"It's one of those trick whistles," declared Randy.

"Then it's an extra fine one," said Pep.

"I think you are mistaken, boys," suggested Frank. "Those are real human notes-at least almost exact human imitations of bird tones."

"Well, then, the fellow must have a throat like a nightingale," a.s.serted the enthusiastic Pep.

The active whistler deserved all the chums said about him. His repertoire seemed exhaustless. He confined himself to imitations of birds exclusively-and of only such birds as were native to the surrounding country.

He fairly filled the air with melody, and real birds in the trees and shrubbery about the handsome residences of the locality twittered, hopped about and responded in an echoing chorus to his expert call.

Little children came running out of yards to gaze in wonder and admiration at this unusual warbler. Even older folks watched and listened to him. The man turned a corner out of view of the motion picture chums, followed by quite a procession.

He had scarcely vanished before a high wagon such as is used to carry cooper's barrels turned slowly into the street. A slow old horse pulled it along. Its driver nimbly leaped from his seat. The moment he called out "Whoa!" to the horse and turned his face toward the chums, Pep Smith uttered a great shout.

"Why, fellows, see," he cried, in mingled glee and surprise-"it's Ben Jolly!"

CHAPTER V-THE BIRD HOUSE

Ben Jolly it was, more sprightly, more jolly-looking than ever, for he waved his hand with a genial smile to the children staring down the side street after the whistler. The other reached into the wagon. Instantly upon recognizing their old-time friend and helper the three chums started in his direction.

"Hi, there!" hailed Pep, while Randy waved his hand gaily and all hurried their gait.

"Well! well!" exclaimed Jolly, his face an expanding smile of welcome, extending both hands and greeting his friends in turn. "I expected to find you here and headed for here, but I did not expect to run across you so oddly."

"For mercy's sake, Mr. Jolly," burst forth Randy, staring in amazement at the wagon, "what in the world have you got there?"

"Why bird houses," replied Jolly.

"Bird houses?" repeated Pep, equally bewildered. "What are you doing with such a lot of bird houses?"

"Selling them, of course."

Frank himself was surprised and puzzled. The wagon contained half a dozen tiers of little box-like structures packed close. At one side was a heap of poles the size of display flag staffs. These poles were stout and heavy, painted white, and about twelve feet in length. The houses were about two feet high and as wide. They were painted white, like the poles, and were exact models of a broad, low colonial house, even to the veranda. The roof was painted red, there was an imitation chimney and a double open doorway in front trimmed with green. All around this miniature house were little apertures representing windows.

A neater, more inviting little bird house for a garden could not well be imagined. As Jolly took a sample from the wagon the little children flocked about him on tiptoe of curiosity. There were admiring "Oh's!"

and "Ah's!" "Ain't they cute!" "What cunning little houses!" and "Oh, mister! are they for sale?" "What do they cost?"

"If you will excuse me while I make a demonstration," observed Jolly, "I'll explain what it's all about."

"What a rare fellow he is!" remarked Randy to his companions, as they stepped aside.

"The same busy, happy, good-natured friend of everybody," returned Frank, with genuine feeling.

If there was a being in the world the motion picture chums had reason to feel kindly toward it was this same Ben Jolly. A free wanderer, taking things easy, tramping flower-fringed country roads, making his way, willing to meet any task that came along, Ben Jolly had dropped into their life at the critical moment when they were discussing the prospects of their first motion picture show at Fairlands.

Ben had been a Jack-of-all-trades and knew a little something about pretty nearly everything. Particularly he knew a good deal about the movies. He gave the boys advice and suggestions that enabled them to buy their first outfit at a bargain and the day the show opened appeared with an old piano which he had induced a rich relative to buy. From that time on Ben Jolly furnished the music for the Wonderland photo playhouse and, as told in our first volume, was the means of unearthing a plot against the father of Frank Durham, whereby he had been swindled out of a small estate.

Jolly took a sample bird house under each arm and entered the first yard he came to, the interested children keeping him close company. He came out of the first house with only one bird house, he came out of the second with none. Along the block he visited on both sides of the street Jolly disposed of just eleven of the attractive little miniature domiciles, distributed poles later to each purchaser and rejoined the boys.

"Now, then," he said, briskly, placing a little roll of banknotes in a well-filled wallet, "how are you and what are the prospects?"

"Excellent," declared Randy. "See here, though, Mr. Jolly, will you kindly explain this new business of yours?"

"Simply a side line," replied Jolly, in a gay, offhand manner.

"But where did you ever pick up that rig and that lot of odd truck?"

challenged Pep.

"I picked up better than that," retorted Jolly, cheerily. "I ran across the finest advance agent in the business-and here he comes. You knew him once, but under his stage name of Hal Pope. He's Mr. Hal Vincent now."

At that moment the whistler came into view, having circled the block. As he approached, Frank's face expressed pleased surprise.

"Why," exclaimed Pep, "it's our friend the ventriloquist."

"So it is," echoed Randy.

"Glad to meet you again," said Hal Vincent, and there was an all-around handshaking. "You're all looking fine and I hear you're prosperous."

"Not so much so that we could afford to hire you for our programme at Fairlands, as we would like to do, Mr. Vincent," replied Frank, with a smile.

Pep began to grin as he looked at Vincent, and the memory of their first meeting was reviewed. Then he chuckled and finally he broke out into a ringing guffaw.

"Thinking of my first and only appearance at that auction where you bought your movies outfit?" inquired Vincent, with a smile.

"Will we ever forget it?" cried Randy. "I tell you, Mr. Vincent, if you hadn't made the auctioneer believe that two innocent bystanders were bidding against each other with your ventriloquism, and gained time until Frank arrived, we would never have gotten into the motion picture business."

"It worked finely; didn't it?" answered Vincent.

"I ran across Hal at Tresco, about thirty miles from here," narrated Ben Jolly. "He was counting the ties in the direction of New York, having left the dummies he uses in his stunts on the stage for meals and lodging."

"Yes, I was about all that was left of the Consolidated Popular Amus.e.m.e.nt Corporation," put in Vincent. "I was glad to meet an old friend like Ben. He told me there was the shadow of a chance that you might start in at Seaside Park and wanted me to come along with him.

Then we ran across the outfit here," and the speaker nodded toward the wagon and its contents.

"That was my brilliant idea," added Jolly. "I call it a rare stroke of luck, the way we ran across the outfit."

"How?" projected Pep, vastly curious.

"Well, a carpenter in a little town we came through had got crippled.

The doctor told him he wouldn't get around without crutches for six months. He was a lively, industrious old fellow and couldn't bear to be idle. Had a lot of waste lumber and worked it up into dog houses. There weren't many dogs in the town, so his sale was limited. Then the bird house idea came along. The carpenter got the local paper to print a lot about the birds, the merry birds, that sing about our door--"

"That-sing-about-our-door!" echoed a slow, deep ba.s.s, apparently away up in a high tree near by, and the boys knew that their gifted ventriloquist friend was exercising his talents.

"The carpenter," proceeded Jolly, "hired a lot of boys to go forth on his mission of kindness to our feathery songsters. The campaign went ahead until nearly everybody wanting a bird house got one. Our friend found himself with some two hundred of the little structures left on his hands. He had overstocked the market, with a big surplus left on his hands. When we came along it was a sign in front of his place that attracted our attention. It read: 'These fine bird houses and a capable horse, wagon, and harness for sale for a mere song.'