Nogales international., 1929-10-18
Sixth Instalment
What Happened Before

IN excuse to get to Arizona and from there
prites home that she has met and married
MIR. Woodville," wholly imaginary per-
ion. Later she writes again to say that her
husband" has died in the desert She
takes job as domestic to avoid being a
burden on her parents. A fall prevents her
becoming a mother. In Arizona she had
met
picture company, and through him gets the
opportunity to play a part in desert
drama. With the company is
Robina Teele, Star, fond of Hobby and
l-eya Lemaire, an extra woman. After
he, accident. Mem becomes friendly with
Mrs. Dack, poor woman of Palm
Springs, Arizona, and takes an interest
in her bright little son.
Terry Dack, who has great gift oi
mimicry. Inspired by letter from Leva,
Mem plans to go to Los Angeles to take
job in film laboratory.
Now Go On With the Story
She told Mrs. Dack and Mrs,
Reddick that she had received a
call to go to Los Angeles at once.
Terry was out of danger, but his
arms around Mems neck were
withes she could hardly break.
The soft hands, the dewy cheeks,
the lonely eyes of the child were
fetters cruelty tyrannous, but few
days later taxi deposited her be-
fore a tiny place of four or five
rooms. This was Leva's home. A
servant who opened the door said
that "she would not git back from
the studio befo' six or happast."
She was glad to relieve Mems
loneliness with chatter. She ex-
planned that Miss .Lemaire lived
there with three other ladies, all of
them in the movies, but none of
them getting their pictures took.
They lived here with no more
thought of chaperonage than a
crowd Of bachelors.
When Leva and her friends came
in at dinner time they came like
Young business men home from
offices, tired OF shop, yet full of its
talk: eager for amusement, know
ing no law except their own self
'esYect for health or reputation or
efficiency
The next morning Mem acquired
or tick the brief trousseau of q
little business bride. Then she
went to the studio with Leva and
was assigned to the laboratory pro.
lection room at twenty-five dollar:
I week
A hundred pretty actresses got nc
jobs at all, for they were seeking
glory and wealth.
All day she sat in a dark room
and ran a little projecting machine
that poured forth moving picture:
before her on a little private
screen. She must watch out fol
typographical errors, ito" for
too" slip of grammar, a mis-
take in an actors or a character!
name.
Her common-schooi education
was good enough for this. though i
was by no means so marvellous a!
Leva had told her employers it was
The artistic beauties of the pic
lures made her inarticulately happy
For a time she was in a heaven o
tumultuous ecstasies. But grad
uaily the delight turned to torture
the torture of envy.
She was young and she had beer
told that she was beautiful. /
God made her pretty it was be
cause He delighted in beauty ant
wanted it known. He did no
grow flowers in cellars. He wa
not afraid to squander sunshine.
If the art of mimicry was a God
given gift, it must be meant fo
use. She had acted once before ;
camera, there in the desert. Sh'
had brought tears to the eyes o
strangers. She was an actress b.
divine intention.
She sat in dark room ant
watched other peoples pictures flow
by. 1t seemed wrong, wicked
cruel. She was mad to act.
q y
On the lot Mem saw children, ant
they were always happy. Th'
Smothers were with the little ones
Going to work was going to play
They lived an eternal fairy story.
She was told that five-year-olS
Jackie Coogan had made his mothel
a present of a big touring Cal
costing seven thousand dollars; tina
he had a salary of seventeen hun
dred and fifty dollars a week!
She thought of little Terry Dacl
and his secondhand express wagon
helping his mother to pack hel
bundled wash home to bitter toll
She wrote Terry's mother. urging
her to come to Los Angeles will
out delay; to beg, borrow or stea
the necessary funds; to seize tn,
chance to rescue the divine chile
from poverty and oblivion, and t.
earn luxury by giving the worl'
the sunshine of his irresistibl
charm.
And the day after she mailed tn
letter she lost her Job.
The tide Of hard times had en-
quilted the studio where she was en-
gagged. All but two or three com