The Somerset Hotel was on the European and American systems combined. If a guest preferred simply to lodge at the hotel he could do so, and take his meals either at the hotel restaurant or in any other.
One day a guest registered who was assigned to No. 143, on the fifth floor.
To Rupert was assigned the duty of carrying up the valise. He found it unusually heavy, and more than once as he climbed the stairs he felt that he would be glad to reach his destination. At the elevator landing he met the owner of the valise, a middle-aged man with a brown, sunburned face.
"You found it rather a heavy tug, didn't you?" he asked, with a smile.
"Your clothes seem to be heavy," returned Rupert.
"It isn't clothes merely," said the stranger. "I come from Colorado, and I have some specimens of quartz inside. Here, give me the valise, and lead the way to my room."
Rupert did so.
When they reached No. 143 the stranger drew a fifty cent piece from his pocket and handed it to Rupert.
"Take it," he said. "You deserve something for carrying such a load."