BUSINESS RIVALS
揚ut the brake on, Pep!?sang out Randy.
揥hat抯 the trouble now??inquired Ben Jolly. 揝omeone trying to kidnap you again??
Frank, Randy and Jolly, on their way to see about their goods at the freight house, had scattered precipitately as a bounding figure turned a street corner and almost crashed into them.
揋lad I found you. Say, what did I tell you??exclaimed the youthful sprinter. 揧ou come with me and I抣l show you something that will open your eyes.?
揕ater, Pep,?said Frank. 揥e are on our way to arrange for carting the traps from Fairlands up to the playhouse.?
揑t won抰 take a minute,?declared Pep. 揑t抯 only a block or two away. Say, you抎 better come. I抣l show you a sight that will set you thinking.?
揂ll right, we抣l give you five minutes, Pep,?said Frank indulgently.
揂nd don抰 forget that I told you so!?
揟old us what??interrogated Randy.
揧ou抣l find out in a minute.?
Pep piloted the group in his usual impetuous way. Quite a busy boardwalk diverged from the main boardwalk thoroughfare, and some minor stores and restaurants of the cheaper class occupied the first block.
About midway of the square was a vacant building, once a dime museum. Frank and his friends had noticed this in their search for a business location. It was off the main route of travel, however, and the building was old, ramshackly and set down from the street level, the lot lying in a depression in the ground so that one had to descend three steps to the entrance.
揟here you are,?pronounced Pep in an impressive way. 揥hat do you say to it??
Frank, Randy and Ben Jolly came to a halt as they faced an electric sign running out from the front of the building.
搼National,挃 read Randy棑慛ational?what??
揚hoto playhouse,?asserted Pep.
揇o you know that??challenged Jolly.
揑 do. When I passed by a man who was wiring the sign told me that a big New York fellow and a Seaside Park party were going to open up next week.?
揟he mischief!?exclaimed Randy, roused up.
揝ay,?remarked Jolly, bristling up at this hint of rivalry, 搘e want to get busy.?
揙h, it doesn抰 alarm me,?spoke Frank. 揑n the first place it is off the mainly traveled route. Besides, the neighborhood is cheap and I would imagine they wouldn抰 get more than a nickel.?
揑t抯 worth looking up梐lways keep track of what your competitors are doing,?advised Jolly.
揥hy I say,?suddenly remarked Frank棑their sign is wrong.?
揌ow wrong??questioned Randy, and then he added: 揟hat抯 so: 慛ATONAL.?They抳e left out an I.?
揑t抯 so,?cried Pep, 搈aybe they bought some second hand letters and there wasn抰 any I抯 in the lot.?
搼Big New York fellow,挃 observed Jolly thoughtfully. 揥onder who he is? Maybe you stirred things up in the city, Durham, and started somebody on our trail.?
揥ell, we must expect competition,?replied Frank. 揑t shan抰 scare us.?
揘o, we抣l stick to a first-class basis and be the leader,?declared Randy.
揧ou fellows go on,?spoke Pep. 揑抣l sort of spy out the enemy抯 country梙ey??
揑 would like to know who is behind this 慛ational?with an I missing,?said Frank, and they turned about and resumed their way to the freight depot, leaving Pep to his own devices.
Pep was not afraid to venture anywhere or address anybody. He was inside the old building and had accosted the man he had seen outside within five minutes after his friends left him. The man knew all about the proposed extensive refitting of the old barn of a place, but did not know who was backing the new show outside of a big man from New York and a party with money at Seaside Park. Pep pumped him dry so far as the arrangements for the show were concerned.
揌ello, Pep,?hailed him just as he went outside again.
揟hat isn抰 my name梚t抯 Pepperill,?retorted Pep, resenting the mistake and the familiarity. He was in a fiery mood just now, but as he recognized young Peter Carrington and noticed that he was headed for the building he had just left, Pep decided that he would lose nothing by using a little tact.
揥ell, that抯 all right,?observed Peter in his usual airy manner棑been into my show??
揧our show??
揟hat抯 what,?and Peter poked his cap back on his head, stuck his thumbs in his armpits, and grinned at Pep in a patronizing sort of way.
揙h, I see,?said Pep, 搚ou抮e the Seaside Park capitalist I heard about??
揇id some one honest say that??inquired Peter, his vanity immensely gratified. 揥ell, I have invested something梘ot a little money from my aunt, although she doesn抰 know that I抳e gone into the show business. She抎 be mad if she knew I was going to set up opposition to you fellows, for she likes you. Business is business, though. You fellows wouldn抰 take me in and I had to get some other partners; didn抰 I??
揥ho are your partners??probed Pep innocently.
揥ell, one of them is Greg Grayson. He抯 from your town. You know him??
揝lightly,?assented Pep, his lips drawing together grimly.
揂 friend of his has invested something, too,?rambled on the effusive Peter. 揙ur mainstay, though, is a New York man. They say he抯 抴ay up in the moving picture line.?
揥hat is his name??pressed Pep.
揗r. John Beavers梕ver hear of him??
揑 don抰 think I have.?
揟hat抯 because you抮e new in the business,?declared Peter. 揌e says he抯 the first man who ever started a moving picture show.?
揂lso a capitalist, I suppose??insinuated Pep.
揥ell, he抯 got a lot of investments that have tied up his ready cash, he says, but he will stand back of us if we need more money.?
揥ell,?said Pep, 揑 must be moving on. The more the merrier, you know.?
揑 must tell you,?hurried on Peter棑We抮e going to have two private boxes in our show.?
揥hat for??
揙h, to make a hit. Friends, members of the press and all that梥ee? I say, Smith, I hope you抮e going to exchange professional courtesies.?
揥hat do you mean??demanded Pep.
揅omplimentaries, and all that.?
揑 don抰 think we are going to have any complimentaries,?replied Pep. 揙ur space will be for sale; not to give away. That fellow run a photo playhouse!?snorted Pep wrath fully to himself, as he left the spot. 揥hy, he hasn抰 got the gumption to run a peddler抯 cart, or a shoestring stand!?
Pep reached the freight house just as his friends were leaving it. They had arranged for the reception and delivery of their traps from Fairlands to the new playhouse. This meant busy times, getting in order to open up for business. Pep told of his new discoveries as to the personnel of the rival firm of the 揘atonal.?Randy flared up at once.
揑t抯 half spite work,?he declared. 揟his Peter is mad because we wouldn抰 take him into our scheme and Greg Grayson owes us a grudge, or fancies he does, and wants to pay it back. He and his cronies were always ready for any mean mischief back at Fairlands.?
揙h, well, as long as it is fair business rivalry, who cares??submitted Jolly. 揊rom the start they抳e made I don抰 think they will last long.?
揟hey will do all they can to annoy us while they do,?declared Pep.
揇id you tell young Carrington about the missing letter in the 慛atonal?sign, Pep??inquired Frank.
揘o, I didn抰,?replied Pep, ungraciously. 揟hink I抦 around mending his blunders? Humph! guess not. If I had, do you know what he would have said??
揘o; what, Pep??pressed Randy, with a broad grin.
揌e抎 say: 慜h, yes, that抯 so. Anybody can see it抯 spelled wrong. Didn抰 notice it before. Of course it should be 揘atonel.敀?
All hands laughed at Pep抯 sally. Then Frank asked:
揇id you ever hear of this John Beavers, Mr. Jolly??
揘ever did, Durham. I wonder where the crowd picked him up? Don抰 think he抯 a notable, though. Judging from the way he抯 letting them hold the bag, I reckon he isn抰 much of a capitalist.?
They emerged upon the boardwalk as Jolly concluded his remarks. Pep was the first to discover a commotion amid the crowds ahead.
揟here抯 some new excitement,?he cried. 揕et抯 hurry up and see what it is.?
Just then a man dashed through the throng on a dead run. In hot pursuit was a second individual, fast overtaking him and shouting as he sprinted:
揝top that man!?