OCR Text |
Show 6jf LOUIS JOSEPH VANoi5B oiorz sjlssjl JstsJMbsnt fm BEGIN HERE TODAY To forgot the bitter troubles of her domestic life LUCINDA DR1TCE accepts the invitation invi-tation of her friend, FANNY LONTAINB, a school-girl ohuin to visit with her English husband. HARRY, the film studio of the famous fa-mous screen star, ALMA DALEY. Fanny explains that Harry hopes to form a moving picture company In California On tho trip to the studio in Ninth avenue, ave-nue, Luclnda muses over the break v. lth her husband. BELLAMY. Wealth, youth, beauty, had failed to bring happiness to their Fifth avenue homo after five years of! married life. Heavy drinking and an Insatiable appetito for promiscuous flirtations had been the moans by which ho destroyed de-stroyed her early love for him. And now RICHARD DAUBENEY, her old sweetheart, had returned to New York. Tho trip to tho studio would give her a chance to forgot. GO OS WITH THE STORY. Stage, as the layman understands that term, there was none; but the floor space as a whole v.ns rather elaborately cluttered with what Lu-I Lu-I clnda was to learn were technically I known as "sets." in various stages j of completion and demolition; q being anything set up to be pho'.o- graphed, from a single "side" or "flat" with a lmplc window or doo . or an "angle" formed of two sucn i sides joined to show the corner of a room, up to tho solid and pretention piece of construction which occupied fully one-half of the left and reproduced repro-duced the Palm Room at the Rlt:i- Carlton. At the far end of the room a sub-nantiiil sub-nantiiil set represented a living-room, living-room, a good part of It was mtsi:d from Luclnda's vl w b a number of massive but portable metal screens or stands arranged In two converging converg-ing ranks, at whose apex stood a heav tripod supporting a small black box. To these stands lines of insulated insul-ated cable wandered over the floor from every quarter of the room. An atmosphere of apathy pervaded pervad-ed the place, as If nothing of moment mo-ment was happening or expected to happen. An effect to which consld-erable consld-erable contribution was made by the lugubrious strains of a three-piece orchestra, piano, violin. And 'cello. I stationed to one side of Iho living- I room set. This trio Intrigued Ludnda'f in- ( torest. Its presence seemed unac- countable, but not more so than Its , renditions of plaintUo melodies, tunes which one more familiar with tho cant of the theatre would unhesitatingly unhesitat-ingly have classified us "sob stuff." Guided by Mr. Lane, tho exotics t gingerly picked their way across tho i i olbi Of electric cable that ran In I snaky confusion all over tho floor. ' llko exposed viscera of the cinema. 1 and LucldO presently found herself on the side lines of the living room I between it and th' dogged orchestra, and well out of range of the camera. Sho could now see three people on the set, two men with s girl whom, thanks to the wide circulation of the lady's photograph--, she had no difficulty diffi-culty In Identifying as Alma Daley herself a prepossessing young person per-son with bobbed bair. a boldly featured fea-tured face, comely In the flesh rather than pretty, and a slight little body which she used with a rather fetching fetch-ing effc i of youthful gaucherie Of these one was tall and dark with B thick shock of wavy black hair, s wide nnd mobile mouth, and ' rt-at melancholy eyes. His well-tailored well-tailored morning coat displayed to admiration a splendid torso. The other was a smaller. Indeed an undersized un-dersized man. who wore a braided smoklng-jacket but no paint on hi pinched weather-wotn face of an actor. "King Laughlln. ' Mr. Culp's secretary secre-tary Informed Luclnda "man in the smoklng-jacket, he always wears one when he's working greatest emotional emo-tional director in the business, nobody no-body can touch him. Why. alongside him, Griffith's a Joke in a back number num-ber of Judgi You wouldn't guess what he gets; thirty-five hundred." "That's almost a thousatnd a week. Isn't It?" "Thousand a week!" In accents of somo compassion he corrected: 'Three thousand flvo hundred every week's what King Laughlln drags down In tho little old pay envelope. But that's Mr. Culp all over, expense's ex-pense's no object when he's making an Alma Daley picture, nothing's too good " "I'm sure . . ." Lucinda agreed vaguely. Out of tho corner of an eye the director had become aware of a new BUdleiu B and one worthy of his mettle met-tle Dropping the easy, semi-confidential manner, Mr. King Laughlln matched a silk hat and stick from the other's unresisting hands. "Right-O. Tommy"' he said In the1 nasal voice of the English Midlands "Just to make sure I'll walk through It With Alma" He turned gracious-1 i io inu woman uv ninm, dear . . ." Miss Daley, herself not unconscious uncon-scious of a fashionable gallery, shrugged shrug-ged slightly to signify that she didn't mind If Mr. Laughlln thought It really re-ally worth whHe. and made a leisurely leisure-ly exit from tho set. At the same time Mr. Laughlln walked off by a door approximately opposite, and the joung man in the morning-coat strolled down to the front of the set and settled himself to observe and absorb the impending lesson. Mr. Laughlln then ro-entered In character as tt degage gentleman with an uneasy conscience, Indicating this last by stealthily opening and peering peer-ing round tho edge of tho door before be-fore coming In and closing it with caution, and his gentility by holding hat ad stick In one hand and carelessly care-lessly trailing the ferrule of the stick behind blm Tillv(1 to flnrl the room untenanted, he moved up to the table, placed the hat on it crown-1 down, propped the stick against it, turned and gave the door In the right- hand wall a hard look, then bent over the table and pulled out and began to ransack one of Its drawers. Thus engaged, he said clearly: "All right. Alma'" and immediately gave a start whereby It appeared that ho had heard footfalls off, and slammed the drawer At this Miss Daley entered, a listless little flguro so preoccupied with secret woe, that sho quite failed at first to see Mr. Laughlln, and when sho did, gave a start evon more violent than his had boon, clasping both hands to her bosom and crying out in a thrilling voice "Egbert!" Mr. Laughlln kept his temper admirably ad-mirably under tho sting of this epithet, epi-thet, all the same, anyone could see he didn't fancy it a bit. However, I first and always the gentleman, he? offered Miss Daley a magnanimous gesture of outstretched hands. Instantly In-stantly the poor girl's face bright ) ened with a joyous smile a happy cry trembled upon her lips a shs I (able andHdlruViirlB ! number of reason, br bl tay In but ho made iM 'fjns bonds, throiviri toB hH neck nnd Wlndlnr ht-!H ; ly round It. And that wB j Egbert made It dear 173 stand for a lot from ij whom he wa, evcrdhlJJ "uch a thing .spina,!, And. against her fremiti J he grasped her frail y?J brutally broke her 3 flung her from him. table, threw -how the pretty U3 J 1 ; clutched convuliively n 3 bone, and subsidy uoa -3 la fit of heartbroken' mmJ j Egbert rallrjuHly took j ped it on his head, ani J by a door in the r"ir ntl tut, but slightly lajubJ I fact that the hat wm jeryjij largo and would hare b ! him completely if it tiijij hH noble ears. 1 Without pa'jse Mr. Lkm bled round tr, the frost " the waiting acUrd ''-" , Tommy ' ;; kat I and encouru'od MIsj ft 'i h i l's i onderful, Alma, t go on. rlht through the M is I i.ilt-y, lying la cts la pie with her head lofl writhed up on an elbov, m hands upon th floor id strength pushed her hearts! dors away from It, eM lured face turned to M I throughout. Then j.V ptl ond wind, caught hold i i of the table, pulled herwL's round wildly realiied thai a deserted woman n an T.ippe hanging on th'bidi ' rls chair by Ludwlg Bitais ! it rushed to the do-v ly n bi rt had escaped, irJ ttj , self out in pursuit. Mr Laughlln clajpWj hands. Fine. Vrna wosderfilj Him ply marvelous todaf. N Tommy run through It JaslS Aim a. and tben we'll ifcM Mi I ne bustled nbojta i ha r foi Luclnda ad bjfj i upon which they cotapssj selves lo watch Tomro'liaJ King Laughlin's tulttcn la a acting for the screen. To tho best of Lucln-Jil M however the greater put Laughlln' efforts had rti my precisely nothing at aUJ the rudimentary rr.ee bsI physical action sketched !a rector Tommy made M !J attempt to follow bis P-wJ disregarding entirely lt ! but effective busiest "JJ the scene Instead with ISSj w as. .such as it waa, all "1 more accurately that of of the spe.il; ing stage. I And when Mr I - " approved this perforKMjM nounced that ihejr sWj shoot it." Luclnda bp"l if there were PotfJ6J3 wrong with her own F1 serration. , g "But," she protssteJ "he dldn t play ihe Laughlln did." t-j (Continued ! Our J |