ith
trunks and baggage arranged along on one side of it, and a little
enclosure of railings, with a desk behind it, on the other. There was a
young man sitting at this desk, writing.

"This must be a clerk, I suppose," said Rollo to himself.

Opposite to where the clerk was sitting there was a little opening in
the railings, for people to pay their money and take their tickets; for
people take tickets for places in the diligence, in Europe, just as they
do for the railroad. Rollo advanced to this opening, and, looking
through it, he stated his case to the clerk. He said that he had a place
in the coupe that his father had taken for him, but that he would rather
ride on the banquette, if there was room there, and if any body would
take his place in the coupe.

The clerk said that there had been a great many persons after a place in
the coupe since it had been taken, and that one lady had taken a place
on the banquette, because all the other places in the coach had been
engaged.

"I think," said the clerk, "that she will be very glad to exchange with
you, and pay you the difference. She lives not far from here, and if you
will wait a few minutes, I will send and see."

So the clerk called a commissioner who stood at the door, and after
giving him his directions, sent him away. In a few minutes the
commissioner returned, saying that the lady was very glad indeed to
exchange. He brought in his hand a five franc piece and three francs,
which was the difference in the price of the two places. The clerk gave
this money to Rollo, and altered the entry on his books so as to put
the lady in the coupe and Rollo on the banquette. Thus the affair was
all arranged.

Rollo found that it was now six o'clock. The diligence was not to set
out until half past seven; but by the rules of the service the
passengers were all to be on the spot, with their baggage, half an hour
before the time; so that Rollo knew that his father and mother would be
there at seven.

"That gives me just an hour," said he to himself; "so I shall have
plenty of time to go and see how they manage fishing with that big net."

He accordingly went to see the fishing, but was very careful to return
some minutes before the appointed time.

Rollo had a very pleasant ride that night to Geneva. He wrote a long and
full account of it afterwards, and sent it to his cousin Lucy. This
letter I shall give in the next chapter.

The reason why Rollo wrote so long an a