Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-10-23
CHAPTER NLIN.

,4lAl fih AIN.
The letter from Alice Carroll.
which Tony had just read aloud. left
Ben Hardy with a sickeninr feeling
Of helnlessncss. So the Davidson
compeny had begun work IN Y pie
ture similar 10 their own, based on
T%ennyson's poem. Elaine The sud
den realization ar what II meant II
ane. 10 Tony. q himself. appail ~
him. Tony's reputation as n direc-
tor. aue's future as a star. his own
modest fortune. were all ~ stake.
Did Davidson know Of tho nrodur-
tion thev were mixing? II seemed
unlikely. the secret had been care
fully guarded. Mure probably. Ne
had undertaken p screen version or
'1he Maid az Astolat' because Irene
Shirley, inransed that Tony would
not allow her to Play tho part. had
insisted ou having = ueW %sceparip
prepared for her benefit. Well
the fat was most decidedly in the
fire. what ger his reasons. what
was ~ Ne dCrc7 he glanced ~ Tony
Hull. saw that ne was staring with
an expression of profound regret q.
the Cildcd barge floating in the
river. ON which lay the death-likc
figure Of Jane Dare. lie was think
ing or her. rather than of his own
shattered dreams.
Hardy took p quick breath. He.
too. was thinking W Jane.
"Nill ID hurt a. much9' he asked.
Hurt us2' Tony crumplrd the
letter ~ had just read ~ his lean.
brown fingers. TIT will Kill uy. if
Davidson gets his picture out first.
I'm sorry. old chip. God knows
your money Nm the production. ana
all. And Jane" his voice rrau
husky ~ he spoke of her-"poor KID
lit will break her heart
Why should VIC LET her know -
we can't help ~. Not for very
long. Such things are bound 10 get
around"
What are We going q do" Ha--
dy's voice cracked a trifle III his cX-
| element.
Tony glanced down the stream.
The cameramcu. their machines IN
/ place. were ready for the next shot.
An assistant director came along the
bank. waving his arms ~ indicate
that they were waiting. With thc
| glare Of battle m his eyes. Tony ro-a.
Dol" NJ exclaimed grimly. "I1l
tell YOU what we're going to d..
| Work like hell and beat him 10 it'll"
| Throwing back his shoulders with !
snor Of defiance. he crunchCd away
over the pebbles which Lined the
bank OF the stream.
Hardy gazed admiringly after him.
That was the spirit. Beat Davidson
70 Il. Well. he. himself. had every
reason u fight; both his money and
his heart were bound M i'm the ven
tUre. He sat on the bank for a long
time. watching the busy scene be-
fore him. During the lunch hour,
Tony came 70 him again. drew him
aside.
THE only way We can get u biz
exterior sets done on time = 70 wo-k
nights. String q flock Of arcs over
the lot and put on three eiEht-hour
shifts. II means heavy expense for
overtime-very heavy. | didn't fig
ure 1t in my estimates. Of course
But then ! didn't expect any such
emergency as this. I'll get hold OF
Farrell and Charley Dimarco this
afternoon and see what can be done.
Those boys can work, when they
want to. And well have TO 20 ahead
at once with the interior sets, and
begin shooting in the studio. nights.
rdinarily, | wouldn't ask actors 20
work evenings. after Icing out on
location all day, but this IS IN emer-
gency, and we've got to meet II. Jane
won't mind. Of course, especially
when she learns the reason for a..
Most Of our people come up on the
train. or by machine. mornings, and
90 back at night. Well have to ar
range to sleep them here-put cots
in the dressing rooms-have food
sent over from the village. The prin-
cipals, OF course-not the extra peo-
pie.
Nov. here's the situation. Bel.
All this iss going 10 cost a lot or
money. If we don't spend ", we're
sunk. It's your money. You're u
poker player. | know. II you had a
thousand IN the pot. and good hand
70 draw to. you wouldn't let a raise
Of a couple of hundred scare you
out. would you? That's just our sit
uation. We've rot to meet David
sons raise. If we want 10 win. From
now on it's going to be neck and
neck. TO see who Finishes first. He'll
speed up. Of course. same as We do.