Making his way diffidently to one of the tables, he sat down.  In a moment a waitress, in what seemed to him a dazzlingly white and gorgeous dress, approached, and, with a smile, asked: 

“What will you have?”

“Beans, please, and lots of them.”

“And brown bread, too?” asked the waitress.

The thought of this with his beans had never entered Bob’s head, and as it was suggested to him, he felt a great longing for it.  Yet as no mention of it had been made on the sign that had attracted him to the restaurant, he feared it might be too expensive.  But the more he thought of it, the more he wanted it, and finally he stammered: 

“How much does it cost?”

“Five cents a slice.”

“Then you may bring me two slices,” replied the boy, laying emphasis upon the word “two.”

“Coffee or tea?”

“I don’t believe I’ll have either,” said Bob, feeling that his expenditure of twenty-five cents was all that he could afford.

Divining the reason of his refusal, the waitress smiled: 

“You get either tea or coffee with the order.  It doesn’t cost any more.”

“Then I’ll have coffee,” replied Bob.

And as the waitress went to bring his order, he again felt in his pocket to make sure he had the money with which to pay for his meal.

As the heaping plate of beans—­for the waitress had not been scrimping in her measure—­was set before Bob, together with the rich brown bread and coffee, it seemed to him that never had anything smelled quite so savory, and he began to eat as though he were famished.

Though the plate of beans had been heaping, so good did they taste to Bob, that he could not resist the temptation of ordering more, and calling the waitress to him, he asked: 

“If I have a second plate, will it cost less?”

For a moment the girl was on the point of laughing at him, but the wistful seriousness of his face checked the outburst of merriment on her lips, and instead she replied, in a kindly tone: 

“What’s the matter, kid?  Haven’t you any money?”

“Oh, yes,” Bob hastened to reassure her.

“Well, if you have money enough, what’s to prevent your ordering as much as you want?”

For a moment Bob contemplated the question from this new viewpoint, but, unable to decide, observed: 

“I don’t just know as I ought to spend any more.”

“Isn’t the money yours?”

“Oh, yes, it’s not that,” rejoined Bob, and then, after hesitating a moment, he determined to leave the decision to this girl, whose face showed that she was kind and sympathetic, and he said: 

“You see, it’s this way:  I’m going out West, and I haven’t got much money, and I’m afraid I’ll spend too much, because I don’t just know how much it will take.”

“Well, if I was you, I’d eat all I wanted while I had the money.  If you’ve got to ‘hobo’ your way, there’ll be times when you’ll probably be without both food and money.”