“Who’s ‘Sally Ann’?” he scowled, letting out his freckled neck at the sign. 

Scoop quickly read the other’s thoughts. 

“You’ll like Sal,” he grinned. 

“If you’re going to have a gurl in it,” Red balked, “you can count me out,” and he hitched up his pants and started off. [7]

[7]

“Hey; come here!” 

“Nothin’ doin’.” 

“ ‘Sally Ann,’ ” laughed Scoop, “is the name of our show boat.” 

Red gave a disgusted snort. 

“Named after a gurl! Huh! Why don’t you name it after a boy?” 

“A boat,” explained Scoop, “is usually a ‘she.’ Anyway,” he defended, “ ‘Sally Ann’ is a good name. I’ve got it printed that way and I’m not going to change it.” 

Like Red, I didn’t think very much of our leader’s choice of a name for our show boat. But I kept shut. For you can’t argue Scoop down. 

“I’m going to make two of these signs,” he explained to us. “One for each side of the boat. I can finish the job to-night. And to-morrow we’ll put up the stage and build the seats.” 

“Hot dog!” I cried, thinking of the fun we were going to have. 

“It will take a lot of coin to get started,” he went on, “so we better check up and find out how we stand on the money question. I can put in seven dollars.” He looked at me. “How much are you good for, Jerry?” 

I knew that I could depend on Dad and Mother to help me out. It would be a loan, sort of. [8]Later on, when the show was earning money, I could pay them back out of my share of the profits. 

[8]

“I’ll bring ten dollars to-morrow morning,” I told our leader. 

“So will I,” promised Red, who has 

 Prev. P 16/153 next