Chapter the-third-level: The Third Level | Short Questions

The third level appeared distinctly old-fashioned and much smaller than the regular levels. Charley noticed fewer ticket windows and train gates, along with a vintage wooden information booth. The lighting was remarkably dim and flickering because they were open-flame gaslights. The floor featured shiny brass spittoons. Furthermore, everyone was dressed in late-nineteenth-century attire, sporting derby hats, four-button suits with tiny lapels, pocket watches, and elaborate handlebar mustaches. Even the train on the tracks was a small, vintage Currier & Ives locomotive.

When Charley attempted to buy two train tickets to Galesburg, he handed over his modern-day currency. The ticket clerk immediately stared at him suspiciously and refused the money because the bills looked entirely different from the currency used in 1894. The old-style bills were significantly larger and had a completely different design. The clerk even threatened to have Charley arrested for trying to cheat him, forcing Charley to turn away quickly and escape to avoid going to a nineteenth-century jail.

A first-day cover is a special item created by stamp collectors to mark the release of a new stamp. When a new stamp is officially issued, collectors purchase it on the very first day of sale and use it to mail blank envelopes to themselves. The postmark stamped by the post office provides permanent proof of the date. These envelopes are typically never opened, as they only contain blank paper, and are carefully preserved in collections for their historical and philatelic value.

Charley withdrew his entire life savings of three hundred dollars from the bank to purchase old-style currency from a coin dealer. He was desperate to return to the third level and buy two train tickets to Galesburg for himself and his wife, Louisa. Even though he had to pay a high premium and received less than two hundred dollars in old bills, he did not mind. He knew that the cost of living, like eggs being thirteen cents, was incredibly cheap in 1894.

Sam's letter, dated July 18, 1894, enthusiastically confirmed that he had successfully found the third level and had been living in Galesburg for two weeks. He beautifully described the peaceful atmosphere, mentioning people singing on their porches and drinking lemonade. Sam strongly urged Charley and Louisa to keep searching for the hidden corridor until they found it. The letter proved that Sam, the skeptical psychiatrist, had ironically succumbed to the very same desire to escape the modern world that he had diagnosed in Charley.