he fire, or
about our shops, didn't he, Rad?" Tom wanted to know.

The colored man scratched his kinky head, and glanced with a queer look
at Tom.

"How yo' all done guess dat?" he asked.

"Answer my question," insisted Tom.

"Yes, sah, he done did ask about yo', and de wuks, ebery now and den,"
Rad confessed. "But how yo' all knowed dat, Massa Tom, when I were
a-tellin' yo' all about him astin' fo' mah mule, done gets me--dat's
what it suah does."

"Never mind, Rad. He asked questions about the plant, that's all I want
to know. But you didn't tell him much, did you?"

Eradicate looked reproachfully at his master.

"Yo' all done knows me bettah dan dat, Massa Tom," the old colored man
said. "Yo' all know yo' done gib orders fo' nobody t' talk about yo'
projections."

"Yes, I know I gave those orders," Tom said, with a smile, "but I want
to make sure that they have been followed."

"Well, I done follered 'em, Massa Tom."

"Then you didn't tell this queer stranger, Frenchman, or whatever he
is, much about my place?"

"I didn't tell him nuffin', sah. I done frowed dust in his eyes."

Ned uttered an exclamation of surprise.

"Eradicate is speaking figuratively," Tom said, with a laugh.

"Dat's what I means," the colored man went on. "I done fooled him. When
he asted me about de fire I said it didn't do no damage at all--in fack
dat we'd rather hab de fire dan not hab it, 'case it done gib us a
chance t' practice our hose drill."

"That's good," laughed Tom. "What else?"

"Well, he done sort ob hinted t' me ef we all knowed how de fire done
start. I says as how we did, dat we done start it ourse'ves fo'
practice, an dat we done expected it all along, an' were ready fo' it.
Course I knows dat were a sort of fairy story, Massa Tom, but den dat
cigarette-smokin' Frenchman didn't hab no right t' asted me so many
questions, did he?"

"No, indeed, Rad. And I'm glad you didn't give him straight answers. So
he's coming here later on, is he?"

"T' see ef I wants t' sell mah mule, Boomerang, yais, sah. I sort ob
thought maybe you'd want t' hab a look at dat man, so I tole him t'
come on. Course I doan't want t' sell Boomerang, but ef he was t' offer
me a big lot ob money fo' him I'd take it."

"Of course," Tom answered. "Very well, Rad. You may go on now, and
don't say anything to anyone about what you have told me."

"I won't, Massa Tom," promised the colored man, as he went off
muttering to himself.

"We