Rollo in Switzerland | Page 2

make a little tour in Switzerland. "I shall have
three weeks," said he, "if I can get away to-morrow; and that will give
me time to take quite a little run among the mountains. I have come
now to see if you will let Rollo go with me."
"Yes, sir," said Rollo, very eagerly, and rising at once from his chair.
"Yes, sir. Let me go with him. That's exactly the thing. Yes, sir."

"Have you any objection?" said Mr. Holiday, quietly, turning towards
Rollo's mother.
"No," said Mrs. Holiday, speaking, however, in a very doubtful
tone,--"no; I don't know that I have--any great objection."
Whatever doubt and hesitation Mrs. Holiday might have had on the
subject was dispelled when she came to look at Rollo and see how
eager and earnest he was in his desire to go. So she gave her definitive
consent.
"How long do you think you will be gone?" said Mr. Holiday.
"Three weeks, nearly," replied Mr. George. "Say twenty days."
"And how much do you suppose it will cost you?" asked Mr. Holiday.
"I have made a calculation," said Mr. George; "and I think it will cost
me, if I go alone, about twenty-five francs a day for the whole time.
There would, however, be a considerable saving in some things if two
go together."
"Then I will allow you, Rollo," replied Mr. Holiday, looking towards
Rollo, "twenty-five francs a day for this excursion. If you spend any
more than that, you must take it out of your past savings. If you do not
spend it all, what is left when you come back is yours."
"Yes, sir," said Rollo. "I think that will be a great plenty."
"Twenty-five francs a day for twenty days," continued Mr. Holiday, "is
five hundred francs. Bring me that bag of gold, Rollo, out of my
secretary. Here is the key."
So Rollo brought out the gold, and Mr. Holiday took from it
twenty-five Napoleons. These he put in Rollo's purse.
"There," said Mr. Holiday, "that's all I can do for you. For the rest you
must take care of yourself."

"How long will it take you to pack your trunk?" said Mr. George.
"Five minutes," said Rollo, promptly, standing up erect as he said it and
buttoning his jacket up to his chin.
"Then put on your cap and come with me," said Mr. George.
Rollo did so. He followed Mr. George down stairs to the door, and they
both got into a small carriage which Mr. George had waiting there and
drove away together towards Mr. George's hotel.
"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "I have got a great deal to do to-day,
and there are our passports to be stamped. I wonder if you could not
attend to that."
"Yes," said Rollo, "if you will only tell me what is to be done."
"I don't myself know what is to be done," said Mr. George. "That's the
difficulty. And I have not time to find out. I have got as much as I can
possibly do until four o'clock; and then the office of the prefecture of
police is closed. Now, if you can take the passports and find out what is
to be done, and do it, then we can go to-morrow; otherwise we must
wait till next day."
"Well," said Rollo, "I'll try."
"You will find the passports, then, on my table at the hotel. I am going
to get out at the next street and take another carriage to go in another
direction. You can keep this carriage."
"Very well," said Rollo.
"You may make inquiries of any body you please," said Mr. George,
"except your father and mother. We must not trouble your father with
any business of any kind till he gets entirely well; and your mother
would not know any thing about it at all. Perhaps the master of the
hotel can tell you. You had better ask him, at any rate."
Here Mr. George pulled the string for the carriage to stop, as they had

arrived at the corner of the street where he was to get out. The
coachman drew up to the sidewalk and stopped. Mr. George opened the
door and stepped out upon the curbstone, and then said, as he shut the
door,--
"Well, good by, Rollo. I hope you will have good luck. But, whatever
happens, keep a quiet mind, and don't allow yourself to feel perplexed
or troubled. If you don't succeed in getting the passports ready to-day
we can attend to them to-morrow and then go the next day, which will
answer nearly as well."
Then, directing the coachman to drive to the hotel, Mr. George walked
rapidly away.
When Rollo reached the hotel he got the key of his uncle George's
room, at the porter's