“If it goes, nothin’ else’ll be used to run automobiles. If Mr. Tidd sold a engine for ev’ry automobile in the United States I guess he could afford livin’ to the hotel. I’ll bet he could own a automobile himself.”
“And they’ll use ’em in fact’ries and steamboats, ’cause they kin be run with steam same as with gasolene.”
“And won’t be more’n a twentieth as big as engines is now.”
We kept on talking and describing what we thought Mr. Tidd’s turbine would do and guessing how long it would be before he was ready to try it to see if it went. We was so interested we never noticed a man sitting a little ways off on a trunk. Pretty soon we did notice him, though, for he got up deliberate like and stretched himself and looked around as if he didn’t see anything, including us. Then his eyes lit on Mark, and he kind of grinned. He lighted a cigar and came walking over toward us.
“How about this train?” he asks, like he wasn’t much interested but wanted to talk to pass away the time. “Is it generally much behind?”
“Not much,” I says. “I ain’t known it to be over a hour late for two weeks.”
“Live here?” he asks, with another grin.
I nodded, but didn’t say anything out loud.
“Pretty quiet place for boys, isn’t it?”
“It ain’t what most folks’d call excitin’.”