The distance from the school to the station was a mile.  Joel fetched the carriage round with a sweep and then jumped off, opened the door, and then helped the passengers to disembark, if that word is allowable.

“How soon does the train start, Joel?” asked Rodney.

“In about five minutes.”

“Then I had better purchase my ticket without delay.”

“Don’t forget to ask about horse car drivers!”

“No, I won’t.  I should like to have you come to New York.  I know no one there, and I should feel glad to see a familiar face.”

The train came up in time, and Rodney was one of half a dozen passengers who entered the cars.

He obtained a place next to a stout man dressed in a pepper and salt suit.

“Is this seat engaged?” asked Rodney.

“Yes—­to you,” and his fellow passenger laughed.

Rodney laughed too, for he saw that the remark was meant to be jocose.

He put his gripsack on the floor at his feet, but held the casket in his lap.  He did not like to run any risk with that.

“Are you a drummer?” asked the stout man, with a glance at the casket.

“No, sir.”

“I thought you might be, and that that might contain your samples.”

“No, sir.  That is private property.”

He had thought of telling what it contained, but checked himself.  He knew nothing of his companion, and was not sure how far it might be safe to trust a stranger.

“I used to be a drummer myself—­in the jewelry line—­” continued his companion, “and I carried a box just like that.”

“Ah, indeed!  Then you are not in that business now?”

“No, I got tired of it.  I deal in quite a different article now.”

“Indeed?”

“Suburban lot.”

“You don’t happen to have any of them with you?”

The stout man roared with laughter, giving Rodney the impression that he had said a very witty thing.

“That’s a good one,” he remarked, “the best I’ve heard for a long time.  No, I haven’t any of the lots with me, but I’ve got a circular.  Just cast your eye over that,” and he drew a large and showy prospectus from his pocket.

“If you should be looking for a good investment,” he continued, “you can’t do any better than buy a lot at Morton Park.  It is only eighteen miles from the city and is rapidly building up.  You can buy lot on easy installments, and I will myself pick one out for you that is almost sure to double in value in a year or two.”

“Thank you,” said Rodney, “but I shall have to invest my money, if I get any, in a different way.”

“As what for instance?”

“In board and lodging.”

“Good.  That is even more necessary than real estate.”

“How long have you been in the business, sir?”

“About six months.”

“And how does it pay?”

“Very well, if you know how to talk.”