AN INTERRUPTION
While Alice was putting on her hat Ruth looked at her in some surprise.
"Was it?" she repeated.
"Was what?" asked her sister.
"Was it a mistake?"
"Of course it was, Ruth! Didn't I tell you Estelle said he must have
taken her for some one else, as she had never been in Portland in her
life? Of course, it was a mistake. What makes you think it wasn't?"
"Because, Alice, I am beginning to have doubts regarding Estelle."
"Doubts! You don't mean about the ring?"
"Of course not! But I am beginning to think she is not altogether what
she seems to be."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, nothing serious, of course. And if she has done what I think she
has it isn't any worse than many girls have done, and have gained by it,
rather than lost, though it was risky."
"You mean?"
"I mean that I believe she isn't telling us all she knows. She is hiding
something about her past. And I believe it is that she has run away from
home because her family would not let her go into moving pictures. You
know we sort of suspected that before. Now, in that case, she would have
every reason to deny that she had seen that young lieutenant in
Portland."
"Why should she, providing I grant that you are right?"
"Because he might know her friends and would tell them where she was.
And she doesn't want that known until she has made a reputation. I don't
blame her. If ever I ran away----"
"Ruth! _you_ are not thinking of it, are you?"
"Silly! Of course not. But if I should I wouldn't want to run back home
until I had something to show for my efforts. It may be that way in
Estelle's case. She doesn't want to return like the prodigal son."
"I believe you're entirely wrong," declared Alice. "What I think is that
she perhaps comes of good people. When I say that I don't mean that they
were any better than we are, but that they so regarded themselves, and
would look askance at motion picture players. Well, Estelle doesn't want
to bring any annoyance on her family, and that may be the reason she
doesn't tell much about herself. But as for that young officer's having
seen her, I believe Estelle when she says he is mistaken. Don't you?"
"I don't know what to believe," returned Ruth. "But I'm not going to
worry over it."
"And you won't tell her you don't believe she is what she seems to be?"
"Of course not, you little goose! But I'm going to keep my eyes open.
You know we may be able to give her some good advice. You and I, Alice,
don't meet with near the temptations that assail other girls in this
business, and it's because father is with us all the while. Now Estelle
isn't so fortunate; so I propose that we sort of look after her."
"Oh, I'm very willing to do that."
"And if we see anything that is likely to cause her trouble, we must
shield her from it. That is what I mean by sort of keeping watch over
her. At the same time, I believe that she is not altogether what she
seems. She is hiding something from us--even though we are trying to be
so kind to her. But she doesn't really mean to do it. She is just
afraid, I think."
"And you really believe that lieutenant knows her?"
"He may. At least I think, from what you said, that he is honest in his
belief. But we will watch and wait. We must try to help Estelle in the
hour of trial."
"Of course we will. Now hurry, for they are waiting for us."
"Such a funny thing just happened to me!" cried Estelle to the party of
young folks when they were in the automobile and on the way to the
village. "I was mistaken for some one else."
"What--again?" asked Alice.
"No, the same incident that you witnessed," and she related the episode
of the lieutenant as Alice had detailed it to Ruth.
"That was queer," commented Hal Watson.
"I should say so!" exclaimed Russ.
"Was he at all fresh?" Paul asked, and his air was truculent.
"Not in the least!" Estelle hastened to assure him. "He was honestly
mistaken about it, that was all," and she enlarged on the incident, and
seemed so genuinely amused by it that Alice nudged her sister as much as
to say:
"See how much in error you are."
But Ruth only smiled, and Alice noticed that she regarded Estelle more
closely than ever.
The party made merry in the town, going into the "Emporium," for
ice-cream sodas; and even the presence of Maurice Whitlow at the other
end of the counter, where he was imbibing something through a straw,
could not daunt Alice's high spirits. Whitlow smiled and smirked in the
direction of his acquaintances, but he received no invitation to join
them.
As Estelle was going out in the rear of the party, the extra player slid
up to her and asked:
"Mayn't I have the pleasure of buying you some more cream?"
"You may not!" exclaimed Estelle, not turning her head, and there were
snickers from the other patrons in the place. Maurice turned the shade
of his scarlet tie, and slid out a side door.
"You're getting too popular," chided Alice to her friend. "First it's
the young lieutenant, and now it's your former admirer."
"I can dispense with the admiration of both!"
"Even the lieutenant?" asked Ruth, meaningly.
"Oh, he wasn't so bad," and Estelle either was really indifferent, or
she assumed indifference in a most finished manner that would have done
credit to a more experienced actress than she was.
"What's the matter--are we late?" asked Paul, as, on the way back to Oak
Farm, he saw Russ look at his watch and then speed up the car a bit.
"Yes, a little. Mr. Pertell said he wanted to begin that skirmish scene
at eleven exactly, and it's ten minutes to that now. We can just about
make it. The sun will be in just the right position for making the film.
It's in a thicket you know, and the light isn't any too good. That's the
scene you girls are in," he went on.
"Speed along," urged Paul. "I've got to get into my uniform and make up
a bit."
There is very little "make up" done for moving pictures taken in the
open, and not as much done for studio work as there is on the regular
stage. The camera is sharper than any eye, and make-up shows very
plainly on the screen. Of course, eyes are often darkened and lips
rouged a bit to make them appear to better advantage. Even the men make
up a little but not much. For close-up views, though, where the faces
are more than life size, artistic make-up is very essential. The camera,
in this case, is a magnifying glass, and the most peach-blow complexion
would look coarse unless slightly powdered.
"We'll be all right if we don't get a puncture," said Hal.
No sooner were these words out of his mouth than there came a hiss of
escaping air.
"There she goes!" cried Paul. "Stop, Russ!"
"No, we haven't time. I'm going to keep on. It's better to get in on the
rims and cut a shoe to ribbons than to spoil the film."
They sped along in spite of the flat tire. And it was well they did, for
Mr. Pertell was anxiously waiting for his players when they arrived at
Oak Farm.
"You cut it pretty fine," was his only comment. "Don't do it again. Now
get ready for that skirmish scene."
This was one little incident in the big war play. In it Ruth and Alice
were to be shown driving along a country road. There was to be an alarm,
and a body of Confederate cavalry was to encounter one of the outposts
of the Union army. There was to be a skirmish and a fight, and the Union
men were to be driven off, leaving some dead and wounded. The girls,
though shocked, were to look after the wounded.
All was in readiness. The soldiers, some drawn from the newly-arrived
National Guards, were posted in their respective places. Lieutenant
Varley was to play the part of one of the wounded Unionists.
"All ready--come on with the carriage!" called Mr. Pertell to Ruth and
Alice, who were waiting out of range of the camera. They had rehearsed
the direction they were to take. "Go on!" called the director to Russ.
"Camera!"
The grinding of the film began, and Ruth and Alice acted their parts as
they drove along in the old-fashioned equipage. Suddenly, in front of
them the bushes crackled.
"There they come!" cried Ruth, pulling back the horses as called for in
the play. "The soldiers!"
But instead of a band of men in blue breaking out on the road, there
came a herd of cows, that rushed at the carriage, while the horses
reared up and began to back.
"Stop the camera! Stop that! Cut that out!" frantically cried Mr.
Pertell through his megaphone. "Hold back those men!" he added to his
assistant who had signaled for the Confederates to rush up.