THE BROKEN SIGN
揑t blew big guns last night, fellows,?observed Randy Powell.
揧es, it has been working up to a storm for several days,?said Ben Jolly, casting a weather eye through the open window in the living room.
Breakfast had just been announced by Jolly and as usual all were hustling about to put in an appearance for the famous home-cooked meal.
揥e mustn抰 complain if we have a day or two of showery weather, Pep,?spoke Frank.
揑t means poor shows, though,?lamented Randy.
揥e can stand that,?replied Frank. 揑 think we have been more than fortunate.?
揑 should say so,?remarked Jolly棑six shows a day and the house a clear average of three-fourths filled.?
揌ow are our friends down at the National doing, Pep??inquired Vincent.
揙h, so, so,?was the careless reply. 揟hey get their quota from the Midway crowd, which we don抰 want. My friend who works for them says they let things go half right, quarrel among themselves, and a few nights ago Peter Carrington had a crowd of his boy friends in a private box smoking cigarettes while the films were running. Peter doesn抰 speak to me now when we meet.?
揑 thought the building was coming down one time last night,?spoke Jolly. 揟here was damage done somewhere, for I heard a terrific crash a little after midnight.?
揟here won抰 be many bathers to-day,?said Vincent, glancing out at the breakers on the beach.
Pep finished his breakfast and went out to the front of the building to take a look at things. Just after he had opened the front doors his voice rang excitedly through the playhouse.
揊rank桼andy梐ll of you. Come here, quick!?Then as his friends trooped forward obedient to his call he burst out: 揑t抯 a blazing shame!?
揥hat is, Pep??inquired Frank.
揕ook for yourself.?
揙h, say! who did that??shouted Randy.
He and the others stood staring in dismay at the walk, that was littered with glass, and then at the wreck of the electric sign overhead, which had cost them so much money and of which they had been so proud.
All that was left of it was 揥桹桳桝桸桪?and woeful, indeed, the dilapidated sign looked. Broken bulbs and jagged ends of wires trailed over its face. Two bricks lay at the edge of the walk and the end of a third protruded from the bottom of the sign.
Randy was nearly crying. Frank looked pretty serious. Pep抯 eyes were flashing, but he maintained a grim silence as he went over to the edge of the walk and picked up one of the bricks.
揟hat was your 慻reat guns?you heard last night,?observed Pep looking fighting mad. 揟hose bricks were thrown purposely to smash our sign. Why梐nd who by??
There was not one in the group who could not have voiced a justifiable suspicion, yet all were silent.
揑 think I know where that brick came from,?proceeded Pep, trying to keep calm, but really boiling over with wrath. 揑抦 going to find out.?
Pep tarried not to discuss or explain. The others stared after him as he marched down the boardwalk in his headstrong way. Pep had in mind a little heap of bricks he had seen two days before. They were made of terra cotta, red in color and one side glazed.
It was at the National that Pep came to a halt. Between the entrance and exit some attempt at ornamenting the old building had been made. There were two cement pillars and the space between them had been tiled. At one side was a plaster board and a few of the bricks that had not been used. The workman on the job had not yet tuckpointed the space he had covered, and had left behind some of his material, a trowel and other utilities.
Pep went over to the heap. He selected one of the bricks and matched it to the one he carried in his hand. He was standing thus when the door of the National opened and three persons came out. They were Peter Carrington, Greg Grayson and Jack Beavers.
揌ello!?flared up Peter, as he caught sight of Pep, 搘hat are you snooping around here for??
揑抦 running down the persons who smashed our electric sign last night, and I抦 fast getting to them,?replied Pep. 揅arrington, you抮e a pretty bad crowd, all of you, and I抦 going to make you some trouble.?
揥hat for? What about??blustered Peter, and then he flushed up as Pep waved the brick before him.
揟hat brick and two others like it smashed our sign,?he declared. 揟here probably isn抰 another lot of them in town except here.?
揥ell, what of it??demanded Greg Grayson, sourly.
揑抦 not talking to you,?retorted Pep. 揥e did enough of that after your mean tricks at Fairlands. Whoever smashed our sign did it with some of your bricks. You needn抰 tell me they didn抰 start out with them from here. There抯 plenty of stones along the beach for the casual mischief maker. You抮e trying to break up our show. Soon as I get the proofs I抦 after, I抣l close yours and show you up to the public for the measly crowd you are.?
揝ay,?flared up Peter, 搕his is our property and you get off of it, or棗?
揙r you抣l what??cried Pep, throwing down the bricks and advancing doughtily.
揈asy, Carrington, easy,?broke in Jack Beavers and he stepped between the belligerents, 揇on抰 raise a row,?he pleaded with Pep. 揟here抯 enough going on that抯 disagreeable without any more added.?Then he followed Pep as the latter went back to the street. 揝ee here, I don抰 want any trouble with you people,?he went on in an anxious way. 揝o far as I抦 concerned, I give you my word of honor I don抰 know the first thing about this sign business.?
Pep looked at the speaker抯 face and was almost tempted to believe him.
揧ou needn抰 tell me!?he declared. 揟hose fellows are a mean lot and they ought to be punished.?
Pep returned to the Wonderland with his tale. Frank tried to quiet him, but Pep抯 indignation had got the better of him.
揑f you can make certain that the National crowd did this damage, we can make them pay for it,?said Frank, 揵ut I don抰 want to proceed on guesswork.?
揙h, you know as well as I do that they did it, Frank Durham!?stormed Pep.
揑 think they did, yes,?acknowledged Frank, 揵ut if we go to making any charges we cannot prove Mrs. Carrington will hear of it, and I don抰 care to offend her. Drop it, Pep. We抣l have to take our medicine this time. If it gets too flagrant, then we will go to the authorities with it.?
Pep was not fully satisfied, however. He managed to see his friend who worked for the National a little later, and tried to enlist his co鰌eration in ferreting out the vandals who had damaged the electric sign.
The latter could not be replaced entire without sending to the city for some of the missing letters. This, however, led to one beneficial result. When the duplicate letters arrived some colored bulbs accompanied them, a suggestion of Jolly. Two nights later the brilliant sign invited and attracted attention in its new varicolored dress, showing up as the most conspicuous illumination on the boardwalk.
The gusty, showery weather got down to a chill unpleasant spell finally. On Thursday night the Wonderland was running, but to rather slim audiences. There were few venturesome visitors to the beach in the daytime and the matinee entertainments were curtailed.
That night, however, the Wonderland had never had a more enthusiastic audience. It was comprised of an entirely new crowd梡eople themselves in the entertainment business and general trade lines, who could pick only a slack business period to seek enjoyment. They knew what a good thing was when they saw it and their generous approbation of the flood film and of Hal Vincent抯 ventriloquial acts with his dummies made up for the lack of numbers.
揊ine thing!?said more than one.
When the second show began a good many who had gone out came back again. A pelting rain had set in, accompanied by a tearing wind. Randy had to keep the window of the ticket office closed as well as he could, and Pep shut the roof ventilators.
It was in the middle of the last film that a great gust of wind shook the building. In the midst of it the echo of the service bell of the life saving station down the beach reached the ears of the audience. Many began to get nervous. Just as the film closed there was a clatter and crash and pieces of the broken skylight in the roof of the playhouse clattered down.
There were cries and a general commotion. Many arose to their feet. The rain began to pour in from overhead.
At that critical moment Frank closed the projector and shot on the lights.