Being afoot and dressed in clothes of English cut, Peter was the object of a great deal of attention, especially as he was walking. Almost everyone, even the poorest, rode either in a car or carriage, or on horseback.
Presently, Peter arrived at a long and open space, out of which seven broad thoroughfares radiated. Here he stood irresolute, unable to decide as to which of these roads he should take.
"Wish I had Mackenzie with me," he soliloquized.
Suddenly a hand slapped him heavily upon the shoulder. Surprised, Peter wheeled, to find a tall, lean-faced man, whose gold-filled teeth proclaimed him to be a citizen of the United States.
"Say, stranger," exclaimed the man, "you'se the guy Boss Strong's expectin'?"
"I am," admitted Peter.
"Sure thing," continued the other. "I'm right dead on it every time. What are you hoofing it for? Didn't Old Man Strong send along his automobile?"
"He didn't know when to expect me," replied Peter. "I suppose I ought to have telegraphed."
"There's a cable-car at twenty centavos or an automobile at a dollar," announced the man.
Peter expressed his preference for the latter.