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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/17118-8.txt b/17118-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..47fae60 --- /dev/null +++ b/17118-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6321 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms +by Laura Lee Hope + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms + Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + +Release Date: November 20, 2005 [EBook #17118] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +The +Moving Picture Girls +Under the Palms + +OR + +Lost in the Wilds of Florida + + +BY + +LAURA LEE HOPE + +AUTHOR OF "THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS," "THE MOVING PICTURE +GIRLS AT OAK FARM," "THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES," +"THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES," ETC. + + + + +_ILLUSTRATED_ + + +THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. +CLEVELAND NEW YORK + + +Made in U.S.A. + + +Copyright, 1914, by +GROSSET & DUNLAP + + +PRESS OF +THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. +CLEVELAND + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I Overboard 1 + + II To the Rescue 11 + + III A Disquieting Item 18 + + IV Fire on Board 28 + + V Disabled 37 + + VI By Wireless 46 + + VII In Port 54 + + VIII St. Augustine 63 + + IX In the Dungeon 70 + + X The Motor Races 80 + + XI On to Lake Kissimmee 88 + + XII A Warning 96 + + XIII Out in the Boat 104 + + XIV Under the Palms 113 + + XV In Peril 119 + + XVI A Strange Attack 129 + + XVII Out of a Tree 139 + + XVIII The Animated Logs 147 + + XIX Into the Wilds 157 + + XX Lost 164 + + XXI The Long Night 172 + + XXII Ashore 180 + + XXIII The Palm Hut 186 + + XXIV The Lost Are Found 195 + + XXV Out of the Wilds 203 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +OVERBOARD + + +"All ready now! In position, everyone!" + +Half a score of actors and actresses moved quickly to their appointed +places, while overhead, and at the sides of them hissed powerful electric +lights, and in front of them stood a moving picture camera, ready to be +operated by a pleasant-faced young man. + +"Ready?" came in questioning tones from Mr. Pertell, the stage director, +as he looked sharply from one to the other. + +A tall, well-built man, with iron-gray hair, nodded, but did not speak. + +"Let her go, Russ!" Mr. Pertell exclaimed. + +"Vait! Vait a minute!" called one of the actors, with a pronounced German +accent. + +"Well, what's the matter now, Mr. Switzer?" asked the director, with a +touch of impatience. + +"I haf forgotten der imbortant babers dot I haf to offer mine enemy in +dis play. I must have der babers." + +"Gracious, I should say so!" said the manager. "Where's Pop Snooks?" and +he looked around for the property man, who had to produce on short notice +anything from a ten-ton safe to a hairpin. + +"Hi, Pop!" called Mr. Pertell. "Make up a bundle of important, +legal-looking papers, with seals on. Mr. Switzer has to use 'em in this +play. I forgot to tell you." + +"Have 'em for you right away!" cried the property man, and a little later +Mr. Switzer had his "babers." + +"I guess we're all right now. Start up, Russ," ordered the stage +director, who was also the manager of the troupe. + +"That was a mistake on the part of Mr. Pertell; wasn't it, Ruth?" asked +one of the young actresses--a pretty girl--of her sister, who stood near +her in the mimic scene. + +"Yes, indeed, Alice. But it isn't often he makes one." + +"No, indeed. Oh, we mustn't talk any more. I see him looking at us." + +"Begin!" called the manager, sharply, and the play proceeded, while the +young moving picture operator clicked away at the handle of his camera, +the long strip of film moving behind the lens with a whirring sound, and +registering views of the pantomime of the actors and actresses at the +rate of sixteen a second. + +The above was done several times a day in the New York studio of the +Comet Film Company, which was engaged in making moving pictures. + +The play went on through the various acts. Only part of it was being +"filmed" now--the interior scenes. Later, others would be taken outdoors. + +"Time out--hold your positions!" suddenly exclaimed the operator. "Film's +broken. I've got to mend it." + +Everyone came to a standstill at that. In a few seconds the damage was +repaired, and the play went on. It was, in the main, a "parlor" drama, +and there were to be only a few outdoor scenes. + +"That will do for the present," said Mr. Pertell. "You may all take a +rest now. This will be our last New York play for some time--that is, +after we get the outdoor scenes for this." + +"Where are we going next?" asked the elderly actor before mentioned. He +spoke in very hoarse voice, and it was evident that he had some throat +affection. In fact, it was the ailment which had forced him to give up +acting in the "legitimate," and take to the "movies." + +"We are going to Florida--the land of the palms!" announced the manager. +"You know I spoke of tentative plans for a drama down there when we were +in the backwoods. Now I have everything arranged, and we will leave on a +steamer for St. Augustine one week from to-day." + +"Hurrah for Florida!" exclaimed a young actor, with a strikingly +good-looking face. "There's where I've always wanted to go." + +"So have I!" exclaimed a young girl who stood near him,--a girl with +merry, brown eyes. "Will you take me out after oranges, Paul?" she asked, +mischievously. + +"Certainly, Alice," he answered. + +"Why don't you say orange blossoms while you're about it?" inquired +another actress, with a pert manner. + +Alice blushed, and her sister Ruth looked sharply at Miss Laura Dixon, +who had made the rather pointed remark. + +"I'm willing to make it orange blossoms!" laughed the young fellow. "That +is, if they're in season." + +"Ah, stop all this nonsense!" exclaimed Alice. "I want to ask Mr. Pertell +a lot of questions about where we're going, and all that. Oh, to think we +are really going to Florida!" + +"Yes, we are all going," went on Mr. Pertell. "I think--" + +"One moment, if you please!" interrupted a middle-aged actor whose face +seemed to indicate that he lived more on vinegar than on the milk of +human kindness. "We are not _all_ going, if you please, Mr. Pertell." + +"Who is not going, Mr. Sneed, pray?" the manager wanted to know. + +"I, for one. I have gone through many hardships and dangers acting in +moving pictures for you, but I draw the line at Florida." + +"Why, I think it's perfectly lovely there!" exclaimed Miss Pearl +Pennington, a chum of Miss Dixon. + +"Do you call alligators lovely?" asked Mr. Pepper Sneed, who was known as +"the actor with the grouch." He was always finding fault. "Lovely +alligators!" he sneered. "If you want to go to Florida, and be eaten by +an alligator--go. I'll not!" + +Some of the younger members of the company looked rather serious at this. +They had not counted on alligators. + +"Now look here!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell. "That's all nonsense. We are +going where there are no alligators; but I'll pay anyone who is injured +in the slightest by one of the saurians a thousand dollars!" + +"Then I'll go!" cried Mr. Sneed, who was rather "close," and fond of +money. "But I'm not going to stand a very big bite for that sum!" he +stipulated, while the others laughed. + +"I'll grade the payments according to the bites, at the rate of a +thousand dollars a big bite," declared the manager, also laughing. + +"Now then, you may make your plans accordingly. As I said, we leave by +steamer for St. Augustine by way of Jacksonville this day week." + +"And will all the scenes be taken in St. Augustine?" asked one of the +company. + +"No, we shall go into the interior. I expect we may go to a place near +Lake Kissimmee, and there--" + +"Lake Kissimmee!" exclaimed Alice DeVere, in surprise. + +"What about it?" asked Mr. Pertell. "Are you afraid to go there?" + +"No, but two girls whom we met on the train going to Deerfield, when we +were preparing to make the ice and snow dramas, were going to a place +near there. We may meet them." + +"That's so!" agreed Ruth. + +"I hope you will," went on Mr. Pertell. "Lake Kissimmee, however, is only +one of the interior places we shall touch. I will tell you more detailed +plans later." + +"I--ah--er--presume we shall have a little time to--er--see the sights of +St. Augustine; will we not?" asked one of the actors, in affected, +drawling tones. + +"Oh, yes, plenty of time, Mr. Towne," answered Mr. Pertell. Claude Towne +was a new member of the company, rather a "dudish" sort of chap, and not, +as yet, very well liked. He dressed in what he considered the "height of +fashion." + +The week that followed was a busy one for every member of the Comet Film +Company. Not that they were required to do much acting in front of the +camera; for, after the outdoor scenes in connection with the current +play were made, Russ Dalwood, the operator, packed up his belongings +ready for the Florida trip. + +The others were doing the same thing, and Mr. Pertell was kept busy +arranging for transportation, and hotel accommodations, and for the +taking care of such films as he would send back from the interior of +Florida, since none would be developed there. This work would have to be +done, and positives printed for the projecting machines, in New York. +This custom was generally followed when the company went out of town. + +"Well, are we all here?" asked Mr. Pertell one morning as he reached the +steamer, which lay at her dock in New York, ready for the trip to the +land of the palms. + +"I think so," answered Russ, who had with him a small moving picture +camera. He had an idea he might see something that would make a good +film. + +"No one missing?" went on the manager. "That's good. Oh, by the way, did +Mr. Towne arrive? He 'phoned to me that he might be a little late." + +"Yes, he's here," answered Russ. "The last I saw of him he was looking in +a mirror, arranging his necktie." + +"Humph! He's too fond of dress," commented the manager, "but he does well +in certain society parts, and that's why I keep him." + +The confusion of the passengers and late freight coming aboard gradually +grew less. Whistles sounded their bass notes, and gongs clanged. + +"All ashore that's goin' ashore!" came the warning cry, and there was a +hurried departure of those who had come to see friends or relatives off +on the voyage. + +The moving picture company were gathered together in one place on the +deck, and they waved to other members of the company who were not to +make the trip, for Mr. Pertell employed a large number of actors, and +only a comparatively few of them were going to Florida. The others would +continue to work in New York. + +The steamer moved slowly away from the dock, in charge of a fussy tug, +but presently she began forging ahead under her own steam, moving slowly +at first. Soon, however, the vessel was well down the harbor. + +Alice and Ruth DeVere, with Russ Dalwood and Paul Ardite, were standing +amidships, on the port side, looking down into the water. A little in +advance of them stood Mr. Towne and Miss Pennington. The latter had been +much in the new actor's company of late. + +"They seem quite interested in each other," remarked Russ, in a low tone. + +"Yes, they have something in common," added Alice--"a love of good +clothes." + +"I like nice things myself," put in Ruth, straightening a bow she wore. +"You shouldn't say such things, Alice." + +"Oh, but you like them in the right way--so do I, for that matter. But I +don't go to the extremes they do, and neither do you." + +"Hush! They'll hear you," cautioned her sister, for Alice was very +impulsive at times. + +Indeed the dudish actor and Miss Pennington were glancing rather +curiously in the direction of our friends. Then Miss Dixon came along, +whispering something that caused the other to laugh. + +"Fawncy that now! Only fawncy!" exclaimed Mr. Towne, in his exaggerated +English drawl. "That's a good joke--on them!" + +"I wonder if they mean us?" spoke Paul. "If I thought so I'd go ask them +what the joke was, so we could laugh, too." + +"Oh, don't," begged Ruth, who disliked "scenes." + +The mirth of Miss Dixon and Miss Pennington seemed to increase rather +than diminish, and Mr. Towne was now fairly roaring with merriment. He +laughed so hard, in fact, that he coughed, and leaned back against the +rail for support. + +And then something happened. Just how no one could explain, but Mr. Towne +went overboard, his arms and legs wildly waving, and his cane flying far +out into the river. He struck the water with a splash, just as one of the +deckhands yelled: + +"Man overboard!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TO THE RESCUE + + +"Lower a boat!" + +"Throw him a life preserver!" + +"Stop the ship!" + +Wild and excited were the cries that followed the accident. Russ and Paul +were among the first to act, the former getting a life preserver from one +of the racks, while Paul caught up one of the round, white life rings and +tossed it far out toward a commotion in the water that indicated where +Mr. Towne had disappeared. They had to throw the articles toward the +stern of the steamer, as she was in motion, and Mr. Towne was soon some +distance astern. + +"Stop the ship!" repeated scores of voices, when the nature of the +accident was understood. + +Discipline and boat drill were at a high state of perfection aboard the +steamer, and soon, with a warning blast of her whistle, the craft +trembled under the power of her reversed engines. + +"Lower away a boat! Smartly, men!" called one of the officers, as he ran +up to the davits whence hung a life-boat. + +And while preparations are under way to rescue the unfortunate actor, may +I take just a few moments to acquaint my new readers with something of +the former books of this series? + +The initial volume was entitled "The Moving Picture Girls; Or, First +Appearances in Photo Dramas." In that was related how Hosmer DeVere, a +talented actor, suddenly lost his voice, through the return of a former +throat ailment. He was unable to go in his part in a legitimate drama, +and, through the suggestion of Russ Dalwood, who lived in the same +apartment house with the DeVeres, in New York, Mr. DeVere took up moving +picture acting. + +His two daughters, Ruth, aged seventeen, and Alice, aged fifteen, also +became engaged in the work, and later they were instrumental in doing +Russ Dalwood a great service in connection with a valuable patent he had +evolved for a moving picture machine. + +The second volume was called "The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm; Or, +Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays." In that book was told how the +acquaintance was made of Sandy Apgar, who ran a farm in New Jersey. As +Mr. Pertell was looking for some country scenes to use in connection +with his moving picture dramas, he took his entire company out to Oak +Farm, hiring it from the Apgars. + +A curious mystery was solved by the girls, and other members of the +company--a mystery that involved the happiness of the old couple who +owned Oak Farm, but were on the verge of losing it. + +"The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound; Or, The Proof on the Film," was the +title of the third book. As its name indicates, the girls and other +members of the company were really snowbound. After the summer at Oak +Farm, and the fall spent in New York, Mr. Pertell decided to make some +dramas in the backwoods of New England, where there was much snow and +ice. And for a time there was almost too much snow, for Elk Lodge, where +the company of players was housed, was almost buried by a blizzard. + +Before going to the backwoods, Mr. DeVere had been much annoyed, and +alarmed, by an unjust demand, and how a certain illegal suit against an +electric car company was called off, through a discovery made by Ruth and +Alice, you may read of in the book. + +Russ got "the proof on the film" and when this moving picture was shown +privately it caused Dan Merley's lawyer to say: + +"You win! We are beaten!" And Mr. DeVere was at ease after that. + +Many beautiful films were made at Elk Lodge, and some wonderful pictures +of snow and ice scenes resulted from the trip to the backwoods. Then the +company returned to New York, and now we find them _en route_ for +Florida, when the accident to Mr. Towne occurred. + +Mr. DeVere and his two daughters lived in the Fenmore Apartment house, in +New York City. Across the hall lived Mrs. Sarah Dalwood, and her sons, +Russ and Billy, the latter aged about twelve. The Dalwoods and the +DeVeres became very friendly, and Russ thought there never was a girl +like Ruth. Paul Ardite, the younger leading man of the Comet Film +Company, thought the same thing of Alice. + +Frank Pertell was the manager and chief owner of the film company. He had +a large studio in New York, where all indoor scenes of the plays were +enacted, and where the films were made for rental to the various chains +of moving picture theaters throughout the country. + +He engaged many actors and actresses, but only the principal ones with +whom the stories are concerned will be recounted. + +Wellington Bunn and Pepper Sneed were the ones who made the most trouble +for the manager. Mr. Bunn was an former Shakespearean actor. With his +tall hat and frock coat--which costume he was seldom without--Mr. Bunn +was a typical tragedian of the old school. + +Mr. Sneed was different. He had no particular ambition toward stardom, +but he disliked hard work, and he was rather superstitious. Then, too, he +was always looking for trouble and often finding it. In short, he was the +"grouch" of the company. + +Mrs. Margaret Maguire was a motherly member of the troupe. She played +"old woman" parts with real feeling, perhaps the more so as her two +grandchildren, Tommy and Nellie, were dependent upon her. The youngsters +usually went with the company, and were taken on the Florida trip. +Occasionally they acted small parts. + +Carl Switzer was the German comedian, and was a first-rate actor in his +line. His jollity proved an offset to the gloom of Mr. Sneed. + +Pop Snooks, the efficient property man, has already been mentioned. His +work was easier when the company was on the road, as there the natural +scenery was depended on to a great extent. + +Pearl Pennington and Laura Dixon were former vaudeville actresses who had +gone into the "movies." Some said it was because they failed to longer +draw on the stage. Whether or not this was so, it was certain that the +two had very large ideas of their own abilities. They cared little for +Ruth and Alice, and the latter had few interests in common with Miss +Pennington and Miss Dixon. Paul Ardite has been mentioned. With the +exception of Mr. Towne the players had been associated together for some +time. + +But, just at present Mr. Towne was "disassociated" from the others. + +"Oh, can you see him?" cried Ruth, as she clung to Alice. "I--I can't +bear to look!" + +"Of course I can see him!" Alice returned. "He's trying to swim. Oh, he +has grabbed the life ring!" + +"That will keep him up," spoke Paul. "Are they lowering the boat?" + +"There she goes!" cried Russ. "Ha! I've got an idea. I'll film this, and +Mr. Pertell may be able to use it in some drama." + +He hurried to where he had set down the small moving picture camera, and +while the boat was being lowered by the sailors Russ got views of that. + +Then he moved closer to the rail, and took more views as the small craft +was sent away under the force of the sturdy arms of the rowers. + +"This will be great!" Russ cried. + +"Oh, but it seems so cold-blooded!" murmured Ruth. "To take a picture of +a drowning man." + +"I don't think he is drowning," Paul observed. "He has the ring, and that +will keep him up until the boat reaches him. They are almost to him, and +he seems able to swim well." + +"That's good," declared Alice. She had not turned her head away as had +her sister. In fact, in spite of being two years younger than Ruth, Alice +often showed more spirit. She was of an impulsive nature, and Mr. DeVere +used to say she was very like her dead mother. Ruth was tall and fair, +and of a romantic nature. Alice was more practical. + +"There! They've got him!" cried Paul, as the boat came up to the actor in +the water. + +"That's good!" sighed Ruth. "Oh, I was _so_ alarmed. I think I will go +below, Alice, when they bring him on deck." + +"You don't need to," said her sister. "He's probably all right, except +that his fine clothes are spoiled." + +"That's so!" chuckled Russ, who was industriously grinding away at the +handle of the camera. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A DISQUIETING ITEM + + +"Man the falls!" + +This order was given by one of the officers as the boat containing the +rescued actor came close to the ship's side. The sailors stood ready to +hoist the boat to the davits again, when the tackle blocks should have +been made fast by the hooks to the ring bolts at bow and stern. + +"Best chance I ever had to get a rescue picture," remarked Russ, as he +reeled away at the film. + +The young operator even managed to get in a favorable position, and take +views as the blocks were being made fast to the boat. Then, as it was +hoisted up, he pictured that. + +"Is he all right?" asked Mr. Pertell of the sailors in the boat, when the +craft was raised to the level of the rail. + +"Aye, aye, sir," answered the steersman. "Only a bit wet." + +But Mr. Towne was more than a bit wet. He was completely soaked, and a +more bedraggled-looking specimen of humanity would be hard to find. + +"Oh, the poor man!" exclaimed Ruth, who had thought better of her +determination to go below. + +"It's his own fault," snapped Miss Pennington. "He should not have +carried on so." + +"Well, it was partly our fault," interposed Miss Dixon, who was perhaps +more just. "We were laughing with him." + +"Don't go too close!" cautioned Miss Pennington, as she saw her friend +advancing toward the group of sailors, and others who surrounded the +rescue party. They were helping Mr. Towne out of the boat. + +"Why shouldn't I go close?" Laura wanted to know. + +"You might get your dress wet. Mine spots terribly." + +"Oh, so does mine. I forgot; and sea water stains so badly!" + +So the two actresses drew away. + +"There, I guess that will do," remarked Russ, as he saw that there was no +more film left in the camera. "Now, Mr. Pertell, you'll have to get some +story written around these scenes. Add more to them, and you'll have a +good reel." + +"I'll do it, Russ. I'm glad you were here to take them, so long as it did +not turn out seriously." + +"Do you--er--ah--mean to say that you _filmed_ me?" demanded the dudish +actor, who had overheard this colloquy. + +"I got some pictures of you--yes," admitted Russ. "I couldn't resist the +temptation." + +"I demand that those pictures be destroyed!" cried Mr. Towne, who seemed +to have recovered rapidly from his unexpected bath. + +"What for?" asked Mr. Pertell, in surprise. "I haven't seen them, of +course--can't until they're developed, and that won't be for some time. +But I should say the rescue pictures would make a fine film." + +"But I want it burned up. I won't have it shown!" insisted Mr. Towne. + +"Why not?" + +"Do you suppose for one instant--er, ah--that I am going to let the +public see me like this?" and Mr. Towne glanced at his wet and dripping +garments--garments that, but a short time ago, had been a walking +testimonial of the tailor's art. Now they were wet and misshapen. + +"Why, you can't expect a man who has just been rescued from New York Bay +to look as though he came out of a band-box; can you, dear man?" asked +Mr. Pertell. "Of course you look wet--the public will expect to see you +wet--dripping with water, in fact. Water always comes out well in the +movies, anyhow. Of course the public wants to see you wet!" + +"But I don't want them to!" protested the actor. "I have never been shown +in pictures except when I was well dressed, and I do not propose to begin +now. I will pose for you as soon as I get dry clothes on, but not +in--these!" and he made a despairing motion toward his ruined garments. + +"Oh, you are too fussy!" laughed Mr. Pertell. "Those pictures will have +to go. The scene was too good to spoil, as long as you were not drowned." + +"I was in no danger of drowning," returned Mr. Towne, coldly. "I am a +good swimmer. I was taken by surprise, that is all." + +"Well, it made good pictures," declared the manager, indifferently. + +"Too bad I couldn't get you just as you went overboard!" sighed Russ. "I +was taken by surprise, too; but I did the best I could. We can have you +do that part over." + +"Never!" cried Mr. Towne, angrily. "I will never be seen in an +undignified position again, nor in clothes that have not been freshly +pressed," and he stalked away toward his stateroom. + +"I can sympathize with you, my dear fellow," murmured Mr. Bunn, who was +as careful of his dignity, in a way, as was the other. "They have made me +do the most idiotic things in some of the dramas," the older man went on. +"I have had to play fireman, and ride in donkey carts, slide down hill +and all such foolishness--all to the great detriment of my dignity." + +"Yes, this moving picture business is horrid," agreed Mr. Towne, who was +dripping water at every step. "But what is a chap to do? I tried the +other sort of drama--on the stage, you know; but I did not seem to have +the temperament for it." + +"Ah, would that I were back again, treading the boards in my beloved +Shakespeare, instead of in this miserable moving picture acting," sighed +the tragedian. + +The excitement caused by the mishap to Mr. Towne soon subsided. The +steamer got on her way again, once the small boat had been hoisted up, +and several tugs and motor craft that had gathered to give aid, if +needed, went on their courses. + +"Well, that's something for a start," remarked Alice, as she walked the +deck with Ruth. + +"Yes, I knew something would happen," spoke Mr. Sneed, gloomily. "I felt +it coming." + +"How could you?" asked Paul, winking at Russ. + +"Because to-day is Friday. Something always happens on Friday." + +"Yes, we generally have fish for dinner," remarked Russ, with a twinkle +in his eyes. + +"You may laugh," sneered the gloomy actor, "but the day is not over yet. +I am sure that something else will happen. The ship may sink before it +gets to Florida." + +"Oh!" cried Ruth. + +"Don't be silly!" laughed Alice, while Russ gave Mr. Sneed a meaning look +and remarked in a low voice: + +"That's enough of such talk, old man. It gets on the girls' nerves. Why +can't you be cheerful?" + +"I never am--on Friday," grumbled Mr. Sneed. + +"No, and on very few other days," commented Russ, as he went below to +take the film out of his camera in readiness to ship it back to New York +for development. + +Ruth and Alice had done much traveling with their father when he was +engaged in the legitimate drama, for he was with a number of road +companies, that went from place to place. Water journeys were, however, +rather a novelty to them, and now that the excitement of the rescue was +over they went about the ship, looking at the various sights. + +The _Tarsus_ was not a big vessel, but it was a new and substantial craft +engaged in the coast trade. A fairly large passenger list was carried +and, as this was the winter season, many tourists were heading for the +sunny South--the warm beaches of the coast, or the interior where the +palms waved their graceful branches in the orange-scented breezes. + +"How is your throat, Daddy?" asked Ruth, as Mr. DeVere joined his +daughters in a stroll about the deck. + +"Much better, I think," he said. His voice was always hoarse now, totally +unlike the vibrant tones in which he was used to speak his lines. "The +pain seems less. I have hopes that the warm air of Florida may improve, +and even cure it, in connection with the medicine I am taking." + +"Oh, wouldn't that be just great!" cried Alice, as she clasped her arms +about his neck. "Perhaps you could go back to the real theaters then, +Daddy." + +"I might," he replied with a smile at her; "but I do not know that I +would. I am beginning to like this silent 'drama.' It is a rest from the +hard work we old actors used to have to do. There is much less strain. +And if I went back to the legitimate, I would have to take you with me," +he added. + +"Never, Daddy!" cried the younger girl. "I am going to remain with the +'movies'! I would be lost without them." + +"Assuredly, they have been a great blessing to us," observed Ruth, +quietly. "I do not know what we would have done without them, when you +were stricken the second time," and she looked fondly at her father. She +thought of the dark days, not so far back, when troubles seemed +multiplying, when there was no money, and when debts pressed. Now all +seemed sunshine. + +"Yes, it would be a poor return to the movies, to desert them after all +they did for us," agreed Mr. DeVere. "That is, as long as they care for +us--those audiences who sit in the dark and watch us play our little +parts on the lighted canvas. A queer proceeding--very queer. + +"I little dreamed when I first took up the profession immortalized by +Shakespeare, that I would be playing to persons whom I could not see. But +it is certainly a wonderful advance." + +Down the bay, out through the Narrows and so on out to sea passed the +_Tarsus_, carrying the moving picture players. The day was cold, and a +storm threatened, but soon the frigid winter of the North would be left +behind. This was a comforting thought to all, though Alice declared that +she liked cold weather best. + +Mr. Towne came up on deck, again faultlessly attired. His unexpected bath +had not harmed him, in spite of the fact that it was cold, for he had at +once taken warm drinks, and been put to bed, for a time, in hot blankets. + +He could talk of nothing, however, save the fact that he was to be shown +in the wet clothing he so despised. + +"It is a shame!" he declared. "If I could find that film I would destroy +it myself." + +"It is safely put away," laughed Russ. + +The day passed, and evening came. On through the darkness forged the +_Tarsus_, while about her were the flashing beams from lighthouses, or +the bobbing signal lamps from other ships. + +Ruth and Alice were in their stateroom, talking together before retiring. +Alice had that day's paper and was idly glancing over it. She yawned +sleepily, when an item suddenly caught her eye. + +"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed. "That must be dreadful!" + +"What is it?" asked Ruth, who was letting down her long hair. + +"Why here's an item from some place in Florida. It says that two girls +went out in a motor boat, to gather specimens of rare swamp flowers, and +have not been heard of since. It is feared they may have been upset and +drowned, or that alligators attacked them. Oh, how dreadful!" + +"Don't let Mr. Sneed hear about that," cautioned Ruth. "Where in Florida +was it?" + +"The item is dated from Winterhaven, but it says that the girls started +from some place near Lake Kissimmee." + +"Oh!" cried Ruth, pausing with the comb half way through a thick strand +of hair, "suppose it should be those two girls we met?" + +"I don't imagine it could be," reasoned Alice. "They did not look like +girls who would be bold enough to go off after swamp blooms. But think of +the poor girls, whoever they are, out all alone at night, with maybe +alligators around their boat! Oh, I hope we don't have to go too far into +the wilds." + +"We may," remarked Ruth, uneasily, as she reached for the paper to read +for herself the disquieting item. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +FIRE ON BOARD + + +Ruth sat for some moments in silence after she had read in the paper the +short account of the missing girls. She had come to a pause in arranging +her luxuriant hair for the night and, with it only half combed, leaned +back in the small chair the stateroom afforded. Alice was reclining on +her berth. + +"Does it worry you, Ruth?" the younger girl finally asked. + +"A little, yes." Ruth was unusually quiet, and there was a far-away look +in her deep blue eyes. + +"Oh, don't take it so seriously," rallied Alice, in her vivacious way, +though at first she, too, had been affected by what she read. + +"But it is serious." + +"Oh, it may be only one of those 'newspaper yarns,' as Russ calls them." + +"Alice, your language, of late--" + +"There, sister mine! Please don't scold--or lecture. I'm too sleepy," and +she finished with a yawn that showed all her white, even teeth. + +"I'm not scolding, my dear, but you know I must look after you in a way, +and--" + +"Look after yourself, my dear. With your hair down that way, and that +sweet and innocent look on your face, and in your eyes--you are much more +in need of looking after than I. Someone is sure to fall in love with +you, and then--" + +"Alice, if you--" + +"Don't throw that hair brush at me!" and the younger girl covered herself +with a quilt, in simulated fear. "I--I didn't mean it. I'll be good!" and +she shook with laughter. + +Ruth could not but smile, though the serious look did not leave her face. +She was very like her father. The least little matter out of the ordinary +affected him, and usually on the sad, instead of on the "glad" side. He, +like Ruth, was of a romantic type, inclined to anticipate too much. Alice +was more matter of fact, not to say frivolous, though she could be very +sensible at times. + +"Well, I suppose we must go to bed," sighed Ruth at length. "But I'm +afraid I sha'n't sleep." + +"On account of thinking of those girls?" + +"Yes, just imagine them out all alone in some dismal swamp, perhaps, +without a light, hungry--afraid of every sound--" + +"Please stop! You're getting on my nerves." + +"I didn't mean to, my dear," was the gentle answer. + +"I know you didn't, and it was mean of me to talk that way," and a plump, +bare arm stole around the other's neck, while a hand was run through the +golden hair. "But, don't let's think so much about them. Perhaps they are +not those two girls we met, after all." + +"Oh, I don't believe they can be," Ruth agreed. "That would be too much +of a coincidence. But they are two girls--" + +"Not necessarily. Maybe it's only an unfounded rumor. Russ says newspaper +men often 'plant' a story like this off in some obscure place, and then +use it as the basis for one of those lurid stories in the Sunday +supplements. + +"I shouldn't wonder a bit but what this was one of those cases. So, +sister mine, go to sleep in peace, and in the morning you'll have +forgotten all about it. Only don't let's tell any one, for some of the +company, like Mr. Sneed, might make trouble for Mr. Pertell, saying +alligators were there." + +"Well, there are." + +"Perhaps. But who cares? I'd like to get one ordinary-sized 'gator." + +"Why, Alice! What for?" + +"I've always wanted an alligator bag, and I never could afford it. Now's +my chance. But we may never get far enough into the interior for that. By +the way, where did it say those girls started from? I didn't half read +it." + +"From Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee." + +"Well, Mr. Pertell did mention that we might get to the lake, but he +didn't specify Sycamore." + +"No, and now I'm going to try and do as you said, and forget all about +it," and Ruth laid aside the paper and resumed putting up her hair for +the night. + +"I wonder what will happen to-morrow?" mused Alice, as she slipped into +her robe, and thrust her feet into bath slippers. + +"What do you mean?" Ruth's voice was rather muffled, for her hair was +over her face now. + +"I mean Mr. Towne fell in to-day, and--" + +"Gracious, I hope you don't infer that it's someone else's turn +to-morrow!" + +"Hardly!" laughed Alice. "Hand me that cold cream, please, the salt air +has chapped my face. Oh, say, did you notice how much color Laura had on +to-day? If ever there was a 'hand-made' complexion hers was!" + +"You shouldn't say such things!" + +"Why not? When they're true! And such eyes as she made at poor Mr. +Towne!" + +Ruth slipped a rosy palm over her sister's lips, but Alice pulled it +away, and laughingly added: + +"She found that her glances failed to reach Paul, and so she's trying her +'wireless' on--" + +"Alice, you _must_ stop. Someone may hear you!" + +"Can't! Daddy has the stateroom on one side, and Mr. Pertell the other, +and they're both sound sleepers. But I've finished anyhow. You put out +the light," and with a bound, having completed her toilette, Alice was in +her berth. + +Ruth sighed, and then sat again staring off into space. It must have been +some little time, too, for when she turned to look at her sister, Alice +was breathing deeply in sleep. + +"Dear Alice!" murmured Ruth, and she bent over her for a moment, and +kissed her lightly on the cheek--as gently as the fall of a rose petal. +Soon the older sister, too, was asleep. + +In order that there might be no trouble among the members of the moving +picture company over the statement made in the newspaper that perhaps the +two girls had fallen victims to alligators, Ruth, next morning, +carefully cut out the item, and put it away among her things. + +"It may be silly," she said to Alice, "but--" + +"It _is_ silly to imagine anything like that," was the quick retort. + +"But it's best to be on the safe side," finished Ruth, gently. "Mr. Sneed +is so peculiar." + +"I agree with you there, sister mine. Well, you've taken the precautions, +anyhow. My, I'm hungry! I hope breakfast is ready." + +"You are not troubled with _mal-de-mer_, then?" + +"Not a bit of it, and I never was out on the ocean before. It isn't a bit +rough; is it?" + +"Well, we did roll some during the night, but then the sea is calm. Wait +until we get a storm." + +"I do hope one comes!" + +"Alice DeVere!" + +"Well, I mean just a _little_ one, with waves like little hills, instead +mountains." + +The only members of the film company who did not present themselves at +the breakfast table were Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon. + +They breakfasted in their staterooms, but it was noticed that the trays +came out about as well filled as they went in, from which it might be +gathered that they were not altogether free from the toll the sea exacts +from most travelers. + +"My, how charming you look!" observed Paul to Alice as he joined her on +deck, and arranged her steamer chair out of the wind. She had on a new +jacket, and a little toque, the brown fur of which matched her eyes, and +brought out, in contrast, the damask of her cheeks. + +"Thank you," she laughed in retort. "I might say the same of you. That's +a good-looking coat." + +"A little different from the usual, yes. The man said it was imported--" + +"Just as if that made it any better." + +"It doesn't--only different. Where did you get that rug? It's an odd +pattern." + +"My! But the compliments are flying this morning. It's one daddy picked +up somewhere. Isn't the weather glorious?" + +"Now we're on a safe topic," laughed Paul. "Here come Russ and Ruth. My, +but she's stunning!" + +"I'm glad you appreciate her," Alice said. Really, Ruth made a picture, +for she had on a long white cloak, and with a turban trimmed with ermine, +and her fair hair and blue eyes, she looked like some Siberian princess, +if they have princesses there, and I suppose they must. + +The four young people chatted and laughed together, while the _Tarsus_ +plowed on her way. It was a day of idleness, save that Russ took a few +pictures of scenes on shipboard for future use. + +In the afternoon, while Ruth and Alice were reclining luxuriously in +their steamer chairs, they observed one of the officers come up from +below, and run toward the bridge. There was something in his manner that +startled Alice, and she sat up suddenly, exclaiming: + +"I hope nothing has happened!" + +"Happened? Why should it? What do you mean?" asked Ruth. But immediately +a look of fear came into her own eyes--a look born of suggestion merely. + +"Oh, I don't know," and Alice tried to laugh, but it did not ring true. +"It was just a notion--" + +She did not finish, for another officer came on the run from forward, and +he, too, sought the bridge. Then the two girls saw curling up from one of +the hatchways on the lower forward deck, a little wisp of smoke, and +immediately afterward there sounded through the ship the clanging of +bells. + +"What's that?" cried Ruth, casting aside her rug, and struggling to her +feet, no easy matter from a steamer chair. "What's that?" + +"Some alarm," said Alice, faintly. + +Paul came running toward them. + +"Oh, what is it?" gasped Ruth, impulsively clasping him by the arm. + +"Don't be frightened," said Paul, but Alice noticed that his lips +trembled a little. "It's only a--fire drill." + +As he spoke there was an outpouring of sailors from many places, and +lines of hose were reeled out. + +The wisp of smoke from the forward hatchway had increased now, though the +hatch cover was on. + +Up on the bridge the girls could see the captain leaving his post in +charge of one of the officers. The ship, too, seemed to be turning about. + +"Are you sure it is only fire--_drill_?" asked Alice. + +"Why, that's what a sailor told me," answered Paul, slowly. + +"Look," said Alice, and she pointed to the curling smoke. + +More clanging bells resounded, and more lines of hose were run out. There +was no doubt, now, that the _Tarsus_ was making a complete turn. + +Then, as the captain and one officer left the bridge there rang out the +cry: + +"Fire! Fire! The ship's on fire! Lower the boats!" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +DISABLED + + +Panics start so easily, especially at the mere mention of the word +"fire," that it is no wonder there was at once an incipient one aboard +the _Tarsus_. But the captain, who was a veteran, acted promptly and +efficiently. + +Some of the sailors had made a rush for the boats, but the captain, +coming down from the bridge on the run, flung himself in front of the +excited men. He pushed one or two of them aside so violently that they +fell to the deck. Then the commander, in a voice that rang out above the +startled calls, cried out: + +"Get back, you cowards! If we do take to the boats it will be women and +children first! But we're not going to! Stop that noise!" + +His hand went, with an unmistakable gesture, to his pocket. Perhaps he +was about to draw a weapon, but there was no need. + +His ringing words, the lash of "coward," that cut like a knife, and his +bearing, had an immediate effect. + +"Stop those shouts of 'fire!'" he cried, and the excited men and women +became quiet. + +"Now get back to your places--every one of you!" he ordered the sailors. +"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, to leave your mates to answer the +fire call alone," and he pointed to where a number of hands were about +the hatchway, from which smoke was still coming. But the wind was taking +it away from the ship now, which was the reason why the vessel had been +turned around. + +"Get to your quarters!" the captain commanded, and the men slunk away. +The danger of a panic was over--at least for the time. + +Ruth and Alice stood where they had risen from their steamer chairs, +their hands clasped, and Alice had thrust her rosy palm into the broad +one of Paul. He held it reassuringly. + +"Oh, what shall we do?" murmured Ruth. + +"There isn't another ship in sight," added Alice, as she looked about the +horizon. + +"We can call one soon enough," said Paul. "They'll start the wireless if +they have to." + +Mr. DeVere came hurrying up, his eyes searching about for his daughters. +A look of relief came over his face as he saw them. + +"You had better go below, and get what things you can save while there +is time," he said, hoarsely. "We may have to take to the boats any +minute." + +"Listen, the captain is going to say something," warned Paul. + +Nearly all the passengers were now gathered on deck, as were most of the +sailors, but the latter were engaged in fighting the fire through the +forward hatchway. Those who were not needed at that particular place were +at the other fire stations, in readiness for any emergency. + +The _Tarsus_ now lay motionless on the ocean, rolling to and fro slowly +under the influence of a gentle swell. There was scarcely any wind, and +the smoke, which had constantly grown thicker and blacker, even with the +efforts made to subdue the flames, arose in a straight pillar of cloud. + +"There is no danger!" began the captain, and there were a few murmurs at +these rather trite words under the circumstances. + +"I mean just what I say!" went on the commander, and there was no +mistaking his sincerity. "There is no danger--at present," he continued. +"There is a slight fire among the cargo in one of the small forward +holds. But it is cut off from the rest of the ship by fire-proof doors, +and we are flooding that compartment. The fire will be out shortly, I +expect. + +"So there is absolutely no need of taking to the boats. Later on, if +there should be, I will give you ample warning, and I might add that we +carry a sufficient complement of boats and life rafts to accommodate all. +And should we take to the boats, the weather is in our favor. So you see +you should not worry." + +"But suppose we have to take to the boats at night?" asked Mr. Sneed, who +seemed to have the faculty for hitting on the most unhappy aspect of any +situation. + +"The fire cannot possibly get beyond control before morning, even if it +is not put out," the captain replied. "So there will be no need of boats +in the night. Even if there were, we have powerful searchlights, and each +boat carries her own storage battery lighting plant. Now, please be +reasonable." + +His words had a calming effect, and those who had rushed up to take to +the boats now began to disperse. + +Russ, who had come on deck with Mr. DeVere, was seen talking to Mr. +Pertell. As the two advanced toward Ruth and Alice the girls heard Russ +saying: + +"I'm going to make moving pictures of the fire scenes." + +"A good idea!" commented Mr. Pertell. "If the captain will let you." + +"I'll ask him." + +Captain Falcon, after a moment of consideration, agreed that the young +operator might take views showing the fire-fighters at work. + +"I wish I had had it going when they made that rush for the boat, +though," Russ said. + +"I am glad you did not," returned the captain, gravely. "I would not have +an audience see what cowards some of my men were to so far forget +themselves. That is better forgotten. Doubtless they were mad with fear. +But I am glad you did not get that picture." + +Russ, however, might be pardoned for still wishing he had it, for he had +the true instinct of a moving picture operator--he wanted to get +everything possible. + +He now set up his camera in different parts of the ship, and made a +number of separate views. The black smoke would come out particularly +well on the film, he knew. + +The men were shown at their various stations, and of those at the +hatchway where the smoke came up, several different views were made. +Captain Falcon was also shown, directing the fire-fighting. + +In order to cut off the draft from the fire the hatchway had been covered +with heavy tarpaulins, the hose being put through holes cut in them. + +There was some relaxation of the tension following the captain's little +speech, but even yet there were serious faces among the passengers, as +the volume of smoke seemed to grow instead of diminish. Captain Falcon, +too, was observed to be laboring under a strain. + +"I wonder if it is true--as he says--that there is no danger?" observed +Alice, as she, Paul and Ruth walked about uneasily, pausing now and then +to observe the men at work. + +"Oh, I think so," answered Paul, quickly. "He would have no object in +deceiving us, and let matters go so long that it would be necessary to +take a risk in getting to the boats. If he did that he might be censured +by the owners. I think he really believes there is no danger. And when he +thinks otherwise he will give us ample warning." + +"Let us hope so," murmured Mr. DeVere. "Fire is a terrible +element--terrible, and at sea there is nothing more awful! I trust we may +be spared from it." + +"Let's go see if the wireless is working," suggested Ruth. "It will take +our minds off the fire to know that help is being called for--and perhaps +on the way." + +"Yes, it is working," announced Alice, as they drew near the quarters +occupied by the wireless operator and heard the spiteful snapping of the +notched wheel of the spark-gap apparatus. + +They looked in and saw the operator with the telephone receivers on his +ears, while with nervous fingers he pressed the key that made and broke +the circuit, thus sending out from the wire aerials between the masts the +dots and dashes that, flying through the air, were received on other +aerials and translated from meaningless clicks into words fraught with +meaning. + +"I must get a picture of that, too," observed Russ, as he came up behind +Paul, Ruth and Alice. "May I?" he asked of the captain, who, at that +moment came to give an order. + +"Yes," nodded the commander. And while the vivid blue spark shot from the +revolving wheel to the connection, where it was made and interrupted as +the operator pressed the key, or allowed it to spring up, Russ made a +short film. The young man who was sending a message looked up as he +finished and smiled at the group observing him. + +"I got that smile, too," Russ informed him. + +"Did you get any reply?" asked Captain Falcon, as the operator removed +the receivers in order to hear the commander's question. + +"The _Bell_, of the Downing Line, is within fifty miles of us," the +operator replied. "She can come up when we need her." + +"I don't think we shall," the captain said. "But kindly ask her to stand +by during the night." + +"Then the fire isn't altogether under control?" asked Paul. + +"Not as much so as I would like to see it," answered the commander, +frankly. "But we are keeping at it." + +He wrote out the message he wished sent to the _Bell_, and then the +little audience gathered again at the door of the wireless room to watch +the operator at work. + +Russ made films as long as the daylight lasted, but finally the coming of +night forced him to stop, and he put away his camera. + +The fighting of the fire still went on, though little of it could be +observed now. There were no flames to be seen, but doubtless, down in the +hold, where the cargo burned, there were angry, red tongues of fire. But +the compartment was kept closed. It was now nearly full of water, the +captain reported, and the fire must soon be extinguished. + +"Unless it has crept to another compartment," ventured Mr. Sneed. + +"Hush! Don't let anyone hear you say such things!" cried Russ, +indignantly. + +Dinner was not a very cheerful meal, but all managed to eat something. +And the night was an uneasy one. What sleep there was came only in +catnaps, for there was the constant noise of the pumps, and the running +about of the sailors on the decks. + +The _Tarsus_ was still motionless, save only as she rolled with the sea, +which was still calm. Captain Falcon found that to proceed would be to +drive the smoke aft into the cabins, and he did not want to do this. So +he had the main engines shut down. + +Through the night the fire was fought, and in the morning it was a gray +and haggard captain who faced the anxious group of passengers gathered in +the main saloon. + +"What is the report?" asked Mr. Pertell. + +"Not very encouraging," was the answer. "We are now disabled, and the +fire is still burning." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BY WIRELESS + + +For a moment no one spoke, after the portentous words of Captain Falcon. +Men and women looked at each other. The members of the moving picture +company glanced from face to face. What would come next? + +"Does this mean--does it indicate that we are to take to the boats?" +asked Mr. DeVere, solemnly. + +"Not necessarily," the captain replied. "I have come to put the matter +plainly to you. The fire gained, in the night, and it reached the engine +room compartment. We are, therefore, temporarily disabled, and cannot +proceed, as we could have done had not this occurred. For we had the +first blaze out. + +"Now, those who wish will be put into life boats, with such of their +belongings as it is practicable to take with them." + +"What is the other alternative?" asked Mr. Pertell, as the captain +paused, thus indicating that he had another proposition to make. + +"The second question is--Will you wait for the _Bell_ to come up? She is +within about fifty miles of us, I should judge, and can reach us inside +of three hours." + +"In the meanwhile--the fire may gain?" suggested Mr. Sneed in gloomy +tones. + +"It may--yes. It probably will, if it reaches the coal bunkers. That is +what I am afraid of, and why I speak thus plainly." + +"Then I'm going to take to a boat!" exclaimed the "grouch." + +"So will I!" put in Mr. Bunn. + +"Wait," advised Mr. Pertell. "If possible I wish to keep all the members +of my company together. I have not the fear that some of you have. I +trust Captain Falcon." + +"Thank you!" exclaimed the commander, evidently greatly pleased with this +mark of confidence. "At the same time I stand ready to lower boats for +those who may wish it. The sea is comparatively calm, and you will have +to use boats anyhow, if you are taken off by the _Bell_." + +"Must that be done?" asked Alice, in a low voice. + +"If we cannot subdue the fire, I am afraid so, Miss DeVere," answered +the captain. "But there is no danger in that. It is often done." + +"Then I say, let's wait for the other vessel," decided Mr. DeVere. "There +may finally be no necessity for leaving our own ship, I take it?" he +asked. + +"There may--it's a chance." + +"Then let's take it!" cried Russ. "How will you summon the _Bell_?" + +"By wireless. I was only waiting for your decision to write out the +message. She has been expecting a call from us, but she has probably +drifted farther off than she was last evening. I will summon her." + +A little later the wireless began crackling out its call to the unseen +_Bell_, and preparations were made to lower away the boats promptly, in +case the fire should suddenly gain greater headway. Then there was +nothing to do but wait, and fight the flames. + +"I insist, though, on being put in a boat!" cried Mr. Sneed. "I want to +get off this dangerous ship." + +"I do, too!" exclaimed Mr. Bunn. + +"I advise you both to stick to this ship," spoke Mr. Pertell, seriously. + +"Never!" cried the grouch, and the former Shakespearean actor echoed the +word. + +"Let them go," decided Captain Falcon, in a low voice to the moving +picture manager. "I can send them away in a boat, with some sailors, and +tell my men to row slowly, so as not to take them too far away from us. +Then, when the _Bell_ comes up, they can go aboard her, if our fire is +not out by then. Let them go." + +"All right," agreed Mr. Pertell, and orders were given to lower a boat. +Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed got together what belongings they could, and +entered it. + +"I must get a moving picture of this!" cried Russ. + +"Do!" said Mr. Pertell. + +"I forbid it!" exclaimed Mr. Sneed. Perhaps he did not want to be shown +deserting the ship and the company. + +But Russ brought out his camera, and soon the film was moving, as the +boat was lowered to the surface of the sea. Then it was soon pulling away +from the _Tarsus_, and Russ got those views too. + +"Wait! Wait for me!" cried a voice, and up on deck came Mr. Towne. He had +a valise in each hand, which probably contained his best suits. "Wait!" +he cried. "I want to be saved, too." + +"There's no danger; you'll be saved more by staying here than by going +with them," said Mr. Pertell. "Besides, you might soil your clothing if +you went in the small boat. Another ship is coming for us." + +"Oh--er--I certainly would not like to spoil any of my suits--the one I +fell overboard in is almost ruined. I--er--I ah--shall stay!" and he went +below again. + +The wireless was still crackling out its call for aid, and soon an answer +was received, saying that the _Bell_ was on her way. + +"She's coming!" cried the operator, as he gave the dispatch to the +captain. Russ, who had enough of the pictures of Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed +leaving in the boat, filmed the captain in the act of receiving this +message of good cheer. Later it was worked into a stirring drama, called +"The Burning Ship." + +With all else that was going on, the work of fighting the blaze in the +hold was not for a moment given up. Water and live steam were turned in +among the cargo, the pumping apparatus fortunately not having been +disabled when the rest of the machinery went out of commission. + +Russ made more moving pictures, since he now had a good light, and as the +fire-fighting was in another part of the ship it made a different series +of views. + +"Oh, isn't this the most awful thing you ever saw, or heard of?" cried +Miss Pennington, coming on deck where Ruth and Alice stood. "Fate seems +to be against us at every turn!" + +She was very pale, and looked wretched, as did her chum Miss Dixon. + +"I guess they didn't take time to make up their complexions," whispered +Alice. + +"Hush!" cautioned her sister. + +"I could cry!" declared Miss Dixon. "I never slept a wink all night." She +looked it, too. + +"Oh, we'll be all right," said Paul. "The other ship is coming for us, +and if necessary we can be transferred to her." + +"Will we have to go in one of the small boats, like that?" Miss +Pennington wanted to know, as she pointed to the one in which were Mr. +Bunn and Mr. Sneed, some distance off, now. + +"That's the only kind they have on board," said Mr. DeVere, who had +shortly before joined his daughters. + +"Oh, I never could go in one of those--never!" the former vaudeville +actress cried, tragically. + +"Ha! Dose is goot boats! I in der German nafy vos," put in Mr. Switzer, +"und dey are fery safe." + +"Oh, but they look so small, and they hold so little. How can one get +enough to eat in them?" asked Miss Dixon, clasping her hands, and +looking with her rather effective eyes, first at Mr. Towne, and then at +Paul. + +"Ha! You dakes along vot you eat!" exclaimed the German. "Pretzels iss +fine! Haf one!" and he extended a handful of small ones. Since the +company had been snowbound he had always a few in his pocket. He called +them his "mascots." + +"No, thank you. I never eat them!" declared Miss Dixon, with turned-up +nose. + +"Let's go see if there is any further report by wireless from the +_Bell_," suggested Ruth, who saw kindling wrath in the eyes of her +sister. Alice never could get along well with the two actresses, and she +was very likely to say something that might lead to a quarrel. + +"I'll come along," said Paul. + +"So will I," echoed Mr. Towne. In spite of his affected mannerisms, he +could be "nice," at times. It was Ruth who had said this, but then Ruth +had such a kind heart that she generally found a good quality in nearly +everyone, whatever their failings. + +"Yes, she's coming on at full speed," reported the wireless operator. +"She'll be with us in about an hour, now. And I guess it's time, too," he +added in a low voice. + +"Why?" asked Russ, when the girls had passed on. + +"Because I believe the fire is gaining. I think it's in one of the coal +bunkers now, and that means it will burn steadily, and may eat through +the side of the ship." + +The operator turned to his apparatus, for he had been told to keep in +constant communication with the oncoming rescue ship. + +As Paul rejoined the girls, there sounded through the _Tarsus_ a dull +explosion, that made the ship tremble. + +The commander was hurrying along the deck. Many of the passengers, who +had gone below to pack their belongings in anticipation of being +transferred, now came rushing out of their staterooms. + +"What was it?" + +"Are we going to blow up?" + +"Is the ship sinking?" + +"Don't be alarmed!" Captain Falcon exhorted them, but, even as he spoke, +there came a second dull rumbling, a trembling of the vessel, and another +explosion, louder than the first. There were screams from frightened +women and children, and a number of men passengers made a rush for the +boats, as the sailors had done before. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +IN PORT + + +"Stand back!" cried Captain Falcon, and again his hand went to his pocket +as though to draw a weapon. "Stand back! The same rule applies to you men +passengers as to the sailors. Women and children first! Do you hear? +Stand back!" + +The rush was halted almost before it started. Then Mr. Switzer, who had +taken no part in it, said slowly: + +"Dot is right. Gentlemen, ve are forgetting ourselves!" + +"And it took him--above everyone else--to remind them of it," said Mr. +DeVere in a low voice. He had remained by the side of his daughters. + +"Mr. Switzer is a bigger man than any of us thought," murmured Ruth. "Oh, +Daddy, is the boat going to sink?" + +"We are going to be blown up!" exclaimed a big man, who, with others, had +made a half start for the boat, and then had hung back shamefacedly. + +"If you say that again!" cried Paul, in a fierce whisper, "I'll throw you +overboard! This is no time to start a panic!" + +The man slunk away. There came another explosion, not so loud as the +first, but enough to cause the men to start involuntarily, and to bring +frantic screams from the women passengers. + +"What is that, Captain?" asked Mr. Pertell. + +"Nothing to be alarmed about," was the calm answer. + +"They sound alarming enough," declared a woman. + +"But they are not," the commander insisted. "They are only slight +explosions of coal gas in some of the bunkers. The fire is slowly eating +into them but the explosions are not heavy enough to cause any serious +damage to the ship. + +"The _Bell_ will soon be up to us. In fact, we could see her now, were it +not for the slight haze. And, as it is evident that you will have to be +taken off in her, I am going to lower the boats, and let you row away +from this ship. + +"You will be picked up by the _Bell_ as soon as she gets here, and, in +any event, you would have to take to the small boats. So you might as +well start. I will have all your baggage brought on deck ready for +transfer," he added to the moving picture manager. + +"Very good," assented Mr. Pertell. "I am sorry this has occurred, but +perhaps it is best that we leave the ship." + +"It will be better for your peace of mind, though really I think we can +conquer the fire," the captain went on. "But we are disabled, and may not +be able to proceed for some time." + +"What are you going to do when we are gone?" asked Alice, who, with Ruth, +had recovered some of her equanimity by this time. "Are you coming with +us, Captain Falcon--you and your sailors?" + +"I am going to stick by the ship!" he answered, and there was a proud +ring in his voice. "I believe I can save her, and then we'll make +repairs, and get to port under our own steam. I want to save the owners +salvage, if I can." + +"There speaks a brave man," murmured Mr. DeVere. "And there are many such +unknown, who are going down the sea in ships every day. A brave man!" + +"Man the falls!" ordered Captain Falcon to those sailors who were not +engaged in fighting the fire. "Man the falls, and stand by to lower the +boats!" + +"Oh, must we really go in those little things?" cried Miss Pennington, as +she heard this. + +"Certainly," answered Russ, who was near her. "You wouldn't expect to +swim; would you?" + +"Horrid thing!" snapped the actress. "Come, Laura. Don't leave me. I'm so +frightened!" + +"So am I," declared her companion. "It's awful!" + +"Their fright hasn't made them pale, at any rate," whispered Alice. +"They've taken on color, lately." + +"Oh, my dear, you mustn't say such things," chided Ruth. + +The work of getting the passengers and their baggage into the boats was +soon under way. There was some confusion, not a little evidence of fright +on the part of many, and some tears. But among the bravest were little +Tommie and Nellie. They thought it all a lark, and probably, in their +case, it was the bliss of ignorance. + +Russ, who had been standing near Ruth and Alice, suddenly started for his +stateroom. + +"Where are you going?" asked Ruth, as the call came for them to take +their places in a boat. + +"For my moving picture camera! I'm going to get views of this. It's too +good to miss!" + +"It seems so--so--" began Ruth, but Alice interrupted with: + +"Why shouldn't he get the film? There is really no danger of death, and +it is a chance that he may never have again. A film like this could be +worked into a great play!" + +"Spoken like a real artist of the movies!" cried Mr. Pertell. "Go ahead, +Russ. Get all you can; but don't take any chances." + +Then the young operator busied himself with making a film that was +afterward said to be one of the best in the world showing a rescue from a +burning ship. And the beauty of it was that it was real. There was no +posing, and the ship was not an old hulk chartered for the occasion, and +set fire to, as has been done more than once. + +As the women and children were first helped to the boats, and the craft +then carefully lowered to the sea, Russ took picture after picture. +Fortunately the sea and weather were both calm, and, after the first +little fright, no one made any disturbance. + +The boat containing Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed had returned part way to the +ship, the sailors having heard the explosions, and desiring to aid in the +work of saving the passengers if there was any need, for their craft +could hold many more. + +But there was no need. There was ample room in the other boats, and, as +Captain Falcon had said, the explosions were really of little moment--at +least, for the present. + +Boat after boat was loaded and lowered away, and not an accident marred +the work. True, Mrs. Maguire, in her anxiety to see that Nellie and Tommy +were safe, nearly fell overboard, but a burly sailor caught her just in +time. + +"How are you coming on, Russ?" asked Mr. Pertell who, with Pop Snooks, +was seeing to the bringing up of the baggage, and the other property of +the moving picture company. + +"Fine," answered the young operator. "This will be a great film!" + +"Glad to hear it! It will be our turn soon." + +"I'm going to stick till the last boat. I want to get all the views I +can." + +Russ spoke simply, but he well knew the danger he ran in remaining until +the last boat was sent away. The ship might be in no real danger; even as +Captain Falcon had said; but, on the other hand, the fire might have +spread more than the commander realized. But Russ, like many another +picture operator, was not afraid to do his duty as he saw it, even in the +face of danger. + +Suddenly a great shout arose. + +"Wonder what's happened now?" remarked Mr. Pertell. He knew a moment +later, for the shout took to itself words: + +"The ship!" + +"The rescue ship!" + +"There comes the _Bell_!" + +Sweeping up through the mist came the ship that had responded to the +wireless calls for aid. On she came at full speed, and when she caught +sight of the _Tarsus_ she sent out a reassuring blast from her great +whistle. It was answered in kind. + +"Now you're all right!" cried Captain Falcon over the side, to those in +the small boats. "Row the passengers over to her," he ordered the +sailors, "and then come back to your ship!" + +"Aye, aye, sir!" was the answer. And be it said to the credit of those +sailors that not one of them shirked, or tried to desert, which might +have been easily forgiven in the face of the danger. + +"I've got to get a picture of her!" cried Russ, as he focused the camera +on the oncoming ship. And a fine picture he obtained. + +"Oh, now we're all right, Daddy!" cried Ruth, as she nestled close to her +father. Mr. DeVere had been allowed to go in the boat with his daughters, +as there was plenty of room, and all the other women had been provided +for. + +"I wasn't worrying," declared Alice. + +"Oh yes, it's easy to say that now," sighed Ruth. "But I'm sorry for poor +Captain Falcon." + +"He is a brave man," said Mr. DeVere, again. + +The _Bell_ came as close as was safe, and a little later the small boats +rowed to her accommodation ladder, which had been lowered. Then began the +risky work of getting from the small boats to this ladder, and so aboard +the _Bell_. For there was now a little sea on, and the boats rose and +fell to a considerable degree. + +But the sailors were skillful, and soon all the passengers and baggage +were transferred. Russ was the last to leave the _Tarsus_, and the last +to go aboard the _Bell_, for he wanted every view he could get. + +He was received with a cheer, given not only by his friends, but by the +passengers and crew of the _Bell_. + +For Mr. Pertell had told of the devotion to duty of the young operator, +and his act was duly appreciated. + +Back to the burning vessel--perhaps, for all they knew, back to their +doom--rowed the sailors of the _Tarsus_. The chief mate of the _Bell_, at +the request of his commander, went to consult with Captain Falcon. On +returning, the mate reported that Captain Falcon felt he could get the +fire under control, and also make repairs to enable him to get his ship +to port. + +"Then we will proceed," said Captain Blackstone, of the _Bell_. He gave +the signal to go ahead, and soon the ill-fated _Tarsus_, with the smoke +pall hanging about her, was left behind. + +But it is a pleasure to record that, after a hard fight, Captain Falcon +and his men did subdue the flames, and, after harder work, temporary +repairs enabled them to limp into port. Thus the commander saved his +ship, and also avoided the payment, on the part of the owners, of heavy +salvage. Later he was suitably rewarded by his superiors. + +"Oh, but what an experience!" lamented Miss Pennington, as she sank into +a steamer chair after the rescue. "I wonder what sort of a stateroom +we'll have here, Laura?" + +"They'll be lucky if they get even a berth," grumbled Paul. For the +_Bell_ carried a number of passengers, and the addition of those from the +_Tarsus_ rather crowded her. + +But accommodations were found for all, though the quarters were rather +cramped. The _Bell_ was bound direct for St. Augustine, and in due +season, and without further mishap, the moving picture company reached +that oldest city in the United States. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ST. AUGUSTINE + + +"Oh, isn't it beautiful!" + +"The most gorgeous place I ever saw!" + +Alice and Ruth were standing in the doorway of the hotel to which the +moving picture company had been taken. They were looking out into the +ladies' court--into a sun-lit and palm-girded garden, wherein a fountain +played, the water falling with a musical tinkling. + +Birds flitted here and there amid the bright flowers, but to the moving +picture girls the palms seemed the most wonderful of all. Such palms! + +"I never realized that the great Creator could make anything so +beautiful," murmured Ruth, reverently. "And, Oh! Alice; to think that +_we_ can enjoy it!" + +"Yes, isn't it wonderful, after all the storm and stress of the fire, to +be in this lovely, calm place?" + +"And the best part of it is that we're getting _paid_ for it!" observed a +voice behind the two girls. They turned, with a start, for they had lost +themselves in a dreaming reverie, to find Russ and Paul smiling at them. +It was Paul who spoke. + +"It does seem a shame to take the money under these circumstances," added +Russ, with a laugh. + +"It's like a vacation," agreed Alice. "Oh, but isn't it just--just too--" + +She was evidently searching for a fitting simile. + +"Alice," warned Ruth, gently. She was endeavoring to wean her sister from +the habit of using slang expressions; but Alice always boasted that she +liked to take "short cuts," and that slang--that is, her refined +variety--offered the best method of accomplishing this very desirable +object. + +"Oh, I was only just going to say--scrumptious!" laughed the younger +girl. "You don't mind that; do you, sister mine? This is really the most +scrumptiously scrumptious place I've ever seen!" + +"I'm afraid you're hopeless," was the smiling retort. + +"Well, it's certainly swell--that's my word for it," answered Russ, with +a frank laugh. + +Indeed, Mr. Pertell had not spared expense in taking out his moving +picture company. And he had a method in going to one of the largest and +finest hotels in St. Augustine. He intended to stage some scenes of one +of the Southern plays there, and having his actors and actresses right in +the hotel made it much more practical. + +"Let's take a walk," proposed Russ. "There's nothing to do to-day." + +It was the morning after their arrival and Mr. Pertell was not quite +ready to proceed with making films. The fire aboard the _Tarsus_, and the +necessity of taking another vessel, had rather upset everyone, so a day +or so of rest had been decided upon. + +"Where shall we go?" asked Alice, readily falling in with the proposal. +"You'll come, won't you, Ruth?" + +"I think so--yes." + +"There are lots of places to see," suggested Paul. "This is the oldest +city in the United States. I've got some guide books up in my room, and a +lot of views. We'll pick out some points of interest and visit them." + +"We'll have plenty of chance to see the sights," remarked Russ. "I +understand there are to be a number of films made in the city and +vicinity, so you'll probably have to act out around Fort Marion and at +Fort Mantanzas, as well as in the slave market. I'll be with you in a +minute. I just want to get my little hand camera, to make a few +snap-shots." + +While waiting for him and Paul to return, the girls slipped up to their +room a minute. + +"Just to freshen up," as Alice put it, though really there was no need in +her case, nor on the part of Ruth, either. The day was perfect--like +summer--and the girls, knowing they were coming to the land of the palm +and orange blossom, had brought suitable dresses. + +Ruth wore white, with a mere suggestion of trimming in blue, and with her +fair hair and blue eyes she was a picture that made more than one +man--elderly as well as young--turn for a second look. + +The darker beauty of Alice was well set off by her dress of light tan +pongee with maroon trimming, and her sparkling brown eyes were dancing +with life, and the love of life, as she came out to join her sister and +the young men. + +"Primping, as usual," mocked Russ, but with a laugh that took the sting +out of his words. + +"Naturally," agreed Alice, determined not to let him "fuss" her. + +They strolled out under the beautiful loggia, through an avenue of palms +and many tropical plants, and breathed deeply of the perfumed air. + +"Oh, it is perfect--just perfect!" sighed Ruth. "I think the Garden of +Paradise must have been in Florida." + +"There you go!" cried Alice. "First you know you'll want to go off and +live the simple life under a palm tree, with bananas for lunch and +oranges for dinner. And when your--er--your hero--we'll say, comes riding +on that milk-white steed I so despise, you'll be so thin that he won't +know you." + +"Thank you!" returned her sister. "But a _svelte_ figure is much to be +desired these days." + +"Not that you're getting stout!" declared Alice. "Really it is I who +ought to diet on bananas and--" + +"Orange blossoms," finished Paul. + +"Thanks," and she bowed gracefully to him. + +"Well, Paul, where is it to be--you're the guide?" asked Russ, as they +emerged on King street. "Where's your map?" + +"I have it. What do you say we go out to the old city gates, and then to +Fort Marion?" + +"Wherever you say," agreed Alice. "It is all new to us." + +They soon reached the north bend of St. George street and stood before +the old city gates. These once formed part of the northerly line of +defence of the ancient city. + +"Built in 1743," declaimed Alice, as she read from the bronze tablet set +in the masonry by the D.A.R. "My, how long ago that seems; doesn't it?" + +"A mere trifle!" replied Russ, airily. "Get together there, and I'll snap +you," he invited. "If you think that's old we'll go to the Fountain of +Youth a little later, and renew our youngness." + +"Oh, is that really here?" cried Ruth, with such sudden interest that +they all laughed. + +"Yes, my ancient sister, it is," said Alice. "Dost wish to quaff a cup?" + +"Merely for the novelty of it--yes," answered Ruth, and she too, laughed. +Her cheeks were the color of bridesmaid roses, and Russ, as he looked at +her, wished-- + +But there--What's the use of being mean and telling on a good chap? + +The pictures taken, they strolled on. At Fort Marion, on the banks of the +Mantanzas River, they found much of interest; but agreed to explore it +more in detail at another time. + +"You'll have to be filmed here, anyhow," Russ told the girls. "There's an +important drama, with several scenes, laid here." + +"Are we in it?" asked Ruth. + +"Yes, the whole company; and Mr. Pertell said he'd have to hire some +supers, too." + +By this Russ meant that the manager would have to engage extra persons to +impersonate the unimportant characters in the play, as is often done in +"mob" scenes in the theaters. + +"Now for the orange grove, and then--the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul, +as they came out of the old fort. + +"What a delightful combination!" exclaimed Alice. + +"Youth--and--orange blossoms!" and she clapped her hands, her eyes +shining. + +"Be careful," warned Ruth in a low voice, as the young men went on ahead. + +"Why, sister of mine?" + +"Don't talk so much of orange blossoms." + +"Pooh! I'm not thinking of getting married!" + +"Oh, Alice!" + +"Well, wasn't that what you meant?" + +"Not at all, I only meant--" + +"I don't believe you knew what you did mean. Come on, we'll be lost!" and +she caught Ruth by the arm and hurried on after Russ and Paul. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +IN THE DUNGEON + + +"Oh, if we could only stay here forever!" + +"It would be Paradise!" + +Thus Ruth and Alice exclaimed as they entered the orange grove, a short +distance from the city gates. And indeed the scene that greeted them, and +the sweet odors, might well call for this praise and desire from even the +most _blasé_ tourist. + +Even Russ, grown accustomed by his calling to odd scenes, was impressed +by the wonderful sight, and as for Paul, who had something of the +romantic nature of Ruth, it was a pure delight to him. + +"I wonder if they will take any pictures here?" said Ruth, softly--at +first it seemed as if one must talk in whispers so as not to disturb the +beauty of the place. + +"Oh, I'm going to film you here," announced Russ. "Stand still a moment +and I'll snap you now. There's a pretty place." + +Ruth and Alice assumed graceful poses, and soon their likenesses were +registered on the film. Russ never tired of taking pictures, and when he +was not making moving ones he was using his small hand camera. How many +times he had taken the likeness of Ruth it would be hard to estimate. + +They wandered about the orange grove, and the young men bought some of +the delicious fruit, right from the trees, and fully ripe. It had a +flavor all its own. + +"Let me show you how to eat an orange," suggested one of the men of the +grove, as he saw the young people going about, "in the way it is usually +done when no orange spoons are to be had." + +"Somebody has said," went on the man, "that you need to lean over a +bathtub to eat an orange this way, but it's worth while. You get a little +smeared up doing it; but you can wash in the spring over there," and he +pointed to one amid a pile of stones. + +Then with his keen knife he cut the orange in a peculiar spiral manner, +with the skin left on so that eventually he had a long yellow strip, with +the sections of orange clinging to the yellow rind. + +"Now, all you've got to do is to run your mouth along that strip," he +directed, "and you get all the juice--that is, all you don't miss. It +takes a little practice; but I've got some black boys that can get every +drop. Watch!" + +Rapidly he ate along the extended strip of skin, to which clung the cut +sections of orange. In a moment it was clean. + +"It's an awfully crude way of doing it--but, as long as we're in an +orange grove, let's do as the orange 'grovers' do," laughed Alice. + +"I'm game!" cried Paul. + +"Same here!" put in Russ, and they cut their oranges as the man had done. +The latter then prepared one each for Ruth and Alice, and amid much +laughter--the girls and the young men leaning far over so as not to drip +the juice on their clothes--they finished the delicious fruit. + +"Now bring on your bathtub!" cried Russ. + +"There's the spring," the man said. "There's a basin near it, and it's +clean." + +Laughing over the new way of eating oranges, but voting that it was worth +while, even if it was a bit "smeary," the young folks washed their hands +and faces, and kept on through the grove, growing more and more glad at +every step that they had come to Florida. + +"And now for the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul. + +"I don't feel that I need it, after that delicious orange," laughed Ruth. + +"Indeed, if you get any younger, you'll go back to kindergarten days," +remarked Paul. + +"Thank you. I don't want to be quite as young as that." + +The Fountain of Youth, one of the curiosities of St. Augustine, is on +Myrtle avenue, two blocks north of the orange grove, and the four +laughing young people were soon there. + +"Is this really the fountain Ponce de Leon thought would give eternal +youth?" asked Ruth, half-seriously, as they stood near the little +roofed-over spring. + +"That is the legend," declared Paul. "Of course that's not saying it's +so. But the spring has one peculiar quality." + +"What's that?" asked Russ. + +"The waters rise and fall without any particular cause. Sometimes they +are higher than at others, and none of the other wells, or springs, in +this vicinity do that. So you see it may be miraculous after all." + +"Let's try it," suggested Alice, who was always ready for anything new. + +"Oh, but perhaps it isn't good water," objected Ruth, more cautious. "We +may get typhoid, or something like that." + +"Nonsense!" laughed Alice, but she looked questioningly at Paul. + +"Lots of people drink the water," he said. "Allow me," and he lowered a +small bucket attached to a rope made fast to the roof of the well. + +He drew it up, brimming over, and with a low bow handed some of the water +to Alice, pouring it into a small collapsible cup he happened to have +with him. + +"Drink! And may you never grow old!" he said, and there was more of +meaning in his eyes than in his words. + +"We'll all sample it!" cried Russ, and as Ruth was induced, just for the +fun of the thing, to try some, they heard the murmur of voices behind +them. + +"Save some for us!" was the call, and Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon came +up. + +"We'll all be young together," said Alice. Though she and her sister were +not very chummy with the two former vaudeville actresses, they were not +exactly unfriendly. And who could be unfriendly in that beautiful spot, +and on the reputed site of the Fountain of Youth? + +"The more you drink the younger you get!" bantered Paul, as Miss Dixon +asked him for a second cup. + +"Gracious, then I'll turn into a baby," exclaimed Miss Pennington. "I've +been here once before this morning, and I took several glasses." + +"Back to juvenile rôles for yours!" cried Russ. "Mr. Pertell will have to +look for another leading lady." + +"I haven't noticed any effect yet," she said, as she took out a vanity +box, and surreptitiously used her chamois, leaving a more brilliant tint +on her face. + +"It takes time," went on Russ, half-seriously. "You will awaken in the +morning, crying for a rattle." + +Thus they made merry near the well, with its queer square stones built +into pillars to hold up the roof. + +"Poor Ponce de Leon," sighed Ruth. "How disappointed he must have been +when he found out that his life was slipping away in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I wonder if he really believed he had found it?" + +"He couldn't have--when he came to die," remarked Russ, practically. + +"But it is a pretty story," Ruth said, softly. "Poor Ponce de Leon!" + +"The Indians told him this was the fountain," said Paul, who had been +reading history. "Near this fountain was found a large coquina cross. +The cross was located by the discovery of a silver casque, which +contained documents telling of the matter, and one seems to fix the date +of the first visit of Ponce de Leon to Florida. That was in 1513, +according to the documents found in the casque. + +"Am I boring you?" he asked quickly, for he thought the two former +vaudeville actresses looked as though they wanted to talk of something +else besides dry historical facts. + +"No, indeed!" cried Alice. "I just love to hear about this." + +"Do go on," urged Ruth, and even Miss Pennington condescended to say: + +"It sounds interesting." + +"I'll read you what one of the old documents said," went on Paul. "'As we +bore down upon him we found him to be an Indian, in a skin boat with a +skin sail, running to a point twenty feet in the air, with a bow at the +top. In the boat, which I describe in my descriptive image, I went ashore +with the Indian. We landed near a spring that they call the Fountain of +Youth; there they had a temple built where they worshipped the sun, and +there I built a cross out of coquina, which is a natural formation of the +sea, and I laid it with the rising and setting sun. In the heart of the +cross I placed a descriptive image of myself, and took possession in the +name of our beloved Catholic King.' + +"That's in the document," went on Paul, "and the paper was given to the +United States, through courtesy of the Governor of Sevilla, in 1908." + +"How interesting," murmured Alice. "And to think that we are standing on +such historic ground! Think of the ancient Indians worshipping the sun +here," and she looked up at the flaming orb. + +"The sun is paying altogether too much attention to me!" complained Miss +Pennington, with a laugh. "It will spoil my complexion, in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I must be going." + +"Oh, by the way, Russ," she called back over her shoulder, "Mr. Pertell +was looking for you." + +"Was he?" asked the young operator. "Then I'd better be getting back." + +"I fancy we all had," spoke Ruth. "It must be near lunch time. Come +along, Alice." + +Russ, back at the hotel, found that the manager had decided to make as +the first film one showing some of his players at Fort Marion, and he +wanted Russ to go out there with him and plan the scenario, which would +be undertaken in a day or two. + +The time quickly passed, for it was so lovely in St. Augustine, and +there were so many things to see, that night seemed to follow quickly on +the heels of morning. + +Arrangements having been made, the company one morning went to the old +fort and there Russ filmed many scenes. The play was to be called "The +Spanish Prisoner," the background of the old fort being most effective. + +The players were filmed, going through their various parts on what was +once the drawbridge in front of the portcullis, near the old watchtower +on the stairway that was originally an inclined way, by which artillery +was hauled up to the _terre plein_. + +Ruth and Alice were in many of the scenes, but there came a rest for +Alice who, always interested in matters of antiquity, wandered about the +old fort by herself, Ruth and Mr. DeVere being engaged. + +The girl finally made her way to what had been the old guard room and +dungeon. In the guard room was a table and some chairs, for the fort is +in charge of a detachment from the United States Army, and accommodations +are provided for visitors. + +Alice sat down in one of the chairs, and looked at the big open +fire-place at one end of the guard rooms. She recalled some of its +history that Paul had read to her that morning. + +The dungeon was accidently discovered in 1835 and two iron cages, +containing the skeletons of a man and woman, were found fastened to the +wall. + +"Poor creatures! What a horror it must have been!" thought Alice, as she +looked toward the narrow opening to the black dungeon. + +"Ugh! It's getting on my nerves, staying here!" she exclaimed, for she +was all alone. "I'm going!" + +As she rose she heard a noise near the doorway by which she had entered. +Turning quickly, expecting to see one of the company, she was horrified +to see by the light which entered through a barred window, an aged +colored man facing her. He did not approach, but bowing before her +exclaimed in quavering tones: + +"Den I find yo', my Missie! Old Jake look eberywhere fo' you,' but he +find yo'! I knowed I'd find yo' some day, an' now I has, but it's been a +pow'ful long time, honey! A long time!" and with outstretched hands, as +he took a battered hat from his head, he approached her. Alice screamed +and got behind the table. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MOTOR RACES + + +With wildly beating heart, Alice watched the approach of the colored man, +and then, somehow or other, it came to her in a flash that she need not +fear him. + +His bearing was most deferential, as of some old slave toward a cherished +mistress. His manner was gentle and, after advancing a short distance +toward her, he stopped, bowed again, placed his battered hat over his +heart, and said: + +"I knowed I'd find yo' some day, Missie, an' now I has. Yo' ain't gwine +t' send po' ole Jake away; is yo', Missie?" + +Alice, having repressed the desire to scream, was now more calm and, as +quietly as she could she said: + +"You must go out of here, Jake. Go out, and I will come out, too." + +"Yes'm, Missie, dat's what I'll do," he said. "Ole Jake'll do jest as his +missis says. Oh, but it' pow'ful good t' see you' once mo', Missie!" + +"You must go now," repeated Alice, firmly. + +And, without another word, he turned and shuffled out. But he had no +sooner reached the entrance to the dungeon than Alice, who had remained +behind the table, not knowing whether to go out or not, saw the old +colored man seized by a soldier--one of those detailed at the fort. + +"Here now, Jake!" the soldier exclaimed, "haven't I told you time and +again to keep away from here? You know you haven't any right to come in +this part of the fort!" + +"Yais, sah, Cunnel, I knows it, sah," replied the aged negro, with a low +bow. "But yo' see, I done found mah li'l Missie what I'se been lookin' +fo' so long! Dat's why I come heah!" + +"Great Scott! Have you been bothering some of the women visitors?" cried +the soldier and, wheeling about on his heel, he hurried into the dungeon, +which Alice had just decided to leave. He met her coming out, and by her +agitated manner must have guessed that something had happened. + +"I beg your pardon, Miss," began the soldier, with a salute, "but has old +Jake annoyed you?" + +"Oh, not at all," she answered, as calmly as she could. "He only startled +me for a moment; that is all. I was here alone, foolishly, perhaps--" + +"Oh, no, that's all right," interrupted the soldier. "We want the +visitors to go about as they please, alone or in company. Old Jake's as +harmless as a kitten. He isn't just right up here," he said, touching his +head, and speaking in low tones. + +"I thought as much," responded Alice, with a smile. + +"He's perfectly harmless," went on the soldier, looking out to see the +aged negro shuffling off. "You see, he used to be a slave in some +Southern family," the army man explained. "He was given his freedom, but +never took it, and they say he went insane when his mistress died. He had +taken care of her since she was a baby, and he took it very much to +heart." + +"Poor old man," murmured Alice. + +"Yes, we all like him around here," the soldier continued. "He has a +notion now that his 'little mistress,' as he calls her, is only lost, and +he keeps searching for her. Sometimes he scares the lady visitors, so we +try to keep him out of the lonely parts of the fort. But he must have +slipped in here when no one was watching. I'll give him a good lecture." + +"Oh, please don't be harsh to him!" pleaded Alice. "Really he did +nothing!" + +"But he scared you, Miss." + +"Oh, not much. Only for a second. Then I guessed what his trouble was. +Please say you won't scold him!" she pleaded. + +"Well, I guess I'll have to, if you ask me that way, Miss," said the +soldier with the air and manner of a Southern colonel. "We can't refuse +the ladies anything, you know," and he bowed and smiled in a frank manner +that pleased Alice. + +"Then you won't punish him?" she asked. + +"Punish him? Oh, no, Miss. Old Jake is just like a child. He sort of +lives in the fort. No, I won't do any more than tell him to keep away +from here, for them's the captain's orders, Miss." + +"All right," she answered. "And now I think I had better join my friends. +What a horrible place this is!" she added, with a backward look at the +dungeon. + +"You may well say that, Miss. But it isn't so bad now as it must have +been in the old days. It's a queer world, that men would make such a +place to put a fellow creature in," and with this somewhat philosophical +remark the soldier saluted again, as Alice bade him good-bye. + +"Why, where have you been?" Ruth asked, as sister appeared. "We have been +looking all over for you. Where were you?" + +"In jail!" + +"Jail! Alice, don't joke about such things." + +"No, sister mine, I was only in a deep, dark dismal dungeon, and I had +such a romantic adventure." + +"Oh, do tell us about it!" begged Miss Pennington. + +"Did you meet a handsome prisoner?" asked Miss Dixon. + +"Yes, a regular Othello." + +"Othello? Who speaks of Othello?" interrupted Mr. Bunn. "I have played +him many times!" and he threw back his shoulders, and tried to give +himself the airs he was wont to assume in the theater. + +Alice told her story, minimizing her fright as much as possible. + +"It _was_ romantic," said Ruth, softly, as her sister concluded. "Only, +dear, you musn't go off in any more strange dungeons alone." + +"I won't," was the promise, given readily enough. + +The making of moving pictures was soon over for the day, and the company +returned to the hotel. Some of the members went to their rooms, while the +others sat about in the beautiful tropical garden, listening to the +mingled music of the band and the fountain. + +"Good stunt on for to-morrow," said Russ, coming up behind Ruth, and +taking a chair near her. + +"What is it?" asked Paul, who was with Alice. "Any more fort stuff?" + +"No, but it's out near the fort. Mr. Pertell is arranging for a motor +boat race, with you girls in rival boats. You know there is a speed +course on Mantanzas Bay, and he's hired two of the fast boats. It's going +to be a regular race, for the two fellows who run the boats are real +water rivals. + +"Mr. Pertell has induced them to act the parts for him, and there'll be +some fun. Part of our company is to be in one boat, and part in the +other, and some will be on the fort wall, outside the old moat, watching +the boats come up. It ought to make a dandy picture." + +"I'm sure it will," declared Ruth, who was always interested in the +mechanical end, as well as in the artistic side. Russ had taught her +considerable about the technical part of the business of making moving +pictures. + +"A motor boat race will be simply fine!" Alice exclaimed. "I hope the +boat I am in wins." + +"There's no telling," Russ went on. "As I said, the men who own the boats +are real rivals, so each will do his best to come out ahead. There'll be +no fake about this--if you'll excuse the use of slang," he added. + +That evening, seated in the palm garden, Mr. Pertell explained to his +company something of the plans for the next day, telling of the plot of +the play in which the motor boat race was to figure. + +"That sounds interesting," commented Mr. DeVere. + +"Do those boats go very fast?" inquired Mr. Sneed. + +"Rather--they are two of the fastest boats in the world," answered the +manager. + +"Then there's sure to be an accident," predicted the grouchy actor. "I +think you may count me out of this play, Mr. Pertell. I have had enough +of water stuff." + +"Well, you're due to have a bit more," observed Mr. Pertell, drily. "For +you fall overboard from one of the boats, at the conclusion of the race." + +"I fall overboard!" was the startled exclamation. + +"Yes, and Mr. Bunn dives in after you. You are both good swimmers--you +remember you told me so." + +The use of the dock of the St. Augustine Power Boat Club had been loaned +for the making of the moving picture, and next day, with such of his +company as were to go in the boats, Mr. Pertell went to the float. +Others of the players took their places on the wall of the fort. + +Two cameras were to be used, Russ working one to show the start and +finish of the race, and Pop Snooks the other, to depict the action of the +players not in the boats. + +The motor boats were powerful and handsome craft. The skippers of each +were at the wheel as the players took their places, and each boat carried +a blackened and greasy mechanician, as looking after high-powered motors +was no simple matter. + +"Well, are we all ready?" asked the manager, as he assigned the players +to their places. + +"All ready, sir," answered Mr. DeVere. + +Alice was in one boat, well up in front beside the captain-owner, while +Ruth occupied a similar position in the other craft. + +"You may start, if you please," said the manager, with a nod at Russ and +another at the skippers. + +A moment later the air was filled with the thundering, rattling exhaust +of the motors as the boats swept away from the float. + +The motor race was on. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +TO LAKE KISSIMMEE + + +The staccato explosions of the motor boats, the cheers of the spectators, +of whom there were many; the clicking of the camera operated by Russ, and +the shouts of the picture-players themselves as they went through the +"business" prescribed for this act of the play, made the scene a gay one. + +"This will make a fine film," declared Mr. Pertell, who was in the boat +with Alice, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Sneed and Mr. DeVere. + +"I think so," agreed the latter. "I am glad we came to Florida." + +"Is your throat better?" the manager asked. + +"Indeed yes--much better. That is, it does not pain me, but I still +retain my hoarseness, as you notice." + +"Yes, and I am selfish enough to wish that it will stay with you a little +longer," the manager said. "That is, only so that you will not leave me +and go back to the legitimate," he added, quickly. "For I want you in +moving pictures. I have some other plans when we finish work here, and +you and your daughters will be much needed." + +"I am glad you have such a good opinion of us," murmured the veteran +actor. + +"Where are we going from here?" asked Alice. + +"That's a secret," laughed the manager. "I haven't it all worked out +myself, as yet." + +The boats sped on, the rival skippers striving to gain the lead. The men +in charge of the motors, too, did everything in their power, in the way +of changing the gasoline mixture, or by means of copious oiling, to get +one more revolution out of their engines. But the boats seemed very +evenly matched. A big wave was thrown up on either bow of each boat. + +Russ, after getting pictures of the start, had gone with his camera, by a +short cut, to a little promontory on shore, where he got other views of +the boats racing through the water. Then he went farther on and, getting +into another motor boat, took his place near the finish line, to film the +end of the race. + +"Oh, I do hope we win!" exclaimed Alice, to her captain. + +"I'm going to do my best," he answered, grimly, as he glanced across to +where the other boat was forging through the water. + +And in her boat Ruth was saying the same thing. + +Each skipper had been holding something in reserve in the way of power, +and now the mechanicians were signalled to use this. + +The boats were nearing the finish line now, for the race, for the purpose +of the moving pictures, was only a short one. + +But, as it happened, the captain of the boat Alice was in, got his signal +a little ahead of his rival, so that he shot forward, and thus gained an +advantage the other motor boat could not cut down. + +"Oh, we're going to win!" cried Alice in delight, clapping her hands as +she saw Russ, in his boat at the finish line, operating his camera. +"We're going to win!" + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, who, with Ruth, were in the other boat, +looked glum. As for Ruth she was of that gentle nature which is willing +to lose, that others may enjoy even a brief pleasure, and she rejoiced in +the delight of her sister. + +"Well, I guess he's got me!" regretfully admitted the captain of the +losing boat. "He was a little too quick for me." + +And so it proved, for the boat containing Alice shot across the line a +winner. + +"I knew we'd do it!" she cried. + +"Good for you!" shouted Russ. + +"It's time for you to fall overboard now, Mr. Sneed," directed the +manager. "Make a good fall, and put plenty of splash into it." + +"Oh dear!" groaned the actor. "I suppose I must!" + +In anticipation of this he had donned an old suit of clothes, as had Mr. +Bunn, and the latter, for one of very few times, did not wear his tall +hat. + +"Be ready with your rescue leap," ordered Mr. Pertell to the older actor. +"Make it as natural as you can." + +The boats had now lost headway, and were coming to a point where Russ +could get pictures of the "overboard act." + +"I say!" cried Mr. Sneed, as he paused in his preparations to fall, "I +have just thought of something!" + +"What is it?" asked Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Quick, we are losing time, and +getting out of position." + +"There are no alligators in this bay; are there?" and Mr. Sneed looked +anxiously at the captain of the motor boat. + +"Not one," was the laughing answer. "You're safe." + +"Then here I go!" cried the grouch, as he toppled overboard, having first +"registered" a faint, as directed in the plot of the play. + +"Now get him, Mr. Bunn!" cried the manager, and there was another splash, +while aboard the boats the proper bits of acting were gone through with, +that the camera might catch them. + +Once they were in the water Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed acted their parts +well, and the result was a good film. Then, once more aboard the boats, a +start was made for the fort, where the final act was to take place. + +"I say, me deah fellah!" complained Mr. Towne, as he moved away from Mr. +Bunn, who sat near him; "keep a bit off, that's a good chap! I don't want +to wet this suit, you know." + +"Oh, all right, I beg your pardon," spoke the other. + +But Mr. Towne's anxiety for his garments was wasted, for at that moment +Mr. Sneed, taking off his coat, wrung some water from it, and of this a +considerable quantity splashed on the light suit of Mr. Towne. + +"Oh, I say!" the latter cried in dismay. "This won't do, you know!" + +"Humph! It seems to me it's already done," observed Paul, with a chuckle. + +During the rest of the trip Mr. Towne was kept busy trying to dry up the +wet spots with his perfumed handkerchief. + +Pop Snooks, the property man, who had little to do when outdoor scenes +were being made, was busy with the other moving picture camera on the +fort wall, and presently, on the arrival of the company at that place, +the final scenes were filmed. + +"Wasn't it a dandy race?" cried Alice, as she and her sister, with Russ +and Paul, started back to the hotel. + +"It was for you because you won, I suppose," remarked Miss Pennington, in +a disagreeable tone. + +"Not at all," returned Alice, promptly. "It was a glorious race anyhow. +Winning didn't count; it was all for the picture." + +"That's the way to look at it," said Paul, in her ear. "But, all the +same, I'm glad your boat won." + +"Thanks," she replied, as she tripped along beside him. + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, pausing a moment to "readjust their +complexions," as Alice said (for which she was reproved by Ruth), went on +by themselves. + +The company of players remained in St. Augustine several days, and many +fine films resulted, the scenery lending itself particularly well to the +camera. + +One act in a play took place at the alligator "farm," on Anastasia +Island. There Ruth and Alice saw 'gators in all stages, from tiny ones +just emerging from the shell, to big fourteen-foot ones--regular +"man-eaters" they were told. + +"Ugh! the horrid creatures!" exclaimed Ruth, who could not repress a +shudder. + +"They aren't very pleasant," agreed Alice. "And to think that perhaps +those two girls may be--" + +"Oh, my dear! Don't mention it! I can't bear to think of such a thing. +It's too horrible!" + +"But I suppose there must be many such as that one, in the wilds of the +swamps and bayous," said Alice in a low voice, as she pointed her parasol +at a huge saurian. + +"If there are any such, I don't want to know it--or see them," murmured +Ruth, again shuddering. "Oh, I hope we don't go too far into the wilds." + +"So do I," agreed her sister. + +That afternoon, calling his company of players together, Mr. Pertell +said: + +"Friends, we will leave in two days for the interior. I want to get some +views along the rivers and bayous, where the scenery is wilder than it +is here." + +"And where are we going, may I ask?" inquired Mr. DeVere. + +"To a place called Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee," was the answer. + +"Oh, Ruth!" exclaimed Alice, impulsively, when she heard this. + +"Yes, dear, what is it?" + +"Why, that's where those two girls were from--the ones who were lost, you +know!" + +"Hush! Yes. You know we agreed to say nothing about it, for fear of +causing undue alarm. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon might refuse to go, +you know," she went on in a low voice, "and that would make trouble for +Mr. Pertell." + +"Oh, but isn't it a strange coincidence?" remarked Alice. + +"It certainly is. But perhaps the girls have been found by this time." + +"Our destination will be Lake Kissimmee," proceeded Mr. Pertell. "We will +take some pictures on the lake, some on the Kissimmee River, that +connects the lake of that name with Lake Okeechobee, and then we'll go a +little way into the wilds, on various streams." + +Ruth and Alice looked at each other apprehensively. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A WARNING + + +"Beg pardon," said Claude Towne, during a pause in which Mr. Pertell was +consulting some notes he had jotted down, in order to make matters more +clear to his players. "Beg pardon, my dear sir, but are we going to a +_very_ wild part of this country?" + +"Why, yes--rather so," was the not very reassuring answer. "You probably +won't be able to get a room and bath at the hotel where we stop." + +"Oh, another one of those backwoods places," murmured Miss Pennington. +"How horrid!" + +"Is there any--er--any society there?" asked Mr. Towne. + +"Hardly," answered the manager, "unless you call the natives society." + +"Wretched!" exclaimed the dude, with a wry face. + +"Hold on, though!" cried Mr. Pertell, "I believe that there are some of +our first families there." + +"Ah, that is better," replied Mr. Towne, adjusting his lavender tie. "I +shall include my evening clothes in my wardrobe, then." + +"I'd advise you to," remarked Mr. Pertell, with an assumption of gravity. +"The Seminole Indians, to which I refer, are a very ancient and proud +race, I understand, and doubtless a dress suit would appeal to them. They +are the first families of Florida!" + +"Wretched joke!" muttered the actor. "I think I shall not go into the +interior." + +"Oh, I think you will," retorted Mr. Pertell, easily. "Your contract +calls for it." + +"What about alligators?" asked Mr. Sneed. + +"You know my offer--a thousand dollars a big bite," laughed the manager. +"But I don't fancy we shall see half as many as you saw out at the +alligator farm. They are being hunted too fiercely for their skins to +allow many to be around loose. Don't worry about them. + +"And now, friends, if you please, get ready for the trip to Lake +Kissimmee. Russ, see to it that you have plenty of film, for we won't be +able to get any out there. Now I leave you to make your arrangements." + +There was a buzz and a hum of excitement as the players talked over what +lay before them. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon rather shared the +disappointment of Mr. Towne that there was no "society" at the place +where they were going. But Ruth and Alice, aside from a little feeling of +apprehension, and of regret at the fate of the two girls of whom they had +read, rather welcomed the coming change. + +"It will be a new experience for us," exulted Alice. + +"And I hope it will be a pleasant one," rejoined Ruth. + +Final visits were paid to points of interest in St. Augustine. It would +be some time before they would see it again, as Mr. Pertell intended +remaining in the interior for several weeks, and then going back to New +York by a different route. + +"We must have another drink from the Fountain of Youth," laughed Alice, +the day before their departure. "Who knows but what it may preserve us, +out in those dismal swamps?" + +"Good idea!" commented Paul. "Come on, I'll go with you." + +So they went and made merry at the historic well. + +Mr. Pertell and Russ had much to do to get ready for the trip. A motor +boat had been arranged for to meet the party at Sycamore, where the +headquarters would be for most of the work in the wilds of Florida. On +this it was planned to take trips on Lake Kissimmee, and the river of +that name. + +"And we may go as far as Lake Okeechobee," said Russ in speaking of the +matter to Ruth. + +"That's down among the Everglades; isn't it?" she asked. + +"Close to them. I've always wanted to go there, and see what they are +like. Now I may get the chance." + +"I think I should like to see them, too," she agreed. + +"Ruth, you are getting very brave," observed Alice a little later, when +the two sisters were packing up in their room. + +"Why, dear?" + +"To offer to go with Russ to the Everglades." + +"I didn't offer!" + +"It was the same thing, sister mine. It makes a big difference; doesn't +it?" + +"Silly!" + +Alice laughed. + +"I wonder if we ought to take all these light waists?" she asked a little +later, holding up a beautiful flimsy one. "It's sure to be hot there, I +suppose." + +"I imagine so. And yet there may be cool and damp evenings. I'd take +everything, if I were you." + +"I was thinking of sending some of my things back to Mrs. Dalwood. She +promised to look after them, if I did." + +"Oh, I'd take everything. Where did you get that?" Ruth asked curiously, +as she held up one of her sister's garments, ornamented with a peculiar +lace. + +"At that little Spanish shop we pass every day. Oh, she has some of the +most gorgeous things there, and some of the most beautiful! I wish my +purse were as long as my desires. But I got this very reasonably." + +"Are there any more like it?" asked Ruth, for she, too, liked pretty +things. + +"There were only two, and I took one." + +"Then I'm going to get the other. I can go without ice cream for a week +to make up for it. I never saw anything so pretty." + +"I'll go with you. She might charge you more than she did me. I had to +bargain with her." + +"I never knew you could do it," laughed Ruth. + +The two girls desisted from their packing long enough to slip out to the +lingerie shop, where they spent more time and money than they intended. + +The result was they had to hurry at the last minute, and their trunks +were hardly strapped before the porter came to take them to the station. + +The trip to Sycamore from St. Augustine was rather tedious and tiresome. +The railways in the interior of Florida were not like some of the fast +lines, and there was not always the luxury of a parlor car. + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon were rather inclined to murmur about this, +but most of the others of the company took the inconveniences in good +spirit, even Mr. Towne making the best of it. + +He soon found that it was of little use to attire himself in the "height +of fashion," and gradually became more sensible in his adornment. + +On the trip Russ managed to get a series of films showing different +scenes, and at one lonely railroad station, where they had to wait +several hours for a connecting train, a little scene was improvised that +later was worked into a play. + +The few "natives" around the place were much excited at some of the +things the players did, and when Paul "saved" Mr. Towne from being run +down by a freight train that came along, one grizzled old man was so +worked up, thinking it all real, that he wanted to run for a doctor, when +Mr. Towne pretended to be hurt. + +"An' they do that fer money?" this native inquired, when the matter had +been explained to him. + +"That's what they do," said Russ, who was putting away his camera. + +"Wa'al, all I've got to say is if that's what they call work--I'd rather +do nothin'," was the caustic comment. + +"And that's what he jinerally does," spoke another native, in a low +voice. "He's never worked, an' I guess he never will." + +"It would be pretty hard to get a _moving_ picture of _him_, then," +laughed Russ. + +Finally the train, which had been delayed by a slight accident, came +along, and the weary players got aboard. In due season they reached +Sycamore, a little village near the shores of Lake Kissimmee. + +Accommodations had been arranged for in advance, and soon the company was +getting settled in the new quarters. + +"This is some different from St Augustine," complained Miss Pennington, +who roomed with her friend Miss Dixon. + +"I should say so. I'd go back to New York, if I could." + +"So would I. But I guess we'll have to stay, my dear. Hand me the powder; +will you? My face is a wreck from the cinders and dust." + +"So's mine." And together they "beautified." + +Ruth and Alice were among the first to go down to the parlor to await the +ringing of the dinner gong. They strolled up to the desk, to ask the +clerk if there was any mail for them, since word had been left at the +hotel in St. Augustine to forward any letters. + +"Oh, you are with the moving picture company; aren't you?" the clerk +asked, as he gave them each a letter. They were from acquaintances they +had made at the hotel. + +"Yes, we're with the 'movies,'" admitted Alice. + +"Going to make all your pictures around here?" + +"Not all. We are booked to go into the interior, I believe. Pleasant +prospect; isn't it?" she asked with a frank laugh. + +"Well, no, I wouldn't say it was," answered the clerk, and he spoke as +though Alice had meant to be serious. "In fact, if I were you I wouldn't +try to go into the interior around here." + +"Why not?" asked Ruth. + +"Because it was from here the two girls started out into the wilds to +gather rare flowers, and they have not since been heard from!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +OUT IN THE BOAT + + +Ruth and Alice looked at each other. It seemed almost impossible that +there could be this confirmation of the news item they had read, and so +soon after arriving at the hotel. Yet such was the fact. + +"Does any one know what has become of them?" asked Alice, after a pause. + +"Not the least trace of them has been found," replied the clerk. + +"Have they made any search for them?" inquired Ruth, looking over her +shoulder almost apprehensively, as though she, herself, were out in some +swamp, surrounded by perils of all sorts. But only the lighted parlor met +her gaze. + +"Search! Indeed they have!" cried the hotel man. "The parents of the +girls have sent out party after party." + +"With no result?" asked Alice, softly. + +"Well, they found traces where the girls had evidently landed, but that +was all. They seemed to have gone deeper and deeper into the swamp." + +"How long ago was it?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Several weeks, now. It is almost impossible that the girls are alive, +though they took a quantity of provisions with them, as they expected to +be gone several days." + +"The poor things!" murmured Ruth. "Tell us more about them. Who are +they?" + +"Mabel and Helen Madison," was the answer. + +Ruth and Alice cried out in surprise. + +"Those girls!" voiced Alice. + +"The ones we met in the train," added Ruth. "It seems incredible!" + +"Did you know them?" asked the clerk, for the remarks and demeanor of +Ruth and Alice were too marked to pass over without comment. + +"We did not exactly know them," replied Ruth, slowly. "We met them in the +train when we were going to the New England backwoods to get moving +pictures last winter. One of them had a headache--I think it was Helen." + +"No, it was Mabel, dear," corrected Alice. "They seemed such nice girls." + +"They _were_ nice!" the clerk declared. "I did not know them very well, +but I have often seen them about the hotel here. Some of their friends +stopped here. Their folks live just outside the town." + +"And you say they went out to get rare flowers?" asked Ruth, as she noted +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon coming into the hotel parlor. + +"Yes. The girls are real outdoors girls," went on the clerk. "They can +hunt and fish, and Miss Mabel, I believe it was, once shot a big +alligator." + +"Alligators! Oh, dear! Are any of the horrid things around here?" broke +in Miss Dixon. + +"Not right around here," was the reassuring answer. "This was out in the +swamps." + +"We are talking about two girls who have disappeared from here, and can't +be found," explained Alice, for the story was bound to come out now. + +"Oh, how perfectly dreadful!" cried Miss Pennington, as the account was +completed. "We must be careful about going out alone, my dear," she added +to her friend. + +"Not much danger--you'll always want some of the men along," thought +Alice. + +"What sort of flowers were they after?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Some sort of orchid," was the hotel man's answer. "I don't know much +about such things myself, but Mr. Madison, the girls' father, is quite a +naturalist, and I guess they take after him. He collects birds, bugs and +flowers, and the girls used to help him. + +"As I heard the story, he has been for a long time searching for a rare +orchid that is said to grow around here. He never could find it until one +day, by chance, an old colored man came in with a crumpled and wilted +specimen, mixed in with some other stuff he had. Mr. Madison saw it, and +grew excited at once, wanting to know where it had come from. + +"The colored man told him as well as he could, and Mr. Madison decided to +set off in search of this flower--if an orchid is a flower?" and the +clerk looked questioningly at the girls. + +"Oh, indeed it is a flower, and a most beautiful one," Ruth assured him. + +"Well, Mr. Madison was about to start off on a little expedition, when he +was taken ill. He was much disappointed, as some naturalist society had +offered him a big prize for a specimen of this particular plant. + +"Then the girls, wishing to help their father, said they would go in +search of it. They owned a good-sized motor boat, and had often gone off +before, remaining several days at a time. They know how to take care of +themselves." + +"That's the kind of girls I like," declared Alice. "It seems doubly hard +on them, though, that they should be lost." + +"And lost they are," concluded the clerk. "Not a word has been heard of +them since they set off into the wilds. When they did not come back, +after several days, Mr. Madison organized a searching party. But, beyond +a few traces of the girls, nothing could be found." + +"We read about it in a newspaper," said Ruth. + +"Yes, there were some items, but not many," the clerk said. "There wasn't +much to print, I guess. So I just thought I'd warn you folks not to go +too far off into the swamps or bayous." + +"And you may depend upon it--we won't!" exclaimed Miss Pennington. + +"Our party will probably keep together," explained Ruth, "as we will all +be needed in the moving pictures." + +"That's a good idea," the clerk said. "Take no chances." + +It was not long before the entire moving picture company had heard the +story of the lost girls, and there was universal sympathy for them, and +for their grief-stricken parents. + +"I only wish we could do something!" said Ruth, and there were tears in +her eyes as she looked toward her sister. "Suppose it should be us?" she +added. + +"I don't like to suppose any such horrible thing!" returned Alice, +brightly. "It's terrible, to be sure; but let's not think too much about +it. It may get on our nerves." + +"But if we could only help find them," went on Ruth, on whom the story +seemed to have made a profound impression. + +"I don't see how we can," remarked Alice, thoughtfully. "We know nothing +about the country, or conditions, here. Those who have lived here all +their lives are better qualified to make a search." + +"Say, wouldn't it be great if we could find them!" cried Russ, as he +listened to the story. "What a film it would make!" + +"Oh, Russ!" reproved Ruth. "To think of such a thing at this time!" + +"Why, what's the matter?" he asked, ruefully, for Ruth's manner was a +little cold toward him. + +"Of course Russ naturally thinks of the picture end of it," put in Alice, +determined to soften the unintended effect of Ruth's manner. + +"I suppose so," agreed Ruth, and she gave Russ a glance that made up for +what she had said. + +"I do wish we could do something," said Paul, "but, as Alice says, it +doesn't seem possible." + +The hotel at Sycamore was nothing to boast of, but it answered fairly +well as the moving picture company would be outdoors practically all the +time, as Mr. Pertell pointed out. The weather was like early Summer--most +delightful--and it was a temptation to wander out under the stately, +graceful palms, which cast a grateful shade. + +There were not many other guests at the hostelry, and interest centered +in the company of players. They were asked many questions as to what they +did, and how they did it, and when Russ set up his camera for the first +time, merely to try it, and get the effect of light and shade, he was +surrounded by a curious throng. + +The scenery around Sycamore was most wonderful--at least, so Ruth and +Alice thought. It was not that it was grand or imposing--for it was +anything but that. Florida is a low-lying country with many lakes and +swamps. But the vegetation was so luxuriant, and the palms, the big trees +festooned with Spanish moss and the ferns were so beautiful, that it was +a constant delight to the girls. + +There are few rapid streams around the vicinity of Sycamore, most of them +being sluggish to the point of swampiness. And a short distance away +from the hotel, on some of the creeks and bayous, one could imagine +oneself in some impenetrable jungle, so still and quiet was it. + +"It will give us some new effects in moving pictures," said Mr. Pertell. +"It is just what we want." + +"How are we going to get farther into the interior?" asked Mr. DeVere, +when that subject was brought up. + +"I have chartered a small steamer," said the manager. "At first I decided +we could use a large motor boat, and make the trips back and forth from +the hotel each day, to get to the various places. But I find that +distances are longer than I calculated on, and it might be inconvenient, +at times, to come back to the hotel. So I have engaged a good-sized, +flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, and we can spend several days at a time on +her if need be." + +"Oh, how lovely!" cried Alice, clapping her hands in girlish enthusiasm. +"Won't it be fine, Ruth?" + +"It sounds enticing." + +"To think of steaming along these quiet and mysterious streams, under the +palms," exclaimed Alice. "Oh, I'm so glad I came." + +"Huh! Yes. Suppose we get lost, as those two girls are?" demanded Mr. +Sneed, who was the only one, you may be sure, who would make such a +disquieting suggestion. + +"Well, if we're all lost together it won't be so bad," declared Alice. +"But I should hate to be lost all alone." + +"Don't speak of it!" begged Ruth, with a shudder. + +After two or three days of fretting, because the boat he had ordered did +not come, Mr. Pertell finally received word that it was on its way up the +Kissimmee River. + +The _Magnolia_, which was the name of the steamer, arrived two days +later. It proved to be an old, comfortable craft, with a wheezy engine, +burning wood. At the stern was a paddle wheel, so placed because of the +character of the waters to be navigated. The boat only drew about a foot, +and could go in very shallow streams. + +There were sleeping and cooking quarters aboard, and on the upper deck a +place to promenade, or to sit in the shade of an awning. + +"It's like a house-boat!" cried Alice in delight, as she and Ruth +inspected it. "Oh, I'd just like to live aboard this all the while." + +"You will be on it a good deal," observed Russ. "We've got a number of +dramas planned, of which the boat is the background." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +UNDER THE PALMS + + +"Attention, everyone!" + +Mr. Pertell stood on the deck of the _Magnolia_, facing his company of +players. At his side was Russ, with the moving picture camera ready for +action. + +"The first part of this play takes place aboard here," went on the +manager. "The action is simple, as you can see from the scenarios I have +distributed. Some acts will take place on shore, and when the time comes +for that the boat will be sent over to the bank and be tied up. Now then, +Russ, get ready to film them. Mr. DeVere, you are in this first act; also +Miss Ruth and Miss Dixon. Are you up in your parts?" + +"Oh, yes," answered the veteran actor. Indeed it did not take him long to +become letter perfect, for with him to act was not only second, but first +nature. + +"I don't just understand how I am to do this part," said Miss Dixon, as +she walked over to Mr. Pertell to point out a certain direction. +Thereupon he explained it carefully to her. + +The company of players was out on the steamer, moving slowly up a quiet +stream, one of the tributaries of the Kissimmee River. On either side of +the swamp-like stream were tall trees, from which hung, in graceful +festoons, streamers of the peculiar growth known as Spanish moss. In the +background were palms and other semi-tropical plants. But the growth +along the stream itself was so luxuriant that little could be seen except +along the banks. + +Now and then the quietude, which was unmarred, save by the gentle puffing +of the engine, would be disturbed by some big bird, as it forsook its +station on a fallen log, startled by the invasion of its domain. Again +there would be a splash in the water. + +"An alligator!" exclaimed Miss Pennington, as one rather loud splash +sounded just beneath where she was leaning on the rail, looking down into +the water. + +"Where?" cried Russ, eagerly, as he made ready to get some views of it +with his camera. + +"There!" she said, pointing a trembling finger. + +"Oh, don't look at it!" begged Miss Dixon, covering her face with her +hands. "Don't look at the horrid thing!" + +"No harm in looking at that," laughed Russ. "It's only a log of wood." + +And so it proved. + +"Well, it looked just like an alligator," protested Miss Pennington, as +the others smiled. + +"And it sounded like one!" declared Miss Dixon. + +"How does an alligator sound?" asked Mr. Towne, who was walking about +attired in immaculate white. + +"It made a splash." + +"So does a bullfrog," observed Paul. + +"It does look rather alligatory in there," admitted Alice, as she stood +beside the young actor, and gazed into the sluggish stream. + +"'Alligatory' is a new one," he remarked. "I wonder if alligators eat +alligator pears?" + +"Probably," she laughingly agreed. "There, I guess they're ready for you, +Paul," for he was to take part in the first scene. + +Miss Dixon, having had her difficulty straightened out, was prepared to +go on, and soon Russ was again at his usual occupation of turning the +handle of the moving picture camera. + +For a description of how moving pictures are taken, developed, printed +and thrown on the screen in the theater by means of a projecting +machine, the reader is referred to the previous books of this series. + +"That will do for this part of the drama," announced Mr. Pertell, when an +hour or more had been spent in taking various films. "We will now go +ashore. Put her over there," he called to the man in the pilot house on +deck, pointing to a place where, back of the moss-fringed row of trees, +could be seen some stately palms. + +The rather clumsy boat turned slowly toward shore, and a little later had +"poked her nose," as Russ expressed it, against a luxuriant growth of +tropical vegetation, in the midst of some low palms and gigantic ferns. + +The moist smell of earth and plants, and the odor of flowers was borne on +a gentle breeze. + +It was a lonely spot, and just what Mr. Pertell wanted for this +particular play. On the way up the stream they had passed several small +settlements, and the population, consisting mostly of colored folk, had +rushed down to the crude landings to stare with big eyes at the passing +steamer. + +"Everybody ashore!" called the manager, when the boat had been made fast. + +"Oh, but we can't go through there!" complained Mr. Bunn, who, in +attempting to make his way into the deeper part of the woods, had +suffered the loss of his tall hat several times, low branches having +knocked it off. + +"Wait, I'll send some of the hands ahead with axes to clear the way," +offered the steamer captain. "It'll be easier going, then." + +This was done, and the moving picture players found it no trouble at all +to make their way along the hewn path to where a little grove of palms, +in a pretty glade, offered the proper scenic background for the pictures. + +"This is just the place!" cried the manager. "Russ, set your camera up +here, and you'll get the sun just right. Now, everybody attention!" and +he carefully explained what he wanted done. + +The play concerned the elopement of a pretty Southern girl, the pursuit +by her father, her subsequent marriage, and the forgiveness of her +parents. One of the scenes showed the young couple fleeing through the +wilderness, and coming to rest beneath the palms, while the pursuers +searched in vain for them. + +"You're one of the lovers who has been disappointed by the elopement, Mr. +Towne," said Mr. Pertell, in giving his directions. "When I give the word +you must come running along there, so the camera will show you alone." + +"But I may fall in there," objected the actor, as he pointed you to a +small, muddy stream along the path he was to take. + +"You must look out for that," the manager replied. "In fact, I don't know +but what it would be good business to have you fall in. It would seem +more realistic." + +"I absolutely refuse to fall in with this new suit on!" cried Mr. Towne, +as he glanced at his while flannels. + +"Oh, very well, then," conceded the manager. + +Russ had his camera in readiness, and, after making views of the two +lovers beneath the palms, he called: + +"All ready for you, Mr. Towne," and he focused his camera in another +direction. + +The well-dressed actor came on. + +"Oh, run faster!" commanded Mr. Pertell, impatiently. "Act as though you +meant it. Put some spirit in it. You are supposed to be desperate because +your sweetheart has gone off with another man. You look as though you +didn't care!" + +Thereupon Mr. Towne tried to "register" anger, and succeeded fairly well. +But in doing so he forgot to "mind his steps," and a moment later, in +running along the edge of the muddy stream he slipped, and the next +moment, in all the glory of his white suit, he splashed into the mud. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +IN PERIL + + +Russ instantly stopped grinding away at the camera handle as he saw Mr. +Towne go into the ditch, but the manager, without the loss of a moment, +cried: + +"Film that, Russ! It'll be better than the way we were to play it first. +Catch him as he comes up!" + +"All right!" chuckled the young operator. + +"Oh, what a place to fall!" cried Miss Pennington, who was off one side, +out of the camera's range. + +"His suit will surely need washing," remarked Alice. + +"Oh, how can you be so heartless?" asked her sister. + +"Heartless! Isn't that the truth?" + +Mr. Towne had struggled to his feet. The muddy stream was not very deep. + +"Help! Help! Save me!" he cried, as he wiped the water from his face, +thereby making many muddy streaks on his countenance. + +"You're in no danger--come on out!" cried Mr. Pertell, trying not to +laugh. "Come right toward the camera, Mr. Towne, and register anger and +disgust!" + +"Register--register!" spluttered the actor. "Do you mean to say you are +filming me in this state?" + +"I certainly am--it's a state that will make a hit in the movies!" cried +Mr. Pertell. "You might fall down once more, if you don't mind, Mr. +Towne. It will add realism to the film." + +"Fall down again! Never! I will resign first." + +"Very well, I won't insist on it," replied the manager, for he felt that +it was rather hard on the actor. + +But moving picture work is not at all easy, and actors and actresses have +to do more disagreeable and dangerous "stunts" than merely falling into a +muddy stream. The demand of the public for realism often goes to +extremes, and more than once performers have risked their lives at the +behest of some enthusiastic manager. + +Mr. Pertell was not that sort, however, though he did insist on his +players doing a reasonable amount of hard work--and often disagreeable +work, as in this case. + +But aside from getting wet and muddy, which conditions could be remedied +by a bath and dry clothes, the actor suffered no great hardship, except +to his pride, and perhaps he had too much of that, anyhow. + +"Come on!" cried the manager. "Crawl out of that, and keep on with the +chase." + +"Keep on--in this condition! Do you mean it?" Mr. Towne asked. + +"Certainly I do. The play must go on. Just because you fell in the ditch +is no excuse for stopping it. Keep on! Right along the path. Crawl out +and run on." + +"But--but look at my clothes!" complained Mr. Towne. "They are--they're +muddy!" + +"There is a little mud on them, to be sure," agreed Mr. Pertell. "But +don't worry. It will wash off." + +"A _little_ mud!" spluttered the actor. "I--I--" + +"Keep on!" cried the manager. "You are delaying the play!" + +The young actor groaned, but there was nothing for it but to obey. He +climbed out of the ditch, his once immaculate suit dripping mud from +every point, and then he began the pretended chase again, seeking to +find the escaping lovers. + +Of course this was the farcical element, but managers have found that +this is much needed in plays, and though many of them would prefer to +eliminate the "horse-play" the audiences seem to demand it, and managers +are prone to cater to the tastes of their audiences when they find it +pays. + +"I'm glad I wasn't cast for that part," remarked the dignified Mr. Bunn, +as he saw what Mr. Towne had to go through. + +"I'd never consent to it," declared Mr. Sneed. "This business is bad +enough as it is," he complained, "without deliberately making it worse. I +presume he'll want me to try and catch an alligator next, or drive a sea +cow to pasture." + +"What's a sea cow?" asked Alice, who had overheard the talk, while Mr. +Towne was being filmed in his muddy state. + +"The manatee," explained Mr. Sneed. "They are curious animals. They +browse around on the bottom of Florida rivers, and sea inlets, as cows do +on shore, eating grass. We'll probably see some down here." + +"Are they dangerous?" asked Miss Dixon. + +"Not as a rule," answered the grouchy actor, who seemed to have taken a +sudden interest in this matter. "They might upset a small boat if they +accidently bumped into it, for often they grow to be fourteen feet long, +and are like a whale in shape." + +"I hope we won't meet with any," observed Ruth. "I can't bear wild +animals." + +"Manatees are not especially wild," laughed Mr. Sneed, it being one of +the few occasions when he did indulge in mirth. "In fact, the earlier +forms of manatee were called _Sirenia_, and were considered to be the +origin of the belief in mermaids. For they carried their little ones in +their fore-flippers, almost as a human mother might do in her arms, and +when swimming along would raise their heads out of water, so that they +had a faint resemblance to a swimming woman." + +"How very odd!" cried Alice. "And are there manatees down here?" + +"Many in Florida? Yes," was the answer. "I suppose we'll see some if we +stay long enough. But I'm going to serve notice on Mr. Pertell now that I +refuse to drive any of the sea cows to pasture." + +"I don't blame you!" laughed Ruth. "Oh, look at Mr. Towne! He's fallen +again!" + +And so the unfortunate actor had, but this time into a clump of rough +bushes that tore his now nearly ruined white flannels. + +"That's good!" cried Mr. Pertell, approvingly. "You did that very well, +Mr. Towne!" + +"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," the actor protested, as he managed, +not without some difficulty, to extricate himself from the briars. + +Then he ran on, Russ making picture after picture, while the manager +rapidly changed some of the other scenes on the typewritten sheets to +conform to the accident of which he had so cleverly made use. + +"Mr. Bunn, I have a new part for you, in this same play," the manager +said, when Mr. Towne was finally allowed to rest. + +"What is it?" asked the older actor. "I hope you can put in something +about Shakespeare. I have not had a Shakespearean part in so long that I +have almost forgotten how to do it properly." + +"I can't promise you that this time," said the manager. "But it just +occurred to me that you could also try to trace the escaping lovers, and +get stuck in a bog-hole." + +"Who, the lovers get stuck in a bog?" + +"No, you!" + +"Me? Never! I refuse--" + +"Now hold on, Mr. Bunn!" said Mr. Pertell, quickly. "I am not asking you +to do much. You need not get in the bog deeper than up to your knees. +That will answer very well. You can pretend it is a sort of quicksand +bog and that you are sinking deeper and deeper. You call for help, and +Mr. Switzer comes to get you out." + +"I refuse to do it!" cried the actor. + +"And I insist!" declared Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Your contract calls for +any reasonable amount of work, and to wade into a bog knee-deep is not +unreasonable." + +"But I will spoil my shoes and trousers." + +"No matter, I will provide you with new ones. You need not sacrifice your +tall hat this time." + +"That is one comfort," sighed the old actor. "Well, I suppose there is no +help for it. Where is the bog hole?" + +"I think this one will do," said the manager, pointing to one where Mr. +Towne had fallen into the mud. "You will come along, pretending to look +for the fleeing lovers, and you will unwittingly wade out into the bog. +There you will struggle to release yourself, but you will be unable to, +and will call for help. Mr. Switzer, who is also on the trail, will +respond and he will wade out and save you." + +"Excuse me," remarked the German actor, softly, "but vy iss it necessary +dot I rescue him?" + +"Why he can't rescue himself," declared Mr. Pertell. "You've got to do +it." + +"No, dot I did not mean. I meant dot as Herr Towne iss alretty wet and +muddy, dot he could as vell do der rescue act." + +"That's so. It will be better!" said the manager. "I didn't think of +that. I'll have Towne do it. He can come along on the film right after +he's pulled himself out of the ditch. Fix it up that way, Russ." + +"All right, Mr. Pertell." + +"Have I got to go in more mud and water?" demanded the fastidious actor. + +"Yes," replied the manager. "But it won't be much. Just a few feet or so +of film." + +Mr. Towne groaned, but there was no help for it. And really he could not +get much muddier. + +Accordingly, after some intervening scenes had been filmed to make the +action of the story, as revised, more plausible, Russ moved his camera +near the bog hole, ready to get views of Mr. Bunn, when he should stumble +into it, and also Mr. Towne, when the latter came to the rescue. + +"All ready now--let her go!" called the manager. "Come along, Mr. Bunn." + +The old actor advanced, but evidently with very little liking for his +part. + +"Oh, be more natural!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You are supposed to be the +father of the young man who is eloping, and you want to prevent him. Put +some spirit into your work!" + +Thereupon Mr. Bunn tried, and with better success. But when he came to +the edge of the bog hole he hesitated. + +"Hold on! Stop the camera!" cried the manager, sharply. "That won't do at +all. This must be spontaneous. Run right along, and don't stop when you +see the bog hole. Plunge right into it. Why, it isn't up to your knees, +Mr. Bunn, and the weather is hot." + +"All right, here I go!" he said, resignedly. + +"Wait! Go back and do that last bit over again," ordered the manager. +"Russ, cut out the last few pictures and substitute these that are to +come. Now, Mr. Bunn!" + +The Shakespearean actor started over again, and he was "game" enough to +pretend that he did not in the least mind floundering into the bog hole. +As he came to the edge of it, in he plunged. + +He went down much deeper than to his knees, and as he felt himself +sinking he called out: + +"Help! Help! Save me! Save me!" + +"That's it! That's the way to do it! That's being what I call realistic!" +shouted Mr. Pertell, who always waxed enthusiastic over a new idea. + +Mr. Bunn continued to sink in the bog. He pulled and struggled to get +out, apparently without success. Then his tall hat fell off from the +violence of his exertions, and he barely saved it from a muddy bath. + +"Help! Help! I'm sinking!" he cried. + +"Good! That's the way to act it!" encouraged Mr. Pertell. "Now, Mr. +Towne, you come up to the rescue in a few seconds. Don't mind the mud, +either. Go right out to him. You can't be much worse off." + +"Indeed I cannot," agreed the other, as he glanced at his soiled suit. + +"Wait just a minute more," said Mr. Pertell to the prospective rescuer. +"Give him a chance to struggle more. It will look better." + +"No, let him come at once and save me! Save me at once!" + +"Why?" the manager wanted to know. + +"Because I really am sinking! This isn't play! The quicksand has me in +its grip!" + +And, as Mr. Pertell looked about, unable to tell whether the actor was +saying that as part of the "business," or because he was in earnest, the +unfortunate man cried out in real anguish: + +"Save me! Save me! I am in the quicksand and it's sucking me down!" + +"That's right! He is in a quicksand bog!" cried one of the steamer hands +who had helped hew a path through the swamp. "He'll never get out if you +don't help him quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A STRANGE ATTACK + + +It was true, then. The frantic appeals of Mr. Bunn were not in the +interests of acting for moving pictures, but because he felt himself in +actual danger. None of his friends had thought of that, until the man +from the steamer offered confirmation. They had all thought the actor was +doing a realistic bit of work. + +"Quicksand! Do you mean it?" gasped Mr. Pertell. + +"I certainly do," answered the steamer hand. "There are a lot of those +bogs around here, and he's stumbled into one. He's going down every +minute, too, and if you don't get him out soon you never will." + +"Oh, mercy!" screamed Miss Pennington. "How horrible!" + +"To be buried alive!" gasped Miss Dixon. + +"Quiet!" commanded Mr. Pertell, sternly. "Come on, gentlemen!" he called +to the male members of the company. "We must save him!" + +"Oh, do get me out!" cried the unfortunate Mr. Bunn. + +"We'll save you!" shouted the manager, as he made a dash toward the bog +hole. He was followed by Mr. DeVere, Paul and some of the others. + +"Keep back!" yelled the man from the steamer. "If you get in you won't +get out either." + +"But they must save him!" cried Alice, who had gone forward with her +father. + +"They can't save him by getting into the quicksand themselves!" pointed +out the man who seemed to know the deadly nature of the bog. "The only +way is to fling him a rope." + +"A rope! There isn't one nearer than the steamer!" cried Mr. Pertell. + +"I'll go get it!" offered Mr. Switzer. "I am a goot runner!" + +"It will be too late, I'm afraid," objected the steamer hand. "He is +sinking faster now." + +This was indeed but too true. Whereas at first the clinging mud and sand +of the bog hole had only been up to Mr. Bunn's knees, he was now engulfed +to his waist. + +"We'll have to make a rope!" cried Mr. Towne. "Tear up our coats, or +something like that." + +"I know a way, Ruth," declared Alice. "We have on two skirts. The under +one is of heavy cloth. Couldn't we tear those into strips--?" + +"Of course! How wise of you to think of it!" replied the other girl. +"Daddy, we can provide a rope!" she cried, and she quickly whispered to +him what Alice had suggested. + +"The very thing!" he agreed. "Quick, slip behind the bushes there and +remove your underskirts. I'll have my knife ready to slit it into +strips." + +While the two moving picture girls retired for a moment their father +quickly explained their plan. + +"And you may have our skirts, too," said Miss Pennington. "Only mine is +of such thin material--" + +"So is mine, unfortunately," added Miss Dixon. + +"Fortunately I think the two skirts of my daughters will be sufficient," +said Mr. DeVere, as he opened his keen-bladed knife. + +"Oh, I am going down!" cried Mr. Bunn, in anguished tones. + +"Here are the skirts!" cried Alice, as she came out with her own and +Ruth's over her arm. + +Ready hands aided Mr. DeVere in cutting the stout material into strips +that were quickly knotted together, making a strong rope. + +"It's a shame to spoil your suit," said Paul to Alice. + +"It doesn't matter. The skirts were only cheap ones, of khaki cloth, but +they are very strong. I am glad we wore them." + +"And I guess Mr. Bunn will be, too," added the young actor. + +"Now we'll have you out!" cried Mr. DeVere, as he flung one end of the +novel rope to the actor in the bog. Mr. Bunn caught it, and, at the +direction of Mr. Pertell, looped it about his chest, just under his arms. + +"Now, all pull together!" cried the manager. "But take it gradually, +until we see what strain this rope will stand." + +Indeed a slow, gradual pull was the only feasible method of releasing Mr. +Bunn. But with the rope around him, he felt that he was going to be +saved, and did not struggle so violently. + +Often when one gets into a quicksand bog the more one struggles the +faster and deeper one sinks. Only it is almost impossible not to struggle +against the impending fate. + +With the skirt-rope about him, and his friends pulling on it, Mr. Bunn's +hand were free. Seeing this, and realizing that the more force that was +applied, up to a certain point, the sooner would the actor be freed, Ruth +cried: + +"If we had another rope we girls could help, and Mr. Bunn could hold on +to it with his hands," for she and her sister, as well as Miss Pennington +and Miss Dixon, were doing nothing. + +"Let's go to the steamer and get one," proposed Miss Dixon. + +"It would be too late," declared Alice. Then, as she looked about the +little clearing where the accident had taken place she saw, dangling from +a tree, a long vine of some creeping plant. There were several stems +twined together. + +"There's our rope!" she cried. "That vine!" + +"Oh, Alice! How splendid!" exclaimed her sister. "You think of +everything!" + +"Well, let's stop thinking, and work!" suggested the younger girl. "They +need all the help they can get to pull Mr. Bunn out of that bog." + +Together the girls managed to get off a long piece of the stout vine, +which made a most excellent substitute for a rope. + +"I suppose if I had thought of this first we needn't have cut our +skirts," said Alice. + +"I'm not sorry we didn't," was her sister's reply. + +"Nor am I!" + +"Catch this, Mr. Bunn!" called Alice, as with the vine rope she went as +near the bog hole as was safe. + +"Good idea! Great!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You moving picture girls are as +good as men!" + +"Better!" declared Mr. Bunn, who was over his fright now. He caught the +end of the vine Alice flung to him, and held on grimly as the four girls +prepared to tug on their portion. + +With this added strength the plight of the actor was soon relieved. +Slowly but surely he was pulled from the sticky mud, and, a little later, +he was safely hauled out on the firm bank. + +"Thank the Lord for that!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell, reverently, as he saw +that his employe was safe. "I should never have forgiven myself if--if +anything had happened to you. For it was my suggestion that you go in the +bog. My dear man, can you forgive me?" and he held out his hand to Mr. +Bunn, while his voice grew husky, and there was a suspicious moisture in +his eye. + +"That's all right," responded Mr. Bunn, generously, and he seemed to have +added something to his nature through his nerve-racking experience. He +had been near death, or at least the possibility of it, and it had meant +much to him. + +"Don't blame yourself, Mr. Pertell," he went on. "I went into the hole +with my eyes open. Neither of us knew the quicksand was there. And I +suppose we must accept with this business the risks that go with it." + +"Yes, it is part of the game," admitted the manager; "but I want none of +my players to take unnecessary risks. I shall be more careful in the +future." + +Mr. Bunn was quite exhausted from his experience, and, as the affair had +tried the nerves of all, it was decided to give up picture work for the +rest of the day. + +"I can't help regretting, though," said Mr. Pertell, as they were on +their way back to the steamer, "that we didn't get a moving picture of +that. It would have made a great film--better even than the one I had +planned." + +"Oh, but I did get views of it!" cried Russ, with a laugh, that did much +to relieve the strain they were all under. + +"You did!" exclaimed the manager, in surprise. + +"Yes," went on the young operator, "when I saw that there were enough of +you hauling Mr. Bunn out, I thought I might as well take advantage of +the situation and get pictures. So I have the whole rescue scene here," +and he tapped his moving picture camera. + +"I am glad you have!" exclaimed the Shakespearean actor, heartily. "As +long as I had to go through with it we might as well have the Comet +Company get the benefit of it." + +Back through the tropical forest and swamp they went, until they reached +the steamer. There Mr. Bunn and Mr. Towne enjoyed the luxury of a good +bath, and their clothes were cleaned. + +Alice came in for much praise, for it was her quick wit, in a way, that +had enabled Mr. Bunn to be so promptly saved. + +"And to replace your daughters' spoiled skirts, Mr. DeVere," said the +manager, in speaking of the matter later, "I beg that I may be allowed to +get them whole new suits." + +"Oh, that is too much," protested the actor. + +"Indeed it is not!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I am also going to give each +player a bonus on his or her salary, and to Mr. Bunn, for what he +suffered, a special bonus." + +A day or so later the film, in which Mr. Bunn had figured in the +quicksand, was finished, and then came the announcement that they would +proceed on down the river to a new location, so as to get a different +scenic background for the filming of a new drama. + +Some of the scenes of this took place on the steamer, and then, when the +captain announced that he would have to tie up for half a day to enable +the "roustabouts" to go ashore and cut wood for the boiler, Mr. Pertell +said: + +"Then we'll go ashore, too. I want to get some pictures in which a small +boat will figure. So we'll take the camera along, Russ, and get some of +those views I spoke of." + +Some scenes ashore were filmed, and then, carrying out the idea of the +drama, Ruth and Alice, with Paul Ardite, got into a small boat. + +They were to go down stream a little way, and there go through certain +"business" called for in the play. Paul was to row. + +The boat floated under the arching moss and vines that trailed from the +trees on the bank. Now and then a snag would be struck, and on such +occasions Ruth would start nervously, and cry out: + +"Alligators!" + +"Oh, please stop!" begged Alice, after two or three of these scares. "I +don't believe there's an alligator within ten miles of us." + +"Of course not," agreed Paul. + +All this while Russ was getting films of the boat containing the two +moving picture girls. He was following in another boat. + +"Steady there!" he called, at a certain point. "Better toss over your +anchor, and stay there a while. I want a long film of this scene." + +"All right," agreed Paul, and with a splash the little anchor went over +the side. The boat swung around and then became stationary. Russ was +grinding away at the camera when, suddenly, the boat he was filming, with +its occupants, began moving up stream. + +"Hold on!" he warned. "I don't want you to move yet!" + +"I'm not moving!" retorted Paul. + +"But the boat is going--and up stream!" cried Alice. + +"Oh, Paul!" exclaimed Ruth. "What has happened?" + +At the same moment the craft careened violently, and a bulky object rose +partly from the water in front of it. + +"An alligator has attacked us!" screamed Alice. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +OUT OF A TREE + + +Paul sprang to his feet with such suddenness that he nearly upset the +boat, and the girls shrieked in even greater fright. + +"Sit down! Oh, sit down!" Alice begged him. + +"Russ! Russ!" cried Ruth. "It's an alligator!" + +"It can't be!" declared the young moving picture operator. He had stopped +working his camera, and was urging the two men from the steamer, who were +rowing his boat, to make better progress. + +"Deed an' dere am 'gators in dish yeah ribber!" declared one of the +colored men. + +"Don't let the girls hear you say that!" cautioned Russ. + +Paul had obeyed the request of the girls to sit down, but he crawled +toward the bow of the boat, which was now moving through the water, up +stream, at a fair rate of speed. + +"What is it? Oh, what is it?" implored Alice. + +"Can you see anything?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Some sort of animal has got hold of our anchor, or the rope," declared +Paul, "and it's towing us. I don't think it can be an alligator, though." + +"Oh, what will become of us?" gasped Ruth. + +"Don't be in the least alarmed!" exclaimed Paul. "All I'll have to do +will be to cut the rope, and we'll be free. But I don't want to lose the +anchor." + +"Don't cut loose! Don't!" cried Russ, whose boat was now up to that +containing the two girls and the young actor. "I want to get a film of +that. You're not in any real danger; are you?" + +"Oh, yes indeed we are!" said Ruth. + +"Nonsense! We aren't at all!" protested her sister. "Only I'd like to see +what sort of a fish is towing us." + +"It isn't a fish at all!" Paul suddenly exclaimed. "It's a manatee--a sea +cow!" + +"Oh, a sea cow! I want to look at it!" Alice cried. + +"You must keep quiet in the boat!" insisted Ruth, who seemed greatly +afraid. + +"Silly! I won't upset you," was the answer. "But I want to get a glimpse +of that creature. There is no danger; is there, Paul?" + +"Sea cows are considered gentle, and seldom attack," he replied. "You can +see it quite plainly now. It is swimming near the top of the water." + +Alice made her way forward, and even Ruth was induced to come and look at +the strange creature, while Russ, from his boat, took views of the +occurrence. + +"The anchor seems to be caught under one of its flippers," said Paul. +"That's why it's towing us. Probably the manatee wants to get rid of us +as much as you girls want to get rid of it." + +"I hope it doesn't get away for a few minutes!" called out Russ. "This +will make a dandy film!" + +Much reassured now by the gentle movements of the manatee, Ruth lost +nearly all of her fear. Alice really had felt very little. + +"I thought it surely was an alligator," the latter said, as the boat +continued to be towed by the manatee. + +"Nebber knowed one ob dem t'ings t' come so far up de ribber," declared +one of the colored men. "He's a big one, too!" he added, as his eyes +bulged. + +"How large is it, Russ?" asked Paul. "You can see better than we can." + +"Oh, about twelve feet long, I guess. There, I got a good view of him +then!" he cried, as the manatee, probably in an effort to get rid of the +rope, rose partly from the water. + +"Oh, what a horrid looking thing!" cried Ruth. + +"I don't think so at all," Alice said. "I wish I could see it from in +front." + +She had her wish a moment later, and it was rather more than she +bargained for since the sea cow, in an effort to get rid of the rope that +was twisted about its flipper, turned about with a swirl in the water, +not unlike that made by the propeller of a motor boat, and came head-on +for the craft it was unwittingly towing. + +"Oh, it will upset us!" cried Ruth. + +"Never mind! They don't bite, and we'll rescue you!" Russ reassured her. + +"Oh, I--I'd die, sure, if I were to be thrown into the water with that +terrible creature!" gasped Ruth, clinging to Alice for protection. + +And there did seem some likelihood of the manatee upsetting the boat, not +so much through a vindictive spirit, as by accident, and because of its +huge bulk. + +On it surged toward the craft, and Paul, seizing an oar, prepared to +attack. Russ called to his rowers to be ready to rescue the girls and the +young actor if necessary, and then, with the desire for a good film ever +uppermost in his mind, he continued to grind away at the camera crank. + +"This will be a peach of a film!" he exulted. + +"Oh, Paul! Is it going to attack us?" asked Ruth. + +Paul did not answer, but jabbed with his oar at the manatee and struck it +on the head. The sea cow dived, and this produced the desired result, for +the rope slipped off its flipper, and it was free. It went under the +boat, rubbed along on the keel with its back a short distance, causing +Ruth and Alice to scream as their craft careened, and then vanished for +good. + +"Oh, thank goodness! It's gone!" gasped Ruth. + +Their boat began to drop down stream, until the dragging anchor caught +and held it. Russ now ceased to work the camera. + +"I don't know just how we can incorporate that scene in this drama," he +admitted; "but I suppose Mr. Pertell can find a way. He generally does. +Now, if you girls are up to it, we'll finish with the regular play. I'll +have to slip in some new film, though." + +"Oh, I guess we can go on, after we quiet down a bit," Ruth said, and a +little later she and her sister, with Paul, went through with the +business of the play as originally laid down in the scenario. + +"What a strange experience!" observed Ruth, as they were returning to the +steamer. + +"Wasn't it?" agreed Alice. + +Mr. Pertell, after properly sympathizing with the girls, declared himself +delighted with the unexpected film of the manatee. + +"I tell you we didn't make any mistake coming to Florida," he said. +"We'll get pictures here that no other company can touch." + +And later this was found to be so, for the films made under the palms +created quite a sensation when shown in New York. + +Mr. DeVere, as usual, was somewhat perturbed when he learned what his +daughters had gone through, and again expressed his doubts as to the +advisability of keeping them in moving picture work. + +"Oh, but that might have happened to anyone--if we were out after +orchids, instead of being filmed," protested Alice. "I don't ever want to +think of giving up this work." + +"Nor do I!" added Ruth, with more energy than she usually exhibited. + +The players were out in the palm forest. It was several days after the +episode of the manatee, and the steamer, with a plentiful supply of wood +fuel, had gone up another sluggish stream, some miles farther on. + +Quite an elaborate drama was to be filmed and the "full strength of the +company," as Paul laughingly said, was required. Even little Tommy and +Nellie were to used in some of the scenes. + +"Isn't it wild and desolate in here?" remarked Ruth, with a little +shudder as they penetrated deeper and deeper into the forest, for Mr. +Pertell wanted a certain background. + +"It _is_ lonesome," agreed Alice. "Whenever I get to a place like this I +think of those two missing girls." + +"So do I! Isn't it too bad about them? I wonder if they can have been +found by this time?" + +"Let us hope so," said Alice, in a low voice. + +It took some little time to arrange for making this new film, and in the +first scenes neither Ruth nor Alice were required. They wandered off to +one side, remaining within call, however. + +"There's an orchid!" exclaimed Alice, as she pointed to a beautiful +bloom, clinging to a tree. Seemingly it drew its nourishment from the air +alone. + +"How beautiful!" remarked Ruth. "I wonder if we could get it?" + +"I can climb the tree," declared her sister. "I have on an old skirt. +I'll get it." + +She did, after some little difficulty, and as she was bringing it to +Ruth, Alice looked through an opening between the trees, and exclaimed: + +"Oh, there are Tommy and Nellie. They are after flowers too, for they +each have a handful. But I must call to them. They should not wander too +far away." + +Together she and Alice, admiring the orchid, advanced toward the two +children, who had come to a halt under a big sycamore. + +Then, as Alice was about to call, she uttered an exclamation of terror. + +"See!" she whispered hoarsely to Ruth. "That creature in the tree--right +over their heads, and it is crouching for a leap!" + +Ruth looked and saw a tawny beast with laid-back ears and twitching tail, +stretched on a big limb a short distance above the ground, and right over +the two children, who were innocently prattling away, and looking at the +flowers they had gathered. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE ANIMATED LOGS + + +For a moment Alice and Ruth were almost paralyzed with fear. They stood +spellbound, and could only gaze horrifiedly at the tawny beast stretched +out on the limb of the tree. + +"What--what shall we do?" asked Alice. + +"What can we do?" Ruth returned. "If we move toward them, or call out, +the beast may spring on them. What is it--a tiger?" + +"I don't know. Of course it's not a tiger, for there are none in this +country except in circuses. Maybe it's a wildcat." + +"Oh, they are terrible. But this doesn't look like the wildcat Flaming +Arrow shot in the backwoods." + +"No, it doesn't," agreed Alice. "But we must do something to save those +children!" + +Tommy and Nellie, all unconscious of their peril, were still sorting +their blossoms beneath the tree. + +"If we could only get them out of the way--somehow," urged Alice. "Then +we might hurry off before the beast could spring." + +"But it might chase after us--and them." + +"That's so. One of us had better go for help. You--you go, Alice. I--I'll +stay here," faltered Ruth. + +"What! Leave you alone with that beast? I will not!" + +"But what can we do?" + +Alice thought for a moment. The animal in the tree had apparently not +seen them--its attention was fixed on the two children. Then, as the +girls watched, they saw it move slightly, while its tail twitched faster. + +"It's getting ready to spring!" whispered Alice. + +"Oh, don't say that!" begged Ruth, clasping her hands. + +They really did not know what to do. They were some distance from the +others of the moving picture company, and to go to them, and summon help, +might mean the death or injury of the children. + +On the other hand, to call out suddenly, or to rush toward the little +ones, might precipitate the attack of the beast. + +And then fate, or luck, stepped in and changed the situation of affairs. +Tommy spied another blossom--a brighter one than any he had yet gathered +and he cried out: + +"Oh, look at that pretty flower! I'm going to get it!" + +"No, let me!" exclaimed his sister, and the two got up with that +suddenness which seems so natural to children, and sped across a little +glade, out from under the tree, with its dangerous beast toward a clump +of ferns and flowers. + +It was the best, and perhaps the only thing, they could have done. + +"Oh--oh!" gasped Ruth. It was all she could say. + +"Now they are safe," Alice ventured. + +But not yet. + +The beast had been about to spring and now, with a snarl of disappointed +rage, it bounded lightly from the limb of the tree to the ground, and +began a slinking advance upon the children. + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth, and her cry of alarm was echoed by her sister. Both +girls instinctively started forward, but an instant later they were +halted by a voice. + +"Stand where ye are, young ladies. I'll attend to that critter!" + +Before they had a chance to look and see who it was that had called, a +shot rang out and the beast, which had been running along, crouched low +like a cat after a bird, seemed to crumple up. Then it turned a complete +somersault, and a moment later lay motionless. + +Tommy and Nellie, hearing the report of the gun, paused in their rush +after the bright flowers, and then, as they saw the big animal not far +from them, they uttered cries of fear, and clung to each other. + +"It's all right, dears! There's no danger now!" called Ruth, as she sped +toward them. + +Alice paused but a moment to look at the individual who had in such +timely and effective fashion come to the rescue. She saw a tall, gaunt +man, attired in ragged clothes, bending forward with ready rifle, to be +prepared to take a second shot if necessary. + +"I don't reckon he'll bother any one no more," said this man, with a +satisfied chuckle, as he leaned on his gun, the butt of which he dropped +to the ground. "I got him right in the head." + +"Oh--we--we can't thank you enough!" gasped Alice. "The--the children--" +but her voice choked, and she could not speak. + +"Wa'al, I reckon he _might_ have clawed 'em a bit," admitted the man with +the gun. "And perhaps it's jest as well I come along when I did. You +folks live around here? Don't seem like I've met you befo'." + +"We're a company of moving picture actresses and actors," explained +Alice, while Ruth, making a detour to avoid the dead body of the animal, +went to Tommy and Nellie, who were still holding on to each other. + +"Picture-players; eh?" mused the hunter, for such he evidently was. "I +seen a movin' picture once, and it looked as real as anything. Be you +folks on that steamer?" + +"The _Magnolia_--yes," answered Alice, as her sister led the children up +to her. + +"You're all right now, dearies," said Ruth. "The nice man killed the bad +bear." + +"Excuse me, Miss; but that ain't a bear," said the hunter, with a pull at +his ragged cap that was meant for a bow. "It's a bobcat--mountain lion +some folks calls 'em--and I don't know as I ever saw one around this +neighborhood before. Mostly they're farther to the no'th. This must be a +stray one." + +"Oh, but it might have killed us all if you had not been here," Ruth went +on. + +"Oh, no, Miss, beggin' your pardon. It wouldn't have been as bad as that. +Most-ways these bobcats would rather run than fight. I reckon if it had +seen you young ladies it would have run." + +"Are we as scary as all that?" asked Alice, with a nervous little laugh. + +"Oh, no, Miss. I didn't mean it that way at all," said the man. "I beg +your pardon, I'm sure. But a bobcat won't hardly ever attack a grown +person, unless it's cornered. I reckon this one must have been riled +about suthin' and thought to claw up the tots a bit. I happened to be +around, so I jest natcherally plunked him--beggin' your pardon for +mentionin' the matter." + +"It was awfully good of you," murmured Ruth, who had Tommy's and Nellie's +hands now. + +"Won't you tell us who you are?" asked Alice, as she introduced herself +and her sister. + +"Who--me? Oh, I'm Jed Moulton," replied the hunter. "I'm an alligator +hunter by callin'. But they're gittin' a bit scarce now, so I'm on the +move." + +"I wish you'd come back and meet our friends," suggested Ruth. "Mrs. +Maguire, the children's grandmother, will want to thank you for what you +have done." + +"Wa'al, I'm in no special rush, and I reckon I can spare a little time," +agreed Jed. "But I ain't much used to havin' a fuss made over me." + +"You can see how moving pictures are made," suggested Alice. + +"Can I, Miss? Then I'll come," and shouldering his gun he set off with +them. + +"Are you going to leave the bobcat there?" asked Ruth. + +"Yes, Miss. Its skin ain't really no good this time of year, and I don't +want to bother with it. The buzzards'll make short work of it. Leave it +lie." + +There was considerable excitement among the other players when the girls +and children came back, accompanied by Jed, and told of their adventure. + +Much was made over the alligator hunter, and Mrs. Maguire was profuse in +her thanks. Then, in the next breath, she scolded the tots for wandering +so far away. + +"I think they won't do it again," said Ruth, with a smile, as she +recalled their fright. + +"No, sir! Never no more!" declared Tommy, earnestly. + +Bad as the scare had been, its effects were not lasting, and Ruth and +Alice were able to take their part in the drama that was being filmed. +Jed Moulton looked on, his eyes big with wonder. + +"That beats shootin' bobcats!" he declared at the conclusion of the +performance. + +Jed at once became a favorite with all, and when Mr. Pertell learned that +he was quite a successful hunter he made him an offer. + +"You come along with us," the manager urged. "I want to get a film of +alligator hunting, and I'll make it worth your while to do some of your +stunts before the camera. I'll pay you well, and you can have all the +alligators you shoot." + +"Say, that suits me--right down to the ground!" cried Jed, heartily. +"I'll take you up on that." + +So Jed became attached to the moving picture outfit, and a cheerful and +valuable addition he proved. For he knew the country like a book, and +offered valuable suggestions as to where new and striking scenic +backgrounds could be obtained. + +An uneventful week followed the episode of the bobcat. The _Magnolia_ +went up and down sluggish streams and bayous, while the company of +players acted their parts, or rested beneath the palms and under the +graceful Spanish moss. + +"But it is getting lonesome and tiresome--being away from civilization so +long," complained Miss Pennington one day. "We can't get any mail, or +anything." + +"Who wants mail, when you can sit out on deck and look at such a scene as +that?" asked Alice, pointing to a view down a beautiful river. + +"Don't you want to come for a row?" asked Paul of Alice, after luncheon. + +"I think so," she answered. "Where is Ruth?" + +"We'll all go together," he proposed. "Russ wants to get a few pictures, +and Jed Moulton is going along to show us where there are some likely +spots for novel scenes." + +"Of course I'll come!" cried Alice, enthusiastically, as she went to her +stateroom to make ready. + +A little later the four young people, with the alligator hunter, set out +in a big rowboat. Russ took with him a small moving picture camera, as he +generally did, even when he had no special object in view. + +They rowed up the stream in which the _Magnolia_ was resting, her bow +against a fern bank, and presently the party was in a solitude that was +almost oppressive. There was neither sign nor sound of human being, and +the steamer was lost to sight around a bend in the stream. + +"Isn't it wonderful here?" murmured Ruth. + +"It certainly is," agreed Russ who, with Paul, was rowing. + +"It sure is soothin'," said Jed. "Many a time when I ain't had no luck, +and feel all tuckered out, I sneak off to a place like this and I feel +jest glad to be alive." + +He put it crudely enough, but the others understood his homely +philosophy. + +They rowed slowly, pausing now and then to gather some odd flower, or to +look at some big tree almost hidden under the mass of Spanish moss. + +Alice, who had gone to the bow, was looking ahead, when suddenly she +called out: + +"Oh, look at the funny logs! They're bobbing up and down all over. See!" + +Jed and the others looked to where she pointed, toward a sand bar in the +stream. Then the old hunter called out: + +"Logs! Them ain't logs! Them's alligators! We've run into a regular nest +of 'em! I'm glad I brought my gun along!" + +"Oh! Alligators!" gasped Ruth, as one thrust his long and repulsive head +from the water, just ahead of the boat. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +INTO THE WILDS + + +Had there been any convenient mode of running away Ruth and Alice would +certainly have taken advantage of it just then. But they were out in a +boat, in the middle of a wide, sluggish stream, and all about them, +swimming, diving, coming up and crawling over a long sand-bar, were +alligators--alligators on all sides. They were surrounded by them now, +and the girls would no more have gotten out of the boat, even if there +had been a bridge nearby on which to walk to shore, than they would have +dived overboard. + +"Oh, isn't it awful!" gasped Ruth, covering her eyes with her hands. + +"Can they get at us?" asked Alice, more practically. + +"Not if you stay in the boat, I should say," declared Paul. But he was +not altogether sure in his own mind. + +As for Russ he said nothing. But he was busy focusing the small moving +picture camera on the unusual scene. True, he had views of the saurians +at the alligator farm near St. Augustine, but this was different. The +views he was now getting showed the big, repulsive creatures in their +natural haunts. + +"This sure is a big piece of luck!" cried Jed Moulton, as he brought his +rifle up from the bottom of the boat. "It is a rare bit of luck! I didn't +know there was so many 'gators in this neighborhood!" + +"Oh, are you going to shoot?" cried Ruth, as she saw the old hunter +prepare to take aim. + +"Well, that's what I was countin' on, Miss," he replied. "I can't exactly +get a 'gator without shootin' him. They won't come when you call 'em, you +know. But if it's goin' to distress you, Miss, why of course I can--" + +"Oh, no!" she cried hastily. "Of course I don't want to deprive you of +making a living. That was selfish of me. Only I was afraid if you shot +from the boat it might upset, and if we were thrown into the water with +all those horrid things--ugh!" + +She could not finish. + +"I guess you're right, Miss," assented Jed. "It will be better not to +shoot from the boat, especially as we've got a pretty good load in, and +my gun is a heavy one, though it don't recoil such an awful lot. Now +we'll take you girls back to the steamer, and then I'll come here and +make a bag--an alligator bag, you might say," he added with grim humor. + +"Oh, I want to stay and see you shoot!" cried Alice, impulsively. + +"Oh, no, Alice!" cried her sister. "Daddy wouldn't like it, you know." + +"Well, perhaps not," admitted the younger girl, more readily than her +sister had hoped. "Shooting alligators is not exactly nice work, I +suppose, however much it needs to be done, for we have to have their +skins for leather." + +"Then suppose you take us back," suggested Ruth. "I'm sorry to make so +much trouble--" + +"Not at all!" interrupted Paul. "I think it will be best. But if I can +borrow a gun I'm going to get a 'gator myself." + +"And get one for me; will you, Paul?" begged Alice. "I'll have my valise +after all!" + +"Surely," he answered. + +"Just a few minutes more," requested Russ. "There's a big one over there +I want to film. I guess he must be the grandfather of this alligator +roost." + +"I never saw such a nest of 'em!" exclaimed Jed. "I can make a pot of +money out of this. None of the other hunters has stumbled on it. I'm in +luck!" + +Ruth and Alice had lost much of their first fear, and really the only +danger now was lest one of the big saurians upset the boat, which it +might easily do, by coming up under it. The alligators showed no +disposition to make an attack. Indeed, most of them swam past the boat +without noticing it, though a few of the smaller ones scuttled off when +they came up and eyed the craft and its occupants. + +Out on the sand bar, sunning themselves, were nearly a score of the big +creatures. Now and then one would crawl over the others, or plunge into +the sluggish stream with a splash. + +"Some fine skins here," commented Jed, with a professional air. "When we +come back, boys, we'll have a lively time." + +"Isn't it dangerous?" asked Ruth, with a shudder. + +"Alligators ain't half so dangerous as folks think," said Jed. "I've +hunted 'em, boy and man, for years, and I never got much hurt. One I +wounded once nipped me on the leg, and I've got the scar yet." + +"I thought it was the tail that was the dangerous part of an alligator," +said Russ, who now had all the pictures he wanted for the present, +though he intended coming back with the larger camera and filming the +alligator hunt. + +"Well, I've read lots of stories to the effect that an alligator or +crocodile could swing his tail around and knock a man or dog into his +mouth with one sweep, but I don't believe it," the hunter said. "Of +course that big tail could do damage if it was properly used, and you +didn't get out of the way in time. In India I reckon the crocodiles are +dangerous, if what you read is true; but I don't reckon a Florida +alligator nor crocodile ever ate a man." + +"I thought there were no crocodiles in this country," said Russ, who, +with a skillful movement of the oars, avoided hitting a big alligator. + +"That's a mistake," said Jed. "There are both alligators and crocodiles +in Florida, and some of the crocodiles grow to be nearly fifteen feet +long. There ain't so much difference between crocodiles and alligators as +folks think. The main point is that a crocodile's head is more pointed +than an alligator's." + +"They're all horrid enough looking," observed Alice. + +"Wa'al, I grant you they ain't none of 'em beauties," returned the +hunter, with a chuckle, "though I have heard of some folks takin' home +little alligators for pets. I'd as soon have a pet bumblebee!" and he +laughed heartily. + +The two girls were becoming almost indifferent to the alligators now, +though in turning about for the return trip to the steamer they several +times bumped into the clumsy creatures, and once the craft careened +dangerously, causing Alice and Ruth to scream. + +And once, when they were almost out of the haunts of the saurians, an +immense specimen reared itself out of the water and thrust its ugly nose +over the bow. + +"Oh!" cried Alice, shrinking back. + +In an instant Jed fired, aiming, however, along the keel of the boat, and +not broadside across it, so there was no danger from the recoil. + +The alligator sank at once. + +"I hit him!" cried the hunter, "but it wasn't a mortal wound. I'll come +back and get him." + +"Please don't shoot again!" begged Ruth. + +"I won't, Miss, and I beg your pardon; but I really couldn't help it," he +apologized. + +There was considerable excitement aboard the _Magnolia_ when the party +returned with word about the alligators, and when Paul and Russ went back +with Jed, Russ taking a large camera, another boatload of men with guns +was made up for the hunt. + +Even Jed was satisfied later with the day's work, and Russ got a film +that created quite a sensation when shown, for never before had an +alligator hunt been given in moving pictures. + +"Well, I can't go on with you folks any longer," said Jed that night, as +Mr. Pertell, aboard the _Magnolia_, was talking of further plans. "I've +got to stay and take care of my alligator skins," he added. "It means big +money to me." + +"I wish you could come," said the manager. "For we are going into the +wilds, and we may need your help." + +"Into the wilds?" echoed Mr. Sneed. "Do you think it safe?" + +"I don't know whether it is or not," responded Mr. Pertell, and he spoke +half seriously. "But we have to go to get the views I want. I hope none +of you refuse to come." + +No one did, but there was not a little apprehension. + +"Those two girls went into the wilds--and did not come back, you know," +said Ruth to Alice in a low voice. + +"Oh, don't think of it," was the rejoinder. "We are a large party--we +can't get lost." + +But neither Ruth nor Alice realized what was before them. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +LOST + + +Pushing her bow up sluggish streams--up rivers that flowed under arching +trees, heavy with the gray moss, went the _Magnolia_. The party of moving +picture players had been on the move for three days now, without a stop +for taking of pictures, save those Russ made of the negroes cutting wood +for the boilers. No dramas were to be made until they reached a certain +wild and uninhabited part of Florida, of which Mr. Pertell had heard, and +which he thought would be just right for his purpose. + +They had left the vicinity of the alligator hunt, and were pushing on +into the interior. In reality it was not so many miles from Sycamore, but +it seemed a great way, so lonely was it in the palm forests and cypress +swamps. + +"Seems to me this is lonely enough to suit anyone," observed Miss +Pennington as she sat on deck with the others, and looked up stream. + +"It surely is--I feel like screaming just to know that there is something +alive around here," added Miss Dixon. + +"Go ahead!" laughed Russ. "No one will stop you!" + +"Really the silence does seem to get on one's nerves," put in Mr. Towne. +"It--er--interferes with--er--thinking, you know." + +"Didn't know you ever indulged in that habit!" chaffed Paul. + +"Oh, why--er--my deah fellah! Of course I do--at times. I find--I really +find I have to give a great deal of consideration--at times--to the suit +samples my tailor sends me. And really I shall not be sorry to get back +to deah old N'York and renew my wardrobe." + +"If he has any more suits he'll have to get a man to look after them," +remarked Alice. + +"Oh, hush!" chided Ruth. + +Then silence once more settled down over the company on the upper deck of +the _Magnolia_. An awning protected them from the hot sun, and really it +was very pleasant traveling that way. Of course it was lonesome and the +solitude was depressing. For days they would see nothing save perhaps the +boat of some solitary fisherman, or alligator hunter. + +Occasionally they saw some of the big saurians themselves, as they +slipped into the water from some log, or sand bar, on the approach of the +steamer. Now and then some wild water fowl would dart across the bows of +the boat, uttering its harsh cries. + +Russ got a number of fine nature films, but the real work of making +dramas would not take place for another day or two. Meals were served +aboard, though once or twice, when a long stop had to be made for the +cutting of fuel, a shore party was made up. + +Then they would take their luncheon with them, seek out some little +palm-shaded glade, and there feast and make merry. Ruth and Alice, with +Paul and Russ, always enjoyed these trips. + +"I think this will about suit us," said Mr. Pertell, one evening, as the +_Magnolia_ made a turn in the stream, and came to a place where another +sluggish river joined it. "This is the spot spoken of by Jed, and the +surrounding country will give us just the scenery we want, I think. We +will tie up here for the night, and you and I will make an examination +to-morrow, Russ." + +"All right, sir. It looks like a good location to me." + +It was so warm that supper really was almost a waste of effort on the +part of the cook that evening, for few ate much. Then came a comfortable +time spent on the deck, while the night wind cooled the day-heated air. + +"Oh, isn't this positively stifling!" complained Miss Pennington as she +dropped into a chair beside Ruth. "How do you ever stand it? I've bathed +my face in cologne, and done everything I can think of to cool off." + +"Perhaps if you didn't do so much you would keep cooler," Ruth suggested +with a smile. "And really that is a very warm gown you have on." + +"I know it, but it's so becoming to me--at least, I flatter myself it +is," and she glanced in the direction of Mr. Towne, who as usual was +attired "to the limit," as Russ said. + +Ruth and Alice, in cool muslins or lawns, were quite in contrast to the +rather overdressed former vaudeville actresses. + +"I can lend you a kimono," offered Alice. + +"No, thank you!" replied Miss Pennington. "I believe in a certain +refinement in dress, even if we are in the wilds of Florida." + +"I believe in being comfortable," retorted Alice. + +Miss Dixon came up on deck, redolent of a highly perfumed talcum powder. + +"It seems to keep away the mosquitoes," she murmured in explanation, +though no one had said anything, even if Russ did sniff rather +ostentatiously. + +"I should think it would attract them," chuckled Paul. + +"Oh, indeed!" said Miss Dixon, and changed her mind about taking a seat +near him. + +Returning from a little exploring party next day Russ and Mr. Pertell +reported the locality to be just what was wanted. + +"We start work to-morrow," said the manager. "And I want everyone to do +his or her best, for this will bring our Florida stay to a close." + +"And what next?" asked Mr. DeVere. + +"I haven't made up my mind yet. But there will be plenty of other +pictures to make." + +During the next few days every member of the company, from Mr. DeVere to +Tommy and Nellie, had their share of work. There were romantic plays +filmed, and in these Ruth had good parts. As for Alice she rejoiced when +she had humorous "stunts" to do. + +"You are getting to be a regular 'cut-up'," laughed Paul at the close of +one of her performances. + +"Yes, and I hope she doesn't get too much that way," said Ruth. + +"No danger, sister mine, with you to keep me straight," was the answer, +as Alice put an arm around Ruth. + +Some comic films were made, and in a few of these Mr. Sneed and Mr. Towne +had to do "stunts" such as falling in the mud and water, or toppling down +hills head over heels. But Mr. Pertell was careful to warn them not to +run dangerous risks. + +Mr. DeVere, as usual, did more dignified work, and Mr. Bunn was delighted +when told that he might do a bit of Shakespeare. And to do him credit, he +acted well, much better than some of his associates had supposed he +could. + +"I have a new idea for to-day," said Mr. Pertell one morning, as the +day's work was about to start. "In one drama I wish to show a little +picnic scene, with two girls and their mother. You will be the mother, +Mrs. Maguire, and with Ruth and Alice will go off up a side stream in a +boat. Russ will go along, of course, to manage the camera, and I think +I'll send Paul to help row the boat. Take a gun along, Paul, for you can +pretend to shoot some game for the lunch. + +"You will also have a regular picnic lunch along--real food, by the way, +and you will spread it out in some picturesque spot and eat." Mr. Pertell +then went on giving directions for the acting of the drama that was to +center around the little picnic. + +In due time the boat was loaded with the camera and provisions, and Paul +helped in Ruth, Alice and Mrs. Maguire. Then he got in with the gun. + +"Better take your raincoats along," advised Mr. DeVere to his daughters, +"it looks like a shower and you won't be back before night." + +Accordingly the garments were tossed into the boat, and then, leaving the +_Magnolia_ moored to the bank, the small craft started off up a little +side stream that was to be followed for a mile or two. + +Russ picked out a likely spot for the picnic scene and after a bit of +rehearsal Ruth, Alice, Mrs. Maguire and Paul went through the little +play. + +"This is more fun than acting," remarked Alice, as she reached for +another chicken sandwich. + +There was more to do after the meal, and when what food remained had been +packed up for a luncheon later in the afternoon, they entered the boat +again, and started still farther up stream. + +The last film had been made and as the shadows were lengthening the start +back was made. + +"My, it's getting dark very quickly, and it's only three o'clock," said +Paul, as he looked at his watch. + +"Going to rain, I guess," said Russ. And rain it did a little later, the +drops coming down with tropical violence. + +"Oughtn't we to be at the steamer by this time?" asked Mrs. Maguire, when +they could hardly see. + +"Well, maybe we had," agreed Paul. + +The light was set aglow, and then the young men shouted and called: + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" + +Echoes were their only answer, save the bellow or grunt of some distant +alligator, or the screech of some disturbed wild fowl. + +"This is queer," observed Russ. "I'm sure we have rowed back far enough +to be at the place where we left the steamer. I wonder--" + +But he did not finish. + +"What do you wonder?" asked Alice, searchingly. + +"Oh--nothing," Russ hesitated. + +"Yes, it is something!" she insisted. + +"Well, then, I was wondering if we possibly could have come down some +wrong creek. There were a number of turns, you know." + +"Do--do you mean, we are--lost?" faltered Ruth. + +"Well, I'm afraid I do." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE LONG NIGHT + + +Ruth began to cry quietly--she really could not help it. Alice felt like +following her example, but the younger girl had the saving grace of +humor. Not that Ruth actually lacked it, but it was not so near the +surface, nor so easily called into action. + +"Isn't it silly?" Alice suddenly exclaimed. + +"What?" Paul wanted to know. + +"Getting lost like this! It's too funny--" + +"I wish I could see it, my dear," observed Ruth. + +"Try to," urged Mrs. Maguire. "It does seem a bit odd to be lost like +this, and maybe the steamer only just around the corner." + +"Probably she is," agreed Russ. "We must call again!" + +This time they united their voices in a shout that carried far, but the +only effect it had was to disturb some of the denizens of the forest. + +"But what are we going to do?" queried Ruth. "We--we can't stay here all +night." + +"We may have to," answered Russ, grimly enough. + +"Oh, please don't say that!" she faltered. + +"Why, it won't be so bad," put in the jolly Irish woman. "We've got a +roomy boat, thank goodness. We can lie down on the rugs, with our rubber +coats for protection against the dew. We have some food left, and the +moon will soon be up, for it's clearing fast. Then, in the morning, we +can find our way back to the steamer." + +"Of course!" exclaimed Paul, who realized the necessity of keeping up the +spirits of the girls. "We'll be laughing at this to-morrow." + +"Do you really think so?" asked Ruth, timorously. + +"I'm sure of it," he said. "Now let's figure out what we'd better do." + +"How about going ashore?" suggested Russ. + +"Never!" cried Ruth. + +"Why not?" + +"Oh, we don't know what sort of horrid things may be in the woods. It's +safer in the boat." + +"You forget about the--" Alice began, but she did not finish. She had +been about to say "manatees and alligators," but thought better of it. +Instead she changed it to: + +"Well, I guess it's about six of one and half a dozen of the other." + +"Only, don't you think it's better to stay in the boat?" asked Ruth. + +"I suppose it is," agreed Alice. "It will be damp on the ground, and +there is very little water in the boat." + +This was so because when it rained Russ and Paul had used a heavy canvas +to cover up the provisions that were left, and this shed the water over +the sides of the craft. + +"There's the moon!" suddenly called Mrs. Maguire, as she saw a flash of +light between the trees. + +"I only wish it was the lantern of a searching party," sighed Ruth. + +"They probably will hunt for us," said Russ. "But whether they find us +before morning is another matter." + +"Well, let's take an account of things, and see how we stand, anyhow," +suggested Paul, practically. "If we've got to stay here all night we +might as well make ourselves as comfortable as possible." + +"Don't you think we could keep on rowing, and perhaps find the steamer, +Russ?" asked Ruth. + +"I'm afraid not," he answered. "We would only get more lost, if that is +possible. No, I think the best plan is to stay right where we are, and +in the morning we can look about." + +"I don't understand how we came to get lost," remarked Alice. + +"Well, there were so many creeks and bayous that we probably took the +wrong turn," Russ answered. "We ought to have picked out a landmark, I +suppose. I will next time." + +"Yes, we didn't use as much care as we might have done," agreed Paul. +"Well, let's make the ladies comfortable." + +"I'm hungry, more than uncomfortable," declared Alice. + +"There are some sandwiches and other things left," Russ told her. +"Luckily we didn't eat all of them. And I can make coffee." + +"Then please do!" cried Ruth. "I'm cold from the rain, and it may help my +nerves!" + +"You shouldn't have them, sister mine!" mocked Alice. They were all in +better spirits now. The moon was higher, and gave a good illumination, +being at the full. + +There were some heavy rugs in the boat, having been brought along to use +in the picnic scene in the woods. While Paul arranged these in the bottom +of the craft, and put some cushions against the seats so that Mrs. +Maguire and the two girls could lean against them, Russ prepared the +coffee. A jug of drinking water had been brought along, for the water of +the creeks and river was not considered good. Then, with an alcohol +stove, set up on a seat, a steaming pot of coffee was soon made. + +With that and sandwiches the lost ones made a meal for which they were +all grateful, and in which they stood in much need. + +"Oh, how good that was!" sighed Alice. "Is there any more?" + +"Well," hesitated Russ, "I was thinking perhaps we'd better save some +until morning. We will want breakfast, you know." + +"Don't you think they'll find us--or we them--by breakfast time?" asked +Ruth, apprehensively. + +"It's possible that it may not happen," Russ answered, slowly, and his +words seemed rather ominous to the two girls, at least. + +"Oh, don't worry," advised Mrs. Maguire. "We'll be all right, I'm sure. +At the same time it might be a good plan not to eat all the food we +have." + +"Oh, I agree to that!" said Alice, hastily. + +"I'll shoot a wild turkey to-morrow," promised Paul, with a laugh. "Then +we will have a real Thanksgiving feast." + +"I hope we don't have to stay as long as that," sighed Ruth. "Oh, how +father will worry!" she said to Alice. + +"Probably, but it can't be helped. He will know we would come back if we +could, and he'll know we will take care of ourselves." + +"Still, he can't help worrying," insisted Ruth. + +Fortunately the boat was a roomy one, and the lost ones were not as +uncomfortable as might have been imagined, with the rugs and cushions and +the piece of canvas, as well as their raincoats, for covering. + +The craft was tied to a tree on shore, in a sort of little cove, and +there the five prepared to spend the night. The moon came up higher over +the trees, and shone down on the strange scene. + +"I wish it were light enough for some pictures," sighed Russ. + +"Nothing much gets away from you, old man," laughed Paul. "Are your +ladies comfortable?" he asked, as he joined Russ in the bow of the boat, +the other three being in the broad stern. + +"Very comfortable," answered Alice. "Only I wish we had brought a +mosquito netting along. The little pests are after me with a vengeance." + +"I can build a smudge on shore, and that may keep them off," offered +Russ. "In fact, a smudge is about the only kind of a fire I could make, +as everything is so damp." + +This proved to be the case. But a heavy smoke was soon floating over the +boat, and this did seem to keep away the pests. + +"What had we better do?" asked Russ of Paul, as they piled more damp fuel +on the smudge-fire. + +"Well, we'll have to stand watch and watch, of course. And we will have +the gun ready. It's all loaded. No telling what might happen. A bobcat +might take a notion to come aboard, or an alligator might nose us out. +We'll have to be on the watch." + +Little or nothing could be told about the surrounding country in the +darkness, even illuminated as it was by the moon. The river stretched +away in either direction, and both banks were heavily wooded. + +"Br-r-r! but it's creepy here!" sighed Ruth, as the two young men got +into the boat again. + +"Is that a light--a lantern--off there?" asked Alice, suddenly, as she +sat up and pointed. + +For a moment they all hoped that it was, and they raised their voices in +shouts: + +"Here we are!" + +"Look for our lantern!" + +Then as the other light moved about erratically Russ said: + +"It's only _ignis-fatuus_--will-o'-the-wisp. It's a sort of +phosphorescent glow that appears at night over swamps. I've seen it in +rotting stumps on hot nights." + +"Too bad to disappoint you," said Mrs. Maguire. "Now, girls, get +comfortable, and we'll be all right in the morning. Try to sleep." + +Ruth and Alice declared it was out of the question, and for a long time +they remained wide awake. Mrs. Maguire, who had traveled with many road +companies, and had often slept under adverse circumstances, did manage to +doze off. Russ had first watch, and Paul was tired enough to fall into a +slumber. + +Finally Ruth and Alice also slumbered, leaning against each other, with +Mrs. Maguire as partial support. Russ found his head nodding as the long +night wore on. + +"Come, this won't do!" he told himself, sitting up with a jerk. But +nature was insistent, and he became sleepy again. He was suddenly +awakened by what seemed some horrid, human cry close to the boat. + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth, startling the others into wakefulness. "What was +that?" + +The cry was repeated--a cry that brought a chill to the heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +ASHORE + + +The boat rocked and trembled under the impulse of the moving +bodies--swayed so and tilted, that Russ sharply called: + +"Steady all, or we'll upset!" + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth. "Never! Do be quiet, Alice!" + +"I'm not moving; it's you!" + +"Quiet, girls," called Mrs. Maguire, softly. She had really been sleeping +soundly, and the sudden awakening rather confused her. "What's it all +about?" she asked. + +"Oh, didn't you hear it?" gasped Ruth. "Such a horrible cry!" + +"Maybe it was some one calling to us--some of the searching party from +the _Magnolia_," suggested Paul. + +"Let's give an answer, then," came from Russ. + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" cried Paul, and the young moving picture operator +joined in with his powerful voice. + +There was no answer for a moment, and all about in the black woods was +silence. Off on shore glowed the faint sparks of the smudge-fire. + +"They didn't hear you," said Alice, softly. + +And then, vibrating on the night, and echoing through the trees, came +that dreadful cry again; weird, long-drawn-out, a howl--a fiendish laugh, +ending in a choking giggle and then a shrill whine. + +"Oh--oh!" gasped Ruth, and she and Alice clung together, leaning on Mrs. +Maguire. + +"It's like the wail of a lost soul," whispered Alice. + +"Sure, and it must be an Irish banshee!" murmured Mrs. Maguire. "I've +heard my mother tell of 'em!" + +"It's a wild beast, that's all," said Paul, though his voice was not +steady as usual. For the cry, coming out of the darkness, perhaps from a +spot where some animal crouched, ready to spring down on them, was not +reassuring. + +"That's it--some animal," added Russ. "Hand me that gun, Paul, I'll +try--" + +"Oh, you're not going after it--in the dark, are you?" interrupted Ruth. + +"Not much, little girl!" he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his +nerves were steadying. "I'm only going to try a shot to frighten it. I +don't want to be kept awake all night." + +"As if one could close an eye with that horrid creature loose in the +woods," remarked Alice. + +Again came the weird cry, seemingly nearer than before. + +"We ought to have a fire," whispered Paul. "Wild animals are afraid of +fire." + +"It's too damp to build one," remarked Russ. "The lantern will have to +answer." + +The beast kept up its howling longer than usual this time. Then Russ, who +had a good ear for sound, and a fine sense of location, raised the gun +and fired into the darkness. + +A jagged streak of flame lit up the blackness for a second, and following +close after the echoes of the shot there sounded a howl that was +unmistakably one of pain. + +"You winged him, Russ!" cried Paul. + +The howling continued. + +The girls screamed. Mrs. Maguire tried to calm them. + +"I believe I may have touched him," admitted Russ, not a little proudly. +"There was a big charge of shot in that cartridge, and it probably +scattered. He can't be badly hurt though, but it may make him go serenade +someone else. We've had enough." + +The howls grew fainter, and there was a crashing in the bushes and tree +limbs that told of the retreat of some creature. Finally these sounds +ceased, and once more there was silence and darkness, illuminated only by +the lantern and the faint glow of the smudge-fire. + +"Do you really think it's gone?" asked Ruth faintly, as she nestled +closer to her sister and Mrs. Maguire. + +"I hope so," ventured Alice. + +"I guess we've heard the last of it," Russ assured them. "But don't +worry. We'll be on the watch the rest of the night. I wish we could have +a fire; but I'm afraid it's out of the question." + +"Let's try, anyhow," suggested Paul. "It will give us something to do. +I'm cold and stiff. Maybe we can find a bit of dry wood." + +"It is chilly," complained Ruth, and she shivered. The night was cold and +damp. + +Nor were the piece of canvas and the raincoats much protection. Still, it +was better than nothing. + +"Well, we'll try a fire," agreed Russ, as he prepared to go ashore with +Paul. + +"Oh--don't--don't go!" begged Ruth, nervously. + +"Why not?" asked the young actor. + +"Because--that beast--!" + +"I fancy he's far enough off by now," answered Russ. "A fire will be our +best protection, if we can make one. Come on, Paul, let's try it, +anyhow." + +"Oh, I--I don't like them to go," protested Ruth. + +"Silly! It's the best thing to do," answered Alice. "They probably need a +little exercise. They haven't so much room in their end of the boat as we +have." + +"Oh, of course, I don't want them to be uncomfortable," returned Ruth, +quickly. + +Searching about with the lantern Russ and Paul managed to get enough dry +wood to start a blaze. It was a tiny one at first, but as the wood dried +out the flames grew apace until there was a really good camp fire. + +"How's that?" called Russ, as he dropped a pile of sticks into the +flames. + +"Lovely!" answered Alice. + +"It isn't half so lonesome now," added Ruth. She tried to be cheerful--as +cheerful as Alice seemed, though really both girls, in their hearts, were +worrying over the effect their absence would have on their father. + +"Now we've done this much, let's do a little more," suggested Paul. +"Let's brew some coffee. I fancy the girls must be chilly. I know I am." + +"Good idea! Coffee for five!" cried Russ, as though giving orders to a +restaurant waiter. + +"I wouldn't sleep, anyhow, after hearing that beast scream," said Ruth. +"Do make coffee." + +The alcohol stove was soon lighted and the aromatic odor of the hot +beverage floated on the air. The little party made merry--as merry as +possible under the circumstances. + +The moon sank below the trees again. It grew very dark, and somehow they +dozed off again--fitfully. Then a pale light suffused the east, filtering +faintly through the trees. It grew brighter. + +"Morning," announced Russ, with a luxurious stretch. "It's morning." + +"The end of the long night," whispered Ruth. "How glad--how very glad I +am." + +"Let's all go ashore and have breakfast--that is, whatever we have left +for breakfast," proposed Alice. "It will do us all good to run about a +bit." + +And soon they were all ashore, using stiffened muscles gingerly at first, +and then with increasing confidence. The sun was blazing hot overhead. + +"And now to find our mislaid steamer!" cried Russ, gaily. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE PALM HUT + + +Breakfast, on the shore of the sluggish and swamp-like stream where the +big rowboat was moored, was a meagre meal, indeed. For after a moment of +consideration it was decided not to use up all the food that remained. + +"We may need some for luncheon," explained Russ, who seemed to have taken +command of the little party. "We may not be able to reach the steamer by +noon." + +"Do you think we'll _ever_ be able to reach it, old man?" asked Paul, in +a low voice. + +"Oh, sure. We've just _got_ to find it!" whispered the young operator, +with a quick glance at the girls. + +"That's so," agreed Paul. But he knew, as well as did Russ, that it would +be no easy matter. + +And so the "rations" were divided into two parts, though with all there +would not have been enough for one substantial meal. Fortunately, +however, the coffee was plentiful. The cook, when told to put up a lunch +for the picnic party that was to figure in the moving pictures, had been +very liberal, otherwise there would have been no food left now. And in +the matter of coffee enough had been put in to make several large pots +full. + +As for water, some had been brought along, but, luckily, after this was +exhausted Russ managed to find a spring on shore, not far from where the +boat was moored. + +"We'll have to take a chance on it," he said. "Anyhow, boiling the water +for coffee will kill all the germs in it." + +"And we can't be too particular," agreed Mrs. Maguire. + +The embers of the camp fire kindled in the night were blown into flame, +and soon a genial blaze was leaping upward under the big trees. The +refugees gathered about it and ate the scanty meal, drinking several cups +of coffee. + +"That will keep us up, and help to ward off fevers which may lurk in +these swamps," said Paul. + +The girls had freshened themselves by washing at the side of the brook +which flowed from the spring, and then having arranged their hair, with +the aid of their side combs, and a pocket mirror Alice carried, they +looked, as Paul said, "as sweet as magnolia blossoms." + +"Oh, magnolias!" cried Ruth. "If we could only find our _Magnolia_--the +steamer!" + +"Oh, we'll find her," said Russ, easily--more easily than he felt. + +"We look like wrecks beside the girls," declared Paul, as he ran his hand +over his unshaven chin. + +"Don't you dare desert us to look for a barber!" commanded Ruth. "To be +left alone in these woods--ugh!" and she shuddered as she looked about. +Certainly it was very lonely. + +"It isn't as bad as last night, though," said Alice. "I feel quite at +home, now. I wonder what became of that animal you shot, Russ? I'd like +to see what it was." + +"I wouldn't," declared Ruth, decidedly. + +Breakfast over, the blankets and cushions of the boat were spread out in +the sun to dry, for they were damp from the rain and dew. + +"And now the question is--what are we to do?" asked Mrs. Maguire. "We +don't want to spend another night in the woods if we can help it." + +"I should say not!" cried Russ. "We'll start off in a little while and +make our way back to the steamer." + +"Can you find it?" asked Ruth. + +"Well, it can't be so very far off," spoke Russ, evasively. "The trouble +is there are so many twists and turns to these creeks and rivers that we +lost our way. I wish I had thought to bring a compass but, since we +didn't, we'll have to go by the sun. I think the steamer lies in that +general neighborhood," and he pointed in a south-easterly direction. + +"I think so, too," agreed Paul. "And if we row that way I think we'll get +back." + +Alice, who had gone over to the sunny spot where the blankets and +cushions had been put to dry, uttered an exclamation. + +"Look!" she cried, and when Paul reached her side she pointed to some +bright red spots on the leaves. + +"That's blood!" cried the young actor. "Russ, you winged that beast last +night, all right." + +"Is that so? Let's have a look for him! Maybe I killed him. I'd like to +see what sort of a creature it was." + +The two young men went a little way into the wood, and then came a call: + +"Here he is--dead as a door nail." + +"Oh, what is it? I want to see it!" cried Alice, who had a good deal of +the curious boy in her make-up. + +"Don't go!" begged Ruth. + +"I shall, too. It can't hurt me--if it's dead." + +"I know, dear, but--" + +Alice went, however. + +"It's a lynx," said Russ, as he looked at the dead beast. "I can tell by +those queer little tufts of hair on the ears." + +"Are they dangerous?" asked Alice. + +"Oh, I guess so, if you had one cornered. They can keep a fellow awake, +anyhow, that's one sure thing. I must have fired better than I knew. But +then the shot scattered so." + +"He must have been pretty close to us," remarked Paul. + +"Ugh! I don't like to think of it," murmured Alice, with a little shiver. +"Suppose he had jumped into the boat?" + +"Don't suppose," laughed Russ. + +"Come!" called Mrs. Maguire from where she had remained near the boat +with Ruth. "If we're going, we'd better start." + +"That's right," agreed Russ. "The sooner we start the quicker we'll get +there." + +The blankets and cushions were arranged in the craft to make comfortable +places for the girls and Mrs. Maguire, and then the remains of the food, +and the coffee outfit, having been stowed away, Paul and Russ took the +oars, and once more the refugees were under way. + +As nearly as possible, allowing for the twists and turns of the stream, +the course was in the direction Russ and Paul had agreed upon as being +the best. From time to time, as they rowed on, they paused to listen for +any hails which would probably be given by the searching party from the +steamer. + +"For of course daddy will start out after us," said Ruth. "Poor daddy!" + +"I guess there's no doubt of that," agreed Russ. "The only trouble is +they won't know where to look for us." + +"Wouldn't they go first to the place where we took the picnic films?" +asked Alice. + +"I suppose so, yes; but when we came away from there we left no trail +they could follow. So it will be sort of hit or miss with them, as it +will be with us." + +"We ought to fire the gun once in a while," suggested Mrs. Maguire. +"That's what all lost persons do." + +"Good idea!" commented Russ. "I should have done it before. And they will +probably fire to attract our attention, for there are several guns +aboard the steamer." + +They now made up a definite program, to the effect that they would stop +every half-hour to listen for possible shouts and shots and would also +shout and fire in their turn. + +This was done, but the sun was nearly noon high, and they had heard no +sounds save the natural ones of the swamp and forest. + +Now and then they would see alligators in the waters up or down which +they rowed, but the saurians showed no disposition to molest the boat. +And Russ had too few cartridges to wish to waste any on the creatures. + +"We may have to spend another night in the open," he confided to Paul. + +"It doesn't look very hopeful," agreed the young actor. + +Noon came, and as far as could be told from listening, and from looking +about, they were as far off as ever from the steamer. + +"And yet it may be within a comparatively short distance of us," said +Russ, as cheerfully as he could. "Only the woods are so dense that we +can't see it, and if our voices and the sounds of the gun carry to the +_Magnolia_ those aboard can't tell from which direction they come." + +They had been keeping on in the course first decided on--southeast--and +there were many twists and turns to the trail. + +"Would it be any better to get out and walk?" asked Ruth. + +"I think not," said Russ. "The boat is really easiest and best for us." +He did not say so, but he thought that if they had to spend another night +in the open the boat would be absolutely necessary. So they remained +aboard. + +At noon they tied up, and went ashore to eat the last of the food. Only a +little coffee remained, and as the final meagre crumbs were disposed of +each one feared to look the others in the face. + +What would be next--where would the next meal come from? + +No one could answer. + +"Well, we'd better move on, I suppose," suggested Russ, after a pause. +"No good staying here." + +"That's the idea," agreed Paul, trying to speak cheerfully. + +He glanced at the two girls. Ruth's lips were quivering, and she seemed +on the verge of tears. Alice was bearing up better, but she, too, showed +the effects of the strain. + +Mrs. Maguire was a pillar of strength and courage. + +"Whist! And it's laughin' we'll be at ourselves in a little while--to +think we were scared!" she cried, with a forced Irish brogue. "We'll be +soon aboard the steamer tellin' what good times we had, an' the others +will be wishin' they'd been along." + +"I--I wish I could believe so," faltered Ruth. + +The boys rowed on, and they were glad of the exertion, for it kept them +from brooding over the troubles of their situation, and a troublesome +situation it was--they admitted that. + +The afternoon was half gone, and in spite of having traveled several +miles, twisting this way and that, there were no signs of the steamer. + +The boat made a turn in a stream that seemed more sluggish and lonely +than any of the others. But it was broader and this gave the boys hope. + +"We may get somewhere on this creek," observed Russ, pulling hard at the +oars. + +Alice gave a startled cry, pointed toward the shore and said: + +"Look!" + +They all gazed to where she indicated, and there, on the bank of the +stream, was a small hut, made of palm leaves, while in front of it, tied +to an overhanging tree, was a large motor boat! + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE LOST ARE FOUND + + +"What does it mean?" + +"A boat at last!" + +"Human beings, anyhow!" + +Thus came the excited calls from those in the rowing craft, as it drifted +toward the hut on shore--a palm leaf hut that seemed crudely made. Russ +and Paul had ceased rowing at the sight of the motor boat, and now their +own craft was merely drifting. + +"Hurry up, there!" begged Alice. "There must be someone on shore who can +put us on the right path. Oh, what a relief!" + +"Isn't it!" agreed Ruth, with tears in her eyes. But they were tears of +joy, now. + +"This came in the nick of time," murmured Russ to Paul. "I was about +ready to give up." + +"Yes?" agreed Paul, half-questioningly. "And yet isn't it queer we don't +see some sign of life?" he asked, in a low voice. "We have made noise +enough, but no one has come out of that hut. And the hut itself doesn't +seem like a very permanent sort of residence; does it?" + +"Indeed it doesn't," spoke Russ. "But it may be one just put up for a +night or two by a hunter. Anyhow, we'll soon find out what it means, and +if anyone is there who can tell us which way to go." + +He and Paul resumed their rowing and a little later were close beside the +moored motor boat. It was a large craft, and well appointed, though now +it showed signs of being weather-beaten; it was scratched and marred. But +it seemed to be in good running order. + +"Ahoy there!" called Russ, as he made fast their own boat. "Ahoy in the +hut!" + +There was no answer. + +"Maybe they're asleep," suggested Ruth. + +"We can apologize for waking them up," said Alice. "Oh, to think we have +help at last!" + +Russ and Paul looked at each other. They were not quite so sure, now, in +view of the silence, that help was at hand. + +Still, the fact that the boat was tied showed that it had not merely +drifted to the spot. Some human agency must have been about at some time +or other. + +With Russ and Paul in the lead the little party made their way to the +palm leaf hut. It was ingeniously made--a glance showed that. A palm tree +had been taken for the centre pole, and about this had been tied layer +after layer of palm leaves, so laid as to shed the rain. + +The hut was circular, and at the outer edge of the roof poles had been +driven into the ground to support it. There was a small opening, which +necessitated stooping to enter, and this doorway, if such it could be +called, was covered by a sort of curtain of palm leaves, made in layers +and fastened together with withes and wild leaves, laced in and out. + +"Quite a piece of work!" commented Paul. "Now I wonder how one is to +knock at a palm leaf door?" + +"Don't knock--call," suggested Russ, and, raising his voice, he fairly +shouted: + +"Is anyone here?" + +There was no answer. + +"I wonder if it would be impolite to open the door, or the curtain, and +look in?" suggested Alice. + +"Under the circumstances--I think not," answered Mrs. Maguire. "We need +help, and this is the first sign we have seen of it." + +Russ stepped forward, and, after a moment of hesitation lifted the +curtain of palm leaves. The interior of the hut was rather dark, and, +for a moment he could see nothing. + +"Anyone there?" asked Paul. + +"Not a soul," was the disappointing reply. "It's empty." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Alice. + +"What are we to do?" Ruth wanted to know. + +No one could answer her. Russ was busy making a more thorough examination +of the interior of the hut. + +"It's a good place to stay--if we have to," he said to Paul, who had +joined him inside. + +"And it looks as though we'd have to--eh?" + +"I'm afraid so." + +Russ fastened the palm curtain back and this let in more light. Then the +others came up, though there was not room for them all inside. The hut +would hold three comfortably--no more. + +"Who has been here?" + +"What sort of a hut is it?" + +"Has anyone been here lately?" + +Ruth, Alice, and Mrs. Maguire, in turn, asked these questions. + +"I don't know who has been here," said Russ, "but it's the sort of a hut +a native might build--possibly a Seminole Indian. Or some hunters may +have it to stay a few nights in a spot where they could get alligators, +or whatever game they were after. The fact that the boat is here seems +to show they haven't gone for good." + +"Oh, then they may come back!" cried Ruth. + +"Very likely to, I should say," spoke Russ. "We'll just stick around +until they do." + +"I hope they come back before dark," ventured Ruth, and her sister echoed +the wish. + +A closer examination of the hut showed two rude bunks, made of sticks, +raised slightly above the surface of the ground. The bunks were covered +with thick layers of Spanish moss, and were evidently far from being +uncomfortable. A few blankets showed that the occupants did not lack for +a little comfort. + +There were a few cooking utensils scattered about, and outside, the ashes +of a camp fire, made between stones--a sort of oven--showed how the meals +were prepared. But there was little evidence of food, save a few empty +tins. + +"There are evidently two persons staying here," observed Russ, as he +looked at a packing box, which served as a table, and noted two tin +plates, and two knives, forks and spoons. "It must be real jolly, camping +this way." + +"I'd rather have a tent," said Paul. "This palm leaf hut looks artistic, +and all that, but not very secure." + +"It's secure enough in good weather," declared Russ. "Well, I guess the +only thing to do is to wait until these folks come back. They won't +remain away all night, I hardly think." + +"But if they don't come back until dark, what shall we do?" asked Ruth. +"We can't stay out all night again." + +"We may have to," declared practical Alice. + +"That is so, and we may as well face the issue," said Russ, somewhat +gravely. "And now that we have found a sign of human beings, who can +possibly tell us which way to go to find the steamer, it would be foolish +to waste this chance. If we go off by ourselves again we may get farther +and farther away from the _Magnolia_." + +"That is so," agreed Paul. "I think we had better stay." + +"That's what I say!" exclaimed Mrs. Maguire. "It seems like company just +to look at that boat and the hut, and to know that someone has been here +lately, and will come back." + +"Oh, they'll be sure to come back," Russ said. "That's is too good a boat +to abandon. Why, it must be worth a thousand dollars." + +He and Paul went down to examine it, while the moving picture girls and +Mrs. Maguire looked about the hut. + +"It seems almost like home, after what we have been through," remarked +Ruth. + +"I wish there was something to eat here," said Alice, after a stroll +about the vicinity of the hut. "Whoever lives here must get their +supplies in from day to day, and eat them all up." + +"Or they may be out after supplies now," added Mrs. Maguire. + +The shadows were lengthening, but the sun was still bright, and it would +not be night for several hours. There was a period of anxious waiting. + +"I wonder if we hadn't better shout again, and fire a few shots?" +remarked Paul. "We may be near our own steamer now, though it doesn't +seem so. We might be in another country, for all we can tell." + +"I believe we will give a few signals," agreed Russ. "And I can spare a +couple of cartridges. I only wish I could see something worth eating to +shoot at. Then I could be killing two birds with one stone--giving a +signal and providing a meal." + +But there seemed no suitable mark for the weapon to be aimed at, and, +after they had united their voices in a chorus of calls, Russ fired +twice--at intervals. + +Then came a period of anxious waiting and silence. + +"Call once more," suggested Ruth. + +"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, raising her hand to add to her injunction, for +Russ had been about to speak. "I heard something." + +They all listened intently. + +"There it is again!" whispered Alice. + +Unmistakably now they all heard voices calling--voices that increased in +intensity--coming nearer. + +"Oh, they've found us! They've found us!" half sobbed Ruth. + +"Call again, boys--I--I can't," faltered Alice. + +Russ and Paul shouted. + +Again came an unmistakable answer. Now was heard a crashing in the +underbrush that told of the approach of someone, and, a moment later +there came into view, on the far side of the clearing, where stood the +palm leaf hut, two girls, one with a gun over her shoulder, and the other +with a brace of birds hanging from her waist. + +The two girls stopped for a moment, and then, with joyful shouts, rushed +forward. + +As for our friends, they seemed paralyzed with astonishment. It was so +different from what they had expected. Then Alice found her voice, and +cried: + +"The two lost girls--we have found them!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +OUT OF THE WILDS + + +For perhaps several seconds the two parties strangely met in that Florida +wild stood staring at one another. Then the two girls hurried forward, +and one of them exclaimed: + +"Oh, have you come for us?" + +"Not exactly, Miss Madison." + +"Oh--you--you know us?" gasped the other. + +"Certainly, Mabel," laughed Alice. "Don't you remember us--the moving +picture girls?" + +"Ruth--Alice DeVere!" came the simultaneous cry from the lost girls--now +the _found_ girls. "Oh, how did you ever get here?" asked Helen Madison, +for it was really she and her sister. Alice had recognized them first, +and Ruth knew them a moment later. + +"We are lost, like yourselves," said Ruth. "Oh, but can you tell us where +our steamer is?" + +"Your steamer--no!" half-sobbed Mabel. "Oh, it is awful! We have been +lost a long time--it seems a month, but of course it isn't. We can't +find our way out of this wilderness. It is a labyrinth, and we dare not +go far from this hut for fear we shall never find it again. It has been +terrible. But if you are lost you cannot help us. What shall we do?" + +"Let us eat first," suggested Russ, practically. "You have some birds +there. I fancy you are as hungry as we are. We have some crackers and +coffee. We'll get up a meal and then decide what to do. Come, Paul, we're +the commissary department." + +"Oh, but we must hear your story!" cried Ruth to the lost girls, after +she had presented Mrs. Maguire and the boys. "We read about you in the +paper, and we heard of you from the hotel clerk in Sycamore." + +"There isn't much to tell," said Mabel. "We started off after wild +orchids. Well, we became lost, and in trying to find our way back we +wandered farther and farther into the swamp. We had our motor boat, as +you see, and quite a quantity of provisions, which was lucky for us. We +tried our best to get out, but could not. + +"Finally we found this spot--the hut was already here, built by alligator +hunters, very likely. We appropriated it, and the small quantity of food +it contained. Since then we have lived on that and what we could shoot. +Fortunately game was plentiful, but we have so longed for some bread and +coffee. I am dying for a cup." + +"Dinner will soon be served," laughed Russ, who, with Paul, was preparing +a rude meal, broiling the birds over a camp fire. + +"And now tell us about yourselves," suggested Mabel to Alice. "Oh! to +think of meeting you again this way," and she recalled the first meeting +in the train going to the New England backwoods. + +By degrees, and with each one telling a part, the story of the moving +picture players was related. They told how they had looked in vain for +their steamer. Mabel and Helen Madison also went more into details, +giving some of their trying experiences in the swamps and bayous. + +"But for days we have not tried to find our way from here," said Mabel. +"Our motor boat broke down, and we can't get it to go." + +"I fancy I can fix it," said Russ, "but the question is: Which way to go? +We may only get to a worse place." + +"Let us eat, anyhow," suggested Paul. + +It was not a very elaborate meal, but it put new heart and courage into +the lost ones. + +"We'll get back somehow--some time," declared Alice, who was now almost +her old self. "And then won't everybody be glad!" + +Night was coming on, but before the advent of darkness Russ had remedied +the defect in the motor boat. There was trouble with the ignition system, +and also with the carbureter. + +"Now we could go, if we knew which way to go," he said, as he tested the +craft. + +"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, suddenly. + +The sound of a cheerful whistle came through the screen of trees. + +"Oh!" gasped Ruth. "Who can it be?" + +She had her answer a moment later. + +Around a bend in the stream, rowing a battered boat, came an old colored +man. It was he who was making the melody. Cheerfully he whistled, and +more happily was he listened to. + +"Ahoy there, Uncle!" called Russ. "Can you tell us where we are, and +where the _Magnolia_ is tied up?" + +The old colored man was so startled by the sudden hail, breaking in on +his whistling, that he nearly went overboard. He recovered himself, +however, and called out: + +"Whut--whut yo' all doin' at mah cabin?" + +"Is this your place, Uncle?" asked Russ. + +"It shore am. An'--an'--I bids yo' all welcome--I shore does, honey!" he +added quickly, remembering his hospitality. + +"We've made ourselves at home," said Mabel. "Oh, whoever you are, can you +show us the way out of this wilderness?" + +"Kin I show yo' all a way outen dish yeah woods? I shore kin, honey lamb! +I knows dish yeah place laik a book, even if I cain't read. Where all +does yo' all want t' go? Oh, wait a minute, though. Hole on! I done got +t' ax yo' all some questions. Hab yo' all seen any photographers round +'bout yeah?" + +"Photographers?" repeated Paul. + +"Yais, sah! I done passed a steamer yist'day, an' dey all on board was +monstrous peeved 'cause dey done lost der photographer. Yo' all know--he +takes dese pictures dat twinkle laik stars--yo' know, slidin' pictures, I +guess dey calls 'em." + +"Do you mean moving pictures?" asked Russ, eagerly. + +"Uh, huh! Dat's what I means, honey. All on board dish yeah steamer was +pow'ful worried case de moving picture man an' some oders got lost. Yo' +all didn't see 'em; did yo' all?" + +"We're them!" cried Alice, with a justifiable disregard of grammar. + +"And can you take us to that steamer?" asked Ruth, eagerly. + +"I shore can, honey lamb; but it's quite a far way t' row t'night." + +"We can go in the motor boat!" cried Mabel. "Oh, how glad I am that we +have it. There's gasoline enough, I think, and there is a powerful +searchlight. Oh, Helen, we're found--we're found!" and she fell to +sobbing on her sister's shoulder. + +Ruth and Alice, too, clasped their arms about each other. All their +troubles seemed over now. + +"Do you think you can pilot us to that steamer?" asked Russ. + +"I shore can, honey lamb!" chuckled the old negro. "I'se libbed in dese +waters boy an' man all mah life. Yo' can't lose me!" + +"And is this your place?" asked Mrs. Maguire, pointing to the palm hut. + +"Dat's what it am, honey lamb. Uh, huh! I comes heah t' hunt alligators +an' sea cows. Sometimes I stays fer a week at a time. I jest come up now +t' see if dere any traces of 'gators. I'se gwine t' start in huntin' next +week." + +"Oh, isn't he a dear!" laughed Alice, with tears of joy in her eyes. + +"Well, I guess you can postpone your investigation for a while," +suggested Russ. "It's getting dark, Uncle, and we'd like to get back to +the steamer. Now, if you'll pilot us we'll pay you well, and see that +you get back in the morning. You can stay on the _Magnolia_ to-night--if +we find her." + +"Oh, I'll find her, all right--don't yo' all let dat fret yo'!" chuckled +the negro. "I knows jest where's she tied. It's a few miles from heah, +but in dat choo-choo boat yo' all kin soon be dere." + +Leaving his own boat on shore the colored man got into the motor boat +with the others. The rowboat from the steamer was towed, and in it were +left the rugs, blankets, moving picture camera and other things. + +The two Madison sisters brought away with them a box of rare orchid +specimens, the results of their search. + +"I wish I could get a moving picture of this; but I can't," sighed Russ, +as the motor boat started off in the twilight. Soon it became so dark +that the searchlight was set aglow, and this gave a fine illumination. + +But Uncle Joshua, which the negro said was his only name, seemed to need +no light. In and out among the creeks, rivers, and bayous he directed +Russ to steer, until finally, making a turn in a stream, there burst out +on the eager eyes of the refugees the lights of the steamer. + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" + +"Here we are!" + +"Oh, Daddy, Daddy!" + +"On board the _Magnolia_!" + +Such joyful shouts as there were, and such joyful answers! + +And then--but I leave you to imagine the scene aboard the steamer when +the lost ones stepped out of the motor launch. Mr. DeVere, who was in a +state of collapse through fear for his daughters, nearly fainted from +joy, but he soon was himself again. And as for Tommy and Nellie, it is a +wonder their grandmother was able to stand all the hugging and kissing +they gave her. + +As for the other members of the picture company, they rejoiced to the +extent of tears, and even Mr. Sneed whistled cheerfully. + +Mabel and Helen Madison were really in need of food and rest, for they +had fared worse than our friends, having been lost so long, and suffering +so from exposure. They were put to bed, and ordered to rest, the +assurance being given that early in the morning the start would be made +for their home in Sycamore. + +And then such a talking time as there was! It was almost morning before +anyone thought of bed. + +"And all the while we were only a comparatively short distance from +here," said Russ, when everything had been explained. But the dense woods +and the winding waterways were as effective a barrier as many miles would +have been. + +"It's lucky Uncle Joshua came along," commented Alice, and there was no +dissent from this. + +"I declare, we seem to be getting into more and more strenuous +adventures, the more moving picture business we do," said Ruth. "But I +think this is about the end." + +"Indeed it isn't!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I don't want to crowd you too +much, but I have an idea for some new moving pictures, and I'd like to +keep this whole company together." + +"Where this time?" Alice asked. + +"Out West," was the answer. "I am planning a big drama, to be called +'East and West,' and I think it will be our best effort." + +"Out West," said Ruth, softly. "I wonder what will happen to us out +there?" + +And the answer may be found by reading the next book of this series, to +be entitled "The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch; Or, Great Days +Among the Cowboys." + +The day following the finding of the lost girls the _Magnolia_ started +back for Sycamore. It was reached without accident, or incident of +moment, and how the whole town rejoiced when it was known that the two +Madison girls were aboard the boat! There was a veritable holiday. + +The moving picture girls, too, came in for their share of attention, and +had Uncle Joshua been there he probably would have been one of the +centres of attraction. But, after being suitably rewarded, he went back +to his palm hut, which had served the lost girls so well. + +Russ made a few more films, to complete the set wanted, and then came a +packing-up for the return to New York. Before that, however, Mr. Madison +insisted on being the host to the entire company at a garden fete in +honor of his daughters' safe return. + +"Oh, but it was lovely under the palms, even if we did get lost," said +Alice, as they started on their northward journey. + +"Indeed it was," agreed Ruth. "I wonder if we will like the West as +well." + +"Better!" predicted Russ. + +"I'm going to be a cowboy!" declared Paul. + +And now we will take leave of the Moving Picture Girls and their friends. + + +THE END + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moving Picture Girls Under the +Palms, by Laura Lee Hope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + +***** This file should be named 17118-8.txt or 17118-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/1/1/17118/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms + Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + +Release Date: November 20, 2005 [EBook #17118] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + +<h1>The<br /> +Moving Picture Girls<br /> +Under the Palms</h1> + +<h4>OR</h4> + +<h3>Lost in the Wilds of Florida</h3> + +<h4>BY</h4> + +<h2><span class="smcap">Laura Lee Hope</span></h2> + + +<h5>AUTHOR OF "THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS," "THE MOVING PICTURE +GIRLS AT OAK FARM," "THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES," +"THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES," ETC.</h5> + +<h4><i>ILLUSTRATED</i></h4> + +<h4>THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO.<br /> +CLEVELAND NEW YORK</h4> + +<h5>Made in U.S.A.</h5> + +<hr /> +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1914, by<br /> +GROSSET & DUNLAP</span></h4> + +<h4><br />PRESS OF<br /> +THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO.<br /> +CLEVELAND</h4> + +<hr /> +<h3>CONTENTS</h3> +<table summary="Table of Contents" > +<tr><td><b>CHAPTER</b><br /> </td><td class="right"><b>PAGE</b><br /> </td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I <span class="smcap"> Overboard</span></a></td><td class="right"> 1</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II <span class="smcap"> To the Rescue</span></a></td><td class="right">11</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III <span class="smcap"> A Disquieting Item</span></a></td><td class="right">18</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV <span class="smcap"> Fire on Board</span></a></td><td class="right">28</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V <span class="smcap"> Disabled</span></a></td><td class="right"> 37</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI <span class="smcap"> By Wireless</span></a></td><td class="right">46</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII <span class="smcap"> In Port</span></a></td><td class="right">54</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII <span class="smcap"> St. Augustine</span></a></td><td class="right">63</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX <span class="smcap"> In the Dungeon</span></a></td><td class="right">70</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X <span class="smcap"> The Motor Races</span></a></td><td class="right">80</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI <span class="smcap"> On to Lake Kissimmee</span></a></td><td class="right">88</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII <span class="smcap"> A Warning</span></a></td><td class="right">96</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII <span class="smcap"> Out in the Boat</span></a></td><td class="right">104</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV <span class="smcap"> Under the Palms</span></a></td><td class="right">113</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV <span class="smcap"> In Peril</span></a></td><td class="right">119</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI <span class="smcap"> A Strange Attack</span></a></td><td class="right">129</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII <span class="smcap"> Out of a Tree</span></a></td><td class="right">139</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII <span class="smcap"> The Animated Logs</span></a></td><td class="right">147</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX <span class="smcap"> Into the Wilds</span></a></td><td class="right">157</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX <span class="smcap"> Lost</span></a></td><td class="right"> 164</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI <span class="smcap"> The Long Night</span></a></td><td class="right">172</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII <span class="smcap"> Ashore</span></a></td><td class="right">180</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII <span class="smcap"> The Palm Hut</span></a></td><td class="right">186</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV <span class="smcap"> The Lost Are Found</span></a></td><td class="right">195</td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">XXV <span class="smcap"> Out of the Wilds</span></a></td><td class="right">203</td></tr> +</table> + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I" />CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>OVERBOARD</h3> + + +<p>"All ready now! In position, everyone!"</p> + +<p>Half a score of actors and actresses moved quickly to their appointed +places, while overhead, and at the sides of them hissed powerful electric +lights, and in front of them stood a moving picture camera, ready to be +operated by a pleasant-faced young man.</p> + +<p>"Ready?" came in questioning tones from Mr. Pertell, the stage director, +as he looked sharply from one to the other.</p> + +<p>A tall, well-built man, with iron-gray hair, nodded, but did not speak.</p> + +<p>"Let her go, Russ!" Mr. Pertell exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"Vait! Vait a minute!" called one of the actors, with a pronounced German +accent.</p> + +<p>"Well, what's the matter now, Mr. Switzer?" asked the director, with a +touch of impatience.</p> + +<p>"I haf forgotten der imbortant babers dot I haf to offer mine enemy in +dis play. I must have der babers."</p> + +<p>"Gracious, I should say so!" said the manager. "Where's Pop Snooks?" and +he looked around for the property man, who had to produce on short notice +anything from a ten-ton safe to a hairpin.</p> + +<p>"Hi, Pop!" called Mr. Pertell. "Make up a bundle of important, +legal-looking papers, with seals on. Mr. Switzer has to use 'em in this +play. I forgot to tell you."</p> + +<p>"Have 'em for you right away!" cried the property man, and a little later +Mr. Switzer had his "babers."</p> + +<p>"I guess we're all right now. Start up, Russ," ordered the stage +director, who was also the manager of the troupe.</p> + +<p>"That was a mistake on the part of Mr. Pertell; wasn't it, Ruth?" asked +one of the young actresses—a pretty girl—of her sister, who stood near +her in the mimic scene.</p> + +<p>"Yes, indeed, Alice. But it isn't often he makes one."</p> + +<p>"No, indeed. Oh, we mustn't talk any more. I see him looking at us."</p> + +<p>"Begin!" called the manager, sharply, and the play proceeded, while the +young moving picture operator clicked away at the handle of his camera, +the long strip of film moving behind the lens with a whirring sound, and +registering views of the pantomime of the actors and actresses at the +rate of sixteen a second.</p> + +<p>The above was done several times a day in the New York studio of the +Comet Film Company, which was engaged in making moving pictures.</p> + +<p>The play went on through the various acts. Only part of it was being +"filmed" now—the interior scenes. Later, others would be taken outdoors.</p> + +<p>"Time out—hold your positions!" suddenly exclaimed the operator. "Film's +broken. I've got to mend it."</p> + +<p>Everyone came to a standstill at that. In a few seconds the damage was +repaired, and the play went on. It was, in the main, a "parlor" drama, +and there were to be only a few outdoor scenes.</p> + +<p>"That will do for the present," said Mr. Pertell. "You may all take a +rest now. This will be our last New York play for some time—that is, +after we get the outdoor scenes for this."</p> + +<p>"Where are we going next?" asked the elderly actor before mentioned. He +spoke in very hoarse voice, and it was evident that he had some throat +affection. In fact, it was the ailment which had forced him to give up +acting in the "legitimate," and take to the "movies."</p> + +<p>"We are going to Florida—the land of the palms!" announced the manager. +"You know I spoke of tentative plans for a drama down there when we were +in the backwoods. Now I have everything arranged, and we will leave on a +steamer for St. Augustine one week from to-day."</p> + +<p>"Hurrah for Florida!" exclaimed a young actor, with a strikingly +good-looking face. "There's where I've always wanted to go."</p> + +<p>"So have I!" exclaimed a young girl who stood near him,—a girl with +merry, brown eyes. "Will you take me out after oranges, Paul?" she asked, +mischievously.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Alice," he answered.</p> + +<p>"Why don't you say orange blossoms while you're about it?" inquired +another actress, with a pert manner.</p> + +<p>Alice blushed, and her sister Ruth looked sharply at Miss Laura Dixon, +who had made the rather pointed remark.</p> + +<p>"I'm willing to make it orange blossoms!" laughed the young fellow. "That +is, if they're in season."</p> + +<p>"Ah, stop all this nonsense!" exclaimed Alice. "I want to ask Mr. Pertell +a lot of questions about where we're going, and all that. Oh, to think we +are really going to Florida!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we are all going," went on Mr. Pertell. "I think—"</p> + +<p>"One moment, if you please!" interrupted a middle-aged actor whose face +seemed to indicate that he lived more on vinegar than on the milk of +human kindness. "We are not <i>all</i> going, if you please, Mr. Pertell."</p> + +<p>"Who is not going, Mr. Sneed, pray?" the manager wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"I, for one. I have gone through many hardships and dangers acting in +moving pictures for you, but I draw the line at Florida."</p> + +<p>"Why, I think it's perfectly lovely there!" exclaimed Miss Pearl +Pennington, a chum of Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Do you call alligators lovely?" asked Mr. Pepper Sneed, who was known as +"the actor with the grouch." He was always finding fault. "Lovely +alligators!" he sneered. "If you want to go to Florida, and be eaten by +an alligator—go. I'll not!"</p> + +<p>Some of the younger members of the company looked rather serious at this. +They had not counted on alligators.</p> + +<p>"Now look here!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell. "That's all nonsense. We are +going where there are no alligators; but I'll pay anyone who is injured +in the slightest by one of the saurians a thousand dollars!"</p> + +<p>"Then I'll go!" cried Mr. Sneed, who was rather "close," and fond of +money. "But I'm not going to stand a very big bite for that sum!" he +stipulated, while the others laughed.</p> + +<p>"I'll grade the payments according to the bites, at the rate of a +thousand dollars a big bite," declared the manager, also laughing.</p> + +<p>"Now then, you may make your plans accordingly. As I said, we leave by +steamer for St. Augustine by way of Jacksonville this day week."</p> + +<p>"And will all the scenes be taken in St. Augustine?" asked one of the +company.</p> + +<p>"No, we shall go into the interior. I expect we may go to a place near +Lake Kissimmee, and there—"</p> + +<p>"Lake Kissimmee!" exclaimed Alice DeVere, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"What about it?" asked Mr. Pertell. "Are you afraid to go there?"</p> + +<p>"No, but two girls whom we met on the train going to Deerfield, when we +were preparing to make the ice and snow dramas, were going to a place +near there. We may meet them."</p> + +<p>"That's so!" agreed Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I hope you will," went on Mr. Pertell. "Lake Kissimmee, however, is only +one of the interior places we shall touch. I will tell you more detailed +plans later."</p> + +<p>"I—ah—er—presume we shall have a little time to—er—see the sights of +St. Augustine; will we not?" asked one of the actors, in affected, +drawling tones.</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes, plenty of time, Mr. Towne," answered Mr. Pertell. Claude Towne +was a new member of the company, rather a "dudish" sort of chap, and not, +as yet, very well liked. He dressed in what he considered the "height of +fashion."</p> + +<p>The week that followed was a busy one for every member of the Comet Film +Company. Not that they were required to do much acting in front of the +camera; for, after the outdoor scenes in connection with the current +play were made, Russ Dalwood, the operator, packed up his belongings +ready for the Florida trip.</p> + +<p>The others were doing the same thing, and Mr. Pertell was kept busy +arranging for transportation, and hotel accommodations, and for the +taking care of such films as he would send back from the interior of +Florida, since none would be developed there. This work would have to be +done, and positives printed for the projecting machines, in New York. +This custom was generally followed when the company went out of town.</p> + +<p>"Well, are we all here?" asked Mr. Pertell one morning as he reached the +steamer, which lay at her dock in New York, ready for the trip to the +land of the palms.</p> + +<p>"I think so," answered Russ, who had with him a small moving picture +camera. He had an idea he might see something that would make a good +film.</p> + +<p>"No one missing?" went on the manager. "That's good. Oh, by the way, did +Mr. Towne arrive? He 'phoned to me that he might be a little late."</p> + +<p>"Yes, he's here," answered Russ. "The last I saw of him he was looking in +a mirror, arranging his necktie."</p> + +<p>"Humph! He's too fond of dress," commented the manager, "but he does well +in certain society parts, and that's why I keep him."</p> + +<p>The confusion of the passengers and late freight coming aboard gradually +grew less. Whistles sounded their bass notes, and gongs clanged.</p> + +<p>"All ashore that's goin' ashore!" came the warning cry, and there was a +hurried departure of those who had come to see friends or relatives off +on the voyage.</p> + +<p>The moving picture company were gathered together in one place on the +deck, and they waved to other members of the company who were not to +make the trip, for Mr. Pertell employed a large number of actors, and +only a comparatively few of them were going to Florida. The others would +continue to work in New York.</p> + +<p>The steamer moved slowly away from the dock, in charge of a fussy tug, +but presently she began forging ahead under her own steam, moving slowly +at first. Soon, however, the vessel was well down the harbor.</p> + +<p>Alice and Ruth DeVere, with Russ Dalwood and Paul Ardite, were standing +amidships, on the port side, looking down into the water. A little in +advance of them stood Mr. Towne and Miss Pennington. The latter had been +much in the new actor's company of late.</p> + +<p>"They seem quite interested in each other," remarked Russ, in a low tone.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they have something in common," added Alice—"a love of good +clothes."</p> + +<p>"I like nice things myself," put in Ruth, straightening a bow she wore. +"You shouldn't say such things, Alice."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but you like them in the right way—so do I, for that matter. But I +don't go to the extremes they do, and neither do you."</p> + +<p>"Hush! They'll hear you," cautioned her sister, for Alice was very +impulsive at times.</p> + +<p>Indeed the dudish actor and Miss Pennington were glancing rather +curiously in the direction of our friends. Then Miss Dixon came along, +whispering something that caused the other to laugh.</p> + +<p>"Fawncy that now! Only fawncy!" exclaimed Mr. Towne, in his exaggerated +English drawl. "That's a good joke—on them!"</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they mean us?" spoke Paul. "If I thought so I'd go ask them +what the joke was, so we could laugh, too."</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't," begged Ruth, who disliked "scenes."</p> + +<p>The mirth of Miss Dixon and Miss Pennington seemed to increase rather +than diminish, and Mr. Towne was now fairly roaring with merriment. He +laughed so hard, in fact, that he coughed, and leaned back against the +rail for support.</p> + +<p>And then something happened. Just how no one could explain, but Mr. Towne +went overboard, his arms and legs wildly waving, and his cane flying far +out into the river. He struck the water with a splash, just as one of the +deckhands yelled:</p> + +<p>"Man overboard!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II" />CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>TO THE RESCUE</h3> + + +<p>"Lower a boat!"</p> + +<p>"Throw him a life preserver!"</p> + +<p>"Stop the ship!"</p> + +<p>Wild and excited were the cries that followed the accident. Russ and Paul +were among the first to act, the former getting a life preserver from one +of the racks, while Paul caught up one of the round, white life rings and +tossed it far out toward a commotion in the water that indicated where +Mr. Towne had disappeared. They had to throw the articles toward the +stern of the steamer, as she was in motion, and Mr. Towne was soon some +distance astern.</p> + +<p>"Stop the ship!" repeated scores of voices, when the nature of the +accident was understood.</p> + +<p>Discipline and boat drill were at a high state of perfection aboard the +steamer, and soon, with a warning blast of her whistle, the craft +trembled under the power of her reversed engines.</p> + +<p>"Lower away a boat! Smartly, men!" called one of the officers, as he ran +up to the davits whence hung a life-boat.</p> + +<p>And while preparations are under way to rescue the unfortunate actor, may +I take just a few moments to acquaint my new readers with something of +the former books of this series?</p> + +<p>The initial volume was entitled "The Moving Picture Girls; Or, First +Appearances in Photo Dramas." In that was related how Hosmer DeVere, a +talented actor, suddenly lost his voice, through the return of a former +throat ailment. He was unable to go in his part in a legitimate drama, +and, through the suggestion of Russ Dalwood, who lived in the same +apartment house with the DeVeres, in New York, Mr. DeVere took up moving +picture acting.</p> + +<p>His two daughters, Ruth, aged seventeen, and Alice, aged fifteen, also +became engaged in the work, and later they were instrumental in doing +Russ Dalwood a great service in connection with a valuable patent he had +evolved for a moving picture machine.</p> + +<p>The second volume was called "The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm; Or, +Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays." In that book was told how the +acquaintance was made of Sandy Apgar, who ran a farm in New Jersey. As +Mr. Pertell was looking for some country scenes to use in connection +with his moving picture dramas, he took his entire company out to Oak +Farm, hiring it from the Apgars.</p> + +<p>A curious mystery was solved by the girls, and other members of the +company—a mystery that involved the happiness of the old couple who +owned Oak Farm, but were on the verge of losing it.</p> + +<p>"The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound; Or, The Proof on the Film," was the +title of the third book. As its name indicates, the girls and other +members of the company were really snowbound. After the summer at Oak +Farm, and the fall spent in New York, Mr. Pertell decided to make some +dramas in the backwoods of New England, where there was much snow and +ice. And for a time there was almost too much snow, for Elk Lodge, where +the company of players was housed, was almost buried by a blizzard.</p> + +<p>Before going to the backwoods, Mr. DeVere had been much annoyed, and +alarmed, by an unjust demand, and how a certain illegal suit against an +electric car company was called off, through a discovery made by Ruth and +Alice, you may read of in the book.</p> + +<p>Russ got "the proof on the film" and when this moving picture was shown +privately it caused Dan Merley's lawyer to say:</p> + +<p>"You win! We are beaten!" And Mr. DeVere was at ease after that.</p> + +<p>Many beautiful films were made at Elk Lodge, and some wonderful pictures +of snow and ice scenes resulted from the trip to the backwoods. Then the +company returned to New York, and now we find them <i>en route</i> for +Florida, when the accident to Mr. Towne occurred.</p> + +<p>Mr. DeVere and his two daughters lived in the Fenmore Apartment house, in +New York City. Across the hall lived Mrs. Sarah Dalwood, and her sons, +Russ and Billy, the latter aged about twelve. The Dalwoods and the +DeVeres became very friendly, and Russ thought there never was a girl +like Ruth. Paul Ardite, the younger leading man of the Comet Film +Company, thought the same thing of Alice.</p> + +<p>Frank Pertell was the manager and chief owner of the film company. He had +a large studio in New York, where all indoor scenes of the plays were +enacted, and where the films were made for rental to the various chains +of moving picture theaters throughout the country.</p> + +<p>He engaged many actors and actresses, but only the principal ones with +whom the stories are concerned will be recounted.</p> + +<p>Wellington Bunn and Pepper Sneed were the ones who made the most trouble +for the manager. Mr. Bunn was an former Shakespearean actor. With his +tall hat and frock coat—which costume he was seldom without—Mr. Bunn +was a typical tragedian of the old school.</p> + +<p>Mr. Sneed was different. He had no particular ambition toward stardom, +but he disliked hard work, and he was rather superstitious. Then, too, he +was always looking for trouble and often finding it. In short, he was the +"grouch" of the company.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Margaret Maguire was a motherly member of the troupe. She played +"old woman" parts with real feeling, perhaps the more so as her two +grandchildren, Tommy and Nellie, were dependent upon her. The youngsters +usually went with the company, and were taken on the Florida trip. +Occasionally they acted small parts.</p> + +<p>Carl Switzer was the German comedian, and was a first-rate actor in his +line. His jollity proved an offset to the gloom of Mr. Sneed.</p> + +<p>Pop Snooks, the efficient property man, has already been mentioned. His +work was easier when the company was on the road, as there the natural +scenery was depended on to a great extent.</p> + +<p>Pearl Pennington and Laura Dixon were former vaudeville actresses who had +gone into the "movies." Some said it was because they failed to longer +draw on the stage. Whether or not this was so, it was certain that the +two had very large ideas of their own abilities. They cared little for +Ruth and Alice, and the latter had few interests in common with Miss +Pennington and Miss Dixon. Paul Ardite has been mentioned. With the +exception of Mr. Towne the players had been associated together for some +time.</p> + +<p>But, just at present Mr. Towne was "disassociated" from the others.</p> + +<p>"Oh, can you see him?" cried Ruth, as she clung to Alice. "I—I can't +bear to look!"</p> + +<p>"Of course I can see him!" Alice returned. "He's trying to swim. Oh, he +has grabbed the life ring!"</p> + +<p>"That will keep him up," spoke Paul. "Are they lowering the boat?"</p> + +<p>"There she goes!" cried Russ. "Ha! I've got an idea. I'll film this, and +Mr. Pertell may be able to use it in some drama."</p> + +<p>He hurried to where he had set down the small moving picture camera, and +while the boat was being lowered by the sailors Russ got views of that.</p> + +<p>Then he moved closer to the rail, and took more views as the small craft +was sent away under the force of the sturdy arms of the rowers.</p> + +<p>"This will be great!" Russ cried.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but it seems so cold-blooded!" murmured Ruth. "To take a picture of +a drowning man."</p> + +<p>"I don't think he is drowning," Paul observed. "He has the ring, and that +will keep him up until the boat reaches him. They are almost to him, and +he seems able to swim well."</p> + +<p>"That's good," declared Alice. She had not turned her head away as had +her sister. In fact, in spite of being two years younger than Ruth, Alice +often showed more spirit. She was of an impulsive nature, and Mr. DeVere +used to say she was very like her dead mother. Ruth was tall and fair, +and of a romantic nature. Alice was more practical.</p> + +<p>"There! They've got him!" cried Paul, as the boat came up to the actor in +the water.</p> + +<p>"That's good!" sighed Ruth. "Oh, I was <i>so</i> alarmed. I think I will go +below, Alice, when they bring him on deck."</p> + +<p>"You don't need to," said her sister. "He's probably all right, except +that his fine clothes are spoiled."</p> + +<p>"That's so!" chuckled Russ, who was industriously grinding away at the +handle of the camera.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III" />CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>A DISQUIETING ITEM</h3> + + +<p>"Man the falls!"</p> + +<p>This order was given by one of the officers as the boat containing the +rescued actor came close to the ship's side. The sailors stood ready to +hoist the boat to the davits again, when the tackle blocks should have +been made fast by the hooks to the ring bolts at bow and stern.</p> + +<p>"Best chance I ever had to get a rescue picture," remarked Russ, as he +reeled away at the film.</p> + +<p>The young operator even managed to get in a favorable position, and take +views as the blocks were being made fast to the boat. Then, as it was +hoisted up, he pictured that.</p> + +<p>"Is he all right?" asked Mr. Pertell of the sailors in the boat, when the +craft was raised to the level of the rail.</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye, sir," answered the steersman. "Only a bit wet."</p> + +<p>But Mr. Towne was more than a bit wet. He was completely soaked, and a +more bedraggled-looking specimen of humanity would be hard to find.</p> + +<p>"Oh, the poor man!" exclaimed Ruth, who had thought better of her +determination to go below.</p> + +<p>"It's his own fault," snapped Miss Pennington. "He should not have +carried on so."</p> + +<p>"Well, it was partly our fault," interposed Miss Dixon, who was perhaps +more just. "We were laughing with him."</p> + +<p>"Don't go too close!" cautioned Miss Pennington, as she saw her friend +advancing toward the group of sailors, and others who surrounded the +rescue party. They were helping Mr. Towne out of the boat.</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't I go close?" Laura wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"You might get your dress wet. Mine spots terribly."</p> + +<p>"Oh, so does mine. I forgot; and sea water stains so badly!"</p> + +<p>So the two actresses drew away.</p> + +<p>"There, I guess that will do," remarked Russ, as he saw that there was no +more film left in the camera. "Now, Mr. Pertell, you'll have to get some +story written around these scenes. Add more to them, and you'll have a +good reel."</p> + +<p>"I'll do it, Russ. I'm glad you were here to take them, so long as it did +not turn out seriously."</p> + +<p>"Do you—er—ah—mean to say that you <i>filmed</i> me?" demanded the dudish +actor, who had overheard this colloquy.</p> + +<p>"I got some pictures of you—yes," admitted Russ. "I couldn't resist the +temptation."</p> + +<p>"I demand that those pictures be destroyed!" cried Mr. Towne, who seemed +to have recovered rapidly from his unexpected bath.</p> + +<p>"What for?" asked Mr. Pertell, in surprise. "I haven't seen them, of +course—can't until they're developed, and that won't be for some time. +But I should say the rescue pictures would make a fine film."</p> + +<p>"But I want it burned up. I won't have it shown!" insisted Mr. Towne.</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"Do you suppose for one instant—er, ah—that I am going to let the +public see me like this?" and Mr. Towne glanced at his wet and dripping +garments—garments that, but a short time ago, had been a walking +testimonial of the tailor's art. Now they were wet and misshapen.</p> + +<p>"Why, you can't expect a man who has just been rescued from New York Bay +to look as though he came out of a band-box; can you, dear man?" asked +Mr. Pertell. "Of course you look wet—the public will expect to see you +wet—dripping with water, in fact. Water always comes out well in the +movies, anyhow. Of course the public wants to see you wet!"</p> + +<p>"But I don't want them to!" protested the actor. "I have never been shown +in pictures except when I was well dressed, and I do not propose to begin +now. I will pose for you as soon as I get dry clothes on, but not +in—these!" and he made a despairing motion toward his ruined garments.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you are too fussy!" laughed Mr. Pertell. "Those pictures will have +to go. The scene was too good to spoil, as long as you were not drowned."</p> + +<p>"I was in no danger of drowning," returned Mr. Towne, coldly. "I am a +good swimmer. I was taken by surprise, that is all."</p> + +<p>"Well, it made good pictures," declared the manager, indifferently.</p> + +<p>"Too bad I couldn't get you just as you went overboard!" sighed Russ. "I +was taken by surprise, too; but I did the best I could. We can have you +do that part over."</p> + +<p>"Never!" cried Mr. Towne, angrily. "I will never be seen in an +undignified position again, nor in clothes that have not been freshly +pressed," and he stalked away toward his stateroom.</p> + +<p>"I can sympathize with you, my dear fellow," murmured Mr. Bunn, who was +as careful of his dignity, in a way, as was the other. "They have made me +do the most idiotic things in some of the dramas," the older man went on. +"I have had to play fireman, and ride in donkey carts, slide down hill +and all such foolishness—all to the great detriment of my dignity."</p> + +<p>"Yes, this moving picture business is horrid," agreed Mr. Towne, who was +dripping water at every step. "But what is a chap to do? I tried the +other sort of drama—on the stage, you know; but I did not seem to have +the temperament for it."</p> + +<p>"Ah, would that I were back again, treading the boards in my beloved +Shakespeare, instead of in this miserable moving picture acting," sighed +the tragedian.</p> + +<p>The excitement caused by the mishap to Mr. Towne soon subsided. The +steamer got on her way again, once the small boat had been hoisted up, +and several tugs and motor craft that had gathered to give aid, if +needed, went on their courses.</p> + +<p>"Well, that's something for a start," remarked Alice, as she walked the +deck with Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I knew something would happen," spoke Mr. Sneed, gloomily. "I felt +it coming."</p> + +<p>"How could you?" asked Paul, winking at Russ.</p> + +<p>"Because to-day is Friday. Something always happens on Friday."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we generally have fish for dinner," remarked Russ, with a twinkle +in his eyes.</p> + +<p>"You may laugh," sneered the gloomy actor, "but the day is not over yet. +I am sure that something else will happen. The ship may sink before it +gets to Florida."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Don't be silly!" laughed Alice, while Russ gave Mr. Sneed a meaning look +and remarked in a low voice:</p> + +<p>"That's enough of such talk, old man. It gets on the girls' nerves. Why +can't you be cheerful?"</p> + +<p>"I never am—on Friday," grumbled Mr. Sneed.</p> + +<p>"No, and on very few other days," commented Russ, as he went below to +take the film out of his camera in readiness to ship it back to New York +for development.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice had done much traveling with their father when he was +engaged in the legitimate drama, for he was with a number of road +companies, that went from place to place. Water journeys were, however, +rather a novelty to them, and now that the excitement of the rescue was +over they went about the ship, looking at the various sights.</p> + +<p>The <i>Tarsus</i> was not a big vessel, but it was a new and substantial craft +engaged in the coast trade. A fairly large passenger list was carried +and, as this was the winter season, many tourists were heading for the +sunny South—the warm beaches of the coast, or the interior where the +palms waved their graceful branches in the orange-scented breezes.</p> + +<p>"How is your throat, Daddy?" asked Ruth, as Mr. DeVere joined his +daughters in a stroll about the deck.</p> + +<p>"Much better, I think," he said. His voice was always hoarse now, totally +unlike the vibrant tones in which he was used to speak his lines. "The +pain seems less. I have hopes that the warm air of Florida may improve, +and even cure it, in connection with the medicine I am taking."</p> + +<p>"Oh, wouldn't that be just great!" cried Alice, as she clasped her arms +about his neck. "Perhaps you could go back to the real theaters then, +Daddy."</p> + +<p>"I might," he replied with a smile at her; "but I do not know that I +would. I am beginning to like this silent 'drama.' It is a rest from the +hard work we old actors used to have to do. There is much less strain. +And if I went back to the legitimate, I would have to take you with me," +he added.</p> + +<p>"Never, Daddy!" cried the younger girl. "I am going to remain with the +'movies'! I would be lost without them."</p> + +<p>"Assuredly, they have been a great blessing to us," observed Ruth, +quietly. "I do not know what we would have done without them, when you +were stricken the second time," and she looked fondly at her father. She +thought of the dark days, not so far back, when troubles seemed +multiplying, when there was no money, and when debts pressed. Now all +seemed sunshine.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it would be a poor return to the movies, to desert them after all +they did for us," agreed Mr. DeVere. "That is, as long as they care for +us—those audiences who sit in the dark and watch us play our little +parts on the lighted canvas. A queer proceeding—very queer.</p> + +<p>"I little dreamed when I first took up the profession immortalized by +Shakespeare, that I would be playing to persons whom I could not see. But +it is certainly a wonderful advance."</p> + +<p>Down the bay, out through the Narrows and so on out to sea passed the +<i>Tarsus</i>, carrying the moving picture players. The day was cold, and a +storm threatened, but soon the frigid winter of the North would be left +behind. This was a comforting thought to all, though Alice declared that +she liked cold weather best.</p> + +<p>Mr. Towne came up on deck, again faultlessly attired. His unexpected bath +had not harmed him, in spite of the fact that it was cold, for he had at +once taken warm drinks, and been put to bed, for a time, in hot blankets.</p> + +<p>He could talk of nothing, however, save the fact that he was to be shown +in the wet clothing he so despised.</p> + +<p>"It is a shame!" he declared. "If I could find that film I would destroy +it myself."</p> + +<p>"It is safely put away," laughed Russ.</p> + +<p>The day passed, and evening came. On through the darkness forged the +<i>Tarsus</i>, while about her were the flashing beams from lighthouses, or +the bobbing signal lamps from other ships.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice were in their stateroom, talking together before retiring. +Alice had that day's paper and was idly glancing over it. She yawned +sleepily, when an item suddenly caught her eye.</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed. "That must be dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Ruth, who was letting down her long hair.</p> + +<p>"Why here's an item from some place in Florida. It says that two girls +went out in a motor boat, to gather specimens of rare swamp flowers, and +have not been heard of since. It is feared they may have been upset and +drowned, or that alligators attacked them. Oh, how dreadful!"</p> + +<p>"Don't let Mr. Sneed hear about that," cautioned Ruth. "Where in Florida +was it?"</p> + +<p>"The item is dated from Winterhaven, but it says that the girls started +from some place near Lake Kissimmee."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Ruth, pausing with the comb half way through a thick strand +of hair, "suppose it should be those two girls we met?"</p> + +<p>"I don't imagine it could be," reasoned Alice. "They did not look like +girls who would be bold enough to go off after swamp blooms. But think of +the poor girls, whoever they are, out all alone at night, with maybe +alligators around their boat! Oh, I hope we don't have to go too far into +the wilds."</p> + +<p>"We may," remarked Ruth, uneasily, as she reached for the paper to read +for herself the disquieting item.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV" />CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>FIRE ON BOARD</h3> + + +<p>Ruth sat for some moments in silence after she had read in the paper the +short account of the missing girls. She had come to a pause in arranging +her luxuriant hair for the night and, with it only half combed, leaned +back in the small chair the stateroom afforded. Alice was reclining on +her berth.</p> + +<p>"Does it worry you, Ruth?" the younger girl finally asked.</p> + +<p>"A little, yes." Ruth was unusually quiet, and there was a far-away look +in her deep blue eyes.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't take it so seriously," rallied Alice, in her vivacious way, +though at first she, too, had been affected by what she read.</p> + +<p>"But it is serious."</p> + +<p>"Oh, it may be only one of those 'newspaper yarns,' as Russ calls them."</p> + +<p>"Alice, your language, of late—"</p> + +<p>"There, sister mine! Please don't scold—or lecture. I'm too sleepy," and +she finished with a yawn that showed all her white, even teeth.</p> + +<p>"I'm not scolding, my dear, but you know I must look after you in a way, +and—"</p> + +<p>"Look after yourself, my dear. With your hair down that way, and that +sweet and innocent look on your face, and in your eyes—you are much more +in need of looking after than I. Someone is sure to fall in love with +you, and then—"</p> + +<p>"Alice, if you—"</p> + +<p>"Don't throw that hair brush at me!" and the younger girl covered herself +with a quilt, in simulated fear. "I—I didn't mean it. I'll be good!" and +she shook with laughter.</p> + +<p>Ruth could not but smile, though the serious look did not leave her face. +She was very like her father. The least little matter out of the ordinary +affected him, and usually on the sad, instead of on the "glad" side. He, +like Ruth, was of a romantic type, inclined to anticipate too much. Alice +was more matter of fact, not to say frivolous, though she could be very +sensible at times.</p> + +<p>"Well, I suppose we must go to bed," sighed Ruth at length. "But I'm +afraid I sha'n't sleep."</p> + +<p>"On account of thinking of those girls?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, just imagine them out all alone in some dismal swamp, perhaps, +without a light, hungry—afraid of every sound—"</p> + +<p>"Please stop! You're getting on my nerves."</p> + +<p>"I didn't mean to, my dear," was the gentle answer.</p> + +<p>"I know you didn't, and it was mean of me to talk that way," and a plump, +bare arm stole around the other's neck, while a hand was run through the +golden hair. "But, don't let's think so much about them. Perhaps they are +not those two girls we met, after all."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't believe they can be," Ruth agreed. "That would be too much +of a coincidence. But they are two girls—"</p> + +<p>"Not necessarily. Maybe it's only an unfounded rumor. Russ says newspaper +men often 'plant' a story like this off in some obscure place, and then +use it as the basis for one of those lurid stories in the Sunday +supplements.</p> + +<p>"I shouldn't wonder a bit but what this was one of those cases. So, +sister mine, go to sleep in peace, and in the morning you'll have +forgotten all about it. Only don't let's tell any one, for some of the +company, like Mr. Sneed, might make trouble for Mr. Pertell, saying +alligators were there."</p> + +<p>"Well, there are."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps. But who cares? I'd like to get one ordinary-sized 'gator."</p> + +<p>"Why, Alice! What for?"</p> + +<p>"I've always wanted an alligator bag, and I never could afford it. Now's +my chance. But we may never get far enough into the interior for that. By +the way, where did it say those girls started from? I didn't half read +it."</p> + +<p>"From Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee."</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Pertell did mention that we might get to the lake, but he +didn't specify Sycamore."</p> + +<p>"No, and now I'm going to try and do as you said, and forget all about +it," and Ruth laid aside the paper and resumed putting up her hair for +the night.</p> + +<p>"I wonder what will happen to-morrow?" mused Alice, as she slipped into +her robe, and thrust her feet into bath slippers.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" Ruth's voice was rather muffled, for her hair was +over her face now.</p> + +<p>"I mean Mr. Towne fell in to-day, and—"</p> + +<p>"Gracious, I hope you don't infer that it's someone else's turn +to-morrow!"</p> + +<p>"Hardly!" laughed Alice. "Hand me that cold cream, please, the salt air +has chapped my face. Oh, say, did you notice how much color Laura had on +to-day? If ever there was a 'hand-made' complexion hers was!"</p> + +<p>"You shouldn't say such things!"</p> + +<p>"Why not? When they're true! And such eyes as she made at poor Mr. +Towne!"</p> + +<p>Ruth slipped a rosy palm over her sister's lips, but Alice pulled it +away, and laughingly added:</p> + +<p>"She found that her glances failed to reach Paul, and so she's trying her +'wireless' on—"</p> + +<p>"Alice, you <i>must</i> stop. Someone may hear you!"</p> + +<p>"Can't! Daddy has the stateroom on one side, and Mr. Pertell the other, +and they're both sound sleepers. But I've finished anyhow. You put out +the light," and with a bound, having completed her toilette, Alice was in +her berth.</p> + +<p>Ruth sighed, and then sat again staring off into space. It must have been +some little time, too, for when she turned to look at her sister, Alice +was breathing deeply in sleep.</p> + +<p>"Dear Alice!" murmured Ruth, and she bent over her for a moment, and +kissed her lightly on the cheek—as gently as the fall of a rose petal. +Soon the older sister, too, was asleep.</p> + +<p>In order that there might be no trouble among the members of the moving +picture company over the statement made in the newspaper that perhaps the +two girls had fallen victims to alligators, Ruth, next morning, +carefully cut out the item, and put it away among her things.</p> + +<p>"It may be silly," she said to Alice, "but—"</p> + +<p>"It <i>is</i> silly to imagine anything like that," was the quick retort.</p> + +<p>"But it's best to be on the safe side," finished Ruth, gently. "Mr. Sneed +is so peculiar."</p> + +<p>"I agree with you there, sister mine. Well, you've taken the precautions, +anyhow. My, I'm hungry! I hope breakfast is ready."</p> + +<p>"You are not troubled with <i>mal-de-mer</i>, then?"</p> + +<p>"Not a bit of it, and I never was out on the ocean before. It isn't a bit +rough; is it?"</p> + +<p>"Well, we did roll some during the night, but then the sea is calm. Wait +until we get a storm."</p> + +<p>"I do hope one comes!"</p> + +<p>"Alice DeVere!"</p> + +<p>"Well, I mean just a <i>little</i> one, with waves like little hills, instead +mountains."</p> + +<p>The only members of the film company who did not present themselves at +the breakfast table were Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>They breakfasted in their staterooms, but it was noticed that the trays +came out about as well filled as they went in, from which it might be +gathered that they were not altogether free from the toll the sea exacts +from most travelers.</p> + +<p>"My, how charming you look!" observed Paul to Alice as he joined her on +deck, and arranged her steamer chair out of the wind. She had on a new +jacket, and a little toque, the brown fur of which matched her eyes, and +brought out, in contrast, the damask of her cheeks.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," she laughed in retort. "I might say the same of you. That's +a good-looking coat."</p> + +<p>"A little different from the usual, yes. The man said it was imported—"</p> + +<p>"Just as if that made it any better."</p> + +<p>"It doesn't—only different. Where did you get that rug? It's an odd +pattern."</p> + +<p>"My! But the compliments are flying this morning. It's one daddy picked +up somewhere. Isn't the weather glorious?"</p> + +<p>"Now we're on a safe topic," laughed Paul. "Here come Russ and Ruth. My, +but she's stunning!"</p> + +<p>"I'm glad you appreciate her," Alice said. Really, Ruth made a picture, +for she had on a long white cloak, and with a turban trimmed with ermine, +and her fair hair and blue eyes, she looked like some Siberian princess, +if they have princesses there, and I suppose they must.</p> + +<p>The four young people chatted and laughed together, while the <i>Tarsus</i> +plowed on her way. It was a day of idleness, save that Russ took a few +pictures of scenes on shipboard for future use.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon, while Ruth and Alice were reclining luxuriously in +their steamer chairs, they observed one of the officers come up from +below, and run toward the bridge. There was something in his manner that +startled Alice, and she sat up suddenly, exclaiming:</p> + +<p>"I hope nothing has happened!"</p> + +<p>"Happened? Why should it? What do you mean?" asked Ruth. But immediately +a look of fear came into her own eyes—a look born of suggestion merely.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I don't know," and Alice tried to laugh, but it did not ring true. +"It was just a notion—"</p> + +<p>She did not finish, for another officer came on the run from forward, and +he, too, sought the bridge. Then the two girls saw curling up from one of +the hatchways on the lower forward deck, a little wisp of smoke, and +immediately afterward there sounded through the ship the clanging of +bells.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" cried Ruth, casting aside her rug, and struggling to her +feet, no easy matter from a steamer chair. "What's that?"</p> + +<p>"Some alarm," said Alice, faintly.</p> + +<p>Paul came running toward them.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what is it?" gasped Ruth, impulsively clasping him by the arm.</p> + +<p>"Don't be frightened," said Paul, but Alice noticed that his lips +trembled a little. "It's only a—fire drill."</p> + +<p>As he spoke there was an outpouring of sailors from many places, and +lines of hose were reeled out.</p> + +<p>The wisp of smoke from the forward hatchway had increased now, though the +hatch cover was on.</p> + +<p>Up on the bridge the girls could see the captain leaving his post in +charge of one of the officers. The ship, too, seemed to be turning about.</p> + +<p>"Are you sure it is only fire—<i>drill</i>?" asked Alice.</p> + +<p>"Why, that's what a sailor told me," answered Paul, slowly.</p> + +<p>"Look," said Alice, and she pointed to the curling smoke.</p> + +<p>More clanging bells resounded, and more lines of hose were run out. There +was no doubt, now, that the <i>Tarsus</i> was making a complete turn.</p> + +<p>Then, as the captain and one officer left the bridge there rang out the +cry:</p> + +<p>"Fire! Fire! The ship's on fire! Lower the boats!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V" />CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>DISABLED</h3> + + +<p>Panics start so easily, especially at the mere mention of the word +"fire," that it is no wonder there was at once an incipient one aboard +the <i>Tarsus</i>. But the captain, who was a veteran, acted promptly and +efficiently.</p> + +<p>Some of the sailors had made a rush for the boats, but the captain, +coming down from the bridge on the run, flung himself in front of the +excited men. He pushed one or two of them aside so violently that they +fell to the deck. Then the commander, in a voice that rang out above the +startled calls, cried out:</p> + +<p>"Get back, you cowards! If we do take to the boats it will be women and +children first! But we're not going to! Stop that noise!"</p> + +<p>His hand went, with an unmistakable gesture, to his pocket. Perhaps he +was about to draw a weapon, but there was no need.</p> + +<p>His ringing words, the lash of "coward," that cut like a knife, and his +bearing, had an immediate effect.</p> + +<p>"Stop those shouts of 'fire!'" he cried, and the excited men and women +became quiet.</p> + +<p>"Now get back to your places—every one of you!" he ordered the sailors. +"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, to leave your mates to answer the +fire call alone," and he pointed to where a number of hands were about +the hatchway, from which smoke was still coming. But the wind was taking +it away from the ship now, which was the reason why the vessel had been +turned around.</p> + +<p>"Get to your quarters!" the captain commanded, and the men slunk away. +The danger of a panic was over—at least for the time.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice stood where they had risen from their steamer chairs, +their hands clasped, and Alice had thrust her rosy palm into the broad +one of Paul. He held it reassuringly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what shall we do?" murmured Ruth.</p> + +<p>"There isn't another ship in sight," added Alice, as she looked about the +horizon.</p> + +<p>"We can call one soon enough," said Paul. "They'll start the wireless if +they have to."</p> + +<p>Mr. DeVere came hurrying up, his eyes searching about for his daughters. +A look of relief came over his face as he saw them.</p> + +<p>"You had better go below, and get what things you can save while there +is time," he said, hoarsely. "We may have to take to the boats any +minute."</p> + +<p>"Listen, the captain is going to say something," warned Paul.</p> + +<p>Nearly all the passengers were now gathered on deck, as were most of the +sailors, but the latter were engaged in fighting the fire through the +forward hatchway. Those who were not needed at that particular place were +at the other fire stations, in readiness for any emergency.</p> + +<p>The <i>Tarsus</i> now lay motionless on the ocean, rolling to and fro slowly +under the influence of a gentle swell. There was scarcely any wind, and +the smoke, which had constantly grown thicker and blacker, even with the +efforts made to subdue the flames, arose in a straight pillar of cloud.</p> + +<p>"There is no danger!" began the captain, and there were a few murmurs at +these rather trite words under the circumstances.</p> + +<p>"I mean just what I say!" went on the commander, and there was no +mistaking his sincerity. "There is no danger—at present," he continued. +"There is a slight fire among the cargo in one of the small forward +holds. But it is cut off from the rest of the ship by fire-proof doors, +and we are flooding that compartment. The fire will be out shortly, I +expect.</p> + +<p>"So there is absolutely no need of taking to the boats. Later on, if +there should be, I will give you ample warning, and I might add that we +carry a sufficient complement of boats and life rafts to accommodate all. +And should we take to the boats, the weather is in our favor. So you see +you should not worry."</p> + +<p>"But suppose we have to take to the boats at night?" asked Mr. Sneed, who +seemed to have the faculty for hitting on the most unhappy aspect of any +situation.</p> + +<p>"The fire cannot possibly get beyond control before morning, even if it +is not put out," the captain replied. "So there will be no need of boats +in the night. Even if there were, we have powerful searchlights, and each +boat carries her own storage battery lighting plant. Now, please be +reasonable."</p> + +<p>His words had a calming effect, and those who had rushed up to take to +the boats now began to disperse.</p> + +<p>Russ, who had come on deck with Mr. DeVere, was seen talking to Mr. +Pertell. As the two advanced toward Ruth and Alice the girls heard Russ +saying:</p> + +<p>"I'm going to make moving pictures of the fire scenes."</p> + +<p>"A good idea!" commented Mr. Pertell. "If the captain will let you."</p> + +<p>"I'll ask him."</p> + +<p>Captain Falcon, after a moment of consideration, agreed that the young +operator might take views showing the fire-fighters at work.</p> + +<p>"I wish I had had it going when they made that rush for the boat, +though," Russ said.</p> + +<p>"I am glad you did not," returned the captain, gravely. "I would not have +an audience see what cowards some of my men were to so far forget +themselves. That is better forgotten. Doubtless they were mad with fear. +But I am glad you did not get that picture."</p> + +<p>Russ, however, might be pardoned for still wishing he had it, for he had +the true instinct of a moving picture operator—he wanted to get +everything possible.</p> + +<p>He now set up his camera in different parts of the ship, and made a +number of separate views. The black smoke would come out particularly +well on the film, he knew.</p> + +<p>The men were shown at their various stations, and of those at the +hatchway where the smoke came up, several different views were made. +Captain Falcon was also shown, directing the fire-fighting.</p> + +<p>In order to cut off the draft from the fire the hatchway had been covered +with heavy tarpaulins, the hose being put through holes cut in them.</p> + +<p>There was some relaxation of the tension following the captain's little +speech, but even yet there were serious faces among the passengers, as +the volume of smoke seemed to grow instead of diminish. Captain Falcon, +too, was observed to be laboring under a strain.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if it is true—as he says—that there is no danger?" observed +Alice, as she, Paul and Ruth walked about uneasily, pausing now and then +to observe the men at work.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I think so," answered Paul, quickly. "He would have no object in +deceiving us, and let matters go so long that it would be necessary to +take a risk in getting to the boats. If he did that he might be censured +by the owners. I think he really believes there is no danger. And when he +thinks otherwise he will give us ample warning."</p> + +<p>"Let us hope so," murmured Mr. DeVere. "Fire is a terrible +element—terrible, and at sea there is nothing more awful! I trust we may +be spared from it."</p> + +<p>"Let's go see if the wireless is working," suggested Ruth. "It will take +our minds off the fire to know that help is being called for—and perhaps +on the way."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is working," announced Alice, as they drew near the quarters +occupied by the wireless operator and heard the spiteful snapping of the +notched wheel of the spark-gap apparatus.</p> + +<p>They looked in and saw the operator with the telephone receivers on his +ears, while with nervous fingers he pressed the key that made and broke +the circuit, thus sending out from the wire aerials between the masts the +dots and dashes that, flying through the air, were received on other +aerials and translated from meaningless clicks into words fraught with +meaning.</p> + +<p>"I must get a picture of that, too," observed Russ, as he came up behind +Paul, Ruth and Alice. "May I?" he asked of the captain, who, at that +moment came to give an order.</p> + +<p>"Yes," nodded the commander. And while the vivid blue spark shot from the +revolving wheel to the connection, where it was made and interrupted as +the operator pressed the key, or allowed it to spring up, Russ made a +short film. The young man who was sending a message looked up as he +finished and smiled at the group observing him.</p> + +<p>"I got that smile, too," Russ informed him.</p> + +<p>"Did you get any reply?" asked Captain Falcon, as the operator removed +the receivers in order to hear the commander's question.</p> + +<p>"The <i>Bell</i>, of the Downing Line, is within fifty miles of us," the +operator replied. "She can come up when we need her."</p> + +<p>"I don't think we shall," the captain said. "But kindly ask her to stand +by during the night."</p> + +<p>"Then the fire isn't altogether under control?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Not as much so as I would like to see it," answered the commander, +frankly. "But we are keeping at it."</p> + +<p>He wrote out the message he wished sent to the <i>Bell</i>, and then the +little audience gathered again at the door of the wireless room to watch +the operator at work.</p> + +<p>Russ made films as long as the daylight lasted, but finally the coming of +night forced him to stop, and he put away his camera.</p> + +<p>The fighting of the fire still went on, though little of it could be +observed now. There were no flames to be seen, but doubtless, down in the +hold, where the cargo burned, there were angry, red tongues of fire. But +the compartment was kept closed. It was now nearly full of water, the +captain reported, and the fire must soon be extinguished.</p> + +<p>"Unless it has crept to another compartment," ventured Mr. Sneed.</p> + +<p>"Hush! Don't let anyone hear you say such things!" cried Russ, +indignantly.</p> + +<p>Dinner was not a very cheerful meal, but all managed to eat something. +And the night was an uneasy one. What sleep there was came only in +catnaps, for there was the constant noise of the pumps, and the running +about of the sailors on the decks.</p> + +<p>The <i>Tarsus</i> was still motionless, save only as she rolled with the sea, +which was still calm. Captain Falcon found that to proceed would be to +drive the smoke aft into the cabins, and he did not want to do this. So +he had the main engines shut down.</p> + +<p>Through the night the fire was fought, and in the morning it was a gray +and haggard captain who faced the anxious group of passengers gathered in +the main saloon.</p> + +<p>"What is the report?" asked Mr. Pertell.</p> + +<p>"Not very encouraging," was the answer. "We are now disabled, and the +fire is still burning."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI" />CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>BY WIRELESS</h3> + + +<p>For a moment no one spoke, after the portentous words of Captain Falcon. +Men and women looked at each other. The members of the moving picture +company glanced from face to face. What would come next?</p> + +<p>"Does this mean—does it indicate that we are to take to the boats?" +asked Mr. DeVere, solemnly.</p> + +<p>"Not necessarily," the captain replied. "I have come to put the matter +plainly to you. The fire gained, in the night, and it reached the engine +room compartment. We are, therefore, temporarily disabled, and cannot +proceed, as we could have done had not this occurred. For we had the +first blaze out.</p> + +<p>"Now, those who wish will be put into life boats, with such of their +belongings as it is practicable to take with them."</p> + +<p>"What is the other alternative?" asked Mr. Pertell, as the captain +paused, thus indicating that he had another proposition to make.</p> + +<p>"The second question is—Will you wait for the <i>Bell</i> to come up? She is +within about fifty miles of us, I should judge, and can reach us inside +of three hours."</p> + +<p>"In the meanwhile—the fire may gain?" suggested Mr. Sneed in gloomy +tones.</p> + +<p>"It may—yes. It probably will, if it reaches the coal bunkers. That is +what I am afraid of, and why I speak thus plainly."</p> + +<p>"Then I'm going to take to a boat!" exclaimed the "grouch."</p> + +<p>"So will I!" put in Mr. Bunn.</p> + +<p>"Wait," advised Mr. Pertell. "If possible I wish to keep all the members +of my company together. I have not the fear that some of you have. I +trust Captain Falcon."</p> + +<p>"Thank you!" exclaimed the commander, evidently greatly pleased with this +mark of confidence. "At the same time I stand ready to lower boats for +those who may wish it. The sea is comparatively calm, and you will have +to use boats anyhow, if you are taken off by the <i>Bell</i>."</p> + +<p>"Must that be done?" asked Alice, in a low voice.</p> + +<p>"If we cannot subdue the fire, I am afraid so, Miss DeVere," answered +the captain. "But there is no danger in that. It is often done."</p> + +<p>"Then I say, let's wait for the other vessel," decided Mr. DeVere. "There +may finally be no necessity for leaving our own ship, I take it?" he +asked.</p> + +<p>"There may—it's a chance."</p> + +<p>"Then let's take it!" cried Russ. "How will you summon the <i>Bell</i>?"</p> + +<p>"By wireless. I was only waiting for your decision to write out the +message. She has been expecting a call from us, but she has probably +drifted farther off than she was last evening. I will summon her."</p> + +<p>A little later the wireless began crackling out its call to the unseen +<i>Bell</i>, and preparations were made to lower away the boats promptly, in +case the fire should suddenly gain greater headway. Then there was +nothing to do but wait, and fight the flames.</p> + +<p>"I insist, though, on being put in a boat!" cried Mr. Sneed. "I want to +get off this dangerous ship."</p> + +<p>"I do, too!" exclaimed Mr. Bunn.</p> + +<p>"I advise you both to stick to this ship," spoke Mr. Pertell, seriously.</p> + +<p>"Never!" cried the grouch, and the former Shakespearean actor echoed the +word.</p> + +<p>"Let them go," decided Captain Falcon, in a low voice to the moving +picture manager. "I can send them away in a boat, with some sailors, and +tell my men to row slowly, so as not to take them too far away from us. +Then, when the <i>Bell</i> comes up, they can go aboard her, if our fire is +not out by then. Let them go."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Mr. Pertell, and orders were given to lower a boat. +Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed got together what belongings they could, and +entered it.</p> + +<p>"I must get a moving picture of this!" cried Russ.</p> + +<p>"Do!" said Mr. Pertell.</p> + +<p>"I forbid it!" exclaimed Mr. Sneed. Perhaps he did not want to be shown +deserting the ship and the company.</p> + +<p>But Russ brought out his camera, and soon the film was moving, as the +boat was lowered to the surface of the sea. Then it was soon pulling away +from the <i>Tarsus</i>, and Russ got those views too.</p> + +<p>"Wait! Wait for me!" cried a voice, and up on deck came Mr. Towne. He had +a valise in each hand, which probably contained his best suits. "Wait!" +he cried. "I want to be saved, too."</p> + +<p>"There's no danger; you'll be saved more by staying here than by going +with them," said Mr. Pertell. "Besides, you might soil your clothing if +you went in the small boat. Another ship is coming for us."</p> + +<p>"Oh—er—I certainly would not like to spoil any of my suits—the one I +fell overboard in is almost ruined. I—er—I ah—shall stay!" and he went +below again.</p> + +<p>The wireless was still crackling out its call for aid, and soon an answer +was received, saying that the <i>Bell</i> was on her way.</p> + +<p>"She's coming!" cried the operator, as he gave the dispatch to the +captain. Russ, who had enough of the pictures of Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed +leaving in the boat, filmed the captain in the act of receiving this +message of good cheer. Later it was worked into a stirring drama, called +"The Burning Ship."</p> + +<p>With all else that was going on, the work of fighting the blaze in the +hold was not for a moment given up. Water and live steam were turned in +among the cargo, the pumping apparatus fortunately not having been +disabled when the rest of the machinery went out of commission.</p> + +<p>Russ made more moving pictures, since he now had a good light, and as the +fire-fighting was in another part of the ship it made a different series +of views.</p> + +<p>"Oh, isn't this the most awful thing you ever saw, or heard of?" cried +Miss Pennington, coming on deck where Ruth and Alice stood. "Fate seems +to be against us at every turn!"</p> + +<p>She was very pale, and looked wretched, as did her chum Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"I guess they didn't take time to make up their complexions," whispered +Alice.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" cautioned her sister.</p> + +<p>"I could cry!" declared Miss Dixon. "I never slept a wink all night." She +looked it, too.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we'll be all right," said Paul. "The other ship is coming for us, +and if necessary we can be transferred to her."</p> + +<p>"Will we have to go in one of the small boats, like that?" Miss +Pennington wanted to know, as she pointed to the one in which were Mr. +Bunn and Mr. Sneed, some distance off, now.</p> + +<p>"That's the only kind they have on board," said Mr. DeVere, who had +shortly before joined his daughters.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I never could go in one of those—never!" the former vaudeville +actress cried, tragically.</p> + +<p>"Ha! Dose is goot boats! I in der German nafy vos," put in Mr. Switzer, +"und dey are fery safe."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but they look so small, and they hold so little. How can one get +enough to eat in them?" asked Miss Dixon, clasping her hands, and +looking with her rather effective eyes, first at Mr. Towne, and then at +Paul.</p> + +<p>"Ha! You dakes along vot you eat!" exclaimed the German. "Pretzels iss +fine! Haf one!" and he extended a handful of small ones. Since the +company had been snowbound he had always a few in his pocket. He called +them his "mascots."</p> + +<p>"No, thank you. I never eat them!" declared Miss Dixon, with turned-up +nose.</p> + +<p>"Let's go see if there is any further report by wireless from the +<i>Bell</i>," suggested Ruth, who saw kindling wrath in the eyes of her +sister. Alice never could get along well with the two actresses, and she +was very likely to say something that might lead to a quarrel.</p> + +<p>"I'll come along," said Paul.</p> + +<p>"So will I," echoed Mr. Towne. In spite of his affected mannerisms, he +could be "nice," at times. It was Ruth who had said this, but then Ruth +had such a kind heart that she generally found a good quality in nearly +everyone, whatever their failings.</p> + +<p>"Yes, she's coming on at full speed," reported the wireless operator. +"She'll be with us in about an hour, now. And I guess it's time, too," he +added in a low voice.</p> + +<p>"Why?" asked Russ, when the girls had passed on.</p> + +<p>"Because I believe the fire is gaining. I think it's in one of the coal +bunkers now, and that means it will burn steadily, and may eat through +the side of the ship."</p> + +<p>The operator turned to his apparatus, for he had been told to keep in +constant communication with the oncoming rescue ship.</p> + +<p>As Paul rejoined the girls, there sounded through the <i>Tarsus</i> a dull +explosion, that made the ship tremble.</p> + +<p>The commander was hurrying along the deck. Many of the passengers, who +had gone below to pack their belongings in anticipation of being +transferred, now came rushing out of their staterooms.</p> + +<p>"What was it?"</p> + +<p>"Are we going to blow up?"</p> + +<p>"Is the ship sinking?"</p> + +<p>"Don't be alarmed!" Captain Falcon exhorted them, but, even as he spoke, +there came a second dull rumbling, a trembling of the vessel, and another +explosion, louder than the first. There were screams from frightened +women and children, and a number of men passengers made a rush for the +boats, as the sailors had done before.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII" />CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>IN PORT</h3> + + +<p>"Stand back!" cried Captain Falcon, and again his hand went to his pocket +as though to draw a weapon. "Stand back! The same rule applies to you men +passengers as to the sailors. Women and children first! Do you hear? +Stand back!"</p> + +<p>The rush was halted almost before it started. Then Mr. Switzer, who had +taken no part in it, said slowly:</p> + +<p>"Dot is right. Gentlemen, ve are forgetting ourselves!"</p> + +<p>"And it took him—above everyone else—to remind them of it," said Mr. +DeVere in a low voice. He had remained by the side of his daughters.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Switzer is a bigger man than any of us thought," murmured Ruth. "Oh, +Daddy, is the boat going to sink?"</p> + +<p>"We are going to be blown up!" exclaimed a big man, who, with others, had +made a half start for the boat, and then had hung back shamefacedly.</p> + +<p>"If you say that again!" cried Paul, in a fierce whisper, "I'll throw you +overboard! This is no time to start a panic!"</p> + +<p>The man slunk away. There came another explosion, not so loud as the +first, but enough to cause the men to start involuntarily, and to bring +frantic screams from the women passengers.</p> + +<p>"What is that, Captain?" asked Mr. Pertell.</p> + +<p>"Nothing to be alarmed about," was the calm answer.</p> + +<p>"They sound alarming enough," declared a woman.</p> + +<p>"But they are not," the commander insisted. "They are only slight +explosions of coal gas in some of the bunkers. The fire is slowly eating +into them but the explosions are not heavy enough to cause any serious +damage to the ship.</p> + +<p>"The <i>Bell</i> will soon be up to us. In fact, we could see her now, were it +not for the slight haze. And, as it is evident that you will have to be +taken off in her, I am going to lower the boats, and let you row away +from this ship.</p> + +<p>"You will be picked up by the <i>Bell</i> as soon as she gets here, and, in +any event, you would have to take to the small boats. So you might as +well start. I will have all your baggage brought on deck ready for +transfer," he added to the moving picture manager.</p> + +<p>"Very good," assented Mr. Pertell. "I am sorry this has occurred, but +perhaps it is best that we leave the ship."</p> + +<p>"It will be better for your peace of mind, though really I think we can +conquer the fire," the captain went on. "But we are disabled, and may not +be able to proceed for some time."</p> + +<p>"What are you going to do when we are gone?" asked Alice, who, with Ruth, +had recovered some of her equanimity by this time. "Are you coming with +us, Captain Falcon—you and your sailors?"</p> + +<p>"I am going to stick by the ship!" he answered, and there was a proud +ring in his voice. "I believe I can save her, and then we'll make +repairs, and get to port under our own steam. I want to save the owners +salvage, if I can."</p> + +<p>"There speaks a brave man," murmured Mr. DeVere. "And there are many such +unknown, who are going down the sea in ships every day. A brave man!"</p> + +<p>"Man the falls!" ordered Captain Falcon to those sailors who were not +engaged in fighting the fire. "Man the falls, and stand by to lower the +boats!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, must we really go in those little things?" cried Miss Pennington, as +she heard this.</p> + +<p>"Certainly," answered Russ, who was near her. "You wouldn't expect to +swim; would you?"</p> + +<p>"Horrid thing!" snapped the actress. "Come, Laura. Don't leave me. I'm so +frightened!"</p> + +<p>"So am I," declared her companion. "It's awful!"</p> + +<p>"Their fright hasn't made them pale, at any rate," whispered Alice. +"They've taken on color, lately."</p> + +<p>"Oh, my dear, you mustn't say such things," chided Ruth.</p> + +<p>The work of getting the passengers and their baggage into the boats was +soon under way. There was some confusion, not a little evidence of fright +on the part of many, and some tears. But among the bravest were little +Tommie and Nellie. They thought it all a lark, and probably, in their +case, it was the bliss of ignorance.</p> + +<p>Russ, who had been standing near Ruth and Alice, suddenly started for his +stateroom.</p> + +<p>"Where are you going?" asked Ruth, as the call came for them to take +their places in a boat.</p> + +<p>"For my moving picture camera! I'm going to get views of this. It's too +good to miss!"</p> + +<p>"It seems so—so—" began Ruth, but Alice interrupted with:</p> + +<p>"Why shouldn't he get the film? There is really no danger of death, and +it is a chance that he may never have again. A film like this could be +worked into a great play!"</p> + +<p>"Spoken like a real artist of the movies!" cried Mr. Pertell. "Go ahead, +Russ. Get all you can; but don't take any chances."</p> + +<p>Then the young operator busied himself with making a film that was +afterward said to be one of the best in the world showing a rescue from a +burning ship. And the beauty of it was that it was real. There was no +posing, and the ship was not an old hulk chartered for the occasion, and +set fire to, as has been done more than once.</p> + +<p>As the women and children were first helped to the boats, and the craft +then carefully lowered to the sea, Russ took picture after picture. +Fortunately the sea and weather were both calm, and, after the first +little fright, no one made any disturbance.</p> + +<p>The boat containing Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed had returned part way to the +ship, the sailors having heard the explosions, and desiring to aid in the +work of saving the passengers if there was any need, for their craft +could hold many more.</p> + +<p>But there was no need. There was ample room in the other boats, and, as +Captain Falcon had said, the explosions were really of little moment—at +least, for the present.</p> + +<p>Boat after boat was loaded and lowered away, and not an accident marred +the work. True, Mrs. Maguire, in her anxiety to see that Nellie and Tommy +were safe, nearly fell overboard, but a burly sailor caught her just in +time.</p> + +<p>"How are you coming on, Russ?" asked Mr. Pertell who, with Pop Snooks, +was seeing to the bringing up of the baggage, and the other property of +the moving picture company.</p> + +<p>"Fine," answered the young operator. "This will be a great film!"</p> + +<p>"Glad to hear it! It will be our turn soon."</p> + +<p>"I'm going to stick till the last boat. I want to get all the views I +can."</p> + +<p>Russ spoke simply, but he well knew the danger he ran in remaining until +the last boat was sent away. The ship might be in no real danger; even as +Captain Falcon had said; but, on the other hand, the fire might have +spread more than the commander realized. But Russ, like many another +picture operator, was not afraid to do his duty as he saw it, even in the +face of danger.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a great shout arose.</p> + +<p>"Wonder what's happened now?" remarked Mr. Pertell. He knew a moment +later, for the shout took to itself words:</p> + +<p>"The ship!"</p> + +<p>"The rescue ship!"</p> + +<p>"There comes the <i>Bell</i>!"</p> + +<p>Sweeping up through the mist came the ship that had responded to the +wireless calls for aid. On she came at full speed, and when she caught +sight of the <i>Tarsus</i> she sent out a reassuring blast from her great +whistle. It was answered in kind.</p> + +<p>"Now you're all right!" cried Captain Falcon over the side, to those in +the small boats. "Row the passengers over to her," he ordered the +sailors, "and then come back to your ship!"</p> + +<p>"Aye, aye, sir!" was the answer. And be it said to the credit of those +sailors that not one of them shirked, or tried to desert, which might +have been easily forgiven in the face of the danger.</p> + +<p>"I've got to get a picture of her!" cried Russ, as he focused the camera +on the oncoming ship. And a fine picture he obtained.</p> + +<p>"Oh, now we're all right, Daddy!" cried Ruth, as she nestled close to her +father. Mr. DeVere had been allowed to go in the boat with his daughters, +as there was plenty of room, and all the other women had been provided +for.</p> + +<p>"I wasn't worrying," declared Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh yes, it's easy to say that now," sighed Ruth. "But I'm sorry for poor +Captain Falcon."</p> + +<p>"He is a brave man," said Mr. DeVere, again.</p> + +<p>The <i>Bell</i> came as close as was safe, and a little later the small boats +rowed to her accommodation ladder, which had been lowered. Then began the +risky work of getting from the small boats to this ladder, and so aboard +the <i>Bell</i>. For there was now a little sea on, and the boats rose and +fell to a considerable degree.</p> + +<p>But the sailors were skillful, and soon all the passengers and baggage +were transferred. Russ was the last to leave the <i>Tarsus</i>, and the last +to go aboard the <i>Bell</i>, for he wanted every view he could get.</p> + +<p>He was received with a cheer, given not only by his friends, but by the +passengers and crew of the <i>Bell</i>.</p> + +<p>For Mr. Pertell had told of the devotion to duty of the young operator, +and his act was duly appreciated.</p> + +<p>Back to the burning vessel—perhaps, for all they knew, back to their +doom—rowed the sailors of the <i>Tarsus</i>. The chief mate of the <i>Bell</i>, at +the request of his commander, went to consult with Captain Falcon. On +returning, the mate reported that Captain Falcon felt he could get the +fire under control, and also make repairs to enable him to get his ship +to port.</p> + +<p>"Then we will proceed," said Captain Blackstone, of the <i>Bell</i>. He gave +the signal to go ahead, and soon the ill-fated <i>Tarsus</i>, with the smoke +pall hanging about her, was left behind.</p> + +<p>But it is a pleasure to record that, after a hard fight, Captain Falcon +and his men did subdue the flames, and, after harder work, temporary +repairs enabled them to limp into port. Thus the commander saved his +ship, and also avoided the payment, on the part of the owners, of heavy +salvage. Later he was suitably rewarded by his superiors.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but what an experience!" lamented Miss Pennington, as she sank into +a steamer chair after the rescue. "I wonder what sort of a stateroom +we'll have here, Laura?"</p> + +<p>"They'll be lucky if they get even a berth," grumbled Paul. For the +<i>Bell</i> carried a number of passengers, and the addition of those from the +<i>Tarsus</i> rather crowded her.</p> + +<p>But accommodations were found for all, though the quarters were rather +cramped. The <i>Bell</i> was bound direct for St. Augustine, and in due +season, and without further mishap, the moving picture company reached +that oldest city in the United States.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII" />CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>ST. AUGUSTINE</h3> + + +<p>"Oh, isn't it beautiful!"</p> + +<p>"The most gorgeous place I ever saw!"</p> + +<p>Alice and Ruth were standing in the doorway of the hotel to which the +moving picture company had been taken. They were looking out into the +ladies' court—into a sun-lit and palm-girded garden, wherein a fountain +played, the water falling with a musical tinkling.</p> + +<p>Birds flitted here and there amid the bright flowers, but to the moving +picture girls the palms seemed the most wonderful of all. Such palms!</p> + +<p>"I never realized that the great Creator could make anything so +beautiful," murmured Ruth, reverently. "And, Oh! Alice; to think that +<i>we</i> can enjoy it!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, isn't it wonderful, after all the storm and stress of the fire, to +be in this lovely, calm place?"</p> + +<p>"And the best part of it is that we're getting <i>paid</i> for it!" observed a +voice behind the two girls. They turned, with a start, for they had lost +themselves in a dreaming reverie, to find Russ and Paul smiling at them. +It was Paul who spoke.</p> + +<p>"It does seem a shame to take the money under these circumstances," added +Russ, with a laugh.</p> + +<p>"It's like a vacation," agreed Alice. "Oh, but isn't it just—just too—"</p> + +<p>She was evidently searching for a fitting simile.</p> + +<p>"Alice," warned Ruth, gently. She was endeavoring to wean her sister from +the habit of using slang expressions; but Alice always boasted that she +liked to take "short cuts," and that slang—that is, her refined +variety—offered the best method of accomplishing this very desirable +object.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I was only just going to say—scrumptious!" laughed the younger +girl. "You don't mind that; do you, sister mine? This is really the most +scrumptiously scrumptious place I've ever seen!"</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid you're hopeless," was the smiling retort.</p> + +<p>"Well, it's certainly swell—that's my word for it," answered Russ, with +a frank laugh.</p> + +<p>Indeed, Mr. Pertell had not spared expense in taking out his moving +picture company. And he had a method in going to one of the largest and +finest hotels in St. Augustine. He intended to stage some scenes of one +of the Southern plays there, and having his actors and actresses right in +the hotel made it much more practical.</p> + +<p>"Let's take a walk," proposed Russ. "There's nothing to do to-day."</p> + +<p>It was the morning after their arrival and Mr. Pertell was not quite +ready to proceed with making films. The fire aboard the <i>Tarsus</i>, and the +necessity of taking another vessel, had rather upset everyone, so a day +or so of rest had been decided upon.</p> + +<p>"Where shall we go?" asked Alice, readily falling in with the proposal. +"You'll come, won't you, Ruth?"</p> + +<p>"I think so—yes."</p> + +<p>"There are lots of places to see," suggested Paul. "This is the oldest +city in the United States. I've got some guide books up in my room, and a +lot of views. We'll pick out some points of interest and visit them."</p> + +<p>"We'll have plenty of chance to see the sights," remarked Russ. "I +understand there are to be a number of films made in the city and +vicinity, so you'll probably have to act out around Fort Marion and at +Fort Mantanzas, as well as in the slave market. I'll be with you in a +minute. I just want to get my little hand camera, to make a few +snap-shots."</p> + +<p>While waiting for him and Paul to return, the girls slipped up to their +room a minute.</p> + +<p>"Just to freshen up," as Alice put it, though really there was no need in +her case, nor on the part of Ruth, either. The day was perfect—like +summer—and the girls, knowing they were coming to the land of the palm +and orange blossom, had brought suitable dresses.</p> + +<p>Ruth wore white, with a mere suggestion of trimming in blue, and with her +fair hair and blue eyes she was a picture that made more than one +man—elderly as well as young—turn for a second look.</p> + +<p>The darker beauty of Alice was well set off by her dress of light tan +pongee with maroon trimming, and her sparkling brown eyes were dancing +with life, and the love of life, as she came out to join her sister and +the young men.</p> + +<p>"Primping, as usual," mocked Russ, but with a laugh that took the sting +out of his words.</p> + +<p>"Naturally," agreed Alice, determined not to let him "fuss" her.</p> + +<p>They strolled out under the beautiful loggia, through an avenue of palms +and many tropical plants, and breathed deeply of the perfumed air.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it is perfect—just perfect!" sighed Ruth. "I think the Garden of +Paradise must have been in Florida."</p> + +<p>"There you go!" cried Alice. "First you know you'll want to go off and +live the simple life under a palm tree, with bananas for lunch and +oranges for dinner. And when your—er—your hero—we'll say, comes riding +on that milk-white steed I so despise, you'll be so thin that he won't +know you."</p> + +<p>"Thank you!" returned her sister. "But a <i>svelte</i> figure is much to be +desired these days."</p> + +<p>"Not that you're getting stout!" declared Alice. "Really it is I who +ought to diet on bananas and—"</p> + +<p>"Orange blossoms," finished Paul.</p> + +<p>"Thanks," and she bowed gracefully to him.</p> + +<p>"Well, Paul, where is it to be—you're the guide?" asked Russ, as they +emerged on King street. "Where's your map?"</p> + +<p>"I have it. What do you say we go out to the old city gates, and then to +Fort Marion?"</p> + +<p>"Wherever you say," agreed Alice. "It is all new to us."</p> + +<p>They soon reached the north bend of St. George street and stood before +the old city gates. These once formed part of the northerly line of +defence of the ancient city.</p> + +<p>"Built in 1743," declaimed Alice, as she read from the bronze tablet set +in the masonry by the D.A.R. "My, how long ago that seems; doesn't it?"</p> + +<p>"A mere trifle!" replied Russ, airily. "Get together there, and I'll snap +you," he invited. "If you think that's old we'll go to the Fountain of +Youth a little later, and renew our youngness."</p> + +<p>"Oh, is that really here?" cried Ruth, with such sudden interest that +they all laughed.</p> + +<p>"Yes, my ancient sister, it is," said Alice. "Dost wish to quaff a cup?"</p> + +<p>"Merely for the novelty of it—yes," answered Ruth, and she too, laughed. +Her cheeks were the color of bridesmaid roses, and Russ, as he looked at +her, wished—</p> + +<p>But there—What's the use of being mean and telling on a good chap?</p> + +<p>The pictures taken, they strolled on. At Fort Marion, on the banks of the +Mantanzas River, they found much of interest; but agreed to explore it +more in detail at another time.</p> + +<p>"You'll have to be filmed here, anyhow," Russ told the girls. "There's an +important drama, with several scenes, laid here."</p> + +<p>"Are we in it?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the whole company; and Mr. Pertell said he'd have to hire some +supers, too."</p> + +<p>By this Russ meant that the manager would have to engage extra persons to +impersonate the unimportant characters in the play, as is often done in +"mob" scenes in the theaters.</p> + +<p>"Now for the orange grove, and then—the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul, +as they came out of the old fort.</p> + +<p>"What a delightful combination!" exclaimed Alice.</p> + +<p>"Youth—and—orange blossoms!" and she clapped her hands, her eyes +shining.</p> + +<p>"Be careful," warned Ruth in a low voice, as the young men went on ahead.</p> + +<p>"Why, sister of mine?"</p> + +<p>"Don't talk so much of orange blossoms."</p> + +<p>"Pooh! I'm not thinking of getting married!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Alice!"</p> + +<p>"Well, wasn't that what you meant?"</p> + +<p>"Not at all, I only meant—"</p> + +<p>"I don't believe you knew what you did mean. Come on, we'll be lost!" and +she caught Ruth by the arm and hurried on after Russ and Paul.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX" />CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>IN THE DUNGEON</h3> + + +<p>"Oh, if we could only stay here forever!"</p> + +<p>"It would be Paradise!"</p> + +<p>Thus Ruth and Alice exclaimed as they entered the orange grove, a short +distance from the city gates. And indeed the scene that greeted them, and +the sweet odors, might well call for this praise and desire from even the +most <i>blasé</i> tourist.</p> + +<p>Even Russ, grown accustomed by his calling to odd scenes, was impressed +by the wonderful sight, and as for Paul, who had something of the +romantic nature of Ruth, it was a pure delight to him.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if they will take any pictures here?" said Ruth, softly—at +first it seemed as if one must talk in whispers so as not to disturb the +beauty of the place.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'm going to film you here," announced Russ. "Stand still a moment +and I'll snap you now. There's a pretty place."</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice assumed graceful poses, and soon their likenesses were +registered on the film. Russ never tired of taking pictures, and when he +was not making moving ones he was using his small hand camera. How many +times he had taken the likeness of Ruth it would be hard to estimate.</p> + +<p>They wandered about the orange grove, and the young men bought some of +the delicious fruit, right from the trees, and fully ripe. It had a +flavor all its own.</p> + +<p>"Let me show you how to eat an orange," suggested one of the men of the +grove, as he saw the young people going about, "in the way it is usually +done when no orange spoons are to be had."</p> + +<p>"Somebody has said," went on the man, "that you need to lean over a +bathtub to eat an orange this way, but it's worth while. You get a little +smeared up doing it; but you can wash in the spring over there," and he +pointed to one amid a pile of stones.</p> + +<p>Then with his keen knife he cut the orange in a peculiar spiral manner, +with the skin left on so that eventually he had a long yellow strip, with +the sections of orange clinging to the yellow rind.</p> + +<p>"Now, all you've got to do is to run your mouth along that strip," he +directed, "and you get all the juice—that is, all you don't miss. It +takes a little practice; but I've got some black boys that can get every +drop. Watch!"</p> + +<p>Rapidly he ate along the extended strip of skin, to which clung the cut +sections of orange. In a moment it was clean.</p> + +<p>"It's an awfully crude way of doing it—but, as long as we're in an +orange grove, let's do as the orange 'grovers' do," laughed Alice.</p> + +<p>"I'm game!" cried Paul.</p> + +<p>"Same here!" put in Russ, and they cut their oranges as the man had done. +The latter then prepared one each for Ruth and Alice, and amid much +laughter—the girls and the young men leaning far over so as not to drip +the juice on their clothes—they finished the delicious fruit.</p> + +<p>"Now bring on your bathtub!" cried Russ.</p> + +<p>"There's the spring," the man said. "There's a basin near it, and it's +clean."</p> + +<p>Laughing over the new way of eating oranges, but voting that it was worth +while, even if it was a bit "smeary," the young folks washed their hands +and faces, and kept on through the grove, growing more and more glad at +every step that they had come to Florida.</p> + +<p>"And now for the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul.</p> + +<p>"I don't feel that I need it, after that delicious orange," laughed Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Indeed, if you get any younger, you'll go back to kindergarten days," +remarked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Thank you. I don't want to be quite as young as that."</p> + +<p>The Fountain of Youth, one of the curiosities of St. Augustine, is on +Myrtle avenue, two blocks north of the orange grove, and the four +laughing young people were soon there.</p> + +<p>"Is this really the fountain Ponce de Leon thought would give eternal +youth?" asked Ruth, half-seriously, as they stood near the little +roofed-over spring.</p> + +<p>"That is the legend," declared Paul. "Of course that's not saying it's +so. But the spring has one peculiar quality."</p> + +<p>"What's that?" asked Russ.</p> + +<p>"The waters rise and fall without any particular cause. Sometimes they +are higher than at others, and none of the other wells, or springs, in +this vicinity do that. So you see it may be miraculous after all."</p> + +<p>"Let's try it," suggested Alice, who was always ready for anything new.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but perhaps it isn't good water," objected Ruth, more cautious. "We +may get typhoid, or something like that."</p> + +<p>"Nonsense!" laughed Alice, but she looked questioningly at Paul.</p> + +<p>"Lots of people drink the water," he said. "Allow me," and he lowered a +small bucket attached to a rope made fast to the roof of the well.</p> + +<p>He drew it up, brimming over, and with a low bow handed some of the water +to Alice, pouring it into a small collapsible cup he happened to have +with him.</p> + +<p>"Drink! And may you never grow old!" he said, and there was more of +meaning in his eyes than in his words.</p> + +<p>"We'll all sample it!" cried Russ, and as Ruth was induced, just for the +fun of the thing, to try some, they heard the murmur of voices behind +them.</p> + +<p>"Save some for us!" was the call, and Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon came +up.</p> + +<p>"We'll all be young together," said Alice. Though she and her sister were +not very chummy with the two former vaudeville actresses, they were not +exactly unfriendly. And who could be unfriendly in that beautiful spot, +and on the reputed site of the Fountain of Youth?</p> + +<p>"The more you drink the younger you get!" bantered Paul, as Miss Dixon +asked him for a second cup.</p> + +<p>"Gracious, then I'll turn into a baby," exclaimed Miss Pennington. "I've +been here once before this morning, and I took several glasses."</p> + +<p>"Back to juvenile rôles for yours!" cried Russ. "Mr. Pertell will have to +look for another leading lady."</p> + +<p>"I haven't noticed any effect yet," she said, as she took out a vanity +box, and surreptitiously used her chamois, leaving a more brilliant tint +on her face.</p> + +<p>"It takes time," went on Russ, half-seriously. "You will awaken in the +morning, crying for a rattle."</p> + +<p>Thus they made merry near the well, with its queer square stones built +into pillars to hold up the roof.</p> + +<p>"Poor Ponce de Leon," sighed Ruth. "How disappointed he must have been +when he found out that his life was slipping away in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I wonder if he really believed he had found it?"</p> + +<p>"He couldn't have—when he came to die," remarked Russ, practically.</p> + +<p>"But it is a pretty story," Ruth said, softly. "Poor Ponce de Leon!"</p> + +<p>"The Indians told him this was the fountain," said Paul, who had been +reading history. "Near this fountain was found a large coquina cross. +The cross was located by the discovery of a silver casque, which +contained documents telling of the matter, and one seems to fix the date +of the first visit of Ponce de Leon to Florida. That was in 1513, +according to the documents found in the casque.</p> + +<p>"Am I boring you?" he asked quickly, for he thought the two former +vaudeville actresses looked as though they wanted to talk of something +else besides dry historical facts.</p> + +<p>"No, indeed!" cried Alice. "I just love to hear about this."</p> + +<p>"Do go on," urged Ruth, and even Miss Pennington condescended to say:</p> + +<p>"It sounds interesting."</p> + +<p>"I'll read you what one of the old documents said," went on Paul. "'As we +bore down upon him we found him to be an Indian, in a skin boat with a +skin sail, running to a point twenty feet in the air, with a bow at the +top. In the boat, which I describe in my descriptive image, I went ashore +with the Indian. We landed near a spring that they call the Fountain of +Youth; there they had a temple built where they worshipped the sun, and +there I built a cross out of coquina, which is a natural formation of the +sea, and I laid it with the rising and setting sun. In the heart of the +cross I placed a descriptive image of myself, and took possession in the +name of our beloved Catholic King.'</p> + +<p>"That's in the document," went on Paul, "and the paper was given to the +United States, through courtesy of the Governor of Sevilla, in 1908."</p> + +<p>"How interesting," murmured Alice. "And to think that we are standing on +such historic ground! Think of the ancient Indians worshipping the sun +here," and she looked up at the flaming orb.</p> + +<p>"The sun is paying altogether too much attention to me!" complained Miss +Pennington, with a laugh. "It will spoil my complexion, in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I must be going."</p> + +<p>"Oh, by the way, Russ," she called back over her shoulder, "Mr. Pertell +was looking for you."</p> + +<p>"Was he?" asked the young operator. "Then I'd better be getting back."</p> + +<p>"I fancy we all had," spoke Ruth. "It must be near lunch time. Come +along, Alice."</p> + +<p>Russ, back at the hotel, found that the manager had decided to make as +the first film one showing some of his players at Fort Marion, and he +wanted Russ to go out there with him and plan the scenario, which would +be undertaken in a day or two.</p> + +<p>The time quickly passed, for it was so lovely in St. Augustine, and +there were so many things to see, that night seemed to follow quickly on +the heels of morning.</p> + +<p>Arrangements having been made, the company one morning went to the old +fort and there Russ filmed many scenes. The play was to be called "The +Spanish Prisoner," the background of the old fort being most effective.</p> + +<p>The players were filmed, going through their various parts on what was +once the drawbridge in front of the portcullis, near the old watchtower +on the stairway that was originally an inclined way, by which artillery +was hauled up to the <i>terre plein</i>.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice were in many of the scenes, but there came a rest for +Alice who, always interested in matters of antiquity, wandered about the +old fort by herself, Ruth and Mr. DeVere being engaged.</p> + +<p>The girl finally made her way to what had been the old guard room and +dungeon. In the guard room was a table and some chairs, for the fort is +in charge of a detachment from the United States Army, and accommodations +are provided for visitors.</p> + +<p>Alice sat down in one of the chairs, and looked at the big open +fire-place at one end of the guard rooms. She recalled some of its +history that Paul had read to her that morning.</p> + +<p>The dungeon was accidently discovered in 1835 and two iron cages, +containing the skeletons of a man and woman, were found fastened to the +wall.</p> + +<p>"Poor creatures! What a horror it must have been!" thought Alice, as she +looked toward the narrow opening to the black dungeon.</p> + +<p>"Ugh! It's getting on my nerves, staying here!" she exclaimed, for she +was all alone. "I'm going!"</p> + +<p>As she rose she heard a noise near the doorway by which she had entered. +Turning quickly, expecting to see one of the company, she was horrified +to see by the light which entered through a barred window, an aged +colored man facing her. He did not approach, but bowing before her +exclaimed in quavering tones:</p> + +<p>"Den I find yo', my Missie! Old Jake look eberywhere fo' you,' but he +find yo'! I knowed I'd find yo' some day, an' now I has, but it's been a +pow'ful long time, honey! A long time!" and with outstretched hands, as +he took a battered hat from his head, he approached her. Alice screamed +and got behind the table.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X" />CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>THE MOTOR RACES</h3> + + +<p>With wildly beating heart, Alice watched the approach of the colored man, +and then, somehow or other, it came to her in a flash that she need not +fear him.</p> + +<p>His bearing was most deferential, as of some old slave toward a cherished +mistress. His manner was gentle and, after advancing a short distance +toward her, he stopped, bowed again, placed his battered hat over his +heart, and said:</p> + +<p>"I knowed I'd find yo' some day, Missie, an' now I has. Yo' ain't gwine +t' send po' ole Jake away; is yo', Missie?"</p> + +<p>Alice, having repressed the desire to scream, was now more calm and, as +quietly as she could she said:</p> + +<p>"You must go out of here, Jake. Go out, and I will come out, too."</p> + +<p>"Yes'm, Missie, dat's what I'll do," he said. "Ole Jake'll do jest as his +missis says. Oh, but it' pow'ful good t' see you' once mo', Missie!"</p> + +<p>"You must go now," repeated Alice, firmly.</p> + +<p>And, without another word, he turned and shuffled out. But he had no +sooner reached the entrance to the dungeon than Alice, who had remained +behind the table, not knowing whether to go out or not, saw the old +colored man seized by a soldier—one of those detailed at the fort.</p> + +<p>"Here now, Jake!" the soldier exclaimed, "haven't I told you time and +again to keep away from here? You know you haven't any right to come in +this part of the fort!"</p> + +<p>"Yais, sah, Cunnel, I knows it, sah," replied the aged negro, with a low +bow. "But yo' see, I done found mah li'l Missie what I'se been lookin' +fo' so long! Dat's why I come heah!"</p> + +<p>"Great Scott! Have you been bothering some of the women visitors?" cried +the soldier and, wheeling about on his heel, he hurried into the dungeon, +which Alice had just decided to leave. He met her coming out, and by her +agitated manner must have guessed that something had happened.</p> + +<p>"I beg your pardon, Miss," began the soldier, with a salute, "but has old +Jake annoyed you?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, not at all," she answered, as calmly as she could. "He only startled +me for a moment; that is all. I was here alone, foolishly, perhaps—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, that's all right," interrupted the soldier. "We want the +visitors to go about as they please, alone or in company. Old Jake's as +harmless as a kitten. He isn't just right up here," he said, touching his +head, and speaking in low tones.</p> + +<p>"I thought as much," responded Alice, with a smile.</p> + +<p>"He's perfectly harmless," went on the soldier, looking out to see the +aged negro shuffling off. "You see, he used to be a slave in some +Southern family," the army man explained. "He was given his freedom, but +never took it, and they say he went insane when his mistress died. He had +taken care of her since she was a baby, and he took it very much to +heart."</p> + +<p>"Poor old man," murmured Alice.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we all like him around here," the soldier continued. "He has a +notion now that his 'little mistress,' as he calls her, is only lost, and +he keeps searching for her. Sometimes he scares the lady visitors, so we +try to keep him out of the lonely parts of the fort. But he must have +slipped in here when no one was watching. I'll give him a good lecture."</p> + +<p>"Oh, please don't be harsh to him!" pleaded Alice. "Really he did +nothing!"</p> + +<p>"But he scared you, Miss."</p> + +<p>"Oh, not much. Only for a second. Then I guessed what his trouble was. +Please say you won't scold him!" she pleaded.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess I'll have to, if you ask me that way, Miss," said the +soldier with the air and manner of a Southern colonel. "We can't refuse +the ladies anything, you know," and he bowed and smiled in a frank manner +that pleased Alice.</p> + +<p>"Then you won't punish him?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Punish him? Oh, no, Miss. Old Jake is just like a child. He sort of +lives in the fort. No, I won't do any more than tell him to keep away +from here, for them's the captain's orders, Miss."</p> + +<p>"All right," she answered. "And now I think I had better join my friends. +What a horrible place this is!" she added, with a backward look at the +dungeon.</p> + +<p>"You may well say that, Miss. But it isn't so bad now as it must have +been in the old days. It's a queer world, that men would make such a +place to put a fellow creature in," and with this somewhat philosophical +remark the soldier saluted again, as Alice bade him good-bye.</p> + +<p>"Why, where have you been?" Ruth asked, as sister appeared. "We have been +looking all over for you. Where were you?"</p> + +<p>"In jail!"</p> + +<p>"Jail! Alice, don't joke about such things."</p> + +<p>"No, sister mine, I was only in a deep, dark dismal dungeon, and I had +such a romantic adventure."</p> + +<p>"Oh, do tell us about it!" begged Miss Pennington.</p> + +<p>"Did you meet a handsome prisoner?" asked Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Yes, a regular Othello."</p> + +<p>"Othello? Who speaks of Othello?" interrupted Mr. Bunn. "I have played +him many times!" and he threw back his shoulders, and tried to give +himself the airs he was wont to assume in the theater.</p> + +<p>Alice told her story, minimizing her fright as much as possible.</p> + +<p>"It <i>was</i> romantic," said Ruth, softly, as her sister concluded. "Only, +dear, you musn't go off in any more strange dungeons alone."</p> + +<p>"I won't," was the promise, given readily enough.</p> + +<p>The making of moving pictures was soon over for the day, and the company +returned to the hotel. Some of the members went to their rooms, while the +others sat about in the beautiful tropical garden, listening to the +mingled music of the band and the fountain.</p> + +<p>"Good stunt on for to-morrow," said Russ, coming up behind Ruth, and +taking a chair near her.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Paul, who was with Alice. "Any more fort stuff?"</p> + +<p>"No, but it's out near the fort. Mr. Pertell is arranging for a motor +boat race, with you girls in rival boats. You know there is a speed +course on Mantanzas Bay, and he's hired two of the fast boats. It's going +to be a regular race, for the two fellows who run the boats are real +water rivals.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Pertell has induced them to act the parts for him, and there'll be +some fun. Part of our company is to be in one boat, and part in the +other, and some will be on the fort wall, outside the old moat, watching +the boats come up. It ought to make a dandy picture."</p> + +<p>"I'm sure it will," declared Ruth, who was always interested in the +mechanical end, as well as in the artistic side. Russ had taught her +considerable about the technical part of the business of making moving +pictures.</p> + +<p>"A motor boat race will be simply fine!" Alice exclaimed. "I hope the +boat I am in wins."</p> + +<p>"There's no telling," Russ went on. "As I said, the men who own the boats +are real rivals, so each will do his best to come out ahead. There'll be +no fake about this—if you'll excuse the use of slang," he added.</p> + +<p>That evening, seated in the palm garden, Mr. Pertell explained to his +company something of the plans for the next day, telling of the plot of +the play in which the motor boat race was to figure.</p> + +<p>"That sounds interesting," commented Mr. DeVere.</p> + +<p>"Do those boats go very fast?" inquired Mr. Sneed.</p> + +<p>"Rather—they are two of the fastest boats in the world," answered the +manager.</p> + +<p>"Then there's sure to be an accident," predicted the grouchy actor. "I +think you may count me out of this play, Mr. Pertell. I have had enough +of water stuff."</p> + +<p>"Well, you're due to have a bit more," observed Mr. Pertell, drily. "For +you fall overboard from one of the boats, at the conclusion of the race."</p> + +<p>"I fall overboard!" was the startled exclamation.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and Mr. Bunn dives in after you. You are both good swimmers—you +remember you told me so."</p> + +<p>The use of the dock of the St. Augustine Power Boat Club had been loaned +for the making of the moving picture, and next day, with such of his +company as were to go in the boats, Mr. Pertell went to the float. +Others of the players took their places on the wall of the fort.</p> + +<p>Two cameras were to be used, Russ working one to show the start and +finish of the race, and Pop Snooks the other, to depict the action of the +players not in the boats.</p> + +<p>The motor boats were powerful and handsome craft. The skippers of each +were at the wheel as the players took their places, and each boat carried +a blackened and greasy mechanician, as looking after high-powered motors +was no simple matter.</p> + +<p>"Well, are we all ready?" asked the manager, as he assigned the players +to their places.</p> + +<p>"All ready, sir," answered Mr. DeVere.</p> + +<p>Alice was in one boat, well up in front beside the captain-owner, while +Ruth occupied a similar position in the other craft.</p> + +<p>"You may start, if you please," said the manager, with a nod at Russ and +another at the skippers.</p> + +<p>A moment later the air was filled with the thundering, rattling exhaust +of the motors as the boats swept away from the float.</p> + +<p>The motor race was on.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI" />CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>TO LAKE KISSIMMEE</h3> + + +<p>The staccato explosions of the motor boats, the cheers of the spectators, +of whom there were many; the clicking of the camera operated by Russ, and +the shouts of the picture-players themselves as they went through the +"business" prescribed for this act of the play, made the scene a gay one.</p> + +<p>"This will make a fine film," declared Mr. Pertell, who was in the boat +with Alice, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Sneed and Mr. DeVere.</p> + +<p>"I think so," agreed the latter. "I am glad we came to Florida."</p> + +<p>"Is your throat better?" the manager asked.</p> + +<p>"Indeed yes—much better. That is, it does not pain me, but I still +retain my hoarseness, as you notice."</p> + +<p>"Yes, and I am selfish enough to wish that it will stay with you a little +longer," the manager said. "That is, only so that you will not leave me +and go back to the legitimate," he added, quickly. "For I want you in +moving pictures. I have some other plans when we finish work here, and +you and your daughters will be much needed."</p> + +<p>"I am glad you have such a good opinion of us," murmured the veteran +actor.</p> + +<p>"Where are we going from here?" asked Alice.</p> + +<p>"That's a secret," laughed the manager. "I haven't it all worked out +myself, as yet."</p> + +<p>The boats sped on, the rival skippers striving to gain the lead. The men +in charge of the motors, too, did everything in their power, in the way +of changing the gasoline mixture, or by means of copious oiling, to get +one more revolution out of their engines. But the boats seemed very +evenly matched. A big wave was thrown up on either bow of each boat.</p> + +<p>Russ, after getting pictures of the start, had gone with his camera, by a +short cut, to a little promontory on shore, where he got other views of +the boats racing through the water. Then he went farther on and, getting +into another motor boat, took his place near the finish line, to film the +end of the race.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I do hope we win!" exclaimed Alice, to her captain.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to do my best," he answered, grimly, as he glanced across to +where the other boat was forging through the water.</p> + +<p>And in her boat Ruth was saying the same thing.</p> + +<p>Each skipper had been holding something in reserve in the way of power, +and now the mechanicians were signalled to use this.</p> + +<p>The boats were nearing the finish line now, for the race, for the purpose +of the moving pictures, was only a short one.</p> + +<p>But, as it happened, the captain of the boat Alice was in, got his signal +a little ahead of his rival, so that he shot forward, and thus gained an +advantage the other motor boat could not cut down.</p> + +<p>"Oh, we're going to win!" cried Alice in delight, clapping her hands as +she saw Russ, in his boat at the finish line, operating his camera. +"We're going to win!"</p> + +<p>Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, who, with Ruth, were in the other boat, +looked glum. As for Ruth she was of that gentle nature which is willing +to lose, that others may enjoy even a brief pleasure, and she rejoiced in +the delight of her sister.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess he's got me!" regretfully admitted the captain of the +losing boat. "He was a little too quick for me."</p> + +<p>And so it proved, for the boat containing Alice shot across the line a +winner.</p> + +<p>"I knew we'd do it!" she cried.</p> + +<p>"Good for you!" shouted Russ.</p> + +<p>"It's time for you to fall overboard now, Mr. Sneed," directed the +manager. "Make a good fall, and put plenty of splash into it."</p> + +<p>"Oh dear!" groaned the actor. "I suppose I must!"</p> + +<p>In anticipation of this he had donned an old suit of clothes, as had Mr. +Bunn, and the latter, for one of very few times, did not wear his tall +hat.</p> + +<p>"Be ready with your rescue leap," ordered Mr. Pertell to the older actor. +"Make it as natural as you can."</p> + +<p>The boats had now lost headway, and were coming to a point where Russ +could get pictures of the "overboard act."</p> + +<p>"I say!" cried Mr. Sneed, as he paused in his preparations to fall, "I +have just thought of something!"</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Quick, we are losing time, and +getting out of position."</p> + +<p>"There are no alligators in this bay; are there?" and Mr. Sneed looked +anxiously at the captain of the motor boat.</p> + +<p>"Not one," was the laughing answer. "You're safe."</p> + +<p>"Then here I go!" cried the grouch, as he toppled overboard, having first +"registered" a faint, as directed in the plot of the play.</p> + +<p>"Now get him, Mr. Bunn!" cried the manager, and there was another splash, +while aboard the boats the proper bits of acting were gone through with, +that the camera might catch them.</p> + +<p>Once they were in the water Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed acted their parts +well, and the result was a good film. Then, once more aboard the boats, a +start was made for the fort, where the final act was to take place.</p> + +<p>"I say, me deah fellah!" complained Mr. Towne, as he moved away from Mr. +Bunn, who sat near him; "keep a bit off, that's a good chap! I don't want +to wet this suit, you know."</p> + +<p>"Oh, all right, I beg your pardon," spoke the other.</p> + +<p>But Mr. Towne's anxiety for his garments was wasted, for at that moment +Mr. Sneed, taking off his coat, wrung some water from it, and of this a +considerable quantity splashed on the light suit of Mr. Towne.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I say!" the latter cried in dismay. "This won't do, you know!"</p> + +<p>"Humph! It seems to me it's already done," observed Paul, with a chuckle.</p> + +<p>During the rest of the trip Mr. Towne was kept busy trying to dry up the +wet spots with his perfumed handkerchief.</p> + +<p>Pop Snooks, the property man, who had little to do when outdoor scenes +were being made, was busy with the other moving picture camera on the +fort wall, and presently, on the arrival of the company at that place, +the final scenes were filmed.</p> + +<p>"Wasn't it a dandy race?" cried Alice, as she and her sister, with Russ +and Paul, started back to the hotel.</p> + +<p>"It was for you because you won, I suppose," remarked Miss Pennington, in +a disagreeable tone.</p> + +<p>"Not at all," returned Alice, promptly. "It was a glorious race anyhow. +Winning didn't count; it was all for the picture."</p> + +<p>"That's the way to look at it," said Paul, in her ear. "But, all the +same, I'm glad your boat won."</p> + +<p>"Thanks," she replied, as she tripped along beside him.</p> + +<p>Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, pausing a moment to "readjust their +complexions," as Alice said (for which she was reproved by Ruth), went on +by themselves.</p> + +<p>The company of players remained in St. Augustine several days, and many +fine films resulted, the scenery lending itself particularly well to the +camera.</p> + +<p>One act in a play took place at the alligator "farm," on Anastasia +Island. There Ruth and Alice saw 'gators in all stages, from tiny ones +just emerging from the shell, to big fourteen-foot ones—regular +"man-eaters" they were told.</p> + +<p>"Ugh! the horrid creatures!" exclaimed Ruth, who could not repress a +shudder.</p> + +<p>"They aren't very pleasant," agreed Alice. "And to think that perhaps +those two girls may be—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, my dear! Don't mention it! I can't bear to think of such a thing. +It's too horrible!"</p> + +<p>"But I suppose there must be many such as that one, in the wilds of the +swamps and bayous," said Alice in a low voice, as she pointed her parasol +at a huge saurian.</p> + +<p>"If there are any such, I don't want to know it—or see them," murmured +Ruth, again shuddering. "Oh, I hope we don't go too far into the wilds."</p> + +<p>"So do I," agreed her sister.</p> + +<p>That afternoon, calling his company of players together, Mr. Pertell +said:</p> + +<p>"Friends, we will leave in two days for the interior. I want to get some +views along the rivers and bayous, where the scenery is wilder than it +is here."</p> + +<p>"And where are we going, may I ask?" inquired Mr. DeVere.</p> + +<p>"To a place called Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee," was the answer.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Ruth!" exclaimed Alice, impulsively, when she heard this.</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear, what is it?"</p> + +<p>"Why, that's where those two girls were from—the ones who were lost, you +know!"</p> + +<p>"Hush! Yes. You know we agreed to say nothing about it, for fear of +causing undue alarm. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon might refuse to go, +you know," she went on in a low voice, "and that would make trouble for +Mr. Pertell."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but isn't it a strange coincidence?" remarked Alice.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is. But perhaps the girls have been found by this time."</p> + +<p>"Our destination will be Lake Kissimmee," proceeded Mr. Pertell. "We will +take some pictures on the lake, some on the Kissimmee River, that +connects the lake of that name with Lake Okeechobee, and then we'll go a +little way into the wilds, on various streams."</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice looked at each other apprehensively.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII" />CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>A WARNING</h3> + + +<p>"Beg pardon," said Claude Towne, during a pause in which Mr. Pertell was +consulting some notes he had jotted down, in order to make matters more +clear to his players. "Beg pardon, my dear sir, but are we going to a +<i>very</i> wild part of this country?"</p> + +<p>"Why, yes—rather so," was the not very reassuring answer. "You probably +won't be able to get a room and bath at the hotel where we stop."</p> + +<p>"Oh, another one of those backwoods places," murmured Miss Pennington. +"How horrid!"</p> + +<p>"Is there any—er—any society there?" asked Mr. Towne.</p> + +<p>"Hardly," answered the manager, "unless you call the natives society."</p> + +<p>"Wretched!" exclaimed the dude, with a wry face.</p> + +<p>"Hold on, though!" cried Mr. Pertell, "I believe that there are some of +our first families there."</p> + +<p>"Ah, that is better," replied Mr. Towne, adjusting his lavender tie. "I +shall include my evening clothes in my wardrobe, then."</p> + +<p>"I'd advise you to," remarked Mr. Pertell, with an assumption of gravity. +"The Seminole Indians, to which I refer, are a very ancient and proud +race, I understand, and doubtless a dress suit would appeal to them. They +are the first families of Florida!"</p> + +<p>"Wretched joke!" muttered the actor. "I think I shall not go into the +interior."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I think you will," retorted Mr. Pertell, easily. "Your contract +calls for it."</p> + +<p>"What about alligators?" asked Mr. Sneed.</p> + +<p>"You know my offer—a thousand dollars a big bite," laughed the manager. +"But I don't fancy we shall see half as many as you saw out at the +alligator farm. They are being hunted too fiercely for their skins to +allow many to be around loose. Don't worry about them.</p> + +<p>"And now, friends, if you please, get ready for the trip to Lake +Kissimmee. Russ, see to it that you have plenty of film, for we won't be +able to get any out there. Now I leave you to make your arrangements."</p> + +<p>There was a buzz and a hum of excitement as the players talked over what +lay before them. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon rather shared the +disappointment of Mr. Towne that there was no "society" at the place +where they were going. But Ruth and Alice, aside from a little feeling of +apprehension, and of regret at the fate of the two girls of whom they had +read, rather welcomed the coming change.</p> + +<p>"It will be a new experience for us," exulted Alice.</p> + +<p>"And I hope it will be a pleasant one," rejoined Ruth.</p> + +<p>Final visits were paid to points of interest in St. Augustine. It would +be some time before they would see it again, as Mr. Pertell intended +remaining in the interior for several weeks, and then going back to New +York by a different route.</p> + +<p>"We must have another drink from the Fountain of Youth," laughed Alice, +the day before their departure. "Who knows but what it may preserve us, +out in those dismal swamps?"</p> + +<p>"Good idea!" commented Paul. "Come on, I'll go with you."</p> + +<p>So they went and made merry at the historic well.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pertell and Russ had much to do to get ready for the trip. A motor +boat had been arranged for to meet the party at Sycamore, where the +headquarters would be for most of the work in the wilds of Florida. On +this it was planned to take trips on Lake Kissimmee, and the river of +that name.</p> + +<p>"And we may go as far as Lake Okeechobee," said Russ in speaking of the +matter to Ruth.</p> + +<p>"That's down among the Everglades; isn't it?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Close to them. I've always wanted to go there, and see what they are +like. Now I may get the chance."</p> + +<p>"I think I should like to see them, too," she agreed.</p> + +<p>"Ruth, you are getting very brave," observed Alice a little later, when +the two sisters were packing up in their room.</p> + +<p>"Why, dear?"</p> + +<p>"To offer to go with Russ to the Everglades."</p> + +<p>"I didn't offer!"</p> + +<p>"It was the same thing, sister mine. It makes a big difference; doesn't +it?"</p> + +<p>"Silly!"</p> + +<p>Alice laughed.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we ought to take all these light waists?" she asked a little +later, holding up a beautiful flimsy one. "It's sure to be hot there, I +suppose."</p> + +<p>"I imagine so. And yet there may be cool and damp evenings. I'd take +everything, if I were you."</p> + +<p>"I was thinking of sending some of my things back to Mrs. Dalwood. She +promised to look after them, if I did."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'd take everything. Where did you get that?" Ruth asked curiously, +as she held up one of her sister's garments, ornamented with a peculiar +lace.</p> + +<p>"At that little Spanish shop we pass every day. Oh, she has some of the +most gorgeous things there, and some of the most beautiful! I wish my +purse were as long as my desires. But I got this very reasonably."</p> + +<p>"Are there any more like it?" asked Ruth, for she, too, liked pretty +things.</p> + +<p>"There were only two, and I took one."</p> + +<p>"Then I'm going to get the other. I can go without ice cream for a week +to make up for it. I never saw anything so pretty."</p> + +<p>"I'll go with you. She might charge you more than she did me. I had to +bargain with her."</p> + +<p>"I never knew you could do it," laughed Ruth.</p> + +<p>The two girls desisted from their packing long enough to slip out to the +lingerie shop, where they spent more time and money than they intended.</p> + +<p>The result was they had to hurry at the last minute, and their trunks +were hardly strapped before the porter came to take them to the station.</p> + +<p>The trip to Sycamore from St. Augustine was rather tedious and tiresome. +The railways in the interior of Florida were not like some of the fast +lines, and there was not always the luxury of a parlor car.</p> + +<p>Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon were rather inclined to murmur about this, +but most of the others of the company took the inconveniences in good +spirit, even Mr. Towne making the best of it.</p> + +<p>He soon found that it was of little use to attire himself in the "height +of fashion," and gradually became more sensible in his adornment.</p> + +<p>On the trip Russ managed to get a series of films showing different +scenes, and at one lonely railroad station, where they had to wait +several hours for a connecting train, a little scene was improvised that +later was worked into a play.</p> + +<p>The few "natives" around the place were much excited at some of the +things the players did, and when Paul "saved" Mr. Towne from being run +down by a freight train that came along, one grizzled old man was so +worked up, thinking it all real, that he wanted to run for a doctor, when +Mr. Towne pretended to be hurt.</p> + +<p>"An' they do that fer money?" this native inquired, when the matter had +been explained to him.</p> + +<p>"That's what they do," said Russ, who was putting away his camera.</p> + +<p>"Wa'al, all I've got to say is if that's what they call work—I'd rather +do nothin'," was the caustic comment.</p> + +<p>"And that's what he jinerally does," spoke another native, in a low +voice. "He's never worked, an' I guess he never will."</p> + +<p>"It would be pretty hard to get a <i>moving</i> picture of <i>him</i>, then," +laughed Russ.</p> + +<p>Finally the train, which had been delayed by a slight accident, came +along, and the weary players got aboard. In due season they reached +Sycamore, a little village near the shores of Lake Kissimmee.</p> + +<p>Accommodations had been arranged for in advance, and soon the company was +getting settled in the new quarters.</p> + +<p>"This is some different from St Augustine," complained Miss Pennington, +who roomed with her friend Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"I should say so. I'd go back to New York, if I could."</p> + +<p>"So would I. But I guess we'll have to stay, my dear. Hand me the powder; +will you? My face is a wreck from the cinders and dust."</p> + +<p>"So's mine." And together they "beautified."</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice were among the first to go down to the parlor to await the +ringing of the dinner gong. They strolled up to the desk, to ask the +clerk if there was any mail for them, since word had been left at the +hotel in St. Augustine to forward any letters.</p> + +<p>"Oh, you are with the moving picture company; aren't you?" the clerk +asked, as he gave them each a letter. They were from acquaintances they +had made at the hotel.</p> + +<p>"Yes, we're with the 'movies,'" admitted Alice.</p> + +<p>"Going to make all your pictures around here?"</p> + +<p>"Not all. We are booked to go into the interior, I believe. Pleasant +prospect; isn't it?" she asked with a frank laugh.</p> + +<p>"Well, no, I wouldn't say it was," answered the clerk, and he spoke as +though Alice had meant to be serious. "In fact, if I were you I wouldn't +try to go into the interior around here."</p> + +<p>"Why not?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Because it was from here the two girls started out into the wilds to +gather rare flowers, and they have not since been heard from!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII" />CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>OUT IN THE BOAT</h3> + + +<p>Ruth and Alice looked at each other. It seemed almost impossible that +there could be this confirmation of the news item they had read, and so +soon after arriving at the hotel. Yet such was the fact.</p> + +<p>"Does any one know what has become of them?" asked Alice, after a pause.</p> + +<p>"Not the least trace of them has been found," replied the clerk.</p> + +<p>"Have they made any search for them?" inquired Ruth, looking over her +shoulder almost apprehensively, as though she, herself, were out in some +swamp, surrounded by perils of all sorts. But only the lighted parlor met +her gaze.</p> + +<p>"Search! Indeed they have!" cried the hotel man. "The parents of the +girls have sent out party after party."</p> + +<p>"With no result?" asked Alice, softly.</p> + +<p>"Well, they found traces where the girls had evidently landed, but that +was all. They seemed to have gone deeper and deeper into the swamp."</p> + +<p>"How long ago was it?" Ruth wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Several weeks, now. It is almost impossible that the girls are alive, +though they took a quantity of provisions with them, as they expected to +be gone several days."</p> + +<p>"The poor things!" murmured Ruth. "Tell us more about them. Who are +they?"</p> + +<p>"Mabel and Helen Madison," was the answer.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice cried out in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Those girls!" voiced Alice.</p> + +<p>"The ones we met in the train," added Ruth. "It seems incredible!"</p> + +<p>"Did you know them?" asked the clerk, for the remarks and demeanor of +Ruth and Alice were too marked to pass over without comment.</p> + +<p>"We did not exactly know them," replied Ruth, slowly. "We met them in the +train when we were going to the New England backwoods to get moving +pictures last winter. One of them had a headache—I think it was Helen."</p> + +<p>"No, it was Mabel, dear," corrected Alice. "They seemed such nice girls."</p> + +<p>"They <i>were</i> nice!" the clerk declared. "I did not know them very well, +but I have often seen them about the hotel here. Some of their friends +stopped here. Their folks live just outside the town."</p> + +<p>"And you say they went out to get rare flowers?" asked Ruth, as she noted +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon coming into the hotel parlor.</p> + +<p>"Yes. The girls are real outdoors girls," went on the clerk. "They can +hunt and fish, and Miss Mabel, I believe it was, once shot a big +alligator."</p> + +<p>"Alligators! Oh, dear! Are any of the horrid things around here?" broke +in Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Not right around here," was the reassuring answer. "This was out in the +swamps."</p> + +<p>"We are talking about two girls who have disappeared from here, and can't +be found," explained Alice, for the story was bound to come out now.</p> + +<p>"Oh, how perfectly dreadful!" cried Miss Pennington, as the account was +completed. "We must be careful about going out alone, my dear," she added +to her friend.</p> + +<p>"Not much danger—you'll always want some of the men along," thought +Alice.</p> + +<p>"What sort of flowers were they after?" Ruth wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Some sort of orchid," was the hotel man's answer. "I don't know much +about such things myself, but Mr. Madison, the girls' father, is quite a +naturalist, and I guess they take after him. He collects birds, bugs and +flowers, and the girls used to help him.</p> + +<p>"As I heard the story, he has been for a long time searching for a rare +orchid that is said to grow around here. He never could find it until one +day, by chance, an old colored man came in with a crumpled and wilted +specimen, mixed in with some other stuff he had. Mr. Madison saw it, and +grew excited at once, wanting to know where it had come from.</p> + +<p>"The colored man told him as well as he could, and Mr. Madison decided to +set off in search of this flower—if an orchid is a flower?" and the +clerk looked questioningly at the girls.</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed it is a flower, and a most beautiful one," Ruth assured him.</p> + +<p>"Well, Mr. Madison was about to start off on a little expedition, when he +was taken ill. He was much disappointed, as some naturalist society had +offered him a big prize for a specimen of this particular plant.</p> + +<p>"Then the girls, wishing to help their father, said they would go in +search of it. They owned a good-sized motor boat, and had often gone off +before, remaining several days at a time. They know how to take care of +themselves."</p> + +<p>"That's the kind of girls I like," declared Alice. "It seems doubly hard +on them, though, that they should be lost."</p> + +<p>"And lost they are," concluded the clerk. "Not a word has been heard of +them since they set off into the wilds. When they did not come back, +after several days, Mr. Madison organized a searching party. But, beyond +a few traces of the girls, nothing could be found."</p> + +<p>"We read about it in a newspaper," said Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Yes, there were some items, but not many," the clerk said. "There wasn't +much to print, I guess. So I just thought I'd warn you folks not to go +too far off into the swamps or bayous."</p> + +<p>"And you may depend upon it—we won't!" exclaimed Miss Pennington.</p> + +<p>"Our party will probably keep together," explained Ruth, "as we will all +be needed in the moving pictures."</p> + +<p>"That's a good idea," the clerk said. "Take no chances."</p> + +<p>It was not long before the entire moving picture company had heard the +story of the lost girls, and there was universal sympathy for them, and +for their grief-stricken parents.</p> + +<p>"I only wish we could do something!" said Ruth, and there were tears in +her eyes as she looked toward her sister. "Suppose it should be us?" she +added.</p> + +<p>"I don't like to suppose any such horrible thing!" returned Alice, +brightly. "It's terrible, to be sure; but let's not think too much about +it. It may get on our nerves."</p> + +<p>"But if we could only help find them," went on Ruth, on whom the story +seemed to have made a profound impression.</p> + +<p>"I don't see how we can," remarked Alice, thoughtfully. "We know nothing +about the country, or conditions, here. Those who have lived here all +their lives are better qualified to make a search."</p> + +<p>"Say, wouldn't it be great if we could find them!" cried Russ, as he +listened to the story. "What a film it would make!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Russ!" reproved Ruth. "To think of such a thing at this time!"</p> + +<p>"Why, what's the matter?" he asked, ruefully, for Ruth's manner was a +little cold toward him.</p> + +<p>"Of course Russ naturally thinks of the picture end of it," put in Alice, +determined to soften the unintended effect of Ruth's manner.</p> + +<p>"I suppose so," agreed Ruth, and she gave Russ a glance that made up for +what she had said.</p> + +<p>"I do wish we could do something," said Paul, "but, as Alice says, it +doesn't seem possible."</p> + +<p>The hotel at Sycamore was nothing to boast of, but it answered fairly +well as the moving picture company would be outdoors practically all the +time, as Mr. Pertell pointed out. The weather was like early Summer—most +delightful—and it was a temptation to wander out under the stately, +graceful palms, which cast a grateful shade.</p> + +<p>There were not many other guests at the hostelry, and interest centered +in the company of players. They were asked many questions as to what they +did, and how they did it, and when Russ set up his camera for the first +time, merely to try it, and get the effect of light and shade, he was +surrounded by a curious throng.</p> + +<p>The scenery around Sycamore was most wonderful—at least, so Ruth and +Alice thought. It was not that it was grand or imposing—for it was +anything but that. Florida is a low-lying country with many lakes and +swamps. But the vegetation was so luxuriant, and the palms, the big trees +festooned with Spanish moss and the ferns were so beautiful, that it was +a constant delight to the girls.</p> + +<p>There are few rapid streams around the vicinity of Sycamore, most of them +being sluggish to the point of swampiness. And a short distance away +from the hotel, on some of the creeks and bayous, one could imagine +oneself in some impenetrable jungle, so still and quiet was it.</p> + +<p>"It will give us some new effects in moving pictures," said Mr. Pertell. +"It is just what we want."</p> + +<p>"How are we going to get farther into the interior?" asked Mr. DeVere, +when that subject was brought up.</p> + +<p>"I have chartered a small steamer," said the manager. "At first I decided +we could use a large motor boat, and make the trips back and forth from +the hotel each day, to get to the various places. But I find that +distances are longer than I calculated on, and it might be inconvenient, +at times, to come back to the hotel. So I have engaged a good-sized, +flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, and we can spend several days at a time on +her if need be."</p> + +<p>"Oh, how lovely!" cried Alice, clapping her hands in girlish enthusiasm. +"Won't it be fine, Ruth?"</p> + +<p>"It sounds enticing."</p> + +<p>"To think of steaming along these quiet and mysterious streams, under the +palms," exclaimed Alice. "Oh, I'm so glad I came."</p> + +<p>"Huh! Yes. Suppose we get lost, as those two girls are?" demanded Mr. +Sneed, who was the only one, you may be sure, who would make such a +disquieting suggestion.</p> + +<p>"Well, if we're all lost together it won't be so bad," declared Alice. +"But I should hate to be lost all alone."</p> + +<p>"Don't speak of it!" begged Ruth, with a shudder.</p> + +<p>After two or three days of fretting, because the boat he had ordered did +not come, Mr. Pertell finally received word that it was on its way up the +Kissimmee River.</p> + +<p>The <i>Magnolia</i>, which was the name of the steamer, arrived two days +later. It proved to be an old, comfortable craft, with a wheezy engine, +burning wood. At the stern was a paddle wheel, so placed because of the +character of the waters to be navigated. The boat only drew about a foot, +and could go in very shallow streams.</p> + +<p>There were sleeping and cooking quarters aboard, and on the upper deck a +place to promenade, or to sit in the shade of an awning.</p> + +<p>"It's like a house-boat!" cried Alice in delight, as she and Ruth +inspected it. "Oh, I'd just like to live aboard this all the while."</p> + +<p>"You will be on it a good deal," observed Russ. "We've got a number of +dramas planned, of which the boat is the background."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV" />CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>UNDER THE PALMS</h3> + + +<p>"Attention, everyone!"</p> + +<p>Mr. Pertell stood on the deck of the <i>Magnolia</i>, facing his company of +players. At his side was Russ, with the moving picture camera ready for +action.</p> + +<p>"The first part of this play takes place aboard here," went on the +manager. "The action is simple, as you can see from the scenarios I have +distributed. Some acts will take place on shore, and when the time comes +for that the boat will be sent over to the bank and be tied up. Now then, +Russ, get ready to film them. Mr. DeVere, you are in this first act; also +Miss Ruth and Miss Dixon. Are you up in your parts?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes," answered the veteran actor. Indeed it did not take him long to +become letter perfect, for with him to act was not only second, but first +nature.</p> + +<p>"I don't just understand how I am to do this part," said Miss Dixon, as +she walked over to Mr. Pertell to point out a certain direction. +Thereupon he explained it carefully to her.</p> + +<p>The company of players was out on the steamer, moving slowly up a quiet +stream, one of the tributaries of the Kissimmee River. On either side of +the swamp-like stream were tall trees, from which hung, in graceful +festoons, streamers of the peculiar growth known as Spanish moss. In the +background were palms and other semi-tropical plants. But the growth +along the stream itself was so luxuriant that little could be seen except +along the banks.</p> + +<p>Now and then the quietude, which was unmarred, save by the gentle puffing +of the engine, would be disturbed by some big bird, as it forsook its +station on a fallen log, startled by the invasion of its domain. Again +there would be a splash in the water.</p> + +<p>"An alligator!" exclaimed Miss Pennington, as one rather loud splash +sounded just beneath where she was leaning on the rail, looking down into +the water.</p> + +<p>"Where?" cried Russ, eagerly, as he made ready to get some views of it +with his camera.</p> + +<p>"There!" she said, pointing a trembling finger.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't look at it!" begged Miss Dixon, covering her face with her +hands. "Don't look at the horrid thing!"</p> + +<p>"No harm in looking at that," laughed Russ. "It's only a log of wood."</p> + +<p>And so it proved.</p> + +<p>"Well, it looked just like an alligator," protested Miss Pennington, as +the others smiled.</p> + +<p>"And it sounded like one!" declared Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"How does an alligator sound?" asked Mr. Towne, who was walking about +attired in immaculate white.</p> + +<p>"It made a splash."</p> + +<p>"So does a bullfrog," observed Paul.</p> + +<p>"It does look rather alligatory in there," admitted Alice, as she stood +beside the young actor, and gazed into the sluggish stream.</p> + +<p>"'Alligatory' is a new one," he remarked. "I wonder if alligators eat +alligator pears?"</p> + +<p>"Probably," she laughingly agreed. "There, I guess they're ready for you, +Paul," for he was to take part in the first scene.</p> + +<p>Miss Dixon, having had her difficulty straightened out, was prepared to +go on, and soon Russ was again at his usual occupation of turning the +handle of the moving picture camera.</p> + +<p>For a description of how moving pictures are taken, developed, printed +and thrown on the screen in the theater by means of a projecting +machine, the reader is referred to the previous books of this series.</p> + +<p>"That will do for this part of the drama," announced Mr. Pertell, when an +hour or more had been spent in taking various films. "We will now go +ashore. Put her over there," he called to the man in the pilot house on +deck, pointing to a place where, back of the moss-fringed row of trees, +could be seen some stately palms.</p> + +<p>The rather clumsy boat turned slowly toward shore, and a little later had +"poked her nose," as Russ expressed it, against a luxuriant growth of +tropical vegetation, in the midst of some low palms and gigantic ferns.</p> + +<p>The moist smell of earth and plants, and the odor of flowers was borne on +a gentle breeze.</p> + +<p>It was a lonely spot, and just what Mr. Pertell wanted for this +particular play. On the way up the stream they had passed several small +settlements, and the population, consisting mostly of colored folk, had +rushed down to the crude landings to stare with big eyes at the passing +steamer.</p> + +<p>"Everybody ashore!" called the manager, when the boat had been made fast.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but we can't go through there!" complained Mr. Bunn, who, in +attempting to make his way into the deeper part of the woods, had +suffered the loss of his tall hat several times, low branches having +knocked it off.</p> + +<p>"Wait, I'll send some of the hands ahead with axes to clear the way," +offered the steamer captain. "It'll be easier going, then."</p> + +<p>This was done, and the moving picture players found it no trouble at all +to make their way along the hewn path to where a little grove of palms, +in a pretty glade, offered the proper scenic background for the pictures.</p> + +<p>"This is just the place!" cried the manager. "Russ, set your camera up +here, and you'll get the sun just right. Now, everybody attention!" and +he carefully explained what he wanted done.</p> + +<p>The play concerned the elopement of a pretty Southern girl, the pursuit +by her father, her subsequent marriage, and the forgiveness of her +parents. One of the scenes showed the young couple fleeing through the +wilderness, and coming to rest beneath the palms, while the pursuers +searched in vain for them.</p> + +<p>"You're one of the lovers who has been disappointed by the elopement, Mr. +Towne," said Mr. Pertell, in giving his directions. "When I give the word +you must come running along there, so the camera will show you alone."</p> + +<p>"But I may fall in there," objected the actor, as he pointed you to a +small, muddy stream along the path he was to take.</p> + +<p>"You must look out for that," the manager replied. "In fact, I don't know +but what it would be good business to have you fall in. It would seem +more realistic."</p> + +<p>"I absolutely refuse to fall in with this new suit on!" cried Mr. Towne, +as he glanced at his while flannels.</p> + +<p>"Oh, very well, then," conceded the manager.</p> + +<p>Russ had his camera in readiness, and, after making views of the two +lovers beneath the palms, he called:</p> + +<p>"All ready for you, Mr. Towne," and he focused his camera in another +direction.</p> + +<p>The well-dressed actor came on.</p> + +<p>"Oh, run faster!" commanded Mr. Pertell, impatiently. "Act as though you +meant it. Put some spirit in it. You are supposed to be desperate because +your sweetheart has gone off with another man. You look as though you +didn't care!"</p> + +<p>Thereupon Mr. Towne tried to "register" anger, and succeeded fairly well. +But in doing so he forgot to "mind his steps," and a moment later, in +running along the edge of the muddy stream he slipped, and the next +moment, in all the glory of his white suit, he splashed into the mud.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV" />CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>IN PERIL</h3> + + +<p>Russ instantly stopped grinding away at the camera handle as he saw Mr. +Towne go into the ditch, but the manager, without the loss of a moment, +cried:</p> + +<p>"Film that, Russ! It'll be better than the way we were to play it first. +Catch him as he comes up!"</p> + +<p>"All right!" chuckled the young operator.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what a place to fall!" cried Miss Pennington, who was off one side, +out of the camera's range.</p> + +<p>"His suit will surely need washing," remarked Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, how can you be so heartless?" asked her sister.</p> + +<p>"Heartless! Isn't that the truth?"</p> + +<p>Mr. Towne had struggled to his feet. The muddy stream was not very deep.</p> + +<p>"Help! Help! Save me!" he cried, as he wiped the water from his face, +thereby making many muddy streaks on his countenance.</p> + +<p>"You're in no danger—come on out!" cried Mr. Pertell, trying not to +laugh. "Come right toward the camera, Mr. Towne, and register anger and +disgust!"</p> + +<p>"Register—register!" spluttered the actor. "Do you mean to say you are +filming me in this state?"</p> + +<p>"I certainly am—it's a state that will make a hit in the movies!" cried +Mr. Pertell. "You might fall down once more, if you don't mind, Mr. +Towne. It will add realism to the film."</p> + +<p>"Fall down again! Never! I will resign first."</p> + +<p>"Very well, I won't insist on it," replied the manager, for he felt that +it was rather hard on the actor.</p> + +<p>But moving picture work is not at all easy, and actors and actresses have +to do more disagreeable and dangerous "stunts" than merely falling into a +muddy stream. The demand of the public for realism often goes to +extremes, and more than once performers have risked their lives at the +behest of some enthusiastic manager.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pertell was not that sort, however, though he did insist on his +players doing a reasonable amount of hard work—and often disagreeable +work, as in this case.</p> + +<p>But aside from getting wet and muddy, which conditions could be remedied +by a bath and dry clothes, the actor suffered no great hardship, except +to his pride, and perhaps he had too much of that, anyhow.</p> + +<p>"Come on!" cried the manager. "Crawl out of that, and keep on with the +chase."</p> + +<p>"Keep on—in this condition! Do you mean it?" Mr. Towne asked.</p> + +<p>"Certainly I do. The play must go on. Just because you fell in the ditch +is no excuse for stopping it. Keep on! Right along the path. Crawl out +and run on."</p> + +<p>"But—but look at my clothes!" complained Mr. Towne. "They are—they're +muddy!"</p> + +<p>"There is a little mud on them, to be sure," agreed Mr. Pertell. "But +don't worry. It will wash off."</p> + +<p>"A <i>little</i> mud!" spluttered the actor. "I—I—"</p> + +<p>"Keep on!" cried the manager. "You are delaying the play!"</p> + +<p>The young actor groaned, but there was nothing for it but to obey. He +climbed out of the ditch, his once immaculate suit dripping mud from +every point, and then he began the pretended chase again, seeking to +find the escaping lovers.</p> + +<p>Of course this was the farcical element, but managers have found that +this is much needed in plays, and though many of them would prefer to +eliminate the "horse-play" the audiences seem to demand it, and managers +are prone to cater to the tastes of their audiences when they find it +pays.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad I wasn't cast for that part," remarked the dignified Mr. Bunn, +as he saw what Mr. Towne had to go through.</p> + +<p>"I'd never consent to it," declared Mr. Sneed. "This business is bad +enough as it is," he complained, "without deliberately making it worse. I +presume he'll want me to try and catch an alligator next, or drive a sea +cow to pasture."</p> + +<p>"What's a sea cow?" asked Alice, who had overheard the talk, while Mr. +Towne was being filmed in his muddy state.</p> + +<p>"The manatee," explained Mr. Sneed. "They are curious animals. They +browse around on the bottom of Florida rivers, and sea inlets, as cows do +on shore, eating grass. We'll probably see some down here."</p> + +<p>"Are they dangerous?" asked Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Not as a rule," answered the grouchy actor, who seemed to have taken a +sudden interest in this matter. "They might upset a small boat if they +accidently bumped into it, for often they grow to be fourteen feet long, +and are like a whale in shape."</p> + +<p>"I hope we won't meet with any," observed Ruth. "I can't bear wild +animals."</p> + +<p>"Manatees are not especially wild," laughed Mr. Sneed, it being one of +the few occasions when he did indulge in mirth. "In fact, the earlier +forms of manatee were called <i>Sirenia</i>, and were considered to be the +origin of the belief in mermaids. For they carried their little ones in +their fore-flippers, almost as a human mother might do in her arms, and +when swimming along would raise their heads out of water, so that they +had a faint resemblance to a swimming woman."</p> + +<p>"How very odd!" cried Alice. "And are there manatees down here?"</p> + +<p>"Many in Florida? Yes," was the answer. "I suppose we'll see some if we +stay long enough. But I'm going to serve notice on Mr. Pertell now that I +refuse to drive any of the sea cows to pasture."</p> + +<p>"I don't blame you!" laughed Ruth. "Oh, look at Mr. Towne! He's fallen +again!"</p> + +<p>And so the unfortunate actor had, but this time into a clump of rough +bushes that tore his now nearly ruined white flannels.</p> + +<p>"That's good!" cried Mr. Pertell, approvingly. "You did that very well, +Mr. Towne!"</p> + +<p>"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," the actor protested, as he managed, +not without some difficulty, to extricate himself from the briars.</p> + +<p>Then he ran on, Russ making picture after picture, while the manager +rapidly changed some of the other scenes on the typewritten sheets to +conform to the accident of which he had so cleverly made use.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Bunn, I have a new part for you, in this same play," the manager +said, when Mr. Towne was finally allowed to rest.</p> + +<p>"What is it?" asked the older actor. "I hope you can put in something +about Shakespeare. I have not had a Shakespearean part in so long that I +have almost forgotten how to do it properly."</p> + +<p>"I can't promise you that this time," said the manager. "But it just +occurred to me that you could also try to trace the escaping lovers, and +get stuck in a bog-hole."</p> + +<p>"Who, the lovers get stuck in a bog?"</p> + +<p>"No, you!"</p> + +<p>"Me? Never! I refuse—"</p> + +<p>"Now hold on, Mr. Bunn!" said Mr. Pertell, quickly. "I am not asking you +to do much. You need not get in the bog deeper than up to your knees. +That will answer very well. You can pretend it is a sort of quicksand +bog and that you are sinking deeper and deeper. You call for help, and +Mr. Switzer comes to get you out."</p> + +<p>"I refuse to do it!" cried the actor.</p> + +<p>"And I insist!" declared Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Your contract calls for +any reasonable amount of work, and to wade into a bog knee-deep is not +unreasonable."</p> + +<p>"But I will spoil my shoes and trousers."</p> + +<p>"No matter, I will provide you with new ones. You need not sacrifice your +tall hat this time."</p> + +<p>"That is one comfort," sighed the old actor. "Well, I suppose there is no +help for it. Where is the bog hole?"</p> + +<p>"I think this one will do," said the manager, pointing to one where Mr. +Towne had fallen into the mud. "You will come along, pretending to look +for the fleeing lovers, and you will unwittingly wade out into the bog. +There you will struggle to release yourself, but you will be unable to, +and will call for help. Mr. Switzer, who is also on the trail, will +respond and he will wade out and save you."</p> + +<p>"Excuse me," remarked the German actor, softly, "but vy iss it necessary +dot I rescue him?"</p> + +<p>"Why he can't rescue himself," declared Mr. Pertell. "You've got to do +it."</p> + +<p>"No, dot I did not mean. I meant dot as Herr Towne iss alretty wet and +muddy, dot he could as vell do der rescue act."</p> + +<p>"That's so. It will be better!" said the manager. "I didn't think of +that. I'll have Towne do it. He can come along on the film right after +he's pulled himself out of the ditch. Fix it up that way, Russ."</p> + +<p>"All right, Mr. Pertell."</p> + +<p>"Have I got to go in more mud and water?" demanded the fastidious actor.</p> + +<p>"Yes," replied the manager. "But it won't be much. Just a few feet or so +of film."</p> + +<p>Mr. Towne groaned, but there was no help for it. And really he could not +get much muddier.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, after some intervening scenes had been filmed to make the +action of the story, as revised, more plausible, Russ moved his camera +near the bog hole, ready to get views of Mr. Bunn, when he should stumble +into it, and also Mr. Towne, when the latter came to the rescue.</p> + +<p>"All ready now—let her go!" called the manager. "Come along, Mr. Bunn."</p> + +<p>The old actor advanced, but evidently with very little liking for his +part.</p> + +<p>"Oh, be more natural!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You are supposed to be the +father of the young man who is eloping, and you want to prevent him. Put +some spirit into your work!"</p> + +<p>Thereupon Mr. Bunn tried, and with better success. But when he came to +the edge of the bog hole he hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Hold on! Stop the camera!" cried the manager, sharply. "That won't do at +all. This must be spontaneous. Run right along, and don't stop when you +see the bog hole. Plunge right into it. Why, it isn't up to your knees, +Mr. Bunn, and the weather is hot."</p> + +<p>"All right, here I go!" he said, resignedly.</p> + +<p>"Wait! Go back and do that last bit over again," ordered the manager. +"Russ, cut out the last few pictures and substitute these that are to +come. Now, Mr. Bunn!"</p> + +<p>The Shakespearean actor started over again, and he was "game" enough to +pretend that he did not in the least mind floundering into the bog hole. +As he came to the edge of it, in he plunged.</p> + +<p>He went down much deeper than to his knees, and as he felt himself +sinking he called out:</p> + +<p>"Help! Help! Save me! Save me!"</p> + +<p>"That's it! That's the way to do it! That's being what I call realistic!" +shouted Mr. Pertell, who always waxed enthusiastic over a new idea.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bunn continued to sink in the bog. He pulled and struggled to get +out, apparently without success. Then his tall hat fell off from the +violence of his exertions, and he barely saved it from a muddy bath.</p> + +<p>"Help! Help! I'm sinking!" he cried.</p> + +<p>"Good! That's the way to act it!" encouraged Mr. Pertell. "Now, Mr. +Towne, you come up to the rescue in a few seconds. Don't mind the mud, +either. Go right out to him. You can't be much worse off."</p> + +<p>"Indeed I cannot," agreed the other, as he glanced at his soiled suit.</p> + +<p>"Wait just a minute more," said Mr. Pertell to the prospective rescuer. +"Give him a chance to struggle more. It will look better."</p> + +<p>"No, let him come at once and save me! Save me at once!"</p> + +<p>"Why?" the manager wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Because I really am sinking! This isn't play! The quicksand has me in +its grip!"</p> + +<p>And, as Mr. Pertell looked about, unable to tell whether the actor was +saying that as part of the "business," or because he was in earnest, the +unfortunate man cried out in real anguish:</p> + +<p>"Save me! Save me! I am in the quicksand and it's sucking me down!"</p> + +<p>"That's right! He is in a quicksand bog!" cried one of the steamer hands +who had helped hew a path through the swamp. "He'll never get out if you +don't help him quick!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI" />CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>A STRANGE ATTACK</h3> + + +<p>It was true, then. The frantic appeals of Mr. Bunn were not in the +interests of acting for moving pictures, but because he felt himself in +actual danger. None of his friends had thought of that, until the man +from the steamer offered confirmation. They had all thought the actor was +doing a realistic bit of work.</p> + +<p>"Quicksand! Do you mean it?" gasped Mr. Pertell.</p> + +<p>"I certainly do," answered the steamer hand. "There are a lot of those +bogs around here, and he's stumbled into one. He's going down every +minute, too, and if you don't get him out soon you never will."</p> + +<p>"Oh, mercy!" screamed Miss Pennington. "How horrible!"</p> + +<p>"To be buried alive!" gasped Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Quiet!" commanded Mr. Pertell, sternly. "Come on, gentlemen!" he called +to the male members of the company. "We must save him!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, do get me out!" cried the unfortunate Mr. Bunn.</p> + +<p>"We'll save you!" shouted the manager, as he made a dash toward the bog +hole. He was followed by Mr. DeVere, Paul and some of the others.</p> + +<p>"Keep back!" yelled the man from the steamer. "If you get in you won't +get out either."</p> + +<p>"But they must save him!" cried Alice, who had gone forward with her +father.</p> + +<p>"They can't save him by getting into the quicksand themselves!" pointed +out the man who seemed to know the deadly nature of the bog. "The only +way is to fling him a rope."</p> + +<p>"A rope! There isn't one nearer than the steamer!" cried Mr. Pertell.</p> + +<p>"I'll go get it!" offered Mr. Switzer. "I am a goot runner!"</p> + +<p>"It will be too late, I'm afraid," objected the steamer hand. "He is +sinking faster now."</p> + +<p>This was indeed but too true. Whereas at first the clinging mud and sand +of the bog hole had only been up to Mr. Bunn's knees, he was now engulfed +to his waist.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to make a rope!" cried Mr. Towne. "Tear up our coats, or +something like that."</p> + +<p>"I know a way, Ruth," declared Alice. "We have on two skirts. The under +one is of heavy cloth. Couldn't we tear those into strips—?"</p> + +<p>"Of course! How wise of you to think of it!" replied the other girl. +"Daddy, we can provide a rope!" she cried, and she quickly whispered to +him what Alice had suggested.</p> + +<p>"The very thing!" he agreed. "Quick, slip behind the bushes there and +remove your underskirts. I'll have my knife ready to slit it into +strips."</p> + +<p>While the two moving picture girls retired for a moment their father +quickly explained their plan.</p> + +<p>"And you may have our skirts, too," said Miss Pennington. "Only mine is +of such thin material—"</p> + +<p>"So is mine, unfortunately," added Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Fortunately I think the two skirts of my daughters will be sufficient," +said Mr. DeVere, as he opened his keen-bladed knife.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I am going down!" cried Mr. Bunn, in anguished tones.</p> + +<p>"Here are the skirts!" cried Alice, as she came out with her own and +Ruth's over her arm.</p> + +<p>Ready hands aided Mr. DeVere in cutting the stout material into strips +that were quickly knotted together, making a strong rope.</p> + +<p>"It's a shame to spoil your suit," said Paul to Alice.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't matter. The skirts were only cheap ones, of khaki cloth, but +they are very strong. I am glad we wore them."</p> + +<p>"And I guess Mr. Bunn will be, too," added the young actor.</p> + +<p>"Now we'll have you out!" cried Mr. DeVere, as he flung one end of the +novel rope to the actor in the bog. Mr. Bunn caught it, and, at the +direction of Mr. Pertell, looped it about his chest, just under his arms.</p> + +<p>"Now, all pull together!" cried the manager. "But take it gradually, +until we see what strain this rope will stand."</p> + +<p>Indeed a slow, gradual pull was the only feasible method of releasing Mr. +Bunn. But with the rope around him, he felt that he was going to be +saved, and did not struggle so violently.</p> + +<p>Often when one gets into a quicksand bog the more one struggles the +faster and deeper one sinks. Only it is almost impossible not to struggle +against the impending fate.</p> + +<p>With the skirt-rope about him, and his friends pulling on it, Mr. Bunn's +hand were free. Seeing this, and realizing that the more force that was +applied, up to a certain point, the sooner would the actor be freed, Ruth +cried:</p> + +<p>"If we had another rope we girls could help, and Mr. Bunn could hold on +to it with his hands," for she and her sister, as well as Miss Pennington +and Miss Dixon, were doing nothing.</p> + +<p>"Let's go to the steamer and get one," proposed Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"It would be too late," declared Alice. Then, as she looked about the +little clearing where the accident had taken place she saw, dangling from +a tree, a long vine of some creeping plant. There were several stems +twined together.</p> + +<p>"There's our rope!" she cried. "That vine!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Alice! How splendid!" exclaimed her sister. "You think of +everything!"</p> + +<p>"Well, let's stop thinking, and work!" suggested the younger girl. "They +need all the help they can get to pull Mr. Bunn out of that bog."</p> + +<p>Together the girls managed to get off a long piece of the stout vine, +which made a most excellent substitute for a rope.</p> + +<p>"I suppose if I had thought of this first we needn't have cut our +skirts," said Alice.</p> + +<p>"I'm not sorry we didn't," was her sister's reply.</p> + +<p>"Nor am I!"</p> + +<p>"Catch this, Mr. Bunn!" called Alice, as with the vine rope she went as +near the bog hole as was safe.</p> + +<p>"Good idea! Great!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You moving picture girls are as +good as men!"</p> + +<p>"Better!" declared Mr. Bunn, who was over his fright now. He caught the +end of the vine Alice flung to him, and held on grimly as the four girls +prepared to tug on their portion.</p> + +<p>With this added strength the plight of the actor was soon relieved. +Slowly but surely he was pulled from the sticky mud, and, a little later, +he was safely hauled out on the firm bank.</p> + +<p>"Thank the Lord for that!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell, reverently, as he saw +that his employe was safe. "I should never have forgiven myself if—if +anything had happened to you. For it was my suggestion that you go in the +bog. My dear man, can you forgive me?" and he held out his hand to Mr. +Bunn, while his voice grew husky, and there was a suspicious moisture in +his eye.</p> + +<p>"That's all right," responded Mr. Bunn, generously, and he seemed to have +added something to his nature through his nerve-racking experience. He +had been near death, or at least the possibility of it, and it had meant +much to him.</p> + +<p>"Don't blame yourself, Mr. Pertell," he went on. "I went into the hole +with my eyes open. Neither of us knew the quicksand was there. And I +suppose we must accept with this business the risks that go with it."</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is part of the game," admitted the manager; "but I want none of +my players to take unnecessary risks. I shall be more careful in the +future."</p> + +<p>Mr. Bunn was quite exhausted from his experience, and, as the affair had +tried the nerves of all, it was decided to give up picture work for the +rest of the day.</p> + +<p>"I can't help regretting, though," said Mr. Pertell, as they were on +their way back to the steamer, "that we didn't get a moving picture of +that. It would have made a great film—better even than the one I had +planned."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but I did get views of it!" cried Russ, with a laugh, that did much +to relieve the strain they were all under.</p> + +<p>"You did!" exclaimed the manager, in surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes," went on the young operator, "when I saw that there were enough of +you hauling Mr. Bunn out, I thought I might as well take advantage of +the situation and get pictures. So I have the whole rescue scene here," +and he tapped his moving picture camera.</p> + +<p>"I am glad you have!" exclaimed the Shakespearean actor, heartily. "As +long as I had to go through with it we might as well have the Comet +Company get the benefit of it."</p> + +<p>Back through the tropical forest and swamp they went, until they reached +the steamer. There Mr. Bunn and Mr. Towne enjoyed the luxury of a good +bath, and their clothes were cleaned.</p> + +<p>Alice came in for much praise, for it was her quick wit, in a way, that +had enabled Mr. Bunn to be so promptly saved.</p> + +<p>"And to replace your daughters' spoiled skirts, Mr. DeVere," said the +manager, in speaking of the matter later, "I beg that I may be allowed to +get them whole new suits."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that is too much," protested the actor.</p> + +<p>"Indeed it is not!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I am also going to give each +player a bonus on his or her salary, and to Mr. Bunn, for what he +suffered, a special bonus."</p> + +<p>A day or so later the film, in which Mr. Bunn had figured in the +quicksand, was finished, and then came the announcement that they would +proceed on down the river to a new location, so as to get a different +scenic background for the filming of a new drama.</p> + +<p>Some of the scenes of this took place on the steamer, and then, when the +captain announced that he would have to tie up for half a day to enable +the "roustabouts" to go ashore and cut wood for the boiler, Mr. Pertell +said:</p> + +<p>"Then we'll go ashore, too. I want to get some pictures in which a small +boat will figure. So we'll take the camera along, Russ, and get some of +those views I spoke of."</p> + +<p>Some scenes ashore were filmed, and then, carrying out the idea of the +drama, Ruth and Alice, with Paul Ardite, got into a small boat.</p> + +<p>They were to go down stream a little way, and there go through certain +"business" called for in the play. Paul was to row.</p> + +<p>The boat floated under the arching moss and vines that trailed from the +trees on the bank. Now and then a snag would be struck, and on such +occasions Ruth would start nervously, and cry out:</p> + +<p>"Alligators!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, please stop!" begged Alice, after two or three of these scares. "I +don't believe there's an alligator within ten miles of us."</p> + +<p>"Of course not," agreed Paul.</p> + +<p>All this while Russ was getting films of the boat containing the two +moving picture girls. He was following in another boat.</p> + +<p>"Steady there!" he called, at a certain point. "Better toss over your +anchor, and stay there a while. I want a long film of this scene."</p> + +<p>"All right," agreed Paul, and with a splash the little anchor went over +the side. The boat swung around and then became stationary. Russ was +grinding away at the camera when, suddenly, the boat he was filming, with +its occupants, began moving up stream.</p> + +<p>"Hold on!" he warned. "I don't want you to move yet!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not moving!" retorted Paul.</p> + +<p>"But the boat is going—and up stream!" cried Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Paul!" exclaimed Ruth. "What has happened?"</p> + +<p>At the same moment the craft careened violently, and a bulky object rose +partly from the water in front of it.</p> + +<p>"An alligator has attacked us!" screamed Alice.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII" />CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>OUT OF A TREE</h3> + + +<p>Paul sprang to his feet with such suddenness that he nearly upset the +boat, and the girls shrieked in even greater fright.</p> + +<p>"Sit down! Oh, sit down!" Alice begged him.</p> + +<p>"Russ! Russ!" cried Ruth. "It's an alligator!"</p> + +<p>"It can't be!" declared the young moving picture operator. He had stopped +working his camera, and was urging the two men from the steamer, who were +rowing his boat, to make better progress.</p> + +<p>"Deed an' dere am 'gators in dish yeah ribber!" declared one of the +colored men.</p> + +<p>"Don't let the girls hear you say that!" cautioned Russ.</p> + +<p>Paul had obeyed the request of the girls to sit down, but he crawled +toward the bow of the boat, which was now moving through the water, up +stream, at a fair rate of speed.</p> + +<p>"What is it? Oh, what is it?" implored Alice.</p> + +<p>"Can you see anything?" Ruth wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Some sort of animal has got hold of our anchor, or the rope," declared +Paul, "and it's towing us. I don't think it can be an alligator, though."</p> + +<p>"Oh, what will become of us?" gasped Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Don't be in the least alarmed!" exclaimed Paul. "All I'll have to do +will be to cut the rope, and we'll be free. But I don't want to lose the +anchor."</p> + +<p>"Don't cut loose! Don't!" cried Russ, whose boat was now up to that +containing the two girls and the young actor. "I want to get a film of +that. You're not in any real danger; are you?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes indeed we are!" said Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Nonsense! We aren't at all!" protested her sister. "Only I'd like to see +what sort of a fish is towing us."</p> + +<p>"It isn't a fish at all!" Paul suddenly exclaimed. "It's a manatee—a sea +cow!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, a sea cow! I want to look at it!" Alice cried.</p> + +<p>"You must keep quiet in the boat!" insisted Ruth, who seemed greatly +afraid.</p> + +<p>"Silly! I won't upset you," was the answer. "But I want to get a glimpse +of that creature. There is no danger; is there, Paul?"</p> + +<p>"Sea cows are considered gentle, and seldom attack," he replied. "You can +see it quite plainly now. It is swimming near the top of the water."</p> + +<p>Alice made her way forward, and even Ruth was induced to come and look at +the strange creature, while Russ, from his boat, took views of the +occurrence.</p> + +<p>"The anchor seems to be caught under one of its flippers," said Paul. +"That's why it's towing us. Probably the manatee wants to get rid of us +as much as you girls want to get rid of it."</p> + +<p>"I hope it doesn't get away for a few minutes!" called out Russ. "This +will make a dandy film!"</p> + +<p>Much reassured now by the gentle movements of the manatee, Ruth lost +nearly all of her fear. Alice really had felt very little.</p> + +<p>"I thought it surely was an alligator," the latter said, as the boat +continued to be towed by the manatee.</p> + +<p>"Nebber knowed one ob dem t'ings t' come so far up de ribber," declared +one of the colored men. "He's a big one, too!" he added, as his eyes +bulged.</p> + +<p>"How large is it, Russ?" asked Paul. "You can see better than we can."</p> + +<p>"Oh, about twelve feet long, I guess. There, I got a good view of him +then!" he cried, as the manatee, probably in an effort to get rid of the +rope, rose partly from the water.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what a horrid looking thing!" cried Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I don't think so at all," Alice said. "I wish I could see it from in +front."</p> + +<p>She had her wish a moment later, and it was rather more than she +bargained for since the sea cow, in an effort to get rid of the rope that +was twisted about its flipper, turned about with a swirl in the water, +not unlike that made by the propeller of a motor boat, and came head-on +for the craft it was unwittingly towing.</p> + +<p>"Oh, it will upset us!" cried Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Never mind! They don't bite, and we'll rescue you!" Russ reassured her.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I—I'd die, sure, if I were to be thrown into the water with that +terrible creature!" gasped Ruth, clinging to Alice for protection.</p> + +<p>And there did seem some likelihood of the manatee upsetting the boat, not +so much through a vindictive spirit, as by accident, and because of its +huge bulk.</p> + +<p>On it surged toward the craft, and Paul, seizing an oar, prepared to +attack. Russ called to his rowers to be ready to rescue the girls and the +young actor if necessary, and then, with the desire for a good film ever +uppermost in his mind, he continued to grind away at the camera crank.</p> + +<p>"This will be a peach of a film!" he exulted.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Paul! Is it going to attack us?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>Paul did not answer, but jabbed with his oar at the manatee and struck it +on the head. The sea cow dived, and this produced the desired result, for +the rope slipped off its flipper, and it was free. It went under the +boat, rubbed along on the keel with its back a short distance, causing +Ruth and Alice to scream as their craft careened, and then vanished for +good.</p> + +<p>"Oh, thank goodness! It's gone!" gasped Ruth.</p> + +<p>Their boat began to drop down stream, until the dragging anchor caught +and held it. Russ now ceased to work the camera.</p> + +<p>"I don't know just how we can incorporate that scene in this drama," he +admitted; "but I suppose Mr. Pertell can find a way. He generally does. +Now, if you girls are up to it, we'll finish with the regular play. I'll +have to slip in some new film, though."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I guess we can go on, after we quiet down a bit," Ruth said, and a +little later she and her sister, with Paul, went through with the +business of the play as originally laid down in the scenario.</p> + +<p>"What a strange experience!" observed Ruth, as they were returning to the +steamer.</p> + +<p>"Wasn't it?" agreed Alice.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pertell, after properly sympathizing with the girls, declared himself +delighted with the unexpected film of the manatee.</p> + +<p>"I tell you we didn't make any mistake coming to Florida," he said. +"We'll get pictures here that no other company can touch."</p> + +<p>And later this was found to be so, for the films made under the palms +created quite a sensation when shown in New York.</p> + +<p>Mr. DeVere, as usual, was somewhat perturbed when he learned what his +daughters had gone through, and again expressed his doubts as to the +advisability of keeping them in moving picture work.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but that might have happened to anyone—if we were out after +orchids, instead of being filmed," protested Alice. "I don't ever want to +think of giving up this work."</p> + +<p>"Nor do I!" added Ruth, with more energy than she usually exhibited.</p> + +<p>The players were out in the palm forest. It was several days after the +episode of the manatee, and the steamer, with a plentiful supply of wood +fuel, had gone up another sluggish stream, some miles farther on.</p> + +<p>Quite an elaborate drama was to be filmed and the "full strength of the +company," as Paul laughingly said, was required. Even little Tommy and +Nellie were to used in some of the scenes.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it wild and desolate in here?" remarked Ruth, with a little +shudder as they penetrated deeper and deeper into the forest, for Mr. +Pertell wanted a certain background.</p> + +<p>"It <i>is</i> lonesome," agreed Alice. "Whenever I get to a place like this I +think of those two missing girls."</p> + +<p>"So do I! Isn't it too bad about them? I wonder if they can have been +found by this time?"</p> + +<p>"Let us hope so," said Alice, in a low voice.</p> + +<p>It took some little time to arrange for making this new film, and in the +first scenes neither Ruth nor Alice were required. They wandered off to +one side, remaining within call, however.</p> + +<p>"There's an orchid!" exclaimed Alice, as she pointed to a beautiful +bloom, clinging to a tree. Seemingly it drew its nourishment from the air +alone.</p> + +<p>"How beautiful!" remarked Ruth. "I wonder if we could get it?"</p> + +<p>"I can climb the tree," declared her sister. "I have on an old skirt. +I'll get it."</p> + +<p>She did, after some little difficulty, and as she was bringing it to +Ruth, Alice looked through an opening between the trees, and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Oh, there are Tommy and Nellie. They are after flowers too, for they +each have a handful. But I must call to them. They should not wander too +far away."</p> + +<p>Together she and Alice, admiring the orchid, advanced toward the two +children, who had come to a halt under a big sycamore.</p> + +<p>Then, as Alice was about to call, she uttered an exclamation of terror.</p> + +<p>"See!" she whispered hoarsely to Ruth. "That creature in the tree—right +over their heads, and it is crouching for a leap!"</p> + +<p>Ruth looked and saw a tawny beast with laid-back ears and twitching tail, +stretched on a big limb a short distance above the ground, and right over +the two children, who were innocently prattling away, and looking at the +flowers they had gathered.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII" />CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>THE ANIMATED LOGS</h3> + + +<p>For a moment Alice and Ruth were almost paralyzed with fear. They stood +spellbound, and could only gaze horrifiedly at the tawny beast stretched +out on the limb of the tree.</p> + +<p>"What—what shall we do?" asked Alice.</p> + +<p>"What can we do?" Ruth returned. "If we move toward them, or call out, +the beast may spring on them. What is it—a tiger?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know. Of course it's not a tiger, for there are none in this +country except in circuses. Maybe it's a wildcat."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they are terrible. But this doesn't look like the wildcat Flaming +Arrow shot in the backwoods."</p> + +<p>"No, it doesn't," agreed Alice. "But we must do something to save those +children!"</p> + +<p>Tommy and Nellie, all unconscious of their peril, were still sorting +their blossoms beneath the tree.</p> + +<p>"If we could only get them out of the way—somehow," urged Alice. "Then +we might hurry off before the beast could spring."</p> + +<p>"But it might chase after us—and them."</p> + +<p>"That's so. One of us had better go for help. You—you go, Alice. I—I'll +stay here," faltered Ruth.</p> + +<p>"What! Leave you alone with that beast? I will not!"</p> + +<p>"But what can we do?"</p> + +<p>Alice thought for a moment. The animal in the tree had apparently not +seen them—its attention was fixed on the two children. Then, as the +girls watched, they saw it move slightly, while its tail twitched faster.</p> + +<p>"It's getting ready to spring!" whispered Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't say that!" begged Ruth, clasping her hands.</p> + +<p>They really did not know what to do. They were some distance from the +others of the moving picture company, and to go to them, and summon help, +might mean the death or injury of the children.</p> + +<p>On the other hand, to call out suddenly, or to rush toward the little +ones, might precipitate the attack of the beast.</p> + +<p>And then fate, or luck, stepped in and changed the situation of affairs. +Tommy spied another blossom—a brighter one than any he had yet gathered +and he cried out:</p> + +<p>"Oh, look at that pretty flower! I'm going to get it!"</p> + +<p>"No, let me!" exclaimed his sister, and the two got up with that +suddenness which seems so natural to children, and sped across a little +glade, out from under the tree, with its dangerous beast toward a clump +of ferns and flowers.</p> + +<p>It was the best, and perhaps the only thing, they could have done.</p> + +<p>"Oh—oh!" gasped Ruth. It was all she could say.</p> + +<p>"Now they are safe," Alice ventured.</p> + +<p>But not yet.</p> + +<p>The beast had been about to spring and now, with a snarl of disappointed +rage, it bounded lightly from the limb of the tree to the ground, and +began a slinking advance upon the children.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" screamed Ruth, and her cry of alarm was echoed by her sister. Both +girls instinctively started forward, but an instant later they were +halted by a voice.</p> + +<p>"Stand where ye are, young ladies. I'll attend to that critter!"</p> + +<p>Before they had a chance to look and see who it was that had called, a +shot rang out and the beast, which had been running along, crouched low +like a cat after a bird, seemed to crumple up. Then it turned a complete +somersault, and a moment later lay motionless.</p> + +<p>Tommy and Nellie, hearing the report of the gun, paused in their rush +after the bright flowers, and then, as they saw the big animal not far +from them, they uttered cries of fear, and clung to each other.</p> + +<p>"It's all right, dears! There's no danger now!" called Ruth, as she sped +toward them.</p> + +<p>Alice paused but a moment to look at the individual who had in such +timely and effective fashion come to the rescue. She saw a tall, gaunt +man, attired in ragged clothes, bending forward with ready rifle, to be +prepared to take a second shot if necessary.</p> + +<p>"I don't reckon he'll bother any one no more," said this man, with a +satisfied chuckle, as he leaned on his gun, the butt of which he dropped +to the ground. "I got him right in the head."</p> + +<p>"Oh—we—we can't thank you enough!" gasped Alice. "The—the children—" +but her voice choked, and she could not speak.</p> + +<p>"Wa'al, I reckon he <i>might</i> have clawed 'em a bit," admitted the man with +the gun. "And perhaps it's jest as well I come along when I did. You +folks live around here? Don't seem like I've met you befo'."</p> + +<p>"We're a company of moving picture actresses and actors," explained +Alice, while Ruth, making a detour to avoid the dead body of the animal, +went to Tommy and Nellie, who were still holding on to each other.</p> + +<p>"Picture-players; eh?" mused the hunter, for such he evidently was. "I +seen a movin' picture once, and it looked as real as anything. Be you +folks on that steamer?"</p> + +<p>"The <i>Magnolia</i>—yes," answered Alice, as her sister led the children up +to her.</p> + +<p>"You're all right now, dearies," said Ruth. "The nice man killed the bad +bear."</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Miss; but that ain't a bear," said the hunter, with a pull at +his ragged cap that was meant for a bow. "It's a bobcat—mountain lion +some folks calls 'em—and I don't know as I ever saw one around this +neighborhood before. Mostly they're farther to the no'th. This must be a +stray one."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but it might have killed us all if you had not been here," Ruth went +on.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, Miss, beggin' your pardon. It wouldn't have been as bad as that. +Most-ways these bobcats would rather run than fight. I reckon if it had +seen you young ladies it would have run."</p> + +<p>"Are we as scary as all that?" asked Alice, with a nervous little laugh.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, Miss. I didn't mean it that way at all," said the man. "I beg +your pardon, I'm sure. But a bobcat won't hardly ever attack a grown +person, unless it's cornered. I reckon this one must have been riled +about suthin' and thought to claw up the tots a bit. I happened to be +around, so I jest natcherally plunked him—beggin' your pardon for +mentionin' the matter."</p> + +<p>"It was awfully good of you," murmured Ruth, who had Tommy's and Nellie's +hands now.</p> + +<p>"Won't you tell us who you are?" asked Alice, as she introduced herself +and her sister.</p> + +<p>"Who—me? Oh, I'm Jed Moulton," replied the hunter. "I'm an alligator +hunter by callin'. But they're gittin' a bit scarce now, so I'm on the +move."</p> + +<p>"I wish you'd come back and meet our friends," suggested Ruth. "Mrs. +Maguire, the children's grandmother, will want to thank you for what you +have done."</p> + +<p>"Wa'al, I'm in no special rush, and I reckon I can spare a little time," +agreed Jed. "But I ain't much used to havin' a fuss made over me."</p> + +<p>"You can see how moving pictures are made," suggested Alice.</p> + +<p>"Can I, Miss? Then I'll come," and shouldering his gun he set off with +them.</p> + +<p>"Are you going to leave the bobcat there?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Yes, Miss. Its skin ain't really no good this time of year, and I don't +want to bother with it. The buzzards'll make short work of it. Leave it +lie."</p> + +<p>There was considerable excitement among the other players when the girls +and children came back, accompanied by Jed, and told of their adventure.</p> + +<p>Much was made over the alligator hunter, and Mrs. Maguire was profuse in +her thanks. Then, in the next breath, she scolded the tots for wandering +so far away.</p> + +<p>"I think they won't do it again," said Ruth, with a smile, as she +recalled their fright.</p> + +<p>"No, sir! Never no more!" declared Tommy, earnestly.</p> + +<p>Bad as the scare had been, its effects were not lasting, and Ruth and +Alice were able to take their part in the drama that was being filmed. +Jed Moulton looked on, his eyes big with wonder.</p> + +<p>"That beats shootin' bobcats!" he declared at the conclusion of the +performance.</p> + +<p>Jed at once became a favorite with all, and when Mr. Pertell learned that +he was quite a successful hunter he made him an offer.</p> + +<p>"You come along with us," the manager urged. "I want to get a film of +alligator hunting, and I'll make it worth your while to do some of your +stunts before the camera. I'll pay you well, and you can have all the +alligators you shoot."</p> + +<p>"Say, that suits me—right down to the ground!" cried Jed, heartily. +"I'll take you up on that."</p> + +<p>So Jed became attached to the moving picture outfit, and a cheerful and +valuable addition he proved. For he knew the country like a book, and +offered valuable suggestions as to where new and striking scenic +backgrounds could be obtained.</p> + +<p>An uneventful week followed the episode of the bobcat. The <i>Magnolia</i> +went up and down sluggish streams and bayous, while the company of +players acted their parts, or rested beneath the palms and under the +graceful Spanish moss.</p> + +<p>"But it is getting lonesome and tiresome—being away from civilization so +long," complained Miss Pennington one day. "We can't get any mail, or +anything."</p> + +<p>"Who wants mail, when you can sit out on deck and look at such a scene as +that?" asked Alice, pointing to a view down a beautiful river.</p> + +<p>"Don't you want to come for a row?" asked Paul of Alice, after luncheon.</p> + +<p>"I think so," she answered. "Where is Ruth?"</p> + +<p>"We'll all go together," he proposed. "Russ wants to get a few pictures, +and Jed Moulton is going along to show us where there are some likely +spots for novel scenes."</p> + +<p>"Of course I'll come!" cried Alice, enthusiastically, as she went to her +stateroom to make ready.</p> + +<p>A little later the four young people, with the alligator hunter, set out +in a big rowboat. Russ took with him a small moving picture camera, as he +generally did, even when he had no special object in view.</p> + +<p>They rowed up the stream in which the <i>Magnolia</i> was resting, her bow +against a fern bank, and presently the party was in a solitude that was +almost oppressive. There was neither sign nor sound of human being, and +the steamer was lost to sight around a bend in the stream.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it wonderful here?" murmured Ruth.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is," agreed Russ who, with Paul, was rowing.</p> + +<p>"It sure is soothin'," said Jed. "Many a time when I ain't had no luck, +and feel all tuckered out, I sneak off to a place like this and I feel +jest glad to be alive."</p> + +<p>He put it crudely enough, but the others understood his homely +philosophy.</p> + +<p>They rowed slowly, pausing now and then to gather some odd flower, or to +look at some big tree almost hidden under the mass of Spanish moss.</p> + +<p>Alice, who had gone to the bow, was looking ahead, when suddenly she +called out:</p> + +<p>"Oh, look at the funny logs! They're bobbing up and down all over. See!"</p> + +<p>Jed and the others looked to where she pointed, toward a sand bar in the +stream. Then the old hunter called out:</p> + +<p>"Logs! Them ain't logs! Them's alligators! We've run into a regular nest +of 'em! I'm glad I brought my gun along!"</p> + +<p>"Oh! Alligators!" gasped Ruth, as one thrust his long and repulsive head +from the water, just ahead of the boat.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX" />CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>INTO THE WILDS</h3> + + +<p>Had there been any convenient mode of running away Ruth and Alice would +certainly have taken advantage of it just then. But they were out in a +boat, in the middle of a wide, sluggish stream, and all about them, +swimming, diving, coming up and crawling over a long sand-bar, were +alligators—alligators on all sides. They were surrounded by them now, +and the girls would no more have gotten out of the boat, even if there +had been a bridge nearby on which to walk to shore, than they would have +dived overboard.</p> + +<p>"Oh, isn't it awful!" gasped Ruth, covering her eyes with her hands.</p> + +<p>"Can they get at us?" asked Alice, more practically.</p> + +<p>"Not if you stay in the boat, I should say," declared Paul. But he was +not altogether sure in his own mind.</p> + +<p>As for Russ he said nothing. But he was busy focusing the small moving +picture camera on the unusual scene. True, he had views of the saurians +at the alligator farm near St. Augustine, but this was different. The +views he was now getting showed the big, repulsive creatures in their +natural haunts.</p> + +<p>"This sure is a big piece of luck!" cried Jed Moulton, as he brought his +rifle up from the bottom of the boat. "It is a rare bit of luck! I didn't +know there was so many 'gators in this neighborhood!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, are you going to shoot?" cried Ruth, as she saw the old hunter +prepare to take aim.</p> + +<p>"Well, that's what I was countin' on, Miss," he replied. "I can't exactly +get a 'gator without shootin' him. They won't come when you call 'em, you +know. But if it's goin' to distress you, Miss, why of course I can—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no!" she cried hastily. "Of course I don't want to deprive you of +making a living. That was selfish of me. Only I was afraid if you shot +from the boat it might upset, and if we were thrown into the water with +all those horrid things—ugh!"</p> + +<p>She could not finish.</p> + +<p>"I guess you're right, Miss," assented Jed. "It will be better not to +shoot from the boat, especially as we've got a pretty good load in, and +my gun is a heavy one, though it don't recoil such an awful lot. Now +we'll take you girls back to the steamer, and then I'll come here and +make a bag—an alligator bag, you might say," he added with grim humor.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I want to stay and see you shoot!" cried Alice, impulsively.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no, Alice!" cried her sister. "Daddy wouldn't like it, you know."</p> + +<p>"Well, perhaps not," admitted the younger girl, more readily than her +sister had hoped. "Shooting alligators is not exactly nice work, I +suppose, however much it needs to be done, for we have to have their +skins for leather."</p> + +<p>"Then suppose you take us back," suggested Ruth. "I'm sorry to make so +much trouble—"</p> + +<p>"Not at all!" interrupted Paul. "I think it will be best. But if I can +borrow a gun I'm going to get a 'gator myself."</p> + +<p>"And get one for me; will you, Paul?" begged Alice. "I'll have my valise +after all!"</p> + +<p>"Surely," he answered.</p> + +<p>"Just a few minutes more," requested Russ. "There's a big one over there +I want to film. I guess he must be the grandfather of this alligator +roost."</p> + +<p>"I never saw such a nest of 'em!" exclaimed Jed. "I can make a pot of +money out of this. None of the other hunters has stumbled on it. I'm in +luck!"</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice had lost much of their first fear, and really the only +danger now was lest one of the big saurians upset the boat, which it +might easily do, by coming up under it. The alligators showed no +disposition to make an attack. Indeed, most of them swam past the boat +without noticing it, though a few of the smaller ones scuttled off when +they came up and eyed the craft and its occupants.</p> + +<p>Out on the sand bar, sunning themselves, were nearly a score of the big +creatures. Now and then one would crawl over the others, or plunge into +the sluggish stream with a splash.</p> + +<p>"Some fine skins here," commented Jed, with a professional air. "When we +come back, boys, we'll have a lively time."</p> + +<p>"Isn't it dangerous?" asked Ruth, with a shudder.</p> + +<p>"Alligators ain't half so dangerous as folks think," said Jed. "I've +hunted 'em, boy and man, for years, and I never got much hurt. One I +wounded once nipped me on the leg, and I've got the scar yet."</p> + +<p>"I thought it was the tail that was the dangerous part of an alligator," +said Russ, who now had all the pictures he wanted for the present, +though he intended coming back with the larger camera and filming the +alligator hunt.</p> + +<p>"Well, I've read lots of stories to the effect that an alligator or +crocodile could swing his tail around and knock a man or dog into his +mouth with one sweep, but I don't believe it," the hunter said. "Of +course that big tail could do damage if it was properly used, and you +didn't get out of the way in time. In India I reckon the crocodiles are +dangerous, if what you read is true; but I don't reckon a Florida +alligator nor crocodile ever ate a man."</p> + +<p>"I thought there were no crocodiles in this country," said Russ, who, +with a skillful movement of the oars, avoided hitting a big alligator.</p> + +<p>"That's a mistake," said Jed. "There are both alligators and crocodiles +in Florida, and some of the crocodiles grow to be nearly fifteen feet +long. There ain't so much difference between crocodiles and alligators as +folks think. The main point is that a crocodile's head is more pointed +than an alligator's."</p> + +<p>"They're all horrid enough looking," observed Alice.</p> + +<p>"Wa'al, I grant you they ain't none of 'em beauties," returned the +hunter, with a chuckle, "though I have heard of some folks takin' home +little alligators for pets. I'd as soon have a pet bumblebee!" and he +laughed heartily.</p> + +<p>The two girls were becoming almost indifferent to the alligators now, +though in turning about for the return trip to the steamer they several +times bumped into the clumsy creatures, and once the craft careened +dangerously, causing Alice and Ruth to scream.</p> + +<p>And once, when they were almost out of the haunts of the saurians, an +immense specimen reared itself out of the water and thrust its ugly nose +over the bow.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Alice, shrinking back.</p> + +<p>In an instant Jed fired, aiming, however, along the keel of the boat, and +not broadside across it, so there was no danger from the recoil.</p> + +<p>The alligator sank at once.</p> + +<p>"I hit him!" cried the hunter, "but it wasn't a mortal wound. I'll come +back and get him."</p> + +<p>"Please don't shoot again!" begged Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I won't, Miss, and I beg your pardon; but I really couldn't help it," he +apologized.</p> + +<p>There was considerable excitement aboard the <i>Magnolia</i> when the party +returned with word about the alligators, and when Paul and Russ went back +with Jed, Russ taking a large camera, another boatload of men with guns +was made up for the hunt.</p> + +<p>Even Jed was satisfied later with the day's work, and Russ got a film +that created quite a sensation when shown, for never before had an +alligator hunt been given in moving pictures.</p> + +<p>"Well, I can't go on with you folks any longer," said Jed that night, as +Mr. Pertell, aboard the <i>Magnolia</i>, was talking of further plans. "I've +got to stay and take care of my alligator skins," he added. "It means big +money to me."</p> + +<p>"I wish you could come," said the manager. "For we are going into the +wilds, and we may need your help."</p> + +<p>"Into the wilds?" echoed Mr. Sneed. "Do you think it safe?"</p> + +<p>"I don't know whether it is or not," responded Mr. Pertell, and he spoke +half seriously. "But we have to go to get the views I want. I hope none +of you refuse to come."</p> + +<p>No one did, but there was not a little apprehension.</p> + +<p>"Those two girls went into the wilds—and did not come back, you know," +said Ruth to Alice in a low voice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't think of it," was the rejoinder. "We are a large party—we +can't get lost."</p> + +<p>But neither Ruth nor Alice realized what was before them.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX" />CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>LOST</h3> + + +<p>Pushing her bow up sluggish streams—up rivers that flowed under arching +trees, heavy with the gray moss, went the <i>Magnolia</i>. The party of moving +picture players had been on the move for three days now, without a stop +for taking of pictures, save those Russ made of the negroes cutting wood +for the boilers. No dramas were to be made until they reached a certain +wild and uninhabited part of Florida, of which Mr. Pertell had heard, and +which he thought would be just right for his purpose.</p> + +<p>They had left the vicinity of the alligator hunt, and were pushing on +into the interior. In reality it was not so many miles from Sycamore, but +it seemed a great way, so lonely was it in the palm forests and cypress +swamps.</p> + +<p>"Seems to me this is lonely enough to suit anyone," observed Miss +Pennington as she sat on deck with the others, and looked up stream.</p> + +<p>"It surely is—I feel like screaming just to know that there is something +alive around here," added Miss Dixon.</p> + +<p>"Go ahead!" laughed Russ. "No one will stop you!"</p> + +<p>"Really the silence does seem to get on one's nerves," put in Mr. Towne. +"It—er—interferes with—er—thinking, you know."</p> + +<p>"Didn't know you ever indulged in that habit!" chaffed Paul.</p> + +<p>"Oh, why—er—my deah fellah! Of course I do—at times. I find—I really +find I have to give a great deal of consideration—at times—to the suit +samples my tailor sends me. And really I shall not be sorry to get back +to deah old N'York and renew my wardrobe."</p> + +<p>"If he has any more suits he'll have to get a man to look after them," +remarked Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, hush!" chided Ruth.</p> + +<p>Then silence once more settled down over the company on the upper deck of +the <i>Magnolia</i>. An awning protected them from the hot sun, and really it +was very pleasant traveling that way. Of course it was lonesome and the +solitude was depressing. For days they would see nothing save perhaps the +boat of some solitary fisherman, or alligator hunter.</p> + +<p>Occasionally they saw some of the big saurians themselves, as they +slipped into the water from some log, or sand bar, on the approach of the +steamer. Now and then some wild water fowl would dart across the bows of +the boat, uttering its harsh cries.</p> + +<p>Russ got a number of fine nature films, but the real work of making +dramas would not take place for another day or two. Meals were served +aboard, though once or twice, when a long stop had to be made for the +cutting of fuel, a shore party was made up.</p> + +<p>Then they would take their luncheon with them, seek out some little +palm-shaded glade, and there feast and make merry. Ruth and Alice, with +Paul and Russ, always enjoyed these trips.</p> + +<p>"I think this will about suit us," said Mr. Pertell, one evening, as the +<i>Magnolia</i> made a turn in the stream, and came to a place where another +sluggish river joined it. "This is the spot spoken of by Jed, and the +surrounding country will give us just the scenery we want, I think. We +will tie up here for the night, and you and I will make an examination +to-morrow, Russ."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir. It looks like a good location to me."</p> + +<p>It was so warm that supper really was almost a waste of effort on the +part of the cook that evening, for few ate much. Then came a comfortable +time spent on the deck, while the night wind cooled the day-heated air.</p> + +<p>"Oh, isn't this positively stifling!" complained Miss Pennington as she +dropped into a chair beside Ruth. "How do you ever stand it? I've bathed +my face in cologne, and done everything I can think of to cool off."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps if you didn't do so much you would keep cooler," Ruth suggested +with a smile. "And really that is a very warm gown you have on."</p> + +<p>"I know it, but it's so becoming to me—at least, I flatter myself it +is," and she glanced in the direction of Mr. Towne, who as usual was +attired "to the limit," as Russ said.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice, in cool muslins or lawns, were quite in contrast to the +rather overdressed former vaudeville actresses.</p> + +<p>"I can lend you a kimono," offered Alice.</p> + +<p>"No, thank you!" replied Miss Pennington. "I believe in a certain +refinement in dress, even if we are in the wilds of Florida."</p> + +<p>"I believe in being comfortable," retorted Alice.</p> + +<p>Miss Dixon came up on deck, redolent of a highly perfumed talcum powder.</p> + +<p>"It seems to keep away the mosquitoes," she murmured in explanation, +though no one had said anything, even if Russ did sniff rather +ostentatiously.</p> + +<p>"I should think it would attract them," chuckled Paul.</p> + +<p>"Oh, indeed!" said Miss Dixon, and changed her mind about taking a seat +near him.</p> + +<p>Returning from a little exploring party next day Russ and Mr. Pertell +reported the locality to be just what was wanted.</p> + +<p>"We start work to-morrow," said the manager. "And I want everyone to do +his or her best, for this will bring our Florida stay to a close."</p> + +<p>"And what next?" asked Mr. DeVere.</p> + +<p>"I haven't made up my mind yet. But there will be plenty of other +pictures to make."</p> + +<p>During the next few days every member of the company, from Mr. DeVere to +Tommy and Nellie, had their share of work. There were romantic plays +filmed, and in these Ruth had good parts. As for Alice she rejoiced when +she had humorous "stunts" to do.</p> + +<p>"You are getting to be a regular 'cut-up'," laughed Paul at the close of +one of her performances.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and I hope she doesn't get too much that way," said Ruth.</p> + +<p>"No danger, sister mine, with you to keep me straight," was the answer, +as Alice put an arm around Ruth.</p> + +<p>Some comic films were made, and in a few of these Mr. Sneed and Mr. Towne +had to do "stunts" such as falling in the mud and water, or toppling down +hills head over heels. But Mr. Pertell was careful to warn them not to +run dangerous risks.</p> + +<p>Mr. DeVere, as usual, did more dignified work, and Mr. Bunn was delighted +when told that he might do a bit of Shakespeare. And to do him credit, he +acted well, much better than some of his associates had supposed he +could.</p> + +<p>"I have a new idea for to-day," said Mr. Pertell one morning, as the +day's work was about to start. "In one drama I wish to show a little +picnic scene, with two girls and their mother. You will be the mother, +Mrs. Maguire, and with Ruth and Alice will go off up a side stream in a +boat. Russ will go along, of course, to manage the camera, and I think +I'll send Paul to help row the boat. Take a gun along, Paul, for you can +pretend to shoot some game for the lunch.</p> + +<p>"You will also have a regular picnic lunch along—real food, by the way, +and you will spread it out in some picturesque spot and eat." Mr. Pertell +then went on giving directions for the acting of the drama that was to +center around the little picnic.</p> + +<p>In due time the boat was loaded with the camera and provisions, and Paul +helped in Ruth, Alice and Mrs. Maguire. Then he got in with the gun.</p> + +<p>"Better take your raincoats along," advised Mr. DeVere to his daughters, +"it looks like a shower and you won't be back before night."</p> + +<p>Accordingly the garments were tossed into the boat, and then, leaving the +<i>Magnolia</i> moored to the bank, the small craft started off up a little +side stream that was to be followed for a mile or two.</p> + +<p>Russ picked out a likely spot for the picnic scene and after a bit of +rehearsal Ruth, Alice, Mrs. Maguire and Paul went through the little +play.</p> + +<p>"This is more fun than acting," remarked Alice, as she reached for +another chicken sandwich.</p> + +<p>There was more to do after the meal, and when what food remained had been +packed up for a luncheon later in the afternoon, they entered the boat +again, and started still farther up stream.</p> + +<p>The last film had been made and as the shadows were lengthening the start +back was made.</p> + +<p>"My, it's getting dark very quickly, and it's only three o'clock," said +Paul, as he looked at his watch.</p> + +<p>"Going to rain, I guess," said Russ. And rain it did a little later, the +drops coming down with tropical violence.</p> + +<p>"Oughtn't we to be at the steamer by this time?" asked Mrs. Maguire, when +they could hardly see.</p> + +<p>"Well, maybe we had," agreed Paul.</p> + +<p>The light was set aglow, and then the young men shouted and called:</p> + +<p>"<i>Magnolia</i> ahoy!"</p> + +<p>Echoes were their only answer, save the bellow or grunt of some distant +alligator, or the screech of some disturbed wild fowl.</p> + +<p>"This is queer," observed Russ. "I'm sure we have rowed back far enough +to be at the place where we left the steamer. I wonder—"</p> + +<p>But he did not finish.</p> + +<p>"What do you wonder?" asked Alice, searchingly.</p> + +<p>"Oh—nothing," Russ hesitated.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is something!" she insisted.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, I was wondering if we possibly could have come down some +wrong creek. There were a number of turns, you know."</p> + +<p>"Do—do you mean, we are—lost?" faltered Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Well, I'm afraid I do."</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI" />CHAPTER XXI</h2> + +<h3>THE LONG NIGHT</h3> + + +<p>Ruth began to cry quietly—she really could not help it. Alice felt like +following her example, but the younger girl had the saving grace of +humor. Not that Ruth actually lacked it, but it was not so near the +surface, nor so easily called into action.</p> + +<p>"Isn't it silly?" Alice suddenly exclaimed.</p> + +<p>"What?" Paul wanted to know.</p> + +<p>"Getting lost like this! It's too funny—"</p> + +<p>"I wish I could see it, my dear," observed Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Try to," urged Mrs. Maguire. "It does seem a bit odd to be lost like +this, and maybe the steamer only just around the corner."</p> + +<p>"Probably she is," agreed Russ. "We must call again!"</p> + +<p>This time they united their voices in a shout that carried far, but the +only effect it had was to disturb some of the denizens of the forest.</p> + +<p>"But what are we going to do?" queried Ruth. "We—we can't stay here all +night."</p> + +<p>"We may have to," answered Russ, grimly enough.</p> + +<p>"Oh, please don't say that!" she faltered.</p> + +<p>"Why, it won't be so bad," put in the jolly Irish woman. "We've got a +roomy boat, thank goodness. We can lie down on the rugs, with our rubber +coats for protection against the dew. We have some food left, and the +moon will soon be up, for it's clearing fast. Then, in the morning, we +can find our way back to the steamer."</p> + +<p>"Of course!" exclaimed Paul, who realized the necessity of keeping up the +spirits of the girls. "We'll be laughing at this to-morrow."</p> + +<p>"Do you really think so?" asked Ruth, timorously.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure of it," he said. "Now let's figure out what we'd better do."</p> + +<p>"How about going ashore?" suggested Russ.</p> + +<p>"Never!" cried Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we don't know what sort of horrid things may be in the woods. It's +safer in the boat."</p> + +<p>"You forget about the—" Alice began, but she did not finish. She had +been about to say "manatees and alligators," but thought better of it. +Instead she changed it to:</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess it's about six of one and half a dozen of the other."</p> + +<p>"Only, don't you think it's better to stay in the boat?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I suppose it is," agreed Alice. "It will be damp on the ground, and +there is very little water in the boat."</p> + +<p>This was so because when it rained Russ and Paul had used a heavy canvas +to cover up the provisions that were left, and this shed the water over +the sides of the craft.</p> + +<p>"There's the moon!" suddenly called Mrs. Maguire, as she saw a flash of +light between the trees.</p> + +<p>"I only wish it was the lantern of a searching party," sighed Ruth.</p> + +<p>"They probably will hunt for us," said Russ. "But whether they find us +before morning is another matter."</p> + +<p>"Well, let's take an account of things, and see how we stand, anyhow," +suggested Paul, practically. "If we've got to stay here all night we +might as well make ourselves as comfortable as possible."</p> + +<p>"Don't you think we could keep on rowing, and perhaps find the steamer, +Russ?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid not," he answered. "We would only get more lost, if that is +possible. No, I think the best plan is to stay right where we are, and +in the morning we can look about."</p> + +<p>"I don't understand how we came to get lost," remarked Alice.</p> + +<p>"Well, there were so many creeks and bayous that we probably took the +wrong turn," Russ answered. "We ought to have picked out a landmark, I +suppose. I will next time."</p> + +<p>"Yes, we didn't use as much care as we might have done," agreed Paul. +"Well, let's make the ladies comfortable."</p> + +<p>"I'm hungry, more than uncomfortable," declared Alice.</p> + +<p>"There are some sandwiches and other things left," Russ told her. +"Luckily we didn't eat all of them. And I can make coffee."</p> + +<p>"Then please do!" cried Ruth. "I'm cold from the rain, and it may help my +nerves!"</p> + +<p>"You shouldn't have them, sister mine!" mocked Alice. They were all in +better spirits now. The moon was higher, and gave a good illumination, +being at the full.</p> + +<p>There were some heavy rugs in the boat, having been brought along to use +in the picnic scene in the woods. While Paul arranged these in the bottom +of the craft, and put some cushions against the seats so that Mrs. +Maguire and the two girls could lean against them, Russ prepared the +coffee. A jug of drinking water had been brought along, for the water of +the creeks and river was not considered good. Then, with an alcohol +stove, set up on a seat, a steaming pot of coffee was soon made.</p> + +<p>With that and sandwiches the lost ones made a meal for which they were +all grateful, and in which they stood in much need.</p> + +<p>"Oh, how good that was!" sighed Alice. "Is there any more?"</p> + +<p>"Well," hesitated Russ, "I was thinking perhaps we'd better save some +until morning. We will want breakfast, you know."</p> + +<p>"Don't you think they'll find us—or we them—by breakfast time?" asked +Ruth, apprehensively.</p> + +<p>"It's possible that it may not happen," Russ answered, slowly, and his +words seemed rather ominous to the two girls, at least.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't worry," advised Mrs. Maguire. "We'll be all right, I'm sure. +At the same time it might be a good plan not to eat all the food we +have."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I agree to that!" said Alice, hastily.</p> + +<p>"I'll shoot a wild turkey to-morrow," promised Paul, with a laugh. "Then +we will have a real Thanksgiving feast."</p> + +<p>"I hope we don't have to stay as long as that," sighed Ruth. "Oh, how +father will worry!" she said to Alice.</p> + +<p>"Probably, but it can't be helped. He will know we would come back if we +could, and he'll know we will take care of ourselves."</p> + +<p>"Still, he can't help worrying," insisted Ruth.</p> + +<p>Fortunately the boat was a roomy one, and the lost ones were not as +uncomfortable as might have been imagined, with the rugs and cushions and +the piece of canvas, as well as their raincoats, for covering.</p> + +<p>The craft was tied to a tree on shore, in a sort of little cove, and +there the five prepared to spend the night. The moon came up higher over +the trees, and shone down on the strange scene.</p> + +<p>"I wish it were light enough for some pictures," sighed Russ.</p> + +<p>"Nothing much gets away from you, old man," laughed Paul. "Are your +ladies comfortable?" he asked, as he joined Russ in the bow of the boat, +the other three being in the broad stern.</p> + +<p>"Very comfortable," answered Alice. "Only I wish we had brought a +mosquito netting along. The little pests are after me with a vengeance."</p> + +<p>"I can build a smudge on shore, and that may keep them off," offered +Russ. "In fact, a smudge is about the only kind of a fire I could make, +as everything is so damp."</p> + +<p>This proved to be the case. But a heavy smoke was soon floating over the +boat, and this did seem to keep away the pests.</p> + +<p>"What had we better do?" asked Russ of Paul, as they piled more damp fuel +on the smudge-fire.</p> + +<p>"Well, we'll have to stand watch and watch, of course. And we will have +the gun ready. It's all loaded. No telling what might happen. A bobcat +might take a notion to come aboard, or an alligator might nose us out. +We'll have to be on the watch."</p> + +<p>Little or nothing could be told about the surrounding country in the +darkness, even illuminated as it was by the moon. The river stretched +away in either direction, and both banks were heavily wooded.</p> + +<p>"Br-r-r! but it's creepy here!" sighed Ruth, as the two young men got +into the boat again.</p> + +<p>"Is that a light—a lantern—off there?" asked Alice, suddenly, as she +sat up and pointed.</p> + +<p>For a moment they all hoped that it was, and they raised their voices in +shouts:</p> + +<p>"Here we are!"</p> + +<p>"Look for our lantern!"</p> + +<p>Then as the other light moved about erratically Russ said:</p> + +<p>"It's only <i>ignis-fatuus</i>—will-o'-the-wisp. It's a sort of +phosphorescent glow that appears at night over swamps. I've seen it in +rotting stumps on hot nights."</p> + +<p>"Too bad to disappoint you," said Mrs. Maguire. "Now, girls, get +comfortable, and we'll be all right in the morning. Try to sleep."</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice declared it was out of the question, and for a long time +they remained wide awake. Mrs. Maguire, who had traveled with many road +companies, and had often slept under adverse circumstances, did manage to +doze off. Russ had first watch, and Paul was tired enough to fall into a +slumber.</p> + +<p>Finally Ruth and Alice also slumbered, leaning against each other, with +Mrs. Maguire as partial support. Russ found his head nodding as the long +night wore on.</p> + +<p>"Come, this won't do!" he told himself, sitting up with a jerk. But +nature was insistent, and he became sleepy again. He was suddenly +awakened by what seemed some horrid, human cry close to the boat.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" screamed Ruth, startling the others into wakefulness. "What was +that?"</p> + +<p>The cry was repeated—a cry that brought a chill to the heart.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII" />CHAPTER XXII</h2> + +<h3>ASHORE</h3> + + +<p>The boat rocked and trembled under the impulse of the moving +bodies—swayed so and tilted, that Russ sharply called:</p> + +<p>"Steady all, or we'll upset!"</p> + +<p>"Oh!" screamed Ruth. "Never! Do be quiet, Alice!"</p> + +<p>"I'm not moving; it's you!"</p> + +<p>"Quiet, girls," called Mrs. Maguire, softly. She had really been sleeping +soundly, and the sudden awakening rather confused her. "What's it all +about?" she asked.</p> + +<p>"Oh, didn't you hear it?" gasped Ruth. "Such a horrible cry!"</p> + +<p>"Maybe it was some one calling to us—some of the searching party from +the <i>Magnolia</i>," suggested Paul.</p> + +<p>"Let's give an answer, then," came from Russ.</p> + +<p>"<i>Magnolia</i> ahoy!" cried Paul, and the young moving picture operator +joined in with his powerful voice.</p> + +<p>There was no answer for a moment, and all about in the black woods was +silence. Off on shore glowed the faint sparks of the smudge-fire.</p> + +<p>"They didn't hear you," said Alice, softly.</p> + +<p>And then, vibrating on the night, and echoing through the trees, came +that dreadful cry again; weird, long-drawn-out, a howl—a fiendish laugh, +ending in a choking giggle and then a shrill whine.</p> + +<p>"Oh—oh!" gasped Ruth, and she and Alice clung together, leaning on Mrs. +Maguire.</p> + +<p>"It's like the wail of a lost soul," whispered Alice.</p> + +<p>"Sure, and it must be an Irish banshee!" murmured Mrs. Maguire. "I've +heard my mother tell of 'em!"</p> + +<p>"It's a wild beast, that's all," said Paul, though his voice was not +steady as usual. For the cry, coming out of the darkness, perhaps from a +spot where some animal crouched, ready to spring down on them, was not +reassuring.</p> + +<p>"That's it—some animal," added Russ. "Hand me that gun, Paul, I'll +try—"</p> + +<p>"Oh, you're not going after it—in the dark, are you?" interrupted Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Not much, little girl!" he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his +nerves were steadying. "I'm only going to try a shot to frighten it. I +don't want to be kept awake all night."</p> + +<p>"As if one could close an eye with that horrid creature loose in the +woods," remarked Alice.</p> + +<p>Again came the weird cry, seemingly nearer than before.</p> + +<p>"We ought to have a fire," whispered Paul. "Wild animals are afraid of +fire."</p> + +<p>"It's too damp to build one," remarked Russ. "The lantern will have to +answer."</p> + +<p>The beast kept up its howling longer than usual this time. Then Russ, who +had a good ear for sound, and a fine sense of location, raised the gun +and fired into the darkness.</p> + +<p>A jagged streak of flame lit up the blackness for a second, and following +close after the echoes of the shot there sounded a howl that was +unmistakably one of pain.</p> + +<p>"You winged him, Russ!" cried Paul.</p> + +<p>The howling continued.</p> + +<p>The girls screamed. Mrs. Maguire tried to calm them.</p> + +<p>"I believe I may have touched him," admitted Russ, not a little proudly. +"There was a big charge of shot in that cartridge, and it probably +scattered. He can't be badly hurt though, but it may make him go serenade +someone else. We've had enough."</p> + +<p>The howls grew fainter, and there was a crashing in the bushes and tree +limbs that told of the retreat of some creature. Finally these sounds +ceased, and once more there was silence and darkness, illuminated only by +the lantern and the faint glow of the smudge-fire.</p> + +<p>"Do you really think it's gone?" asked Ruth faintly, as she nestled +closer to her sister and Mrs. Maguire.</p> + +<p>"I hope so," ventured Alice.</p> + +<p>"I guess we've heard the last of it," Russ assured them. "But don't +worry. We'll be on the watch the rest of the night. I wish we could have +a fire; but I'm afraid it's out of the question."</p> + +<p>"Let's try, anyhow," suggested Paul. "It will give us something to do. +I'm cold and stiff. Maybe we can find a bit of dry wood."</p> + +<p>"It is chilly," complained Ruth, and she shivered. The night was cold and +damp.</p> + +<p>Nor were the piece of canvas and the raincoats much protection. Still, it +was better than nothing.</p> + +<p>"Well, we'll try a fire," agreed Russ, as he prepared to go ashore with +Paul.</p> + +<p>"Oh—don't—don't go!" begged Ruth, nervously.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" asked the young actor.</p> + +<p>"Because—that beast—!"</p> + +<p>"I fancy he's far enough off by now," answered Russ. "A fire will be our +best protection, if we can make one. Come on, Paul, let's try it, +anyhow."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I—I don't like them to go," protested Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Silly! It's the best thing to do," answered Alice. "They probably need a +little exercise. They haven't so much room in their end of the boat as we +have."</p> + +<p>"Oh, of course, I don't want them to be uncomfortable," returned Ruth, +quickly.</p> + +<p>Searching about with the lantern Russ and Paul managed to get enough dry +wood to start a blaze. It was a tiny one at first, but as the wood dried +out the flames grew apace until there was a really good camp fire.</p> + +<p>"How's that?" called Russ, as he dropped a pile of sticks into the +flames.</p> + +<p>"Lovely!" answered Alice.</p> + +<p>"It isn't half so lonesome now," added Ruth. She tried to be cheerful—as +cheerful as Alice seemed, though really both girls, in their hearts, were +worrying over the effect their absence would have on their father.</p> + +<p>"Now we've done this much, let's do a little more," suggested Paul. +"Let's brew some coffee. I fancy the girls must be chilly. I know I am."</p> + +<p>"Good idea! Coffee for five!" cried Russ, as though giving orders to a +restaurant waiter.</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't sleep, anyhow, after hearing that beast scream," said Ruth. +"Do make coffee."</p> + +<p>The alcohol stove was soon lighted and the aromatic odor of the hot +beverage floated on the air. The little party made merry—as merry as +possible under the circumstances.</p> + +<p>The moon sank below the trees again. It grew very dark, and somehow they +dozed off again—fitfully. Then a pale light suffused the east, filtering +faintly through the trees. It grew brighter.</p> + +<p>"Morning," announced Russ, with a luxurious stretch. "It's morning."</p> + +<p>"The end of the long night," whispered Ruth. "How glad—how very glad I +am."</p> + +<p>"Let's all go ashore and have breakfast—that is, whatever we have left +for breakfast," proposed Alice. "It will do us all good to run about a +bit."</p> + +<p>And soon they were all ashore, using stiffened muscles gingerly at first, +and then with increasing confidence. The sun was blazing hot overhead.</p> + +<p>"And now to find our mislaid steamer!" cried Russ, gaily.</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII" />CHAPTER XXIII</h2> + +<h3>THE PALM HUT</h3> + + +<p>Breakfast, on the shore of the sluggish and swamp-like stream where the +big rowboat was moored, was a meagre meal, indeed. For after a moment of +consideration it was decided not to use up all the food that remained.</p> + +<p>"We may need some for luncheon," explained Russ, who seemed to have taken +command of the little party. "We may not be able to reach the steamer by +noon."</p> + +<p>"Do you think we'll <i>ever</i> be able to reach it, old man?" asked Paul, in +a low voice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, sure. We've just <i>got</i> to find it!" whispered the young operator, +with a quick glance at the girls.</p> + +<p>"That's so," agreed Paul. But he knew, as well as did Russ, that it would +be no easy matter.</p> + +<p>And so the "rations" were divided into two parts, though with all there +would not have been enough for one substantial meal. Fortunately, +however, the coffee was plentiful. The cook, when told to put up a lunch +for the picnic party that was to figure in the moving pictures, had been +very liberal, otherwise there would have been no food left now. And in +the matter of coffee enough had been put in to make several large pots +full.</p> + +<p>As for water, some had been brought along, but, luckily, after this was +exhausted Russ managed to find a spring on shore, not far from where the +boat was moored.</p> + +<p>"We'll have to take a chance on it," he said. "Anyhow, boiling the water +for coffee will kill all the germs in it."</p> + +<p>"And we can't be too particular," agreed Mrs. Maguire.</p> + +<p>The embers of the camp fire kindled in the night were blown into flame, +and soon a genial blaze was leaping upward under the big trees. The +refugees gathered about it and ate the scanty meal, drinking several cups +of coffee.</p> + +<p>"That will keep us up, and help to ward off fevers which may lurk in +these swamps," said Paul.</p> + +<p>The girls had freshened themselves by washing at the side of the brook +which flowed from the spring, and then having arranged their hair, with +the aid of their side combs, and a pocket mirror Alice carried, they +looked, as Paul said, "as sweet as magnolia blossoms."</p> + +<p>"Oh, magnolias!" cried Ruth. "If we could only find our <i>Magnolia</i>—the +steamer!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, we'll find her," said Russ, easily—more easily than he felt.</p> + +<p>"We look like wrecks beside the girls," declared Paul, as he ran his hand +over his unshaven chin.</p> + +<p>"Don't you dare desert us to look for a barber!" commanded Ruth. "To be +left alone in these woods—ugh!" and she shuddered as she looked about. +Certainly it was very lonely.</p> + +<p>"It isn't as bad as last night, though," said Alice. "I feel quite at +home, now. I wonder what became of that animal you shot, Russ? I'd like +to see what it was."</p> + +<p>"I wouldn't," declared Ruth, decidedly.</p> + +<p>Breakfast over, the blankets and cushions of the boat were spread out in +the sun to dry, for they were damp from the rain and dew.</p> + +<p>"And now the question is—what are we to do?" asked Mrs. Maguire. "We +don't want to spend another night in the woods if we can help it."</p> + +<p>"I should say not!" cried Russ. "We'll start off in a little while and +make our way back to the steamer."</p> + +<p>"Can you find it?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Well, it can't be so very far off," spoke Russ, evasively. "The trouble +is there are so many twists and turns to these creeks and rivers that we +lost our way. I wish I had thought to bring a compass but, since we +didn't, we'll have to go by the sun. I think the steamer lies in that +general neighborhood," and he pointed in a south-easterly direction.</p> + +<p>"I think so, too," agreed Paul. "And if we row that way I think we'll get +back."</p> + +<p>Alice, who had gone over to the sunny spot where the blankets and +cushions had been put to dry, uttered an exclamation.</p> + +<p>"Look!" she cried, and when Paul reached her side she pointed to some +bright red spots on the leaves.</p> + +<p>"That's blood!" cried the young actor. "Russ, you winged that beast last +night, all right."</p> + +<p>"Is that so? Let's have a look for him! Maybe I killed him. I'd like to +see what sort of a creature it was."</p> + +<p>The two young men went a little way into the wood, and then came a call:</p> + +<p>"Here he is—dead as a door nail."</p> + +<p>"Oh, what is it? I want to see it!" cried Alice, who had a good deal of +the curious boy in her make-up.</p> + +<p>"Don't go!" begged Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I shall, too. It can't hurt me—if it's dead."</p> + +<p>"I know, dear, but—"</p> + +<p>Alice went, however.</p> + +<p>"It's a lynx," said Russ, as he looked at the dead beast. "I can tell by +those queer little tufts of hair on the ears."</p> + +<p>"Are they dangerous?" asked Alice.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I guess so, if you had one cornered. They can keep a fellow awake, +anyhow, that's one sure thing. I must have fired better than I knew. But +then the shot scattered so."</p> + +<p>"He must have been pretty close to us," remarked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Ugh! I don't like to think of it," murmured Alice, with a little shiver. +"Suppose he had jumped into the boat?"</p> + +<p>"Don't suppose," laughed Russ.</p> + +<p>"Come!" called Mrs. Maguire from where she had remained near the boat +with Ruth. "If we're going, we'd better start."</p> + +<p>"That's right," agreed Russ. "The sooner we start the quicker we'll get +there."</p> + +<p>The blankets and cushions were arranged in the craft to make comfortable +places for the girls and Mrs. Maguire, and then the remains of the food, +and the coffee outfit, having been stowed away, Paul and Russ took the +oars, and once more the refugees were under way.</p> + +<p>As nearly as possible, allowing for the twists and turns of the stream, +the course was in the direction Russ and Paul had agreed upon as being +the best. From time to time, as they rowed on, they paused to listen for +any hails which would probably be given by the searching party from the +steamer.</p> + +<p>"For of course daddy will start out after us," said Ruth. "Poor daddy!"</p> + +<p>"I guess there's no doubt of that," agreed Russ. "The only trouble is +they won't know where to look for us."</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't they go first to the place where we took the picnic films?" +asked Alice.</p> + +<p>"I suppose so, yes; but when we came away from there we left no trail +they could follow. So it will be sort of hit or miss with them, as it +will be with us."</p> + +<p>"We ought to fire the gun once in a while," suggested Mrs. Maguire. +"That's what all lost persons do."</p> + +<p>"Good idea!" commented Russ. "I should have done it before. And they will +probably fire to attract our attention, for there are several guns +aboard the steamer."</p> + +<p>They now made up a definite program, to the effect that they would stop +every half-hour to listen for possible shouts and shots and would also +shout and fire in their turn.</p> + +<p>This was done, but the sun was nearly noon high, and they had heard no +sounds save the natural ones of the swamp and forest.</p> + +<p>Now and then they would see alligators in the waters up or down which +they rowed, but the saurians showed no disposition to molest the boat. +And Russ had too few cartridges to wish to waste any on the creatures.</p> + +<p>"We may have to spend another night in the open," he confided to Paul.</p> + +<p>"It doesn't look very hopeful," agreed the young actor.</p> + +<p>Noon came, and as far as could be told from listening, and from looking +about, they were as far off as ever from the steamer.</p> + +<p>"And yet it may be within a comparatively short distance of us," said +Russ, as cheerfully as he could. "Only the woods are so dense that we +can't see it, and if our voices and the sounds of the gun carry to the +<i>Magnolia</i> those aboard can't tell from which direction they come."</p> + +<p>They had been keeping on in the course first decided on—southeast—and +there were many twists and turns to the trail.</p> + +<p>"Would it be any better to get out and walk?" asked Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I think not," said Russ. "The boat is really easiest and best for us." +He did not say so, but he thought that if they had to spend another night +in the open the boat would be absolutely necessary. So they remained +aboard.</p> + +<p>At noon they tied up, and went ashore to eat the last of the food. Only a +little coffee remained, and as the final meagre crumbs were disposed of +each one feared to look the others in the face.</p> + +<p>What would be next—where would the next meal come from?</p> + +<p>No one could answer.</p> + +<p>"Well, we'd better move on, I suppose," suggested Russ, after a pause. +"No good staying here."</p> + +<p>"That's the idea," agreed Paul, trying to speak cheerfully.</p> + +<p>He glanced at the two girls. Ruth's lips were quivering, and she seemed +on the verge of tears. Alice was bearing up better, but she, too, showed +the effects of the strain.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Maguire was a pillar of strength and courage.</p> + +<p>"Whist! And it's laughin' we'll be at ourselves in a little while—to +think we were scared!" she cried, with a forced Irish brogue. "We'll be +soon aboard the steamer tellin' what good times we had, an' the others +will be wishin' they'd been along."</p> + +<p>"I—I wish I could believe so," faltered Ruth.</p> + +<p>The boys rowed on, and they were glad of the exertion, for it kept them +from brooding over the troubles of their situation, and a troublesome +situation it was—they admitted that.</p> + +<p>The afternoon was half gone, and in spite of having traveled several +miles, twisting this way and that, there were no signs of the steamer.</p> + +<p>The boat made a turn in a stream that seemed more sluggish and lonely +than any of the others. But it was broader and this gave the boys hope.</p> + +<p>"We may get somewhere on this creek," observed Russ, pulling hard at the +oars.</p> + +<p>Alice gave a startled cry, pointed toward the shore and said:</p> + +<p>"Look!"</p> + +<p>They all gazed to where she indicated, and there, on the bank of the +stream, was a small hut, made of palm leaves, while in front of it, tied +to an overhanging tree, was a large motor boat!</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV" />CHAPTER XXIV</h2> + +<h3>THE LOST ARE FOUND</h3> + + +<p>"What does it mean?"</p> + +<p>"A boat at last!"</p> + +<p>"Human beings, anyhow!"</p> + +<p>Thus came the excited calls from those in the rowing craft, as it drifted +toward the hut on shore—a palm leaf hut that seemed crudely made. Russ +and Paul had ceased rowing at the sight of the motor boat, and now their +own craft was merely drifting.</p> + +<p>"Hurry up, there!" begged Alice. "There must be someone on shore who can +put us on the right path. Oh, what a relief!"</p> + +<p>"Isn't it!" agreed Ruth, with tears in her eyes. But they were tears of +joy, now.</p> + +<p>"This came in the nick of time," murmured Russ to Paul. "I was about +ready to give up."</p> + +<p>"Yes?" agreed Paul, half-questioningly. "And yet isn't it queer we don't +see some sign of life?" he asked, in a low voice. "We have made noise +enough, but no one has come out of that hut. And the hut itself doesn't +seem like a very permanent sort of residence; does it?"</p> + +<p>"Indeed it doesn't," spoke Russ. "But it may be one just put up for a +night or two by a hunter. Anyhow, we'll soon find out what it means, and +if anyone is there who can tell us which way to go."</p> + +<p>He and Paul resumed their rowing and a little later were close beside the +moored motor boat. It was a large craft, and well appointed, though now +it showed signs of being weather-beaten; it was scratched and marred. But +it seemed to be in good running order.</p> + +<p>"Ahoy there!" called Russ, as he made fast their own boat. "Ahoy in the +hut!"</p> + +<p>There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"Maybe they're asleep," suggested Ruth.</p> + +<p>"We can apologize for waking them up," said Alice. "Oh, to think we have +help at last!"</p> + +<p>Russ and Paul looked at each other. They were not quite so sure, now, in +view of the silence, that help was at hand.</p> + +<p>Still, the fact that the boat was tied showed that it had not merely +drifted to the spot. Some human agency must have been about at some time +or other.</p> + +<p>With Russ and Paul in the lead the little party made their way to the +palm leaf hut. It was ingeniously made—a glance showed that. A palm tree +had been taken for the centre pole, and about this had been tied layer +after layer of palm leaves, so laid as to shed the rain.</p> + +<p>The hut was circular, and at the outer edge of the roof poles had been +driven into the ground to support it. There was a small opening, which +necessitated stooping to enter, and this doorway, if such it could be +called, was covered by a sort of curtain of palm leaves, made in layers +and fastened together with withes and wild leaves, laced in and out.</p> + +<p>"Quite a piece of work!" commented Paul. "Now I wonder how one is to +knock at a palm leaf door?"</p> + +<p>"Don't knock—call," suggested Russ, and, raising his voice, he fairly +shouted:</p> + +<p>"Is anyone here?"</p> + +<p>There was no answer.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if it would be impolite to open the door, or the curtain, and +look in?" suggested Alice.</p> + +<p>"Under the circumstances—I think not," answered Mrs. Maguire. "We need +help, and this is the first sign we have seen of it."</p> + +<p>Russ stepped forward, and, after a moment of hesitation lifted the +curtain of palm leaves. The interior of the hut was rather dark, and, +for a moment he could see nothing.</p> + +<p>"Anyone there?" asked Paul.</p> + +<p>"Not a soul," was the disappointing reply. "It's empty."</p> + +<p>"Oh, dear!" sighed Alice.</p> + +<p>"What are we to do?" Ruth wanted to know.</p> + +<p>No one could answer her. Russ was busy making a more thorough examination +of the interior of the hut.</p> + +<p>"It's a good place to stay—if we have to," he said to Paul, who had +joined him inside.</p> + +<p>"And it looks as though we'd have to—eh?"</p> + +<p>"I'm afraid so."</p> + +<p>Russ fastened the palm curtain back and this let in more light. Then the +others came up, though there was not room for them all inside. The hut +would hold three comfortably—no more.</p> + +<p>"Who has been here?"</p> + +<p>"What sort of a hut is it?"</p> + +<p>"Has anyone been here lately?"</p> + +<p>Ruth, Alice, and Mrs. Maguire, in turn, asked these questions.</p> + +<p>"I don't know who has been here," said Russ, "but it's the sort of a hut +a native might build—possibly a Seminole Indian. Or some hunters may +have it to stay a few nights in a spot where they could get alligators, +or whatever game they were after. The fact that the boat is here seems +to show they haven't gone for good."</p> + +<p>"Oh, then they may come back!" cried Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Very likely to, I should say," spoke Russ. "We'll just stick around +until they do."</p> + +<p>"I hope they come back before dark," ventured Ruth, and her sister echoed +the wish.</p> + +<p>A closer examination of the hut showed two rude bunks, made of sticks, +raised slightly above the surface of the ground. The bunks were covered +with thick layers of Spanish moss, and were evidently far from being +uncomfortable. A few blankets showed that the occupants did not lack for +a little comfort.</p> + +<p>There were a few cooking utensils scattered about, and outside, the ashes +of a camp fire, made between stones—a sort of oven—showed how the meals +were prepared. But there was little evidence of food, save a few empty +tins.</p> + +<p>"There are evidently two persons staying here," observed Russ, as he +looked at a packing box, which served as a table, and noted two tin +plates, and two knives, forks and spoons. "It must be real jolly, camping +this way."</p> + +<p>"I'd rather have a tent," said Paul. "This palm leaf hut looks artistic, +and all that, but not very secure."</p> + +<p>"It's secure enough in good weather," declared Russ. "Well, I guess the +only thing to do is to wait until these folks come back. They won't +remain away all night, I hardly think."</p> + +<p>"But if they don't come back until dark, what shall we do?" asked Ruth. +"We can't stay out all night again."</p> + +<p>"We may have to," declared practical Alice.</p> + +<p>"That is so, and we may as well face the issue," said Russ, somewhat +gravely. "And now that we have found a sign of human beings, who can +possibly tell us which way to go to find the steamer, it would be foolish +to waste this chance. If we go off by ourselves again we may get farther +and farther away from the <i>Magnolia</i>."</p> + +<p>"That is so," agreed Paul. "I think we had better stay."</p> + +<p>"That's what I say!" exclaimed Mrs. Maguire. "It seems like company just +to look at that boat and the hut, and to know that someone has been here +lately, and will come back."</p> + +<p>"Oh, they'll be sure to come back," Russ said. "That's is too good a boat +to abandon. Why, it must be worth a thousand dollars."</p> + +<p>He and Paul went down to examine it, while the moving picture girls and +Mrs. Maguire looked about the hut.</p> + +<p>"It seems almost like home, after what we have been through," remarked +Ruth.</p> + +<p>"I wish there was something to eat here," said Alice, after a stroll +about the vicinity of the hut. "Whoever lives here must get their +supplies in from day to day, and eat them all up."</p> + +<p>"Or they may be out after supplies now," added Mrs. Maguire.</p> + +<p>The shadows were lengthening, but the sun was still bright, and it would +not be night for several hours. There was a period of anxious waiting.</p> + +<p>"I wonder if we hadn't better shout again, and fire a few shots?" +remarked Paul. "We may be near our own steamer now, though it doesn't +seem so. We might be in another country, for all we can tell."</p> + +<p>"I believe we will give a few signals," agreed Russ. "And I can spare a +couple of cartridges. I only wish I could see something worth eating to +shoot at. Then I could be killing two birds with one stone—giving a +signal and providing a meal."</p> + +<p>But there seemed no suitable mark for the weapon to be aimed at, and, +after they had united their voices in a chorus of calls, Russ fired +twice—at intervals.</p> + +<p>Then came a period of anxious waiting and silence.</p> + +<p>"Call once more," suggested Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, raising her hand to add to her injunction, for +Russ had been about to speak. "I heard something."</p> + +<p>They all listened intently.</p> + +<p>"There it is again!" whispered Alice.</p> + +<p>Unmistakably now they all heard voices calling—voices that increased in +intensity—coming nearer.</p> + +<p>"Oh, they've found us! They've found us!" half sobbed Ruth.</p> + +<p>"Call again, boys—I—I can't," faltered Alice.</p> + +<p>Russ and Paul shouted.</p> + +<p>Again came an unmistakable answer. Now was heard a crashing in the +underbrush that told of the approach of someone, and, a moment later +there came into view, on the far side of the clearing, where stood the +palm leaf hut, two girls, one with a gun over her shoulder, and the other +with a brace of birds hanging from her waist.</p> + +<p>The two girls stopped for a moment, and then, with joyful shouts, rushed +forward.</p> + +<p>As for our friends, they seemed paralyzed with astonishment. It was so +different from what they had expected. Then Alice found her voice, and +cried:</p> + +<p>"The two lost girls—we have found them!"</p> + + + +<hr /> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV" />CHAPTER XXV</h2> + +<h3>OUT OF THE WILDS</h3> + + +<p>For perhaps several seconds the two parties strangely met in that Florida +wild stood staring at one another. Then the two girls hurried forward, +and one of them exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"Oh, have you come for us?"</p> + +<p>"Not exactly, Miss Madison."</p> + +<p>"Oh—you—you know us?" gasped the other.</p> + +<p>"Certainly, Mabel," laughed Alice. "Don't you remember us—the moving +picture girls?"</p> + +<p>"Ruth—Alice DeVere!" came the simultaneous cry from the lost girls—now +the <i>found</i> girls. "Oh, how did you ever get here?" asked Helen Madison, +for it was really she and her sister. Alice had recognized them first, +and Ruth knew them a moment later.</p> + +<p>"We are lost, like yourselves," said Ruth. "Oh, but can you tell us where +our steamer is?"</p> + +<p>"Your steamer—no!" half-sobbed Mabel. "Oh, it is awful! We have been +lost a long time—it seems a month, but of course it isn't. We can't +find our way out of this wilderness. It is a labyrinth, and we dare not +go far from this hut for fear we shall never find it again. It has been +terrible. But if you are lost you cannot help us. What shall we do?"</p> + +<p>"Let us eat first," suggested Russ, practically. "You have some birds +there. I fancy you are as hungry as we are. We have some crackers and +coffee. We'll get up a meal and then decide what to do. Come, Paul, we're +the commissary department."</p> + +<p>"Oh, but we must hear your story!" cried Ruth to the lost girls, after +she had presented Mrs. Maguire and the boys. "We read about you in the +paper, and we heard of you from the hotel clerk in Sycamore."</p> + +<p>"There isn't much to tell," said Mabel. "We started off after wild +orchids. Well, we became lost, and in trying to find our way back we +wandered farther and farther into the swamp. We had our motor boat, as +you see, and quite a quantity of provisions, which was lucky for us. We +tried our best to get out, but could not.</p> + +<p>"Finally we found this spot—the hut was already here, built by alligator +hunters, very likely. We appropriated it, and the small quantity of food +it contained. Since then we have lived on that and what we could shoot. +Fortunately game was plentiful, but we have so longed for some bread and +coffee. I am dying for a cup."</p> + +<p>"Dinner will soon be served," laughed Russ, who, with Paul, was preparing +a rude meal, broiling the birds over a camp fire.</p> + +<p>"And now tell us about yourselves," suggested Mabel to Alice. "Oh! to +think of meeting you again this way," and she recalled the first meeting +in the train going to the New England backwoods.</p> + +<p>By degrees, and with each one telling a part, the story of the moving +picture players was related. They told how they had looked in vain for +their steamer. Mabel and Helen Madison also went more into details, +giving some of their trying experiences in the swamps and bayous.</p> + +<p>"But for days we have not tried to find our way from here," said Mabel. +"Our motor boat broke down, and we can't get it to go."</p> + +<p>"I fancy I can fix it," said Russ, "but the question is: Which way to go? +We may only get to a worse place."</p> + +<p>"Let us eat, anyhow," suggested Paul.</p> + +<p>It was not a very elaborate meal, but it put new heart and courage into +the lost ones.</p> + +<p>"We'll get back somehow—some time," declared Alice, who was now almost +her old self. "And then won't everybody be glad!"</p> + +<p>Night was coming on, but before the advent of darkness Russ had remedied +the defect in the motor boat. There was trouble with the ignition system, +and also with the carbureter.</p> + +<p>"Now we could go, if we knew which way to go," he said, as he tested the +craft.</p> + +<p>"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, suddenly.</p> + +<p>The sound of a cheerful whistle came through the screen of trees.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" gasped Ruth. "Who can it be?"</p> + +<p>She had her answer a moment later.</p> + +<p>Around a bend in the stream, rowing a battered boat, came an old colored +man. It was he who was making the melody. Cheerfully he whistled, and +more happily was he listened to.</p> + +<p>"Ahoy there, Uncle!" called Russ. "Can you tell us where we are, and +where the <i>Magnolia</i> is tied up?"</p> + +<p>The old colored man was so startled by the sudden hail, breaking in on +his whistling, that he nearly went overboard. He recovered himself, +however, and called out:</p> + +<p>"Whut—whut yo' all doin' at mah cabin?"</p> + +<p>"Is this your place, Uncle?" asked Russ.</p> + +<p>"It shore am. An'—an'—I bids yo' all welcome—I shore does, honey!" he +added quickly, remembering his hospitality.</p> + +<p>"We've made ourselves at home," said Mabel. "Oh, whoever you are, can you +show us the way out of this wilderness?"</p> + +<p>"Kin I show yo' all a way outen dish yeah woods? I shore kin, honey lamb! +I knows dish yeah place laik a book, even if I cain't read. Where all +does yo' all want t' go? Oh, wait a minute, though. Hole on! I done got +t' ax yo' all some questions. Hab yo' all seen any photographers round +'bout yeah?"</p> + +<p>"Photographers?" repeated Paul.</p> + +<p>"Yais, sah! I done passed a steamer yist'day, an' dey all on board was +monstrous peeved 'cause dey done lost der photographer. Yo' all know—he +takes dese pictures dat twinkle laik stars—yo' know, slidin' pictures, I +guess dey calls 'em."</p> + +<p>"Do you mean moving pictures?" asked Russ, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Uh, huh! Dat's what I means, honey. All on board dish yeah steamer was +pow'ful worried case de moving picture man an' some oders got lost. Yo' +all didn't see 'em; did yo' all?"</p> + +<p>"We're them!" cried Alice, with a justifiable disregard of grammar.</p> + +<p>"And can you take us to that steamer?" asked Ruth, eagerly.</p> + +<p>"I shore can, honey lamb; but it's quite a far way t' row t'night."</p> + +<p>"We can go in the motor boat!" cried Mabel. "Oh, how glad I am that we +have it. There's gasoline enough, I think, and there is a powerful +searchlight. Oh, Helen, we're found—we're found!" and she fell to +sobbing on her sister's shoulder.</p> + +<p>Ruth and Alice, too, clasped their arms about each other. All their +troubles seemed over now.</p> + +<p>"Do you think you can pilot us to that steamer?" asked Russ.</p> + +<p>"I shore can, honey lamb!" chuckled the old negro. "I'se libbed in dese +waters boy an' man all mah life. Yo' can't lose me!"</p> + +<p>"And is this your place?" asked Mrs. Maguire, pointing to the palm hut.</p> + +<p>"Dat's what it am, honey lamb. Uh, huh! I comes heah t' hunt alligators +an' sea cows. Sometimes I stays fer a week at a time. I jest come up now +t' see if dere any traces of 'gators. I'se gwine t' start in huntin' next +week."</p> + +<p>"Oh, isn't he a dear!" laughed Alice, with tears of joy in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Well, I guess you can postpone your investigation for a while," +suggested Russ. "It's getting dark, Uncle, and we'd like to get back to +the steamer. Now, if you'll pilot us we'll pay you well, and see that +you get back in the morning. You can stay on the <i>Magnolia</i> to-night—if +we find her."</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll find her, all right—don't yo' all let dat fret yo'!" chuckled +the negro. "I knows jest where's she tied. It's a few miles from heah, +but in dat choo-choo boat yo' all kin soon be dere."</p> + +<p>Leaving his own boat on shore the colored man got into the motor boat +with the others. The rowboat from the steamer was towed, and in it were +left the rugs, blankets, moving picture camera and other things.</p> + +<p>The two Madison sisters brought away with them a box of rare orchid +specimens, the results of their search.</p> + +<p>"I wish I could get a moving picture of this; but I can't," sighed Russ, +as the motor boat started off in the twilight. Soon it became so dark +that the searchlight was set aglow, and this gave a fine illumination.</p> + +<p>But Uncle Joshua, which the negro said was his only name, seemed to need +no light. In and out among the creeks, rivers, and bayous he directed +Russ to steer, until finally, making a turn in a stream, there burst out +on the eager eyes of the refugees the lights of the steamer.</p> + +<p>"<i>Magnolia</i> ahoy!"</p> + +<p>"Here we are!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Daddy, Daddy!"</p> + +<p>"On board the <i>Magnolia</i>!"</p> + +<p>Such joyful shouts as there were, and such joyful answers!</p> + +<p>And then—but I leave you to imagine the scene aboard the steamer when +the lost ones stepped out of the motor launch. Mr. DeVere, who was in a +state of collapse through fear for his daughters, nearly fainted from +joy, but he soon was himself again. And as for Tommy and Nellie, it is a +wonder their grandmother was able to stand all the hugging and kissing +they gave her.</p> + +<p>As for the other members of the picture company, they rejoiced to the +extent of tears, and even Mr. Sneed whistled cheerfully.</p> + +<p>Mabel and Helen Madison were really in need of food and rest, for they +had fared worse than our friends, having been lost so long, and suffering +so from exposure. They were put to bed, and ordered to rest, the +assurance being given that early in the morning the start would be made +for their home in Sycamore.</p> + +<p>And then such a talking time as there was! It was almost morning before +anyone thought of bed.</p> + +<p>"And all the while we were only a comparatively short distance from +here," said Russ, when everything had been explained. But the dense woods +and the winding waterways were as effective a barrier as many miles would +have been.</p> + +<p>"It's lucky Uncle Joshua came along," commented Alice, and there was no +dissent from this.</p> + +<p>"I declare, we seem to be getting into more and more strenuous +adventures, the more moving picture business we do," said Ruth. "But I +think this is about the end."</p> + +<p>"Indeed it isn't!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I don't want to crowd you too +much, but I have an idea for some new moving pictures, and I'd like to +keep this whole company together."</p> + +<p>"Where this time?" Alice asked.</p> + +<p>"Out West," was the answer. "I am planning a big drama, to be called +'East and West,' and I think it will be our best effort."</p> + +<p>"Out West," said Ruth, softly. "I wonder what will happen to us out +there?"</p> + +<p>And the answer may be found by reading the next book of this series, to +be entitled "The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch; Or, Great Days +Among the Cowboys."</p> + +<p>The day following the finding of the lost girls the <i>Magnolia</i> started +back for Sycamore. It was reached without accident, or incident of +moment, and how the whole town rejoiced when it was known that the two +Madison girls were aboard the boat! There was a veritable holiday.</p> + +<p>The moving picture girls, too, came in for their share of attention, and +had Uncle Joshua been there he probably would have been one of the +centres of attraction. But, after being suitably rewarded, he went back +to his palm hut, which had served the lost girls so well.</p> + +<p>Russ made a few more films, to complete the set wanted, and then came a +packing-up for the return to New York. Before that, however, Mr. Madison +insisted on being the host to the entire company at a garden fete in +honor of his daughters' safe return.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but it was lovely under the palms, even if we did get lost," said +Alice, as they started on their northward journey.</p> + +<p>"Indeed it was," agreed Ruth. "I wonder if we will like the West as +well."</p> + +<p>"Better!" predicted Russ.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to be a cowboy!" declared Paul.</p> + +<p>And now we will take leave of the Moving Picture Girls and their friends.</p> + +<h3>THE END</h3> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moving Picture Girls Under the +Palms, by Laura Lee Hope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + +***** This file should be named 17118-h.htm or 17118-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/1/1/17118/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Moving Picture Girls Under the Palms + Or Lost in the Wilds of Florida + +Author: Laura Lee Hope + +Release Date: November 20, 2005 [EBook #17118] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + +The +Moving Picture Girls +Under the Palms + +OR + +Lost in the Wilds of Florida + + +BY + +LAURA LEE HOPE + +AUTHOR OF "THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS," "THE MOVING PICTURE +GIRLS AT OAK FARM," "THE BOBBSEY TWINS SERIES," +"THE OUTDOOR GIRLS SERIES," ETC. + + + + +_ILLUSTRATED_ + + +THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. +CLEVELAND NEW YORK + + +Made in U.S.A. + + +Copyright, 1914, by +GROSSET & DUNLAP + + +PRESS OF +THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. +CLEVELAND + + + + +CONTENTS + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I Overboard 1 + + II To the Rescue 11 + + III A Disquieting Item 18 + + IV Fire on Board 28 + + V Disabled 37 + + VI By Wireless 46 + + VII In Port 54 + + VIII St. Augustine 63 + + IX In the Dungeon 70 + + X The Motor Races 80 + + XI On to Lake Kissimmee 88 + + XII A Warning 96 + + XIII Out in the Boat 104 + + XIV Under the Palms 113 + + XV In Peril 119 + + XVI A Strange Attack 129 + + XVII Out of a Tree 139 + + XVIII The Animated Logs 147 + + XIX Into the Wilds 157 + + XX Lost 164 + + XXI The Long Night 172 + + XXII Ashore 180 + + XXIII The Palm Hut 186 + + XXIV The Lost Are Found 195 + + XXV Out of the Wilds 203 + + + + +CHAPTER I + +OVERBOARD + + +"All ready now! In position, everyone!" + +Half a score of actors and actresses moved quickly to their appointed +places, while overhead, and at the sides of them hissed powerful electric +lights, and in front of them stood a moving picture camera, ready to be +operated by a pleasant-faced young man. + +"Ready?" came in questioning tones from Mr. Pertell, the stage director, +as he looked sharply from one to the other. + +A tall, well-built man, with iron-gray hair, nodded, but did not speak. + +"Let her go, Russ!" Mr. Pertell exclaimed. + +"Vait! Vait a minute!" called one of the actors, with a pronounced German +accent. + +"Well, what's the matter now, Mr. Switzer?" asked the director, with a +touch of impatience. + +"I haf forgotten der imbortant babers dot I haf to offer mine enemy in +dis play. I must have der babers." + +"Gracious, I should say so!" said the manager. "Where's Pop Snooks?" and +he looked around for the property man, who had to produce on short notice +anything from a ten-ton safe to a hairpin. + +"Hi, Pop!" called Mr. Pertell. "Make up a bundle of important, +legal-looking papers, with seals on. Mr. Switzer has to use 'em in this +play. I forgot to tell you." + +"Have 'em for you right away!" cried the property man, and a little later +Mr. Switzer had his "babers." + +"I guess we're all right now. Start up, Russ," ordered the stage +director, who was also the manager of the troupe. + +"That was a mistake on the part of Mr. Pertell; wasn't it, Ruth?" asked +one of the young actresses--a pretty girl--of her sister, who stood near +her in the mimic scene. + +"Yes, indeed, Alice. But it isn't often he makes one." + +"No, indeed. Oh, we mustn't talk any more. I see him looking at us." + +"Begin!" called the manager, sharply, and the play proceeded, while the +young moving picture operator clicked away at the handle of his camera, +the long strip of film moving behind the lens with a whirring sound, and +registering views of the pantomime of the actors and actresses at the +rate of sixteen a second. + +The above was done several times a day in the New York studio of the +Comet Film Company, which was engaged in making moving pictures. + +The play went on through the various acts. Only part of it was being +"filmed" now--the interior scenes. Later, others would be taken outdoors. + +"Time out--hold your positions!" suddenly exclaimed the operator. "Film's +broken. I've got to mend it." + +Everyone came to a standstill at that. In a few seconds the damage was +repaired, and the play went on. It was, in the main, a "parlor" drama, +and there were to be only a few outdoor scenes. + +"That will do for the present," said Mr. Pertell. "You may all take a +rest now. This will be our last New York play for some time--that is, +after we get the outdoor scenes for this." + +"Where are we going next?" asked the elderly actor before mentioned. He +spoke in very hoarse voice, and it was evident that he had some throat +affection. In fact, it was the ailment which had forced him to give up +acting in the "legitimate," and take to the "movies." + +"We are going to Florida--the land of the palms!" announced the manager. +"You know I spoke of tentative plans for a drama down there when we were +in the backwoods. Now I have everything arranged, and we will leave on a +steamer for St. Augustine one week from to-day." + +"Hurrah for Florida!" exclaimed a young actor, with a strikingly +good-looking face. "There's where I've always wanted to go." + +"So have I!" exclaimed a young girl who stood near him,--a girl with +merry, brown eyes. "Will you take me out after oranges, Paul?" she asked, +mischievously. + +"Certainly, Alice," he answered. + +"Why don't you say orange blossoms while you're about it?" inquired +another actress, with a pert manner. + +Alice blushed, and her sister Ruth looked sharply at Miss Laura Dixon, +who had made the rather pointed remark. + +"I'm willing to make it orange blossoms!" laughed the young fellow. "That +is, if they're in season." + +"Ah, stop all this nonsense!" exclaimed Alice. "I want to ask Mr. Pertell +a lot of questions about where we're going, and all that. Oh, to think we +are really going to Florida!" + +"Yes, we are all going," went on Mr. Pertell. "I think--" + +"One moment, if you please!" interrupted a middle-aged actor whose face +seemed to indicate that he lived more on vinegar than on the milk of +human kindness. "We are not _all_ going, if you please, Mr. Pertell." + +"Who is not going, Mr. Sneed, pray?" the manager wanted to know. + +"I, for one. I have gone through many hardships and dangers acting in +moving pictures for you, but I draw the line at Florida." + +"Why, I think it's perfectly lovely there!" exclaimed Miss Pearl +Pennington, a chum of Miss Dixon. + +"Do you call alligators lovely?" asked Mr. Pepper Sneed, who was known as +"the actor with the grouch." He was always finding fault. "Lovely +alligators!" he sneered. "If you want to go to Florida, and be eaten by +an alligator--go. I'll not!" + +Some of the younger members of the company looked rather serious at this. +They had not counted on alligators. + +"Now look here!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell. "That's all nonsense. We are +going where there are no alligators; but I'll pay anyone who is injured +in the slightest by one of the saurians a thousand dollars!" + +"Then I'll go!" cried Mr. Sneed, who was rather "close," and fond of +money. "But I'm not going to stand a very big bite for that sum!" he +stipulated, while the others laughed. + +"I'll grade the payments according to the bites, at the rate of a +thousand dollars a big bite," declared the manager, also laughing. + +"Now then, you may make your plans accordingly. As I said, we leave by +steamer for St. Augustine by way of Jacksonville this day week." + +"And will all the scenes be taken in St. Augustine?" asked one of the +company. + +"No, we shall go into the interior. I expect we may go to a place near +Lake Kissimmee, and there--" + +"Lake Kissimmee!" exclaimed Alice DeVere, in surprise. + +"What about it?" asked Mr. Pertell. "Are you afraid to go there?" + +"No, but two girls whom we met on the train going to Deerfield, when we +were preparing to make the ice and snow dramas, were going to a place +near there. We may meet them." + +"That's so!" agreed Ruth. + +"I hope you will," went on Mr. Pertell. "Lake Kissimmee, however, is only +one of the interior places we shall touch. I will tell you more detailed +plans later." + +"I--ah--er--presume we shall have a little time to--er--see the sights of +St. Augustine; will we not?" asked one of the actors, in affected, +drawling tones. + +"Oh, yes, plenty of time, Mr. Towne," answered Mr. Pertell. Claude Towne +was a new member of the company, rather a "dudish" sort of chap, and not, +as yet, very well liked. He dressed in what he considered the "height of +fashion." + +The week that followed was a busy one for every member of the Comet Film +Company. Not that they were required to do much acting in front of the +camera; for, after the outdoor scenes in connection with the current +play were made, Russ Dalwood, the operator, packed up his belongings +ready for the Florida trip. + +The others were doing the same thing, and Mr. Pertell was kept busy +arranging for transportation, and hotel accommodations, and for the +taking care of such films as he would send back from the interior of +Florida, since none would be developed there. This work would have to be +done, and positives printed for the projecting machines, in New York. +This custom was generally followed when the company went out of town. + +"Well, are we all here?" asked Mr. Pertell one morning as he reached the +steamer, which lay at her dock in New York, ready for the trip to the +land of the palms. + +"I think so," answered Russ, who had with him a small moving picture +camera. He had an idea he might see something that would make a good +film. + +"No one missing?" went on the manager. "That's good. Oh, by the way, did +Mr. Towne arrive? He 'phoned to me that he might be a little late." + +"Yes, he's here," answered Russ. "The last I saw of him he was looking in +a mirror, arranging his necktie." + +"Humph! He's too fond of dress," commented the manager, "but he does well +in certain society parts, and that's why I keep him." + +The confusion of the passengers and late freight coming aboard gradually +grew less. Whistles sounded their bass notes, and gongs clanged. + +"All ashore that's goin' ashore!" came the warning cry, and there was a +hurried departure of those who had come to see friends or relatives off +on the voyage. + +The moving picture company were gathered together in one place on the +deck, and they waved to other members of the company who were not to +make the trip, for Mr. Pertell employed a large number of actors, and +only a comparatively few of them were going to Florida. The others would +continue to work in New York. + +The steamer moved slowly away from the dock, in charge of a fussy tug, +but presently she began forging ahead under her own steam, moving slowly +at first. Soon, however, the vessel was well down the harbor. + +Alice and Ruth DeVere, with Russ Dalwood and Paul Ardite, were standing +amidships, on the port side, looking down into the water. A little in +advance of them stood Mr. Towne and Miss Pennington. The latter had been +much in the new actor's company of late. + +"They seem quite interested in each other," remarked Russ, in a low tone. + +"Yes, they have something in common," added Alice--"a love of good +clothes." + +"I like nice things myself," put in Ruth, straightening a bow she wore. +"You shouldn't say such things, Alice." + +"Oh, but you like them in the right way--so do I, for that matter. But I +don't go to the extremes they do, and neither do you." + +"Hush! They'll hear you," cautioned her sister, for Alice was very +impulsive at times. + +Indeed the dudish actor and Miss Pennington were glancing rather +curiously in the direction of our friends. Then Miss Dixon came along, +whispering something that caused the other to laugh. + +"Fawncy that now! Only fawncy!" exclaimed Mr. Towne, in his exaggerated +English drawl. "That's a good joke--on them!" + +"I wonder if they mean us?" spoke Paul. "If I thought so I'd go ask them +what the joke was, so we could laugh, too." + +"Oh, don't," begged Ruth, who disliked "scenes." + +The mirth of Miss Dixon and Miss Pennington seemed to increase rather +than diminish, and Mr. Towne was now fairly roaring with merriment. He +laughed so hard, in fact, that he coughed, and leaned back against the +rail for support. + +And then something happened. Just how no one could explain, but Mr. Towne +went overboard, his arms and legs wildly waving, and his cane flying far +out into the river. He struck the water with a splash, just as one of the +deckhands yelled: + +"Man overboard!" + + + + +CHAPTER II + +TO THE RESCUE + + +"Lower a boat!" + +"Throw him a life preserver!" + +"Stop the ship!" + +Wild and excited were the cries that followed the accident. Russ and Paul +were among the first to act, the former getting a life preserver from one +of the racks, while Paul caught up one of the round, white life rings and +tossed it far out toward a commotion in the water that indicated where +Mr. Towne had disappeared. They had to throw the articles toward the +stern of the steamer, as she was in motion, and Mr. Towne was soon some +distance astern. + +"Stop the ship!" repeated scores of voices, when the nature of the +accident was understood. + +Discipline and boat drill were at a high state of perfection aboard the +steamer, and soon, with a warning blast of her whistle, the craft +trembled under the power of her reversed engines. + +"Lower away a boat! Smartly, men!" called one of the officers, as he ran +up to the davits whence hung a life-boat. + +And while preparations are under way to rescue the unfortunate actor, may +I take just a few moments to acquaint my new readers with something of +the former books of this series? + +The initial volume was entitled "The Moving Picture Girls; Or, First +Appearances in Photo Dramas." In that was related how Hosmer DeVere, a +talented actor, suddenly lost his voice, through the return of a former +throat ailment. He was unable to go in his part in a legitimate drama, +and, through the suggestion of Russ Dalwood, who lived in the same +apartment house with the DeVeres, in New York, Mr. DeVere took up moving +picture acting. + +His two daughters, Ruth, aged seventeen, and Alice, aged fifteen, also +became engaged in the work, and later they were instrumental in doing +Russ Dalwood a great service in connection with a valuable patent he had +evolved for a moving picture machine. + +The second volume was called "The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm; Or, +Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays." In that book was told how the +acquaintance was made of Sandy Apgar, who ran a farm in New Jersey. As +Mr. Pertell was looking for some country scenes to use in connection +with his moving picture dramas, he took his entire company out to Oak +Farm, hiring it from the Apgars. + +A curious mystery was solved by the girls, and other members of the +company--a mystery that involved the happiness of the old couple who +owned Oak Farm, but were on the verge of losing it. + +"The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound; Or, The Proof on the Film," was the +title of the third book. As its name indicates, the girls and other +members of the company were really snowbound. After the summer at Oak +Farm, and the fall spent in New York, Mr. Pertell decided to make some +dramas in the backwoods of New England, where there was much snow and +ice. And for a time there was almost too much snow, for Elk Lodge, where +the company of players was housed, was almost buried by a blizzard. + +Before going to the backwoods, Mr. DeVere had been much annoyed, and +alarmed, by an unjust demand, and how a certain illegal suit against an +electric car company was called off, through a discovery made by Ruth and +Alice, you may read of in the book. + +Russ got "the proof on the film" and when this moving picture was shown +privately it caused Dan Merley's lawyer to say: + +"You win! We are beaten!" And Mr. DeVere was at ease after that. + +Many beautiful films were made at Elk Lodge, and some wonderful pictures +of snow and ice scenes resulted from the trip to the backwoods. Then the +company returned to New York, and now we find them _en route_ for +Florida, when the accident to Mr. Towne occurred. + +Mr. DeVere and his two daughters lived in the Fenmore Apartment house, in +New York City. Across the hall lived Mrs. Sarah Dalwood, and her sons, +Russ and Billy, the latter aged about twelve. The Dalwoods and the +DeVeres became very friendly, and Russ thought there never was a girl +like Ruth. Paul Ardite, the younger leading man of the Comet Film +Company, thought the same thing of Alice. + +Frank Pertell was the manager and chief owner of the film company. He had +a large studio in New York, where all indoor scenes of the plays were +enacted, and where the films were made for rental to the various chains +of moving picture theaters throughout the country. + +He engaged many actors and actresses, but only the principal ones with +whom the stories are concerned will be recounted. + +Wellington Bunn and Pepper Sneed were the ones who made the most trouble +for the manager. Mr. Bunn was an former Shakespearean actor. With his +tall hat and frock coat--which costume he was seldom without--Mr. Bunn +was a typical tragedian of the old school. + +Mr. Sneed was different. He had no particular ambition toward stardom, +but he disliked hard work, and he was rather superstitious. Then, too, he +was always looking for trouble and often finding it. In short, he was the +"grouch" of the company. + +Mrs. Margaret Maguire was a motherly member of the troupe. She played +"old woman" parts with real feeling, perhaps the more so as her two +grandchildren, Tommy and Nellie, were dependent upon her. The youngsters +usually went with the company, and were taken on the Florida trip. +Occasionally they acted small parts. + +Carl Switzer was the German comedian, and was a first-rate actor in his +line. His jollity proved an offset to the gloom of Mr. Sneed. + +Pop Snooks, the efficient property man, has already been mentioned. His +work was easier when the company was on the road, as there the natural +scenery was depended on to a great extent. + +Pearl Pennington and Laura Dixon were former vaudeville actresses who had +gone into the "movies." Some said it was because they failed to longer +draw on the stage. Whether or not this was so, it was certain that the +two had very large ideas of their own abilities. They cared little for +Ruth and Alice, and the latter had few interests in common with Miss +Pennington and Miss Dixon. Paul Ardite has been mentioned. With the +exception of Mr. Towne the players had been associated together for some +time. + +But, just at present Mr. Towne was "disassociated" from the others. + +"Oh, can you see him?" cried Ruth, as she clung to Alice. "I--I can't +bear to look!" + +"Of course I can see him!" Alice returned. "He's trying to swim. Oh, he +has grabbed the life ring!" + +"That will keep him up," spoke Paul. "Are they lowering the boat?" + +"There she goes!" cried Russ. "Ha! I've got an idea. I'll film this, and +Mr. Pertell may be able to use it in some drama." + +He hurried to where he had set down the small moving picture camera, and +while the boat was being lowered by the sailors Russ got views of that. + +Then he moved closer to the rail, and took more views as the small craft +was sent away under the force of the sturdy arms of the rowers. + +"This will be great!" Russ cried. + +"Oh, but it seems so cold-blooded!" murmured Ruth. "To take a picture of +a drowning man." + +"I don't think he is drowning," Paul observed. "He has the ring, and that +will keep him up until the boat reaches him. They are almost to him, and +he seems able to swim well." + +"That's good," declared Alice. She had not turned her head away as had +her sister. In fact, in spite of being two years younger than Ruth, Alice +often showed more spirit. She was of an impulsive nature, and Mr. DeVere +used to say she was very like her dead mother. Ruth was tall and fair, +and of a romantic nature. Alice was more practical. + +"There! They've got him!" cried Paul, as the boat came up to the actor in +the water. + +"That's good!" sighed Ruth. "Oh, I was _so_ alarmed. I think I will go +below, Alice, when they bring him on deck." + +"You don't need to," said her sister. "He's probably all right, except +that his fine clothes are spoiled." + +"That's so!" chuckled Russ, who was industriously grinding away at the +handle of the camera. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +A DISQUIETING ITEM + + +"Man the falls!" + +This order was given by one of the officers as the boat containing the +rescued actor came close to the ship's side. The sailors stood ready to +hoist the boat to the davits again, when the tackle blocks should have +been made fast by the hooks to the ring bolts at bow and stern. + +"Best chance I ever had to get a rescue picture," remarked Russ, as he +reeled away at the film. + +The young operator even managed to get in a favorable position, and take +views as the blocks were being made fast to the boat. Then, as it was +hoisted up, he pictured that. + +"Is he all right?" asked Mr. Pertell of the sailors in the boat, when the +craft was raised to the level of the rail. + +"Aye, aye, sir," answered the steersman. "Only a bit wet." + +But Mr. Towne was more than a bit wet. He was completely soaked, and a +more bedraggled-looking specimen of humanity would be hard to find. + +"Oh, the poor man!" exclaimed Ruth, who had thought better of her +determination to go below. + +"It's his own fault," snapped Miss Pennington. "He should not have +carried on so." + +"Well, it was partly our fault," interposed Miss Dixon, who was perhaps +more just. "We were laughing with him." + +"Don't go too close!" cautioned Miss Pennington, as she saw her friend +advancing toward the group of sailors, and others who surrounded the +rescue party. They were helping Mr. Towne out of the boat. + +"Why shouldn't I go close?" Laura wanted to know. + +"You might get your dress wet. Mine spots terribly." + +"Oh, so does mine. I forgot; and sea water stains so badly!" + +So the two actresses drew away. + +"There, I guess that will do," remarked Russ, as he saw that there was no +more film left in the camera. "Now, Mr. Pertell, you'll have to get some +story written around these scenes. Add more to them, and you'll have a +good reel." + +"I'll do it, Russ. I'm glad you were here to take them, so long as it did +not turn out seriously." + +"Do you--er--ah--mean to say that you _filmed_ me?" demanded the dudish +actor, who had overheard this colloquy. + +"I got some pictures of you--yes," admitted Russ. "I couldn't resist the +temptation." + +"I demand that those pictures be destroyed!" cried Mr. Towne, who seemed +to have recovered rapidly from his unexpected bath. + +"What for?" asked Mr. Pertell, in surprise. "I haven't seen them, of +course--can't until they're developed, and that won't be for some time. +But I should say the rescue pictures would make a fine film." + +"But I want it burned up. I won't have it shown!" insisted Mr. Towne. + +"Why not?" + +"Do you suppose for one instant--er, ah--that I am going to let the +public see me like this?" and Mr. Towne glanced at his wet and dripping +garments--garments that, but a short time ago, had been a walking +testimonial of the tailor's art. Now they were wet and misshapen. + +"Why, you can't expect a man who has just been rescued from New York Bay +to look as though he came out of a band-box; can you, dear man?" asked +Mr. Pertell. "Of course you look wet--the public will expect to see you +wet--dripping with water, in fact. Water always comes out well in the +movies, anyhow. Of course the public wants to see you wet!" + +"But I don't want them to!" protested the actor. "I have never been shown +in pictures except when I was well dressed, and I do not propose to begin +now. I will pose for you as soon as I get dry clothes on, but not +in--these!" and he made a despairing motion toward his ruined garments. + +"Oh, you are too fussy!" laughed Mr. Pertell. "Those pictures will have +to go. The scene was too good to spoil, as long as you were not drowned." + +"I was in no danger of drowning," returned Mr. Towne, coldly. "I am a +good swimmer. I was taken by surprise, that is all." + +"Well, it made good pictures," declared the manager, indifferently. + +"Too bad I couldn't get you just as you went overboard!" sighed Russ. "I +was taken by surprise, too; but I did the best I could. We can have you +do that part over." + +"Never!" cried Mr. Towne, angrily. "I will never be seen in an +undignified position again, nor in clothes that have not been freshly +pressed," and he stalked away toward his stateroom. + +"I can sympathize with you, my dear fellow," murmured Mr. Bunn, who was +as careful of his dignity, in a way, as was the other. "They have made me +do the most idiotic things in some of the dramas," the older man went on. +"I have had to play fireman, and ride in donkey carts, slide down hill +and all such foolishness--all to the great detriment of my dignity." + +"Yes, this moving picture business is horrid," agreed Mr. Towne, who was +dripping water at every step. "But what is a chap to do? I tried the +other sort of drama--on the stage, you know; but I did not seem to have +the temperament for it." + +"Ah, would that I were back again, treading the boards in my beloved +Shakespeare, instead of in this miserable moving picture acting," sighed +the tragedian. + +The excitement caused by the mishap to Mr. Towne soon subsided. The +steamer got on her way again, once the small boat had been hoisted up, +and several tugs and motor craft that had gathered to give aid, if +needed, went on their courses. + +"Well, that's something for a start," remarked Alice, as she walked the +deck with Ruth. + +"Yes, I knew something would happen," spoke Mr. Sneed, gloomily. "I felt +it coming." + +"How could you?" asked Paul, winking at Russ. + +"Because to-day is Friday. Something always happens on Friday." + +"Yes, we generally have fish for dinner," remarked Russ, with a twinkle +in his eyes. + +"You may laugh," sneered the gloomy actor, "but the day is not over yet. +I am sure that something else will happen. The ship may sink before it +gets to Florida." + +"Oh!" cried Ruth. + +"Don't be silly!" laughed Alice, while Russ gave Mr. Sneed a meaning look +and remarked in a low voice: + +"That's enough of such talk, old man. It gets on the girls' nerves. Why +can't you be cheerful?" + +"I never am--on Friday," grumbled Mr. Sneed. + +"No, and on very few other days," commented Russ, as he went below to +take the film out of his camera in readiness to ship it back to New York +for development. + +Ruth and Alice had done much traveling with their father when he was +engaged in the legitimate drama, for he was with a number of road +companies, that went from place to place. Water journeys were, however, +rather a novelty to them, and now that the excitement of the rescue was +over they went about the ship, looking at the various sights. + +The _Tarsus_ was not a big vessel, but it was a new and substantial craft +engaged in the coast trade. A fairly large passenger list was carried +and, as this was the winter season, many tourists were heading for the +sunny South--the warm beaches of the coast, or the interior where the +palms waved their graceful branches in the orange-scented breezes. + +"How is your throat, Daddy?" asked Ruth, as Mr. DeVere joined his +daughters in a stroll about the deck. + +"Much better, I think," he said. His voice was always hoarse now, totally +unlike the vibrant tones in which he was used to speak his lines. "The +pain seems less. I have hopes that the warm air of Florida may improve, +and even cure it, in connection with the medicine I am taking." + +"Oh, wouldn't that be just great!" cried Alice, as she clasped her arms +about his neck. "Perhaps you could go back to the real theaters then, +Daddy." + +"I might," he replied with a smile at her; "but I do not know that I +would. I am beginning to like this silent 'drama.' It is a rest from the +hard work we old actors used to have to do. There is much less strain. +And if I went back to the legitimate, I would have to take you with me," +he added. + +"Never, Daddy!" cried the younger girl. "I am going to remain with the +'movies'! I would be lost without them." + +"Assuredly, they have been a great blessing to us," observed Ruth, +quietly. "I do not know what we would have done without them, when you +were stricken the second time," and she looked fondly at her father. She +thought of the dark days, not so far back, when troubles seemed +multiplying, when there was no money, and when debts pressed. Now all +seemed sunshine. + +"Yes, it would be a poor return to the movies, to desert them after all +they did for us," agreed Mr. DeVere. "That is, as long as they care for +us--those audiences who sit in the dark and watch us play our little +parts on the lighted canvas. A queer proceeding--very queer. + +"I little dreamed when I first took up the profession immortalized by +Shakespeare, that I would be playing to persons whom I could not see. But +it is certainly a wonderful advance." + +Down the bay, out through the Narrows and so on out to sea passed the +_Tarsus_, carrying the moving picture players. The day was cold, and a +storm threatened, but soon the frigid winter of the North would be left +behind. This was a comforting thought to all, though Alice declared that +she liked cold weather best. + +Mr. Towne came up on deck, again faultlessly attired. His unexpected bath +had not harmed him, in spite of the fact that it was cold, for he had at +once taken warm drinks, and been put to bed, for a time, in hot blankets. + +He could talk of nothing, however, save the fact that he was to be shown +in the wet clothing he so despised. + +"It is a shame!" he declared. "If I could find that film I would destroy +it myself." + +"It is safely put away," laughed Russ. + +The day passed, and evening came. On through the darkness forged the +_Tarsus_, while about her were the flashing beams from lighthouses, or +the bobbing signal lamps from other ships. + +Ruth and Alice were in their stateroom, talking together before retiring. +Alice had that day's paper and was idly glancing over it. She yawned +sleepily, when an item suddenly caught her eye. + +"Oh, dear!" she exclaimed. "That must be dreadful!" + +"What is it?" asked Ruth, who was letting down her long hair. + +"Why here's an item from some place in Florida. It says that two girls +went out in a motor boat, to gather specimens of rare swamp flowers, and +have not been heard of since. It is feared they may have been upset and +drowned, or that alligators attacked them. Oh, how dreadful!" + +"Don't let Mr. Sneed hear about that," cautioned Ruth. "Where in Florida +was it?" + +"The item is dated from Winterhaven, but it says that the girls started +from some place near Lake Kissimmee." + +"Oh!" cried Ruth, pausing with the comb half way through a thick strand +of hair, "suppose it should be those two girls we met?" + +"I don't imagine it could be," reasoned Alice. "They did not look like +girls who would be bold enough to go off after swamp blooms. But think of +the poor girls, whoever they are, out all alone at night, with maybe +alligators around their boat! Oh, I hope we don't have to go too far into +the wilds." + +"We may," remarked Ruth, uneasily, as she reached for the paper to read +for herself the disquieting item. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +FIRE ON BOARD + + +Ruth sat for some moments in silence after she had read in the paper the +short account of the missing girls. She had come to a pause in arranging +her luxuriant hair for the night and, with it only half combed, leaned +back in the small chair the stateroom afforded. Alice was reclining on +her berth. + +"Does it worry you, Ruth?" the younger girl finally asked. + +"A little, yes." Ruth was unusually quiet, and there was a far-away look +in her deep blue eyes. + +"Oh, don't take it so seriously," rallied Alice, in her vivacious way, +though at first she, too, had been affected by what she read. + +"But it is serious." + +"Oh, it may be only one of those 'newspaper yarns,' as Russ calls them." + +"Alice, your language, of late--" + +"There, sister mine! Please don't scold--or lecture. I'm too sleepy," and +she finished with a yawn that showed all her white, even teeth. + +"I'm not scolding, my dear, but you know I must look after you in a way, +and--" + +"Look after yourself, my dear. With your hair down that way, and that +sweet and innocent look on your face, and in your eyes--you are much more +in need of looking after than I. Someone is sure to fall in love with +you, and then--" + +"Alice, if you--" + +"Don't throw that hair brush at me!" and the younger girl covered herself +with a quilt, in simulated fear. "I--I didn't mean it. I'll be good!" and +she shook with laughter. + +Ruth could not but smile, though the serious look did not leave her face. +She was very like her father. The least little matter out of the ordinary +affected him, and usually on the sad, instead of on the "glad" side. He, +like Ruth, was of a romantic type, inclined to anticipate too much. Alice +was more matter of fact, not to say frivolous, though she could be very +sensible at times. + +"Well, I suppose we must go to bed," sighed Ruth at length. "But I'm +afraid I sha'n't sleep." + +"On account of thinking of those girls?" + +"Yes, just imagine them out all alone in some dismal swamp, perhaps, +without a light, hungry--afraid of every sound--" + +"Please stop! You're getting on my nerves." + +"I didn't mean to, my dear," was the gentle answer. + +"I know you didn't, and it was mean of me to talk that way," and a plump, +bare arm stole around the other's neck, while a hand was run through the +golden hair. "But, don't let's think so much about them. Perhaps they are +not those two girls we met, after all." + +"Oh, I don't believe they can be," Ruth agreed. "That would be too much +of a coincidence. But they are two girls--" + +"Not necessarily. Maybe it's only an unfounded rumor. Russ says newspaper +men often 'plant' a story like this off in some obscure place, and then +use it as the basis for one of those lurid stories in the Sunday +supplements. + +"I shouldn't wonder a bit but what this was one of those cases. So, +sister mine, go to sleep in peace, and in the morning you'll have +forgotten all about it. Only don't let's tell any one, for some of the +company, like Mr. Sneed, might make trouble for Mr. Pertell, saying +alligators were there." + +"Well, there are." + +"Perhaps. But who cares? I'd like to get one ordinary-sized 'gator." + +"Why, Alice! What for?" + +"I've always wanted an alligator bag, and I never could afford it. Now's +my chance. But we may never get far enough into the interior for that. By +the way, where did it say those girls started from? I didn't half read +it." + +"From Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee." + +"Well, Mr. Pertell did mention that we might get to the lake, but he +didn't specify Sycamore." + +"No, and now I'm going to try and do as you said, and forget all about +it," and Ruth laid aside the paper and resumed putting up her hair for +the night. + +"I wonder what will happen to-morrow?" mused Alice, as she slipped into +her robe, and thrust her feet into bath slippers. + +"What do you mean?" Ruth's voice was rather muffled, for her hair was +over her face now. + +"I mean Mr. Towne fell in to-day, and--" + +"Gracious, I hope you don't infer that it's someone else's turn +to-morrow!" + +"Hardly!" laughed Alice. "Hand me that cold cream, please, the salt air +has chapped my face. Oh, say, did you notice how much color Laura had on +to-day? If ever there was a 'hand-made' complexion hers was!" + +"You shouldn't say such things!" + +"Why not? When they're true! And such eyes as she made at poor Mr. +Towne!" + +Ruth slipped a rosy palm over her sister's lips, but Alice pulled it +away, and laughingly added: + +"She found that her glances failed to reach Paul, and so she's trying her +'wireless' on--" + +"Alice, you _must_ stop. Someone may hear you!" + +"Can't! Daddy has the stateroom on one side, and Mr. Pertell the other, +and they're both sound sleepers. But I've finished anyhow. You put out +the light," and with a bound, having completed her toilette, Alice was in +her berth. + +Ruth sighed, and then sat again staring off into space. It must have been +some little time, too, for when she turned to look at her sister, Alice +was breathing deeply in sleep. + +"Dear Alice!" murmured Ruth, and she bent over her for a moment, and +kissed her lightly on the cheek--as gently as the fall of a rose petal. +Soon the older sister, too, was asleep. + +In order that there might be no trouble among the members of the moving +picture company over the statement made in the newspaper that perhaps the +two girls had fallen victims to alligators, Ruth, next morning, +carefully cut out the item, and put it away among her things. + +"It may be silly," she said to Alice, "but--" + +"It _is_ silly to imagine anything like that," was the quick retort. + +"But it's best to be on the safe side," finished Ruth, gently. "Mr. Sneed +is so peculiar." + +"I agree with you there, sister mine. Well, you've taken the precautions, +anyhow. My, I'm hungry! I hope breakfast is ready." + +"You are not troubled with _mal-de-mer_, then?" + +"Not a bit of it, and I never was out on the ocean before. It isn't a bit +rough; is it?" + +"Well, we did roll some during the night, but then the sea is calm. Wait +until we get a storm." + +"I do hope one comes!" + +"Alice DeVere!" + +"Well, I mean just a _little_ one, with waves like little hills, instead +mountains." + +The only members of the film company who did not present themselves at +the breakfast table were Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon. + +They breakfasted in their staterooms, but it was noticed that the trays +came out about as well filled as they went in, from which it might be +gathered that they were not altogether free from the toll the sea exacts +from most travelers. + +"My, how charming you look!" observed Paul to Alice as he joined her on +deck, and arranged her steamer chair out of the wind. She had on a new +jacket, and a little toque, the brown fur of which matched her eyes, and +brought out, in contrast, the damask of her cheeks. + +"Thank you," she laughed in retort. "I might say the same of you. That's +a good-looking coat." + +"A little different from the usual, yes. The man said it was imported--" + +"Just as if that made it any better." + +"It doesn't--only different. Where did you get that rug? It's an odd +pattern." + +"My! But the compliments are flying this morning. It's one daddy picked +up somewhere. Isn't the weather glorious?" + +"Now we're on a safe topic," laughed Paul. "Here come Russ and Ruth. My, +but she's stunning!" + +"I'm glad you appreciate her," Alice said. Really, Ruth made a picture, +for she had on a long white cloak, and with a turban trimmed with ermine, +and her fair hair and blue eyes, she looked like some Siberian princess, +if they have princesses there, and I suppose they must. + +The four young people chatted and laughed together, while the _Tarsus_ +plowed on her way. It was a day of idleness, save that Russ took a few +pictures of scenes on shipboard for future use. + +In the afternoon, while Ruth and Alice were reclining luxuriously in +their steamer chairs, they observed one of the officers come up from +below, and run toward the bridge. There was something in his manner that +startled Alice, and she sat up suddenly, exclaiming: + +"I hope nothing has happened!" + +"Happened? Why should it? What do you mean?" asked Ruth. But immediately +a look of fear came into her own eyes--a look born of suggestion merely. + +"Oh, I don't know," and Alice tried to laugh, but it did not ring true. +"It was just a notion--" + +She did not finish, for another officer came on the run from forward, and +he, too, sought the bridge. Then the two girls saw curling up from one of +the hatchways on the lower forward deck, a little wisp of smoke, and +immediately afterward there sounded through the ship the clanging of +bells. + +"What's that?" cried Ruth, casting aside her rug, and struggling to her +feet, no easy matter from a steamer chair. "What's that?" + +"Some alarm," said Alice, faintly. + +Paul came running toward them. + +"Oh, what is it?" gasped Ruth, impulsively clasping him by the arm. + +"Don't be frightened," said Paul, but Alice noticed that his lips +trembled a little. "It's only a--fire drill." + +As he spoke there was an outpouring of sailors from many places, and +lines of hose were reeled out. + +The wisp of smoke from the forward hatchway had increased now, though the +hatch cover was on. + +Up on the bridge the girls could see the captain leaving his post in +charge of one of the officers. The ship, too, seemed to be turning about. + +"Are you sure it is only fire--_drill_?" asked Alice. + +"Why, that's what a sailor told me," answered Paul, slowly. + +"Look," said Alice, and she pointed to the curling smoke. + +More clanging bells resounded, and more lines of hose were run out. There +was no doubt, now, that the _Tarsus_ was making a complete turn. + +Then, as the captain and one officer left the bridge there rang out the +cry: + +"Fire! Fire! The ship's on fire! Lower the boats!" + + + + +CHAPTER V + +DISABLED + + +Panics start so easily, especially at the mere mention of the word +"fire," that it is no wonder there was at once an incipient one aboard +the _Tarsus_. But the captain, who was a veteran, acted promptly and +efficiently. + +Some of the sailors had made a rush for the boats, but the captain, +coming down from the bridge on the run, flung himself in front of the +excited men. He pushed one or two of them aside so violently that they +fell to the deck. Then the commander, in a voice that rang out above the +startled calls, cried out: + +"Get back, you cowards! If we do take to the boats it will be women and +children first! But we're not going to! Stop that noise!" + +His hand went, with an unmistakable gesture, to his pocket. Perhaps he +was about to draw a weapon, but there was no need. + +His ringing words, the lash of "coward," that cut like a knife, and his +bearing, had an immediate effect. + +"Stop those shouts of 'fire!'" he cried, and the excited men and women +became quiet. + +"Now get back to your places--every one of you!" he ordered the sailors. +"You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, to leave your mates to answer the +fire call alone," and he pointed to where a number of hands were about +the hatchway, from which smoke was still coming. But the wind was taking +it away from the ship now, which was the reason why the vessel had been +turned around. + +"Get to your quarters!" the captain commanded, and the men slunk away. +The danger of a panic was over--at least for the time. + +Ruth and Alice stood where they had risen from their steamer chairs, +their hands clasped, and Alice had thrust her rosy palm into the broad +one of Paul. He held it reassuringly. + +"Oh, what shall we do?" murmured Ruth. + +"There isn't another ship in sight," added Alice, as she looked about the +horizon. + +"We can call one soon enough," said Paul. "They'll start the wireless if +they have to." + +Mr. DeVere came hurrying up, his eyes searching about for his daughters. +A look of relief came over his face as he saw them. + +"You had better go below, and get what things you can save while there +is time," he said, hoarsely. "We may have to take to the boats any +minute." + +"Listen, the captain is going to say something," warned Paul. + +Nearly all the passengers were now gathered on deck, as were most of the +sailors, but the latter were engaged in fighting the fire through the +forward hatchway. Those who were not needed at that particular place were +at the other fire stations, in readiness for any emergency. + +The _Tarsus_ now lay motionless on the ocean, rolling to and fro slowly +under the influence of a gentle swell. There was scarcely any wind, and +the smoke, which had constantly grown thicker and blacker, even with the +efforts made to subdue the flames, arose in a straight pillar of cloud. + +"There is no danger!" began the captain, and there were a few murmurs at +these rather trite words under the circumstances. + +"I mean just what I say!" went on the commander, and there was no +mistaking his sincerity. "There is no danger--at present," he continued. +"There is a slight fire among the cargo in one of the small forward +holds. But it is cut off from the rest of the ship by fire-proof doors, +and we are flooding that compartment. The fire will be out shortly, I +expect. + +"So there is absolutely no need of taking to the boats. Later on, if +there should be, I will give you ample warning, and I might add that we +carry a sufficient complement of boats and life rafts to accommodate all. +And should we take to the boats, the weather is in our favor. So you see +you should not worry." + +"But suppose we have to take to the boats at night?" asked Mr. Sneed, who +seemed to have the faculty for hitting on the most unhappy aspect of any +situation. + +"The fire cannot possibly get beyond control before morning, even if it +is not put out," the captain replied. "So there will be no need of boats +in the night. Even if there were, we have powerful searchlights, and each +boat carries her own storage battery lighting plant. Now, please be +reasonable." + +His words had a calming effect, and those who had rushed up to take to +the boats now began to disperse. + +Russ, who had come on deck with Mr. DeVere, was seen talking to Mr. +Pertell. As the two advanced toward Ruth and Alice the girls heard Russ +saying: + +"I'm going to make moving pictures of the fire scenes." + +"A good idea!" commented Mr. Pertell. "If the captain will let you." + +"I'll ask him." + +Captain Falcon, after a moment of consideration, agreed that the young +operator might take views showing the fire-fighters at work. + +"I wish I had had it going when they made that rush for the boat, +though," Russ said. + +"I am glad you did not," returned the captain, gravely. "I would not have +an audience see what cowards some of my men were to so far forget +themselves. That is better forgotten. Doubtless they were mad with fear. +But I am glad you did not get that picture." + +Russ, however, might be pardoned for still wishing he had it, for he had +the true instinct of a moving picture operator--he wanted to get +everything possible. + +He now set up his camera in different parts of the ship, and made a +number of separate views. The black smoke would come out particularly +well on the film, he knew. + +The men were shown at their various stations, and of those at the +hatchway where the smoke came up, several different views were made. +Captain Falcon was also shown, directing the fire-fighting. + +In order to cut off the draft from the fire the hatchway had been covered +with heavy tarpaulins, the hose being put through holes cut in them. + +There was some relaxation of the tension following the captain's little +speech, but even yet there were serious faces among the passengers, as +the volume of smoke seemed to grow instead of diminish. Captain Falcon, +too, was observed to be laboring under a strain. + +"I wonder if it is true--as he says--that there is no danger?" observed +Alice, as she, Paul and Ruth walked about uneasily, pausing now and then +to observe the men at work. + +"Oh, I think so," answered Paul, quickly. "He would have no object in +deceiving us, and let matters go so long that it would be necessary to +take a risk in getting to the boats. If he did that he might be censured +by the owners. I think he really believes there is no danger. And when he +thinks otherwise he will give us ample warning." + +"Let us hope so," murmured Mr. DeVere. "Fire is a terrible +element--terrible, and at sea there is nothing more awful! I trust we may +be spared from it." + +"Let's go see if the wireless is working," suggested Ruth. "It will take +our minds off the fire to know that help is being called for--and perhaps +on the way." + +"Yes, it is working," announced Alice, as they drew near the quarters +occupied by the wireless operator and heard the spiteful snapping of the +notched wheel of the spark-gap apparatus. + +They looked in and saw the operator with the telephone receivers on his +ears, while with nervous fingers he pressed the key that made and broke +the circuit, thus sending out from the wire aerials between the masts the +dots and dashes that, flying through the air, were received on other +aerials and translated from meaningless clicks into words fraught with +meaning. + +"I must get a picture of that, too," observed Russ, as he came up behind +Paul, Ruth and Alice. "May I?" he asked of the captain, who, at that +moment came to give an order. + +"Yes," nodded the commander. And while the vivid blue spark shot from the +revolving wheel to the connection, where it was made and interrupted as +the operator pressed the key, or allowed it to spring up, Russ made a +short film. The young man who was sending a message looked up as he +finished and smiled at the group observing him. + +"I got that smile, too," Russ informed him. + +"Did you get any reply?" asked Captain Falcon, as the operator removed +the receivers in order to hear the commander's question. + +"The _Bell_, of the Downing Line, is within fifty miles of us," the +operator replied. "She can come up when we need her." + +"I don't think we shall," the captain said. "But kindly ask her to stand +by during the night." + +"Then the fire isn't altogether under control?" asked Paul. + +"Not as much so as I would like to see it," answered the commander, +frankly. "But we are keeping at it." + +He wrote out the message he wished sent to the _Bell_, and then the +little audience gathered again at the door of the wireless room to watch +the operator at work. + +Russ made films as long as the daylight lasted, but finally the coming of +night forced him to stop, and he put away his camera. + +The fighting of the fire still went on, though little of it could be +observed now. There were no flames to be seen, but doubtless, down in the +hold, where the cargo burned, there were angry, red tongues of fire. But +the compartment was kept closed. It was now nearly full of water, the +captain reported, and the fire must soon be extinguished. + +"Unless it has crept to another compartment," ventured Mr. Sneed. + +"Hush! Don't let anyone hear you say such things!" cried Russ, +indignantly. + +Dinner was not a very cheerful meal, but all managed to eat something. +And the night was an uneasy one. What sleep there was came only in +catnaps, for there was the constant noise of the pumps, and the running +about of the sailors on the decks. + +The _Tarsus_ was still motionless, save only as she rolled with the sea, +which was still calm. Captain Falcon found that to proceed would be to +drive the smoke aft into the cabins, and he did not want to do this. So +he had the main engines shut down. + +Through the night the fire was fought, and in the morning it was a gray +and haggard captain who faced the anxious group of passengers gathered in +the main saloon. + +"What is the report?" asked Mr. Pertell. + +"Not very encouraging," was the answer. "We are now disabled, and the +fire is still burning." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +BY WIRELESS + + +For a moment no one spoke, after the portentous words of Captain Falcon. +Men and women looked at each other. The members of the moving picture +company glanced from face to face. What would come next? + +"Does this mean--does it indicate that we are to take to the boats?" +asked Mr. DeVere, solemnly. + +"Not necessarily," the captain replied. "I have come to put the matter +plainly to you. The fire gained, in the night, and it reached the engine +room compartment. We are, therefore, temporarily disabled, and cannot +proceed, as we could have done had not this occurred. For we had the +first blaze out. + +"Now, those who wish will be put into life boats, with such of their +belongings as it is practicable to take with them." + +"What is the other alternative?" asked Mr. Pertell, as the captain +paused, thus indicating that he had another proposition to make. + +"The second question is--Will you wait for the _Bell_ to come up? She is +within about fifty miles of us, I should judge, and can reach us inside +of three hours." + +"In the meanwhile--the fire may gain?" suggested Mr. Sneed in gloomy +tones. + +"It may--yes. It probably will, if it reaches the coal bunkers. That is +what I am afraid of, and why I speak thus plainly." + +"Then I'm going to take to a boat!" exclaimed the "grouch." + +"So will I!" put in Mr. Bunn. + +"Wait," advised Mr. Pertell. "If possible I wish to keep all the members +of my company together. I have not the fear that some of you have. I +trust Captain Falcon." + +"Thank you!" exclaimed the commander, evidently greatly pleased with this +mark of confidence. "At the same time I stand ready to lower boats for +those who may wish it. The sea is comparatively calm, and you will have +to use boats anyhow, if you are taken off by the _Bell_." + +"Must that be done?" asked Alice, in a low voice. + +"If we cannot subdue the fire, I am afraid so, Miss DeVere," answered +the captain. "But there is no danger in that. It is often done." + +"Then I say, let's wait for the other vessel," decided Mr. DeVere. "There +may finally be no necessity for leaving our own ship, I take it?" he +asked. + +"There may--it's a chance." + +"Then let's take it!" cried Russ. "How will you summon the _Bell_?" + +"By wireless. I was only waiting for your decision to write out the +message. She has been expecting a call from us, but she has probably +drifted farther off than she was last evening. I will summon her." + +A little later the wireless began crackling out its call to the unseen +_Bell_, and preparations were made to lower away the boats promptly, in +case the fire should suddenly gain greater headway. Then there was +nothing to do but wait, and fight the flames. + +"I insist, though, on being put in a boat!" cried Mr. Sneed. "I want to +get off this dangerous ship." + +"I do, too!" exclaimed Mr. Bunn. + +"I advise you both to stick to this ship," spoke Mr. Pertell, seriously. + +"Never!" cried the grouch, and the former Shakespearean actor echoed the +word. + +"Let them go," decided Captain Falcon, in a low voice to the moving +picture manager. "I can send them away in a boat, with some sailors, and +tell my men to row slowly, so as not to take them too far away from us. +Then, when the _Bell_ comes up, they can go aboard her, if our fire is +not out by then. Let them go." + +"All right," agreed Mr. Pertell, and orders were given to lower a boat. +Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed got together what belongings they could, and +entered it. + +"I must get a moving picture of this!" cried Russ. + +"Do!" said Mr. Pertell. + +"I forbid it!" exclaimed Mr. Sneed. Perhaps he did not want to be shown +deserting the ship and the company. + +But Russ brought out his camera, and soon the film was moving, as the +boat was lowered to the surface of the sea. Then it was soon pulling away +from the _Tarsus_, and Russ got those views too. + +"Wait! Wait for me!" cried a voice, and up on deck came Mr. Towne. He had +a valise in each hand, which probably contained his best suits. "Wait!" +he cried. "I want to be saved, too." + +"There's no danger; you'll be saved more by staying here than by going +with them," said Mr. Pertell. "Besides, you might soil your clothing if +you went in the small boat. Another ship is coming for us." + +"Oh--er--I certainly would not like to spoil any of my suits--the one I +fell overboard in is almost ruined. I--er--I ah--shall stay!" and he went +below again. + +The wireless was still crackling out its call for aid, and soon an answer +was received, saying that the _Bell_ was on her way. + +"She's coming!" cried the operator, as he gave the dispatch to the +captain. Russ, who had enough of the pictures of Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed +leaving in the boat, filmed the captain in the act of receiving this +message of good cheer. Later it was worked into a stirring drama, called +"The Burning Ship." + +With all else that was going on, the work of fighting the blaze in the +hold was not for a moment given up. Water and live steam were turned in +among the cargo, the pumping apparatus fortunately not having been +disabled when the rest of the machinery went out of commission. + +Russ made more moving pictures, since he now had a good light, and as the +fire-fighting was in another part of the ship it made a different series +of views. + +"Oh, isn't this the most awful thing you ever saw, or heard of?" cried +Miss Pennington, coming on deck where Ruth and Alice stood. "Fate seems +to be against us at every turn!" + +She was very pale, and looked wretched, as did her chum Miss Dixon. + +"I guess they didn't take time to make up their complexions," whispered +Alice. + +"Hush!" cautioned her sister. + +"I could cry!" declared Miss Dixon. "I never slept a wink all night." She +looked it, too. + +"Oh, we'll be all right," said Paul. "The other ship is coming for us, +and if necessary we can be transferred to her." + +"Will we have to go in one of the small boats, like that?" Miss +Pennington wanted to know, as she pointed to the one in which were Mr. +Bunn and Mr. Sneed, some distance off, now. + +"That's the only kind they have on board," said Mr. DeVere, who had +shortly before joined his daughters. + +"Oh, I never could go in one of those--never!" the former vaudeville +actress cried, tragically. + +"Ha! Dose is goot boats! I in der German nafy vos," put in Mr. Switzer, +"und dey are fery safe." + +"Oh, but they look so small, and they hold so little. How can one get +enough to eat in them?" asked Miss Dixon, clasping her hands, and +looking with her rather effective eyes, first at Mr. Towne, and then at +Paul. + +"Ha! You dakes along vot you eat!" exclaimed the German. "Pretzels iss +fine! Haf one!" and he extended a handful of small ones. Since the +company had been snowbound he had always a few in his pocket. He called +them his "mascots." + +"No, thank you. I never eat them!" declared Miss Dixon, with turned-up +nose. + +"Let's go see if there is any further report by wireless from the +_Bell_," suggested Ruth, who saw kindling wrath in the eyes of her +sister. Alice never could get along well with the two actresses, and she +was very likely to say something that might lead to a quarrel. + +"I'll come along," said Paul. + +"So will I," echoed Mr. Towne. In spite of his affected mannerisms, he +could be "nice," at times. It was Ruth who had said this, but then Ruth +had such a kind heart that she generally found a good quality in nearly +everyone, whatever their failings. + +"Yes, she's coming on at full speed," reported the wireless operator. +"She'll be with us in about an hour, now. And I guess it's time, too," he +added in a low voice. + +"Why?" asked Russ, when the girls had passed on. + +"Because I believe the fire is gaining. I think it's in one of the coal +bunkers now, and that means it will burn steadily, and may eat through +the side of the ship." + +The operator turned to his apparatus, for he had been told to keep in +constant communication with the oncoming rescue ship. + +As Paul rejoined the girls, there sounded through the _Tarsus_ a dull +explosion, that made the ship tremble. + +The commander was hurrying along the deck. Many of the passengers, who +had gone below to pack their belongings in anticipation of being +transferred, now came rushing out of their staterooms. + +"What was it?" + +"Are we going to blow up?" + +"Is the ship sinking?" + +"Don't be alarmed!" Captain Falcon exhorted them, but, even as he spoke, +there came a second dull rumbling, a trembling of the vessel, and another +explosion, louder than the first. There were screams from frightened +women and children, and a number of men passengers made a rush for the +boats, as the sailors had done before. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +IN PORT + + +"Stand back!" cried Captain Falcon, and again his hand went to his pocket +as though to draw a weapon. "Stand back! The same rule applies to you men +passengers as to the sailors. Women and children first! Do you hear? +Stand back!" + +The rush was halted almost before it started. Then Mr. Switzer, who had +taken no part in it, said slowly: + +"Dot is right. Gentlemen, ve are forgetting ourselves!" + +"And it took him--above everyone else--to remind them of it," said Mr. +DeVere in a low voice. He had remained by the side of his daughters. + +"Mr. Switzer is a bigger man than any of us thought," murmured Ruth. "Oh, +Daddy, is the boat going to sink?" + +"We are going to be blown up!" exclaimed a big man, who, with others, had +made a half start for the boat, and then had hung back shamefacedly. + +"If you say that again!" cried Paul, in a fierce whisper, "I'll throw you +overboard! This is no time to start a panic!" + +The man slunk away. There came another explosion, not so loud as the +first, but enough to cause the men to start involuntarily, and to bring +frantic screams from the women passengers. + +"What is that, Captain?" asked Mr. Pertell. + +"Nothing to be alarmed about," was the calm answer. + +"They sound alarming enough," declared a woman. + +"But they are not," the commander insisted. "They are only slight +explosions of coal gas in some of the bunkers. The fire is slowly eating +into them but the explosions are not heavy enough to cause any serious +damage to the ship. + +"The _Bell_ will soon be up to us. In fact, we could see her now, were it +not for the slight haze. And, as it is evident that you will have to be +taken off in her, I am going to lower the boats, and let you row away +from this ship. + +"You will be picked up by the _Bell_ as soon as she gets here, and, in +any event, you would have to take to the small boats. So you might as +well start. I will have all your baggage brought on deck ready for +transfer," he added to the moving picture manager. + +"Very good," assented Mr. Pertell. "I am sorry this has occurred, but +perhaps it is best that we leave the ship." + +"It will be better for your peace of mind, though really I think we can +conquer the fire," the captain went on. "But we are disabled, and may not +be able to proceed for some time." + +"What are you going to do when we are gone?" asked Alice, who, with Ruth, +had recovered some of her equanimity by this time. "Are you coming with +us, Captain Falcon--you and your sailors?" + +"I am going to stick by the ship!" he answered, and there was a proud +ring in his voice. "I believe I can save her, and then we'll make +repairs, and get to port under our own steam. I want to save the owners +salvage, if I can." + +"There speaks a brave man," murmured Mr. DeVere. "And there are many such +unknown, who are going down the sea in ships every day. A brave man!" + +"Man the falls!" ordered Captain Falcon to those sailors who were not +engaged in fighting the fire. "Man the falls, and stand by to lower the +boats!" + +"Oh, must we really go in those little things?" cried Miss Pennington, as +she heard this. + +"Certainly," answered Russ, who was near her. "You wouldn't expect to +swim; would you?" + +"Horrid thing!" snapped the actress. "Come, Laura. Don't leave me. I'm so +frightened!" + +"So am I," declared her companion. "It's awful!" + +"Their fright hasn't made them pale, at any rate," whispered Alice. +"They've taken on color, lately." + +"Oh, my dear, you mustn't say such things," chided Ruth. + +The work of getting the passengers and their baggage into the boats was +soon under way. There was some confusion, not a little evidence of fright +on the part of many, and some tears. But among the bravest were little +Tommie and Nellie. They thought it all a lark, and probably, in their +case, it was the bliss of ignorance. + +Russ, who had been standing near Ruth and Alice, suddenly started for his +stateroom. + +"Where are you going?" asked Ruth, as the call came for them to take +their places in a boat. + +"For my moving picture camera! I'm going to get views of this. It's too +good to miss!" + +"It seems so--so--" began Ruth, but Alice interrupted with: + +"Why shouldn't he get the film? There is really no danger of death, and +it is a chance that he may never have again. A film like this could be +worked into a great play!" + +"Spoken like a real artist of the movies!" cried Mr. Pertell. "Go ahead, +Russ. Get all you can; but don't take any chances." + +Then the young operator busied himself with making a film that was +afterward said to be one of the best in the world showing a rescue from a +burning ship. And the beauty of it was that it was real. There was no +posing, and the ship was not an old hulk chartered for the occasion, and +set fire to, as has been done more than once. + +As the women and children were first helped to the boats, and the craft +then carefully lowered to the sea, Russ took picture after picture. +Fortunately the sea and weather were both calm, and, after the first +little fright, no one made any disturbance. + +The boat containing Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed had returned part way to the +ship, the sailors having heard the explosions, and desiring to aid in the +work of saving the passengers if there was any need, for their craft +could hold many more. + +But there was no need. There was ample room in the other boats, and, as +Captain Falcon had said, the explosions were really of little moment--at +least, for the present. + +Boat after boat was loaded and lowered away, and not an accident marred +the work. True, Mrs. Maguire, in her anxiety to see that Nellie and Tommy +were safe, nearly fell overboard, but a burly sailor caught her just in +time. + +"How are you coming on, Russ?" asked Mr. Pertell who, with Pop Snooks, +was seeing to the bringing up of the baggage, and the other property of +the moving picture company. + +"Fine," answered the young operator. "This will be a great film!" + +"Glad to hear it! It will be our turn soon." + +"I'm going to stick till the last boat. I want to get all the views I +can." + +Russ spoke simply, but he well knew the danger he ran in remaining until +the last boat was sent away. The ship might be in no real danger; even as +Captain Falcon had said; but, on the other hand, the fire might have +spread more than the commander realized. But Russ, like many another +picture operator, was not afraid to do his duty as he saw it, even in the +face of danger. + +Suddenly a great shout arose. + +"Wonder what's happened now?" remarked Mr. Pertell. He knew a moment +later, for the shout took to itself words: + +"The ship!" + +"The rescue ship!" + +"There comes the _Bell_!" + +Sweeping up through the mist came the ship that had responded to the +wireless calls for aid. On she came at full speed, and when she caught +sight of the _Tarsus_ she sent out a reassuring blast from her great +whistle. It was answered in kind. + +"Now you're all right!" cried Captain Falcon over the side, to those in +the small boats. "Row the passengers over to her," he ordered the +sailors, "and then come back to your ship!" + +"Aye, aye, sir!" was the answer. And be it said to the credit of those +sailors that not one of them shirked, or tried to desert, which might +have been easily forgiven in the face of the danger. + +"I've got to get a picture of her!" cried Russ, as he focused the camera +on the oncoming ship. And a fine picture he obtained. + +"Oh, now we're all right, Daddy!" cried Ruth, as she nestled close to her +father. Mr. DeVere had been allowed to go in the boat with his daughters, +as there was plenty of room, and all the other women had been provided +for. + +"I wasn't worrying," declared Alice. + +"Oh yes, it's easy to say that now," sighed Ruth. "But I'm sorry for poor +Captain Falcon." + +"He is a brave man," said Mr. DeVere, again. + +The _Bell_ came as close as was safe, and a little later the small boats +rowed to her accommodation ladder, which had been lowered. Then began the +risky work of getting from the small boats to this ladder, and so aboard +the _Bell_. For there was now a little sea on, and the boats rose and +fell to a considerable degree. + +But the sailors were skillful, and soon all the passengers and baggage +were transferred. Russ was the last to leave the _Tarsus_, and the last +to go aboard the _Bell_, for he wanted every view he could get. + +He was received with a cheer, given not only by his friends, but by the +passengers and crew of the _Bell_. + +For Mr. Pertell had told of the devotion to duty of the young operator, +and his act was duly appreciated. + +Back to the burning vessel--perhaps, for all they knew, back to their +doom--rowed the sailors of the _Tarsus_. The chief mate of the _Bell_, at +the request of his commander, went to consult with Captain Falcon. On +returning, the mate reported that Captain Falcon felt he could get the +fire under control, and also make repairs to enable him to get his ship +to port. + +"Then we will proceed," said Captain Blackstone, of the _Bell_. He gave +the signal to go ahead, and soon the ill-fated _Tarsus_, with the smoke +pall hanging about her, was left behind. + +But it is a pleasure to record that, after a hard fight, Captain Falcon +and his men did subdue the flames, and, after harder work, temporary +repairs enabled them to limp into port. Thus the commander saved his +ship, and also avoided the payment, on the part of the owners, of heavy +salvage. Later he was suitably rewarded by his superiors. + +"Oh, but what an experience!" lamented Miss Pennington, as she sank into +a steamer chair after the rescue. "I wonder what sort of a stateroom +we'll have here, Laura?" + +"They'll be lucky if they get even a berth," grumbled Paul. For the +_Bell_ carried a number of passengers, and the addition of those from the +_Tarsus_ rather crowded her. + +But accommodations were found for all, though the quarters were rather +cramped. The _Bell_ was bound direct for St. Augustine, and in due +season, and without further mishap, the moving picture company reached +that oldest city in the United States. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +ST. AUGUSTINE + + +"Oh, isn't it beautiful!" + +"The most gorgeous place I ever saw!" + +Alice and Ruth were standing in the doorway of the hotel to which the +moving picture company had been taken. They were looking out into the +ladies' court--into a sun-lit and palm-girded garden, wherein a fountain +played, the water falling with a musical tinkling. + +Birds flitted here and there amid the bright flowers, but to the moving +picture girls the palms seemed the most wonderful of all. Such palms! + +"I never realized that the great Creator could make anything so +beautiful," murmured Ruth, reverently. "And, Oh! Alice; to think that +_we_ can enjoy it!" + +"Yes, isn't it wonderful, after all the storm and stress of the fire, to +be in this lovely, calm place?" + +"And the best part of it is that we're getting _paid_ for it!" observed a +voice behind the two girls. They turned, with a start, for they had lost +themselves in a dreaming reverie, to find Russ and Paul smiling at them. +It was Paul who spoke. + +"It does seem a shame to take the money under these circumstances," added +Russ, with a laugh. + +"It's like a vacation," agreed Alice. "Oh, but isn't it just--just too--" + +She was evidently searching for a fitting simile. + +"Alice," warned Ruth, gently. She was endeavoring to wean her sister from +the habit of using slang expressions; but Alice always boasted that she +liked to take "short cuts," and that slang--that is, her refined +variety--offered the best method of accomplishing this very desirable +object. + +"Oh, I was only just going to say--scrumptious!" laughed the younger +girl. "You don't mind that; do you, sister mine? This is really the most +scrumptiously scrumptious place I've ever seen!" + +"I'm afraid you're hopeless," was the smiling retort. + +"Well, it's certainly swell--that's my word for it," answered Russ, with +a frank laugh. + +Indeed, Mr. Pertell had not spared expense in taking out his moving +picture company. And he had a method in going to one of the largest and +finest hotels in St. Augustine. He intended to stage some scenes of one +of the Southern plays there, and having his actors and actresses right in +the hotel made it much more practical. + +"Let's take a walk," proposed Russ. "There's nothing to do to-day." + +It was the morning after their arrival and Mr. Pertell was not quite +ready to proceed with making films. The fire aboard the _Tarsus_, and the +necessity of taking another vessel, had rather upset everyone, so a day +or so of rest had been decided upon. + +"Where shall we go?" asked Alice, readily falling in with the proposal. +"You'll come, won't you, Ruth?" + +"I think so--yes." + +"There are lots of places to see," suggested Paul. "This is the oldest +city in the United States. I've got some guide books up in my room, and a +lot of views. We'll pick out some points of interest and visit them." + +"We'll have plenty of chance to see the sights," remarked Russ. "I +understand there are to be a number of films made in the city and +vicinity, so you'll probably have to act out around Fort Marion and at +Fort Mantanzas, as well as in the slave market. I'll be with you in a +minute. I just want to get my little hand camera, to make a few +snap-shots." + +While waiting for him and Paul to return, the girls slipped up to their +room a minute. + +"Just to freshen up," as Alice put it, though really there was no need in +her case, nor on the part of Ruth, either. The day was perfect--like +summer--and the girls, knowing they were coming to the land of the palm +and orange blossom, had brought suitable dresses. + +Ruth wore white, with a mere suggestion of trimming in blue, and with her +fair hair and blue eyes she was a picture that made more than one +man--elderly as well as young--turn for a second look. + +The darker beauty of Alice was well set off by her dress of light tan +pongee with maroon trimming, and her sparkling brown eyes were dancing +with life, and the love of life, as she came out to join her sister and +the young men. + +"Primping, as usual," mocked Russ, but with a laugh that took the sting +out of his words. + +"Naturally," agreed Alice, determined not to let him "fuss" her. + +They strolled out under the beautiful loggia, through an avenue of palms +and many tropical plants, and breathed deeply of the perfumed air. + +"Oh, it is perfect--just perfect!" sighed Ruth. "I think the Garden of +Paradise must have been in Florida." + +"There you go!" cried Alice. "First you know you'll want to go off and +live the simple life under a palm tree, with bananas for lunch and +oranges for dinner. And when your--er--your hero--we'll say, comes riding +on that milk-white steed I so despise, you'll be so thin that he won't +know you." + +"Thank you!" returned her sister. "But a _svelte_ figure is much to be +desired these days." + +"Not that you're getting stout!" declared Alice. "Really it is I who +ought to diet on bananas and--" + +"Orange blossoms," finished Paul. + +"Thanks," and she bowed gracefully to him. + +"Well, Paul, where is it to be--you're the guide?" asked Russ, as they +emerged on King street. "Where's your map?" + +"I have it. What do you say we go out to the old city gates, and then to +Fort Marion?" + +"Wherever you say," agreed Alice. "It is all new to us." + +They soon reached the north bend of St. George street and stood before +the old city gates. These once formed part of the northerly line of +defence of the ancient city. + +"Built in 1743," declaimed Alice, as she read from the bronze tablet set +in the masonry by the D.A.R. "My, how long ago that seems; doesn't it?" + +"A mere trifle!" replied Russ, airily. "Get together there, and I'll snap +you," he invited. "If you think that's old we'll go to the Fountain of +Youth a little later, and renew our youngness." + +"Oh, is that really here?" cried Ruth, with such sudden interest that +they all laughed. + +"Yes, my ancient sister, it is," said Alice. "Dost wish to quaff a cup?" + +"Merely for the novelty of it--yes," answered Ruth, and she too, laughed. +Her cheeks were the color of bridesmaid roses, and Russ, as he looked at +her, wished-- + +But there--What's the use of being mean and telling on a good chap? + +The pictures taken, they strolled on. At Fort Marion, on the banks of the +Mantanzas River, they found much of interest; but agreed to explore it +more in detail at another time. + +"You'll have to be filmed here, anyhow," Russ told the girls. "There's an +important drama, with several scenes, laid here." + +"Are we in it?" asked Ruth. + +"Yes, the whole company; and Mr. Pertell said he'd have to hire some +supers, too." + +By this Russ meant that the manager would have to engage extra persons to +impersonate the unimportant characters in the play, as is often done in +"mob" scenes in the theaters. + +"Now for the orange grove, and then--the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul, +as they came out of the old fort. + +"What a delightful combination!" exclaimed Alice. + +"Youth--and--orange blossoms!" and she clapped her hands, her eyes +shining. + +"Be careful," warned Ruth in a low voice, as the young men went on ahead. + +"Why, sister of mine?" + +"Don't talk so much of orange blossoms." + +"Pooh! I'm not thinking of getting married!" + +"Oh, Alice!" + +"Well, wasn't that what you meant?" + +"Not at all, I only meant--" + +"I don't believe you knew what you did mean. Come on, we'll be lost!" and +she caught Ruth by the arm and hurried on after Russ and Paul. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +IN THE DUNGEON + + +"Oh, if we could only stay here forever!" + +"It would be Paradise!" + +Thus Ruth and Alice exclaimed as they entered the orange grove, a short +distance from the city gates. And indeed the scene that greeted them, and +the sweet odors, might well call for this praise and desire from even the +most _blase_ tourist. + +Even Russ, grown accustomed by his calling to odd scenes, was impressed +by the wonderful sight, and as for Paul, who had something of the +romantic nature of Ruth, it was a pure delight to him. + +"I wonder if they will take any pictures here?" said Ruth, softly--at +first it seemed as if one must talk in whispers so as not to disturb the +beauty of the place. + +"Oh, I'm going to film you here," announced Russ. "Stand still a moment +and I'll snap you now. There's a pretty place." + +Ruth and Alice assumed graceful poses, and soon their likenesses were +registered on the film. Russ never tired of taking pictures, and when he +was not making moving ones he was using his small hand camera. How many +times he had taken the likeness of Ruth it would be hard to estimate. + +They wandered about the orange grove, and the young men bought some of +the delicious fruit, right from the trees, and fully ripe. It had a +flavor all its own. + +"Let me show you how to eat an orange," suggested one of the men of the +grove, as he saw the young people going about, "in the way it is usually +done when no orange spoons are to be had." + +"Somebody has said," went on the man, "that you need to lean over a +bathtub to eat an orange this way, but it's worth while. You get a little +smeared up doing it; but you can wash in the spring over there," and he +pointed to one amid a pile of stones. + +Then with his keen knife he cut the orange in a peculiar spiral manner, +with the skin left on so that eventually he had a long yellow strip, with +the sections of orange clinging to the yellow rind. + +"Now, all you've got to do is to run your mouth along that strip," he +directed, "and you get all the juice--that is, all you don't miss. It +takes a little practice; but I've got some black boys that can get every +drop. Watch!" + +Rapidly he ate along the extended strip of skin, to which clung the cut +sections of orange. In a moment it was clean. + +"It's an awfully crude way of doing it--but, as long as we're in an +orange grove, let's do as the orange 'grovers' do," laughed Alice. + +"I'm game!" cried Paul. + +"Same here!" put in Russ, and they cut their oranges as the man had done. +The latter then prepared one each for Ruth and Alice, and amid much +laughter--the girls and the young men leaning far over so as not to drip +the juice on their clothes--they finished the delicious fruit. + +"Now bring on your bathtub!" cried Russ. + +"There's the spring," the man said. "There's a basin near it, and it's +clean." + +Laughing over the new way of eating oranges, but voting that it was worth +while, even if it was a bit "smeary," the young folks washed their hands +and faces, and kept on through the grove, growing more and more glad at +every step that they had come to Florida. + +"And now for the Fountain of Youth!" cried Paul. + +"I don't feel that I need it, after that delicious orange," laughed Ruth. + +"Indeed, if you get any younger, you'll go back to kindergarten days," +remarked Paul. + +"Thank you. I don't want to be quite as young as that." + +The Fountain of Youth, one of the curiosities of St. Augustine, is on +Myrtle avenue, two blocks north of the orange grove, and the four +laughing young people were soon there. + +"Is this really the fountain Ponce de Leon thought would give eternal +youth?" asked Ruth, half-seriously, as they stood near the little +roofed-over spring. + +"That is the legend," declared Paul. "Of course that's not saying it's +so. But the spring has one peculiar quality." + +"What's that?" asked Russ. + +"The waters rise and fall without any particular cause. Sometimes they +are higher than at others, and none of the other wells, or springs, in +this vicinity do that. So you see it may be miraculous after all." + +"Let's try it," suggested Alice, who was always ready for anything new. + +"Oh, but perhaps it isn't good water," objected Ruth, more cautious. "We +may get typhoid, or something like that." + +"Nonsense!" laughed Alice, but she looked questioningly at Paul. + +"Lots of people drink the water," he said. "Allow me," and he lowered a +small bucket attached to a rope made fast to the roof of the well. + +He drew it up, brimming over, and with a low bow handed some of the water +to Alice, pouring it into a small collapsible cup he happened to have +with him. + +"Drink! And may you never grow old!" he said, and there was more of +meaning in his eyes than in his words. + +"We'll all sample it!" cried Russ, and as Ruth was induced, just for the +fun of the thing, to try some, they heard the murmur of voices behind +them. + +"Save some for us!" was the call, and Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon came +up. + +"We'll all be young together," said Alice. Though she and her sister were +not very chummy with the two former vaudeville actresses, they were not +exactly unfriendly. And who could be unfriendly in that beautiful spot, +and on the reputed site of the Fountain of Youth? + +"The more you drink the younger you get!" bantered Paul, as Miss Dixon +asked him for a second cup. + +"Gracious, then I'll turn into a baby," exclaimed Miss Pennington. "I've +been here once before this morning, and I took several glasses." + +"Back to juvenile roles for yours!" cried Russ. "Mr. Pertell will have to +look for another leading lady." + +"I haven't noticed any effect yet," she said, as she took out a vanity +box, and surreptitiously used her chamois, leaving a more brilliant tint +on her face. + +"It takes time," went on Russ, half-seriously. "You will awaken in the +morning, crying for a rattle." + +Thus they made merry near the well, with its queer square stones built +into pillars to hold up the roof. + +"Poor Ponce de Leon," sighed Ruth. "How disappointed he must have been +when he found out that his life was slipping away in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I wonder if he really believed he had found it?" + +"He couldn't have--when he came to die," remarked Russ, practically. + +"But it is a pretty story," Ruth said, softly. "Poor Ponce de Leon!" + +"The Indians told him this was the fountain," said Paul, who had been +reading history. "Near this fountain was found a large coquina cross. +The cross was located by the discovery of a silver casque, which +contained documents telling of the matter, and one seems to fix the date +of the first visit of Ponce de Leon to Florida. That was in 1513, +according to the documents found in the casque. + +"Am I boring you?" he asked quickly, for he thought the two former +vaudeville actresses looked as though they wanted to talk of something +else besides dry historical facts. + +"No, indeed!" cried Alice. "I just love to hear about this." + +"Do go on," urged Ruth, and even Miss Pennington condescended to say: + +"It sounds interesting." + +"I'll read you what one of the old documents said," went on Paul. "'As we +bore down upon him we found him to be an Indian, in a skin boat with a +skin sail, running to a point twenty feet in the air, with a bow at the +top. In the boat, which I describe in my descriptive image, I went ashore +with the Indian. We landed near a spring that they call the Fountain of +Youth; there they had a temple built where they worshipped the sun, and +there I built a cross out of coquina, which is a natural formation of the +sea, and I laid it with the rising and setting sun. In the heart of the +cross I placed a descriptive image of myself, and took possession in the +name of our beloved Catholic King.' + +"That's in the document," went on Paul, "and the paper was given to the +United States, through courtesy of the Governor of Sevilla, in 1908." + +"How interesting," murmured Alice. "And to think that we are standing on +such historic ground! Think of the ancient Indians worshipping the sun +here," and she looked up at the flaming orb. + +"The sun is paying altogether too much attention to me!" complained Miss +Pennington, with a laugh. "It will spoil my complexion, in spite of the +Fountain of Youth. I must be going." + +"Oh, by the way, Russ," she called back over her shoulder, "Mr. Pertell +was looking for you." + +"Was he?" asked the young operator. "Then I'd better be getting back." + +"I fancy we all had," spoke Ruth. "It must be near lunch time. Come +along, Alice." + +Russ, back at the hotel, found that the manager had decided to make as +the first film one showing some of his players at Fort Marion, and he +wanted Russ to go out there with him and plan the scenario, which would +be undertaken in a day or two. + +The time quickly passed, for it was so lovely in St. Augustine, and +there were so many things to see, that night seemed to follow quickly on +the heels of morning. + +Arrangements having been made, the company one morning went to the old +fort and there Russ filmed many scenes. The play was to be called "The +Spanish Prisoner," the background of the old fort being most effective. + +The players were filmed, going through their various parts on what was +once the drawbridge in front of the portcullis, near the old watchtower +on the stairway that was originally an inclined way, by which artillery +was hauled up to the _terre plein_. + +Ruth and Alice were in many of the scenes, but there came a rest for +Alice who, always interested in matters of antiquity, wandered about the +old fort by herself, Ruth and Mr. DeVere being engaged. + +The girl finally made her way to what had been the old guard room and +dungeon. In the guard room was a table and some chairs, for the fort is +in charge of a detachment from the United States Army, and accommodations +are provided for visitors. + +Alice sat down in one of the chairs, and looked at the big open +fire-place at one end of the guard rooms. She recalled some of its +history that Paul had read to her that morning. + +The dungeon was accidently discovered in 1835 and two iron cages, +containing the skeletons of a man and woman, were found fastened to the +wall. + +"Poor creatures! What a horror it must have been!" thought Alice, as she +looked toward the narrow opening to the black dungeon. + +"Ugh! It's getting on my nerves, staying here!" she exclaimed, for she +was all alone. "I'm going!" + +As she rose she heard a noise near the doorway by which she had entered. +Turning quickly, expecting to see one of the company, she was horrified +to see by the light which entered through a barred window, an aged +colored man facing her. He did not approach, but bowing before her +exclaimed in quavering tones: + +"Den I find yo', my Missie! Old Jake look eberywhere fo' you,' but he +find yo'! I knowed I'd find yo' some day, an' now I has, but it's been a +pow'ful long time, honey! A long time!" and with outstretched hands, as +he took a battered hat from his head, he approached her. Alice screamed +and got behind the table. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE MOTOR RACES + + +With wildly beating heart, Alice watched the approach of the colored man, +and then, somehow or other, it came to her in a flash that she need not +fear him. + +His bearing was most deferential, as of some old slave toward a cherished +mistress. His manner was gentle and, after advancing a short distance +toward her, he stopped, bowed again, placed his battered hat over his +heart, and said: + +"I knowed I'd find yo' some day, Missie, an' now I has. Yo' ain't gwine +t' send po' ole Jake away; is yo', Missie?" + +Alice, having repressed the desire to scream, was now more calm and, as +quietly as she could she said: + +"You must go out of here, Jake. Go out, and I will come out, too." + +"Yes'm, Missie, dat's what I'll do," he said. "Ole Jake'll do jest as his +missis says. Oh, but it' pow'ful good t' see you' once mo', Missie!" + +"You must go now," repeated Alice, firmly. + +And, without another word, he turned and shuffled out. But he had no +sooner reached the entrance to the dungeon than Alice, who had remained +behind the table, not knowing whether to go out or not, saw the old +colored man seized by a soldier--one of those detailed at the fort. + +"Here now, Jake!" the soldier exclaimed, "haven't I told you time and +again to keep away from here? You know you haven't any right to come in +this part of the fort!" + +"Yais, sah, Cunnel, I knows it, sah," replied the aged negro, with a low +bow. "But yo' see, I done found mah li'l Missie what I'se been lookin' +fo' so long! Dat's why I come heah!" + +"Great Scott! Have you been bothering some of the women visitors?" cried +the soldier and, wheeling about on his heel, he hurried into the dungeon, +which Alice had just decided to leave. He met her coming out, and by her +agitated manner must have guessed that something had happened. + +"I beg your pardon, Miss," began the soldier, with a salute, "but has old +Jake annoyed you?" + +"Oh, not at all," she answered, as calmly as she could. "He only startled +me for a moment; that is all. I was here alone, foolishly, perhaps--" + +"Oh, no, that's all right," interrupted the soldier. "We want the +visitors to go about as they please, alone or in company. Old Jake's as +harmless as a kitten. He isn't just right up here," he said, touching his +head, and speaking in low tones. + +"I thought as much," responded Alice, with a smile. + +"He's perfectly harmless," went on the soldier, looking out to see the +aged negro shuffling off. "You see, he used to be a slave in some +Southern family," the army man explained. "He was given his freedom, but +never took it, and they say he went insane when his mistress died. He had +taken care of her since she was a baby, and he took it very much to +heart." + +"Poor old man," murmured Alice. + +"Yes, we all like him around here," the soldier continued. "He has a +notion now that his 'little mistress,' as he calls her, is only lost, and +he keeps searching for her. Sometimes he scares the lady visitors, so we +try to keep him out of the lonely parts of the fort. But he must have +slipped in here when no one was watching. I'll give him a good lecture." + +"Oh, please don't be harsh to him!" pleaded Alice. "Really he did +nothing!" + +"But he scared you, Miss." + +"Oh, not much. Only for a second. Then I guessed what his trouble was. +Please say you won't scold him!" she pleaded. + +"Well, I guess I'll have to, if you ask me that way, Miss," said the +soldier with the air and manner of a Southern colonel. "We can't refuse +the ladies anything, you know," and he bowed and smiled in a frank manner +that pleased Alice. + +"Then you won't punish him?" she asked. + +"Punish him? Oh, no, Miss. Old Jake is just like a child. He sort of +lives in the fort. No, I won't do any more than tell him to keep away +from here, for them's the captain's orders, Miss." + +"All right," she answered. "And now I think I had better join my friends. +What a horrible place this is!" she added, with a backward look at the +dungeon. + +"You may well say that, Miss. But it isn't so bad now as it must have +been in the old days. It's a queer world, that men would make such a +place to put a fellow creature in," and with this somewhat philosophical +remark the soldier saluted again, as Alice bade him good-bye. + +"Why, where have you been?" Ruth asked, as sister appeared. "We have been +looking all over for you. Where were you?" + +"In jail!" + +"Jail! Alice, don't joke about such things." + +"No, sister mine, I was only in a deep, dark dismal dungeon, and I had +such a romantic adventure." + +"Oh, do tell us about it!" begged Miss Pennington. + +"Did you meet a handsome prisoner?" asked Miss Dixon. + +"Yes, a regular Othello." + +"Othello? Who speaks of Othello?" interrupted Mr. Bunn. "I have played +him many times!" and he threw back his shoulders, and tried to give +himself the airs he was wont to assume in the theater. + +Alice told her story, minimizing her fright as much as possible. + +"It _was_ romantic," said Ruth, softly, as her sister concluded. "Only, +dear, you musn't go off in any more strange dungeons alone." + +"I won't," was the promise, given readily enough. + +The making of moving pictures was soon over for the day, and the company +returned to the hotel. Some of the members went to their rooms, while the +others sat about in the beautiful tropical garden, listening to the +mingled music of the band and the fountain. + +"Good stunt on for to-morrow," said Russ, coming up behind Ruth, and +taking a chair near her. + +"What is it?" asked Paul, who was with Alice. "Any more fort stuff?" + +"No, but it's out near the fort. Mr. Pertell is arranging for a motor +boat race, with you girls in rival boats. You know there is a speed +course on Mantanzas Bay, and he's hired two of the fast boats. It's going +to be a regular race, for the two fellows who run the boats are real +water rivals. + +"Mr. Pertell has induced them to act the parts for him, and there'll be +some fun. Part of our company is to be in one boat, and part in the +other, and some will be on the fort wall, outside the old moat, watching +the boats come up. It ought to make a dandy picture." + +"I'm sure it will," declared Ruth, who was always interested in the +mechanical end, as well as in the artistic side. Russ had taught her +considerable about the technical part of the business of making moving +pictures. + +"A motor boat race will be simply fine!" Alice exclaimed. "I hope the +boat I am in wins." + +"There's no telling," Russ went on. "As I said, the men who own the boats +are real rivals, so each will do his best to come out ahead. There'll be +no fake about this--if you'll excuse the use of slang," he added. + +That evening, seated in the palm garden, Mr. Pertell explained to his +company something of the plans for the next day, telling of the plot of +the play in which the motor boat race was to figure. + +"That sounds interesting," commented Mr. DeVere. + +"Do those boats go very fast?" inquired Mr. Sneed. + +"Rather--they are two of the fastest boats in the world," answered the +manager. + +"Then there's sure to be an accident," predicted the grouchy actor. "I +think you may count me out of this play, Mr. Pertell. I have had enough +of water stuff." + +"Well, you're due to have a bit more," observed Mr. Pertell, drily. "For +you fall overboard from one of the boats, at the conclusion of the race." + +"I fall overboard!" was the startled exclamation. + +"Yes, and Mr. Bunn dives in after you. You are both good swimmers--you +remember you told me so." + +The use of the dock of the St. Augustine Power Boat Club had been loaned +for the making of the moving picture, and next day, with such of his +company as were to go in the boats, Mr. Pertell went to the float. +Others of the players took their places on the wall of the fort. + +Two cameras were to be used, Russ working one to show the start and +finish of the race, and Pop Snooks the other, to depict the action of the +players not in the boats. + +The motor boats were powerful and handsome craft. The skippers of each +were at the wheel as the players took their places, and each boat carried +a blackened and greasy mechanician, as looking after high-powered motors +was no simple matter. + +"Well, are we all ready?" asked the manager, as he assigned the players +to their places. + +"All ready, sir," answered Mr. DeVere. + +Alice was in one boat, well up in front beside the captain-owner, while +Ruth occupied a similar position in the other craft. + +"You may start, if you please," said the manager, with a nod at Russ and +another at the skippers. + +A moment later the air was filled with the thundering, rattling exhaust +of the motors as the boats swept away from the float. + +The motor race was on. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +TO LAKE KISSIMMEE + + +The staccato explosions of the motor boats, the cheers of the spectators, +of whom there were many; the clicking of the camera operated by Russ, and +the shouts of the picture-players themselves as they went through the +"business" prescribed for this act of the play, made the scene a gay one. + +"This will make a fine film," declared Mr. Pertell, who was in the boat +with Alice, Mr. Bunn, Mr. Sneed and Mr. DeVere. + +"I think so," agreed the latter. "I am glad we came to Florida." + +"Is your throat better?" the manager asked. + +"Indeed yes--much better. That is, it does not pain me, but I still +retain my hoarseness, as you notice." + +"Yes, and I am selfish enough to wish that it will stay with you a little +longer," the manager said. "That is, only so that you will not leave me +and go back to the legitimate," he added, quickly. "For I want you in +moving pictures. I have some other plans when we finish work here, and +you and your daughters will be much needed." + +"I am glad you have such a good opinion of us," murmured the veteran +actor. + +"Where are we going from here?" asked Alice. + +"That's a secret," laughed the manager. "I haven't it all worked out +myself, as yet." + +The boats sped on, the rival skippers striving to gain the lead. The men +in charge of the motors, too, did everything in their power, in the way +of changing the gasoline mixture, or by means of copious oiling, to get +one more revolution out of their engines. But the boats seemed very +evenly matched. A big wave was thrown up on either bow of each boat. + +Russ, after getting pictures of the start, had gone with his camera, by a +short cut, to a little promontory on shore, where he got other views of +the boats racing through the water. Then he went farther on and, getting +into another motor boat, took his place near the finish line, to film the +end of the race. + +"Oh, I do hope we win!" exclaimed Alice, to her captain. + +"I'm going to do my best," he answered, grimly, as he glanced across to +where the other boat was forging through the water. + +And in her boat Ruth was saying the same thing. + +Each skipper had been holding something in reserve in the way of power, +and now the mechanicians were signalled to use this. + +The boats were nearing the finish line now, for the race, for the purpose +of the moving pictures, was only a short one. + +But, as it happened, the captain of the boat Alice was in, got his signal +a little ahead of his rival, so that he shot forward, and thus gained an +advantage the other motor boat could not cut down. + +"Oh, we're going to win!" cried Alice in delight, clapping her hands as +she saw Russ, in his boat at the finish line, operating his camera. +"We're going to win!" + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, who, with Ruth, were in the other boat, +looked glum. As for Ruth she was of that gentle nature which is willing +to lose, that others may enjoy even a brief pleasure, and she rejoiced in +the delight of her sister. + +"Well, I guess he's got me!" regretfully admitted the captain of the +losing boat. "He was a little too quick for me." + +And so it proved, for the boat containing Alice shot across the line a +winner. + +"I knew we'd do it!" she cried. + +"Good for you!" shouted Russ. + +"It's time for you to fall overboard now, Mr. Sneed," directed the +manager. "Make a good fall, and put plenty of splash into it." + +"Oh dear!" groaned the actor. "I suppose I must!" + +In anticipation of this he had donned an old suit of clothes, as had Mr. +Bunn, and the latter, for one of very few times, did not wear his tall +hat. + +"Be ready with your rescue leap," ordered Mr. Pertell to the older actor. +"Make it as natural as you can." + +The boats had now lost headway, and were coming to a point where Russ +could get pictures of the "overboard act." + +"I say!" cried Mr. Sneed, as he paused in his preparations to fall, "I +have just thought of something!" + +"What is it?" asked Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Quick, we are losing time, and +getting out of position." + +"There are no alligators in this bay; are there?" and Mr. Sneed looked +anxiously at the captain of the motor boat. + +"Not one," was the laughing answer. "You're safe." + +"Then here I go!" cried the grouch, as he toppled overboard, having first +"registered" a faint, as directed in the plot of the play. + +"Now get him, Mr. Bunn!" cried the manager, and there was another splash, +while aboard the boats the proper bits of acting were gone through with, +that the camera might catch them. + +Once they were in the water Mr. Bunn and Mr. Sneed acted their parts +well, and the result was a good film. Then, once more aboard the boats, a +start was made for the fort, where the final act was to take place. + +"I say, me deah fellah!" complained Mr. Towne, as he moved away from Mr. +Bunn, who sat near him; "keep a bit off, that's a good chap! I don't want +to wet this suit, you know." + +"Oh, all right, I beg your pardon," spoke the other. + +But Mr. Towne's anxiety for his garments was wasted, for at that moment +Mr. Sneed, taking off his coat, wrung some water from it, and of this a +considerable quantity splashed on the light suit of Mr. Towne. + +"Oh, I say!" the latter cried in dismay. "This won't do, you know!" + +"Humph! It seems to me it's already done," observed Paul, with a chuckle. + +During the rest of the trip Mr. Towne was kept busy trying to dry up the +wet spots with his perfumed handkerchief. + +Pop Snooks, the property man, who had little to do when outdoor scenes +were being made, was busy with the other moving picture camera on the +fort wall, and presently, on the arrival of the company at that place, +the final scenes were filmed. + +"Wasn't it a dandy race?" cried Alice, as she and her sister, with Russ +and Paul, started back to the hotel. + +"It was for you because you won, I suppose," remarked Miss Pennington, in +a disagreeable tone. + +"Not at all," returned Alice, promptly. "It was a glorious race anyhow. +Winning didn't count; it was all for the picture." + +"That's the way to look at it," said Paul, in her ear. "But, all the +same, I'm glad your boat won." + +"Thanks," she replied, as she tripped along beside him. + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon, pausing a moment to "readjust their +complexions," as Alice said (for which she was reproved by Ruth), went on +by themselves. + +The company of players remained in St. Augustine several days, and many +fine films resulted, the scenery lending itself particularly well to the +camera. + +One act in a play took place at the alligator "farm," on Anastasia +Island. There Ruth and Alice saw 'gators in all stages, from tiny ones +just emerging from the shell, to big fourteen-foot ones--regular +"man-eaters" they were told. + +"Ugh! the horrid creatures!" exclaimed Ruth, who could not repress a +shudder. + +"They aren't very pleasant," agreed Alice. "And to think that perhaps +those two girls may be--" + +"Oh, my dear! Don't mention it! I can't bear to think of such a thing. +It's too horrible!" + +"But I suppose there must be many such as that one, in the wilds of the +swamps and bayous," said Alice in a low voice, as she pointed her parasol +at a huge saurian. + +"If there are any such, I don't want to know it--or see them," murmured +Ruth, again shuddering. "Oh, I hope we don't go too far into the wilds." + +"So do I," agreed her sister. + +That afternoon, calling his company of players together, Mr. Pertell +said: + +"Friends, we will leave in two days for the interior. I want to get some +views along the rivers and bayous, where the scenery is wilder than it +is here." + +"And where are we going, may I ask?" inquired Mr. DeVere. + +"To a place called Sycamore, near Lake Kissimmee," was the answer. + +"Oh, Ruth!" exclaimed Alice, impulsively, when she heard this. + +"Yes, dear, what is it?" + +"Why, that's where those two girls were from--the ones who were lost, you +know!" + +"Hush! Yes. You know we agreed to say nothing about it, for fear of +causing undue alarm. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon might refuse to go, +you know," she went on in a low voice, "and that would make trouble for +Mr. Pertell." + +"Oh, but isn't it a strange coincidence?" remarked Alice. + +"It certainly is. But perhaps the girls have been found by this time." + +"Our destination will be Lake Kissimmee," proceeded Mr. Pertell. "We will +take some pictures on the lake, some on the Kissimmee River, that +connects the lake of that name with Lake Okeechobee, and then we'll go a +little way into the wilds, on various streams." + +Ruth and Alice looked at each other apprehensively. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A WARNING + + +"Beg pardon," said Claude Towne, during a pause in which Mr. Pertell was +consulting some notes he had jotted down, in order to make matters more +clear to his players. "Beg pardon, my dear sir, but are we going to a +_very_ wild part of this country?" + +"Why, yes--rather so," was the not very reassuring answer. "You probably +won't be able to get a room and bath at the hotel where we stop." + +"Oh, another one of those backwoods places," murmured Miss Pennington. +"How horrid!" + +"Is there any--er--any society there?" asked Mr. Towne. + +"Hardly," answered the manager, "unless you call the natives society." + +"Wretched!" exclaimed the dude, with a wry face. + +"Hold on, though!" cried Mr. Pertell, "I believe that there are some of +our first families there." + +"Ah, that is better," replied Mr. Towne, adjusting his lavender tie. "I +shall include my evening clothes in my wardrobe, then." + +"I'd advise you to," remarked Mr. Pertell, with an assumption of gravity. +"The Seminole Indians, to which I refer, are a very ancient and proud +race, I understand, and doubtless a dress suit would appeal to them. They +are the first families of Florida!" + +"Wretched joke!" muttered the actor. "I think I shall not go into the +interior." + +"Oh, I think you will," retorted Mr. Pertell, easily. "Your contract +calls for it." + +"What about alligators?" asked Mr. Sneed. + +"You know my offer--a thousand dollars a big bite," laughed the manager. +"But I don't fancy we shall see half as many as you saw out at the +alligator farm. They are being hunted too fiercely for their skins to +allow many to be around loose. Don't worry about them. + +"And now, friends, if you please, get ready for the trip to Lake +Kissimmee. Russ, see to it that you have plenty of film, for we won't be +able to get any out there. Now I leave you to make your arrangements." + +There was a buzz and a hum of excitement as the players talked over what +lay before them. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon rather shared the +disappointment of Mr. Towne that there was no "society" at the place +where they were going. But Ruth and Alice, aside from a little feeling of +apprehension, and of regret at the fate of the two girls of whom they had +read, rather welcomed the coming change. + +"It will be a new experience for us," exulted Alice. + +"And I hope it will be a pleasant one," rejoined Ruth. + +Final visits were paid to points of interest in St. Augustine. It would +be some time before they would see it again, as Mr. Pertell intended +remaining in the interior for several weeks, and then going back to New +York by a different route. + +"We must have another drink from the Fountain of Youth," laughed Alice, +the day before their departure. "Who knows but what it may preserve us, +out in those dismal swamps?" + +"Good idea!" commented Paul. "Come on, I'll go with you." + +So they went and made merry at the historic well. + +Mr. Pertell and Russ had much to do to get ready for the trip. A motor +boat had been arranged for to meet the party at Sycamore, where the +headquarters would be for most of the work in the wilds of Florida. On +this it was planned to take trips on Lake Kissimmee, and the river of +that name. + +"And we may go as far as Lake Okeechobee," said Russ in speaking of the +matter to Ruth. + +"That's down among the Everglades; isn't it?" she asked. + +"Close to them. I've always wanted to go there, and see what they are +like. Now I may get the chance." + +"I think I should like to see them, too," she agreed. + +"Ruth, you are getting very brave," observed Alice a little later, when +the two sisters were packing up in their room. + +"Why, dear?" + +"To offer to go with Russ to the Everglades." + +"I didn't offer!" + +"It was the same thing, sister mine. It makes a big difference; doesn't +it?" + +"Silly!" + +Alice laughed. + +"I wonder if we ought to take all these light waists?" she asked a little +later, holding up a beautiful flimsy one. "It's sure to be hot there, I +suppose." + +"I imagine so. And yet there may be cool and damp evenings. I'd take +everything, if I were you." + +"I was thinking of sending some of my things back to Mrs. Dalwood. She +promised to look after them, if I did." + +"Oh, I'd take everything. Where did you get that?" Ruth asked curiously, +as she held up one of her sister's garments, ornamented with a peculiar +lace. + +"At that little Spanish shop we pass every day. Oh, she has some of the +most gorgeous things there, and some of the most beautiful! I wish my +purse were as long as my desires. But I got this very reasonably." + +"Are there any more like it?" asked Ruth, for she, too, liked pretty +things. + +"There were only two, and I took one." + +"Then I'm going to get the other. I can go without ice cream for a week +to make up for it. I never saw anything so pretty." + +"I'll go with you. She might charge you more than she did me. I had to +bargain with her." + +"I never knew you could do it," laughed Ruth. + +The two girls desisted from their packing long enough to slip out to the +lingerie shop, where they spent more time and money than they intended. + +The result was they had to hurry at the last minute, and their trunks +were hardly strapped before the porter came to take them to the station. + +The trip to Sycamore from St. Augustine was rather tedious and tiresome. +The railways in the interior of Florida were not like some of the fast +lines, and there was not always the luxury of a parlor car. + +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon were rather inclined to murmur about this, +but most of the others of the company took the inconveniences in good +spirit, even Mr. Towne making the best of it. + +He soon found that it was of little use to attire himself in the "height +of fashion," and gradually became more sensible in his adornment. + +On the trip Russ managed to get a series of films showing different +scenes, and at one lonely railroad station, where they had to wait +several hours for a connecting train, a little scene was improvised that +later was worked into a play. + +The few "natives" around the place were much excited at some of the +things the players did, and when Paul "saved" Mr. Towne from being run +down by a freight train that came along, one grizzled old man was so +worked up, thinking it all real, that he wanted to run for a doctor, when +Mr. Towne pretended to be hurt. + +"An' they do that fer money?" this native inquired, when the matter had +been explained to him. + +"That's what they do," said Russ, who was putting away his camera. + +"Wa'al, all I've got to say is if that's what they call work--I'd rather +do nothin'," was the caustic comment. + +"And that's what he jinerally does," spoke another native, in a low +voice. "He's never worked, an' I guess he never will." + +"It would be pretty hard to get a _moving_ picture of _him_, then," +laughed Russ. + +Finally the train, which had been delayed by a slight accident, came +along, and the weary players got aboard. In due season they reached +Sycamore, a little village near the shores of Lake Kissimmee. + +Accommodations had been arranged for in advance, and soon the company was +getting settled in the new quarters. + +"This is some different from St Augustine," complained Miss Pennington, +who roomed with her friend Miss Dixon. + +"I should say so. I'd go back to New York, if I could." + +"So would I. But I guess we'll have to stay, my dear. Hand me the powder; +will you? My face is a wreck from the cinders and dust." + +"So's mine." And together they "beautified." + +Ruth and Alice were among the first to go down to the parlor to await the +ringing of the dinner gong. They strolled up to the desk, to ask the +clerk if there was any mail for them, since word had been left at the +hotel in St. Augustine to forward any letters. + +"Oh, you are with the moving picture company; aren't you?" the clerk +asked, as he gave them each a letter. They were from acquaintances they +had made at the hotel. + +"Yes, we're with the 'movies,'" admitted Alice. + +"Going to make all your pictures around here?" + +"Not all. We are booked to go into the interior, I believe. Pleasant +prospect; isn't it?" she asked with a frank laugh. + +"Well, no, I wouldn't say it was," answered the clerk, and he spoke as +though Alice had meant to be serious. "In fact, if I were you I wouldn't +try to go into the interior around here." + +"Why not?" asked Ruth. + +"Because it was from here the two girls started out into the wilds to +gather rare flowers, and they have not since been heard from!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +OUT IN THE BOAT + + +Ruth and Alice looked at each other. It seemed almost impossible that +there could be this confirmation of the news item they had read, and so +soon after arriving at the hotel. Yet such was the fact. + +"Does any one know what has become of them?" asked Alice, after a pause. + +"Not the least trace of them has been found," replied the clerk. + +"Have they made any search for them?" inquired Ruth, looking over her +shoulder almost apprehensively, as though she, herself, were out in some +swamp, surrounded by perils of all sorts. But only the lighted parlor met +her gaze. + +"Search! Indeed they have!" cried the hotel man. "The parents of the +girls have sent out party after party." + +"With no result?" asked Alice, softly. + +"Well, they found traces where the girls had evidently landed, but that +was all. They seemed to have gone deeper and deeper into the swamp." + +"How long ago was it?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Several weeks, now. It is almost impossible that the girls are alive, +though they took a quantity of provisions with them, as they expected to +be gone several days." + +"The poor things!" murmured Ruth. "Tell us more about them. Who are +they?" + +"Mabel and Helen Madison," was the answer. + +Ruth and Alice cried out in surprise. + +"Those girls!" voiced Alice. + +"The ones we met in the train," added Ruth. "It seems incredible!" + +"Did you know them?" asked the clerk, for the remarks and demeanor of +Ruth and Alice were too marked to pass over without comment. + +"We did not exactly know them," replied Ruth, slowly. "We met them in the +train when we were going to the New England backwoods to get moving +pictures last winter. One of them had a headache--I think it was Helen." + +"No, it was Mabel, dear," corrected Alice. "They seemed such nice girls." + +"They _were_ nice!" the clerk declared. "I did not know them very well, +but I have often seen them about the hotel here. Some of their friends +stopped here. Their folks live just outside the town." + +"And you say they went out to get rare flowers?" asked Ruth, as she noted +Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon coming into the hotel parlor. + +"Yes. The girls are real outdoors girls," went on the clerk. "They can +hunt and fish, and Miss Mabel, I believe it was, once shot a big +alligator." + +"Alligators! Oh, dear! Are any of the horrid things around here?" broke +in Miss Dixon. + +"Not right around here," was the reassuring answer. "This was out in the +swamps." + +"We are talking about two girls who have disappeared from here, and can't +be found," explained Alice, for the story was bound to come out now. + +"Oh, how perfectly dreadful!" cried Miss Pennington, as the account was +completed. "We must be careful about going out alone, my dear," she added +to her friend. + +"Not much danger--you'll always want some of the men along," thought +Alice. + +"What sort of flowers were they after?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Some sort of orchid," was the hotel man's answer. "I don't know much +about such things myself, but Mr. Madison, the girls' father, is quite a +naturalist, and I guess they take after him. He collects birds, bugs and +flowers, and the girls used to help him. + +"As I heard the story, he has been for a long time searching for a rare +orchid that is said to grow around here. He never could find it until one +day, by chance, an old colored man came in with a crumpled and wilted +specimen, mixed in with some other stuff he had. Mr. Madison saw it, and +grew excited at once, wanting to know where it had come from. + +"The colored man told him as well as he could, and Mr. Madison decided to +set off in search of this flower--if an orchid is a flower?" and the +clerk looked questioningly at the girls. + +"Oh, indeed it is a flower, and a most beautiful one," Ruth assured him. + +"Well, Mr. Madison was about to start off on a little expedition, when he +was taken ill. He was much disappointed, as some naturalist society had +offered him a big prize for a specimen of this particular plant. + +"Then the girls, wishing to help their father, said they would go in +search of it. They owned a good-sized motor boat, and had often gone off +before, remaining several days at a time. They know how to take care of +themselves." + +"That's the kind of girls I like," declared Alice. "It seems doubly hard +on them, though, that they should be lost." + +"And lost they are," concluded the clerk. "Not a word has been heard of +them since they set off into the wilds. When they did not come back, +after several days, Mr. Madison organized a searching party. But, beyond +a few traces of the girls, nothing could be found." + +"We read about it in a newspaper," said Ruth. + +"Yes, there were some items, but not many," the clerk said. "There wasn't +much to print, I guess. So I just thought I'd warn you folks not to go +too far off into the swamps or bayous." + +"And you may depend upon it--we won't!" exclaimed Miss Pennington. + +"Our party will probably keep together," explained Ruth, "as we will all +be needed in the moving pictures." + +"That's a good idea," the clerk said. "Take no chances." + +It was not long before the entire moving picture company had heard the +story of the lost girls, and there was universal sympathy for them, and +for their grief-stricken parents. + +"I only wish we could do something!" said Ruth, and there were tears in +her eyes as she looked toward her sister. "Suppose it should be us?" she +added. + +"I don't like to suppose any such horrible thing!" returned Alice, +brightly. "It's terrible, to be sure; but let's not think too much about +it. It may get on our nerves." + +"But if we could only help find them," went on Ruth, on whom the story +seemed to have made a profound impression. + +"I don't see how we can," remarked Alice, thoughtfully. "We know nothing +about the country, or conditions, here. Those who have lived here all +their lives are better qualified to make a search." + +"Say, wouldn't it be great if we could find them!" cried Russ, as he +listened to the story. "What a film it would make!" + +"Oh, Russ!" reproved Ruth. "To think of such a thing at this time!" + +"Why, what's the matter?" he asked, ruefully, for Ruth's manner was a +little cold toward him. + +"Of course Russ naturally thinks of the picture end of it," put in Alice, +determined to soften the unintended effect of Ruth's manner. + +"I suppose so," agreed Ruth, and she gave Russ a glance that made up for +what she had said. + +"I do wish we could do something," said Paul, "but, as Alice says, it +doesn't seem possible." + +The hotel at Sycamore was nothing to boast of, but it answered fairly +well as the moving picture company would be outdoors practically all the +time, as Mr. Pertell pointed out. The weather was like early Summer--most +delightful--and it was a temptation to wander out under the stately, +graceful palms, which cast a grateful shade. + +There were not many other guests at the hostelry, and interest centered +in the company of players. They were asked many questions as to what they +did, and how they did it, and when Russ set up his camera for the first +time, merely to try it, and get the effect of light and shade, he was +surrounded by a curious throng. + +The scenery around Sycamore was most wonderful--at least, so Ruth and +Alice thought. It was not that it was grand or imposing--for it was +anything but that. Florida is a low-lying country with many lakes and +swamps. But the vegetation was so luxuriant, and the palms, the big trees +festooned with Spanish moss and the ferns were so beautiful, that it was +a constant delight to the girls. + +There are few rapid streams around the vicinity of Sycamore, most of them +being sluggish to the point of swampiness. And a short distance away +from the hotel, on some of the creeks and bayous, one could imagine +oneself in some impenetrable jungle, so still and quiet was it. + +"It will give us some new effects in moving pictures," said Mr. Pertell. +"It is just what we want." + +"How are we going to get farther into the interior?" asked Mr. DeVere, +when that subject was brought up. + +"I have chartered a small steamer," said the manager. "At first I decided +we could use a large motor boat, and make the trips back and forth from +the hotel each day, to get to the various places. But I find that +distances are longer than I calculated on, and it might be inconvenient, +at times, to come back to the hotel. So I have engaged a good-sized, +flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, and we can spend several days at a time on +her if need be." + +"Oh, how lovely!" cried Alice, clapping her hands in girlish enthusiasm. +"Won't it be fine, Ruth?" + +"It sounds enticing." + +"To think of steaming along these quiet and mysterious streams, under the +palms," exclaimed Alice. "Oh, I'm so glad I came." + +"Huh! Yes. Suppose we get lost, as those two girls are?" demanded Mr. +Sneed, who was the only one, you may be sure, who would make such a +disquieting suggestion. + +"Well, if we're all lost together it won't be so bad," declared Alice. +"But I should hate to be lost all alone." + +"Don't speak of it!" begged Ruth, with a shudder. + +After two or three days of fretting, because the boat he had ordered did +not come, Mr. Pertell finally received word that it was on its way up the +Kissimmee River. + +The _Magnolia_, which was the name of the steamer, arrived two days +later. It proved to be an old, comfortable craft, with a wheezy engine, +burning wood. At the stern was a paddle wheel, so placed because of the +character of the waters to be navigated. The boat only drew about a foot, +and could go in very shallow streams. + +There were sleeping and cooking quarters aboard, and on the upper deck a +place to promenade, or to sit in the shade of an awning. + +"It's like a house-boat!" cried Alice in delight, as she and Ruth +inspected it. "Oh, I'd just like to live aboard this all the while." + +"You will be on it a good deal," observed Russ. "We've got a number of +dramas planned, of which the boat is the background." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +UNDER THE PALMS + + +"Attention, everyone!" + +Mr. Pertell stood on the deck of the _Magnolia_, facing his company of +players. At his side was Russ, with the moving picture camera ready for +action. + +"The first part of this play takes place aboard here," went on the +manager. "The action is simple, as you can see from the scenarios I have +distributed. Some acts will take place on shore, and when the time comes +for that the boat will be sent over to the bank and be tied up. Now then, +Russ, get ready to film them. Mr. DeVere, you are in this first act; also +Miss Ruth and Miss Dixon. Are you up in your parts?" + +"Oh, yes," answered the veteran actor. Indeed it did not take him long to +become letter perfect, for with him to act was not only second, but first +nature. + +"I don't just understand how I am to do this part," said Miss Dixon, as +she walked over to Mr. Pertell to point out a certain direction. +Thereupon he explained it carefully to her. + +The company of players was out on the steamer, moving slowly up a quiet +stream, one of the tributaries of the Kissimmee River. On either side of +the swamp-like stream were tall trees, from which hung, in graceful +festoons, streamers of the peculiar growth known as Spanish moss. In the +background were palms and other semi-tropical plants. But the growth +along the stream itself was so luxuriant that little could be seen except +along the banks. + +Now and then the quietude, which was unmarred, save by the gentle puffing +of the engine, would be disturbed by some big bird, as it forsook its +station on a fallen log, startled by the invasion of its domain. Again +there would be a splash in the water. + +"An alligator!" exclaimed Miss Pennington, as one rather loud splash +sounded just beneath where she was leaning on the rail, looking down into +the water. + +"Where?" cried Russ, eagerly, as he made ready to get some views of it +with his camera. + +"There!" she said, pointing a trembling finger. + +"Oh, don't look at it!" begged Miss Dixon, covering her face with her +hands. "Don't look at the horrid thing!" + +"No harm in looking at that," laughed Russ. "It's only a log of wood." + +And so it proved. + +"Well, it looked just like an alligator," protested Miss Pennington, as +the others smiled. + +"And it sounded like one!" declared Miss Dixon. + +"How does an alligator sound?" asked Mr. Towne, who was walking about +attired in immaculate white. + +"It made a splash." + +"So does a bullfrog," observed Paul. + +"It does look rather alligatory in there," admitted Alice, as she stood +beside the young actor, and gazed into the sluggish stream. + +"'Alligatory' is a new one," he remarked. "I wonder if alligators eat +alligator pears?" + +"Probably," she laughingly agreed. "There, I guess they're ready for you, +Paul," for he was to take part in the first scene. + +Miss Dixon, having had her difficulty straightened out, was prepared to +go on, and soon Russ was again at his usual occupation of turning the +handle of the moving picture camera. + +For a description of how moving pictures are taken, developed, printed +and thrown on the screen in the theater by means of a projecting +machine, the reader is referred to the previous books of this series. + +"That will do for this part of the drama," announced Mr. Pertell, when an +hour or more had been spent in taking various films. "We will now go +ashore. Put her over there," he called to the man in the pilot house on +deck, pointing to a place where, back of the moss-fringed row of trees, +could be seen some stately palms. + +The rather clumsy boat turned slowly toward shore, and a little later had +"poked her nose," as Russ expressed it, against a luxuriant growth of +tropical vegetation, in the midst of some low palms and gigantic ferns. + +The moist smell of earth and plants, and the odor of flowers was borne on +a gentle breeze. + +It was a lonely spot, and just what Mr. Pertell wanted for this +particular play. On the way up the stream they had passed several small +settlements, and the population, consisting mostly of colored folk, had +rushed down to the crude landings to stare with big eyes at the passing +steamer. + +"Everybody ashore!" called the manager, when the boat had been made fast. + +"Oh, but we can't go through there!" complained Mr. Bunn, who, in +attempting to make his way into the deeper part of the woods, had +suffered the loss of his tall hat several times, low branches having +knocked it off. + +"Wait, I'll send some of the hands ahead with axes to clear the way," +offered the steamer captain. "It'll be easier going, then." + +This was done, and the moving picture players found it no trouble at all +to make their way along the hewn path to where a little grove of palms, +in a pretty glade, offered the proper scenic background for the pictures. + +"This is just the place!" cried the manager. "Russ, set your camera up +here, and you'll get the sun just right. Now, everybody attention!" and +he carefully explained what he wanted done. + +The play concerned the elopement of a pretty Southern girl, the pursuit +by her father, her subsequent marriage, and the forgiveness of her +parents. One of the scenes showed the young couple fleeing through the +wilderness, and coming to rest beneath the palms, while the pursuers +searched in vain for them. + +"You're one of the lovers who has been disappointed by the elopement, Mr. +Towne," said Mr. Pertell, in giving his directions. "When I give the word +you must come running along there, so the camera will show you alone." + +"But I may fall in there," objected the actor, as he pointed you to a +small, muddy stream along the path he was to take. + +"You must look out for that," the manager replied. "In fact, I don't know +but what it would be good business to have you fall in. It would seem +more realistic." + +"I absolutely refuse to fall in with this new suit on!" cried Mr. Towne, +as he glanced at his while flannels. + +"Oh, very well, then," conceded the manager. + +Russ had his camera in readiness, and, after making views of the two +lovers beneath the palms, he called: + +"All ready for you, Mr. Towne," and he focused his camera in another +direction. + +The well-dressed actor came on. + +"Oh, run faster!" commanded Mr. Pertell, impatiently. "Act as though you +meant it. Put some spirit in it. You are supposed to be desperate because +your sweetheart has gone off with another man. You look as though you +didn't care!" + +Thereupon Mr. Towne tried to "register" anger, and succeeded fairly well. +But in doing so he forgot to "mind his steps," and a moment later, in +running along the edge of the muddy stream he slipped, and the next +moment, in all the glory of his white suit, he splashed into the mud. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +IN PERIL + + +Russ instantly stopped grinding away at the camera handle as he saw Mr. +Towne go into the ditch, but the manager, without the loss of a moment, +cried: + +"Film that, Russ! It'll be better than the way we were to play it first. +Catch him as he comes up!" + +"All right!" chuckled the young operator. + +"Oh, what a place to fall!" cried Miss Pennington, who was off one side, +out of the camera's range. + +"His suit will surely need washing," remarked Alice. + +"Oh, how can you be so heartless?" asked her sister. + +"Heartless! Isn't that the truth?" + +Mr. Towne had struggled to his feet. The muddy stream was not very deep. + +"Help! Help! Save me!" he cried, as he wiped the water from his face, +thereby making many muddy streaks on his countenance. + +"You're in no danger--come on out!" cried Mr. Pertell, trying not to +laugh. "Come right toward the camera, Mr. Towne, and register anger and +disgust!" + +"Register--register!" spluttered the actor. "Do you mean to say you are +filming me in this state?" + +"I certainly am--it's a state that will make a hit in the movies!" cried +Mr. Pertell. "You might fall down once more, if you don't mind, Mr. +Towne. It will add realism to the film." + +"Fall down again! Never! I will resign first." + +"Very well, I won't insist on it," replied the manager, for he felt that +it was rather hard on the actor. + +But moving picture work is not at all easy, and actors and actresses have +to do more disagreeable and dangerous "stunts" than merely falling into a +muddy stream. The demand of the public for realism often goes to +extremes, and more than once performers have risked their lives at the +behest of some enthusiastic manager. + +Mr. Pertell was not that sort, however, though he did insist on his +players doing a reasonable amount of hard work--and often disagreeable +work, as in this case. + +But aside from getting wet and muddy, which conditions could be remedied +by a bath and dry clothes, the actor suffered no great hardship, except +to his pride, and perhaps he had too much of that, anyhow. + +"Come on!" cried the manager. "Crawl out of that, and keep on with the +chase." + +"Keep on--in this condition! Do you mean it?" Mr. Towne asked. + +"Certainly I do. The play must go on. Just because you fell in the ditch +is no excuse for stopping it. Keep on! Right along the path. Crawl out +and run on." + +"But--but look at my clothes!" complained Mr. Towne. "They are--they're +muddy!" + +"There is a little mud on them, to be sure," agreed Mr. Pertell. "But +don't worry. It will wash off." + +"A _little_ mud!" spluttered the actor. "I--I--" + +"Keep on!" cried the manager. "You are delaying the play!" + +The young actor groaned, but there was nothing for it but to obey. He +climbed out of the ditch, his once immaculate suit dripping mud from +every point, and then he began the pretended chase again, seeking to +find the escaping lovers. + +Of course this was the farcical element, but managers have found that +this is much needed in plays, and though many of them would prefer to +eliminate the "horse-play" the audiences seem to demand it, and managers +are prone to cater to the tastes of their audiences when they find it +pays. + +"I'm glad I wasn't cast for that part," remarked the dignified Mr. Bunn, +as he saw what Mr. Towne had to go through. + +"I'd never consent to it," declared Mr. Sneed. "This business is bad +enough as it is," he complained, "without deliberately making it worse. I +presume he'll want me to try and catch an alligator next, or drive a sea +cow to pasture." + +"What's a sea cow?" asked Alice, who had overheard the talk, while Mr. +Towne was being filmed in his muddy state. + +"The manatee," explained Mr. Sneed. "They are curious animals. They +browse around on the bottom of Florida rivers, and sea inlets, as cows do +on shore, eating grass. We'll probably see some down here." + +"Are they dangerous?" asked Miss Dixon. + +"Not as a rule," answered the grouchy actor, who seemed to have taken a +sudden interest in this matter. "They might upset a small boat if they +accidently bumped into it, for often they grow to be fourteen feet long, +and are like a whale in shape." + +"I hope we won't meet with any," observed Ruth. "I can't bear wild +animals." + +"Manatees are not especially wild," laughed Mr. Sneed, it being one of +the few occasions when he did indulge in mirth. "In fact, the earlier +forms of manatee were called _Sirenia_, and were considered to be the +origin of the belief in mermaids. For they carried their little ones in +their fore-flippers, almost as a human mother might do in her arms, and +when swimming along would raise their heads out of water, so that they +had a faint resemblance to a swimming woman." + +"How very odd!" cried Alice. "And are there manatees down here?" + +"Many in Florida? Yes," was the answer. "I suppose we'll see some if we +stay long enough. But I'm going to serve notice on Mr. Pertell now that I +refuse to drive any of the sea cows to pasture." + +"I don't blame you!" laughed Ruth. "Oh, look at Mr. Towne! He's fallen +again!" + +And so the unfortunate actor had, but this time into a clump of rough +bushes that tore his now nearly ruined white flannels. + +"That's good!" cried Mr. Pertell, approvingly. "You did that very well, +Mr. Towne!" + +"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," the actor protested, as he managed, +not without some difficulty, to extricate himself from the briars. + +Then he ran on, Russ making picture after picture, while the manager +rapidly changed some of the other scenes on the typewritten sheets to +conform to the accident of which he had so cleverly made use. + +"Mr. Bunn, I have a new part for you, in this same play," the manager +said, when Mr. Towne was finally allowed to rest. + +"What is it?" asked the older actor. "I hope you can put in something +about Shakespeare. I have not had a Shakespearean part in so long that I +have almost forgotten how to do it properly." + +"I can't promise you that this time," said the manager. "But it just +occurred to me that you could also try to trace the escaping lovers, and +get stuck in a bog-hole." + +"Who, the lovers get stuck in a bog?" + +"No, you!" + +"Me? Never! I refuse--" + +"Now hold on, Mr. Bunn!" said Mr. Pertell, quickly. "I am not asking you +to do much. You need not get in the bog deeper than up to your knees. +That will answer very well. You can pretend it is a sort of quicksand +bog and that you are sinking deeper and deeper. You call for help, and +Mr. Switzer comes to get you out." + +"I refuse to do it!" cried the actor. + +"And I insist!" declared Mr. Pertell, sharply. "Your contract calls for +any reasonable amount of work, and to wade into a bog knee-deep is not +unreasonable." + +"But I will spoil my shoes and trousers." + +"No matter, I will provide you with new ones. You need not sacrifice your +tall hat this time." + +"That is one comfort," sighed the old actor. "Well, I suppose there is no +help for it. Where is the bog hole?" + +"I think this one will do," said the manager, pointing to one where Mr. +Towne had fallen into the mud. "You will come along, pretending to look +for the fleeing lovers, and you will unwittingly wade out into the bog. +There you will struggle to release yourself, but you will be unable to, +and will call for help. Mr. Switzer, who is also on the trail, will +respond and he will wade out and save you." + +"Excuse me," remarked the German actor, softly, "but vy iss it necessary +dot I rescue him?" + +"Why he can't rescue himself," declared Mr. Pertell. "You've got to do +it." + +"No, dot I did not mean. I meant dot as Herr Towne iss alretty wet and +muddy, dot he could as vell do der rescue act." + +"That's so. It will be better!" said the manager. "I didn't think of +that. I'll have Towne do it. He can come along on the film right after +he's pulled himself out of the ditch. Fix it up that way, Russ." + +"All right, Mr. Pertell." + +"Have I got to go in more mud and water?" demanded the fastidious actor. + +"Yes," replied the manager. "But it won't be much. Just a few feet or so +of film." + +Mr. Towne groaned, but there was no help for it. And really he could not +get much muddier. + +Accordingly, after some intervening scenes had been filmed to make the +action of the story, as revised, more plausible, Russ moved his camera +near the bog hole, ready to get views of Mr. Bunn, when he should stumble +into it, and also Mr. Towne, when the latter came to the rescue. + +"All ready now--let her go!" called the manager. "Come along, Mr. Bunn." + +The old actor advanced, but evidently with very little liking for his +part. + +"Oh, be more natural!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You are supposed to be the +father of the young man who is eloping, and you want to prevent him. Put +some spirit into your work!" + +Thereupon Mr. Bunn tried, and with better success. But when he came to +the edge of the bog hole he hesitated. + +"Hold on! Stop the camera!" cried the manager, sharply. "That won't do at +all. This must be spontaneous. Run right along, and don't stop when you +see the bog hole. Plunge right into it. Why, it isn't up to your knees, +Mr. Bunn, and the weather is hot." + +"All right, here I go!" he said, resignedly. + +"Wait! Go back and do that last bit over again," ordered the manager. +"Russ, cut out the last few pictures and substitute these that are to +come. Now, Mr. Bunn!" + +The Shakespearean actor started over again, and he was "game" enough to +pretend that he did not in the least mind floundering into the bog hole. +As he came to the edge of it, in he plunged. + +He went down much deeper than to his knees, and as he felt himself +sinking he called out: + +"Help! Help! Save me! Save me!" + +"That's it! That's the way to do it! That's being what I call realistic!" +shouted Mr. Pertell, who always waxed enthusiastic over a new idea. + +Mr. Bunn continued to sink in the bog. He pulled and struggled to get +out, apparently without success. Then his tall hat fell off from the +violence of his exertions, and he barely saved it from a muddy bath. + +"Help! Help! I'm sinking!" he cried. + +"Good! That's the way to act it!" encouraged Mr. Pertell. "Now, Mr. +Towne, you come up to the rescue in a few seconds. Don't mind the mud, +either. Go right out to him. You can't be much worse off." + +"Indeed I cannot," agreed the other, as he glanced at his soiled suit. + +"Wait just a minute more," said Mr. Pertell to the prospective rescuer. +"Give him a chance to struggle more. It will look better." + +"No, let him come at once and save me! Save me at once!" + +"Why?" the manager wanted to know. + +"Because I really am sinking! This isn't play! The quicksand has me in +its grip!" + +And, as Mr. Pertell looked about, unable to tell whether the actor was +saying that as part of the "business," or because he was in earnest, the +unfortunate man cried out in real anguish: + +"Save me! Save me! I am in the quicksand and it's sucking me down!" + +"That's right! He is in a quicksand bog!" cried one of the steamer hands +who had helped hew a path through the swamp. "He'll never get out if you +don't help him quick!" + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +A STRANGE ATTACK + + +It was true, then. The frantic appeals of Mr. Bunn were not in the +interests of acting for moving pictures, but because he felt himself in +actual danger. None of his friends had thought of that, until the man +from the steamer offered confirmation. They had all thought the actor was +doing a realistic bit of work. + +"Quicksand! Do you mean it?" gasped Mr. Pertell. + +"I certainly do," answered the steamer hand. "There are a lot of those +bogs around here, and he's stumbled into one. He's going down every +minute, too, and if you don't get him out soon you never will." + +"Oh, mercy!" screamed Miss Pennington. "How horrible!" + +"To be buried alive!" gasped Miss Dixon. + +"Quiet!" commanded Mr. Pertell, sternly. "Come on, gentlemen!" he called +to the male members of the company. "We must save him!" + +"Oh, do get me out!" cried the unfortunate Mr. Bunn. + +"We'll save you!" shouted the manager, as he made a dash toward the bog +hole. He was followed by Mr. DeVere, Paul and some of the others. + +"Keep back!" yelled the man from the steamer. "If you get in you won't +get out either." + +"But they must save him!" cried Alice, who had gone forward with her +father. + +"They can't save him by getting into the quicksand themselves!" pointed +out the man who seemed to know the deadly nature of the bog. "The only +way is to fling him a rope." + +"A rope! There isn't one nearer than the steamer!" cried Mr. Pertell. + +"I'll go get it!" offered Mr. Switzer. "I am a goot runner!" + +"It will be too late, I'm afraid," objected the steamer hand. "He is +sinking faster now." + +This was indeed but too true. Whereas at first the clinging mud and sand +of the bog hole had only been up to Mr. Bunn's knees, he was now engulfed +to his waist. + +"We'll have to make a rope!" cried Mr. Towne. "Tear up our coats, or +something like that." + +"I know a way, Ruth," declared Alice. "We have on two skirts. The under +one is of heavy cloth. Couldn't we tear those into strips--?" + +"Of course! How wise of you to think of it!" replied the other girl. +"Daddy, we can provide a rope!" she cried, and she quickly whispered to +him what Alice had suggested. + +"The very thing!" he agreed. "Quick, slip behind the bushes there and +remove your underskirts. I'll have my knife ready to slit it into +strips." + +While the two moving picture girls retired for a moment their father +quickly explained their plan. + +"And you may have our skirts, too," said Miss Pennington. "Only mine is +of such thin material--" + +"So is mine, unfortunately," added Miss Dixon. + +"Fortunately I think the two skirts of my daughters will be sufficient," +said Mr. DeVere, as he opened his keen-bladed knife. + +"Oh, I am going down!" cried Mr. Bunn, in anguished tones. + +"Here are the skirts!" cried Alice, as she came out with her own and +Ruth's over her arm. + +Ready hands aided Mr. DeVere in cutting the stout material into strips +that were quickly knotted together, making a strong rope. + +"It's a shame to spoil your suit," said Paul to Alice. + +"It doesn't matter. The skirts were only cheap ones, of khaki cloth, but +they are very strong. I am glad we wore them." + +"And I guess Mr. Bunn will be, too," added the young actor. + +"Now we'll have you out!" cried Mr. DeVere, as he flung one end of the +novel rope to the actor in the bog. Mr. Bunn caught it, and, at the +direction of Mr. Pertell, looped it about his chest, just under his arms. + +"Now, all pull together!" cried the manager. "But take it gradually, +until we see what strain this rope will stand." + +Indeed a slow, gradual pull was the only feasible method of releasing Mr. +Bunn. But with the rope around him, he felt that he was going to be +saved, and did not struggle so violently. + +Often when one gets into a quicksand bog the more one struggles the +faster and deeper one sinks. Only it is almost impossible not to struggle +against the impending fate. + +With the skirt-rope about him, and his friends pulling on it, Mr. Bunn's +hand were free. Seeing this, and realizing that the more force that was +applied, up to a certain point, the sooner would the actor be freed, Ruth +cried: + +"If we had another rope we girls could help, and Mr. Bunn could hold on +to it with his hands," for she and her sister, as well as Miss Pennington +and Miss Dixon, were doing nothing. + +"Let's go to the steamer and get one," proposed Miss Dixon. + +"It would be too late," declared Alice. Then, as she looked about the +little clearing where the accident had taken place she saw, dangling from +a tree, a long vine of some creeping plant. There were several stems +twined together. + +"There's our rope!" she cried. "That vine!" + +"Oh, Alice! How splendid!" exclaimed her sister. "You think of +everything!" + +"Well, let's stop thinking, and work!" suggested the younger girl. "They +need all the help they can get to pull Mr. Bunn out of that bog." + +Together the girls managed to get off a long piece of the stout vine, +which made a most excellent substitute for a rope. + +"I suppose if I had thought of this first we needn't have cut our +skirts," said Alice. + +"I'm not sorry we didn't," was her sister's reply. + +"Nor am I!" + +"Catch this, Mr. Bunn!" called Alice, as with the vine rope she went as +near the bog hole as was safe. + +"Good idea! Great!" cried Mr. Pertell. "You moving picture girls are as +good as men!" + +"Better!" declared Mr. Bunn, who was over his fright now. He caught the +end of the vine Alice flung to him, and held on grimly as the four girls +prepared to tug on their portion. + +With this added strength the plight of the actor was soon relieved. +Slowly but surely he was pulled from the sticky mud, and, a little later, +he was safely hauled out on the firm bank. + +"Thank the Lord for that!" exclaimed Mr. Pertell, reverently, as he saw +that his employe was safe. "I should never have forgiven myself if--if +anything had happened to you. For it was my suggestion that you go in the +bog. My dear man, can you forgive me?" and he held out his hand to Mr. +Bunn, while his voice grew husky, and there was a suspicious moisture in +his eye. + +"That's all right," responded Mr. Bunn, generously, and he seemed to have +added something to his nature through his nerve-racking experience. He +had been near death, or at least the possibility of it, and it had meant +much to him. + +"Don't blame yourself, Mr. Pertell," he went on. "I went into the hole +with my eyes open. Neither of us knew the quicksand was there. And I +suppose we must accept with this business the risks that go with it." + +"Yes, it is part of the game," admitted the manager; "but I want none of +my players to take unnecessary risks. I shall be more careful in the +future." + +Mr. Bunn was quite exhausted from his experience, and, as the affair had +tried the nerves of all, it was decided to give up picture work for the +rest of the day. + +"I can't help regretting, though," said Mr. Pertell, as they were on +their way back to the steamer, "that we didn't get a moving picture of +that. It would have made a great film--better even than the one I had +planned." + +"Oh, but I did get views of it!" cried Russ, with a laugh, that did much +to relieve the strain they were all under. + +"You did!" exclaimed the manager, in surprise. + +"Yes," went on the young operator, "when I saw that there were enough of +you hauling Mr. Bunn out, I thought I might as well take advantage of +the situation and get pictures. So I have the whole rescue scene here," +and he tapped his moving picture camera. + +"I am glad you have!" exclaimed the Shakespearean actor, heartily. "As +long as I had to go through with it we might as well have the Comet +Company get the benefit of it." + +Back through the tropical forest and swamp they went, until they reached +the steamer. There Mr. Bunn and Mr. Towne enjoyed the luxury of a good +bath, and their clothes were cleaned. + +Alice came in for much praise, for it was her quick wit, in a way, that +had enabled Mr. Bunn to be so promptly saved. + +"And to replace your daughters' spoiled skirts, Mr. DeVere," said the +manager, in speaking of the matter later, "I beg that I may be allowed to +get them whole new suits." + +"Oh, that is too much," protested the actor. + +"Indeed it is not!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I am also going to give each +player a bonus on his or her salary, and to Mr. Bunn, for what he +suffered, a special bonus." + +A day or so later the film, in which Mr. Bunn had figured in the +quicksand, was finished, and then came the announcement that they would +proceed on down the river to a new location, so as to get a different +scenic background for the filming of a new drama. + +Some of the scenes of this took place on the steamer, and then, when the +captain announced that he would have to tie up for half a day to enable +the "roustabouts" to go ashore and cut wood for the boiler, Mr. Pertell +said: + +"Then we'll go ashore, too. I want to get some pictures in which a small +boat will figure. So we'll take the camera along, Russ, and get some of +those views I spoke of." + +Some scenes ashore were filmed, and then, carrying out the idea of the +drama, Ruth and Alice, with Paul Ardite, got into a small boat. + +They were to go down stream a little way, and there go through certain +"business" called for in the play. Paul was to row. + +The boat floated under the arching moss and vines that trailed from the +trees on the bank. Now and then a snag would be struck, and on such +occasions Ruth would start nervously, and cry out: + +"Alligators!" + +"Oh, please stop!" begged Alice, after two or three of these scares. "I +don't believe there's an alligator within ten miles of us." + +"Of course not," agreed Paul. + +All this while Russ was getting films of the boat containing the two +moving picture girls. He was following in another boat. + +"Steady there!" he called, at a certain point. "Better toss over your +anchor, and stay there a while. I want a long film of this scene." + +"All right," agreed Paul, and with a splash the little anchor went over +the side. The boat swung around and then became stationary. Russ was +grinding away at the camera when, suddenly, the boat he was filming, with +its occupants, began moving up stream. + +"Hold on!" he warned. "I don't want you to move yet!" + +"I'm not moving!" retorted Paul. + +"But the boat is going--and up stream!" cried Alice. + +"Oh, Paul!" exclaimed Ruth. "What has happened?" + +At the same moment the craft careened violently, and a bulky object rose +partly from the water in front of it. + +"An alligator has attacked us!" screamed Alice. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +OUT OF A TREE + + +Paul sprang to his feet with such suddenness that he nearly upset the +boat, and the girls shrieked in even greater fright. + +"Sit down! Oh, sit down!" Alice begged him. + +"Russ! Russ!" cried Ruth. "It's an alligator!" + +"It can't be!" declared the young moving picture operator. He had stopped +working his camera, and was urging the two men from the steamer, who were +rowing his boat, to make better progress. + +"Deed an' dere am 'gators in dish yeah ribber!" declared one of the +colored men. + +"Don't let the girls hear you say that!" cautioned Russ. + +Paul had obeyed the request of the girls to sit down, but he crawled +toward the bow of the boat, which was now moving through the water, up +stream, at a fair rate of speed. + +"What is it? Oh, what is it?" implored Alice. + +"Can you see anything?" Ruth wanted to know. + +"Some sort of animal has got hold of our anchor, or the rope," declared +Paul, "and it's towing us. I don't think it can be an alligator, though." + +"Oh, what will become of us?" gasped Ruth. + +"Don't be in the least alarmed!" exclaimed Paul. "All I'll have to do +will be to cut the rope, and we'll be free. But I don't want to lose the +anchor." + +"Don't cut loose! Don't!" cried Russ, whose boat was now up to that +containing the two girls and the young actor. "I want to get a film of +that. You're not in any real danger; are you?" + +"Oh, yes indeed we are!" said Ruth. + +"Nonsense! We aren't at all!" protested her sister. "Only I'd like to see +what sort of a fish is towing us." + +"It isn't a fish at all!" Paul suddenly exclaimed. "It's a manatee--a sea +cow!" + +"Oh, a sea cow! I want to look at it!" Alice cried. + +"You must keep quiet in the boat!" insisted Ruth, who seemed greatly +afraid. + +"Silly! I won't upset you," was the answer. "But I want to get a glimpse +of that creature. There is no danger; is there, Paul?" + +"Sea cows are considered gentle, and seldom attack," he replied. "You can +see it quite plainly now. It is swimming near the top of the water." + +Alice made her way forward, and even Ruth was induced to come and look at +the strange creature, while Russ, from his boat, took views of the +occurrence. + +"The anchor seems to be caught under one of its flippers," said Paul. +"That's why it's towing us. Probably the manatee wants to get rid of us +as much as you girls want to get rid of it." + +"I hope it doesn't get away for a few minutes!" called out Russ. "This +will make a dandy film!" + +Much reassured now by the gentle movements of the manatee, Ruth lost +nearly all of her fear. Alice really had felt very little. + +"I thought it surely was an alligator," the latter said, as the boat +continued to be towed by the manatee. + +"Nebber knowed one ob dem t'ings t' come so far up de ribber," declared +one of the colored men. "He's a big one, too!" he added, as his eyes +bulged. + +"How large is it, Russ?" asked Paul. "You can see better than we can." + +"Oh, about twelve feet long, I guess. There, I got a good view of him +then!" he cried, as the manatee, probably in an effort to get rid of the +rope, rose partly from the water. + +"Oh, what a horrid looking thing!" cried Ruth. + +"I don't think so at all," Alice said. "I wish I could see it from in +front." + +She had her wish a moment later, and it was rather more than she +bargained for since the sea cow, in an effort to get rid of the rope that +was twisted about its flipper, turned about with a swirl in the water, +not unlike that made by the propeller of a motor boat, and came head-on +for the craft it was unwittingly towing. + +"Oh, it will upset us!" cried Ruth. + +"Never mind! They don't bite, and we'll rescue you!" Russ reassured her. + +"Oh, I--I'd die, sure, if I were to be thrown into the water with that +terrible creature!" gasped Ruth, clinging to Alice for protection. + +And there did seem some likelihood of the manatee upsetting the boat, not +so much through a vindictive spirit, as by accident, and because of its +huge bulk. + +On it surged toward the craft, and Paul, seizing an oar, prepared to +attack. Russ called to his rowers to be ready to rescue the girls and the +young actor if necessary, and then, with the desire for a good film ever +uppermost in his mind, he continued to grind away at the camera crank. + +"This will be a peach of a film!" he exulted. + +"Oh, Paul! Is it going to attack us?" asked Ruth. + +Paul did not answer, but jabbed with his oar at the manatee and struck it +on the head. The sea cow dived, and this produced the desired result, for +the rope slipped off its flipper, and it was free. It went under the +boat, rubbed along on the keel with its back a short distance, causing +Ruth and Alice to scream as their craft careened, and then vanished for +good. + +"Oh, thank goodness! It's gone!" gasped Ruth. + +Their boat began to drop down stream, until the dragging anchor caught +and held it. Russ now ceased to work the camera. + +"I don't know just how we can incorporate that scene in this drama," he +admitted; "but I suppose Mr. Pertell can find a way. He generally does. +Now, if you girls are up to it, we'll finish with the regular play. I'll +have to slip in some new film, though." + +"Oh, I guess we can go on, after we quiet down a bit," Ruth said, and a +little later she and her sister, with Paul, went through with the +business of the play as originally laid down in the scenario. + +"What a strange experience!" observed Ruth, as they were returning to the +steamer. + +"Wasn't it?" agreed Alice. + +Mr. Pertell, after properly sympathizing with the girls, declared himself +delighted with the unexpected film of the manatee. + +"I tell you we didn't make any mistake coming to Florida," he said. +"We'll get pictures here that no other company can touch." + +And later this was found to be so, for the films made under the palms +created quite a sensation when shown in New York. + +Mr. DeVere, as usual, was somewhat perturbed when he learned what his +daughters had gone through, and again expressed his doubts as to the +advisability of keeping them in moving picture work. + +"Oh, but that might have happened to anyone--if we were out after +orchids, instead of being filmed," protested Alice. "I don't ever want to +think of giving up this work." + +"Nor do I!" added Ruth, with more energy than she usually exhibited. + +The players were out in the palm forest. It was several days after the +episode of the manatee, and the steamer, with a plentiful supply of wood +fuel, had gone up another sluggish stream, some miles farther on. + +Quite an elaborate drama was to be filmed and the "full strength of the +company," as Paul laughingly said, was required. Even little Tommy and +Nellie were to used in some of the scenes. + +"Isn't it wild and desolate in here?" remarked Ruth, with a little +shudder as they penetrated deeper and deeper into the forest, for Mr. +Pertell wanted a certain background. + +"It _is_ lonesome," agreed Alice. "Whenever I get to a place like this I +think of those two missing girls." + +"So do I! Isn't it too bad about them? I wonder if they can have been +found by this time?" + +"Let us hope so," said Alice, in a low voice. + +It took some little time to arrange for making this new film, and in the +first scenes neither Ruth nor Alice were required. They wandered off to +one side, remaining within call, however. + +"There's an orchid!" exclaimed Alice, as she pointed to a beautiful +bloom, clinging to a tree. Seemingly it drew its nourishment from the air +alone. + +"How beautiful!" remarked Ruth. "I wonder if we could get it?" + +"I can climb the tree," declared her sister. "I have on an old skirt. +I'll get it." + +She did, after some little difficulty, and as she was bringing it to +Ruth, Alice looked through an opening between the trees, and exclaimed: + +"Oh, there are Tommy and Nellie. They are after flowers too, for they +each have a handful. But I must call to them. They should not wander too +far away." + +Together she and Alice, admiring the orchid, advanced toward the two +children, who had come to a halt under a big sycamore. + +Then, as Alice was about to call, she uttered an exclamation of terror. + +"See!" she whispered hoarsely to Ruth. "That creature in the tree--right +over their heads, and it is crouching for a leap!" + +Ruth looked and saw a tawny beast with laid-back ears and twitching tail, +stretched on a big limb a short distance above the ground, and right over +the two children, who were innocently prattling away, and looking at the +flowers they had gathered. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +THE ANIMATED LOGS + + +For a moment Alice and Ruth were almost paralyzed with fear. They stood +spellbound, and could only gaze horrifiedly at the tawny beast stretched +out on the limb of the tree. + +"What--what shall we do?" asked Alice. + +"What can we do?" Ruth returned. "If we move toward them, or call out, +the beast may spring on them. What is it--a tiger?" + +"I don't know. Of course it's not a tiger, for there are none in this +country except in circuses. Maybe it's a wildcat." + +"Oh, they are terrible. But this doesn't look like the wildcat Flaming +Arrow shot in the backwoods." + +"No, it doesn't," agreed Alice. "But we must do something to save those +children!" + +Tommy and Nellie, all unconscious of their peril, were still sorting +their blossoms beneath the tree. + +"If we could only get them out of the way--somehow," urged Alice. "Then +we might hurry off before the beast could spring." + +"But it might chase after us--and them." + +"That's so. One of us had better go for help. You--you go, Alice. I--I'll +stay here," faltered Ruth. + +"What! Leave you alone with that beast? I will not!" + +"But what can we do?" + +Alice thought for a moment. The animal in the tree had apparently not +seen them--its attention was fixed on the two children. Then, as the +girls watched, they saw it move slightly, while its tail twitched faster. + +"It's getting ready to spring!" whispered Alice. + +"Oh, don't say that!" begged Ruth, clasping her hands. + +They really did not know what to do. They were some distance from the +others of the moving picture company, and to go to them, and summon help, +might mean the death or injury of the children. + +On the other hand, to call out suddenly, or to rush toward the little +ones, might precipitate the attack of the beast. + +And then fate, or luck, stepped in and changed the situation of affairs. +Tommy spied another blossom--a brighter one than any he had yet gathered +and he cried out: + +"Oh, look at that pretty flower! I'm going to get it!" + +"No, let me!" exclaimed his sister, and the two got up with that +suddenness which seems so natural to children, and sped across a little +glade, out from under the tree, with its dangerous beast toward a clump +of ferns and flowers. + +It was the best, and perhaps the only thing, they could have done. + +"Oh--oh!" gasped Ruth. It was all she could say. + +"Now they are safe," Alice ventured. + +But not yet. + +The beast had been about to spring and now, with a snarl of disappointed +rage, it bounded lightly from the limb of the tree to the ground, and +began a slinking advance upon the children. + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth, and her cry of alarm was echoed by her sister. Both +girls instinctively started forward, but an instant later they were +halted by a voice. + +"Stand where ye are, young ladies. I'll attend to that critter!" + +Before they had a chance to look and see who it was that had called, a +shot rang out and the beast, which had been running along, crouched low +like a cat after a bird, seemed to crumple up. Then it turned a complete +somersault, and a moment later lay motionless. + +Tommy and Nellie, hearing the report of the gun, paused in their rush +after the bright flowers, and then, as they saw the big animal not far +from them, they uttered cries of fear, and clung to each other. + +"It's all right, dears! There's no danger now!" called Ruth, as she sped +toward them. + +Alice paused but a moment to look at the individual who had in such +timely and effective fashion come to the rescue. She saw a tall, gaunt +man, attired in ragged clothes, bending forward with ready rifle, to be +prepared to take a second shot if necessary. + +"I don't reckon he'll bother any one no more," said this man, with a +satisfied chuckle, as he leaned on his gun, the butt of which he dropped +to the ground. "I got him right in the head." + +"Oh--we--we can't thank you enough!" gasped Alice. "The--the children--" +but her voice choked, and she could not speak. + +"Wa'al, I reckon he _might_ have clawed 'em a bit," admitted the man with +the gun. "And perhaps it's jest as well I come along when I did. You +folks live around here? Don't seem like I've met you befo'." + +"We're a company of moving picture actresses and actors," explained +Alice, while Ruth, making a detour to avoid the dead body of the animal, +went to Tommy and Nellie, who were still holding on to each other. + +"Picture-players; eh?" mused the hunter, for such he evidently was. "I +seen a movin' picture once, and it looked as real as anything. Be you +folks on that steamer?" + +"The _Magnolia_--yes," answered Alice, as her sister led the children up +to her. + +"You're all right now, dearies," said Ruth. "The nice man killed the bad +bear." + +"Excuse me, Miss; but that ain't a bear," said the hunter, with a pull at +his ragged cap that was meant for a bow. "It's a bobcat--mountain lion +some folks calls 'em--and I don't know as I ever saw one around this +neighborhood before. Mostly they're farther to the no'th. This must be a +stray one." + +"Oh, but it might have killed us all if you had not been here," Ruth went +on. + +"Oh, no, Miss, beggin' your pardon. It wouldn't have been as bad as that. +Most-ways these bobcats would rather run than fight. I reckon if it had +seen you young ladies it would have run." + +"Are we as scary as all that?" asked Alice, with a nervous little laugh. + +"Oh, no, Miss. I didn't mean it that way at all," said the man. "I beg +your pardon, I'm sure. But a bobcat won't hardly ever attack a grown +person, unless it's cornered. I reckon this one must have been riled +about suthin' and thought to claw up the tots a bit. I happened to be +around, so I jest natcherally plunked him--beggin' your pardon for +mentionin' the matter." + +"It was awfully good of you," murmured Ruth, who had Tommy's and Nellie's +hands now. + +"Won't you tell us who you are?" asked Alice, as she introduced herself +and her sister. + +"Who--me? Oh, I'm Jed Moulton," replied the hunter. "I'm an alligator +hunter by callin'. But they're gittin' a bit scarce now, so I'm on the +move." + +"I wish you'd come back and meet our friends," suggested Ruth. "Mrs. +Maguire, the children's grandmother, will want to thank you for what you +have done." + +"Wa'al, I'm in no special rush, and I reckon I can spare a little time," +agreed Jed. "But I ain't much used to havin' a fuss made over me." + +"You can see how moving pictures are made," suggested Alice. + +"Can I, Miss? Then I'll come," and shouldering his gun he set off with +them. + +"Are you going to leave the bobcat there?" asked Ruth. + +"Yes, Miss. Its skin ain't really no good this time of year, and I don't +want to bother with it. The buzzards'll make short work of it. Leave it +lie." + +There was considerable excitement among the other players when the girls +and children came back, accompanied by Jed, and told of their adventure. + +Much was made over the alligator hunter, and Mrs. Maguire was profuse in +her thanks. Then, in the next breath, she scolded the tots for wandering +so far away. + +"I think they won't do it again," said Ruth, with a smile, as she +recalled their fright. + +"No, sir! Never no more!" declared Tommy, earnestly. + +Bad as the scare had been, its effects were not lasting, and Ruth and +Alice were able to take their part in the drama that was being filmed. +Jed Moulton looked on, his eyes big with wonder. + +"That beats shootin' bobcats!" he declared at the conclusion of the +performance. + +Jed at once became a favorite with all, and when Mr. Pertell learned that +he was quite a successful hunter he made him an offer. + +"You come along with us," the manager urged. "I want to get a film of +alligator hunting, and I'll make it worth your while to do some of your +stunts before the camera. I'll pay you well, and you can have all the +alligators you shoot." + +"Say, that suits me--right down to the ground!" cried Jed, heartily. +"I'll take you up on that." + +So Jed became attached to the moving picture outfit, and a cheerful and +valuable addition he proved. For he knew the country like a book, and +offered valuable suggestions as to where new and striking scenic +backgrounds could be obtained. + +An uneventful week followed the episode of the bobcat. The _Magnolia_ +went up and down sluggish streams and bayous, while the company of +players acted their parts, or rested beneath the palms and under the +graceful Spanish moss. + +"But it is getting lonesome and tiresome--being away from civilization so +long," complained Miss Pennington one day. "We can't get any mail, or +anything." + +"Who wants mail, when you can sit out on deck and look at such a scene as +that?" asked Alice, pointing to a view down a beautiful river. + +"Don't you want to come for a row?" asked Paul of Alice, after luncheon. + +"I think so," she answered. "Where is Ruth?" + +"We'll all go together," he proposed. "Russ wants to get a few pictures, +and Jed Moulton is going along to show us where there are some likely +spots for novel scenes." + +"Of course I'll come!" cried Alice, enthusiastically, as she went to her +stateroom to make ready. + +A little later the four young people, with the alligator hunter, set out +in a big rowboat. Russ took with him a small moving picture camera, as he +generally did, even when he had no special object in view. + +They rowed up the stream in which the _Magnolia_ was resting, her bow +against a fern bank, and presently the party was in a solitude that was +almost oppressive. There was neither sign nor sound of human being, and +the steamer was lost to sight around a bend in the stream. + +"Isn't it wonderful here?" murmured Ruth. + +"It certainly is," agreed Russ who, with Paul, was rowing. + +"It sure is soothin'," said Jed. "Many a time when I ain't had no luck, +and feel all tuckered out, I sneak off to a place like this and I feel +jest glad to be alive." + +He put it crudely enough, but the others understood his homely +philosophy. + +They rowed slowly, pausing now and then to gather some odd flower, or to +look at some big tree almost hidden under the mass of Spanish moss. + +Alice, who had gone to the bow, was looking ahead, when suddenly she +called out: + +"Oh, look at the funny logs! They're bobbing up and down all over. See!" + +Jed and the others looked to where she pointed, toward a sand bar in the +stream. Then the old hunter called out: + +"Logs! Them ain't logs! Them's alligators! We've run into a regular nest +of 'em! I'm glad I brought my gun along!" + +"Oh! Alligators!" gasped Ruth, as one thrust his long and repulsive head +from the water, just ahead of the boat. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +INTO THE WILDS + + +Had there been any convenient mode of running away Ruth and Alice would +certainly have taken advantage of it just then. But they were out in a +boat, in the middle of a wide, sluggish stream, and all about them, +swimming, diving, coming up and crawling over a long sand-bar, were +alligators--alligators on all sides. They were surrounded by them now, +and the girls would no more have gotten out of the boat, even if there +had been a bridge nearby on which to walk to shore, than they would have +dived overboard. + +"Oh, isn't it awful!" gasped Ruth, covering her eyes with her hands. + +"Can they get at us?" asked Alice, more practically. + +"Not if you stay in the boat, I should say," declared Paul. But he was +not altogether sure in his own mind. + +As for Russ he said nothing. But he was busy focusing the small moving +picture camera on the unusual scene. True, he had views of the saurians +at the alligator farm near St. Augustine, but this was different. The +views he was now getting showed the big, repulsive creatures in their +natural haunts. + +"This sure is a big piece of luck!" cried Jed Moulton, as he brought his +rifle up from the bottom of the boat. "It is a rare bit of luck! I didn't +know there was so many 'gators in this neighborhood!" + +"Oh, are you going to shoot?" cried Ruth, as she saw the old hunter +prepare to take aim. + +"Well, that's what I was countin' on, Miss," he replied. "I can't exactly +get a 'gator without shootin' him. They won't come when you call 'em, you +know. But if it's goin' to distress you, Miss, why of course I can--" + +"Oh, no!" she cried hastily. "Of course I don't want to deprive you of +making a living. That was selfish of me. Only I was afraid if you shot +from the boat it might upset, and if we were thrown into the water with +all those horrid things--ugh!" + +She could not finish. + +"I guess you're right, Miss," assented Jed. "It will be better not to +shoot from the boat, especially as we've got a pretty good load in, and +my gun is a heavy one, though it don't recoil such an awful lot. Now +we'll take you girls back to the steamer, and then I'll come here and +make a bag--an alligator bag, you might say," he added with grim humor. + +"Oh, I want to stay and see you shoot!" cried Alice, impulsively. + +"Oh, no, Alice!" cried her sister. "Daddy wouldn't like it, you know." + +"Well, perhaps not," admitted the younger girl, more readily than her +sister had hoped. "Shooting alligators is not exactly nice work, I +suppose, however much it needs to be done, for we have to have their +skins for leather." + +"Then suppose you take us back," suggested Ruth. "I'm sorry to make so +much trouble--" + +"Not at all!" interrupted Paul. "I think it will be best. But if I can +borrow a gun I'm going to get a 'gator myself." + +"And get one for me; will you, Paul?" begged Alice. "I'll have my valise +after all!" + +"Surely," he answered. + +"Just a few minutes more," requested Russ. "There's a big one over there +I want to film. I guess he must be the grandfather of this alligator +roost." + +"I never saw such a nest of 'em!" exclaimed Jed. "I can make a pot of +money out of this. None of the other hunters has stumbled on it. I'm in +luck!" + +Ruth and Alice had lost much of their first fear, and really the only +danger now was lest one of the big saurians upset the boat, which it +might easily do, by coming up under it. The alligators showed no +disposition to make an attack. Indeed, most of them swam past the boat +without noticing it, though a few of the smaller ones scuttled off when +they came up and eyed the craft and its occupants. + +Out on the sand bar, sunning themselves, were nearly a score of the big +creatures. Now and then one would crawl over the others, or plunge into +the sluggish stream with a splash. + +"Some fine skins here," commented Jed, with a professional air. "When we +come back, boys, we'll have a lively time." + +"Isn't it dangerous?" asked Ruth, with a shudder. + +"Alligators ain't half so dangerous as folks think," said Jed. "I've +hunted 'em, boy and man, for years, and I never got much hurt. One I +wounded once nipped me on the leg, and I've got the scar yet." + +"I thought it was the tail that was the dangerous part of an alligator," +said Russ, who now had all the pictures he wanted for the present, +though he intended coming back with the larger camera and filming the +alligator hunt. + +"Well, I've read lots of stories to the effect that an alligator or +crocodile could swing his tail around and knock a man or dog into his +mouth with one sweep, but I don't believe it," the hunter said. "Of +course that big tail could do damage if it was properly used, and you +didn't get out of the way in time. In India I reckon the crocodiles are +dangerous, if what you read is true; but I don't reckon a Florida +alligator nor crocodile ever ate a man." + +"I thought there were no crocodiles in this country," said Russ, who, +with a skillful movement of the oars, avoided hitting a big alligator. + +"That's a mistake," said Jed. "There are both alligators and crocodiles +in Florida, and some of the crocodiles grow to be nearly fifteen feet +long. There ain't so much difference between crocodiles and alligators as +folks think. The main point is that a crocodile's head is more pointed +than an alligator's." + +"They're all horrid enough looking," observed Alice. + +"Wa'al, I grant you they ain't none of 'em beauties," returned the +hunter, with a chuckle, "though I have heard of some folks takin' home +little alligators for pets. I'd as soon have a pet bumblebee!" and he +laughed heartily. + +The two girls were becoming almost indifferent to the alligators now, +though in turning about for the return trip to the steamer they several +times bumped into the clumsy creatures, and once the craft careened +dangerously, causing Alice and Ruth to scream. + +And once, when they were almost out of the haunts of the saurians, an +immense specimen reared itself out of the water and thrust its ugly nose +over the bow. + +"Oh!" cried Alice, shrinking back. + +In an instant Jed fired, aiming, however, along the keel of the boat, and +not broadside across it, so there was no danger from the recoil. + +The alligator sank at once. + +"I hit him!" cried the hunter, "but it wasn't a mortal wound. I'll come +back and get him." + +"Please don't shoot again!" begged Ruth. + +"I won't, Miss, and I beg your pardon; but I really couldn't help it," he +apologized. + +There was considerable excitement aboard the _Magnolia_ when the party +returned with word about the alligators, and when Paul and Russ went back +with Jed, Russ taking a large camera, another boatload of men with guns +was made up for the hunt. + +Even Jed was satisfied later with the day's work, and Russ got a film +that created quite a sensation when shown, for never before had an +alligator hunt been given in moving pictures. + +"Well, I can't go on with you folks any longer," said Jed that night, as +Mr. Pertell, aboard the _Magnolia_, was talking of further plans. "I've +got to stay and take care of my alligator skins," he added. "It means big +money to me." + +"I wish you could come," said the manager. "For we are going into the +wilds, and we may need your help." + +"Into the wilds?" echoed Mr. Sneed. "Do you think it safe?" + +"I don't know whether it is or not," responded Mr. Pertell, and he spoke +half seriously. "But we have to go to get the views I want. I hope none +of you refuse to come." + +No one did, but there was not a little apprehension. + +"Those two girls went into the wilds--and did not come back, you know," +said Ruth to Alice in a low voice. + +"Oh, don't think of it," was the rejoinder. "We are a large party--we +can't get lost." + +But neither Ruth nor Alice realized what was before them. + + + + +CHAPTER XX + +LOST + + +Pushing her bow up sluggish streams--up rivers that flowed under arching +trees, heavy with the gray moss, went the _Magnolia_. The party of moving +picture players had been on the move for three days now, without a stop +for taking of pictures, save those Russ made of the negroes cutting wood +for the boilers. No dramas were to be made until they reached a certain +wild and uninhabited part of Florida, of which Mr. Pertell had heard, and +which he thought would be just right for his purpose. + +They had left the vicinity of the alligator hunt, and were pushing on +into the interior. In reality it was not so many miles from Sycamore, but +it seemed a great way, so lonely was it in the palm forests and cypress +swamps. + +"Seems to me this is lonely enough to suit anyone," observed Miss +Pennington as she sat on deck with the others, and looked up stream. + +"It surely is--I feel like screaming just to know that there is something +alive around here," added Miss Dixon. + +"Go ahead!" laughed Russ. "No one will stop you!" + +"Really the silence does seem to get on one's nerves," put in Mr. Towne. +"It--er--interferes with--er--thinking, you know." + +"Didn't know you ever indulged in that habit!" chaffed Paul. + +"Oh, why--er--my deah fellah! Of course I do--at times. I find--I really +find I have to give a great deal of consideration--at times--to the suit +samples my tailor sends me. And really I shall not be sorry to get back +to deah old N'York and renew my wardrobe." + +"If he has any more suits he'll have to get a man to look after them," +remarked Alice. + +"Oh, hush!" chided Ruth. + +Then silence once more settled down over the company on the upper deck of +the _Magnolia_. An awning protected them from the hot sun, and really it +was very pleasant traveling that way. Of course it was lonesome and the +solitude was depressing. For days they would see nothing save perhaps the +boat of some solitary fisherman, or alligator hunter. + +Occasionally they saw some of the big saurians themselves, as they +slipped into the water from some log, or sand bar, on the approach of the +steamer. Now and then some wild water fowl would dart across the bows of +the boat, uttering its harsh cries. + +Russ got a number of fine nature films, but the real work of making +dramas would not take place for another day or two. Meals were served +aboard, though once or twice, when a long stop had to be made for the +cutting of fuel, a shore party was made up. + +Then they would take their luncheon with them, seek out some little +palm-shaded glade, and there feast and make merry. Ruth and Alice, with +Paul and Russ, always enjoyed these trips. + +"I think this will about suit us," said Mr. Pertell, one evening, as the +_Magnolia_ made a turn in the stream, and came to a place where another +sluggish river joined it. "This is the spot spoken of by Jed, and the +surrounding country will give us just the scenery we want, I think. We +will tie up here for the night, and you and I will make an examination +to-morrow, Russ." + +"All right, sir. It looks like a good location to me." + +It was so warm that supper really was almost a waste of effort on the +part of the cook that evening, for few ate much. Then came a comfortable +time spent on the deck, while the night wind cooled the day-heated air. + +"Oh, isn't this positively stifling!" complained Miss Pennington as she +dropped into a chair beside Ruth. "How do you ever stand it? I've bathed +my face in cologne, and done everything I can think of to cool off." + +"Perhaps if you didn't do so much you would keep cooler," Ruth suggested +with a smile. "And really that is a very warm gown you have on." + +"I know it, but it's so becoming to me--at least, I flatter myself it +is," and she glanced in the direction of Mr. Towne, who as usual was +attired "to the limit," as Russ said. + +Ruth and Alice, in cool muslins or lawns, were quite in contrast to the +rather overdressed former vaudeville actresses. + +"I can lend you a kimono," offered Alice. + +"No, thank you!" replied Miss Pennington. "I believe in a certain +refinement in dress, even if we are in the wilds of Florida." + +"I believe in being comfortable," retorted Alice. + +Miss Dixon came up on deck, redolent of a highly perfumed talcum powder. + +"It seems to keep away the mosquitoes," she murmured in explanation, +though no one had said anything, even if Russ did sniff rather +ostentatiously. + +"I should think it would attract them," chuckled Paul. + +"Oh, indeed!" said Miss Dixon, and changed her mind about taking a seat +near him. + +Returning from a little exploring party next day Russ and Mr. Pertell +reported the locality to be just what was wanted. + +"We start work to-morrow," said the manager. "And I want everyone to do +his or her best, for this will bring our Florida stay to a close." + +"And what next?" asked Mr. DeVere. + +"I haven't made up my mind yet. But there will be plenty of other +pictures to make." + +During the next few days every member of the company, from Mr. DeVere to +Tommy and Nellie, had their share of work. There were romantic plays +filmed, and in these Ruth had good parts. As for Alice she rejoiced when +she had humorous "stunts" to do. + +"You are getting to be a regular 'cut-up'," laughed Paul at the close of +one of her performances. + +"Yes, and I hope she doesn't get too much that way," said Ruth. + +"No danger, sister mine, with you to keep me straight," was the answer, +as Alice put an arm around Ruth. + +Some comic films were made, and in a few of these Mr. Sneed and Mr. Towne +had to do "stunts" such as falling in the mud and water, or toppling down +hills head over heels. But Mr. Pertell was careful to warn them not to +run dangerous risks. + +Mr. DeVere, as usual, did more dignified work, and Mr. Bunn was delighted +when told that he might do a bit of Shakespeare. And to do him credit, he +acted well, much better than some of his associates had supposed he +could. + +"I have a new idea for to-day," said Mr. Pertell one morning, as the +day's work was about to start. "In one drama I wish to show a little +picnic scene, with two girls and their mother. You will be the mother, +Mrs. Maguire, and with Ruth and Alice will go off up a side stream in a +boat. Russ will go along, of course, to manage the camera, and I think +I'll send Paul to help row the boat. Take a gun along, Paul, for you can +pretend to shoot some game for the lunch. + +"You will also have a regular picnic lunch along--real food, by the way, +and you will spread it out in some picturesque spot and eat." Mr. Pertell +then went on giving directions for the acting of the drama that was to +center around the little picnic. + +In due time the boat was loaded with the camera and provisions, and Paul +helped in Ruth, Alice and Mrs. Maguire. Then he got in with the gun. + +"Better take your raincoats along," advised Mr. DeVere to his daughters, +"it looks like a shower and you won't be back before night." + +Accordingly the garments were tossed into the boat, and then, leaving the +_Magnolia_ moored to the bank, the small craft started off up a little +side stream that was to be followed for a mile or two. + +Russ picked out a likely spot for the picnic scene and after a bit of +rehearsal Ruth, Alice, Mrs. Maguire and Paul went through the little +play. + +"This is more fun than acting," remarked Alice, as she reached for +another chicken sandwich. + +There was more to do after the meal, and when what food remained had been +packed up for a luncheon later in the afternoon, they entered the boat +again, and started still farther up stream. + +The last film had been made and as the shadows were lengthening the start +back was made. + +"My, it's getting dark very quickly, and it's only three o'clock," said +Paul, as he looked at his watch. + +"Going to rain, I guess," said Russ. And rain it did a little later, the +drops coming down with tropical violence. + +"Oughtn't we to be at the steamer by this time?" asked Mrs. Maguire, when +they could hardly see. + +"Well, maybe we had," agreed Paul. + +The light was set aglow, and then the young men shouted and called: + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" + +Echoes were their only answer, save the bellow or grunt of some distant +alligator, or the screech of some disturbed wild fowl. + +"This is queer," observed Russ. "I'm sure we have rowed back far enough +to be at the place where we left the steamer. I wonder--" + +But he did not finish. + +"What do you wonder?" asked Alice, searchingly. + +"Oh--nothing," Russ hesitated. + +"Yes, it is something!" she insisted. + +"Well, then, I was wondering if we possibly could have come down some +wrong creek. There were a number of turns, you know." + +"Do--do you mean, we are--lost?" faltered Ruth. + +"Well, I'm afraid I do." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +THE LONG NIGHT + + +Ruth began to cry quietly--she really could not help it. Alice felt like +following her example, but the younger girl had the saving grace of +humor. Not that Ruth actually lacked it, but it was not so near the +surface, nor so easily called into action. + +"Isn't it silly?" Alice suddenly exclaimed. + +"What?" Paul wanted to know. + +"Getting lost like this! It's too funny--" + +"I wish I could see it, my dear," observed Ruth. + +"Try to," urged Mrs. Maguire. "It does seem a bit odd to be lost like +this, and maybe the steamer only just around the corner." + +"Probably she is," agreed Russ. "We must call again!" + +This time they united their voices in a shout that carried far, but the +only effect it had was to disturb some of the denizens of the forest. + +"But what are we going to do?" queried Ruth. "We--we can't stay here all +night." + +"We may have to," answered Russ, grimly enough. + +"Oh, please don't say that!" she faltered. + +"Why, it won't be so bad," put in the jolly Irish woman. "We've got a +roomy boat, thank goodness. We can lie down on the rugs, with our rubber +coats for protection against the dew. We have some food left, and the +moon will soon be up, for it's clearing fast. Then, in the morning, we +can find our way back to the steamer." + +"Of course!" exclaimed Paul, who realized the necessity of keeping up the +spirits of the girls. "We'll be laughing at this to-morrow." + +"Do you really think so?" asked Ruth, timorously. + +"I'm sure of it," he said. "Now let's figure out what we'd better do." + +"How about going ashore?" suggested Russ. + +"Never!" cried Ruth. + +"Why not?" + +"Oh, we don't know what sort of horrid things may be in the woods. It's +safer in the boat." + +"You forget about the--" Alice began, but she did not finish. She had +been about to say "manatees and alligators," but thought better of it. +Instead she changed it to: + +"Well, I guess it's about six of one and half a dozen of the other." + +"Only, don't you think it's better to stay in the boat?" asked Ruth. + +"I suppose it is," agreed Alice. "It will be damp on the ground, and +there is very little water in the boat." + +This was so because when it rained Russ and Paul had used a heavy canvas +to cover up the provisions that were left, and this shed the water over +the sides of the craft. + +"There's the moon!" suddenly called Mrs. Maguire, as she saw a flash of +light between the trees. + +"I only wish it was the lantern of a searching party," sighed Ruth. + +"They probably will hunt for us," said Russ. "But whether they find us +before morning is another matter." + +"Well, let's take an account of things, and see how we stand, anyhow," +suggested Paul, practically. "If we've got to stay here all night we +might as well make ourselves as comfortable as possible." + +"Don't you think we could keep on rowing, and perhaps find the steamer, +Russ?" asked Ruth. + +"I'm afraid not," he answered. "We would only get more lost, if that is +possible. No, I think the best plan is to stay right where we are, and +in the morning we can look about." + +"I don't understand how we came to get lost," remarked Alice. + +"Well, there were so many creeks and bayous that we probably took the +wrong turn," Russ answered. "We ought to have picked out a landmark, I +suppose. I will next time." + +"Yes, we didn't use as much care as we might have done," agreed Paul. +"Well, let's make the ladies comfortable." + +"I'm hungry, more than uncomfortable," declared Alice. + +"There are some sandwiches and other things left," Russ told her. +"Luckily we didn't eat all of them. And I can make coffee." + +"Then please do!" cried Ruth. "I'm cold from the rain, and it may help my +nerves!" + +"You shouldn't have them, sister mine!" mocked Alice. They were all in +better spirits now. The moon was higher, and gave a good illumination, +being at the full. + +There were some heavy rugs in the boat, having been brought along to use +in the picnic scene in the woods. While Paul arranged these in the bottom +of the craft, and put some cushions against the seats so that Mrs. +Maguire and the two girls could lean against them, Russ prepared the +coffee. A jug of drinking water had been brought along, for the water of +the creeks and river was not considered good. Then, with an alcohol +stove, set up on a seat, a steaming pot of coffee was soon made. + +With that and sandwiches the lost ones made a meal for which they were +all grateful, and in which they stood in much need. + +"Oh, how good that was!" sighed Alice. "Is there any more?" + +"Well," hesitated Russ, "I was thinking perhaps we'd better save some +until morning. We will want breakfast, you know." + +"Don't you think they'll find us--or we them--by breakfast time?" asked +Ruth, apprehensively. + +"It's possible that it may not happen," Russ answered, slowly, and his +words seemed rather ominous to the two girls, at least. + +"Oh, don't worry," advised Mrs. Maguire. "We'll be all right, I'm sure. +At the same time it might be a good plan not to eat all the food we +have." + +"Oh, I agree to that!" said Alice, hastily. + +"I'll shoot a wild turkey to-morrow," promised Paul, with a laugh. "Then +we will have a real Thanksgiving feast." + +"I hope we don't have to stay as long as that," sighed Ruth. "Oh, how +father will worry!" she said to Alice. + +"Probably, but it can't be helped. He will know we would come back if we +could, and he'll know we will take care of ourselves." + +"Still, he can't help worrying," insisted Ruth. + +Fortunately the boat was a roomy one, and the lost ones were not as +uncomfortable as might have been imagined, with the rugs and cushions and +the piece of canvas, as well as their raincoats, for covering. + +The craft was tied to a tree on shore, in a sort of little cove, and +there the five prepared to spend the night. The moon came up higher over +the trees, and shone down on the strange scene. + +"I wish it were light enough for some pictures," sighed Russ. + +"Nothing much gets away from you, old man," laughed Paul. "Are your +ladies comfortable?" he asked, as he joined Russ in the bow of the boat, +the other three being in the broad stern. + +"Very comfortable," answered Alice. "Only I wish we had brought a +mosquito netting along. The little pests are after me with a vengeance." + +"I can build a smudge on shore, and that may keep them off," offered +Russ. "In fact, a smudge is about the only kind of a fire I could make, +as everything is so damp." + +This proved to be the case. But a heavy smoke was soon floating over the +boat, and this did seem to keep away the pests. + +"What had we better do?" asked Russ of Paul, as they piled more damp fuel +on the smudge-fire. + +"Well, we'll have to stand watch and watch, of course. And we will have +the gun ready. It's all loaded. No telling what might happen. A bobcat +might take a notion to come aboard, or an alligator might nose us out. +We'll have to be on the watch." + +Little or nothing could be told about the surrounding country in the +darkness, even illuminated as it was by the moon. The river stretched +away in either direction, and both banks were heavily wooded. + +"Br-r-r! but it's creepy here!" sighed Ruth, as the two young men got +into the boat again. + +"Is that a light--a lantern--off there?" asked Alice, suddenly, as she +sat up and pointed. + +For a moment they all hoped that it was, and they raised their voices in +shouts: + +"Here we are!" + +"Look for our lantern!" + +Then as the other light moved about erratically Russ said: + +"It's only _ignis-fatuus_--will-o'-the-wisp. It's a sort of +phosphorescent glow that appears at night over swamps. I've seen it in +rotting stumps on hot nights." + +"Too bad to disappoint you," said Mrs. Maguire. "Now, girls, get +comfortable, and we'll be all right in the morning. Try to sleep." + +Ruth and Alice declared it was out of the question, and for a long time +they remained wide awake. Mrs. Maguire, who had traveled with many road +companies, and had often slept under adverse circumstances, did manage to +doze off. Russ had first watch, and Paul was tired enough to fall into a +slumber. + +Finally Ruth and Alice also slumbered, leaning against each other, with +Mrs. Maguire as partial support. Russ found his head nodding as the long +night wore on. + +"Come, this won't do!" he told himself, sitting up with a jerk. But +nature was insistent, and he became sleepy again. He was suddenly +awakened by what seemed some horrid, human cry close to the boat. + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth, startling the others into wakefulness. "What was +that?" + +The cry was repeated--a cry that brought a chill to the heart. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +ASHORE + + +The boat rocked and trembled under the impulse of the moving +bodies--swayed so and tilted, that Russ sharply called: + +"Steady all, or we'll upset!" + +"Oh!" screamed Ruth. "Never! Do be quiet, Alice!" + +"I'm not moving; it's you!" + +"Quiet, girls," called Mrs. Maguire, softly. She had really been sleeping +soundly, and the sudden awakening rather confused her. "What's it all +about?" she asked. + +"Oh, didn't you hear it?" gasped Ruth. "Such a horrible cry!" + +"Maybe it was some one calling to us--some of the searching party from +the _Magnolia_," suggested Paul. + +"Let's give an answer, then," came from Russ. + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" cried Paul, and the young moving picture operator +joined in with his powerful voice. + +There was no answer for a moment, and all about in the black woods was +silence. Off on shore glowed the faint sparks of the smudge-fire. + +"They didn't hear you," said Alice, softly. + +And then, vibrating on the night, and echoing through the trees, came +that dreadful cry again; weird, long-drawn-out, a howl--a fiendish laugh, +ending in a choking giggle and then a shrill whine. + +"Oh--oh!" gasped Ruth, and she and Alice clung together, leaning on Mrs. +Maguire. + +"It's like the wail of a lost soul," whispered Alice. + +"Sure, and it must be an Irish banshee!" murmured Mrs. Maguire. "I've +heard my mother tell of 'em!" + +"It's a wild beast, that's all," said Paul, though his voice was not +steady as usual. For the cry, coming out of the darkness, perhaps from a +spot where some animal crouched, ready to spring down on them, was not +reassuring. + +"That's it--some animal," added Russ. "Hand me that gun, Paul, I'll +try--" + +"Oh, you're not going after it--in the dark, are you?" interrupted Ruth. + +"Not much, little girl!" he exclaimed with a laugh, which showed that his +nerves were steadying. "I'm only going to try a shot to frighten it. I +don't want to be kept awake all night." + +"As if one could close an eye with that horrid creature loose in the +woods," remarked Alice. + +Again came the weird cry, seemingly nearer than before. + +"We ought to have a fire," whispered Paul. "Wild animals are afraid of +fire." + +"It's too damp to build one," remarked Russ. "The lantern will have to +answer." + +The beast kept up its howling longer than usual this time. Then Russ, who +had a good ear for sound, and a fine sense of location, raised the gun +and fired into the darkness. + +A jagged streak of flame lit up the blackness for a second, and following +close after the echoes of the shot there sounded a howl that was +unmistakably one of pain. + +"You winged him, Russ!" cried Paul. + +The howling continued. + +The girls screamed. Mrs. Maguire tried to calm them. + +"I believe I may have touched him," admitted Russ, not a little proudly. +"There was a big charge of shot in that cartridge, and it probably +scattered. He can't be badly hurt though, but it may make him go serenade +someone else. We've had enough." + +The howls grew fainter, and there was a crashing in the bushes and tree +limbs that told of the retreat of some creature. Finally these sounds +ceased, and once more there was silence and darkness, illuminated only by +the lantern and the faint glow of the smudge-fire. + +"Do you really think it's gone?" asked Ruth faintly, as she nestled +closer to her sister and Mrs. Maguire. + +"I hope so," ventured Alice. + +"I guess we've heard the last of it," Russ assured them. "But don't +worry. We'll be on the watch the rest of the night. I wish we could have +a fire; but I'm afraid it's out of the question." + +"Let's try, anyhow," suggested Paul. "It will give us something to do. +I'm cold and stiff. Maybe we can find a bit of dry wood." + +"It is chilly," complained Ruth, and she shivered. The night was cold and +damp. + +Nor were the piece of canvas and the raincoats much protection. Still, it +was better than nothing. + +"Well, we'll try a fire," agreed Russ, as he prepared to go ashore with +Paul. + +"Oh--don't--don't go!" begged Ruth, nervously. + +"Why not?" asked the young actor. + +"Because--that beast--!" + +"I fancy he's far enough off by now," answered Russ. "A fire will be our +best protection, if we can make one. Come on, Paul, let's try it, +anyhow." + +"Oh, I--I don't like them to go," protested Ruth. + +"Silly! It's the best thing to do," answered Alice. "They probably need a +little exercise. They haven't so much room in their end of the boat as we +have." + +"Oh, of course, I don't want them to be uncomfortable," returned Ruth, +quickly. + +Searching about with the lantern Russ and Paul managed to get enough dry +wood to start a blaze. It was a tiny one at first, but as the wood dried +out the flames grew apace until there was a really good camp fire. + +"How's that?" called Russ, as he dropped a pile of sticks into the +flames. + +"Lovely!" answered Alice. + +"It isn't half so lonesome now," added Ruth. She tried to be cheerful--as +cheerful as Alice seemed, though really both girls, in their hearts, were +worrying over the effect their absence would have on their father. + +"Now we've done this much, let's do a little more," suggested Paul. +"Let's brew some coffee. I fancy the girls must be chilly. I know I am." + +"Good idea! Coffee for five!" cried Russ, as though giving orders to a +restaurant waiter. + +"I wouldn't sleep, anyhow, after hearing that beast scream," said Ruth. +"Do make coffee." + +The alcohol stove was soon lighted and the aromatic odor of the hot +beverage floated on the air. The little party made merry--as merry as +possible under the circumstances. + +The moon sank below the trees again. It grew very dark, and somehow they +dozed off again--fitfully. Then a pale light suffused the east, filtering +faintly through the trees. It grew brighter. + +"Morning," announced Russ, with a luxurious stretch. "It's morning." + +"The end of the long night," whispered Ruth. "How glad--how very glad I +am." + +"Let's all go ashore and have breakfast--that is, whatever we have left +for breakfast," proposed Alice. "It will do us all good to run about a +bit." + +And soon they were all ashore, using stiffened muscles gingerly at first, +and then with increasing confidence. The sun was blazing hot overhead. + +"And now to find our mislaid steamer!" cried Russ, gaily. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE PALM HUT + + +Breakfast, on the shore of the sluggish and swamp-like stream where the +big rowboat was moored, was a meagre meal, indeed. For after a moment of +consideration it was decided not to use up all the food that remained. + +"We may need some for luncheon," explained Russ, who seemed to have taken +command of the little party. "We may not be able to reach the steamer by +noon." + +"Do you think we'll _ever_ be able to reach it, old man?" asked Paul, in +a low voice. + +"Oh, sure. We've just _got_ to find it!" whispered the young operator, +with a quick glance at the girls. + +"That's so," agreed Paul. But he knew, as well as did Russ, that it would +be no easy matter. + +And so the "rations" were divided into two parts, though with all there +would not have been enough for one substantial meal. Fortunately, +however, the coffee was plentiful. The cook, when told to put up a lunch +for the picnic party that was to figure in the moving pictures, had been +very liberal, otherwise there would have been no food left now. And in +the matter of coffee enough had been put in to make several large pots +full. + +As for water, some had been brought along, but, luckily, after this was +exhausted Russ managed to find a spring on shore, not far from where the +boat was moored. + +"We'll have to take a chance on it," he said. "Anyhow, boiling the water +for coffee will kill all the germs in it." + +"And we can't be too particular," agreed Mrs. Maguire. + +The embers of the camp fire kindled in the night were blown into flame, +and soon a genial blaze was leaping upward under the big trees. The +refugees gathered about it and ate the scanty meal, drinking several cups +of coffee. + +"That will keep us up, and help to ward off fevers which may lurk in +these swamps," said Paul. + +The girls had freshened themselves by washing at the side of the brook +which flowed from the spring, and then having arranged their hair, with +the aid of their side combs, and a pocket mirror Alice carried, they +looked, as Paul said, "as sweet as magnolia blossoms." + +"Oh, magnolias!" cried Ruth. "If we could only find our _Magnolia_--the +steamer!" + +"Oh, we'll find her," said Russ, easily--more easily than he felt. + +"We look like wrecks beside the girls," declared Paul, as he ran his hand +over his unshaven chin. + +"Don't you dare desert us to look for a barber!" commanded Ruth. "To be +left alone in these woods--ugh!" and she shuddered as she looked about. +Certainly it was very lonely. + +"It isn't as bad as last night, though," said Alice. "I feel quite at +home, now. I wonder what became of that animal you shot, Russ? I'd like +to see what it was." + +"I wouldn't," declared Ruth, decidedly. + +Breakfast over, the blankets and cushions of the boat were spread out in +the sun to dry, for they were damp from the rain and dew. + +"And now the question is--what are we to do?" asked Mrs. Maguire. "We +don't want to spend another night in the woods if we can help it." + +"I should say not!" cried Russ. "We'll start off in a little while and +make our way back to the steamer." + +"Can you find it?" asked Ruth. + +"Well, it can't be so very far off," spoke Russ, evasively. "The trouble +is there are so many twists and turns to these creeks and rivers that we +lost our way. I wish I had thought to bring a compass but, since we +didn't, we'll have to go by the sun. I think the steamer lies in that +general neighborhood," and he pointed in a south-easterly direction. + +"I think so, too," agreed Paul. "And if we row that way I think we'll get +back." + +Alice, who had gone over to the sunny spot where the blankets and +cushions had been put to dry, uttered an exclamation. + +"Look!" she cried, and when Paul reached her side she pointed to some +bright red spots on the leaves. + +"That's blood!" cried the young actor. "Russ, you winged that beast last +night, all right." + +"Is that so? Let's have a look for him! Maybe I killed him. I'd like to +see what sort of a creature it was." + +The two young men went a little way into the wood, and then came a call: + +"Here he is--dead as a door nail." + +"Oh, what is it? I want to see it!" cried Alice, who had a good deal of +the curious boy in her make-up. + +"Don't go!" begged Ruth. + +"I shall, too. It can't hurt me--if it's dead." + +"I know, dear, but--" + +Alice went, however. + +"It's a lynx," said Russ, as he looked at the dead beast. "I can tell by +those queer little tufts of hair on the ears." + +"Are they dangerous?" asked Alice. + +"Oh, I guess so, if you had one cornered. They can keep a fellow awake, +anyhow, that's one sure thing. I must have fired better than I knew. But +then the shot scattered so." + +"He must have been pretty close to us," remarked Paul. + +"Ugh! I don't like to think of it," murmured Alice, with a little shiver. +"Suppose he had jumped into the boat?" + +"Don't suppose," laughed Russ. + +"Come!" called Mrs. Maguire from where she had remained near the boat +with Ruth. "If we're going, we'd better start." + +"That's right," agreed Russ. "The sooner we start the quicker we'll get +there." + +The blankets and cushions were arranged in the craft to make comfortable +places for the girls and Mrs. Maguire, and then the remains of the food, +and the coffee outfit, having been stowed away, Paul and Russ took the +oars, and once more the refugees were under way. + +As nearly as possible, allowing for the twists and turns of the stream, +the course was in the direction Russ and Paul had agreed upon as being +the best. From time to time, as they rowed on, they paused to listen for +any hails which would probably be given by the searching party from the +steamer. + +"For of course daddy will start out after us," said Ruth. "Poor daddy!" + +"I guess there's no doubt of that," agreed Russ. "The only trouble is +they won't know where to look for us." + +"Wouldn't they go first to the place where we took the picnic films?" +asked Alice. + +"I suppose so, yes; but when we came away from there we left no trail +they could follow. So it will be sort of hit or miss with them, as it +will be with us." + +"We ought to fire the gun once in a while," suggested Mrs. Maguire. +"That's what all lost persons do." + +"Good idea!" commented Russ. "I should have done it before. And they will +probably fire to attract our attention, for there are several guns +aboard the steamer." + +They now made up a definite program, to the effect that they would stop +every half-hour to listen for possible shouts and shots and would also +shout and fire in their turn. + +This was done, but the sun was nearly noon high, and they had heard no +sounds save the natural ones of the swamp and forest. + +Now and then they would see alligators in the waters up or down which +they rowed, but the saurians showed no disposition to molest the boat. +And Russ had too few cartridges to wish to waste any on the creatures. + +"We may have to spend another night in the open," he confided to Paul. + +"It doesn't look very hopeful," agreed the young actor. + +Noon came, and as far as could be told from listening, and from looking +about, they were as far off as ever from the steamer. + +"And yet it may be within a comparatively short distance of us," said +Russ, as cheerfully as he could. "Only the woods are so dense that we +can't see it, and if our voices and the sounds of the gun carry to the +_Magnolia_ those aboard can't tell from which direction they come." + +They had been keeping on in the course first decided on--southeast--and +there were many twists and turns to the trail. + +"Would it be any better to get out and walk?" asked Ruth. + +"I think not," said Russ. "The boat is really easiest and best for us." +He did not say so, but he thought that if they had to spend another night +in the open the boat would be absolutely necessary. So they remained +aboard. + +At noon they tied up, and went ashore to eat the last of the food. Only a +little coffee remained, and as the final meagre crumbs were disposed of +each one feared to look the others in the face. + +What would be next--where would the next meal come from? + +No one could answer. + +"Well, we'd better move on, I suppose," suggested Russ, after a pause. +"No good staying here." + +"That's the idea," agreed Paul, trying to speak cheerfully. + +He glanced at the two girls. Ruth's lips were quivering, and she seemed +on the verge of tears. Alice was bearing up better, but she, too, showed +the effects of the strain. + +Mrs. Maguire was a pillar of strength and courage. + +"Whist! And it's laughin' we'll be at ourselves in a little while--to +think we were scared!" she cried, with a forced Irish brogue. "We'll be +soon aboard the steamer tellin' what good times we had, an' the others +will be wishin' they'd been along." + +"I--I wish I could believe so," faltered Ruth. + +The boys rowed on, and they were glad of the exertion, for it kept them +from brooding over the troubles of their situation, and a troublesome +situation it was--they admitted that. + +The afternoon was half gone, and in spite of having traveled several +miles, twisting this way and that, there were no signs of the steamer. + +The boat made a turn in a stream that seemed more sluggish and lonely +than any of the others. But it was broader and this gave the boys hope. + +"We may get somewhere on this creek," observed Russ, pulling hard at the +oars. + +Alice gave a startled cry, pointed toward the shore and said: + +"Look!" + +They all gazed to where she indicated, and there, on the bank of the +stream, was a small hut, made of palm leaves, while in front of it, tied +to an overhanging tree, was a large motor boat! + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +THE LOST ARE FOUND + + +"What does it mean?" + +"A boat at last!" + +"Human beings, anyhow!" + +Thus came the excited calls from those in the rowing craft, as it drifted +toward the hut on shore--a palm leaf hut that seemed crudely made. Russ +and Paul had ceased rowing at the sight of the motor boat, and now their +own craft was merely drifting. + +"Hurry up, there!" begged Alice. "There must be someone on shore who can +put us on the right path. Oh, what a relief!" + +"Isn't it!" agreed Ruth, with tears in her eyes. But they were tears of +joy, now. + +"This came in the nick of time," murmured Russ to Paul. "I was about +ready to give up." + +"Yes?" agreed Paul, half-questioningly. "And yet isn't it queer we don't +see some sign of life?" he asked, in a low voice. "We have made noise +enough, but no one has come out of that hut. And the hut itself doesn't +seem like a very permanent sort of residence; does it?" + +"Indeed it doesn't," spoke Russ. "But it may be one just put up for a +night or two by a hunter. Anyhow, we'll soon find out what it means, and +if anyone is there who can tell us which way to go." + +He and Paul resumed their rowing and a little later were close beside the +moored motor boat. It was a large craft, and well appointed, though now +it showed signs of being weather-beaten; it was scratched and marred. But +it seemed to be in good running order. + +"Ahoy there!" called Russ, as he made fast their own boat. "Ahoy in the +hut!" + +There was no answer. + +"Maybe they're asleep," suggested Ruth. + +"We can apologize for waking them up," said Alice. "Oh, to think we have +help at last!" + +Russ and Paul looked at each other. They were not quite so sure, now, in +view of the silence, that help was at hand. + +Still, the fact that the boat was tied showed that it had not merely +drifted to the spot. Some human agency must have been about at some time +or other. + +With Russ and Paul in the lead the little party made their way to the +palm leaf hut. It was ingeniously made--a glance showed that. A palm tree +had been taken for the centre pole, and about this had been tied layer +after layer of palm leaves, so laid as to shed the rain. + +The hut was circular, and at the outer edge of the roof poles had been +driven into the ground to support it. There was a small opening, which +necessitated stooping to enter, and this doorway, if such it could be +called, was covered by a sort of curtain of palm leaves, made in layers +and fastened together with withes and wild leaves, laced in and out. + +"Quite a piece of work!" commented Paul. "Now I wonder how one is to +knock at a palm leaf door?" + +"Don't knock--call," suggested Russ, and, raising his voice, he fairly +shouted: + +"Is anyone here?" + +There was no answer. + +"I wonder if it would be impolite to open the door, or the curtain, and +look in?" suggested Alice. + +"Under the circumstances--I think not," answered Mrs. Maguire. "We need +help, and this is the first sign we have seen of it." + +Russ stepped forward, and, after a moment of hesitation lifted the +curtain of palm leaves. The interior of the hut was rather dark, and, +for a moment he could see nothing. + +"Anyone there?" asked Paul. + +"Not a soul," was the disappointing reply. "It's empty." + +"Oh, dear!" sighed Alice. + +"What are we to do?" Ruth wanted to know. + +No one could answer her. Russ was busy making a more thorough examination +of the interior of the hut. + +"It's a good place to stay--if we have to," he said to Paul, who had +joined him inside. + +"And it looks as though we'd have to--eh?" + +"I'm afraid so." + +Russ fastened the palm curtain back and this let in more light. Then the +others came up, though there was not room for them all inside. The hut +would hold three comfortably--no more. + +"Who has been here?" + +"What sort of a hut is it?" + +"Has anyone been here lately?" + +Ruth, Alice, and Mrs. Maguire, in turn, asked these questions. + +"I don't know who has been here," said Russ, "but it's the sort of a hut +a native might build--possibly a Seminole Indian. Or some hunters may +have it to stay a few nights in a spot where they could get alligators, +or whatever game they were after. The fact that the boat is here seems +to show they haven't gone for good." + +"Oh, then they may come back!" cried Ruth. + +"Very likely to, I should say," spoke Russ. "We'll just stick around +until they do." + +"I hope they come back before dark," ventured Ruth, and her sister echoed +the wish. + +A closer examination of the hut showed two rude bunks, made of sticks, +raised slightly above the surface of the ground. The bunks were covered +with thick layers of Spanish moss, and were evidently far from being +uncomfortable. A few blankets showed that the occupants did not lack for +a little comfort. + +There were a few cooking utensils scattered about, and outside, the ashes +of a camp fire, made between stones--a sort of oven--showed how the meals +were prepared. But there was little evidence of food, save a few empty +tins. + +"There are evidently two persons staying here," observed Russ, as he +looked at a packing box, which served as a table, and noted two tin +plates, and two knives, forks and spoons. "It must be real jolly, camping +this way." + +"I'd rather have a tent," said Paul. "This palm leaf hut looks artistic, +and all that, but not very secure." + +"It's secure enough in good weather," declared Russ. "Well, I guess the +only thing to do is to wait until these folks come back. They won't +remain away all night, I hardly think." + +"But if they don't come back until dark, what shall we do?" asked Ruth. +"We can't stay out all night again." + +"We may have to," declared practical Alice. + +"That is so, and we may as well face the issue," said Russ, somewhat +gravely. "And now that we have found a sign of human beings, who can +possibly tell us which way to go to find the steamer, it would be foolish +to waste this chance. If we go off by ourselves again we may get farther +and farther away from the _Magnolia_." + +"That is so," agreed Paul. "I think we had better stay." + +"That's what I say!" exclaimed Mrs. Maguire. "It seems like company just +to look at that boat and the hut, and to know that someone has been here +lately, and will come back." + +"Oh, they'll be sure to come back," Russ said. "That's is too good a boat +to abandon. Why, it must be worth a thousand dollars." + +He and Paul went down to examine it, while the moving picture girls and +Mrs. Maguire looked about the hut. + +"It seems almost like home, after what we have been through," remarked +Ruth. + +"I wish there was something to eat here," said Alice, after a stroll +about the vicinity of the hut. "Whoever lives here must get their +supplies in from day to day, and eat them all up." + +"Or they may be out after supplies now," added Mrs. Maguire. + +The shadows were lengthening, but the sun was still bright, and it would +not be night for several hours. There was a period of anxious waiting. + +"I wonder if we hadn't better shout again, and fire a few shots?" +remarked Paul. "We may be near our own steamer now, though it doesn't +seem so. We might be in another country, for all we can tell." + +"I believe we will give a few signals," agreed Russ. "And I can spare a +couple of cartridges. I only wish I could see something worth eating to +shoot at. Then I could be killing two birds with one stone--giving a +signal and providing a meal." + +But there seemed no suitable mark for the weapon to be aimed at, and, +after they had united their voices in a chorus of calls, Russ fired +twice--at intervals. + +Then came a period of anxious waiting and silence. + +"Call once more," suggested Ruth. + +"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, raising her hand to add to her injunction, for +Russ had been about to speak. "I heard something." + +They all listened intently. + +"There it is again!" whispered Alice. + +Unmistakably now they all heard voices calling--voices that increased in +intensity--coming nearer. + +"Oh, they've found us! They've found us!" half sobbed Ruth. + +"Call again, boys--I--I can't," faltered Alice. + +Russ and Paul shouted. + +Again came an unmistakable answer. Now was heard a crashing in the +underbrush that told of the approach of someone, and, a moment later +there came into view, on the far side of the clearing, where stood the +palm leaf hut, two girls, one with a gun over her shoulder, and the other +with a brace of birds hanging from her waist. + +The two girls stopped for a moment, and then, with joyful shouts, rushed +forward. + +As for our friends, they seemed paralyzed with astonishment. It was so +different from what they had expected. Then Alice found her voice, and +cried: + +"The two lost girls--we have found them!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXV + +OUT OF THE WILDS + + +For perhaps several seconds the two parties strangely met in that Florida +wild stood staring at one another. Then the two girls hurried forward, +and one of them exclaimed: + +"Oh, have you come for us?" + +"Not exactly, Miss Madison." + +"Oh--you--you know us?" gasped the other. + +"Certainly, Mabel," laughed Alice. "Don't you remember us--the moving +picture girls?" + +"Ruth--Alice DeVere!" came the simultaneous cry from the lost girls--now +the _found_ girls. "Oh, how did you ever get here?" asked Helen Madison, +for it was really she and her sister. Alice had recognized them first, +and Ruth knew them a moment later. + +"We are lost, like yourselves," said Ruth. "Oh, but can you tell us where +our steamer is?" + +"Your steamer--no!" half-sobbed Mabel. "Oh, it is awful! We have been +lost a long time--it seems a month, but of course it isn't. We can't +find our way out of this wilderness. It is a labyrinth, and we dare not +go far from this hut for fear we shall never find it again. It has been +terrible. But if you are lost you cannot help us. What shall we do?" + +"Let us eat first," suggested Russ, practically. "You have some birds +there. I fancy you are as hungry as we are. We have some crackers and +coffee. We'll get up a meal and then decide what to do. Come, Paul, we're +the commissary department." + +"Oh, but we must hear your story!" cried Ruth to the lost girls, after +she had presented Mrs. Maguire and the boys. "We read about you in the +paper, and we heard of you from the hotel clerk in Sycamore." + +"There isn't much to tell," said Mabel. "We started off after wild +orchids. Well, we became lost, and in trying to find our way back we +wandered farther and farther into the swamp. We had our motor boat, as +you see, and quite a quantity of provisions, which was lucky for us. We +tried our best to get out, but could not. + +"Finally we found this spot--the hut was already here, built by alligator +hunters, very likely. We appropriated it, and the small quantity of food +it contained. Since then we have lived on that and what we could shoot. +Fortunately game was plentiful, but we have so longed for some bread and +coffee. I am dying for a cup." + +"Dinner will soon be served," laughed Russ, who, with Paul, was preparing +a rude meal, broiling the birds over a camp fire. + +"And now tell us about yourselves," suggested Mabel to Alice. "Oh! to +think of meeting you again this way," and she recalled the first meeting +in the train going to the New England backwoods. + +By degrees, and with each one telling a part, the story of the moving +picture players was related. They told how they had looked in vain for +their steamer. Mabel and Helen Madison also went more into details, +giving some of their trying experiences in the swamps and bayous. + +"But for days we have not tried to find our way from here," said Mabel. +"Our motor boat broke down, and we can't get it to go." + +"I fancy I can fix it," said Russ, "but the question is: Which way to go? +We may only get to a worse place." + +"Let us eat, anyhow," suggested Paul. + +It was not a very elaborate meal, but it put new heart and courage into +the lost ones. + +"We'll get back somehow--some time," declared Alice, who was now almost +her old self. "And then won't everybody be glad!" + +Night was coming on, but before the advent of darkness Russ had remedied +the defect in the motor boat. There was trouble with the ignition system, +and also with the carbureter. + +"Now we could go, if we knew which way to go," he said, as he tested the +craft. + +"Hark!" exclaimed Alice, suddenly. + +The sound of a cheerful whistle came through the screen of trees. + +"Oh!" gasped Ruth. "Who can it be?" + +She had her answer a moment later. + +Around a bend in the stream, rowing a battered boat, came an old colored +man. It was he who was making the melody. Cheerfully he whistled, and +more happily was he listened to. + +"Ahoy there, Uncle!" called Russ. "Can you tell us where we are, and +where the _Magnolia_ is tied up?" + +The old colored man was so startled by the sudden hail, breaking in on +his whistling, that he nearly went overboard. He recovered himself, +however, and called out: + +"Whut--whut yo' all doin' at mah cabin?" + +"Is this your place, Uncle?" asked Russ. + +"It shore am. An'--an'--I bids yo' all welcome--I shore does, honey!" he +added quickly, remembering his hospitality. + +"We've made ourselves at home," said Mabel. "Oh, whoever you are, can you +show us the way out of this wilderness?" + +"Kin I show yo' all a way outen dish yeah woods? I shore kin, honey lamb! +I knows dish yeah place laik a book, even if I cain't read. Where all +does yo' all want t' go? Oh, wait a minute, though. Hole on! I done got +t' ax yo' all some questions. Hab yo' all seen any photographers round +'bout yeah?" + +"Photographers?" repeated Paul. + +"Yais, sah! I done passed a steamer yist'day, an' dey all on board was +monstrous peeved 'cause dey done lost der photographer. Yo' all know--he +takes dese pictures dat twinkle laik stars--yo' know, slidin' pictures, I +guess dey calls 'em." + +"Do you mean moving pictures?" asked Russ, eagerly. + +"Uh, huh! Dat's what I means, honey. All on board dish yeah steamer was +pow'ful worried case de moving picture man an' some oders got lost. Yo' +all didn't see 'em; did yo' all?" + +"We're them!" cried Alice, with a justifiable disregard of grammar. + +"And can you take us to that steamer?" asked Ruth, eagerly. + +"I shore can, honey lamb; but it's quite a far way t' row t'night." + +"We can go in the motor boat!" cried Mabel. "Oh, how glad I am that we +have it. There's gasoline enough, I think, and there is a powerful +searchlight. Oh, Helen, we're found--we're found!" and she fell to +sobbing on her sister's shoulder. + +Ruth and Alice, too, clasped their arms about each other. All their +troubles seemed over now. + +"Do you think you can pilot us to that steamer?" asked Russ. + +"I shore can, honey lamb!" chuckled the old negro. "I'se libbed in dese +waters boy an' man all mah life. Yo' can't lose me!" + +"And is this your place?" asked Mrs. Maguire, pointing to the palm hut. + +"Dat's what it am, honey lamb. Uh, huh! I comes heah t' hunt alligators +an' sea cows. Sometimes I stays fer a week at a time. I jest come up now +t' see if dere any traces of 'gators. I'se gwine t' start in huntin' next +week." + +"Oh, isn't he a dear!" laughed Alice, with tears of joy in her eyes. + +"Well, I guess you can postpone your investigation for a while," +suggested Russ. "It's getting dark, Uncle, and we'd like to get back to +the steamer. Now, if you'll pilot us we'll pay you well, and see that +you get back in the morning. You can stay on the _Magnolia_ to-night--if +we find her." + +"Oh, I'll find her, all right--don't yo' all let dat fret yo'!" chuckled +the negro. "I knows jest where's she tied. It's a few miles from heah, +but in dat choo-choo boat yo' all kin soon be dere." + +Leaving his own boat on shore the colored man got into the motor boat +with the others. The rowboat from the steamer was towed, and in it were +left the rugs, blankets, moving picture camera and other things. + +The two Madison sisters brought away with them a box of rare orchid +specimens, the results of their search. + +"I wish I could get a moving picture of this; but I can't," sighed Russ, +as the motor boat started off in the twilight. Soon it became so dark +that the searchlight was set aglow, and this gave a fine illumination. + +But Uncle Joshua, which the negro said was his only name, seemed to need +no light. In and out among the creeks, rivers, and bayous he directed +Russ to steer, until finally, making a turn in a stream, there burst out +on the eager eyes of the refugees the lights of the steamer. + +"_Magnolia_ ahoy!" + +"Here we are!" + +"Oh, Daddy, Daddy!" + +"On board the _Magnolia_!" + +Such joyful shouts as there were, and such joyful answers! + +And then--but I leave you to imagine the scene aboard the steamer when +the lost ones stepped out of the motor launch. Mr. DeVere, who was in a +state of collapse through fear for his daughters, nearly fainted from +joy, but he soon was himself again. And as for Tommy and Nellie, it is a +wonder their grandmother was able to stand all the hugging and kissing +they gave her. + +As for the other members of the picture company, they rejoiced to the +extent of tears, and even Mr. Sneed whistled cheerfully. + +Mabel and Helen Madison were really in need of food and rest, for they +had fared worse than our friends, having been lost so long, and suffering +so from exposure. They were put to bed, and ordered to rest, the +assurance being given that early in the morning the start would be made +for their home in Sycamore. + +And then such a talking time as there was! It was almost morning before +anyone thought of bed. + +"And all the while we were only a comparatively short distance from +here," said Russ, when everything had been explained. But the dense woods +and the winding waterways were as effective a barrier as many miles would +have been. + +"It's lucky Uncle Joshua came along," commented Alice, and there was no +dissent from this. + +"I declare, we seem to be getting into more and more strenuous +adventures, the more moving picture business we do," said Ruth. "But I +think this is about the end." + +"Indeed it isn't!" declared Mr. Pertell. "I don't want to crowd you too +much, but I have an idea for some new moving pictures, and I'd like to +keep this whole company together." + +"Where this time?" Alice asked. + +"Out West," was the answer. "I am planning a big drama, to be called +'East and West,' and I think it will be our best effort." + +"Out West," said Ruth, softly. "I wonder what will happen to us out +there?" + +And the answer may be found by reading the next book of this series, to +be entitled "The Moving Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch; Or, Great Days +Among the Cowboys." + +The day following the finding of the lost girls the _Magnolia_ started +back for Sycamore. It was reached without accident, or incident of +moment, and how the whole town rejoiced when it was known that the two +Madison girls were aboard the boat! There was a veritable holiday. + +The moving picture girls, too, came in for their share of attention, and +had Uncle Joshua been there he probably would have been one of the +centres of attraction. But, after being suitably rewarded, he went back +to his palm hut, which had served the lost girls so well. + +Russ made a few more films, to complete the set wanted, and then came a +packing-up for the return to New York. Before that, however, Mr. Madison +insisted on being the host to the entire company at a garden fete in +honor of his daughters' safe return. + +"Oh, but it was lovely under the palms, even if we did get lost," said +Alice, as they started on their northward journey. + +"Indeed it was," agreed Ruth. "I wonder if we will like the West as +well." + +"Better!" predicted Russ. + +"I'm going to be a cowboy!" declared Paul. + +And now we will take leave of the Moving Picture Girls and their friends. + + +THE END + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Moving Picture Girls Under the +Palms, by Laura Lee Hope + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS *** + +***** This file should be named 17118.txt or 17118.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/1/1/17118/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Jason Isbell, Cori Samuel and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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