"We charge more for our nice rooms," said the clerk.
"Aint there any cheaper hotels?" asked our hero, rather dismayed at his sudden discovery of the great cost of living in New York.
"I suppose so," said the clerk, carelessly; but he did not volunteer any information as to their whereabouts.
Sam walked slowly out of the hotel, quite uncertain where to go, or what to do. He had money enough to pay for a night's lodging, even at this high price, but he judged wisely that he could not afford to spend so large a part of his small stock of money.
"I wonder where the boys sleep that black boots," he thought. "They can't pay a dollar a night for sleeping."
He looked around for the boy who had guided him to a restaurant, but could not find him.
It was now eight o'clock, and he begun to think he should have to go back to the hotel after all, when a shabby-looking man, with watery eyes and a red nose, accosted him.
"Are you a stranger in the city, my young friend?" he asked.
"Yes," said Sam, rather relieved at the opportunity of speaking to somebody.
"So I thought. Where are you boarding?"