“He took him to injure me! That’s exactly what he did! He is an ungrateful reprobate.”
“Well, he’s got him, anyhow; and the best thing we can do is go right along as if we didn’t miss him at all. Where was Collins when King scooped him?”
“In Salacia.”
“What’s the next town?”
“Dundee.”
“Well, Merriwell must take the morning train for Dundee. You must provide him with complimentary passes, press notices, the route booked, and instructions how to proceed. I believe he will prove himself equal to the emergency, and we shall get along all right as far as the advance work is concerned.”
Havener spoke as if he were the actual manager of the company, instead of being nothing but the stage-manager, and Haley did not resent being told what he must do.
Haley made a pretense of asking Hawkins’ advice, but Hawkins had not much to say.
Then the four went up to Haley’s room, where Merriwell was given the necessary instructions in regard to the route, making arrangements with local theater and hall managers, securing accommodations at hotels, and getting notices into the newspapers.
“Here are the regular notices we have been using,” said Haley, as he brought a lot of typewritten slips and sheets out of his trunk and gave them to Merriwell. “You must jolly up the editors of the papers, and get all the space they will give us. A good advance man has a way of faking up items and stories that editors will accept as news, but which are advertisements of the best sort. Of course, you won’t be able to do that, as you haven’t had the experience, but you must work in as much of this stuff as possible. And you must see that our paper is up on every board available and in every good window that can be obtained. If you do your work well, it will be a case of hustle from the time you strike a town till you leave it.”