A traveller was standing at the desk in the lobby of a Washington hotel. He was in a hurry. He had only 10 minutes to pay his bill and reach the station. Suddenly he remembered that he had forgotten something.
He called the bell-boy and said: “Run up to Room 48 and see whether I left a box on the table. Be quick, I am in a hurry.”
The boy ran up the stairs. Five minutes past, and the gentleman was walking up and down impatiently.
At last the boy came back.
“Yes, sir,” he said, “Yes, sir, you left it there. It’s on the table.”