She was staring at him, as he handed the books to her, and she caught his hand.
“Mr. Davidson,” she faltered, “you—you are all right?”
“Uh-huh. Sure I’m all right. What’s the matter?”
She had turned and was staring at the tangle of burnt buildings.
“Nun—nothing. I—you see, we thought that you”
“Yuh mean that folks thought we was in that fire, ma’am?”
“Yes. You see, we thought—somebody said”
“That we went to bed at nine o’clock?”
“Yes.”
Brick grinned widely and shook his head.