame would eventually eat the earth—so surrender was a matter of expediency. Once the shooting was over all the earth turned at once to the job of putting it out. You know that."
"Nope," he replied. "It worked—as did the others at Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and two at Bikini Atoll."
"Hiro—and what was at Bikini Atoll?" demanded the girl.
"Tests—Operation Crossroads."
"Tests!" exploded Virginia. "And none of them started atomic fires in the earth itself?"
"Nope."
"Then you tell me what happened?"
"I don't know."