"Alger Jr, Horatio - The Young Explorer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Alger Horatio Jr)

office."
"Very well-Ida."
Of course Ben was not used to city hotels, and he was a little afraid that he
should not go to work properly, but he experienced no difficulty. He stepped up
to the desk, and said to the clerk:
"I should like to engage rooms for my cousin and myself."
The clerk pushed the register toward him.
Ben inscribed the names. At first he could not remember his companion's last
name, and it made him feel awkward. Fortunately it came to him in time.
"We can give you rooms on the third floor. Will that do?"
"Yes, sir, I think so. We would like to be near together."
"Very well. I can give you two rooms directly opposite to each other."
"That will do, sir."
The clerk touched a bell, and a porter presented himself:
"Here are the keys of sixty-six and sixty-eight," said the hotel clerk. "Take
this young gentleman's luggage to sixty-six, and show the lady with him to
number sixty-eight."
Ben followed the porter, pausing at the door of the ladies' parlor, where his
companion awaited him.
"Come, Ida," he said, feeling a little awkward at addressing Miss Sinclair so
familiarly. "The servant is ready to show us our rooms."
"Very well, Ben," said Miss Sinclair, smiling. She did not seem so nervous now.
As the clerk had said, the rooms were directly opposite each other. They were
large and very comfortable in appearance. As Miss Sinclair entered her room she
said:
"Join me in the ladies' parlor in fifteen minutes, Ben. I have something to say
to you."
Ben looked around him with considerable satisfaction. He had only left home that
morning; he had met with a severe disappointment, and yet he was now fortunate
beyond his most sanguine hopes. He had heard a great deal of the Astor House,
which in Hampton and throughout the country was regarded at that time as the
most aristocratic hotel in New York, and now he was actually a guest in it.
Moreover, he was booked for a first-class passage to California.
"It's like the Arabian Nights," thought Ben, "and Miss Sinclair must be a
fairy."
He took out his scanty wardrobe from the carpetbag, and put it away in one of
the drawers of the bureau.
"I might just as well enjoy all the privileges of the hotel," he said to
himself.
He took out his brush and comb, and brushed his hair. Then he locked the door of
No. 66 and went down-stairs to the ladies' parlor.
He did not have to wait long. In five minutes Miss Sinclair made her appearance.

"Ben," she said, "here is the check for my trunk. You may take it down to the
office and ask them to send for it. Then come back and I will acquaint you with
some things I wish you to know."
Ben speedily reappeared, and at Miss Sinclair's request sat down beside her on a
sofa.
"You must know, Ben," she commenced, "that I am flying from my guardian."
"I hope it's all right," said Ben, rather frightened. He was not sure but he was