Carlton Hotel

“ For the next few hours the girls scarcely exchanged a word, so busily were they employed upon their duties. Dot sent the wires and interviewed the chef of the hotel, and Linda pored over maps and diagrams, running her fingers through her hair, marking her course with her pencil. At six o’clock she telephoned to the airport with final instructions. Then, dressed as they were, for all their dresses were still at the Los Angeles hotel, they went down to dinner. ”

“ Each hotel has its own especial merit, which to some minds would outweigh all others and render possible a decision without personal observation; many will prefer to spy out the land for themselves. It has been said that there is no really first-class hotel in Rio, but a Ritz Carlton now being constructed on the Avenida with accommodations for 1200 visitors, will be opened in 1914. As hotels are liable to be full, it is wise to telephone before going to look at rooms. ”

“ Then I always like to go to a place where you are as much of a curiosity to the people as they are to you. It seems to excuse your staring about you."
"A curiosity!" exclaimed Carlton; "I should say so! The last time I was here I tried to wear a pair of knickerbockers around the city, and the people stared so that I had to go back to the hotel and change them. I shouldn't have minded it so much in any other country, but I thought men who wore Jaeger underclothing and women's petticoats for a national costume might have excused so slight an eccentricity as knickerbockers. ”

“ Von Goss,” remarked Dot, as the director drove the girls back to their hotel in his car. “I always thought Hollywood went in for wild parties.”
The man shook his head.
“No. If anything, the stars keep earlier hours than ordinary people. Many of them have to be on location early in the morning, and their work is long and tiring. All the considerate hostesses arrange for their parties to be early affairs.”
“One more mistaken idea shot to pieces,” laughed Dot.
“We’ve had a marvellous time, Mr. Von Goss,” said Linda, as the car stopped at the Ambassador. “We never can thank you enough. ”

“ He then took the English captain down stairs to the smoking-room, and rewarded him for his agreeable message.
The Duke received Carlton in the afternoon, and greeted him most cordially, and with as much ease of manner as it is possible for a man to possess who has never enjoyed the benefits of meeting other men on an equal footing. He expressed his pleasure in knowing an artist with whose work he was so familiar, and congratulated himself on the happy accident which had brought them both to the same hotel. ”

“ Oh, well, don’t let’s worry. We can clear the whole thing up in no time.”
They reached the hotel, made an appointment with Mr. Eckert over the telephone, and changed their costumes for dinner. It was after seven o’clock when they sat down to the table, and they did full justice to the meal.
Mr. Eckert’s first remark when he greeted Linda was practically the same as that of the boys on the field.
“I hear you are going into the movies, Linda,” he said, trying to hide his disapproval. “If I had known that, I shouldn’t have wasted your time offering you this position at the school.” ”

“ Belonging to the Jacksonville bank."
"Oh! You really have that money? And kept it all this time?"
"Yes. But don't say a word about it out loud. We'll take it with us into the dining-room, and wear our new hats, so nobody will think it queer."
They found Ted in the lobby of the hotel as they got out of the elevator, and they went into the dining-room to order the meal that Linda and Dot had been longing for on the island. It tasted good to them, but not so good, they had to admit, as the sausages and stale bread and hot tea which Captain Smallweed provided, when they were almost starved. ”

“ So you can see why I don't want any of the police along."
"We better take plenty of food, though," remarked Dot.
"We will take some—but don't forget that we can easily fly back to the coast each night. The island is only a few miles out—it's nothing in a plane."
"True," admitted the other.
"And we'll keep our room here at the hotel, for we want some place as headquarters. We'll put a few over-night necessities into my bag."
"O.K. I'll order a roast chicken and a chocolate cake from the dining-room tonight."
"Oranges, too," added Linda. "They always taste so good. ”

“ Still, it’s a lot better than nothing, and we might be very glad to have it.”
Dot did as she was asked and raided the hotel kitchen, ignoring the indignant protests of the servants. Inside of half an hour the girls were back at the airport where they had left the autogiro, and Linda was giving the Ladybug a thorough inspection, for she did not have much confidence in the mechanic’s knowledge. ”

“ But I'm afraid Aunt Emily would even object to our staying alone at hotels. You know how particular she is."
Louise was silent a moment, thinking it was too pleasant an idea to give up at once. She'd have to devise a way out of their difficulty.
"I'll tell you," she announced, finally. "We can plan to stop with people we know each night—or at a hotel where some friend is staying. We surely can round up some relatives and friends!"
"That's it!" cried Linda, joyfully. "That ought to be easy! And we can send telegrams [Pg 164] ahead. But the places will have to have some sort of airports." ”

“ They would fly southwest, making their first stop Kansas City, where Ted's firm was located. Searching through her address-book, Miss Carlton remembered that she had a cousin living in a hotel in that city and she wired her immediately to reserve a room for the girls for that night, and to chaperon their visit.
"And then we'll fly to Sunny Hills—as our destination!" cried Louise, with happy inspiration. "It's in Colorado—where my Aunt Margaret and Uncle John live! Oh, we'll have no end of fun there!"
"You're sure they won't mind?" asked Linda.
"They'll be tickled to death. ”

“ She was relieved to find both girls well and happy.
"We might as well all go to a hotel tonight," she suggested, "and have a good dinner, and take in a picture afterwards. There can't be any rush about your finding your boarding-house, is there?"
"Only that we begin work tomorrow," replied Linda. "We must be there at nine o'clock for our examinations."
"My, but you are in a hurry!" the older woman remarked. "When I was a girl, fun always came first."
"But it is all going to be fun, Aunt Emily!" [Pg 63]
"Still, we might as well have the dinner, and take in an early show," put in Louise. ”

“ We’ll have a lark with him, and unless I’m greatly mistaken we’ll rope in a few others of the ‘wide ones’ into the bargain.”
In those days—it may be so now for aught I108 know—the sporting element in Melbourne were wont to meet together in the hotel bar known as “Under the Earth,” situated in Burke Street, mention of which has been made in the previous chapter. A lot of us used to go swimming in the public baths every morning, and foregather here for a livener and a chat afterwards. ”

“ It happened at Newcastle. I was a guest at an hotel there where a professional mesmerist also chanced to be staying.
One day, in the course of conversation, I expressed incredulity regarding his alleged power. “You can’t mesmerise me,” I said.
“Well,” he retorted, “I don’t mind trying. But you must promise not to try and resist me. You must remain passive.”
“All right,” I said, “I will. Go ahead with the show.” ”

“ The girls found a taxi at once, and, leaving their bigger box in the autogiro, they took out an overnight bag and went to a hotel that had been familiar to Linda during her year at St. Louis.
“That’s what I’m going to be up against all the time!” she remarked, with distaste, as she and Dot settled back in the taxi.
“You mean about the movies?” questioned her companion. “I was wondering why you didn’t deny it right off.”
25
“I haven’t time to go about the world denying things. And it seems so useless. Until I have proof, I mean. They wouldn’t believe me any more than the crowd at home did.” ”

“ I can have kings! Kings, I tell you!”
“A king!” corrected Mrs. Smith, with emphasis.
“Well, then, a king,” agreed Estelle. “And he is very good to me. Everyone knows that. What I want with your husband?”
There was a lot more talk, and in the end Mrs. Smith, still unconvinced, went back to her hotel, packed up her things, and took the first train back to London.
Soon afterwards Smith came to me and told me all about it, asking my advice.
“Somebody’s been having a game with you,” I said. “Let’s go round to the Post Office, and try and get a look at the original of the telegram.” ”

“ Bored with the inactivity, they strolled over to the hangar where the Ladybug was housed, and looked her over.
“I’d fly over to the studio if I only had my licenses,” said Linda. “But I hate to break laws—even though it isn’t my fault.”
“That man has no right to keep them!” stormed Dot. “I’ll bet Sprague’s at the bottom of this.”
“He’s still trying to protect his girl-friend, I’m sure of that.... Well, Dot, we may as well go back to the hotel, for if she should arrive, I feel confident that Mr. Von Goss would call us there.” ”

“ Ohio—Kentucky—Tennessee—Georgia! Each day she could travel through a different state, putting up each night at a hotel. Fortunately her Aunt Emily had given up worrying about her staying alone in strange cities. For Linda had already proved herself capable of taking care of herself.
"It is because Linda is always so dignified," Mr. Carlton had remarked to his sister. "The girls who make chance acquaintances, and permit familiarities are usually looking for it. Linda's mind is on her plane—on her navigation—and [Pg 41] she is too absorbed to be bothered. ”

“ Lady Peirse took great interest in a charitable entertainment we got up on board, and later on, when we arrived at Port Said, her ladyship invited me to take tea with her and Sir Richard Peirse at their hotel.
Mr. Justice Bucknill was another notable on board. But the most striking and interesting personality of all was that of the youthful-looking Maharajah of Jodhpur, who came straight to the ship from Buckingham Palace, where he had been dining with the King. ”

“ Dusk had set in already, though the storm had passed, and a beautiful sunset was fading from the sky, promising a clear day for the flyers tomorrow.
"I think we had better rest tonight," said Ted, as he followed the girls into a taxicab. "You girls can stay at the hotel—there is only one, for this is a small place—and I'll get a room over near the airport. I want to spend some time checking up on my plane, and I think I'll try to get somebody to help me. It's a long flight back to Spring City."
"Oh!" cried Linda, rapturously. "Won't it be marvelous to be [Pg 181] home? ”

“ Without notice, about three days before we were to sail, the Coast Guard Receiving station, at the old Hotel Brunswick, sent down to the ship 12 Negro apprentice seamen and we detached 12 white seamen. Still no word of action on my proposal. But it was clear to me that I was being assigned to carry out what I had proposed. The method was probably the best in that it called the least attention to the program. ”

“ They cast anchor and went up into the old town, which was quite a little settlement clustered on a steep bank overhanging the harbour, and which boasted of a fine summer hotel and several smaller ones. And when it got to be late afternoon, Mr. Carleton wouldn’t hear of their departing; but they should all stay to supper at the hotel. If the wind died down with the sun, why, they could stay all night. ”

“ It only means that the hotels are improving. The truth is that as the typical old-fashioned hotel was built and conducted in America, with the main entrance opening directly from the street into the large paved lobby, where men congregated at all hours of the day to talk politics and to spit, where the porters banged and trundled luggage, and whither, through the door opening to one side, came the clamour of the bar-room, it was out of the question that women should frequent that common entrance. ”

“ Micawber stayed, and might have said—but didn’t—that he “resided, in short, ‘put up,’” [Pg 292] there, is claimed to be the “Sun,” but how, of all the little inns of Canterbury—and there are many—the “Sun” should so decisively claim the honour is beyond the wit of man to tell. It is an old, old inn that, rather mistakenly, calls itself an “hotel,” and the peaked, red-tiled roof, the projecting upper storey, bracketed out upon ancient timbers, are evidence enough that it was in being many centuries before the foreign word “hotel” became acclimatised in this country. ”

“ The sun shines out with redoubled power and brilliancy, and, toiling up Carlisle street, we find ourselves before the door of the principal hotel in Warminster. Such a goodly turnout as ours is seldom seen even in this busy, bustling town, and the waiters and hostlers come out to admire and tender their services. To the enterprising owner of this grand hotel belongs the rink, and thither we bend our footsteps. ”

“ After so many weeks of wandering, I have settled down to a job again. The last six “huts” in which I have been were in a barracks, a casino, a private house, a convent, a college and a hospital. This “hut” is in a hotel. The hotel is situated directly back of the Conflans-Jamy railroad station. Before the war the hotel was a prosperous and pleasant place, judging from the photograph which Madame showed us; its windows filled with real lace curtains all matching! as she pointed out; the broad terrace in front on sunny days filled with little tables and crowded with well-dressed people. ”

“ I says, “I've talked that over with Pemberton, and Stevey Todd, who was the man that run the emigrant hotel with me, and Pemberton's agreeable, and Stevey Todd don't argue against it. I've been thinking of building on to Pemberton's, and making a big summer hotel. It stands in sight of the sea, and it's a likely spot. Now,” I says, “hotel keeping is a combination of hospitality and profit. The secret of it is advertising and a peaceable mind to take things as they come. A good hotel keeper is a moderate man. ”