At the bottom of the steps there was a big room all lined with white tile and all lighted with electric lights. On the side was the funniest little house with a little window in it and a man looking through the window. Boris watched carefully for he didn’t understand. Everyone went up to the window and gave the man 5 cents and the man handed out a little piece of blue paper.
“That’s a ticket,” thought Boris, for he was a very smart little boy. “These people must be going somewhere.” So he reached down in his pocket and pulled out a nickel. For all he was so little, and so new to New York, he knew what a 5 cent piece was quite well. He had to stand on tiptoe to hand the man his nickel and to reach his little blue ticket. Then he watched again. Everyone dropped this ticket in a funny little box by a funny little gate and another man moved a handle up and down. So Boris did just the same. He stood on tiptoe and dropped his ticket in the box and walked through the little gate to a big platform. And what do you think he saw there? A great long tunnel stretching off in both directions,—a long tunnel all lined with white tiles! And on the bottom were rails! “I wonder what runs on that track?” thought Boris.
Just then he heard a most terrible noise:
Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!
Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!
and down the tunnel came a train of cars. “Yi-i-i-i—sh-sh-sh-sh!” screamed the cars and stopped right in front of Boris. And then what do you suppose happened? The doors in the car right in front of him flew open. Everyone stepped in. So did Boris.
It was the front car. He walked to the front and sat down where he could look out on the tracks. He could also look into the funny little box room and see the man who pulled the levers and made the car go and stop. In a moment they started:
Rackety, clackety, klang, klong!
How fast! How fast!
Then “Yi-i-i-i—sh-sh-sh-sh!” The man put on the brakes and they stopped at another station. In another moment they started again. Rackety, clackety, klang, klong! Then “Yi-i-i-i—sh-sh-sh-sh” another station! And so they went flying from lighted station to lighted station through the white-tiled tunnel.
Boris was very happy. He sat quite still watching out of the window and saying with the car; rackety, clackety, klang, klong; rackety, clackety, klang, klong! “This is the way to go if you’re in a hurry,” he thought. He looked up and smiled to think of all the autos and horses and trucks above going oh! so slowly down the street!