since lunchtime and Jimmy Holden was not missing then. So you go on:

"So you're going to go to Roundtree."

"Yessir."

"That costs a lot of money, young Mister Holden."

"Yessir." Then this young man hands you an envelope; the cover says,
typewritten: _Ticket Clerk, Midland Railroad_.

A bit puzzled, you open the envelope and find a five-dollar bill folded
in a sheet of manuscript paper. The note says:

Ticket Clerk
Midland Railroad
Dear Sir:

This will introduce my son, James Holden. As a birthday present, I am
sending him for a visit to his grandparents in Roundtree, and to make
the adventure complete, he will travel alone. Pass the word along to
keep an eye on him but don't step in unless he gets into trouble. Ask
the dining car steward to see that he eats dinner on something better
than candy bars.

Otherwise, he is to believe that he is making this trip completely on
his own.

Sincerely, Louis Holden.