"If it isn't a fire, then what is it?" asked Captain Ben. "Though it does look more like steam than smoke," he added, as he glanced at the white cloud still coming from the doorway of the store.
"What is it? What's the matter? What happened?" were some of the questions asked of the woman.
"I don't know what it is! I can't exactly tell, but it's something dreadful!" she said to Captain Ben, who, with Daddy Bunker, was about to enter the place. "All I know is that I was drawing a glass of soda water for a little girl when, all of a sudden, there was a big noise down in the cellar and then a lot of steam shot up into my store. I ran out, and the little girl ran out, and that's all I know about it."
"I think I know what it is," said Captain Ben. "There isn't any fire and there's nothing serious. One of the soda water tanks in the cellar has sprung a leak and the water is shooting out in a fine spray. It is just as if you left one of the faucets of your soda fountain open," he went on.
"Dear me! All my nice soda water running to waste!" exclaimed the woman. "But I'm glad it isn't a fire."
"Won't there be any soda water left for us to drink?" asked Vi.
"There won't unless I shut it off pretty soon!" said Captain Ben. "How do you get down into your cellar?" he asked the candy store woman. "I'm afraid I can't see my way to go in through the front door," he added, as he looked at the cloud of fizzy spray which almost hid the little store from sight.
"You can get down the outside cellar stairs," she answered. "I'll show you."
While the crowd and the four little Bunkers looked on, Captain Ben went down the outside stairs to the cellar in which stood the tanks of soda water. The tanks were filled with a gas which makes the bubbles in soda water.
The soldier-sailor knew just what to do, and in a little while the hissing sound stopped, the clouds of watery spray blew away, and it was possible to enter the store.