Part 28 (1/2)

”I won't involve my friends. I have planned it all out. My mother is coming down to the office to take care of the little business that will come in from the advertising.”

”And what will you do?” asked Darry curiously.

”I have arranged to hire a horse and wagon. I shall go out and visit small towns and sell from door to door, or even from the wagon, till I hear from that missing money, or get on my feet again.”

”You're a good one,” p.r.o.nounced Darry with an admiring sparkle in his eye, slapping Frank heartily on the shoulder. ”You're a stubborn one, too, so I won't intrude offers of a.s.sistance only to be turned down.”

”All the time,” resumed Frank, ”I shall be looking out for a trace of Markham. See here, Darry, I can't get that Dale Wacker off my mind. Who are his companions? Where does he hang out? How am I going to set a watch on him?”

”He may not even be in town,” suggested Darry. ”You know Bob and I went all over Pleasantville last evening, like yourself seeking a trace of Markham. It looked as if Wacker had flashed into town and out again. We didn't run across him, and we didn't find anybody who had seen him since late in the afternoon.”

”Say, can I speak a word?” piped in an anxious voice.

It was little Stet who had spoken. Frank and Darry had forgotten all about him. Now Stet got up timorously from the door step.

”Oh, it's you,” said Darry. ”Heard all we've said, too, I suppose, Stet?”

”Yes, I have,” replied Stet. ”Had to--ought to--I'm interested, I am. I like you. I like Mr. Newton. You're both my friends. I like Markham, too. He gave Hemp Carson, the _Eagle_ manager, a setting down for pitching onto me. I don't like Dale Wacker. Huh! hadn't ought to. He robbed me of two dollars once. Well, Dale Wacker is in Pleasantville. I saw him this morning. He came in on a farmer's wagon from somewhere out of town.”

”That's news, anyway,” said Darry.

”You were going to give me my regular ten days' vacation next week, you know,” continued Stet to Darry. ”Make it begin to-day, and I'll soon find out for you all there is to find out about Dale Wacker's doings.”

”But that is hardly a vacation, Stet?” suggested Frank.

”It will be,” chuckled the little fellow, ”if I can get my two dollars'

worth of satisfaction out of him by showing him up.”

”All right,” said Darry, ”try it, Stet, if you want to.”

Stet went away forthwith. Frank went into details with Darry as to the mail order business. It must remain partially inactive until something encouraging developed.

The morning mail was a pretty good one. About ten o'clock Mrs. Ismond came down to the office, and Frank initiated his mother into the business routine.

”Just get the mail each day, and fill what orders you can,” said Frank.

”When you can't fill an order, return the money. You see, mother, I want to take the bulk of stock on hand with me for quick sales, and I can't order any more until I get some money ahead.”

Frank put in two hours about town trying to look up Markham. The result was quite as discouraging as upon the day previous. He closed an arrangement for the hire of a horse and a light wagon, and packed up some goods at the office, ready for his trip into the country.

Mrs. Ismond, with a woman's instinctive capacity for neatness, had the office in attractive order by late afternoon, and all the work attended to.

”Don't get discouraged, Frank,” she said, as they were on their way home. ”It won't take a great deal of money to keep up the business in a small way. I sent out a hundred circulars this afternoon, and I will keep on at that average while you are away.”

”Why,” spoke Frank, ”how can you do that, with no mailing list addresses?”

”Oh, I set my wits at work and made quite a discovery,” responded Mrs.

Ismond with a bright smile. ”The Pleasantville _Herald_ has quite a list of exchanges. I asked Darry to send me some. They come from all over the State. I selected a number of promising names from little news items in the papers. For instance: I took girls' names from church and society items, and boys' names from baseball club items and the like. Good, fresh names, Frank--don't you see?”