Page:Works of Jules Verne - Parke - Vol 7.djvu/106

86 was a fire, and real fire-engines, worked by real firemen; hence the "great attraction".

The next morning I left the Doctor to his own affairs, and agreed to meet him at the hotel at two o'clock. I went to No. 25, Thirty-sixth Street, where resided Mrs. R, Fabian's sister. I was impatient to get news of Ellen and my two friends; and here I learnt that, following the Doctor's advice, Mrs. R, Fabian, and Corsican had left New York, taking with them the young lady, thinking that the air and quiet of the country might have a beneficial effect on her. A line from Captain Corsican informed me of this sudden departure. The kind fellow had been to the Fifth Avenue Hotel without meeting me, but he promised to keep me acquainted with their whereabouts. They thought of stopping at the first place that attracted Ellen's attention, and staying there as long as the charm lasted; he hoped that I should not leave without bidding them a last farewell. Yes, were it but for a few hours, I should be happy to see Ellen, Fabian, and Corsican once again. But such are the drawbacks of traveling, hurried as I was, they gone and I going, each our separate ways, it seemed hardly likely I should see them again.

At two o'clock I returned to the hotel, and found the Doctor in the bar-room, which was full of people. It is a public hall, where travelers and passers-by mingled together, finding gratis iced-water, biscuits, and cheese.

"Well, Doctor," said I, "when shall we start?"

"At six o'clock this evening."

"Shall we take the Hudson railroad?"

"No; the St. John; a wonderful steamer, another world—a Great Eastern of the river. I should have preferred showing you the Hudson by daylight, but the St. John only goes at night. To-morrow, at five o'clock in the morning, we shall be at Albany. At six o'clock we shall take the New York Central Railroad, and in the evening we shall sup at Niagara Falls."

I did not discuss the Doctor's programme, but accepted it willingly. The hotel lift hoisted us to our rooms, and some minutes later we descended with our tourist knapsacks. A fly took us in a quarter of an hour to the pier on the Hudson, before which was the St. John, the chimneys of which were already crowned with wreaths of smoke.