Pretty soon a man joined the group who wore a glistening star in the
dark hair just over his forehead. He seemed to be a person of
authority, for the others pressed back to give him room. After
turning his composed eyes first upon the animals and then upon the
children he said to Zeb, who was a little taller than Dorothy:

"Tell me, intruder, was it you who caused the Rain of Stones?"

For a moment the boy did not know what he meant by this question.
Then, remembering the stones that had fallen with them and passed them
long before they had reached this place, he answered:

"No, sir; we didn't cause anything. It was the earthquake."

The man with the star stood for a time quietly thinking over this
speech. Then he asked:

"What is an earthquake?"

"I don't know," said Zeb, who was still confused. But Dorothy, seeing
his perplexity, answered:

"It's a shaking of the earth. In this quake a big crack opened and we
fell through--horse and buggy, and all--and the stones got loose and
came down with us."

The man with the star regarded her with his calm, expressionless eyes.

"The Rain of Stones has done much damage to our city," he said;