me a bite, when the train stops for dinner, I'll pay for whatever you
want to eat."

"That seems fair," returned Bob, "but I should be just as willing to
give you some, even if you didn't return it."

While Bob had been speaking, he had picked up the box, broken the
string, unwrapped the paper and opened it, after which he held it out to
the stranger, saying:

"Help yourself."

To Bob's surprise, the man accepted the invitation literally--and took
the whole box, which he rested on his knee. Though it contained cake and
pie, hard-boiled eggs, and several sandwiches, the stranger exercised no
choice of selection, but began at one end of the box and ate everything
just as it came.

Naturally Bob had supposed that the man would eat possibly only a couple
of eggs and one or two sandwiches, with perhaps even a piece of cake or
a piece of pie. But as he saw one piece of food disappearing after
another, and remembered that the stranger had asked only for a bite, he
wondered what he would require to make a full meal.

As the last piece of food was devoured, the man reached down, put the
cover on the box, folded the paper, wrapped up the box and set it on the
floor, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, then exclaimed:

"My, but that went to the right spot! I sure was hungry."