eyes on that tent
of ours to-morrow morning there will be something doing about these
diggins, and don't you forget it. Why, the amount of advertising he will
give the show will do us more service than if we planted twenty acres of
posters all over the fences that adorn the smiling landscape of this
peaceful and prosperous community. Let us go aboard at once. The main
biz is done. It's a dead sure cinch, Horatio."

No move was made on board until ten o'clock. The place was then as still
as a country church-yard, and scarcely a light was to be seen in any of
the houses when Handy and his company took possession of the lot and
began the preliminaries for the following day's operations.

A few hours of energetic work and the tent was set up, and later on the
stage properties, costumes and musical instruments were all safely
lodged under the cover of the canvas. Two of the organization remained
on guard and the others returned to the _Gem_.

The unexpected appearance of the tent next morning took the inhabitants
completely by surprise. No one could tell how it got there. Like a
mushroom it came up overnight. The farm-hands on their way to work
halted to look it over; the oystermen and clammers on the way to their
boats loitered near the spot to inspect it, and by nine o'clock most of
the boys and girls within a mile of the place spread the news broadcast
that there was an actors' show in town. About ten o'clock the news had
reached the dominie, and half an hour later he was in consultation with
the leading lights of his congregation. The consensus of views induced
them to call upon Mr. McGuiness. The tent was on his property, and he,
they concluded, when appealed to would no doubt order the trespassers
off. They considered it an abomination, from their standpoint, for him
to permit show-actors to offer an entertainment, and more especially on
the last day of the church fair, when a numerous gathering was expected.
A committee was accordingly appointed to wait on Mr. McGuiness, but
unfortunately that gentleman was nowhere to be found.

At two o'clock in the afternoon Handy gave a free concert in front of
the tent. The audience, it is needless to say, was not a critical one
and was easily pleased. When it was over and the energetic manager
announced a display of fireworks in the evening, both before and after
the performance, there wasn't a youngster within the sound of his voice
who did not spread the cheering information