INSIDE INFORMATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18711, 17 May 1924, Page 23 (Supplement)

INSIDE INFORMATION.

i, V By JOHN L. CARTER. ■ 1 £nUior of:—" Peggy tho Aeronaut," " The . H; jPil<p:iaiage of Delilah," " Nymphat,"** • etc. if'? • - .(Copyright.! * . . ' ' CHAPTER I. ,*'7 Like . many another englishman, Tom V Clark had been forced to give up all his ( endeavours to make a success on the Cin- , ima in England and migrate to Holly- *' wood, the great Californian film studio : town, just outside Los Angeles, and since then nothing had held him back. > In« .•. deed, Tom Clark was - now rergarded -as :. #, thu world's ideal lover," and the fact thai he was ..English and looked English - endeared him all the mora to English C'.:Cinema-goers, ; ' ; Tom was sitting in the expensivelyfurnished private, office of vJames Wright, the director-in-chief of the famous &uu'istone Pictures Company. They were discussing James Wright's idea of producing a Scottish picture, "Robert Bruce." It was going to be a. million dollar film, at the least. James Wright proposed to rent a picturesque castle in Scotland, ana take over his own stars, camera men, and assistant producers, but the resulting him was going to bo fully worth while. This James Wright was a tall man of forty-seven, with a handsome, clean-cut ' face, and an alert, commanding manner, lie had been cinema directing for some fifteen years in Hollywood, and now he held the premier position with the famous Sunstono Company. V,.' "Do you intend to take May Hunt with you to Scotland?" queried Tom Clark, a rather uneasy inflection in his tone. "Certainly, I must take May," said Wright. "She'll be fine for the star part; and you get on all right with her, don't you?" •'0h { I get on all right with her." said ' Tom. "But .... ' He shook his

head uneasily. , James Wright frowned sternly, at that. "You're referring to all this : "newspaper talk about her and me, I suppose!" he paid sharply.' * , 1 "I am," said Tom, "I think the scanSal has gone quite •' liar enough." • Tom Clark referred to certain newspaper' paragraphs that' had lately hinted that. James .Wright, was a. man of questionable morals., One,article which Tom hail seen, in the Broadway Interpreter, had pointed out that no fewer than five Hollywood stars had lived in succession at James Wright's bungalow on the beach. ... "It doesn't do your name any good," said Tom. v $ ... James ' Wright laughed. _ "I'm -not concerned with • what the papers say about me," he said. ( "You know quite well what I'm up to." . ' Tom Clark did know. James Wright was nothing .if, not a moral-minded. man. ' :x It -was true that May Hunt did live in his bungalowa bungalow, by the way, that contained twenty rooms, .and in . ■which there was plenty of room for both himself and May. . Tom knew that James Wright had discovered that May Hunt the most illustrious star he, had yet created, had contracted the drug habit, and so,- in order to save her, he had insisted . upon her living at his bungalow, where ". lie could keep nis eye on her. . Tom . laughed dubiously. , I "I don't think you'll succeed/ he said.» "You .failed: with the others, and they gave you & terrible lot of trouble. Wright, you're a quixotic foolthat's what you are." Then he clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, never mind, all honour 'to' you for trying to save poor May. - ''I'm trying to do more than that—as you- know," said Wright, his face setting iiard * with determination. "I'm out to stamp out all this' drug traffic.' _ "That will take a lot of doing. - 1 *Tjn beginning to find that out, said " Wright. "I'm going to produce some Food anti-drug films as, soon =as I can get, ' time. Yes, fm fighting the drug ting. But " I love a fight, and I mean to sea "this thing through." ' 'Well, I wiah you luck said Tom. Then he added with a laugh de careful!, May Hunt is frightfully pretty. Just you be careful that you don t tail in love with her in the end l" ! - - James Wright shook his head. ~ t "I've no time for,- love, he said, _ bull, J I'm v going to save poor - May, if that is humanly possible." - S " . - With that they hurried down and across the- grounds to the studio, and threw themselves into the production of a story of Bret Harte's. in which Tom Clark was . b tenderfoot, and the lovely May iluns a .kindly-hearted woman of doubtful charaC Here James Wright was a different creature from the suave, calm business man who had sat in his office five minutes .before. Now he was shouting directions through his -megaphone, ordering the lights to be switched : on,, commanding . his battery of camera men to get. to work, directing everything and everyone, commanding and countermanding at lightsing speed.: AH was bustle, efficiency, thoroughess. The actors them- : selves were : experienced -ones ; and readily took his directions and translated them into action. -t. 1 ' Under the glaring "kleig" lights the vellcwish ; "make up" on their faces made them look ghastly ancl repellant,- but It •was all in the day's work, and the wnoie company, hot and weary, worked on hour after hour. This was picture-productio* ' with 1 a vengeance, and one saw that the film favourite's life-, lite the life of any- ' one else who reaches the top, was. a life • of - hard toil and self-sacrifice. . 1 May Hunt had never had a part tnat .. Bnited her better, and between them Tom Clark and she! made the clean-aouled -voting tenderfoot and , the soiled dove of the - mining camp „ appear on • a common ■ • footing, the bond of a common humanity -• that;" James Wright showed his- genius as a director. Little by little he brought out "the best of the story, and. " the best in both Tom and May; and when lunch time came he was more than ; pleased with the morning's work.

, CHAPTER n. That afternoon, ; James Wright was •gain in his private office when a earn Was brought in. -r nmotl "Miss Daisy Bond, read James Wright. "Show her in. ■ ' A minute later there entered a- very dainty, refined looking girl with a wealth of coal-black hair, violet blue eyes, and . regular, beautiful features and a mouth by no means too. small but beautifully and' delicately shaped. . ' , James Wright looked up sharply, and accustomed as he was to flawless faces, there was something in the face of Daisy Bond that made him look at her again, made him interested in her at once. / "It was very good of you to see me, Began the girl in a rich low tone. "Oh, that's all light," he said. , When ; I got your letter saying you were an hMglish girl, and had come over as typist to Elinor Waring, the English authoress whose novel" we have only just finished filming, I felt I simply must see you. (Veil now, what have you come about. "I'm looking for work,", said Daisy Bond. '.•• - - James Wright's face fell. _ . , 'I'm afraid I've no opening—in the itudio," he said dubiously. 'Hollywood Is simply crowded out with film aspirknts. No, I am afraid I should not be icting the part of a. friend, if I encourIged you at all. As far as I . can see there is no chance for you or any other girl to get on to the movies. Of course, f'ou could get an occasional days worn, rery occasional, mind you." . . i "Yes, I have done that," broke in Daisy eagerly. "I was in, one of your :rowds once, and I've had odd days at the . Lasky, an J several other studios. Btill, as you say, it's only very casual. But, really, what I came for was to know if you could do with a typist." . Once again Ja»es Wright shook his . bead. But then, when he saw. how Daisy's face fell, and her under-lip began .Jo quiver, and saw that one of her gloves pas mended at the fingers, he remembered that this was an English girl, alone h America—and James Wright was . . loted for his soft heart. ie Are you any good on a dictating mathine?" he saici. "You know what I . Dean — of those." , He ' pointed to a phonograph-like mashine that stood on his; great desk. "Oh yes, I've used one for some time, . , he- said. "A number of English authors fnd scientific men use dictating ma'febes." • . V , •:

k%£'i, n-

_Xfchr 'well, thats better," considered i Wright. "It so happens that I am ] short of a personal secretary. I usually employ?' a man, but I don t really see ■ why you "shouldn't do. Butf let mo see j your references first." ' • Those references were perfectly satis- ; factory, and within' 'half-an-hour Daisy • had got : the post. - , "And i now Miss. Bond, tell me why you stayed over here when Miss Waring weiit back to England?" he asked. "It seema to me a pretty , reckless . sort of thing :to do." <• . J ■ ' Daisy flushed delightfully. V , 'I hardly like to make the confession," ■ ■he said, "but .the' ffeet is, I was film struck. I wanted to do what the Americans call : 'breaking into the Movies'." •He laughed. • - - "And you found it much harder than breaking into the Bank of England 1 I know! Well, never mind, there's a great deal of clever people on the Movies, but I'm ' sure there's a greater number, equally as clever, who never get their chance. And wo directors have to be hard, hard as iron, and-cold as stone." _ "Oh, I have had a frightful struggle, 1 confess. You see, I didn't even know bow to make, up my face for the films at first," she said. "Oh! there were lots of difficulties. But, thank goodness, that's all • over!" . James Wright looked at her critically. "You mean to say you've got over your ambition to go on the Movies?" he asked sceptically. . , ■ , / She smiled across at him and shook her head. "I shall never give up that ambition," she said. "But what I mean, is, I shall ■be perfectly happy to work as your typist. And someday perhaps I may get a chance." "You shall get a chance," he promised her. "I'll put you in for a crowd—and restaurant or dance scenes— sort of thingand I'll give you a little extra money for it. But, first and foremost, I must tell you, you must stick to my secretarial work. That must come first always. ,"lt shall, I promise you," said Daisy earnestly. She felt very grateful, and she was sure she would never neglect her duties. That would be some way of repaying liim. He was just about to show her out, when the door opened and Tom Clark entered. Tom nearly ran into Daisy, aua they both started back with a little apology to each other. "Well Tom, this is Miss Daisy Bond, my new secretary and a coming cinema starperhaps!" said Wright. Then he turned to Daisy. "This is Mr.—" " Tom Clark," she cut in, smiling at Tom. "Of course, everybody knows f Tom Clark ! How do you do!' The two shook hands. ''You're both English," remarked James Wright, with a little laugh. , Tom Clark's brows went up, and he gave Daisy another approving look. "I like the American girls but I think 1 prefer the English ones," he added gallantly. - He said this with a little emphasis that made a wave of colour come into Daisy's cheeks. How well she knew his features She had seen him on the films so often! He and Morna Day. the girl who had so often played with him, were perhaps her favourite stars. "So . you want to do some 'extra' work," he said. "Well you mustn't be satisfied with that. - I started as tun 'extra ' then one day I fell off a roof. Luckily, I dropped into a water cart that happened to be passing underneath, ana it appears I did the thing so humorously that I was a marked man from then on. There's a lot of luck in getting on. The point is to take every bit of luck that comes your way and make the most of it." "Thank . you!" said Daisy, who felt rather awed at having been treated so kindly by the famous Tom Clark. "Be here at nine sharp to-morrow morning," said James Wright. "Contrary to the general belief, Movie-makers have to be moving early. >>> ' v '<• And, take my advice, my deav, ana don't throw, yourself into the gay side sf Hollywood. Stick to work and work trill stick to you. Try and take the easy road, and you'll find it will lead you out it the ' back entrance. There's no royal oad to the top, in .any profession—except iard work. Goodbye'." > . / Daisy Bond felt . that she was in leaven. As she went down in the pala,ial lift she could hardly believe tnat what had' happened was true. She. had been afraid of going to see Tames Wright. So many queer " stories ifere circulated about him and yet, he lad been very different from the stories. The stories said that he made girls into stars, but always exacted his price—his present star, May Hunt, was a notorious nstance. And : yet, she could not believe t of this clear-eyed, serious-minded man whom she had met that morning. Anyiow she felt reassured, and would be perfectly happ3( to be associated with iim, day after day, as his secretary. She elt perfectly safe—perfectly! ' And now her thoughts turned to Tom /lark. He was very nandsome, and very ;indly—and what a nice smile he had! Ind those deep, wide grey eyes of his, io%v they seemed to hold one's own yes. , Daisy sighed. She was very happy, ler tune of fear and terror and unem>loyment was over at last, and— was ;oing to get on in the Movies.

CHAPTER m. . A fortnight went by. Daisy got thoroughly into her work as secretary to James Wright, and as .she was the one who typed all his private correspondence she soon discovered that, bo far from being an evil-liver he was sternly opposed to vice in _ every form. From that correspondence she nad learned that be was out to destroy the power of .what he called the "Drug Ring." and that this gang of cocaine .. smugglers were equally anxious to put him out of action. He had other enemies too, well-mean-ing people who had accepted the general view that James Wright was at least as bad as ho ,was, painted. The New York press seemed ready to believe the' worst of him. Then there was the "New England Puritans," an Anti-Vice society that had supporters all over America, and whose President had actually taken up his quarters in Los ' Angeles with the avowed intention of . exposing James Wright. * - • ■■ ' ■■■ - Daisy had, on several * occasions, met May Hunt in the studio, in Mr. Wright's Office, and at his bungalow. Daisy soon guessed that the gorgeously beautiful star "had fallen desperately in , love with him. And she was annoyed and concerned ■ to find that May Hunt was already becoming very jealous of herself, Daisy. Daisy could have assured her : that there was no occasion for this jealousy, for while James Wright was very considerate he had shown no slightest sign of being in love with herself. . Tom Clark was another whom Daisy frequently met. And Tom. well, he was certainly showing a deep interest in herself. He told her that it was because she was a lonely English girl, and that he wanted to give her some happiness. But the fact was that he found her so different from the average cinema girl, and it was this difference, her refinement and dignity and naturalness, that attracted him ' . , Daisv admired Tom Clark. She admired him for being such a whole-hearted partisan of James Wright and his campaign against the ' drug ring. Indeed Tom constantly urged James Wright to take legal action against the newspapers that vilified his name, though James Wright would always laugh it off. _ " After all," he would say, " it is not reputation, but character, that I prize. They can make my reputation what they will but it is I alone who control my character." Which was pretty sound philosophy. „ Preparations for the "Robert Bruce" film were going on well, and the company was clearing up the studio work generally. in readiness to sail to England in about a fortnight. May Hunt had proved more than intractable. She was resenting the stern discipline that James Wrighii had imposed upon her. Sometimes she would plead with him for an hour on end, to allow her just one dose of cocaine, or at any rate a bottle of champagne, but James Wright was inflexible as regards both. One would lead -to the other, he assured her, and, he meant to save her in spite of herself. . Perhaps May Hunt would have been more amenable to his treatment if she had been assured that he was doing this

for love." * v* But he never gave : tier any lope '£ in 1 "that > direction, ' never /; "poke a word. of : love, and as she_ hac* fallen ieeply in love with him this made her life ■. all t the more bitter and unhappy. A.t times she would have given half her remaining years for a single endearing word ifrom him. £• > : . - v. ■ ' Olio evening after dinner, she told him that she did not feel well and was going to bed. At dinner they had had one of their - biggest clashes, and he had - been Brm, as usual, not yielding an inch. ■ In the end he had told her that it was Hollywood and all its gaiety and temptation that were her chief danger, Weu t they would he off ' to England soon, where she would have a chance to get quite free from the cocaine craving. < May Hunt kept back the rebellion that was in her heart. . She wanted this man s love. And he was as cold as stone toward her. - Why should she obey him, deprive herself of happiness? If he did not love her, then life was not worth living anyway. Well, she could cheat him in the end. She ' would J get some enjoyment out of life, in spite of him. And so she pretended to agree. But no sooner had she gone to her room than she got out of her day /things into her flimsiest evening costume, a flame-col-oured veil-like thing that was a dress in' name only. • And then she ; crept awayand went off in a car to the big bungalow of her old friend and admirer ? Jeff. King, the Sunstone Company s director who specialised in the lower class film stories. Jeff. King was giving a ' champagne supper " to-night. V ; : May was welcomed' with ■ open arms. It was the Prodigal's return, everybody declared. Everybody sympathised with her, and all were eager to give het a good time. And soon she was the liveliest, gayest, boldest, in the .throng. And Jeff. King, as handsome as he was evil, and as infatuated with her as a. man could be, was delighted. . The two were dancing a mad, indecorous dance, to the equally mad and debasing . strains of the nigger band, when suddenly the door, "opened and James Wright stood on the threshold, a stern look on his pale handsome face. There was something about that face that made everybody turn. Even , the niggers stopped their 'music, for James Wright was a notability in Hollywood, and, in any case, the look on his face boded ill for someone. * Suddenly May Hunt turned and saw him. " What do you want?" she cried, petulant and afraid. , ~ •' I want you to come home with me, said Wright sternly, . I'm hanged if she does! cried Jen. King in great indignation. . Wright ignored King altogether. " Come with me," ho repeated compelUn Jeff. King Parted forward to prevent Jeff. King darted _ forward to prevent him, but James Wright shot out a left swing to the jaw, and King fell like a log amid a chorus of ; frightened cries and amazed protests. And # when Jen ' .King's guests saw their host lying deathly still on the polished floor, they came for James Wright in drunken fury. Wright put his arm round May Hunt. «< Stand back!" he cried, and drawing out a Browning revolver, he held them off, making toward the door. James Wright did not get away from the bungalow without a struggle, but he was out at last. ■ And ■. the half-drunken, drug-bemused crowd of revellers were glad to he out of reach of his flashing left, not to speak of the Browning pistol - that he kept gripped in his right, in case , of serious emergency. _ As ; he - reached the pavement, May Hunt made a last effort to free herself. " I'm not going with you! " she cried in a shrill, hysterical tone.' But the next moment Wright had caught her up in his arms, and was running with her to his waiting car. . By the time they reached his bungalow May Hunt was in a -hysterical condition. The effect of the dope and drink was working off, and from being bright and vivacious she had now grown quarrelsome and dispirited. Wright was weary of the whole matter, and when he saw that it was no use arguing with her, he sent for his housekeeper, and begged her to see that May was put to bed at once and was not allowed to get away. He was glad that' he was taking her to England. There would be a chance for her there. .V; In spite of the exhaustion that followed this distressing experience, James Wright wag up early the following day. They. were to sail for England in less than a fortnight, and there was heaps of work to get through. The studio was working doubly hard to clear up one or two scenes of several films which were not complete. In some cases Wright had decided that a particular scene was not just right, and so it was to be taken all over again. In other instances, " close-ups" had to be taken for insertion in films that were otherwise completed. During this final rush period, of clearing up the past season's work, he found Daisy invaluable, and on several occasions she was . called upon as an *' extra.',' Once she had to play the part of .a society girl in a cafe. Then she was one of the passengers in a trolley car, a guest at a swell dinner party, and even one of a crowd of bathing girls. Actually it was & matter of luck that she happened to be available, and it was easier for James Wright to make use of her instead of having to ring up the Service Bureau, or one of the other agencies where extra characters could be obtained. Thus Daisy got valuable experience, and as she had to do this film work in addition to her very busy secretarial duties she looked forward with eager pleasure to the idea of the trip across the Atlantic to England. That would be a rest-indeed. CHAPTER IV. Glenover Castle is one of the most picturesque Norman buildings in Europe, and had been in the possession of the Glenover family since the seventeenth century. The castle is a great rambling pile, a mass of noble archways, towers,, and turrets, and a- battlemented wall surrounds the whole.' v This noble building stands in grounds of thirty ' acres, or more, comprising parkland, moorland, and the corner of a thick pine forest, and, to the south , ill some rough hill country, at the foot of which runs a deep blue loch. From the west tower a glimpse of the city of Glasgow may be had. -Rightly James Wright had decided that Glenover was ideal for film work. The Sunstone- Company had, on more than one occasion, built its own " property " castles, but there had always been something lacking. : Glenover was the real thing, and this big historical romance, " Robert Bruce," would be a certain success. - ; Of course he meant to produce many other films besides that big one. And the surrounding country lent itself to all manner of stories. The first thing upon arrival had been to set an army of workmen to the task of building a huge studio. This was es-' sential, for many reasons, especially in so changeable a climate as England. This studio, however, was being erected some distance from the castle, • and it was screened off by a row of larch trees. The company -were housed in the stretching west wing of. the castle itself, and Daisy was delignted to find that she had a bedroom all to herself. It was such a delightful little room, with dark ; oak panelled walls. The room was round situated actually in one of' the towers, and the ivy on the outer walls was simply; full of starlings and other birds. Fromher window she had a view-of a twenty miles down a long broad valley in the; far distance of which she could see Loch ; Lomond. " , It was barely a week after tiro com- : pany's arrival at Glenover before picturemaking was resumed. It was not James Wright's way to have his huge, staff of actors, camera-men, and others, idling away week afiter week when ' pictures could be turned out, and dividends earned, and during this period, when he and his, assistants were planning out the big film, Daisy was frequently called upon to take minor parts in a series of Scott* ish Life pictures. . It was James Wright's way to have each newly-taken roll of film run off in one of the large rooms ' of the castle, where a screen had been fixed up, and, whenever he took a private view -of . this sort, as often as not 'with one or two of his assistants sitting by him, it was al-

ways : Daisy's : duty). to. be' there with hqr notebook ready ; to penaljdowrk »°y.remarks he might make. At tames he would decide to have a certain incident ctriout of a film, while' another incident had to be' made more of.- '•* Sometimes a firesh incident altogether had % to. be. introduced, j and he would rapidly dictate . his in^ni tiona •to Daisy. during the progress of the film' " r 't ♦'•» -»« T' • One;' day they were showing a fiha the Scottish moors.lt was : ® , story," and an actual Scottish cottage been used as a background of the fita, Daisy had been, taking part -in it. - one had been , the eighteen-year-old daughter of : the Scottish cottager. It w *y s 2*7® her a thrill when she saw . herself ,on the screen. She had by no.means. got used to , thait. Ia fact,'"she felt She never would. :As .she was portrayed pressing » bigeyed, frightened; calf, and ying with a sheep dog, she heard • Tom Clark re By'jove. What'a face she's got! I «' By love. What a face she s got. I B ay, Wright, you'll have to give her something big.' Talk about a film face I Miss Bond is simply wonderful!' .. , • " Not half bad," she heard Wright mur-

m That was all, but it was a flighted moment for Daisy, and she could have almost, kissed Tom Clark s hoots o t gratitude. She was doubtful, however whether she would hear any more of it. But she did hear of it. The very nex morning Wright told her that he nad been pleased with her as Jess McDougall, and he was going to try to give her something bigger. He explained _ that it. , .was her face— was a peculiar sympathy in her face that could hot be accounted for, only it was certainly there— and on Tom Clark's urgent advice he had decided to see if he could find her something bigger in the way of a part. He handed her a type-written scenario' entitled " Bonnie Doon." •'* . . " That's the story I thought; of giving you," he said.' " It's very simple, .and won't cost much to producejust a cottar's story, so it won't be a big risk. Read .it and - see - what- you think of it. Your part will be Mary." " Daisy was too Amazed to speak. _ She could not believe it yet. Then, with a sudden shy " Thank you!" she took the manuscript and ran, out of the office. She went to her bedroom and then opened the scenario. ; ■>

It did not take her long to read those five pages, but she was delighted with •what she read. Mary was the younger daughter of a struggling - cottar. It was a delightful, sympathetic part, and she knew she could do it to perfection, because she knew that she could feel just how Mary would feel.

" Then who is to be Charlie?" she flaked herself. And then a little flush came into her cheeks as she wondered whether _it was that she was going to play lead with Tom Clark. Oh, absurd. - He wouldn't stoop to it. And yet— ■ - Five minutes later she was back in the

" Well, what do you think of it?" said Wright. "Oh, I'm delighted 1" said Daisy. "It's awfully good of you! But who is to play Charlie?" "£'■ ••• , " Why, Tom Clark, of course !" he said. " He is the one who picked this' scenario, and it was he who wanted-, you to play Mary." : ~ v *. "Oh I" cried Daisy, completely taken back.

Yea he thinks great ' things of you, does Tom," said Wright. "You'd better go to him now. He's in the third cast ing room going through the full script. You might run through it 'together, and compare ideas." ;

Daisy stared.at him, amazed, for a moment, and then she nodded and wept off. it was wonderful, unbelievable, to think that she was going to play lead with Tom Clark . , • .

"Hullo!" said Tom Clark, as Daisy entered the casting room. "So Mr. Wright's told you, has he?" _ , " Yes. And thank you so much, Mr. Clark 1" said Daisy. "It is good—good of you both." •

Oh, that's all right," said Tom, " I daren't, have recommended you if you hadn't been. the. goods— you? flre.'f . Just then; May Hunt entered the room/" She shot a suspicious glance at Daisy, and 1 then a somewhat ■ sulky one at Tom. "< " If I'm not intruding!" die said point-, edly, " I've come to have a look at ; the scenario of the new picture.'' " What, new picture?" said .Tom. "Do you mean v. Robert ; Bruce?.' '' •u- y - - "No, I dont! ,I mean ' Bonnie Doon, " retorted Mot Hunt. " You. know quite 1 well that Jimmy's - going to take that first." : ■=.'■. . „v , , ' i,' Tom • Clark and Daisy looked at each other in amazement. Evidently there was a misunderstanding somewhere. > " I'm afraid you'd better see Jimmy himself about that," said Tom. " I understood that he* wanted you to rest until the big , film came along. That will be a very heavy tax on you, you know." May Hunt gave him a' suspicious stare, and then turned -to the door.. "Oh! I see! That's it, is it? Well, I'll go and see Jimmy myself." Then she turned back. "And who do you mean to say is going to take, my place in ' Bonnie Doon?'-" i. . . - - . Again Tom looked uneasily, at Daisy. But Daisy turned away. She wished herself anywhere. ' ; ■ . .. May Hunt laughed harshly, in sudden understanding. " Oh, good lord! you don t; mean to say that that raw kid is going to take the part! You might just as well expect a sack of potatoes to be able to do it! Good gracious me! How you men lose 'your heads over a pretty face!, I'll go and see Jimmy myself about this!" And, off she went. , . . " Oh, dear!" said Daisy. "I'll give it up willingly. I couldn't bear to offend Miss Hunt." . ; " You'll not give it up," said Tom. " If you do, I'll give up too—-and I reckon old Jimmy would part with May Hunt sooner . than he'd part with me. But, come along 1 Let's >• go and see Jimmy now. She-'ll try and get round him, of course." ■:/<: *.. " r . They found that May, Hunt had; already done her best to get round James Wright. " Excuse me," said Tom. " But I explained to May that you wanted her to rest all she could."'

But that did not alter the angry star. She turned scornfully, upon Daisy. "And do you mean to say that you are going to let a ' common little typist take my placethe place -of ■ May Hunt, the great American star! ' Not if I knowit!" Then she turned angrily upon Wright. " I've had enough of you, and your humiliating ways! Not content with bullying me, keeping me a prisoner, refusing me the slightest pleasure, you go. out of the way to - humiliate me before the rest of the company! To' put this silly saucereyed, little creature in my place 1 I won't stand it, I tell you!"

Wright knew that he would get his •way. For one thing May Hunt was very eager to remain' in his company. . For another she would stay, if only to be near; himself. Yea, he. had found out at last that she was in love with him. For a moment he wondered'whether to wash his hands of her, pack her off to Holywood, and so solve the problem of what to do with this girl who had fallen in love with him in spite of all his endeavours to prevent it. But no; he could not send her back. He had the big film to think of, and he was afraid to entrust it to anyone except May Hunt. Diplomacy then was the game to play. " It's all right you. two," he said, riving Tom and Daisy a significant nod that said: " Leave May and «me alone " And then, when they nad gone, he turned to May Hunt. "Now, my dear, what Tom Bays is quite right. I want , you to rest. Your part 4 in 'Robert Bruce' is van - important one, and there's a lot of detail m it, a lot of travelling and knocking about on the moors. And I wanted to save you all that. Honestly, 'Bonnie Doon' is quite an insignificant film, not worthy of your powers. Believe me, my dear, I'm not wanting to ' slight you. j I just want you to save yourself for the big film." ' , - Slowly the stag's fury subsided, and at last she was content to believe that it was kindness alone that had caused him to give this part to another actress. ,f I wish you were always * kind and gentle to mo like you are now," she pleaded, in a pathetic, quavering* voice. " (To be continued on Monday.)