"Then there are no carriages from your office," said Mr. George.
"No, sir," replied the clerk. "We take the passengers at Civita Vecchia. They find their own conveyances there."
"Very well," said Mr. George. "I will take two berths in the steamer for Thursday morning. Can I see a plan of the steamer so as to select the berths?"
"No, sir," said the clerk, "we have no plan of the steamer. And besides, we cannot positively promise you any berths. It depends upon how many passengers there are from Naples. The passengers from Rome take the berths that are left vacant. They take them in the order in which they take passage here."
"Are there many that have taken passage before us?" asked Mr. George.
"No, sir," said the clerk, "only two. Your numbers are 3 and 4."
"Then, if there are more than two berths that are not occupied by the Naples passengers, we can have them?"
"Yes, sir," said the clerk.
"And suppose there are not more than two," asked Rollo, "what shall we do then?"
"Why, then you will have sofas or cots," said the clerk.