“We been ’signed to the Teton,” began Nelse.
“Ah got to ’count to de supintendent fo’ mah kitchen,” added Robert.
“And I’m payin’ both of you,” said Mr. Mackworth. “The minute you and Jake clash, something’s goin’ to happen. Jake’ll help both of you and, when I’m not on the car, he’s boss. Don’t make any mistake about that.”
“Yaas sah, yaas sah,” said Nelse slowly, as he opened the car door.
The car won the hearts of the boys even before they were aboard it. It was not an old-fashioned, private coach, resembling a sleeping car with a few staterooms and a kitchen attached. The Teton was a new idea, one of several cars then in construction to fill the demands of people of wealth who not only want comfort, but who want to carry ease and luxury into out-of-the-way places. The designers of the car called it a “hunter’s car,” although the hunters who could afford it were evidently not many.
The main feature of the car was that it was an entire train condensed into one compact coach. A little longer than the average sleeping car, it had a baggage compartment forward with doors wide enough to admit an automobile. In the forward part of this compartment were upper berths for two servants. There was also a ventilated kennel for dogs and plenty of space for ordinary baggage. Beneath this compartment and having access only from the outside of the car was a gasoline tank. In this baggage section the Loon was to be stored.
“It’s a good thing we saw it to-night,” exclaimed Frank as soon as they entered the baggage room. “We were counting on the ordinary baggage space. Now we’ll have to cut our plane sections down some more. But that’s easy—we’ll be aboard by noon to-morrow.”
“You see where your gasoline goes?” said Mr. Mackworth, who seemed a little proud of the beautiful car which was making its first trip.
“We’ll have five-gallon tanks of gasoline all over this car,” laughed Phil. “And if Nelse and Robert are goin’ to use these berths they’ll have to be searched each night for matches and pipes or something’ll happen.”
“That’ll be easy,” suggested Mr. Mackworth. “There are so few of us that there’ll be other sleeping accommodations for them.”