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 I
am proud and happy to be promoted to so responsible a position,
but almost, if not every man on the car, is better equipped for
this work than I am."
"They may be more familiar with some of the details, but as a
whole I do not agree with your view. In two weeks' time you will
have grasped the details, and I will wager that there will not be
a 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 railroads
constantly, to get your car through on time; you will have
to combat innumerable elements that as yet you have not had
experience with. However, I have no fear. I know the stuff
you are made of. I ought to. I have known you for nearly
five 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 will
have the stiffest kind of opposition. At least five shows are
booked 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 due
there now."
"It is going to be a hand-to-hand conflict, then?"
"Something of that sort," smiled the showman. "I shall expect
you 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 in
the show business. That is a part of the game, and the man who
is 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 usual
for shows to have a general agent who has charge of all the
advance work, and who directs the cars and the men from some
central point. Heretofore I have done all of this myself, but
our show is getting so large, and there is so much opposition in
the field, that I have been thinking of putting on a general
agent 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 to
Mr. Sparling, young man," laughed Phil. "There will be no
drones 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 and
give you a diploma. I cannot afford to pay a man seventy-five
dollars 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 that
we 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 the
newspaper 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 would
suggest that you consult Conley freely. He is a good, honest
fellow, and had he a better education he would advance rapidly.
I intend to promote him next season. Conley told me, this
morning, of your brilliant exploit in billing the silo."
"Oh, you saw him this morning? Now I understand why he
hurried away and came back all smiles. You--you told him
I was to be manager?"
"Yes."
"What did he say?"
"He was as pleased as a child with a new toy. He said you were a
winner 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 over
the railroad contracts, together with the livery, hotel and
other contracts. I am going to leave you five hundred dollars
in cash, and each week you will send in your payroll to the
treasurer, who will forward the money by express to cover it.
The five hundred is for current expenses. Spend money with a
lavish hand, where necessary to advance the interests of the
show, and pinch every penny like a miser where it is
not 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 of
office assistant and secretary to Phil. I shall make only one
request of you. Write to me every night, giving a full account
of the day's doings, with any suggestions or questions that Phil
may ask you to make, and enclose this with the report sheet.
You understand, Phil, that your regular detailed reports go
to the car behind you. The one that comes to me is a
brief summary."
"I understand."
"Have you the route?"
"No, sir."
"Perhaps it is in the desk. Yes; here it is. Now and then we
shall have to make changes in it, of which I shall advise you,
in most instances, by telegraph. Wire me every morning as to
your 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 engaged
in poring over the books, the contracts and the innumerable
details appertaining to the work of an advance car.
"There, I guess we have touched upon most everything. Of course
emergencies will arise daily. Were it not for those anyone could
run a car. No two days are alike in any department of the
circus business. You will meet all emergencies and cope with
them nobly. Of that I am confident. And now, Mr. Philip
Forrest, I officially turn over to you Advertising Car Number
Three of the Sparling Shows. I wish you good luck and no
railroad wrecks. Come and have lunch with me; then I'll be
getting back to the show. The rest is up to you."
"Mr. Sparling," said Phil with a slight quaver in his voice, "if
I 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 a
sad fall in your estimation. But it is not my intention to make
a mess of it, just the same."
"You won't. Come along, Teddy. We will have a meal, and it
won't be at a contract hotel, either," said the showman, with a
twinkle in his eyes.
The three left the car. Several of the men had returned from
their lunch, and the word quickly spread through the car that
Mr. Sparling was there. Rumors of high words between the
showman and Snowden were rife, but none appeared to know
anything 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 they
would tell us," declared Rosie the Pig. "That's the trouble
with these cars. We ain't human. We ain't supposed to
know anything."
"Rosie, don't talk. Someday you might make a mistake and really
say 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 were
they mistaken.
It was nearly three o'clock when Phil and Teddy returned to
the car. Mr. Sparling was not with them. The lads went direct
to the office, unlocked the door and entered.
The men looked at each other and nodded as if to say, "I told you
so," 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 face
was solemn.
"Boys," he began, "I have some news for you. Mr. Sparling has
been here today, as you probably know."
Some of the men nodded.
"The next piece of news is that Mr. Snowden has closed with
the car. He is no longer manager."
Phil paused, as if to accentuate his words. The men set up a
great shout. It was a full minute before they settled down to
listen to his further remarks.
"What I am about to say further is the most difficult thing I
ever did in my life. I would prefer to turn, or to try to turn,
a triple somersault off a springboard. Mr. Sparling has
appointed me manager of Car Three. I suppose, instead of Phil
Forrest, 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 stood
blushing 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 actual
work of the advance than any man here. Anyone of you can give
me points."
"No, we can't," interrupted several voices at once.
"I am also younger than any of you. I know a great deal about
the business back with the show, but not much of what should
be done ahead. But I am going to know all about it in a very
short time. While I shall be the Boss, I am going to be the
friend 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 strong
opposition ahead of us. Let's you and me take off our coats,
tighten our belts, sail in with our feet, our hands and our
heads--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 the
Missing Link.
"This car leaves at eight o'clock this evening. After we
get started, come in and I will give you all your assignments
for tomorrow. My friend, Teddy, has been promoted to the
position of press agent with the car, and a few other things
at the same time. Henry, you will attend to the paste-making,
beginning tomorrow. This being a billboard town, I am going
to skip it and get into the territory where the opposition
is stronger. I have arranged with the local billposters
to take care of the work here."
"That is all I have to say just now, boys. When you have
anything to ask or to suggest, you know where the office is.
Mr. Conley, will you please come to the office now? We have
quite a lot to talk over."
The men gave three rousing cheers.
Phil Forrest had made his debut as a car manager in a most
auspicious manner, at the same time winning the loyalty of every
man on the car.