A. I did not see it come down, but it was there when I looked up.
Q. When you looked up it was caught, was it?
A. Yes, sir, it must have been caught—it didn't come down. Then when I was hallooing, I kept hallooing for the curtain to come down—how many times I don't know—and talked to this man to let them out quietly, there was a sort of a cyclone; the thing was flying behind me; I felt it coming.
Q. What do you mean by a cyclone—cyclone of what?
A. It was a whirl of smoke when I looked around—the scenery had broken the slats it was nailed to; it came down behind me, and I didn't know whether to go in front or behind. The stage was covered with smoke, and it was a cold draft, and there was an explosion of some kind like you light a match and the box goes off. I didn't know whether to go front or not, so I thought of my boy—maybe the man did not take him out—so I rushed out the first thing and went back of the stage.
Q. You went out yourself, then?
A. Yes, sir, and I was looking for my boy all the way in. I wasn't sure he was out. I found him in the street.
Q. Do you know what started the fire, Mr. Fitzgerald?
A. No, sir.
LIGHT NEAR THE FIRE.