"There is no fire," said the owner of the house.
"No fire?"
"No fire, and I don't know what the officer means by banging on my door and arousing my family at this hour of the night."
"And I can't understand," said the foreman, "what he means by calling out the engines every five minutes on a false alarm."
"There is my platoon of men, there is my roundsman. They will all testify they heard a cry of fire, followed by screams, coming from this house."
"Then your platoon of men and your roundsman will testify to a falsehood," said the house owner.
"Is there a fire in your house?" demanded the foreman of the engine company.
"No, sir."
"Is there a fire anywhere around here?"
"No, sir, not that I know of, unless it's in the upper story of these policemen."