Only four of them were occupied now, two across the hall from the door and two at one end.

A boy of about seventeen or eighteen, wearing an apron and carrying a tray of dishes, saw them, and, setting down his burden, conducted them to one of the tables nearby.

There were already five boys at the board and they each and all stared silently while Steve and Tom slid into their chairs.

The newcomers surmised that they, too, were new boys, for, unlike the fellows at the next table beyond, who were laughing and chatting quite light-heartedly, they applied themselves grimly and silently to their food and seemed to view each other with deep distrust.
Steve and Tom, striving against the embarrassment that held them, conversed together in whispers.

"It's a whaling big room," said Steve.
"Just like a hotel, isn't it?
Wonder what we get to eat." "Bet you I'll eat it, whatever it is," replied Tom.