, 1923-04-08
BY RUPERT HUGHES

promising scenes, lest It overtax her
strength.
During her absence a telephone
pole and a tree had been brought
down by the storm and photograph
ed as they fell. 1t WAS her business
now to Chamber across the polo and
push through the branches of tho
tree, n so fight her way out OF
the picture.
The rain pipes had been brought
forward and set W in a new posi-
ton. The ameras were aligned.
Next that was the lightning ma
chine. abreast OF 1t the wind ma
chino.
In the preliminary tests It had
been hard to FIND the right angle for
tho gale to blow from and the wind
machine had been shifted several
times. Tho wind man in his con-
fusion. forgot to notice that the
property men had forgotten. in their
confusion. to set up the fence before
tho propeller. II was after mid
night now and everybody was numb
with cold. drenched with the promis.
cuous rain. and a little irresponsible.
Their working day was already fit.
teen hours old and ii would last at
least five hours more.
The spectators who has gathered
to watch the first scenes mad been
driven from the lot by the cold their
thick oloaks and ~overcoats could not
overcome. Tom Hobby had been pho.
tographed in a climb up the wet
sides OF a ravine. and was half frozen
in his soaked clothes, but he stayed
to watch Mem through this sccene.
He was palsied in the bundled
wraps about him and his heart ached
as he saw Mem in her little wet
dress throw off her blankets, put on
the dreadful mantle of the wet cape.
and go out into the distant dark be
ycnd h range of the cameras.
The storm broke out anew at the
directors signal. Tho wind beloved
and slashed tho branches of the pros.
trate tree. The lightning snapped
and flRred and Its flare winnowed the
rain in flaming wralths.
Then from tho dark the little sor
rowful figure OF Remember Steddon
appeared. a ghost materiallzing from
the night. She struggled with the
maniac hurricane, stumbled and fell
across the telephone pole. thrust
aside the wires. lifted herself and
breasted the wind again. drove into
the wreck OF the fallen tree. Tho
branches whipped her wet fest
cruelty. The lightning Just ahead Of
her blistered her vision like the whit,
hot ron driven into the oyes Of
S~hakespeare's Prince Clarence. The
wind blew her breath back into hei
lungs. If she had not gained n lit
tie support from one stout bough o.
the tree she could never have reach
ed the margin of the picture.
Hendricks heart was glad will
triumph as he saw her pass out o
the cameras range. He called "Cutr
and the camera men were jubilian
as each OF them shouted 20. X. 10
mer'
Then Kendrick heard o
terror. wild howls of fear. He rul
forward and saw the blinded littl
figure of Mem still pressing o,
straight into the blur OF the airplan
propeller.
His heart sickened. She would b
sliced to shreds. She could not hea.
the yelled warnings in the noise o
tho machine.
CHAPTER xLvII
The operator shut off his engine
but the propcllers still swirled at {
speed that made them only a whor
Of light. The witnesses were para
lyzed by the horror OF tho moment
Tom Hobby broke from a nightmare
that outran the immediate beauty Of
the little woman walking forward &c
a hideous fate. He ran and dlved
for her like a football tackler. hook
ed his left arm about her knees ant
flung her backward. thrusting his
right arm and his head beneath her
81 that when she struck, her shoul
Cors were upon his breast. hei
drenched hair fell across his face like
seaweed.
She opened her eyes in n chaos
OF bewilderment. Just above her the
flying propeller blades were glisten
ing in the light OF the sun arc.
They were still revolving wher
the wind machine man. leaping from
the post where he had stood expect
ing her fate and his own eternal re
morse. ran to lift her from tn,
ground. Others helped up Ton
Hobby.
Hs had knocked himself uncon
scious when his head struck a rocl
In the road. His cheek was ripped
and gushing blood.
He came t his senses at once an6
forced a CHASTITY laugh.
Mem screamed with fear for him
She had not yet realized her own es
cape. She was all pity for Tom Hol
by. and anxiety.
Its nothing" he said. Then he
staggered with dread of what Mem
would have looked like 10Y II he
had waited an instant longer or
missed his aim at her knees.
lie drew her from tho vortex OF the
propeller. which was subsiding with
the dying snarl OF n leopard hat has
missed its pounce.
Now Mem understood what her
own adventure had been. and her
knees weakened with an ex post
facto alarm.
Kendrick came UP, and after n de
cent wait for the incident to have its
dignity and move on. he thanked ano
congratulated Hobby on retrieving
the girl from massacre.
ut wouldn't have meant only the
horrible death OF this beautiful child