CHAPTER VIII
A GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT
Probably many of you will go, or have already gone, to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which is the official name for what is commonly called the Panama Fair, and I shall often refer to it that way myself. Those of you who have seen the fair will, therefore, recognize much of what is described in this book.
"Say, this certainly is great!" cried Pep, with sparkling eyes, as he glanced about, once they were inside the exposition grounds. They had to obtain a pass, as the place was not yet open to the public, but as possible concessionnaires in the Zone they found no trouble in being admitted. "It's great—immense—stupendous—wonderful! It's—it's——"
"Hold on, Pep!" cried Frank. "Save a few of those big words."
"Yes," agreed Randy with a smile. "You haven't begun to see it yet, Pep."
"That's right!" chimed in Hank Strapp. "This is the biggest thing of its kind that ever happened. It's like the West—it's big—we have to have room to spread ourselves out here, boys. It sure is great!"
To hear him talk, and look at his honest, enthusiastic face, you would have thought that Strapp himself had had a great deal to do with the success of the venture. But that was only his way.
The boys, with Strapp and Ben, had gone in through the Fillmore Street entrance. Directly to their left began that part of the grounds given over to amusement enterprises, with the broad highway, called the Zone, which gave its name to the active division, running through it. The structure for the great scenic railway was the first object that met the eyes of the boys, but they were not greatly interested in that, having seen a number, though this was destined to excel most of them. But it was not yet finished.
On the left was Festival Hall, with its beautiful grounds, on which men were still working, and then before the boys and their friends stretched out the Avenue of Progress, with the Machinery Palace on the right, and the group of buildings about the Court of the Universe as a center, on their left. Those latter buildings would, later, house the exhibits of varied industries, mines and metallurgy, transportation, manufactures, liberal arts, agriculture, food products and education and economy.
"I wonder if they'll have any motion picture machines on exhibition?" spoke Randy, for he was much interested in the mechanical end of their business.
"Oh, there'll be sure to be plenty of those," Frank said. "Now what shall we do?"
"Look about a bit," proposed Pep. "This is the greatest place I ever struck!"
"But don't linger too long," advised Hank. "If we're going to get a concession we'd better look lively. A whole lot depends on getting a good place, especially for motion pictures. We don't want to get left."
"No, indeed," agreed Frank, "not after the way we hustled out here."
"But we can look about a little," suggested Ben Jolly. "I want to see if they have any small pipe organs we can arrange to install. A pipe organ is what we want to bring out the full effect of our pictures."
"A pipe organ it shall be!" promised Frank, laughing.
A brief description of the Panama Fair may not be out of place here. The grounds are along the north side of the city, extending for over two miles, facing Alcatraz Island, the harbor and Golden Gate channel, and they are from a quarter to half a mile wide, the entire exhibit being within the corporate limits of the city. I will not weary you with details and dull figures, but I might say that the Zone, or amusement concession, covers sixty-three acres, and when you consider that a ten-acre field is quite a stretch of land, you can imagine what one six times as large would be. In all, the fair covers 635 acres, and adjoining it is the Presido government reservation of over 1,500 acres, which Uncle Sam generously opens to the visitors to the great fair, so that they have an almost unlimited "playground."
All about them the boys saw beautiful buildings, arches of triumph and progress, groups of statuary, fountains, and gardens in which grew flowers of all the rainbow hues. The place was a riot of color by day, and would be more so by night, for great electric lights and colored fountains would add their beauty to the splendid scene.
The boys were greatly interested in the ten-acre tract of the United States Government exhibit, and drill ground.
"Oh, would you look at that!" cried Pep, when they had drawn near. "Isn't that great!"
"It certainly is!" agreed his chums. What Pep referred to was a 500-foot model, perfect in every detail, of the Panama Canal. On the miniature waterway floated vessels which gave a perfect representation of crossing from ocean to ocean, Gatun Dam, Culebra Cut, the locks and all their complicated machinery being shown perfectly, and with all the electrical and lighting effects that go to make the Panama Canal the most wonderful piece of engineering work in the world.
"Say, I could stay here all day!" cried Pep, as he watched workmen putting the finishing touches on the miniature waterway.
"But we can't," declared Frank. "We have no end of things to attend to, and not a great deal of time to do it in."
"That's right," chimed in Hank Strapp. "We don't want to get left."
Leaving, rather reluctantly it must be confessed, the wonderful model of the canal, our friends made their way to the Zone once more. They had made inquiries, and learned that the manager who had charge of allotting the concessions would be in his office in about an hour.
The Van Ness Avenue entrance, nearest the city proper, was made on an exact plan of the Gatun Spillway at Panama, and from there the Zone extended over half a mile to the Avenue of Progress, into which Frank and his chums turned again. At night the plaza would be aglow with a myriad of brilliantly colored lights, but now the colors of the various amusement buildings gave a wonderful effect. And the variety of amusements astounded the boys.
"I didn't think there could be so many ways of taking money from the public," confessed Randy.
"Oh, we know how to do things out West!" broke in Hank Strapp. "We don't have to be shown, whether it is taking money out of the ground, or from strangers. Though I will allow," he said, with a faint smile, "that we don't aim to do anything unfair, and we'll give a dollar in value every time."
"I believe you," agreed Pep. Certainly Hank Strapp of Montana had assayed true value every time.
From candy kitchens and quick-lunch restaurants, to great caverns and caves, reproductions of some of the most famous in the United States; from miniature mountains to geysers, waterfalls and canyons ran the gamut of exhibitions. There was a "toyland grown up," castles, giants' caves, a Mother Hubbard's cupboard big enough to hold a small village, merry-go-'rounds of the most up-to-date type, nerve-racking devices—in short, so much that the boys could only get a general idea of it.
"But I don't see any moving picture places starting," observed Frank with some satisfaction, as they went on toward the office of the manager. "And that sure pleases me, for I was afraid we'd be up against competition."
"Maybe we will be—later," suggested Pep.
"Well, if we get in on the ground floor we can't complain," was Frank's answer. "I wonder if that chap is in now?"
As they strolled along the Zone, Randy, who was walking a little in the rear of Frank, called to his chum.
"What is it?" Frank asked.
"That man," replied Randy in a low tone. "Over there by that candy kitchen. Isn't he the one we met on the train?"
"You mean the Secret——" began Frank, and then he stopped, for he reflected that his chums did not know Mr. Bullard to be one of Uncle Sam's secret agents.
"I don't think there's much secret about him!" broke in Randy, with a laugh. "He blurts out everything he knows, or thinks of. I mean the red-faced chap who——"
"Oh, him—Royston!" interrupted Frank, with an air of relief. He was glad he had not spoken what was in his mind, and relieved to find that the Secret Service man was not present, though it was not without a feeling of uneasiness that Frank learned his uncouth acquaintance of the train and bank was present on the grounds.
"Yes, that is he," Frank said, after a hasty look. "I suppose he is looking after some amusement here."
Royston glanced up in time to observe the boys, but he did not come toward them, greatly to Frank's relief. In fact, Royston seemed to have other business, and to be in a hurry, for, with a wave of his hand to our friends, he made off in an opposite direction.
Frank breathed in relief, and a little later he and his chums were ushered into the office of the director of the Zone.
"Well, this is quite a delegation," was the greeting of the gentleman in charge of the big amusement concession. "Is it a party of protest?" he asked, as he directed that chairs be placed for Frank and his friends.
"You must be used to receiving such," remarked Ben Jolly.
"I am—more to my sorrow. Everyone who comes in here lately seems to have some objection to make. I declare it's a hard matter to please so many. But what can I do for you? You don't look as though you had trouble on your minds."
"We haven't," Frank said. "Our only trouble is to get a good concession here."
"It depends on what sort you want," replied the director. "Of course you know it is rather late to apply for big space."
"We're not looking for such a big place," went on Frank, who had been selected to do the talking for the delegation. "We want to open a motion picture theatre, and show some of the more important films—big plays, you know, well-known actors and all that. Can we engage such space here in the Zone?"
"Motion pictures, eh?" murmured the director. "Well now, that's too bad."
"Too bad!" exclaimed Frank, scenting disappointment in the man's voice.
"Yes. You are just too late. The last available concession that could have been used for motion pictures has been given out. I haven't a place left that would suit. All the good spots are gone, and I know you wouldn't want a second-rate one, for you'd fail inside of two weeks. I am sorry, but you are too late!"