"Contract hotels, you know," laughed Phil. "I do not get a chance at a meal like this every day."
"Do the way I do."
"How is that?"
"Feed at the good places and charge it up in your expense account."
"Oh, I couldn't do that. It would not be right."
"That shows you are new in the business. Get all you can and keep all you get. That's my way of doing things. I was just like you when I began."
They tarried unusually long over the meal, Tripp seeming to be in no hurry. Phil was sure that he was in no hurry, either. And he knew why there was no need for hurry. Bob, in the meantime, was relating to the show boy his exploits as a manager. In fact he was giving Phil more information about the work of his own car than he realized at the time.
Now and then the Circus Boy would slip in an innocent question, which Bob would answer promptly. By the time the meal was finished Phil had a pretty clear idea of the workings of his rival's advance business, as well as their plans for the future, so far as Tripp knew them.
"By the way, how did you happen to get a berth like this, young man?" questioned Tripp. "I thought a fellow by the name of Snowden was running Car Three for old man Sparling."
"He was."