Evening star., 1918-06-02
THE ADVENTURES OF JABEZ BUNKER ER

'T amt afraid Of nothing!" saiS
Wacker elegantly. mo. son. I meas
that old John D. Bargus has jus1
bought the control of this Aim come
out I'd be bounced so high I'd come
down spattered with star-dust. They
have got to come; out. Go ahead. BiA!I
,Wacker was burly and uncouth, but
he was an experienced photoplayS
maker. and, as the reels unwound. Bib<
BILE had to admit that he had substtS
tuted scenes that took the place OF
the four Objectionable ones fairly
well.
'sWelI, 1t is fine. Mr.. wacker." he
said. when the last reel was run; s III,
proud of it. 1t Is well acted and wen
staged"
"And the photography is a pippin.S
said Mr.. Wacker. We've got big
hit in it-a whale of hit. what
time is it? Hang around bit and
bite of lunch"
At this they all went into the ONCE:
Before one of the windows. on what
might be called an extra wide win
dowsill. were two affairs like axies.
They were set a foot or 80 apart. Mr:
wacker deposited the five reels OF
film on the windowsill and pulled a
large waste basket to him. He then
placed one of the reels on one OF the
axles and attached small crank to
the other, and began winding the hlm
from the full reel on to an empty one.
holding his left fore1nger under the
film and watching the little pictures
closely. Every now and then he stop
ped turning the crank. tore foot or
a yard or so of the film from the strip.
dropped it into the waste basket and
pinned the raw edges of the hlm to.
gether So he went through the reel
editing 1t. cutting out the superfuouS
parts. reducing it to the 800 feet he
considered proper length. Mr. Bunk:
er stood watching him.
Interesting. amt it? But this fS
one job 1 hate" said Mr.. Wacker, as
he put the second reel on the axle. He
wound few yards on to the empty
reel and ripped the film across. From
the full reel he unwound foot after
foot. stopped. ripped the film across
again and pinned the raw edges to-
gether. What he had torn out he
dropped into the waste basket. curl>
ing. tumbled mass. Mr.. Bunker watch<
ed him edit the five reels. Then Mr.
Wacker drew on his coat.
What do you do with thisr asked
Mr.. Bunker. meaning the discarded
film in the basket.
"Oh. we take 1t over in the lot and
burn it." said Wacker: ITS bad stun
to leave around: cigar butt might
set it of and it burns like powder"
81 wonder II 1 might have a piece
or two Of this to show to my wiKe.:
asked Mr.. Bunker. Il reckon ma amt
ever seen a piece of photoplay in her
born days. 1t would be real inter-
estin' to ma"
why. surew said Mr.. Wacker.
That discard stun is worth just about
as much as a snowflake at the north
pole. Help yourself. I'll be with you
in a minute"
He left the office. and Mr.. Bunker.
his kindly eyes beaming with inno-
cent good nature. dug his plump hand
into the waste basket and rummaged
in the odds and ends until he found
unfortunate scene in the life Of John
D. Bargus. He held it to the light to
make sure he had the right piece. and
then rolled it quickly and slipped it
gratitude when Mr.. Wacker returned.
Mall be right pleased" he said.
"If you'll let me know when this
photoplay is goin' to be showed. me
and ma will make point to see it
and tell the folks at our boardin'
house to go and see it. too"
Say, Bib." said Mr.. Wacker, as he
seated himself at the table in Mikes.
while Mr.. Bunker went to wash his
hands. your plump friend ought to be
make a five-reeler of him? Were
looking for a dve-reel comedy"
Hes good old soul. just the same.
for all his innocence" said Mr.. Bib
Bile. 'Of course, II DO work him into
a comedy, I'll have to make him q
little less supplemented. I'll think it
over"
The simple-minded old innocent
came back to the table with his pink
face beaming good will to all men.
and his face still beamed when ne
reached Mrs. Winners boarding
house. He hummed a little tune Of
joy as he paved over the ancient
magazines on Mrs. Winners book
shelves. The one he desired met his
hand at last, and he carried it to his
room. 1t was a copy of the Monthly
Meteor. and it contained the fifth in-
stallment of The Life of John D.
Bargus." which ran serially for twelve
months in that magazine.
The next morning Mr.. Bunker. the
roll of film in his pocket, sailed forth
bright and early. He sat in the ante
room of the Monthly Meteor a full
hour before the managing editor ar
rived. but when that gentleman did
appear it did not take Mr. Bunker
long to conclude the business he had
on hand, for the managing editor hap
pened to be the author of The Life OF
John d. Bargus."
my name is Jabez Bunker. from
Oroduna, Iowa." said Mr.. Bunker.
land been interested in these
movie picture photoplays quite some
time. Me and ma been goin' to see
them off and on for some SPELL"
Just So" said the managing editor.
I'm a busy man, Mr.. Bunker, and this
"J don't "a Ic'Iafe IN taka nm mn mora