Before long they reached the hotel and they waited while Walter, Bess, Rhoda and Mr. and Mrs. Mason came puffing up to them, warm from the heat of the afternoon sun.
"Come ahead, folks," said Mr. Mason, engineering his flock up the steps of the hotel to the porch. "Let's get cooled and brushed up a bit, and then we can come out and see the sights. This is the biggest crowd I have ever found here," he added, as they entered the darkened, cool lobby of the hotel with a conscious sigh of relief, "and that is saying a good deal."
CHAPTER XXIII
A TROPICAL PARADISE
The signing of the hotel register was not an easy task, for there were many other guests waiting to do the same thing. Mr. Mason finally managed it, however, and he and his rather large family were whirled up in a roomy elevator to the fifth floor and were shown to their rooms by a well-mannered and friendly bellboy.
Bess and Nan were to room together and Grace and Rhoda had a room right off theirs, connected by a door, so that it was really as if the girls were all in one room.
"Come down on the porch when you are ready, girls," said Walter, just before he disappeared into his own room, "and we'll wander around and see the sights."
Nan and Bess were delighted with their room, for it was large and airy and commanded a beautiful view of Lake Worth, upon which the Royal Poinciana Hotel is situated. Grace's and Rhoda's room also faced the lake.