“Why I say,” suddenly remarked Frank—“their sign is wrong.”
“How wrong?” questioned Randy, and then he added: “That’s so: ‘NATONAL.’ They’ve left out an I.”
“It’s so,” cried Pep, “maybe they bought some second hand letters and there wasn’t any I’s in the lot.”
“‘Big New York fellow,’” observed Jolly thoughtfully. “Wonder who he is? Maybe you stirred things up in the city, Durham, and started somebody on our trail.”
“Well, we must expect competition,” replied Frank. “It shan’t scare us.”
“No, we’ll stick to a first-class basis and be the leader,” declared Randy.
“You fellows go on,” spoke Pep. “I’ll sort of spy out the enemy’s country—hey?”
“I would like to know who is behind this ‘National’ 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.
“Hello, Pep,” hailed him just as he went outside again.