CHAPTER IX
At 15:42, as Rawolle named it, but at 42 minutes past 3, as Cobb persisted in calling it, their arrangements had been completed and they were at the front entrance to the Occidental.
At the curb stood an elegant four-seated carriage of very light construction, with a driver upon the seat. There were no horses attached to the vehicle, which was very low in build, and with wheels of fair size. The driver sat in the rear, on a sort of raised single seat, with a small wheel, like a tiller-wheel, in front of him.
It was an electric drag, with the storage batteries underneath the seat. There were many passers-by at the time, but, thanks to Rawolle’s care, none knew who were getting into the carriage, else there would have been a crowd in a few minutes.
Taking their seats, the driver started the current, and the carriage rolled rapidly down toward Market street.
“What do you think of this for a carriage, Mr. Cobb?” asked Rawolle.
“It is a most decided advance upon anything we had in old days,” the other returned, looking admiringly over it. “This is, no doubt, an electric carriage?”
“It is an electric drag, and the style of all the first-class carriages in the city, except those which are used for hill travel. These carriages run up grades of three hundred feet to the mile with ease.”
“Are they expensive? and how long will their batteries last?”