"Well, sir, it was so sudden I didn't know for a minute whether I stood on my feet or my head. But the train began to move off, so I saw it was really true.
"'Isn't Mr. Plant going to use it?' I asked him—for I was so excited I hardly knew what I said.
"'Mr. Plant sailed for Jamaica this morning,' he answered, 'and will not be back for two weeks. The car is going up to New York now to bring Mrs. Plant and some of her friends down. It has just been thoroughly cleaned for her use, so I do not care to open it up much and let the dust in; but you can make yourself comfortable here in the office while I look over some papers. I am only going as far as Lakeland myself, about thirty miles up the road; but you can go on to Winter Park in the car if you'll be sure to slam the door when you get out. It locks with a spring lock.'
"Make myself comfortable! Well I should rather say I could. I was as proud as a peacock. It was foolish, of course, but, you see, I'd never had a ride in a private car before. I was sorry none of my friends had seen me start off in it, and that none of them would be likely to see me get out, for the train was not due at Winter Park till after eight o'clock. It seemed just like being in a house, it went so smooth and firm; and when people looked in the windows at stations, I'd imagine they were wondering what nabob that boy was, to be travelling in such style. And then I'd think of having only fifty cents in my pocket, and I'd have to laugh.
"It seemed just no time at all before we got to Lakeland, where the superintendent left me. He told me to take a nap on the sofa if I got sleepy, for I still had a four hours' ride, and to be sure and slam the door when I got out. Then I had the grand car all to myself, and wasn't I just prouder than ever! I wanted to go all over it and look at all the handsome things, but I wouldn't do it, because that would be just like sneaking over anybody's house. I staid right in the office, and pretty soon it began to grow dark, for there was nobody to light the lamps in the car, and I began to grow sleepy. So I spread out a newspaper for my feet, and lay down on the sofa.
"Did you ever see anything as soft as these sofas? It was like floating in the air, and I imagined myself riding on that magic carpet in the Arabian Nights. But there was something lacking, as there always is. I was as hungry as a bear, for I'd eaten nothing since morning. Then I thought of the fifty cents in my pocket, and the buffet they always have in the sleepers and parlor cars in Florida, and how easy it would be to go into the next car and buy some supper. But didn't I fasten back the catch of the door carefully before I went out? You see, I'd have been only an ordinary passenger if the door had locked after me, for I couldn't have got back.
"The waiter in the parlor car looked at me a kind of queer when I ordered my supper. 'Do you belong in this car?' said he.
"'Oh no,' said I. 'I have a private car in the rear.' Well, sir, after that you'd have thought I was the President of the United States from the way he waited on me. My fifty cents didn't buy very much, but it was enough.
"In a few minutes I was back on my sofa in No. 100, with the door locked. It was almost dark, and getting chilly, but having a fine private car all to myself more than made up for that. Just think of it! It was almost as though I owned the car. Even the conductor didn't come in, for they don't go into a railroad president's private car to ask for tickets.
"I took a soft rug off the floor and pulled it over me, and thought I might as well take a nap. It would be safe to sleep for an hour, or even two, and I was tired with my day's travel. Of course I was asleep in no time. My, how good it felt!—a private car all to myself, soft sofa to sleep on, nobody to bother me."