“I guess I’ll stay, then.”
“Got any baggage?”
“No, sir.”
“Any references?”
“I should say not!” Dave told himself, and he walked away when the clerk had explained that they never took in transients without baggage or an introduction from a responsible party.
Dave sauntered about leisurely now. He made up his mind to walk about all night. At the end of an hour, however, the unfamiliar stone pavements began to remind him of his weak ankle. He noticed an illuminated sign running out from a shabby looking building. It read: “Rooms—twenty-five and fifty cents.”
“That sounds all right,” reflected Dave, and he ascended a stairway lighted up by a smoking oil lamp at its top.
A drowsy, sleepy-eyed young man was lounging in a broken chair behind a desk. At its side were a lot of pigeon holes, and some holding keys.
“I want to stay here all night,” stated Dave.
“No one’s hindering you, is there?” observed the young man. “What price?”