SUSPICIONS
Certainly Royston's amusement enterprise was large enough. The building
was one of the most commodious in the Zone, though it did not at first
seem so. Frank and his chums walked in unmolested, for workmen were
going and coming, and the doors were not closed.
At the farther end of the building, as they could see when they reached
the interior, was a stage, and in front of this, extending back to the
rear, were rows of seats, arranged as in a theatre, sloping so those in
the back might have as good a view as those in the front. There were
two balconies of good size.
"Say, if we only had this place!" exclaimed Randy, looking about with
envious eyes.
"Wouldn't it be great!" added Pep.
"This is the sort of business my uncle was in," spoke Albert. "He
always went in for big spectacles. He said he didn't have time to
bother with small affairs. But perhaps that's what weakened his
mind--trying to do too big things."
"Were he and Royston ever engaged in any enterprise together?" asked
Pep, wondering if Mr. Bullard had made any progress in looking over Mr.
Jackson's papers.
"Not that I know of," Albert answered. "I never really knew much about
my uncle's affairs. He was not a man to talk much. He was more used to
action. Say, but this is a big place, all right! I wonder what sort of
a show they are going to put on here?"
"Wild animals, the sign says," spoke Randy.
"I wonder if they'll be real, or stuffed?" ventured Pep.
"They wouldn't dare to try and palm off a fake like stuffed animals,"
was Frank's opinion. "There must be some sort of action in it or they
wouldn't have all these seats with a view of the stage. Well, if we
stay until the fair opens we'll have a chance to see what it is that
will open up here."
The interior of the building was almost as gaudy as the outside.
Painters were engaged in spreading on brilliant colors, and here and
there others were busy painting pictures of jungle beasts.
"Whoever gave the artists their model sketches didn't know much about
the jungle," was Frank's comment, after a brief survey.
"What makes you think so?" asked Albert.
"Because they've got a lot of wrong stuff in here. We ran a series of
African hunting pictures once, and I took particular notice of the
beasts and their surroundings. Half of these pictures are pure fakes."
"Well, the pictures won't count--it's the kind of show Royston will put
on," declared Pep. "He may do something that will be a surprise."
"Yes, in more senses than one," said Frank, drily. "But of course we
can't tell until we see the whole show--if we ever do. But this place
is certainly big."
They strolled about, wishing with all their hearts that they had some
similar building for their motion pictures. No one appeared to object
to the presence of the boys. In fact, other casual visitors strolled
in, expressing their wonder at the place.
"Hark!" suddenly exclaimed Frank, as his chums were talking rather
loudly about a certain painting of an elephant and lion in a fight.
"Listen!"
"What's up?" demanded Pep. They were, just then, in a sort of side
corridor of the structure.
"Don't you recognize that voice?" asked Frank in a whisper. His chums,
listening, heard someone saying:
"Yes, sir, this is going to be the biggest thing at the fair. There
won't be anything that can touch it. Not only will it be amusing, but
it will be instructive as well. I'll have more varieties of wild animal
life from the jungle than ever before was brought under one roof.
I'll match the old Roman games. I'll give the people a show the like
of which was never seen before. This is going to be THE place of this
Zone. I tell you, sir, you won't make any mistake investing in this.
You'll triple your money, and another matter----"
The voice died out. Randy looked at his chums.
"Know who that was?" he asked.
"I sure do," replied Pep. "Royston."
"Right!" whispered Randy, "and he sure is blowing his own horn. But
that's his way. Can you see him?"
The chums, huddled in the dimness of a half-finished emergency exit,
looked about for a sight of the unseen speakers, but could not glimpse
them. It was evident, from what little of the conversation they had
heard, that Royston was trying to induce someone else to help finance
his "Wild Life" amusement enterprise. Frank had a desire to see who
this might be, but he did not want to run any chances in getting the
information.
Curiously enough it was Albert who solved the difficulty.
"Say," he began, "I think perhaps you fellows could run this better
alone."
"Run what better?" asked Pep.
"This affair just now. You want to find out what Royston is up to;
don't you?"
"We sure do," declared Randy.
"And you know him well enough to speak to him if you meet him; don't
you?"
"Yes, though I can't say that he is the nicest person in the world to
talk to," Randy admitted. "But I don't see what you are driving at,
Albert."
"It's just this. If I am with you when you meet Royston I think he will
get suspicious right away. He doesn't know me very well, but he has
seen me with my uncle, and if he now saw me with you he might put two
and two together and make more than four."
"That's the idea!" cried Pep. "Albert's got the right of it."
"But what's to be done?" asked Randy. "We're not going to desert you,
Albert."
"I should say not!" cried Pep. "I won't hear of any such talk!" and he
blustered around in his impetuous but well-meant way.
"No, I wouldn't want you to desert me, but let me desert you for a
while," suggested Albert. "That is, let me leave you free to do as you
wish. In that way you may be able to get some line on Royston. He will
talk more freely if I am not with you."
"Well, there may be something in that," admitted Frank. "And I sure
would like to help out Mr. Bullard by aiding him to convict this
fellow."
"Then let me go back to the hotel," went on Albert. "You can come when
you get ready. Maybe Mr. Bullard has some information for me from
having looked over Uncle Henry's papers."
"It looks like driving you away from us," objected Randy.
"Nothing of the sort!" Albert cried. "It's just a division of our
forces."
"Albert's right," decided Randy. Indeed, the young boy was much changed
from the despondent lad of about a week previous. He was able to offer
valuable suggestions now.
"Well, you go on back," suggested Frank, "and we'll stroll about this
fake jungle for a while longer. We may meet Royston, and he may invite
us to invest some money. Of course we won't, but it will give us a
chance to talk to him. And you may be sure we won't let him know that
we have met the nephew of the man he sent to the insane asylum."
This little plan, thus hastily decided on, was put into effect. Albert
went out by a side door, leaving his chums in the big place that was
soon, so it seemed, to echo to the roar of wild beasts.
"How to find Royston," suggested Frank to his chums.
It was no very hard matter to locate the promoter. His voice alone
would have guided one to his locality, were it not also for the fact
that wherever he was the workmen increased their activity. Whether they
were afraid of the "boss," or whether they wanted to create a favorable
impression, was not manifest. At any rate, Royston's progress about the
building was easily traced, and it was not long before the three chums
came face to face with him.
"Hello! What are you fellows doing here?" was the not very pleasant
manner in which Royston greeted the young men. He was alone, and there
was a scowl on his face. Frank said afterward that possibly he had not
been able to "land his fish."
"What do you want?" Royston asked, rather harshly.
"Oh, we're just looking around," said Randy.
"Huh! Yes, looking around! Don't you know this place isn't yet open to
the public?" demanded the promoter.
"Yes, we are aware of that," Frank said, "but we saw others coming in,
and we also entered."
"You had no right to!" snapped the other, and his eyes flashed. His
usually red face became of a more ruddy hue, as it had that day at the
bank when he ran into Frank.
"We did not mean any harm," spoke Pep. "But we saw the doors open
and----"
"Doors open; eh? I'll fix that watchman!" cried Royston. "I'll
discharge him; that's what I'll do!"
He seemed very angry, yet it was obvious that he was trying to keep his
temper, and not to make too sudden a break with the boys. But he could
not hold himself in.
"You'll have to get out of here!" he cried. "I don't want people
sneaking around in here, stealing my ideas, and then using them for
their own benefit."
"We're not doing anything of the kind!" cried Pep, hotly, stung by the
unjust suspicion. "We saw this place open, and we just happened to
stroll in. If you don't want people in here why don't you put up a sign
'No Admittance'? Then we would have stayed out."
"I'll have that sign up right away!" Royston exclaimed. "But the fact
that it wasn't up doesn't give you a right to stay here. I want you to
get out. First thing I know you will be using some of my ideas, and
I'll be up against a rival attraction."
"Not on our part," said Frank quickly. "This isn't in our line at all.
We go in strictly for motion pictures, and this would be of absolutely
no benefit to us. In fact, we wouldn't think of trying to make anything
like it."
"Lucky for you that you don't," was Royston's reply. "I'd have an
injunction suit started against you if you did. This has to be kept
secret until it's time to open. Just wait until I see that watchman!"
and muttering angrily he glared at the boys. "You'll have to go!" he
exclaimed.
"Come on, fellows," suggested Frank, and he and his chums walked slowly
toward the main entrance. Royston followed slowly after them.
"Oh, you needn't be afraid we'll try to hide and come back," Pep shot
at him.
"I'll see that you don't," snapped Royston. "I've had too many tricks
played on me not to know another. I'll see that you leave the
premises."
And he was as good as his word. He followed the chums all the way down
to the doors, and watched them go out into the Zone main highway. Then,
as the lads turned in the direction of their hotel, they could hear
the irate promoter "laying down the law" to the luckless door-keeper.
Royston's voice rose high and shrill.
"Just what I suspected," announced Frank to his chums.
"Do you mean you looked for this?" asked Randy.
"Well, not exactly being ejected, but I thought we should find--well,
just what we have found."
"And what's that?" asked Pep.
"A fake!" cried Frank. "That jungle place is a fake from beginning to
end. That's why Royston didn't want us in there. He knew we would spot
it. I see his game now!"