Slater turned a resentful, smoldering gaze upon the hotel clerk, and looked about him for a chair with a detachable leg, but the object of his regard disappeared abruptly behind the key-rack.
"This rat-brained party said he hadn't come."
"He arrived this morning, but we've barely seen him."
"I left Appleton in Juneau. He'll be down on the next boat."
"Appleton? Who's he?" Dr. Gray inquired.
"Oh, he's a new member of the order—initiated last month. He's learning to be a sleep-hater, like the rest of us. He's recording the right-of-way."
"What's in the air? None of us know. We didn't even know Murray's whereabouts—thought he was in Kyak, until he sounded the tocsin from New York. The other boys have quit their jobs and I've sold my practice."
"It's a railroad!"
Dr. Gray grinned. "Well! That's the tone I use when I break the news that it's a girl instead of a boy."
"It's a railroad," Slater repeated, "up the Salmon River!"