CHAPTER XI
THREE CHEERS AND A TIGER
"Man--Manager of Car Three?" stammered Phil.
"Yes."
Teddy's eyes grew large.
"_That_--manager of Car Three?" he said derisively.
Mr. Sparling gave him a stern glance.
"But, Mr. Sparling, I know so little about the work. Of course Iam proud and happy to be promoted to so responsible a position,but almost, if not every man on the car, is better equipped forthis work than I am."
"They may be more familiar with some of the details, but as awhole I do not agree with your view. In two weeks' time you willhave grasped the details, and I will wager that there will not bea better agent in the United States."
The Circus Boy flushed happily.
"You will have to be alive. But I do not need to say that.You always are alive. You will have to fight the railroadsconstantly, to get your car through on time; you will haveto combat innumerable elements that as yet you have not hadexperience with. However, I have no fear. I know the stuffyou are made of. I ought to. I have known you for nearlyfive years."
"I will do my best, Mr. Sparling."
There was no laughter in the eyes of the Circus Boy now.
"Then again, you are going right into territory where you willhave the stiffest kind of opposition. At least five shows arebooked for our territory almost from now on."
"Have any of them billed that territory?"
"I think the Wild West Show has. The others are about duethere now."
"It is going to be a hand-to-hand conflict, then?"
"Something of that sort," smiled the showman. "I shall expectyou to beat them all out."
"You are giving me a big contract."
"I am well aware of that. We all have to do the impossible inthe show business. That is a part of the game, and the man whois not equal to it is not a showman."
Phil squared his shoulders a little.
"Then I will be a showman," he said, in a quiet tone.
"That is the talk. That sounds like Phil Forrest. It is usualfor shows to have a general agent who has charge of all theadvance work, and who directs the cars and the men from somecentral point. Heretofore I have done all of this myself, butour show is getting so large, and there is so much opposition inthe field, that I have been thinking of putting on a generalagent next season. However, we will talk that over later."
"And so you are the car manager, eh," quizzed Teddy.
"It seems so."
"Won't I have a snap now?" chuckled the lad.
"Yes; your work will be done with a snap or back you go toMr. Sparling, young man," laughed Phil. "There will be nodrones in this hive."
"What have you been doing?" inquired the owner.
"I'm the dough boy."
"The dough boy?"
"He has been making paste," Phil informed him.
Mr. Sparling laughed heartily.
"I guess we shall have to graduate you from the paste pot andgive you a diploma. I cannot afford to pay a man seventy-fivedollars a week to mix up flour and water."
"And steam," corrected the irrepressible Teddy.
"Should not some press work be done from this car?" asked Phil.
"By all means. It is of vast importance. Hasn't it been done?"
"No, sir; not since I have been on board. I would suggest thatwe turn Teddy loose on that; let him call on the newspapers,together with such other work as I may lay out for him.Teddy is a good mixer and he will make friends of thenewspaper men easily."
"A most excellent idea. I leave these matters all in your hands.As to matters of detail, in regard to the outside work, I wouldsuggest that you consult Conley freely. He is a good, honestfellow, and had he a better education he would advance rapidly.I intend to promote him next season. Conley told me, thismorning, of your brilliant exploit in billing the silo."
"Oh, you saw him this morning? Now I understand why hehurried away and came back all smiles. You--you told himI was to be manager?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He was as pleased as a child with a new toy. He said you were awinner in the advance game."
"Will he tell the men?"
"No. That will be left for you to do in your own way."
Phil nodded reflectively.
"And now let us go into the details. We will first look overthe railroad contracts, together with the livery, hotel andother contracts. I am going to leave you five hundred dollarsin cash, and each week you will send in your payroll to thetreasurer, who will forward the money by express to cover it.The five hundred is for current expenses. Spend money with alavish hand, where necessary to advance the interests of theshow, and pinch every penny like a miser where it isnot necessary. That is the way to run a show."
Phil never forgot the advice.
"And Teddy?"
"Yes, sir."
"You may, in addition to your other duties, act as a sort ofoffice assistant and secretary to Phil. I shall make only onerequest of you. Write to me every night, giving a full accountof the day's doings, with any suggestions or questions that Philmay ask you to make, and enclose this with the report sheet.You understand, Phil, that your regular detailed reports goto the car behind you. The one that comes to me is abrief summary."
"I understand."
"Have you the route?"
"No, sir."
"Perhaps it is in the desk. Yes; here it is. Now and then weshall have to make changes in it, of which I shall advise you,in most instances, by telegraph. Wire me every morning as toyour whereabouts so I may keep in touch with you."
"You may depend upon me, sir."
"I know it."
For the next half hour Mr. Sparling and Phil were deeply engagedin poring over the books, the contracts and the innumerabledetails appertaining to the work of an advance car.
"There, I guess we have touched upon most everything. Of courseemergencies will arise daily. Were it not for those anyone couldrun a car. No two days are alike in any department of thecircus business. You will meet all emergencies and cope withthem nobly. Of that I am confident. And now, Mr. PhilipForrest, I officially turn over to you Advertising Car NumberThree of the Sparling Shows. I wish you good luck and norailroad wrecks. Come and have lunch with me; then I'll begetting back to the show. The rest is up to you."
"Mr. Sparling," said Phil with a slight quaver in his voice, "ifI succeed it will be because of the training you have given me.I won't say I thank you, for I do not know whether I do or not.I may make an awful mess of it. In that case I shall suffer asad fall in your estimation. But it is not my intention to makea mess of it, just the same."
"You won't. Come along, Teddy. We will have a meal, and itwon't be at a contract hotel, either," said the showman, with atwinkle in his eyes.
The three left the car. Several of the men had returned fromtheir lunch, and the word quickly spread through the car thatMr. Sparling was there. Rumors of high words between theshowman and Snowden were rife, but none appeared to knowanything definite as to what had really occurred.
Conley knew, but he preserved a discreet silence.
"I reckon, if they wanted us to know what was going on theywould tell us," declared Rosie the Pig. "That's the troublewith these cars. We ain't human. We ain't supposed toknow anything."
"Rosie, don't talk. Someday you might make a mistake and reallysay something worth listening to," advised Slivers.
For some reason the men evinced no inclination to leave the car.They hung about, perhaps waiting for something to turn up.Each felt that there was something in the air, nor werethey mistaken.
It was nearly three o'clock when Phil and Teddy returned tothe car. Mr. Sparling was not with them. The lads went directto the office, unlocked the door and entered.
The men looked at each other and nodded as if to say, "I told youso," but none ventured to speak.
After what seemed a long wait Phil stepped from the
office,followed by Teddy. They heard the lads coming down the corridor.Phil stopped when he reached the main part of the car. His facewas solemn.
"Boys," he began, "I have some news for you. Mr. Sparling hasbeen here today, as you probably know."
Some of the men nodded.
"The next piece of news is that Mr. Snowden has closed withthe car. He is no longer manager."
Phil paused, as if to accentuate his words. The men set up agreat shout. It was a full minute before they settled down tolisten to his further remarks.
"What I am about to say further is the most difficult thing Iever did in my life. I would prefer to turn, or to try to turn,a triple somersault off a springboard. Mr. Sparling hasappointed me manager of Car Three. I suppose, instead of PhilForrest, I shall be referred to as The Boss after this."
The whole crew sprang to their feet.
"Three cheers for The Boss!" shouted the Missing Link.
"Hip, hip, hooray! Tiger!" howled the crew, while Phil stoodblushing like a girl. Teddy was swelling with pride.
"I'm it, too," he chimed in, tapping his chest significantly.
"Boys," continued Phil, "I probably know less about the actualwork of the advance than any man here. Anyone of you can giveme points."
"No, we can't," interrupted several voices at once.
"I am also younger than any of you. I know a great deal aboutthe business back with the show, but not much of what shouldbe done ahead. But I am going to know all about it in a veryshort time. While I shall be the Boss, I am going to be thefriend of every man here. You are not going to be abused.Just so long as you do your work you will be all right.The first man caught shirking his work closes then and there.But I shall have to look to you for my own success.I'll work _with_ you. I understand that we have strongopposition ahead of us. Let's you and me take off our coats,tighten our belts, sail in with our feet, our hands and ourheads--and beat the enemy to a standstill! Will you do it?"
"We will, you bet!" shouted the crew.
"We will beat them to a frazzle," added Rosie the Pig.
"That will be about all from you, Rosie," rebuked theMissing Link.
"This car leaves at eight o'clock this evening. After weget started, come in and I will give you all your assignmentsfor tomorrow. My friend, Teddy, has been promoted to theposition of press agent with the car, and a few other thingsat the same time. Henry, you will attend to the paste-making,beginning tomorrow. This being a billboard town, I am goingto skip it and get into the territory where the oppositionis stronger. I have arranged with the local billpostersto take care of the work here."
"That is all I have to say just now, boys. When you haveanything to ask or to suggest, you know where the office is.Mr. Conley, will you please come to the office now? We havequite a lot to talk over."
The men gave three rousing cheers.
Phil Forrest had made his debut as a car manager in a mostauspicious manner, at the same time winning the loyalty of everyman on the car.
The Circus Boys on the Plains; Or, The Young Advance Agents Ahead of the Show Page 12