“—and some sort of griddle cakes. It was fine. Afterwards I went back to the manager chap and thanked him. ‘And now what are you going to do?’ he asked. Well, I didn’t know. I didn’t feel like setting out to hunt you fellows again and I told him so. But, of course, I didn’t have any money with me, not a red cent, and I told him that, too. So he said I could stay there if I wanted until the next day. But he sort of suggested that I’d better keep out of sight, seeing as I wasn’t exactly dressed for a party. There was an eight-course dinner at one o’clock, although they called it luncheon, and I did pretty well, considering that I’d had my breakfast about two hours before. At the table there was a young fellow about my age and we got to talking. He was the head bell boy; ‘Captain’ he called himself; and he went to school at St. Something-or-other’s in Connecticut. We had a long chin and I found that the bell boys were all schoolfellows, and after luncheon I went up with him and met some of them. They were dandy fellows and I said I wouldn’t mind a job there myself. So the Captain—his name was Roberts—said if I meant it he’d take me on, because they had lost two boys and hadn’t found any new ones yet. So I said ‘Me for the ice-water pitchers!’” “Well, if you’re not the craziest dub, Tommy!” laughed Nelson. “Roberts handed me out a nice little plum-colored uniform; long trousers, a monkey jacket with four thousand little round brass buttons down the front and a funny little round cap with a line of gilt braid chasing over the top of it. And a fellow named McCarthy lent me a pair of shoes, because mine weren’t fit to be seen. So I was fixed. But the sad part of it was that as soon as I got to be a bell boy I didn’t eat in the ordinary. And we didn’t get any of the frills. But there was enough of it; you could have all you wanted, you know. I went on duty at six o’clock. There were seven of us and I tell you we were busy! Along about nine o’clock everything began to happen at once; ice water, find the chambermaid, bring sea water in a bucket, find out why the electric light didn’t work, get a plate of oatmeal crackers, find lost kids and—oh, everything! And the bell in the office was thumping holes in itself. But it was pretty good fun. And when you got to the fourth floor you could slide nearly three flights on the banister rail—if no one saw you. But along about twelve or half-past I thought my legs were coming off. They wouldn’t let us ride on the elevator unless we were showing some one to his room and the stairs were fierce. They let me off at one o’clock and I couldn’t wait to get my clothes off. I guess I’ve lost ten pounds.” Nelson hooted. “Where did you sleep?” asked Bob.