“That’s true.”
“Then we shall take all, or nearly all, the through passengers on the afternoon trip up; for none of them will want to waste an hour on the passage. Besides, we give them a perfect palace of a boat, compared with the old steamers.”
“Oh, we shall take them all!” exclaimed Waddie. “There will be no changing, while the railroad line must change twice.”
“Still further,” I continued. “There is a train for the south which leaves Hitaca at eight in the evening. The old boats are always too late for it; we shall be in season. That will help us again, for passengers going beyond Hitaca will not have to remain there over night.”
“We shall have it all our own way,” said Waddie, rubbing his hands with delight.
“More yet; we can have supper on board, and that will be another source of profit to the boat, and be an accommodation to the passengers, who in the old line have their supper at nine o’clock, after they get to the hotel.”
“It’s all plain enough so far. You will stay in Hitaca over night?”
“Certainly; and now for the rest of the plan,” I continued, glancing at my program. “The old-line boat leaves Hitaca at quarter of six in the morning, so early as to be a very great annoyance to passengers. We will leave at half-past six—three-quarters of an hour later. We can have breakfast on board, which the old boats cannot for the want of the facilities. We shall touch at all the intermediate ports, and arrive at Centreport by half-past eight, or so as to leave at our usual time.”
“That’s first-rate!” exclaimed Waddie. “You get this extra trip to Hitaca by running up at night and down in the morning.”
“Exactly so; but we can make only one through trip a day to Hitaca. We shall reach Ucayga at ten in the forenoon, as we do now, and come right back on the return trip. We go from the head to the foot of the lake in three hours and a half, including stops. The railroad line does the same thing in four and a quarter.”