Seated across the aisle from him was another lad about his own age, with whom Hamilton rather wanted to make acquaintance, but the opportunity did not arrive until the first meal, when, by chance, they found themselves on opposite sides of one of the small tables in the dining car. The usual courtesies of the table led to conversation, in the course of which Hamilton's companion dropped the word "census" in a manner which showed his familiarity with the progress of the work of preparation.
"Are you interested in the census?" asked Hamilton promptly.
"Rather," the other replied. "I'm going to work in the Bureau. As a matter of fact, I'm just going to Washington to get my appointment now."
"You are!" exclaimed Hamilton. "Why, that's exactly what I'm doing. It's queer we should meet this way."
"Are you going as an assistant special agent, too?" his new friend asked.
"I'm going to start in that way," the boy replied
"How do you mean 'start'?" the other queried. "I understand that work on the manufactures will last three or four months, and by that time all the other census-taking will be over."
"I'm going to try to get some of the population work as well," Hamilton explained. "I think it will be even more fun than the manufactures end, and I heard that they're going to put on a few population enumerators from those who have been on the manufactures work, admitting them without an exam. I think the population census gathering will be fine."
"I don't think I'd want it," he said, "at least not in a city, and I'm going to do the manufacturing work, of course, in a city."
"Where are you going to be?" asked Hamilton.
"I took the exam in 'Frisco," the older boy replied; "that's my home town, and I expect to work out there."
"That's quite a walk from here!" exclaimed Hamilton.
"I had to come to Washington," the boy answered "and so my people wanted me to go and see my sister down in Florida. She married a fellow who's busy reclaiming some swamp land down there, and he promised me a try at alligator hunting."
"That sounds prime," suggested Hamilton, "and I should think that in that reclamation work there would be lots of chance for it. It would be worth watching, too, just to see how they got at that work. I should think they would find themselves up against a pretty stiff job, engineering down in those swamps. And then there must be barrels of snakes, too?"