UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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RUSS 3EGAN TAKING MANY VIEWS OF THE PITCHING, TOSSING 
 
 SCHOONER. — Page 157. 
 Moving: Picture Girls at Sea. 
 
RUSS 3EGAN TAKING MANY VIEWS OF THE PITCHING, TOSSING 
 SCHOONER. — Page 157. 
 
 Movitifr Picture Girls at Sea. 
 
The Moving Picture 
 Girls at Sea 
 
 Or 
 
 A Pictured Shipwreck That Became Real 
 
 BY 
 LAURA LEE HOPE 
 
 &.0THOR or " The Moving Picture Girls," " The Moving 
 
 Picture Girls at Rocky Ranch," " The Outdoor Girls 
 
 Seribs;" " The Bobbsey Twins Series." Etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 THE WORLD SYNDICATE PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 CLEVELAND, O. NEW YORK, N. Y. 
 
 Made in U. S. A. 
 
Copyright, 1915, by 
 <GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 
 PBES3 op 
 THE COMMERCIAL BOOKBINDING CO. 
 
 Cleveland 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I The Great Marine Film i 
 
 II Jack Jepson 10 
 
 III Something of a Mystery 21 
 
 IV The Sailor's Story 28 
 
 V The Mary Ellen 36 
 
 VI Captain Brisco 45 
 
 VII Jepson is Worried 53 
 
 VIII Hard Work 60 
 
 IX The Rising Tide 68 
 
 X Too Much Realism 76 
 
 XI A Revised Film 87 
 
 XII Overheard 94 
 
 XIII " All Aboard! " 104 
 
 XIV Overboard 114 
 
 XV " Sail Ho! " 123 
 
 XVI The Accusation 133 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XVII The Storm 141 
 
 XVIII Grinding Away 149 
 
 XIX Disabled 158 
 
 XX In the Vortex 165 
 
 XXI Wrecked 172 
 
 XXII "Mutiny!" 182 
 
 XXIII Help at Last 188 
 
 XXIV A Signal of Distress 200 
 
 XXV Clear Skies 206 
 
THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS 
 AT SEA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE GREAT MARINE FILM 
 
 " Well, at last a breathing period, Ruth. Oh, 
 I am surely tired ! " and the girl threw herself on 
 the couch, without stopping to remove her light 
 jacket and hat. Her head sank wearily on a cush- 
 ion. 
 
 "Oh, Alice! Be careful! Look out!" ex- 
 claimed the other occupant of the pleasant little 
 room, a room made habitable by the articles of 
 tasteful adornment in it, rather than by the loca- 
 tion of the apartment, or the place itself. There 
 was a " homey " air about it. 
 
 " I'm too tired to look out, or even look in," 
 was the answer, as the younger girl closed her 
 eyes. Truly she seemed much " fagged," and 
 worn out. 
 
 " But, Alice, dear — your hat ! " 
 
 " It doesn't matter, Ruth. Please let me rest 
 I thought we'd never get home." 
 
 I 
 
THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 But it isn't your old hat, Alice, and- 
 
 " It's an old hat from now on ! " broke in the 
 younger girl, not opening her eyes. " It's spoiled 
 anyhow. Some of the water from that parlor 
 scene, where Mr. Bunn upset the globe of gold 
 fish, splashed on it, and the spots never will come 
 out." 
 
 "Oh, Alice, is your hat spoiled?" 
 
 " It doesn't matter. Mr. Pertell is going to buy 
 me a new one. He said it was up to the company 
 to do that, especially as I did so well in that burn- 
 ing room scene the other day. There ! " and the 
 girl on the couch raised her small fist and plumped 
 it full on the crown of the chic little toque she 
 was wearing. 
 
 " Alice DeVere ! " cried her sister, aghast. 
 
 " Ruth DeVere — Lady Clarissa — Senorita Ala- 
 mondi ! Whatever you like, only let me — alone ! 
 I've posed and acted and otherwise contorted 
 myself before at least five thousand feet of film 
 today, and I'm not going to be disturbed now, 
 just for the sake of a hat that is as good as paid 
 for anyhow, so ' please go 'way and let me 
 sleep/ " and Alice murmured the chorus of a 
 once popular song. 
 
 Ruth sighed. Somehow, looking at her gentle 
 and refined face, one understood that a sigh, from 
 her, was the only possible answer under the cir- 
 
THE GREAT MARINE FILM 3 
 
 cumstances. Not that the girl on the couch, with 
 closed eyes, was unrefined. But there was a 
 wholesome air of good health about her that 
 caused one to think of a " jolly good fellow," 
 rather than a girl who needed to be helped on 
 and off trolley cars. 
 
 " You are tired," commented Ruth, after a 
 pause. " Shall I make you a cup of tea, dear? 
 Or we could go over to Mrs. Dalton's, if you like. 
 You know she told us always to come in when 
 we came from the theatre, and have tea." 
 
 " No, dear, thank you. It's awfully good of 
 you to offer, but I don't want you to trouble. I'll 
 be all right in a few minutes. I just want to rest." 
 
 "It was a tiresome day; wasn't it, dear?" 
 
 " I should say so, * and then — some,' as Russ 
 would say." 
 
 " You shouldn't quote Russ when he uses 
 slang," was the older girl's rebuke. 
 
 " Can't help it, Ruth. That just seemed to fit. 
 But you can't feel so very rested yourself. You 
 had some heavy parts today." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mind. I really was in love with 
 that role of Lady Clarissa. I always did like 
 English plays, anyhow." 
 
 " Well, we are getting more than our share 
 of them this season. I wish Mr. Pertell would 
 swing to a good American drama again. Say, 
 
4 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 didn't we have fun at Rocky Ranch? " and as she 
 asked this some of the weariness seemed to slip 
 off Alice as a discarded garment is let fall. She 
 sat up, her eyes flashing with fun, and her cheeks 
 that had been pale were now suffused with a 
 heightened color. 
 
 " Yes, we did have fun," assented Ruth. " But 
 it was hard work, too, — especially when that 
 prairie fire came a little too close for comfort." 
 
 " That was rather scary," assented Alice. 
 " But it was outdoors, and that was what I love. 
 Oh, I can just smell that wonderful air yet! " and 
 she breathed in a long breath. A look of annoy- 
 ance passed over her face, and she made a gesture 
 of disapproval, " wrinkling " her nose. 
 
 " They're having corned beef and cabbage again 
 downstairs," she said, pointing to the apartment 
 below them. 
 
 "Well, they have a right to it," Ruth said, 
 with a tolerant smile. 
 
 " Not when daddy hates it so," disagreed Alice. 
 " Come on, let's make a cup of tea. And is there 
 any cheese ? " 
 
 "Cheese?" 
 
 " Yes," the younger girl went on. " I'm going 
 to make a Welsh rpi'ebit. Daddy just adores 
 them, and the smell of the toast will take away the 
 odor of that cabbage. Is there any cheese? " 
 
THE GREAT MARINE FILM 5 
 
 " I think so. But I thought you were tired." 
 
 " I was, but I guess thinking of the moving 
 picture days at Rocky Ranch acted as a tonic. 
 I'm rested now. There ! " 
 
 She tossed the hat, which she had so mistreated, 
 on a chair, slipped off her jacket and started for 
 the kitchen. 
 
 " I think there is some cheese," went on Ruth, 
 following her younger sister. " But don't make 
 the rarebit as you did last time. It was so tough 
 that Russ said it would do very well to half sole 
 his rubber boots." 
 
 " That was because I put the milk in too sud- 
 denly. I won't do it that way this time. Come 
 on, we'll get up a nice little tea for daddy. He's 
 sure to be tired also. They had to film that big 
 scene of the accusation over three times before 
 Mr. Pertell was satisfied." 
 
 " Is that so ? I didn't know that, I was so busy 
 with that English play. Then father will be late." 
 
 " A little. He said he'd follow us in about an 
 hour, though. So we'll just about have it ready 
 in time. Did Russ come out with you? " 
 
 " No," and though she uttered but this simple 
 word the cheeks of Ruth took on a more ruddy 
 hue. 
 
 " I saw Pearl waiting for him," went on Alice. 
 « But " 
 
6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " You did ? " cried Ruth, and then she added 
 quickly : " Oh, I mean I suppose he had to go 
 with her to film that scene in Central Park, near 
 the lion's cage." 
 
 " Don't get jealous now," teased Alice. " I 
 said Pearl waited for him, but, she is — still wait- 
 ing, I guess." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 Ruth tried to appear indifferent, but it was 
 not an unqualified success. 
 
 " I mean that Russ got one of the other camera 
 men to take his place, and go out with Miss Pen- 
 nington," said Alice with a laugh as she began 
 cutting the bread in thin slices for toast. 
 
 " But Russ—" 
 
 " He went up town. He told me to tell you he 
 thought he could get that book you spoke of." 
 
 " Oh, I didn't want him to go to all that 
 trouble ! " remonstrated Ruth, looking at her. 
 Bister, and then suddenly averting her gaze. 
 
 " Guess he doesn't call much trouble where you 
 are concerned," said Alice significantly, cutting up 
 some chunks of cheese which she put in a double 
 boiler with some lumps of butter. " He said if 
 you wanted a book to give you some of the de- 
 tails of the country, where that English play was 
 supposed to take place, you were going to have 
 it." 
 
THE GREAT MARINE FILM y { 
 
 " It's awfully good of him," murmured Ruth. 
 " I just casually mentioned that I'd like to know 
 something about the people of that section, and he 
 offered to get a book he had once heard of. But 
 I didn't want him to make such a fuss over it." 
 
 " La-la-la ! " chanted Alice, about nothing in 
 particular. 
 
 The girls busied themselves getting tea. The 
 kettle was soon singing on the gas stove, the crisp 
 odor of toast had replaced the heavier one of cab- 
 bage, and the rarebit was almost ready to serve, 
 when a step was heard out in the hall of the 
 apartment house where the DeVere family had 
 their New York home. 
 
 " There's daddy ! " exclaimed Alice. 
 
 " And just in time," added Ruth, as she poured 
 the boiling water on the tea, adding to the fra- 
 grant food perfumes that now filled the apart- 
 ment. 
 
 The key clicked in the lock, the door opened, 
 and a rather imposing figure of a man entered, 
 laying aside his hat and light overcoat, for the 
 Spring day was a bit chilly. 
 
 " Hello, Daddy ! " called Alice, putting up her 
 face to be kissed, as she came in from the 
 kitchen with a plate of delicately browned toast. 
 " You're just in time. And it's such a lovely 
 rarebit ! " 
 
8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " That's good, my dear." 
 
 " Oh, Father, how hoarse you are ! " cried 
 Ruth. "Is your throat bad again ? " 
 
 " Well, this harbor dampness isn't just the best 
 medicine for it. But I shall spray it, and it will 
 be better." 
 
 He sank somewhat wearily into a chair as he 
 spoke, and Ruth glided over to him. 
 
 " Daddy," she said, " you look worried. Has 
 anything happened? Is anything wrong at the 
 moving picture studio ? " 
 
 " No, nothing wrong, but — " 
 
 It was evident that something out of the usual 
 had occurred. Even light-hearted Alice sensed 
 it. 
 
 "What is it?" she asked. 
 
 " Oh, nothing so much," her father said in 
 weary tones. " I suppose I shouldn't make such 
 a fuss over it. But Mr. Pertell has finally decided 
 to film the great marine drama, and that means 
 we shall have to go out on the water, more or less. 
 And with my sore throat that isn't just the best 
 thing in the world for me." 
 
 "A marine drama!" cried Alice. "Oh, I 
 shall just love that! " 
 
 A look of worry still clouded Mr. DeVere's 
 face. 
 
 " Father, there is something else," insisted 
 
THE GREAT MARINE FILM g 
 
 Ruth. "You haven't told us all about this sea 
 film." 
 
 " No, I— I haven't," he said. " And, to tell the 
 truth, I'd rather we weren't going to be in that 
 marine drama." 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 JACK JEPSON 
 
 Hosmer DeVere's words and manner alike 
 were alarming to his daughters. Seldom had 
 they seen him so moved, especially over such 
 a seemingly simple matter as the announcement 
 of a new moving picture drama. He and the 
 girls, in common with the other members of the 
 Comet Film Company, had to portray many 
 different scenes in the course of a season's work, 
 and though some of it was distasteful, it was 
 seldom objected to by anyone, unless perhaps by 
 Pepper Sneed, the " grouch," or perhaps by Mr. 
 Wellington Bunn, an actor of the old school, who 
 could not reconcile himself to the silent drama. 
 
 "Why, Daddy, what is the matter?" asked 
 Alice. " I think it will be perfectly fine to have 
 a little trip out to sea, especially now that Summer 
 is coming on." 
 
 " But not if the damp salty air is going to irri- 
 tate his throat," declared Ruth. 
 
 " Oh, it isn't so much that," Mr. DeVere said, 
 10 
 
JACK JEPSON ii 
 
 u but you girls evidently don't know that the big 
 scene in this drama is a shipwreck, and what 
 follows. I am to be ' cast ' in that, and so are 
 you." 
 
 " Well, what of it? " asked Alice. " It won't 
 be a real shipwreck ; will it ? " 
 
 "Real? Of course not!" exclaimed Ruth. 
 "The idea!" 
 
 " I certainly hope it won't be real," Mr. DeVere 
 said, " But — Oh, well, I suppose I may as well 
 admit the truth. You'll probably call me fussy 
 and all that, and laugh at the superstition of an 
 old actor. But you know we have our traditions, 
 though I am free to confess that I have lost many 
 of them since entering on this moving picture 
 work. But I had a dream about this same ship- 
 wreck, and that was before I knew we were to be 
 in it, for I might mention that Mr. Pertell has in- 
 cluded you girls in the drama, and has prominent 
 parts selected for you." 
 
 " Oh, I'm glad ! " cried Alice enthusiastically. 
 
 " I'm not," her father said, and he did not 
 smile. " As I said I had a dream about this 
 drama before I knew we were to have parts 
 in it. And in that dream I saw " 
 
 " Oh, Daddy ! Now don't tell a depressing 
 dream before tea!" begged Alice, slipping her 
 arms about his neck, and imprinting a kiss on a 
 
I2 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 spot, which, if it were not already bald, was fast 
 becoming so. " Wait until after supper — the 
 rarebit will spoil if we don't eat it at once. Wait, 
 Daddy dear!" 
 
 " All right, I will," he assented with a sigh. 
 *' Perhaps I may have a less gloomy view of it 
 after a cup of tea." 
 
 And while the little family. party is gathered 
 about the table, I shall take just a moment to tell 
 my new readers something about the previous 
 books of this series. 
 
 Ruth and Alice DeVere were moving picture 
 girls, which you have probably guessed already. 
 That is, they were actresses for the silent film 
 dramas that make so much for enjoyment nowa- 
 days. Mr. DeVere was also an actor in the same 
 company. He had been a semi-tragedian of the 
 " old school/" but his voice had failed, because of 
 a throat ailment, and he could no longer declaim 
 his lines over the footlights. He was in distress 
 until it was suggested to him that he take up mov- 
 ing picture work. 
 
 This suggestion came from young Russ Dal- 
 wood, who, with his widowed mother and little 
 brother, lived across the hall from the DeVere 
 family, in the Fenmore Apartment on one of the 
 West Sixty streets of New York. Russ had in- 
 vented a new attachment for a moving picture 
 
JACK J EPSON 13 
 
 camera, and he himself was a camera operator 
 of ability. 
 
 At first Mr. DeVere had refused to consider 
 moving picture work, but he finally consented, and 
 even allowed his daughters to take their parts in 
 the silent drama. In the initial book of the series, 
 "The Moving Picture Girls," I related their 
 first experiences. 
 
 All was not smooth sailing Though Mr. 
 Frank Pertell, manager of the Comet Film Com- 
 pany, was a most agreeable man, the other mem- 
 bers of the theatrical company were like those 
 of any other organization — some were liked, and 
 some were not. Among the former, at least from 
 the standpoint of Ruth and Alice, was Russ; 
 Paul Ardite, who played juvenile leads; Pop 
 Snooks, the property man and one who did all the 
 odd tasks; and Carl Switzer, a round-faced Ger- 
 man, who was funny without knowing it. 
 
 But neither Ruth nor Alice cared much for 
 Laura Dixon and Pearl Pennington, two former 
 vaudeville actresses who thought they were con- 
 ferring a favor on the cameras to pose for moving 
 pictures. Mr. Bunn, an actor of the kind styled 
 " Hams ", was in like case. 
 
 Mr. Bunn was always bemoaning the fact that 
 he had left the " legitimate " drama with a chance 
 of playing " Hamlet ", to take up moving picture 
 
I a THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 work. But he might have been glad — especially 
 on paydays — for he had made more out of camera 
 work than he could have done on the regular 
 stage. 
 
 Pepper Sneed was never satisfied. He was of 
 a gloomy nature, and always looking for trouble. 
 Sometimes he found it, and for a time he was 
 happy in saying " I told you so." But more often 
 he proved a dismal failure as a predicter of ca- 
 lamities. 
 
 This was the company, with others whom you 
 will meet from time to time, in whose fortunes 
 Ruth and Alice DeVere had cast their lots. 
 
 After the girls' first introduction to the camera 
 they went to Oak Farm where a series of pictures 
 were taken, and, incidentally, a mystery was 
 cleared up. Getting snowbound was another ex- 
 perience for our friends, but they forgot the 
 cruelties of Winter in the happy days under the 
 palms. And they had only recently come back 
 from Rocky Ranch, where a number of Western 
 dramas had been filmed, when the little scene of 
 our opening chapter took place. 
 
 Those of you who have read the previous books 
 of this series do not need to be told much about 
 moving pictures. And even those who select 
 this volume as their first venture in becoming 
 acquainted with our heroines must well know how 
 
JACK JEPSON i$ 
 
 the film pictures look from the front of the 
 screen. 
 
 To the uninitiated I might say that in making 
 picture plays a company, somewhat like a regular 
 theatrical organization, is gotten together. The 
 play is decided upon, but instead of the acts tak- 
 ing place before an audience they are enacted 
 before a camera and a man who acts as director, 
 or manager. 
 
 Some of the action takes place out of doors, 
 amid the surroundings of nature, but most in- 
 terior scenes are " filmed," or taken, in the studio, 
 under the brilliant glare of electric lights. The 
 pictures are taken in succession on a narrow strip 
 of celluloid film, of the same nature as those in 
 any camera. The strips are of a standard length 
 of one thousand feet, though some plays may 
 ** split," and take only half a " reel " while others 
 will fill several. 
 
 When the film has been exposed, it is developed 
 in a dark tank, and from that one " master " 
 film, any number of " positives " can be made 
 for use in the projecting machines. Doubtless 
 you know that the same machine which takes the 
 pictures does not show them on the screen. 
 
 But enough of this detail. 
 
 " Was the rarebit good ? " asked Alice, smiling 
 up into her father's face, as the supper pro- 
 gressed. 
 
i6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " You may give me some more, which is the 
 best answer in the world, my dear," he replied, 
 smiling. 
 
 "Be careful ! " Ruth warned him. " You may 
 have dreams, Daddy ! " 
 
 A shadow seemed to pass over the face of the 
 old actor. He had been jokingly gay during the 
 meal, but now there seemed to be a sense of de- 
 pression. 
 
 " Might as well tell us, and have it over with," 
 suggested Ruth. " We don't believe in dreams, 
 anyhow. Do we Alice? " 
 
 " Not a bit, and I've named the corners of my 
 bed ever so many times," and she laughed at that 
 old sweethearts' superstition. 
 
 " Well, my dream was very vivid," Mr. DeVere 
 said. " I don't usually believe in omens, but this 
 one impressed me. I dreamed we were all at 
 sea, on a vessel in a storm, and, somehow, we 
 became separated. I saw you girls going down 
 with the ship, while I was taken up on a life 
 raft." 
 
 "Well, what of it, Daddy?" asked Alice. 
 " I've often had unpleasant dreams myself. 
 Probably you ate something you ought not to have 
 taken. I'm rather sorry, now, I made this rare- 
 bit." 
 
 " Oh, not at all ! It was excellent 1 " he ex- 
 
JACK JEPSON 
 
 17 
 
 claimed. " I would perhaps, have thought noth- 
 ing of my dream had not Mr. Pertell, a short 
 time ago, told me something of his plans for the 
 future. He spoke of a great marine drama he 
 had in prospect, and we are to have prominent 
 parts in it. But I was startled when he told me 
 that one scene — the great one, in fact — was to be 
 a shipwreck. He has engaged an old vessel for 
 this purpose, and he is going to sink it with all 
 on board." 
 
 "All on board !" cried Ruth." You don't 
 
 mean- 
 
 " Well, that's how it will appear in the camera, 
 anyhow. You girls are to be well in front, and 
 your swimming abilities will be very necessary, 
 for you will have to go into the water." 
 
 " I hope it is warm," murmured Alice. 
 
 " Oh, it will be Summer before we get to the 
 shipwreck part," went on Mr. DeVere. " But 
 what worries me is my dream in connection with 
 the drama. I almost told Mr. Pertell we would 
 have nothing to do with it." 
 
 " Oh, Father ! You can't do that ! " exclaimed 
 Ruth. She, as housekeeper, knew how much 
 money was required in these days of the high cost 
 of living. Though Mr. DeVere and his daughters 
 received fair salaries, there were many expenses 
 to be met, and if they refused present engage- 
 
jS the moving picture girls at sea 
 
 ments they might not find it so easy to get 
 others. 
 
 " Oh, of course I didn't actually turn it down," 
 said the old actor, " but it gave me quite a turn, I 
 must say. I haven't gotten over it yet, seeing 
 you girls disappear under the waves." 
 
 "Don't think of it, Daddy!" urged Alice. 
 " Have some of this apple slump. Mrs. Dalwood 
 sent it in." 
 
 " Your idea is that a man's mind is in his 
 stomach, isn't it, daughter," laughed her father. 
 " Well, I will have some of the dessert. Oh, but I 
 almost forgot, you will have to go down an hour 
 earlier in the morning to the studio." 
 
 " Why ? " Ruth wanted to know. 
 
 " A heavy day's work on, and Mr. Pertell 
 wants to sketch out the preliminary scenes of the 
 marine drama. We are actually going to sea, I 
 believe, and he has engaged some old sailors, o: 
 at least one so far, to give it a proper nautical 
 flavor. It's only for tomorrow that we have to go 
 earlier than usual." 
 
 Mr. DeVere seemed more like himself after he 
 had told his daughters of his vision. It did not 
 so depress him now, and the rest of the meal 
 passed off in a much more jolly manner. 
 
 In the evening Russ Dalwood came in from 
 
JACK JEPSON I9 
 
 across the hall, and they played bridge whist, of 
 which Mr. DeVere was fond. 
 
 " Fancy daddy, Russ," laughed Alice, " want- 
 ing us to give up a chance to go to sea just because 
 he dreamed of a shipwreck ! " 
 
 " Oh, I didn't actually want you to give it up," 
 her father remonstrated. " Perhaps I was foolish 
 even to mention it. But I can't forget it — I 
 can't ! " and he seemed to look through the walls 
 of the room on some distant and fateful scene. 
 
 " Well, I must be getting back," Russ said. 
 "You've won the rubber, as usual, Mr. DeVere. 
 Lots to do tomorrow, and I have a new assistant 
 to break in, so I'll say good-night." 
 
 There were busy times for all next day, in the 
 studio of the moving picture concern. In the big 
 room brilliant with electric lights as well as 
 from the illumination that came through a sky- 
 glass, there were several scenes from different 
 dramas being filmed at the same time. 
 
 When Ruth and Alice DeVere entered with 
 their father, Mr. Pertell, the manager of the 
 Comet company, was engaged off to one side, evi- 
 dently instructing a man in what he must do 
 before the camera. The man was a sailor, and 
 it needed but a glance to show that he was a real 
 one, and not " made up " for the occasion. 
 
 " You see," said Mr. Pertell, " you come into 
 
20 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 the shipping office, and pretend to hand over the 
 papers. But you slip the clerk the wrong ones, 
 and while he is examining them you reach over 
 behind him and take the documents you want." 
 
 " Avast there ! Belay ! " came the hoarse voice 
 of the sailor. " I do that there, do I?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Steal the papers ? " 
 
 " Well, it isn't stealing, exactly. It's 
 on l y » 
 
 " Stealin' is what I call it, and it can't be called 
 by another name to my way of thinkin'. It won't 
 do, sir, it won't do ! Jack Jepson got into trouble 
 once, but he isn't goin' to do it again. No sir! 
 That stealin' won't do for Jack Jepson. You've 
 got to get someone else to sign them articles for 
 you. No stealin' for Jack Jepson ! " and the figure 
 of the old sailor turned and, with a rolling gait 
 he started across the big studio room. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY 
 
 " Look out there ! " 
 
 " Where you going? " 
 
 " Hold him back, somebody ! Look out, you'll 
 spoil that scene! Don't cross in front of the 
 camera!" 
 
 Half a dozen frantic voices were calling to 
 the sailor who, with dogged persistence, kept on, 
 shaking his grizzled and gray head, and mutter- 
 ing over and over again: 
 
 " It won't do for Jack Jepson ! No sir ! It 
 won't do. I had one experience with trouble and 
 I don't want any more. No sir ! " 
 
 Evidently utterly unused to a moving picture 
 studio, the old man kept on his way. He was 
 headed directly toward a camera that was " film- 
 ing " an elaborate ball room scene. 
 
 If any figure came between the scene and the 
 
 camera with the pictures it was imprinting on the 
 
 sensitive celluloid film (at the rate of sixteen per 
 
 second) part of the elaborate work would have 
 
 21 
 
22 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 to be done over again. And as one of the char- 
 acters in the little play was a celebrated dancer, 
 whose time was paid for at an almost unbelieve- 
 able sum per hour, it would mean a heavy ex- 
 pense. 
 
 " Stop him ! " cried Mr. Pertell. " Come back 
 here!" 
 
 "Halt! Vamoose! Turn about!" Paul 
 Ardite called to the worked-up traveler of the 
 deep blue sea. 
 
 This had no effect. 
 
 " Avast there ! Belay ! " cried Russ Dalwood, 
 who was not at that moment engaged at the crank 
 of some camera. He used the same sea terms 
 the old man himself had uttered, but this salt- 
 water " lingo," or translation of the command to 
 halt, had no effect either. 
 
 Then came an interruption at a most opportune 
 time. Just ahead of the sailor a scene from a 
 Wild West drama was being enacted. A group 
 of cowboys were engaged in a quarrel in the 
 bunk house, which had been set up in the 
 studio. The outdoor scenes of the little play 
 were to be made later, for it is the custom in 
 this business to make all the scenes, taking place 
 in one locality, at the same time, regardless of 
 their sequence in the finished play. Later the 
 film is cut up into strips, pasted together with the 
 
SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY 
 
 23 
 
 proper headings, or captions, and the finished 
 play results. 
 
 And just as the old sailor, who called himself 
 Jack Jepson, was about to step in front of the 
 ball room scene camera, to the frantic horror of 
 the operator, one of the cowboys, following out 
 his lines, drew his revolver, and fired a blank 
 cartridge at the " villain." 
 
 In the studio the noise was like that of a small 
 cannon. 
 
 " Mutiny ! " yelled Jack Jepson, jumping in 
 the air a foot or more. " Mutiny ! " 
 
 But he stopped, and just in time. Two steps 
 more would have brought him in front of the 
 clicking camera. 
 
 " Mutiny! " he fairly roared. " What is this! 
 Who's firin' a shot across my bows? All hands 
 on deck t' repel boarders ! Avast there ! " and 
 he stood looking around in bewilderment, while 
 the smoke from the revolver floated upward. 
 
 " Come here ! " called Mr. Pertell running for- 
 ward, and grasping the arm of the sailor before 
 he could get away to step in front of any of the 
 other moving picture machines. " You don't 
 understand, Mr. Jepson. I merely want you 
 to " 
 
 " Yes, I reckon I heard you say what you 
 wanted me to do. Now look here ! I don't know 
 
24 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 much about you, but you come over t' our Sailors' 
 Snug Harbor, an' you took some pictures. That 
 was all right, I'm not captain there an' I haven't 
 anything t' say. You said you wanted an old 
 able-bodied man for certain work, an' I volun- 
 teered. I didn't know where the voyage was, but 
 I signed on, an' come here ; didn't I ? " 
 
 "You did," said Mr. Pertell. "But let me 
 explain." 
 
 " No, you listen to me, first ! " exclaimed the 
 old salt, shaking a thickened and roughened 
 finger at the manager. " I come here, willin' to 
 do anything from slushin' th' mast, or holystonin' 
 th' decks t' furlin' sail in a blow. But what do 
 I get; eh? I ask you what do I get? Why an 
 order to steal shippin' papers, that's what I get! 
 An' that's a serious crime. I'm not goin* t' be 
 mixed up with it. No sir! Not for Jack Jep- 
 son ! " and he tried to break away. 
 
 " Wait a minute ! " Mr. Pertell begged. " You 
 don't understand. It's only the business of steal- 
 ing the papers, you know." 
 
 " Well, it's mighty poor business for any man 
 t" be in ; that's my opinion. I was raised honest, 
 an', man and boy, I've lived honest for fifty 
 years, with one exception, an' that wasn't my 
 fault, and now " 
 
 Again he made an effort to leave, which effort 
 
SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY 
 
 25 
 
 if not blocked, would have once more taken him 
 in front of some clicking camera. 
 
 " Oh, can't you understand ! " cried the man- 
 ager with a hopeless gesture. 
 
 " Perhaps I could explain to him," suggested 
 Ruth in a low voice. " I have plenty of time, Mr. 
 Pertell, and though I don't know this gentle- 
 man " 
 
 " Oh, I forgot. He's going to act with you 
 and your sister, Miss DeVere," said the manager. 
 " Come over and be introduced. You too, Mr. 
 DeVere. He's to have a part in our great sea 
 drama, that is, if I can ever get it started. I 
 began explaining to Jepson, here, about taking 
 the papers which have to do with the case, but 
 he can't " 
 
 " You can't make me believe stealin's right, no 
 matter how you go at it ! " interrupted the old 
 salt, doggedly shaking his head. 
 
 " Perhaps / can," put in Ruth with a smile, as 
 the manager mentioned their names to the newest 
 and, seemingly, the most refractory member of 
 the company. 
 
 "Well, Miss," said the sailor, "you look 
 honest. I would believe what you'd tell me, for I 
 know you couldn't do no wrong. Perhaps I was a 
 bit hasty, but you see this is all new to me — this 
 play-actin', an' shootin' at folks unexpected like. 
 
2 6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 I wouldn't have tried it, only the captain at the 
 Sailors' Snug Harbor, over on Staten Island, 
 where I'm berthed, asked me as a favor to come 
 here. But I don't like it ! " 
 
 " I didn't at first," said Alice, joining with her 
 sister, in an attempt to placate the old salt. " But 
 I became used to it." 
 
 " Ha ! You're pretty young to be in this 
 business," said Jack Jepson, who evidently said 
 what he thought. 
 
 " Oh, I'm older than I look," replied Alice with 
 a smile. " I just love the sea. I wish you would 
 tell me about some of your voyages, for I'm sure 
 you must have been on many." 
 
 " That I have, Miss, but this is th' queerest 
 cruise I ever started on," and he looked around 
 at the many scenes being enacted. 
 
 Meanwhile Ruth had slipped to Mr. Pertell's 
 side. 
 
 " Give me a brief outline of the play," she 
 suggested. " I think I can make it plain to him. 
 He is all fussed up because it's something new. 
 You haven't time to go into details." 
 
 " That's right — I haven't," agreed the harassed 
 manager. " Well, this is enough for you to know 
 just now. There's a plot to sink a ship, and it is 
 necessary that certain papers appear to be stolen. 
 
 " I picked Jepson up, as he says, at a sailors' 
 
SOMETHING OF A MYSTERY 
 
 27 
 
 home, over on Staten Island. He's a typical salt, 
 but he balks at even a semblance of wrong- 
 doing." 
 
 " I think I can make him understand," Ruth 
 said as she took the typewritten pages of the 
 scenario, or plot, of the drama from the manager. 
 
 " I wish you would," Mr. Pertell said. " I've a 
 thousand and one things to do." 
 
 Ruth started toward the old sailor. To her 
 surprise her sister Alice was now in earnest con- 
 versation with him. Jack Jepson seemed to have 
 warmed to Alice at once. And Ruth heard him 
 saying, as she approached : 
 
 " Well, Miss, you see it was this way. There 
 was a mutiny, an' I was accused, but I wasn't 
 guilty. There was a mystery about it when the 
 captain disappeared, an' that mystery hasn't been 
 solved yet, though I'd give a good bit if it were. 
 It's hangin' over me like a nightmare, Miss. 
 Now I'll tell you all about it, if I don't tire you." 
 
 " I should love to listen ! " exclaimed Alice, 
 with dancing eyes and flushed cheeks. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE SAILOR S STORY 
 
 Ruth, on her way to explain to sailor Jack 
 Jepson what was wanted of him in the matter 
 of acting for moving pictures, paused as she saw 
 Alice and the aged salt in earnest conversation. 
 
 " I think I had better defer my explanations 
 a while," Ruth told herself. " Perhaps he will 
 be in a better frame of mind to listen, after he 
 has talked with Alice. What a wonderful way 
 she has of making friends ! " the older girl mused 
 as she looked at the interested and flushed face 
 of her pretty sister. At that moment Alice 
 glanced up and caught Ruth's gaze on her. 
 
 " Do come and listen," she called. " I'm going 
 to hear a wonderful story, Ruth dear." 
 
 The old sailor looked up quickly, stopping in his 
 progress toward a bench, whither Alice was lead- 
 ing him. It was in a quiet corner of the studio, 
 some distance away from the various little groups 
 that, in three-sided rooms (before the open part of 
 which cameras were placed, and over which big 
 
 28 
 
THE SAILOR'S STORY 
 
 2$ 
 
 lights hissed) were going through their parts in 
 the silent dramas. 
 
 " This is my sister," Alice said. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I remember now," Jack Jepson said. 
 " There's so much goin' on that I get a bit con- 
 fused. But I can see you two look alike. Are 
 you goin' to put me reefin' sails or scrubbin' 
 decks ? " he asked. 
 
 " Neither one," Ruth said with a smile. " I 
 told Mr. Pertell, our manager, that I'd explain 
 what was wanted of you. It is very simple, 
 and—" 
 
 " I don't call it simple t' rob an' cheat ! " cried 
 Jack with energy, " an' that's what he wanted me 
 to do." 
 
 " I'll explain, and I think you'll find it all 
 right," Ruth went on. " My sister and I are in 
 this business," she added, " and I don't believe 
 you think we would do anything wrong." 
 
 " Far be it — far be it," said the old salt, ear- 
 nestly. 
 
 " Oh, but before you came, Ruth dear," sug- 
 gested Alice, " Mr. Jepson was going to tell 
 me " 
 
 "Avast there! Belay! Hold on!" exclaimed 
 the sailor, his voice ringing out through the studio, 
 above the tones of those actors who, to give 
 greater verisimilitude to their work were talking 
 
30 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 their parts, as well as going through them. They 
 smiled at the old salt's energy. 
 
 " Wait a minute, Miss," he went on in lower 
 tones. " I didn't mean t' be so quick, but that 
 Mr. Jepson business won't do. Not at all! " 
 
 " Why, isn't that your name ? " asked Ruth. 
 " I understood Mr. Pertell to say " 
 
 " Oh, that's my name — at least the Jepson part 
 of it is. But I don't like the mister. I'm not used 
 to it. The only time of late years when I was 
 called Mister was when I was up before the 
 lawyers, and I didn't like it then. Jest please 
 call me Jack Jepson, an' 'twill sound more 
 natural. I ask it as a favor, Miss," and he looked 
 from Ruth to Alice. 
 
 " Why of course we'll call you Jack," assented 
 the latter. " It will sound nicer anyhow, I think," 
 she added. " Now go on with your story. You 
 said there was a mystery in it. Has it anything 
 to do with — buried treasure ? " and Alice leaned 
 forward eagerly. 
 
 " Buried treasure ? No, Miss. What made you 
 ask that?" 
 
 " The idea ! " exclaimed Ruth with a laugh. 
 " I'm afraid you'll think my sister very romantic, 
 Mr.— er— Jack." 
 
 " That's better ! " he laughed. " Well, I don't 
 know much about romance. My life's been mostly 
 hard work." 
 
THE SAILOR'S STORY 
 
 31 
 
 " I just mentioned treasure," Alice said with a 
 little laugh, and a glance toward where Miss 
 Pennington and Miss Dixon, having a rest from 
 their moving picture work, were curiously eyeing 
 the old sailor and the two girls. 
 
 " Well, my mystery hasn't anything t' do with 
 buried treasure," resumed Jack Jepson. " It's 
 about a mutiny that took place off th' Hole in th' 
 Wall, about five years ago, an' " 
 
 "Hole in the Wall!" interrupted Ruth. "I 
 thought mutinies always took place on the high 
 seas." 
 
 " Well, this was the high seas," Jack an- 
 swered. 
 
 "But the Hole—?" 
 
 " That's the name of a passage between Great 
 Abaco Island and Eleuthera, in the West 
 Indies," the sailor replied. " I don't know why 
 it's called that, but it is." 
 
 " A queer name," murmured Ruth. 
 
 " Go on, please," urged Alice. 
 
 " Well, I was second mate aboard a five masted 
 schooner engaged in the lumber business," went 
 on Jack Jepson. " We were going down to South 
 America, in ballast t' bring back a cargo of hard 
 woods, an' off the Hole in the Wall th' trouble 
 started. 
 
 " Some of the crew kicked on account of the 
 
32 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 grub — that's the stuff we eat on a ship," he ex- 
 plained. 
 
 " Oh, we know something of such talk," said 
 Alice with a laugh. " We haven't been out West 
 among the cowboys for nothing! " 
 
 " Well, some of th' hands laid it to the grub, 
 an' others t' th' hard work of sailing th' craft," 
 went on Jack. " She was a mighty poor schooner 
 in ballast, an' owing t' storms an' rough weather 
 we had t' be takin' in or lettin' out reefs all th' 
 while. It wasn't so bad up t' th' time we got off 
 th' Hole in th' Wall, but from then on it was 
 fierce ! 
 
 " I'd heard rumors that th' crew was goin' t' 
 mutiny an' demand that we put in at some port, 
 an' get better grub, an' more hands, for we was 
 short of sailors. But I didn't pay much attention 
 to th' underhand talk until it was too late. Then, 
 all at once, when we had got away down about off 
 Anegada, th' mutiny broke in full force. The 
 men riz up, an' overpowered th' officers — th' cap- 
 tain was made a prisoner in his cabin, an' I was 
 given my choice of joinin' th' mutineers or 
 walkin' th' plank." 
 
 " What's that ? " asked Ruth, a bit startled. 
 
 " That's when they blindfold a man, and make 
 him walk a plank that is put out over the bul- 
 warks, or side of the ship," said Alice. 
 
THE SAILOR'S STORY 
 
 33 
 
 " Why, if he were blindfolded I should think 
 he'd fall off, not knowing when he came to the 
 end," Ruth remarked, with a little shudder. 
 
 " He doesn't know," Alice said. " That's an 
 easy way of sending a man to his doom." 
 
 "That's it, Miss!" chimed in Jack. "You 
 got th' idea ! " 
 
 " But Alice, how did you know that dreadful 
 thing?" her sister wonderingly demanded. 
 
 " Read it in a book. Go on please, Mr. — er— 
 Jack." 
 
 "Of course I didn't want t' walk no plank," 
 resumed the sailor, " so I temporized. I thought 
 maybe I could beat th' mutineers after all. So I 
 pretended t' join 'em. Things got pretty bad. 
 Many of 'em was for puttin' th' captain away — 
 tossin' him overboard, an' there was a fight about 
 it. Matters got t' such a pass that pistols were 
 fired, an' th' captain would have been shot, an' 
 killed, only a fellow named Mike Tullane, a rough 
 character, an' one of the leaders of th' mutiny, 
 stepped up sudden like an' saved th' captain's life 
 by knockin' aside th' ruffian's gun. 
 
 " Well, of course there was a fight then, but 
 Mike seemed t' come out all right, bein' a leader, 
 an' havin' th' men pretty well with him. Anyhow, 
 th' mutineers were in charge of th' ship, an' off 
 Anegada, one of th' little British Islands of the 
 
34 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 West Indies, we were put about t' run for port. 
 Jest what was t' be done no one seemed to know. 
 After the men got th' ship they didn't know what 
 to do with her. 
 
 " Then came th' mystery. One night th' cap- 
 tain an' Mike Tullane disappeared. They was 
 seen in th' cabin, talkin' together, an' some of th' 
 hot-headed ones thought Mike was going' back 
 on his pals. They was for makin' him walk th' 
 plank. 
 
 " But cooler heads made 'em wait. They said 
 they wanted t' give Mike a chance to explain. 
 But he never got it." 
 
 " Do you mean they — " began Alice, somewhat 
 horrified. 
 
 " I mean that night he an' th' captain dis- 
 appeared," Jack said. " They couldn't be found 
 anywhere. No boat was taken, so they couldn't 
 have gotten off in one of them craft, an' we wasn't 
 near enough land t' make swimmin' safe. But 
 they totally disappeared, an' that was th' mystery. 
 Whether they had a fight, an' jumped overboard 
 together in th' darkness, no one ever knowed, for 
 them mutineers didn't keep extra good watch. 
 
 " But anyhow they was gone — mysteriously 
 missin' as they say in the paper. That sort of 
 took the heart out of some of th' mutineers and 
 they got careless. First we knew a British vessel 
 
THE SAILOR'S STORY 35 
 
 overhauled us, and, not likin' th' looks of things, 
 began to ask questions. Of course there wasn't 
 any captain, such as there should be on a ship, 
 an' that made it look auspicious. Th' worst of it 
 was that nobody could say where the captain was. 
 None of us knew. 
 
 " Then th' story of th' mutiny came out, of 
 course, an' it was all up. The Britisher took 
 charge of us, I was arrested as the ring-leader 
 of the mutiny, an' put in chains! An' I had no 
 more to do with it than a baby, Miss. No more 
 than a baby ! " and Jack Jepson looked from 
 Ruth to Alice, his blue eyes expressing the in- 
 dignation he had felt at the time. 
 
 " An' that's th' story of th' mystery, as I said 
 I'd tell your sister," he added turning to Ruth. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MARY ELLEN 
 
 During the silence that followed the rather 
 sudden ending of the old salt's story, Ruth and 
 Alice looked at each other with wonder in their 
 eyes. On all sides of them could be heard the 
 clicking of the moving picture cameras, the loud 
 directions issued by the men who were managing 
 the different little dramas, and occasionally the 
 sound of shots from the cowboy play that was 
 going on in front of where our friends were 
 seated on the bench, though at some distance 
 away, for the studio was large. 
 
 "But that can't be all of it," said Alice, at 
 length. 
 
 "All of what, Miss?" Jack Jepson asked. 
 
 " The mystery." 
 
 " That's all there is to any mystery, Miss," 
 he said. " A mystery is a mystery, an' if it isn't 
 solved, it's a mystery still, an' nobody can make 
 any more of it. Th' captain and Mike Tullane 
 completely disappeared, an' were never heard of 
 afterward. That's th' mystery, an' all there is 
 to it, jest as I told you." 
 
 36 
 
THE MARY ELLEN 7>7 
 
 "But about yourself?" asked Ruth. "You 
 said you were put in chains, under arrest, as the 
 ringleader of the mutiny." 
 
 " So I was." 
 
 " But what became of you ? " 
 
 " Well, I escaped, Miss. It may not be a very 
 nice thing to confess, but I escaped. Th' British 
 ship took us to a jail on some island — I forget th' 
 name of it. Anyhow I was locked up, an' so 
 were a lot of th' others. We were tried, an' I 
 was accused of startin' th' mutiny. Some of th' 
 worst men on th' ship put th' blame on me, an' I 
 wasn't a bit guilty. But it was no use in denyin' 
 it They was all banded together t' accuse me t' 
 save themselves. I was found guilty, though I 
 wasn't at all, an' I was sentenced to a long im- 
 prisonment. I just escaped hanging by a hair, 
 for mutiny on th' high seas is a serious crime. 
 
 " But I was innocent, an' I knew it, an' when I 
 found th' trial goin' against me, I took a chance 
 that offered, an' planned t' escape. I found a 
 French vessel puttin' t' sea an' as they was short 
 handed I signed on. Since then I've been in many 
 vessels, but I always keep away from English 
 ones, and from English ports, for I would be ar- 
 rested the minute I set my foot on shore in one. 
 A big reward is out for me." 
 
 " How long ago was all this? " asked Ruth. 
 
 " Oh, some years." 
 
g8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " But isn't the unjust charge outlawed now?" 
 Alice wanted to know. 
 
 " I'm afraid not, Miss. Such things are never 
 outlawed. I daren't go t' an English port, an' 
 that's hampered me. I have to take what berths 
 I can get." 
 
 " Can't you disprove the mutiny charge ? " asked 
 Ruth. 
 
 " Not unless some of them involved was to 
 confess, Miss. An' land knows where those 
 fellers are now. They've disappeared with th' 
 captain an' Mike Tullane. Of course if I could 
 find either one of them, I could prove my inno- 
 cence, an' then I'd be free t' go where I pleased. 
 But I've about given that up, Miss. 
 
 " So I sort of come t' anchor in th' Sailors' 
 Snug Harbor, an' when I heard about this movin' 
 picture business, and th' chance it gave t' make a 
 little money, I took it. But when it comes t' 
 doin' some crime for it, I draws th' line. As I 
 said, I've always lived honest, man and boy, for 
 many years, an' that one charge is th' only one 
 against me. I'm not goin' t' take them papers, 
 and substitute false ones." 
 
 " But you don't exactly understand," Ruth said 
 with a smile. " I am going to explain it to you. 
 Mr. Pertell said I might. Now here is the story 
 we are supposed to act out; and, mind you, it is 
 
THE MARY ELLEN 
 
 39 
 
 only supposing — make believe, as we children 
 used to say." 
 
 "Oh, it's make believe; is it?" asked Jack 
 Jepson. 
 
 " Yes, just make-believe." 
 
 " I had a little gal once — long years ago," he 
 said softly, " an' she used to be great on make- 
 believe games. Is this takin' of them papers a 
 make believe game ? " 
 
 " Exactly ! " chimed in Alice. " My sister and 
 I have to pretend every day. It's fun ! " 
 
 " Well, of course I didn't know that," said 
 Jack. " Maybe I made a mistake in bein' so 
 quick. There was nothin' wrong in it? " he ques- 
 tioned. 
 
 " Not the least in the world," said Ruth. " It 
 is just a game, played for the amusement of the 
 public. I'll explain," and from the typewritten 
 scenario she held she went over the outlines of 
 the big marine drama, as one of the authors of 
 the Comet company had written it. As she gave 
 the details, the simple, kindly face of the sailor 
 cleared. His doubts vanished. 
 
 " Say, wasn't I th' old landlubber though ! " he 
 cried. " T think I thought I was really com- 
 mittin' a crime. Ha! Ha!" 
 
 " Well, your past experience had made you 
 careful," Alice said. 
 
 " That's what it had, Miss. It's no fun t' be 
 
4° 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 barred from the ports of the country that has 
 more of 'em than any nation of the world. It 
 hampers a man. But I daren't go on British 
 soil." 
 
 " Could they come here and take you ? " asked 
 Ruth. 
 
 The old man looked around before replying. 
 
 t,: They maybe wouldn't know me," he hoarsely 
 whispered. " I've grown a beard since those 
 days." 
 
 ' " Well, then, how would the British authorities 
 know you?" asked Alice with a smile. 
 
 " I'm not takin' any chances, Miss," was the 
 answer. And though it might seem to an outsider 
 that it would be safe, under those circumstances, 
 for Jepson to visit British ports, if he kept away 
 from the island where he had been imprisoned, 
 he could not see it that way. 
 
 " No sir! " he exclaimed. " No British ports 
 for mine! " 
 
 By this time Mr. DeVere, who had been 
 engaged in finishing a few scenes in a play that 
 had started the day before, came up to join his 
 daughters. 
 
 " Well, how is the great marine drama coming 
 on ? " he asked, his voice being more hoarse than 
 usual. He had done some talking, as he found it 
 helped to give a better idea of the characters he 
 portrayed, but it was not necessary, in these pic-. 
 
THE MARY ELLEN 
 
 41 
 
 ture plays, to get his voice " over the foot- 
 lights." 
 
 " There has been a halt," explained Ruth with 
 a smile. " This is Jack Jepson, Father. He is to 
 have one of the principal parts, but he balked at 
 some underhand work, and — " 
 
 " Pleased t' know you," Jack broke in with a 
 jerky bow. " Your daughter's a smart gal," he 
 said. " She made everything as clear as daylight 
 t' me. I'm goin' on with th' play now." 
 
 " That is when Mr. Pertell is ready," put in 
 Alice. " He seems to have found some difficulty 
 in that cowboy drama." 
 
 This was evident, for the Western play had 
 been stopped, and the camera operator, with a 
 weary look on his face, was leaning against a 
 post, as if in despair of ever completing that day's 
 run of film. 
 
 " No, no, Mr. Bunn, you must not do it that 
 way," the manager was saying. " When Ardite, 
 in the character of the young outlaw, shoots at 
 you, stand up without flinching. That's your 
 part — to be indifferent to gunfire." 
 
 " Oh, that's my part, is it ? Just to be shot at ! " 
 cried the old " Ham " actor. " Well, it's a mighty 
 poor part, that's all I've got to say ! It will be the 
 last time I ever take a part like that. Oh, why did 
 I ever leave the legitimate stage? " 
 
42 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Ha ! Maybe it was because the stage would 
 have left you, had you not left it," said Mr. 
 Switzer, who was dressed up as a German 
 comedian, and taking part in another play. 
 
 " Ha ! What is that ? " asked Mr. Bunn pom- 
 pously. But Mr. Switzer did not repeat his re- 
 mark. He was called to resume his part. 
 
 "Now Mr. Bunn, stand up and be shot at!" 
 commanded Mr. Pertell. " Come, come ! We 
 can't lose all day on this little play. I've got to 
 get busy on the marine drama, and I want some 
 of you in that. Ready with that gun now, Paul ! " 
 
 " Yes, shoot him ! " murmured Mr. Pepper 
 Sneed, the human grouch. " Aim it right at him. 
 Of course they are only blank cartridges," he 
 added cheerfully, "but if the wadding hits you 
 Bunn, lockjaw is almost sure to follow. Go on 
 and shoot. I know something will happen," and 
 he looked as though he would be disappointed if 
 his prophesy were not borne out. " Go on, 
 shoot!" 
 
 " No ! No ! I protest ! I withdraw from this 
 play ! " cried Mr. Bunn, looking around for his 
 tall hat, without which he seldom was seen. It 
 was his one remnant of departed glory. 
 
 " No, you'll not withdraw ! " cried Mr. Pertell. 
 " We've got half the film run off with you on, 
 and you've got to stick it out. Go on, Paul 
 
THE MARY ELLEN 43 
 
 And, Mr. Sneed, you needn't trouble to stand 
 here and look on, as you're not in this cast. You 
 have a — depressing effect." 
 
 Mr. Sneed certainly did. However, he moved 
 away, and the play went on. It was successfully 
 filmed, and then Mr. Pertell was free to take up, 
 where he had left off, the discussion of the pre- 
 liminaries of the marine drama. " Out on The 
 Deep " it was to be called. 
 
 " Well, how about it? " asked the manager, as 
 he approached the moving picture girls, their 
 father and sailor Jack. " Have you succeeded in 
 convincing him ? " 
 
 " That's what they have, Mr. Pertell," the old 
 salt said. " I'm sorry I made such a fuss about 
 those false papers. I didn't know it was only 
 make-believe." 
 
 " Well, if that difficulty is over with, we'll go 
 on, though we can do only a few of the simple 
 scenes today," the manager said. 
 
 "Do you understand the play?" he asked of 
 Mr. DeVere. 
 
 " Not altogether. I will look over the 
 scenario." 
 
 " I can save you the trouble," the manager 
 went on. " I'll outline it briefly for you. ' Out 
 on the Deep,' is, as you can tell by the name, a 
 marine story. Part of it will take place in a 
 sailors' home. That will be the Snug Harbor, 
 
44 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 where I found Jack Jepson. We will go over to 
 Staten Island some day and film those scenes. 
 
 " Another part of the drama will take place in 
 a shipping office. Of course that will be a studio 
 scene, taken right here. I was starting in on that 
 when Jack balked." 
 
 " Well, I won't again," the sailor promised. 
 
 " Glad to hear it," came from the manager. 
 " But the big part of the play will actually take 
 place on deep water," Mr. Pertell resumed. " We 
 are going out in a big schooner, and " 
 
 "A real schooner?" asked Jack, eagerly. 
 
 " Yes, a real schooner. It isn't a very good one, 
 but it will answer our purpose, especially as we 
 have to wreck her, and she will be a total loss. I 
 had to pay pretty high for her, too. But I think 
 it will be worth it. The shipwreck scenes, in the 
 storm, ought to be great. And now, as I have 
 decided to postpone the rehearsal of the play for 
 a while, I think it would be a good plan for some 
 of us to go and look at the Mary Ellen, and get 
 familiar with her layout." 
 
 "The Mary Ellen!" cried Sailor Jack. 
 
 " Yes, that is the name of the schooner I have 
 purchased to use as a shipwreck," said the man- 
 ager. 
 
 " Why— th' Mary Ellen! " cried Jack. " That 
 was th' name of th' vessel where th' mutiny was ! " 
 and he started to his feet in great excitement. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 CAPTAIN BRISCO 
 
 " Mutiny ! What do you mean ? " demanded 
 Mr. Pertell, a little startled by the action of the 
 old sailor. 
 
 "That's just what I mean, sir! Oh, I forgot 
 you don't know. But I told these young ladies 
 about me being in a mutiny, an' I'm under sus- 
 picion in connection with it still. I can't go in an 
 English port, and that's a nice blight to put on a 
 man ! " he said indignantly. 
 
 Mr. Pertell looked bewildered. 
 
 " Perhaps I can explain," said Ruth, " and if I 
 go wrong, Jack, please correct me." 
 
 " That I will, Miss ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 Thereupon Ruth told the whole story, much 
 more connectedly, and more briefly, than would 
 have been possible for the old salt. But Ruth 
 had the knack of condensing a long scenario into 
 a few words. 
 
 " Was that it? " she asked Jack, when she had 
 finished. 
 
 45 
 
46 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " That's it, Miss, an' you did me more credit 
 in the story than I deserved." 
 
 "Oh, no I didn't," Ruth said, smiling. "I'd 
 like to help you solve that mystery, too — the 
 mystery of the disappearance of the captain and 
 Mike Tullane." 
 
 "That's it!" cried Jack. " If I could only 
 find one of them, or if some of th' real muti- 
 neers would confess, it would clear me an' I could 
 be free t' roam wherever I wanted t' in th' world. 
 But it's too much t' hope for that. But you said 
 th' name of th' vessel we was t' make believe be 
 shipwrecked on was th' Mary Ellen, sir," and he 
 turned to the manager. " The Mary Ellen was 
 the name of the craft where the mutiny occurred. 
 Could it be — " he paused, hope showing on his 
 eager face. 
 
 " No, there's hardly a chance that this is the 
 same one," said Mr. Pertell. "Mary Ellen is a 
 common name for vessels," he went on, " and 
 there must be scores with it painted on their bows. 
 I don't know anything about the vessel I have 
 bought, but I doubt if she was ever in a mutiny. 
 She is a very old craft, and isn't really fit for 
 service now. But her owners say she will do for 
 what I want. We are going to take her to South- 
 ern waters, and the main scenes of the drama will 
 be photographed aboard her, and around her." 
 
CAPTAIN BRISCO 47 
 
 " Where is the craft now, if I may ask? " in- 
 quired Mr. DeVere. 
 
 " Over in Erie Basin," answered the manager. 
 " I am having her fitted up, and a crew is being 
 engaged. Of course it will be some time before 
 we sail, but I want to get everything in readiness. 
 So suppose we take a run over there now, and look 
 at her." 
 
 " That suits me ! " exclaimed Jack, to whom 
 matters nautical were as the breath of life. " And 
 I hope you'll sign me on, sir; when it comes to 
 makin' up your crew, sir." 
 
 " I intend to ship you," was the answer. " Cap- 
 tain Brisco said he would need some good officers. 
 You have a mate's certificate, have you not, 
 Jack." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and mighty glad and proud I'll be 
 to fill that berth, sir." 
 
 "Oh, won't it be jolly to go sailing!" ex- 
 claimed Alice. " I shall just love it! " 
 
 Mr. DeVere sighed resignedly. 
 
 " I'm afraid it won't be very good for your 
 throat, Daddy," said Ruth in a low tone. " The 
 damp air will be sure to make you cough." 
 
 " Oh, well—" he began. 
 
 Mr. Pertell overheard what was said. 
 
 " I don't like to ask you, Mr. DeVere," he 
 said, " to do anything that will be bad for your 
 
4 8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 health. But I certainly need your services, and 
 those of your daughters, in this sea drama. 
 Otherwise I would not ask you to run any risks 
 with your throat. 
 
 " But I will say this. We shall not be afloat 
 until Summer, and, as we shall be in a warm 
 climate, perhaps the bad effects will not be so pro- 
 nounced." 
 
 " No, I think so myself," the old actor admit- 
 ted. " It may even do me good. I will doctor up 
 in the meanwhile. And 1 realize that if I do not 
 go, my daughters cannot. I would not like to 
 have them miss this fine opportunity." 
 
 "Oh, Daddy! We wouldn't go if it harmed 
 you ! " Alice cried. 
 
 " Oh, I dare say I can manage," her father re- 
 plied. " The new treatment I am taking seems 
 to agree with me. Who knows ? Perhaps, when 
 it comes time to sail, my throat may not trouble 
 me at all." 
 
 " Let us hope so," Alice broke in. " I do so 
 love the water, and the Southern sea will be a 
 dream ! " 
 
 Perhaps if Alice could have looked ahead, and 
 seen what lay before her, she would not have been 
 so enthusiastic in anticipating the future. 
 
 Mr. Pertell saw that the other plays under way 
 in the studio were running smoothly, and then 
 
CAPTAIN BRISCO 49 
 
 prepared to take Mr. DeVere, his daughters, and 
 the old sailor over to Erie Basin, to inspect the 
 Mary Ellen, as she lay in her slip, being refitted 
 for another voyage — her last — for she was to rest 
 beneath the waves when she had played her part 
 in the moving picture play. 
 
 " I wish I were going with you," said Russ 
 Dalwood, as Ruth passed him where he was hav- 
 ing a moment's respite from grinding away at 
 the crank of a camera. 
 
 " I wish so, too," she answered, in a low voice. 
 
 " But I've got to stay here, and grind away at 
 this film," he said hopelessly. 
 
 " We'll see you to-night," she called to him, as 
 she went out. 
 
 Paul Ardite waved to Alice as she " twinkled " 
 her fingers at him. Paul was in a cowboy cos- 
 tume, playing a scene in the cowboy story, which 
 seemed to be giving more and more trouble as it 
 proceeded. 
 
 " This is the fifth time we've done that act," 
 Paul called to Alice in an aside as she passed. 
 " And all because Mr. Bunn is so fussy. They'll 
 take him out, if he isn't careful. Where are you 
 going, Alice? " 
 
 " Over to see Mary Ellen." 
 
 " Who's she? A new actress? " 
 
 " Yes, she's a ' she ' I suppose, and she's going 
 
5o 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 to have a big part in a drama. I'll tell you about 
 it later." 
 
 The Mary Ellen certainly did not present a 
 very trim appearance as the little party went 
 aboard her at the dock in Erie Basin. The decks 
 were cluttered up with an assortment of ropes, 
 planks, casks, boxes and other things, so that it 
 was impossible to move about without great care. 
 On coming in sight of the craft Jack Jepson's 
 face wore a look of expectancy. 
 
 '" She might be the same Mary Ellen that I was 
 on," he said. 
 
 But when he saw that the craft had three masts, 
 whereas the ship where the mutiny had occurred 
 boasted of five, Jack shook his head. 
 
 " She isn't th' same ship," he murmured. 
 
 Yet as he stepped on deck he gave a start, and 
 an exclamation escaped his lips. 
 
 "What's the matter?" asked Alice, who was 
 near him. 
 
 " Well, Miss, you may think it strange," he 
 said, " but if I had my eyes shut, I'd say I was on 
 my old ship — th' Mary Ellen I was tellin' you 
 about." 
 
 " But she had five masts, and this one " 
 
 " Yes, I know, Miss Alice. But, masts or no 
 masts there's somethin' about this craft that's 
 strangely familiar. I'm sure I've been on her be- 
 
CAPTAIN BRISCO 
 
 51 
 
 fore, and yet — no, it can't be — three masts can't 
 make five, no matter how you count." 
 
 " Well, this is the ship," said Mr. Pertell to his 
 guests. " This will be our home when we get her 
 fitted up in ship-shape. I don't know much about 
 such things myself, so I've given Captain Brisco 
 full charge. He is to get her in readiness." 
 
 " Well, if you were to ask me I should say it 
 would take the greater part of a year to get this 
 in ship-shape," said Ruth. " I never saw such 
 confusion — never!" and she gazed about the 
 deck. 
 
 "Why, Miss, this isn't anythin' — nothin' at 
 all ! " cried Jack Jepson. " With a few of my 
 old shipmates I could get this craft ready for a 
 voyage in half a day — that is, if she's all right be- 
 low th' water line," he added as an afterthought 
 
 " I'm trusting all that to Captain Brisco," said 
 Mr. Pertell. " He was recommended to me by 
 the ones from whom I purchased this boat. I 
 think he will have everything in ship-shape for us 
 in time." 
 
 As they stood looking about the deck a man 
 came up from below. From his appearance he 
 was unmistakably a sailor, and one in authority. 
 He issued several orders, on hearing which a 
 number of men bestirred themselves, and then, 
 
52 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 catching sight of the little party, he called out in 
 rough tones. 
 
 " Come now ! What's this ? No visitors are 
 allowed on board here. Get ashore at once ! " 
 
 "Hello, Captain Brisco!" called Mr. Pertell. 
 " That is, if that's the proper nautical greeting." 
 
 "Oh, Mr. Pertell. I didn't recognize you," 
 said the commander of the Mary Ellen. " I beg 
 your pardon ! Won't you walk this way ? " 
 
 " We are on a little tour of inspection," the 
 manager went on. " These are some of my prin- 
 ciple moving picture actors, and I want them to 
 get familiar with the ship. And, Captain Brisco, 
 this is an old salt who will be with us. He is to 
 be second mate, I believe. Jack Jepson, let me 
 present you to Captain Brisco." 
 
 A strange look came over the old salt's face. 
 He stepped forward and burst out with : 
 
 " I guess I've met Captain Brisco before, but 
 that wasn't his name — then ! " 
 
 Captain Brisco started back as though a shot 
 had been fired near him. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 JEPSON IS WORRIED 
 
 For an instant only did the commander of the 
 Mary Ellen show signs of perturbation. He re- 
 covered himself with an effort, hardly obvious to 
 the moving picture girls who were watching. It 
 was as though a cloud had passed over the sun so 
 quickly as to give an observer no time to glance up 
 and see it, before the shadow was gone. Then 
 Captain Brisco smiled. 
 
 " I think you've made a mistake, my man," he 
 said, with the air of one used to commanding. 
 " I'm sure I don't know you, whether or not you 
 think you have had the pleasure of my acquain- 
 tance. How about it? " 
 
 He turned a sharp look on Jack Jepson, and 
 the latter faltered. _ 
 
 " Well — well, maybe I am mistaken," he said 
 slowly. " But I sure did take you for an old 
 shipmate of mine. I sure did — an old shipmate," 
 and he spoke the words slowly. 
 
 " For instance — who ? " asked Captain Brisco, 
 53 
 
54 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 and the words seemed to come out like the closing 
 of the jaws of a steel trap. 
 
 " Oh — er — you wouldn't know if I told you," 
 said Jack. " I guess I was mistaken," he added. 
 
 " And I'm sure of it," Captain Brisco said, 
 coolly. " I don't know many in these parts, for 
 I've been away for some time. And — er — who 
 might you be ? " he asked, with more of that com- 
 manding air. 
 
 " This is the sailor who will be one of your 
 mates on our little trip," explained Mr. Pertell. 
 " You said you would need officers, even for a 
 short voyage such as we intend making, so I 
 picked up Jack Jepson. Do you think he'll do ? " 
 
 " Depends on how much he knows of naviga- 
 tion," was the sharp answer. 
 
 " Oh, I have my certificate," Jack answered. 
 " If you want t' see it I have it " 
 
 " Never mind now," interposed Captain Brisco. 
 " There are a thousand and one things to do, and 
 nothing seems to be going right. Lay aloft there, 
 some of you ! " he cried to a group of men. " Get 
 those halyards reeved and straightened out. 
 Think we're going to lie here all Summer? 
 Lively now! I think I could use you, if you've 
 any knack of handling men," he added in lower 
 tones, turning to Jack. " It's slow work, getting 
 fitted out." 
 
JEPSON IS WORRIED 55 
 
 " I could come any time," Jepson answered, and 
 Alice noted that the old sailor gazed furtively 
 now and then at the captain. It was as though he 
 wanted to impress his memory with the face of 
 the commander. " I'm over in Sailors' Snug 
 Harbor," Jepson went on, " I came over to do 
 some actin' " 
 
 " Yes, this play acting business is new to me, 
 too," said Captain Brisco. " But I suppose I 
 can get used to it. Seems rather queer to go to all 
 this work and expense," he went on to Mr. Per- 
 tell, "just to fit a schooner out, and then sink her. 
 It's a waste of good money, I should say." 
 
 " We'll get our money back, never fear, if the 
 film turns out all right," said Mr. Pertell. " Nov/ 
 how are you coming on? That's what I came to 
 see. I want some of my principal actors to get 
 familiar with the ship, so brought them down. 
 I started with Jepson, up in the studio," he added 
 in a lower voice, for the benefit of Captain Brisco, 
 " but he balked. I'll tell you about it later. He 
 can stay and help you if you like." 
 
 " Well, I probably can use him," the com- 
 mander said, as he looked at Jepson, who was 
 wandering about the deck with a curiously ab- 
 stracted air. 
 
 " Sort of funny thinking he knew you, wasn't 
 it ? " commented Mr. Pertell, while Alice, Ruth 
 
56 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 and Mr. DeVere looked on with interest at the 
 various activities connected with getting the 
 Mary Ellen ready for sea. 
 
 " Oh, not at all queer," answered Captain 
 Brisco, quickly. " I have commanded so many 
 men and ships in my day that I must be familiar 
 by name, at least, to hundreds of sailors. But I 
 never saw this Jepson before. However, he seems 
 to be a good, honest soul." 
 
 " Too honest, by far ! " laughed Mr. Pertell. 
 " He wouldn't even pretend to take some false 
 papers to carry out a film idea. Said he'd been in 
 enough trouble over being falsely accused in a 
 mutiny ! " 
 
 " A mutiny ! " exclaimed Captain Brisco. " A 
 mutiny! " 
 
 " Yes. Why, is that remarkable ? " asked the 
 manager, for Captain Brisco seemed startled. 
 
 " No, oh, no ! I don't know as it is. I was 
 only thinking if he was given to starting mutinies, 
 he wouldn't be a safe man to have on board here." 
 
 " Oh, you needn't fear for Jepson," the man- 
 ager said. " He was innocent in that mutiny 
 affair, I believe. But now as to details. I want 
 to consult with you in regard to certain matters." 
 
 And while the captain and manager sought a 
 quiet corner, where they might converse, and go 
 over the plot of the great marine drama, Alice 
 
JEPSON IS WORRIED 57 
 
 and Ruth wandered about the ship. The sailors 
 who were fitting her out looked curiously at the 
 girls as they went to and fro. Mr. DeVere found 
 a sheltered spot where he said he would wait until 
 Mr. Pertell was finished with the captain. 
 
 " Does your throat pain you much ? " asked 
 Alice solicitously. 
 
 " Oh, not as much as I expected, coming so 
 near the water. I think it will be all right. 
 Don't worry." 
 
 " Isn't it perfectly wonderful, to think we're 
 going to be on board this schooner ! " exclaimed 
 Alice to her sister. " And are we going to sleep 
 here and eat here, Jack ? " i;he asked, as the old 
 sailor came toward J hem. 
 
 " Well, Miss, if you goes on a voyage you can't 
 walk off th' ship whenever you want to, you know, 
 to get a berth, and some grub. I mean something 
 to eat and a place to sleep," he quickly translated. 
 " You has to stay right on board until the voyage 
 ends." 
 
 " Oh, and could we see where we sleep ? " asked 
 Ruth. 
 
 " The staterooms? Yes, of course," said Cap- 
 tain Brisco, who with Mr. Pertell came forward 
 just then. " Jepson, take the Jadies below. If 
 you're a sailor you don't need t<3 be told the way." 
 
 " No, sir," was the respectful answer. Jack 
 
58 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 seemed to have acquired new dignity since coming 
 aboard ; and it was noticeable, a little later, that he 
 took more pains with his talk, being more gram- 
 matical, and pronouncing his words better, as be- 
 fitted a mate. 
 
 " And I want to see where they do the cook- 
 ing," remarked Ruth. " What is it they call it — 
 the alley?" 
 
 " The galley," corrected Alice. " Don't you re- 
 member? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, so it is. What a funny name for a 
 kitchen." 
 
 " This way," directed Jack, as he started for 
 the companionway. Meanwhile Mr. Pertell and 
 Captain Brisco, having settled on certain details, 
 called Mr. DeVere into consultation, since that 
 actor was to have a prominent part in the scenes 
 that would take place aboard the ship. 
 
 Jack Jepson led his two pretty charges below, 
 where some men were also at work. They in- 
 spected the sleeping quarters, the galley and other 
 parts of the ship. Then, at the suggestion of Alice 
 they penetrated to the men's quarters — the fore- 
 castle, or " fo'cas'l," as Jack pronounced it, sailor- 
 fashion. 
 
 As they passed two carpenters doing some 
 " patch-work," Jack paused and looked closely at 
 
JEPSON IS WORRIED 59 
 
 what they were doing. Suddenly he turned to 
 Alice and asked: 
 
 " Is this craft to make a voyage all by her- 
 self?" 
 
 " A short one — yes," Alice answered, for she 
 had looked over the scenario. " Why do you 
 ask?" 
 
 " Oh, nothin' — nothin' — ," answered Jack Jep- 
 son. " Only, oh, well, I s'pose it's all right," he 
 went on. But as he led the way forward Ruth 
 noticed a look of worriment on the face of the 
 old sailor. It was so evident that it startled her — ■ 
 the more so as she heard him murmur : 
 
 " Going all by herself; eh? Well, she certainly 
 needs a consort." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 HARD WORK 
 
 Ruth took advantage of the first opportunity 
 to question Sailor Jack Jepson. The memory of 
 that look on his face haunted her. But it was not 
 until they had come from the Mary Ellen that 
 Ruth found her chance. 
 
 While on board, arrangements had been made 
 for taking some of the preliminary scenes of the 
 marine drama, and Mr. Pertell urged Captain 
 Brisco to hasten, as much as he could, the prepa- 
 rations for the voj^age. 
 
 But finally, when Alice and her father had gone 
 on ahead, walking with Mr. Pertell, and were 
 deep in ,. discussion about a certain scene, Ruth 
 found a chance to ask : 
 
 " Didn't you like what you saw downstairs in 
 the Mary Ellen, Jack ? " 
 
 "Downstairs, Miss?" the sailor questioned, a 
 puzzled look on his face. 
 
 ** Or whatever the right sea-term is for under 
 the deck? " she went on. 
 
 " Oh, you mean below." 
 60 
 
HARD WORK 6l 
 
 " Yes, didn't you like what you saw below ? " 
 asked Ruth. 
 
 " What do you mean, Miss ? " 
 
 " Well, you didn't seem altogether pleased. I 
 don't want them to hear," she went on, motioning 
 to her father and sister, " but you looked wor- 
 ried. Was anything — wrong ? " 
 
 " Wrong? No, Miss, not exactly wrong. But 
 some of them fellers didn't seem to know their 
 business in repairin' a ship, that was all. But we 
 aren't go in' on much of a voyage, so I don't 
 s'pose it matters — much." 
 
 " But we are going on a pretty long trip, and 
 for a time we'll all be alone on board the Mary 
 Ellen, some distance from land," Ruth said. " I 
 know, for I've read the outlines." 
 
 " Is that so, Miss? Why — I — I didn't exactly 
 know that. I wonder if I'd better " 
 
 Before Jack Jepson could continue Mr. Pertell 
 turned back and called : 
 
 " Oh, I believe I forgot to tell you people, but 
 we are also to have a motorboat in connection 
 with the Mary Ellen. A big, powerful gasoline 
 craft, she is, called the Ajax. She'll follow us, 
 part of the time, for some of the pictures have 
 to be taken from a distance, as she trails along at 
 the stern. We'll have plenty of time for re- 
 hearsal, though." 
 
62 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Ah, a motorboat to follow us. Then there 
 isn't so much danger," said Jack Jepson, and he 
 seemed talking to himself. 
 
 "Danger!" exclaimed Ruth. "What do you 
 mean by that? " 
 
 " Danger ? Did I say danger, Miss ? " he asked, 
 and again Ruth was surprised at the strange look 
 on his face. 
 
 " You certainly did say it," she replied. 
 
 " Well, I didn't mean it," he said, though he 
 spoke with an obvious effort. " I meant it would 
 be much more company — company for you folks 
 as aren't used to sailin' the seas. That's all, Miss. 
 Oh, no, there's no real danger — that is there 
 won't be to you, as long as old Jack Jepson can 
 ward it off," he murmured under his breath. 
 
 The little party went back to the studio, and, 
 after lunch, some of the easiest and less impor- 
 tant scenes in the marine drama were rehearsed. 
 Sailor Jack soon understood what was wanted of 
 him, and did very well. Ruth and Alice took 
 pleasure in coaching the honest, simple old salt. 
 His too-conscientious scruples about doing a seem- 
 ingly wrongful act were overcome when it was 
 explained to him, and he went through the scene 
 in the studio shipping office very well. 
 
 " And that will be all you'll have to do for a 
 few days," Manager Pertell told him. " You 
 
HARD WORK 63 
 
 will not be needed to take part in any scenes until 
 we get ready for the second act. Meanwhile you 
 had better arrange to stay aboard the Mary Ellen, 
 while she is in the Erie Basin, and help Captain 
 Brisco." 
 
 " That I will ! Aye, aye, sir ! " exclaimed Jack. 
 " And it'll be a relief to be where I can feel the 
 heave of a deck, even if the craft is anchored, and 
 to smell the real salt water again. I'll go aboard 
 as soon as I can get back to the Snug Harbor, 
 and stow my dunnage in a bag." 
 
 He really seemed delighted to make the change, 
 and the worried look left his face, though Ruth 
 could not forget the shadow it had cast. What 
 did it mean? She asked herself this over and 
 over again. 
 
 Meanwhile there was hard work for the mov- 
 ing picture girls and Mr. DeVere. A company 
 engaged in the making of films does not content 
 itself with merely producing one big play. There 
 are any number of small reels that are needed, as 
 " fillers." Some of them are called " split reels," 
 meaning that there are two plays, or sketches, on 
 each one. And in the intervals of going through 
 scenes in " Out on The Deep," or rehearsing for 
 them, Ruth and Alice took part, with others of 
 the Comet organization, in the making of many 
 pictures. 
 
64 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 Several weeks went by in this way. Spring 
 was gradually turning into Summer, to the de- 
 light of the girls, who loved the outdoors. Of 
 course they loved Winter, too, for they had many 
 outdoor scenes to take part in then, since snow 
 effects are always easy to photograph. 
 
 " But Summer is the best ! " cried Alice, gaily 
 dancing about the studio, after she had finished 
 in a little comedy scene, one day. 
 
 " I think so, too," agreed Ruth. 
 
 " And when we get out on the deep blue sea," 
 the younger girl added, " it will be ideal. Oh, I 
 can hardly wait for the Mary Ellen to start on her 
 last voyage. Isn't it too bad she has to be sunk ? " 
 she asked. 
 
 " Yes, it is rather tragic," agreed Ruth. " I 
 hope we get far enough away when she takes her 
 last plunge beneath the waves," she added with an 
 involuntary shudder. 
 
 " Oh, trust Captain Brisco for that," Alice said. 
 
 " I had rather trust — Sailor Jack Jepson," mur- 
 mured Ruth in a low voice. 
 
 Meanwhile work on refitting the schooner had 
 gone on apace. The moving picture girls, and 
 their friends, had paid several visits to her, and 
 found Captain Brisco, Jack Jepson and the others 
 hard at work making the vessel a semblance of 
 her former self. 
 
HARD WORK 65 
 
 " She's an old tub," said Jack to the girls, " but 
 she's in better shape than she was when you were 
 here afore, Missies." 
 
 And indeed the Mary Ellen did seem so. A 
 new coat of paint added as much to her appear- 
 ance, as a new dress and hat does to a young 
 lady, though Mary Ellen could no longer be 
 classed as young. 
 
 Then came a day when many members of the 
 theatrical company, including Jack Jepson, who 
 now enjoyed that distinction, were taken down 
 to the seacoast, some distance from New York. 
 They went in a tug specially hired for the occa- 
 sion. 
 
 " Some of the scenes of the marine drama take 
 place on the seacoast," explained Mr. Pertell. 
 " I want to get them now, when we have the 
 chance. I need a rocky shore, and this is the 
 nearest one we can reach. Get ready now. We 
 have rehearsed these scenes, you remember." 
 
 They were not easy scenes, and, even though 
 they had been gone over in the studio, when it 
 came to actually going through them on the beach, 
 one difficulty after another arose. 
 
 In the first place it was a raw, windy day, and 
 there was a pretty high sea, dashing up among 
 the rocks of the shore, and sending a spray over 
 toward the cameras. 
 
66 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " I can't do anything from this point ! " finally 
 complained Russ Dalwood, who was at the ma- 
 chine. " I've spoiled about a hundred feet of 
 film now. We'll have to get around that point." 
 
 "All right," agreed Mr. Pertell, "but the 
 scenery isn't so good there." 
 
 But when one difficulty was disposed of another 
 one was found. Mr. Bunn made trouble when he 
 was asked to do a certain " fall " in the water. 
 He complained that he did not want to spoil his 
 tall hat. 
 
 " Oh, you and your tall hat ! " impatiently ex- 
 claimed the manager. " Go on with that scene, I 
 tell you!" 
 
 " But I — er — I — " expostulated the old actor. 
 
 Before he could make further objection a mist 
 of heavy spray dashed over him, thoroughly wet- 
 ting his beloved hat. 
 
 "There!" cried Mr. Pertell. "Your tile is 
 spoiled anyhow, now go on and fall in. It can't 
 get any wetter! " 
 
 " Oh, what a life ! What a life ! " groaned the 
 " Ham " actor, but he went through the " busi- 
 ness." Perhaps he realized that other engage- 
 ments were not any too plentiful for men of his 
 talent. 
 
 Nor did Ruth and Alice have an easy time. 
 They had to scramble over rocks, they had to es- 
 
HARD WORK fy 
 
 cape from smugglers, they had to hide in caves, 
 and once Alice had to fall down on the rocks, and 
 pretend to be hurt. It was a very real fall, too, 
 and she did not have to make much of a pretense 
 at limping. 
 
 " Oh, I'm so sorry ! " exclaimed Paul Ardite, 
 hastening to her side. " Shall I carry you ? " he 
 asked eagerly. 
 
 " No indeed. I'm all right. I just " 
 
 " Keep back there, Paul ! Keep back ! " cried 
 Mr. Pertell. " Don't get in range and spoil the 
 picture. That's fine, Miss DeVere. It's very 
 natural — that limp ! " 
 
 " It ought to be ! " murmured Alice, biting her 
 lips to keep back an exclamation of pain. " It's 
 real enough, especially the pain." 
 
 Moving picture acting is not all as easy as it 
 seems. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE RISING TIDE 
 
 " Well, that's very good, so far," said Mr. 
 Pertell, when there came a lull in the taking of 
 the preliminary scenes of the marine film. " A 
 little more life wouldn't have hurt any, but the 
 conditions aren't just the best. It was fairly well 
 done." 
 
 " Huh ! Fairly well done ! " exclaimed Pepper 
 Sneed. " I wonder what he wants, anyhow ? I 
 nearly broke my neck scrambling over those 
 rocks, and the skin is all gone from the palms of 
 my hands, and all he says is that it was * fairly 
 well done ! ' I wonder what he wants, anyhow ? " 
 
 " Ha ! He vants dot you shouldt altogedder 
 preak your neck, ain't it ? " put in Mr. Switzer. 
 " Dot vould be a real funny picture, alretty yet ! " 
 he went on in his favorite character of a Dutch 
 comedian. " Preak your neck, Mr. Sneed, und 
 let Russ make der picture." 
 
 "Ha! I think I see myself!" exclaimed the 
 " grouch," as he looked for a seaweed-cushioned 
 6& 
 
THE RISING TIDE 69 
 
 rock whereon to sit. " There's been a lot of 
 trouble today, but, mark my words, there'll be 
 more before we have finished. That's all I've got 
 to say," and by the sour look on his face anyone 
 would have thought that he rejoiced in his predic- 
 tion of trouble to come. 
 
 " What is the matter now ? " asked Ruth, com- 
 ing up in time to hear part of the discussion. 
 
 " Oh, Pepper is sure the world is going to come 
 to an end before the public has a chance to see 
 him in his great rescue act of ' Out on The 
 Deep,' I guess," replied Paul Ardite. " Cheer 
 up ! " he added. " The worst is yet to come." 
 
 " You're right there," agreed Mr. Sneed, 
 darkly. " There'll be an accident before this day 
 is over, mark my words ! " 
 
 " Oh, Alice, are you hurt ? asked Ruth 
 quickly, as she saw her sister limping toward her, 
 for the little scene in which Alice had slipped and 
 hurt her ankle, had taken place when Ruth was 
 busy in another part of the play, farther down the 
 shore line. 
 
 " It isn't anything," the younger girl answered, 
 bravely keeping back an exclamation of pain. 
 
 "Will you be able to go on?" Mr. Pertell 
 asked. He had followed Alice, when the scene 
 closed, and when he had stopped Paul in time to 
 prevent the photographs from being spoiled. 
 
j Q THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Oh, yes, I can go on, of course," Alice said, 
 with an effort. 
 
 " Because you have some important parts yet to 
 do," the manager continued. He was not as 
 heartless as this sounds. Really he was most 
 kind and considerate. Yet he knew the pictures 
 must be made and the present was the best time. 
 If there were a delay, there was no telling what 
 might intervene. 
 
 He knew that Alice herself realized this. She 
 would not give up unless positively unable to go 
 on. The general public little realizes how often 
 those who entertain them do so under positive 
 pain and suffering. Of course moving picture 
 scenes can be postponed more easily than can 
 those in a real theatre. But the general rule holds 
 good for the movies, as for the legitimate. " The 
 show must go on ! " That is the watchword of 
 manager and player alike. " The show must go 
 on!" 
 
 " I have a bottle of arnica with me," said Mrs. 
 Maguire, the " old lady " of the company. " I 
 heard we were to do some rock-scrambling today 
 and I brought it along. I'll rub some of it on your 
 ankle," she said to Alice. 
 
 " Yes, doctor her up a bit," advised Mr. Pertell. 
 w She's too important to be left out of the film, 
 
THE RISING TIDE 
 
 7* 
 
 for a while at least. I don't want to force you, 
 Miss DeVere," he went on, " but really " 
 
 " Oh, I'll be able to go on," Alice bravely said. 
 " It is only a little wrench, I think." 
 
 Behind a screen of rocks Mrs. Maguire re- 
 moved Alice's shoe and stocking, and the motherly 
 old lady and Ruth bathed the injured foot. It 
 was not as bad as Alice had feared, and when it 
 was bound up again she found she could use it by 
 " favoring " it slightly. She would not have to 
 take part in a scene for nearly an hour, and she 
 took advantage of the rest afforded by the wait. 
 
 Meanwhile Mr. DeVere and some other mem- 
 bers of the company were going through their 
 parts. An old fisherman's hut had been found, a 
 little way down the beach, and for a small sum of 
 money the grizzled old salt had agreed to vacate 
 for the morning, and allow the moving picture 
 actors to use his home as the background for sev- 
 eral scenes. 
 
 " It isn't just what the scenario calls for," said 
 Mr. Pertell, " but we can switch things around at 
 the studio later, to make it fit." 
 
 This is a secret of more than one film. The pro- 
 ducer takes advantage of things as he finds them. 
 Often, after a film has all been planned, and the 
 pictures are being taken, a chance accident, or 
 incident, will suggest an advantageous change, 
 
72 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 and it is made on the spot. Later the film is 
 " cut " or added to, so that the change fits in. 
 
 Again, on going to the outdoor scene called for 
 in the scenario, the manager may see a back- 
 ground that suits him better than one he intended 
 using. On the spot he will stop and have the act 
 take place there, altering, or adapting, the plot of 
 the story to fit. And many an accident has been 
 turned to good account in making a film. But 
 these are secrets known only to the initiated, and 
 the public that sees the finished picture in some 
 theatre little realizes how much chance had to do 
 with its making. 
 
 Scene after scene was " filmed," Russ and his 
 camera associates grinding away at the machines. 
 It was not easy work, for the wind and spray 
 often interfered with the clearness of the picture. 
 But of course that only added to the reality of it 
 when the finished picture was shown. 
 
 " Now for that scene on the far rocks," called 
 Mr. Pertell when he had brought to a satisfactory 
 conclusion a difficult part of the drama. " Are 
 you able to go out there, Miss DeVere ? " and he 
 looked anxiously at Alice. 
 
 " Oh, yes, I'm much better," she answered. 
 
 " All ready then ! " called the manager. " Russ, 
 I want one or two * close-up ' views in this, so 
 prepare yourself accordingly." 
 
THE RISING TIDE 
 
 73 
 
 " All right," answered the operator, who was 
 talking to Ruth. He put in a fresh reel of film, 
 and adjusted the camera. 
 
 A " close-up " view, I might explain, is one 
 taken with the person, or subject, very close to 
 the camera, so that it appears very large — larger 
 than usual. For instance, it might be necessary, 
 in some play, to show a certain ring. The hand 
 of the person, with the ring on the finger would 
 be held close to the camera, so that the resultant 
 picture on the screen would show every detail of 
 the ring clearly. You have often seen such views 
 in moving pictures, though you may not have 
 known what they were technically called. 
 
 The " rock scene " that was to be filmed now 
 was to take place out on a little rocky group some 
 distance from shore. It was reached by a long, 
 narrow rocky ledge that curved out into the bay. 
 Alice, Ruth and Paul were to be in this picture, 
 and Russ would plant his camera on the rocky 
 ledge, between the actors and the shore. 
 
 " Can you walk out there, Alice? " asked Paul, 
 as he stepped along beside her, Russ walking with 
 Ruth. 
 
 " Oh, yes," was the answer. " My ankle is 
 much better now. It was silly of me to slip that 
 way." 
 
 " You couldn't very well help it," he said. 
 
74 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " That seaweed is very treacherous. I hope 
 there is none on the rocks out there." 
 
 " Why ? " she asked. " Is the water deep ? " 
 
 " Rather, so that fisherman said." 
 
 " Well, I'm not going to slip," declared Alice. 
 
 It was not easy work getting out to the group 
 of rocks on the narrow path of black stone, made 
 slippery by the spray. But they managed it, and 
 finally Ruth, Alice and Paul took their places. 
 
 " All ready," called Mr. Pertell, who, with a 
 copy of the scenario in his hand stood back of 
 Russ to direct matters. " You are all supposed to 
 be talking together, and then Paul discovers a 
 sail out on the bay. You register surprise, Paul." 
 
 " Very good," answered the young actor. 
 
 I might explain that the word " register " is 
 used to indicate that an actor or actress is to de- 
 pict, or go through, the " business " of showing 
 certain emotions, either by facial expression, or 
 gestures. 
 
 " And after Paul sights the vessel, you register 
 hope, Miss Ruth," went on the manager. " All 
 ready now — begin." 
 
 So the filming of that scene went on. 
 
 " Very good," complimented the manager. 
 " Just a little more force there, Paul. Wait a 
 minute, Russ. Do that one bit over." 
 
 The scene was started over again, but it had 
 
THE RISING TIDE 75 
 
 proceeded only a minute or so before Russ gave 
 an exclamation of annoyance. 
 
 " What's the matter ? " asked Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " Spring broke," reported the operator. " I'll 
 have to go get the other camera, and it will take 
 me half an hour to get it in shape." 
 
 " Well, we'll have time enough," Mr. Pertell 
 said, with a look at the sun, which is a sort of god 
 to photographers. Without its beams little can 
 be done. " I'll go back and help you," said the 
 manager who used to be an expert operator him- 
 self before he rose in the ranks. 
 
 " You'll have to wait a bit," Russ called to 
 Ruth, Alice and Paul. " Got to fix another 
 camera." 
 
 " All right. We'll stay here," announced Alice. 
 " I don't want to make that trip again with my 
 lame ankle," and she sat down in a niche of the 
 rocks. The others followed her example. The 
 minutes passed quickly in pleasant talk, but pres- 
 ently Paul jumped to his feet. There was alarm 
 in his action. 
 
 " What's the matter? " asked Ruth, startled. 
 
 " Look ! " he said. He pointed toward the 
 shore. The path of rocks was broken midway by 
 a stretch of water. The tide had risen, cutting 
 off the retreat to the beach. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 TOO MUCH REALISM 
 
 "Oh dear!" exclaimed Ruth. It seemed a 
 silly, futile thing to say, but, perhaps, very natural 
 under the circumstances. Ruth arose, and put 
 her arms about her sister, who tottered a little as 
 she stood upright. 
 
 " The tide has risen ? " asked Alice, and her 
 tone was questioning. 
 
 " That's what has happened," went on Paul. 
 ° Pshaw ! I ought to have kept watch of it. Russ 
 was gone longer than I thought. But here we are 
 now, fairly caught." 
 
 "Can't we — can't we wade back to shore?" 
 faltered Alice. 
 
 " I wouldn't like to have you try it," answered 
 Paul, and he moved over closer to the girl. 
 
 " Why not ? " she asked. " I'm not at all afraid 
 of getting wet, and it can't be so very deep over 
 those rocks — not yet." 
 
 " It isn't that you would get wet," Paul an- 
 swered. " But the rocks were slippery enough 
 76 
 
700 MUCH REALISM yy 
 
 as they were. Covered with water, as they now 
 are between us and the shore, I'm afraid you'd 
 slip off, especially as your ankle will give you a 
 twinge if you twist it" 
 
 " It certainly will," agreed Alice. " It hurts 
 worse now. But oh! We must get back to 
 shore ! " she exclaimed. " We must ! " 
 
 " We — I — I think I could lift her over the 
 place where the water is," said Ruth. 
 
 " But you might both slip in," objected Paul. 
 " And the water is quite deep on either side of 
 this ledge of rocks. You see the ocean washes in 
 against them, and scoops out the sand. So that 
 there is a deep channel, ten feet or more, right 
 alongside of the ledge of rocks. If you fell in 
 there " 
 
 " Oh, don't speak of it ! " begged Alice. " I 
 wouldn't mind swimming if I were prepared for 
 it but it isn't exactly Summer yet, and with a 
 disabled foot " 
 
 "It isn't to be thought of," finished Ruth. 
 " But we must get ashore somehow, Paul. The 
 water is getting higher every minute." 
 
 " Yes, the tide has just begun to come in," said 
 the young actor. " I should have noticed it be- 
 fore, but I didn't. Now I wonder — " 
 
 He did not finish, but gazed back toward the 
 beach, nearly a quarter of a mile away. To his 
 
yg THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 surprise, and also alarm, not one of the members 
 of the moving picture company was in sight. 
 
 " That's strange," thought Paul, but he did not 
 speak his thought aloud. 
 
 " Oh ! " screamed Alice, so suddenly as to star- 
 tle them all. 
 
 " What is the matter ? " demanded Ruth. 
 
 "A wave splashed right up behind me! 
 Look!" 
 
 The rising wind was sending little waves over 
 the outer edge of the small island of rocks on 
 which the three were marooned. It was another 
 evidence that the tide was getting higher and 
 higher. 
 
 " What shall we do? " asked Ruth. 
 
 " We must get help — somehow! " Alice said. 
 Then she looked shoreward, in the direction Paul 
 was gazing, and she uttered the single expression : 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 But it was fraught with meaning. 
 
 " Why— they've gone ! " gasped Ruth. " What 
 — what " 
 
 " They'll be back ! " Paul interrupted. " Prob- 
 ably Mr. Pertell just thought of some scene he 
 could get, and he took them off down the beach 
 to put them all in it. They'll be back in a little 
 while, and then we can signal to them." 
 
TOO MUCH REALISM 
 
 79 
 
 " If— if it isn't too — too late ! " faltered Alice. 
 
 " Too late ? What do you mean ? " demanded 
 her sister. 
 
 " I mean these rocks will soon be covered, and 
 covered deep, too," Alice said. " The high water 
 mark is away above them." 
 
 " Is it, Paul ? " demanded the older girl. She 
 wanted the statement of Alice disproved. 
 
 " I'm afraid it is," the young actor made an- 
 swer. " And the tide, I am sorry to say, is likely 
 to be unusually high today. The moon has some- 
 thing to do with it. But we will be taken off be- 
 fore then." 
 
 " Suppose we aren't ? " asked Alice. " The 
 wind and the sea are rising, and if we are swept 
 off the rocks " 
 
 " Don't be so tragic about it ! " broke in Ruth. 
 " If we are to go to sea, and be in a shipwreck, 
 even if it is only pictured, we must learn to face 
 perils. And here we are only a little way from 
 shore." 
 
 " That's right ! " cried Paul. " That's the way 
 to look at it, Alice. There's no danger ! " 
 
 " That's easy enough for you to say — you two 
 who haven't a lame ankle," the younger girl said, 
 seriously enough. " But I don't believe I can 
 even swim ! " 
 
 " There will be no need of that," Paul said. 
 
go THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " They are sure to come back and see our plight 
 soon. I can't see what's keeping Russ. He prom- 
 ised to come back as soon as he fixed up another 
 camera. It's very strange." 
 
 Later they learned that when Russ and Mr. 
 Pertell got back to the beach, leaving, as they sup- 
 posed Ruth, her sister and Paul safe on the rocks, 
 Pop Snooks, the veteran property man discovered 
 a certain nook that would answer for an impor- 
 tant scene in the play. Wishing to take advantage 
 of it at once, while the light was good, Mr. Pertell 
 ordered the entire company over there to go 
 through the prescribed " business." He took 
 Russ and the two other camera operators with 
 him, to make sure of getting at least one film. 
 
 That is why the beach opposite the rocks where 
 the three were marooned by the rising tide, 
 was deserted just then. For the time both Mr. 
 Pertell and Russ forgot their three friends, or, if 
 they thought of them at all, it was to think that 
 they were perfectly safe, and would come to no 
 harm by waiting a bit. 
 
 The tide rose higher and higher. In a few min- 
 utes it would lap the feet of the three marooned 
 ones. A desperate resolve came into Paul's mind. 
 
 " I'll swim, or wade, to shore," he said, " and 
 get a boat." 
 
 " And leave us here? " demanded Alice. 
 
TOO MUCH REALISM gl 
 
 " Yes. There is nothing else to be done," he 
 answered, desperately. 
 
 " No, please don't go ! " begged Alice, putting 
 a detaining hand on his arm. " I can't bear to be 
 left here." 
 
 " But it will be only for a few minutes," Paul 
 said, " and the tide isn't rising so fast that it will 
 sweep you away in that time." 
 
 "I know — but — don't go!" begged Alice, her 
 voice trembling. 
 
 Paul looked at Ruth. 
 
 " Perhaps you had better stay," suggested the 
 older girl. " They are sure to come back soon, 
 and — well, we don't want to be left here." 
 
 "All right," agreed Paul. "But I think I 
 could get back with a boat in time." 
 
 However, there was no need for him to go. A 
 moment later the moving picture company, headed 
 by Russ and the two other camera men, came 
 around the turn of some sand dunes. 
 
 " There they are! " cried Ruth. 
 
 " Oh, come and get us ! " fairly screamed Alice. 
 
 Paul put his fingers to his mouth and sent out 
 a shrill whistle. 
 
 It needed only a glance on the part of Mr. 
 Pertell and the others to show the plight of the 
 three marooned ones. 
 
 "I forgot all about them!" the manager ex- 
 
82 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 claimed. " Russ — Mr. Bunn — Switzer — a boat— 
 where's that fisherman — where's the life-saving 
 station? This is " 
 
 " Avast there ! Belay ! " came the deep tones 
 of Jack Jepson, who had come out to do certain 
 parts in the shore scenes. " I'll take that boat 
 out and get 'em. Don't worry ! " 
 
 " Oh, but my daughters ! " exclaimed Mr. De- 
 Vere, hoarsely. 
 
 " And Alice with a sprained ankle ! " gasped 
 Mrs. Maguire. 
 
 " Don't worry ! I'll get 'em ! " declared the old 
 salt. " Come on," he called to Mr. Bunn. " You 
 look like you could handle an oar," and he started 
 toward a dory that was drawn up on the beach. 
 
 " I — I can't row ! " exclaimed the old actor. 
 " Besides, I might " 
 
 " Yes, he might spoil his dignity," said Russ 
 fiercely in an undertone. " I'll go with you," he 
 said to the sailor. " I can manage a boat ! " 
 
 " Good ! That's the way to talk. Come on ! " 
 
 A few minutes later Russ and Jack had shoved 
 out the fisherman's craft, and were quickly row- 
 ing toward the rocks. The tide was now so high 
 that Paul and the two girls stood ankle-deep in 
 the water that completely covered the rocks. 
 
 "Ahoy there! Ahoy!" sang out Jack, as he 
 and Russ sent the boat over the waves to the res- 
 
TOO MUCH REALISM 83 
 
 cue. " Ahoy! We'll have you safe in a minute! " 
 
 " Quick ! Get that picture ! Film it ! " cried 
 Mr. Pertell to one of the other camera men. " I 
 can work that scene in — somehow." 
 
 There was very little that was not " grist " 
 which came to the " mill '' of Mr. Pertell's cam- 
 eras. The film began to unreel and before they 
 knew it Paul, Ruth and Alice were being de- 
 picted in the rescue scene, which, when it was 
 projected on the screen, made a series of effective 
 pictures. 
 
 There was little real harm done save for wet 
 feet and startled nerves. Sufficient harm, one 
 might think, but Ruth and Alice were beginning 
 to forget they had nerves, so many were the 
 strange acts they were called upon to perform in 
 their moving picture work. 
 
 Jack and Russ helped the three into the boat, 
 and rowed to shore with them, where mutual ex- 
 planations were made, and Mr. Pertell was sor- 
 rowfully apologetic for his forgetful share in it. 
 
 "And the next time I forget about the tide, 
 when I'm at the shore, I'll fine myself a box of 
 candy to be forfeit to you girls," Paul said. 
 
 " Be sure you don't forget to pay the fine," 
 Alice warned him. 
 
 As the company had brought along several 
 changes of costume, there were dry shoes for the 
 
84 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 three marooned ones, and then, as it was too late 
 to finish the scene on the rocks, they went back to 
 New York. Some other day would have to be 
 devoted, at least in part, to completing that film. 
 
 In the days that followed, work on the Mary 
 Ellen went on apace. She was almost ready for 
 her voyage to sea. The big motorboat, Ajax, 
 was also being put in readiness. While Jack 
 Jepson and the others were busy at the schooner 
 there were also busy scenes at the studio, where 
 Mr. DeVere and his daughters took part in many 
 film plays. Nearly all the studio scenes for " Out 
 on The Deep," had been completed. 
 
 " But we must get that river attack before 
 we start on the voyage," said Mr. Pertell one 
 day. This " river attack " showed one phase of 
 the big marine drama. Ruth and Alice, in com- 
 pany with Mr. Bunn, as an old 'longshoreman, 
 were supposed to be rowed across a river to es- 
 cape harbor thieves. To get good local color 
 the location of the scene was fixed on the Jersey 
 side of the Hudson river, above the Palisades. 
 Thither those of the company required in the 
 scene journeyed one day. 
 
 All went well until the time when Mr. Bunn, 
 rather against his will, was rowing Ruth and 
 Alice toward shore. They were being pursued by 
 some rough men in a second boat. It is needless 
 
TOO MUCH REALISM g$ 
 
 to say that the " rough men," were also moving 
 picture actors. 
 
 "Go on there, Mr. Bunn! Row! Row!" 
 called Mr. Pertell, while Russ, who was with him 
 in a third boat, was making the reel hum in the 
 camera. 
 
 " I — I can't row any faster," said the old 
 " Ham " actor. 
 
 " But you must! " the manager cried. " That's 
 better," he added as Mr. Bunn showed a burst of 
 speed. 
 
 " Oh dear ! If ever I get through this series of 
 pictures I'll quit the game ! " groaned the former 
 legitimate actor. 
 
 Ruth and Alice " registered " the proper busi- 
 ness as the men in the pursuing boat came nearer 
 and nearer. The flight was to continue along the 
 Jersey shore. 
 
 " Jump out ! Jump out ! " commanded Mr. 
 Pertell, giving directions from behind a screen of 
 bushes, where he and Russ, having landed, were 
 now hidden to take the land scenes. 
 
 The girls and Mr. Bunn leaped ashore. The 
 " villains " followed, firing blank cartridges. 
 
 "Fine! That's fine!" cried the enthusiastic 
 manager, when suddenly, from a road that ran 
 along the shore, there sprang a number of country 
 
85 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 officers. They had their clubs in one hand and 
 had drawn their revolvers. 
 
 "Surrender! Surrender!" cried the leading 
 officer to the " villains," who were pursuing Mr. 
 Bunn and the girls. " Surrender ! We've got 
 you covered ! We seen you chasm' these parties ! 
 Surrender ! " and the police rushed toward the 
 actors. 
 
 " Keep back ! Keep back ! " implored Mr. 
 Pertell, leaping out of concealment and waving 
 his hands. But he was too late. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 A REVISED FILM 
 
 Just what idea the local police had in mind 
 when they rushed forward would be hard to say. 
 Evidently, however, they believed they were in- 
 tent on rescuing the girls from some imminent 
 peril, for the leader of the officers, showing not a 
 little fear, even in the heroic role he was playing, 
 fired a shot into the air, and cried : 
 
 " No you don't ! No you don't ! Nothin' like 
 that there can be done while Captain Wealson is 
 around. Up an' at 'em, men ! " 
 
 He and his men rushed toward the pursuing 
 " villains," got right in the way of the camera, 
 and proceeded to attack those whom they thought 
 Were guilty of some crime. 
 
 ** There it goes ! " cried Mr. Pertell. " The pic- 
 ture is spoiled ! It will have to be all done over 
 again." 
 
 In obedience to a gesture of despair from the 
 manager, Russ ceased grinding at the crank of 
 *lhe camera. 
 
 87 
 
88 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 "That's enough! Stop!" called Mr. Pertell, 
 and Ruth, Alice and the others who were making 
 strenuous efforts (seemingly) to escape, came to 
 a halt. Many times before they had heard that 
 command which meant that something was going 
 wrong, and that they might as well stop at once 
 without wasting effort. 
 
 " Why, I wonder what's wrong," said Alice, 
 who had not quite grasped the interruption. 
 " Everything seemed to be going beautifully." 
 
 " Perhaps the film broke," suggested Ruth. 
 
 " It's the police," Paul said, waving his hand 
 at the officers, each of whom had clutched a 
 " prisoner," and was holding him. 
 
 " The police ? " echoed Alice. 
 
 " Yes, they came in when they weren't wanted,'* 
 Paul went on. 
 
 " Oh, I thought they were part of the picture ! " 
 exclaimed Ruth. And so she had. Often, to 
 make a moving picture seem more realistic, a 
 manager will not tell the actors all he has pre- 
 pared. Thus he gets the element of surprise. 
 Both Ruth and Alice, in this case, thought the 
 local police had been brought into the scene at the 
 last moment to add a touch of reality to the play. 
 But, as it turned out, it was almost too much 
 reality. 
 
 " Say, what do you fellows mean, anyhow ? " 
 
A REVISED FILM 89 
 
 demanded the manager, of the police leader. 
 " What do you mean, I say," and Mr. Pertell 
 strode up with an angry look on his face. 
 
 " What do we mean ? Ha ! That's a good one I 
 Listen to him, boys ! What do we mean ? Why 
 we mean to arrest these scoundrels, and we've 
 done it, too! " he added proudly, with a wave of 
 his hand toward the persons his men had made 
 prisoners. 
 
 " Well, you've made a big mistake," Mr. Pertell 
 went on. 
 
 " Mistake! Ha! I guess not! " cried the offi- 
 cer. " We don't make mistakes up here ! One of 
 my men seen something queer goin' on out in the 
 river, and come and told me. Then I seen your 
 boats puttin' off, and I knew something was 
 wrong. So I got my forces together, and we 
 waited for these fellows. We've got 'em, too! 
 Every one of 'em!" he added proudly. "Lock 
 'era up, men ! " he ordered. " We'll show these 
 fellows what Jersey justice is like. Take 'em 
 away." 
 
 " Hold on ! " cried Mr. Pertell, and this time he 
 allowed a smile to show on his hitherto glum face. 
 " You don't seem to understand." 
 
 " Oh, I think I do," said the police officer 
 calmly. " I understand a great deal more than 
 you think I do. Come on." 
 
go THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Wait ! I'll explain ! " cried the manager. 
 " It's for the moving pictures ! " he added. " This 
 is only a pretended attack and pursuit. Ask the 
 young ladies themselves," he said, motioning to 
 Ruth and Alice who were now smiling. Certainly 
 they did not seem to be in any great alarm or dis- 
 tress over their recent adventure. Their appear- 
 ance must have caused the officer to doubt the 
 wisdom of his course. 
 
 "Weren't these fellers chasing you?" he de- 
 manded, motioning to the prisoners. " Now 
 don't say they wasn't, for I saw 'em." 
 
 " Oh, yes, they were pursuing us," admitted 
 Ruth, " but it was all in the picture." 
 
 " The picture? " questioned the officer. 
 
 " Yes. We are moving picture actresses and 
 actors," she went on, and her father, coming up 
 then, though he had had no active part in the 
 chase, confirmed what she said. 
 
 For a momc it the police captain maintained a 
 silence, and then, as he could no longer doubt 
 what was said, since Mr. Pertell exhibited certain 
 credentials, the representative of Jersey justice 
 said: 
 
 " Well, this certainly is one on me ! We'd 
 better go back, boys," he added to his men, and 
 we'd better keep quiet about this thing. But I 
 sure thought this was a kidnapping case." 
 
A REVISED FILM 
 
 91 
 
 '"And you spoiled my picture," groaned Mr. 
 Pertell. " Now we've got to go back to the 
 middle of the river, and do it over from there." 
 
 " Hold on a minute ! " exclaimed Pop Snooks, 
 who, as property man, was also a sort of assis- 
 tant manager. " Maybe this will turn out all 
 right after all." 
 
 " How do you mean ? " asked Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " Why, the police. We could have them try 
 to stop the pursuers but get worsted in the en- 
 counter, and the roughs could keep right on after 
 the girls. In that way we won't have to waste 
 much film. Just go on with the picture from the 
 point where these policemen came in." 
 
 Mr. Pertell thought for a minute. 
 
 "That's the idea!" he suddenly cried. "It 
 will make a better picture that way. Say ! " he 
 went on to the police officers : " You're in on 
 this!" 
 
 " In on what ? " asked the captain. 
 
 " On this scene. I can use you and your men. 
 You won't mind a little rough and tumble work, 
 will you ? " 
 
 " What do you mean? " 
 
 Thereupon the manager explained that he 
 would turn the police to good advantage, and 
 have them interfere in the attack, only to be 
 outdone by the " villains." 
 
p 2 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " It's only fair for you to do this, as you came 
 in where you weren't needed and nearly spoiled 
 the picture," the manager said. 
 
 Whether it was this appeal to justice and fair 
 play, or because he and his men were anxious to 
 get into a moving picture, was not made clear; 
 but the captain and the policemen consented to 
 do their parts. 
 
 There was a little coaching, something of a 
 rehearsal and then that scene went on again, with 
 Ruth and Alice " fleeing " from the pursuers, 
 and the police charging downhill after the men. 
 
 Then followed the improvised scene, of an 
 attack by the police, and a repulse by the " vil- 
 lains." 
 
 "Good! That's great!" cried Mr. Pertell. 
 " It will be better than I thought it would. This 
 is fine!" 
 
 " Ha ! Yes, maybe for you, but look at my 
 eye!" cried Mr. Pepper Sneed. "Look at it!" 
 
 " Well, what's the matter with it? " asked Mr. 
 Pertell. " It's a little red, that's all I can see." 
 The taking of pictures had stopped for the time 
 being. 
 
 "A little red! A little!" fairly howled the 
 grouch. " Say it will be black and blue to- 
 morrow. One of those policeman hit me in the 
 eye with his elbow. It was an awful blow. I 
 
A REVISED FILM 93 
 
 shouldn't wonder but that I went blind. Never 
 again will I take part in anything as tough as 
 this. I know I'll be laid up for a week," and 
 with this gloomy thought he limped off, for he 
 had been rather roughly handled in the melee. 
 
 "I wonder if that's all for us today?" asked 
 Alice, as she saw Russ taking the legs off his 
 camera. 
 
 " Why, are you tired ? " asked Ruth, solici- 
 tously. 
 
 " A little, yes. I shall be glad when we get 
 out to sea." 
 
 " Perhaps we may have even harder work than 
 this," suggested Ruth, for the race along shore 
 had not been easy. " A shipwreck isn't going to 
 be any society drama, Alice." 
 
 " I know," agreed the younger girl. " But I 
 think we shall like it." 
 
 Neither of them realized what was in store 
 for them. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 OVERHEARD 
 
 "Well, I think this will do," Mr. Pertell 
 announced, as the members of his company 
 gathered on the shore of the Hudson, ready to 
 go back to the larger boat, whence they had come 
 in the two small ones, to depict the pursuit. " It 
 came out better than I expected when I saw that 
 crowd of policemen charging down on us." 
 
 " I thought sure we were in for a spell in the 
 lock-up," remarked one of the extra men en- 
 gaged as a member of the " pursuing villains." 
 
 " You had a little extra work, doing part of 
 the scene over again, so we'll give you all a little 
 bonus," said the manager. " We'll get back to 
 the studio now. There are a few scenes I want to 
 make before we start off on our trip to sea." 
 
 " How soon do we go ? " asked Alice. 
 
 " As soon as we can get stocked up. Captain 
 Brisco has a few little repairs to make to the 
 schooner, I believe." 
 
 " Do you think the Mary Ellen will prove to 
 94 
 
OVERHEARD 
 
 95 
 
 be a safe boat in which to go to sea ? " asked 
 Mr. DeVere, when he, with his daughters, and 
 the others, were on their way back to New York. 
 
 " Why not ? " asked the manager. 
 
 " Well, I heard Jack Jepson say the schooner 
 was a pretty old one," replied the veteran actor. 
 
 " So she is," said Mr. Pertell, " if she hadn't 
 been, our company never could have afforded to 
 buy her just to make a shipwreck of her. But 
 she is perfectly safe for what traveling we shall 
 do. Brisco has assured me of that, and has seen 
 to it. What sort of a yarn was Jepson giving 
 you ? " and Mr. Pertell seemed a bit annoyed. 
 
 " Well, he merely said that the schooner was a 
 pretty old one," went on Mr. DeVere, " and that 
 she had seen her best days." 
 
 " He didn't say that she was unsafe, did he ? " 
 
 " No, oh, no! Nothing like that! " exclaimed 
 the actor quickly. " I was just wondering about 
 her. I shouldn't like to take any chances you 
 know," and he glanced over toward his daughters 
 who had no part in this conversation. 
 
 " Oh, the Mary Ellen will be as safe as is 
 necessary," the manager continued. " Besides we 
 will be in Southern waters after we leave here, 
 and there will be little danger from storms." 
 
 " I am glad of that," Mr. DeVere said. " A 
 warm Southern clime will be beneficial to my 
 
9 6 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE G/RLS AT SEA 
 
 throat. It does not take kindly to our Northern 
 weather, even at the best." 
 
 In the days that followed there was plenty of 
 work for the moving picture girls in the film 
 studio. They had to take part in several little 
 dramas that had to be completed before the sea 
 scenes in the ocean play were undertaken. 
 
 " Anything much to do this afternoon ? " asked 
 Russ of Ruth as he passed her near her dressing 
 room one day about a week after the episode of 
 the mistaken policemen. 
 
 " No, I am free," she announced. " They have 
 postponed that ' In the Slums ' and I'm glad of it. 
 I don't care for such characters as I have to as- 
 sume in a play like that." 
 
 " Nor I. I'm off for the afternoon, too. What 
 do you say we take Alice, and go for a little trip 
 to the Erie Basin? " 
 
 " To see the Mary Ellen again ? There can't 
 be much change since we saw her last." 
 
 " No, not exactly to see her, though we could 
 pay a visit if we liked. But you know we are 
 to have a big motorboat follow us in the ocean 
 scenes — I'm to take pictures from it, in fact — 
 and that motorboat — the Ajax — is over in the 
 Basin, near the old schooner. I thought maybe 
 you'd like to take a look at her." 
 
 " I would ! " exclaimed Ruth with enthusiasm. 
 
OVERHEARD 97 
 
 I'll tell Alice. She is disengaged, I know, for I 
 heard Mr. Pertell tell her so." 
 
 " I'm sorry we can't go for a trip in her," went 
 on Russ, " but she isn't in shape yet. I have to 
 go over to give some directions about building a 
 platform for setting the camera on, and I thought 
 we might combine business and pleasure." 
 
 " It will be a pleasure to go," said Ruth, as she 
 went off to find her sister. 
 
 " Tell Paul, too, if you see him," Russ called 
 after her. " We'll make a party of it." 
 
 "All right," Ruth answered. 
 
 She found Paul and Alice together — just as 
 she half expected — and mentioned Russ's plan. 
 
 Paul was cast for a role in a little play that 
 afternoon, but he spoke to Mr. Pertell about it, 
 and the manager kindly postponed it, as it was not 
 very important. 
 
 So, after lunch the four young people started 
 for the place where the Ajax was being over- 
 hauled, not far from the dock of the Mary 
 Ellen. On the way they talked of their plans 
 when they should be at sea. It had been given 
 out at the studio that they would all go aboard 
 the Mary Ellen, which would be headed for the 
 Florida coast. Somewhere off that peninsula, 
 just where had not been decided, the moving 
 pictures would be made, and the shipwreck 
 
9 8 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 would take place. The details had not yet been 
 perfected. 
 
 " Are you going to travel alone in the motor- 
 boat? " asked Alice of Russ. 
 
 " No indeed. She is to be carried in a cradle 
 
 on the deck of the Mary Ellen, and " 
 
 '"A cradle!" interrupted Alice. "Whoever 
 heard of a boat being put in a cradle, as if it were 
 a baby!" 
 
 " Well, the Ajax is going to be rocked in the 
 cradle of the deep, isn't she?" asked Paul. 
 
 "Oh, what a heartless joke!" mocked Ruth. 
 
 " Just for that you'll be fined four ice cream 
 sodas ! " laughed Alice. 
 
 " No, but speaking seriously," went on Russ, 
 " the Ajax will be cradled on the deck of the 
 schooner ; that is, the motorboat will be set in two 
 V shaped affairs, called cradles. That's to pre- 
 vent her rolling off into the high seas." 
 
 " Do you think it will be rough? " asked Ruth, 
 with an apprehensive look over her shoulder, as 
 though she already saw a " hurricane in the off- 
 ing," as her sister laughingly put it. 
 
 " Well, you know we have to wait for a storm, 
 to get some of the scenes," Russ said. " Of 
 course the weather often gets pretty bad in these 
 Southern waters, in spite of their peaceful name," 
 he continued, " but I don't suppose Mr. Pertell 
 
OVERHEARD 99 
 
 will venture out far from the harbor in a bad 
 blow. Even a little wind will kick up enough 
 sea to make it look pretty rough in a picture." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mind a storm ! " exclaimed Alice. 
 " I just love it." 
 
 "Oh — Alice!" cried her sister. "You know 
 you'll be as frightened as I'll be." 
 
 " We'll see," challenged the younger girl with 
 sparkling eyes and a flush on her cheeks. 
 
 They found the Ajax, after some little dif- 
 ficulty, among a score of other boats, in process 
 of repair. 
 
 " Oh, what a big one ! " exclaimed Alice as she 
 caught sight of the craft. " I do hope you'll give 
 us a ride in her, Russ." 
 
 " Of course I shall, between times of taking 
 pictures," he promised. " What do you think of 
 her, Paul?" 
 
 " Pretty fine," agreed the young actor. " Has 
 she any speed ? " 
 
 " Not much, I guess. It's an old sort of tub, 
 but pretty steady in the water, Mr. Pertell said. 
 " That's what I want for taking pictures. It 
 won't do to have her rolling and pitching. Well, 
 let's go aboard, and see how they're coming on." 
 
 Russ had a permit to view the craft, and as he 
 was expected to give some instructions regard- 
 ing the building of the platform, the man in 
 
IOO THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 charge of the overhauling work welcomed the 
 four young people. 
 
 The Ajax was, as Russ had said, rather a tub, 
 but it was a large, comfortable boat, and was 
 capable of going on quite a cruise. There was a 
 partially enclosed cabin, and many comforts and 
 conveniences. But just for the present purpose, 
 everything was being subordinated to the taking 
 of moving pictures. 
 
 " I'm readjusting the motor," the head of the 
 repair gang told Russ, " so she'll start and stop, 
 as well as reverse easily and quickly. That's 
 what you want, isn't it? " 
 
 " That's it, yes. You see I can't tell when I'll 
 have to shift, to make allowances for what the 
 actors and actresses will do. There's no telling 
 about these moving picture people," and Russ 
 gave Ruth and Alice, as well as Paul, a laughing 
 look as though to indicate that they were very 
 temperamental, and hard to get along with. 
 
 "Are these some of the actor folks?" asked 
 the mechanic who was laboring over the motor. 
 
 " That's what they are, and good ones, too ! " 
 cried Russ. 
 
 " Gee ! They don't look it ! " was the frank re- 
 mark, and the two girls broke into peals of laugh- 
 ter. 
 
 Paul and Russ showed Ruth and Alice over the 
 
OVERHEARD I0I 
 
 big motorboat, and then leaving the three to their 
 own devices for a while, the young camera oper- 
 ator went into details of the work with the head 
 mechanic. Russ was told that the Ajax would be 
 ready in plenty of time for him. He expressed 
 himself as satisfied with the progress made, 
 though he made one or two slight changes in the 
 platform, built on the forward deck of the craft, 
 where he was to stand when he took the pictures 
 of the shipwreck. 
 
 "Well, how about those sodas now?" asked 
 Russ of his companions when he had finished. 
 " There's a nice place a few blocks up, and it's 
 about warm enough for ice cream." 
 
 " Couldn't we take just a look at the Mary 
 Ellen while we are here?" asked Alice. "Isn't 
 that she, over there ? " and she pointed across the 
 basin. 
 
 " You speak of that ship as if she were a per- 
 son," objected Ruth. 
 
 " And so she is ! " Alice exclaimed. " A ship 
 is always a lady, isn't she, Paul ? " 
 
 " She ought to try to be, at least," he laughed. 
 " How about it, Russ ? Shall we take the girls 
 over to the schooner ? " 
 
 " Might as well, I guess. It won't take long, 
 and it isn't far." 
 
 A short time later the four of them stood at 
 
102 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 the gangplank of the Mary Ellen. They saw no 
 signs of any men on deck, but they were doubtless 
 below, making the repairs, which must be nearly 
 finished. 
 
 " Come on," said Russ, leading the way. 
 " We'll go aboard." 
 
 As they stood on deck, looking about them, 
 they saw no one, but the companionway was in 
 plain sight, and they started toward it, intending 
 to go down into the main cabin. 
 
 The place was rather dimly lighted, but when 
 their eyes had become used to the gloom, they 
 caught sight of a solitary figure in the forward 
 end of the main compartment. 
 
 " It's Jack Jepson," whispered Alice to her com- 
 panions. " We'll give him a surprise. Keep 
 quiet now. His back is toward me and I'll tiptoe 
 up behind him and put my hands over his eyes. 
 I'll make him guess who it is. He'll think some 
 British suffragette has taken him on that silly 
 charge of mutiny," she went on. 
 
 " Be careful," admonished Ruth. " No pranks, 
 Alice." 
 
 " This isn't a prank. Keep quiet now." 
 
 The old sailor was evidently not aware that 
 visitors were in the cabin, for they had made little 
 noise in descending the companion stairs, and 
 
OVERHEARD 
 
 103 
 
 what little they had caused was drowned by the 
 distant noise of carpenters' hammers. 
 
 As Alice advanced, the others remaining back 
 in the semi-darkness, they all heard Jack Jepson 
 break into a sort of monologue. He was talking 
 to himself, in fashion something like this. 
 
 " It ought to be hereabouts, if it's anywhere, 
 and I'm sure it is. I can't be mistaken. They 
 have cut her down, and made a lot of changes, 
 but they can't fool me. I was suspicious when I 
 first came aboard, and I'm more so every minute. 
 I'm going to find out for sure, while I have the 
 chance. Let me think now." 
 
 He leaned up against a bulkhead, while Alice 
 glanced back at her friends in some surprise. 
 What meant the words they had overheard ? The 
 old sailor seemed strangely excited, and he was 
 passing his hand over the paneling of the cabin as 
 though in search of something long forgotten, or 
 dimly remembered. 
 
 A moment later another step was heard in the 
 apartment, and Captain Brisco entered. He 
 started at the sight of Jepson, though the com- 
 mander had not yet seen the four young people. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" he asked in a 
 hoarse voice. The old salt started back as though 
 caught in some guilty act. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 "all aboard! " 
 
 Ruth, Alice, Paul and Russ remained silent 
 and unseen witnesses of the little scene being en- 
 acted before them. It was like some section taken 
 from a moving picture drama, though they could 
 not guess what the plot was, nor what the outcome 
 would be. 
 
 '■' What are you doing here, Mr. Jepson ? " 
 asked Captain Brisco, and there was sarcasm in 
 the title he bestowed on his mate, for since he was 
 third in command, having been given the post of 
 second mate, the old salt was entitled to be called 
 Mister. 
 
 " I was jest — jest lookin' — lookin' — " Jepson 
 faltered. 
 
 " Well, you'd better look forward then," came 
 the harsh command. " There's plenty to do there, 
 if we're ever to start on this voyage, and of all 
 the " 
 
 At that moment Alice sneezed. She could not 
 help it, and in trying to hold it back, she made 
 104 
 
"ALL ABOARD I" 10 $ 
 
 more of a commotion than if she had let the 
 sneeze come naturally. 
 
 At the sound Captain Brisco and Jack Jepson 
 turned and stared toward the dimness that 
 marked the companionway. 
 
 " Who's there ? " called Captain Brisco, sharply. 
 
 "We just came aboard to see how matters 
 were coming on," said Russ stepping forward and 
 under a skylight. 
 
 " But we didn't expect to be welcomed with 
 snuff," said Alice, as she sneezed again. This 
 time Ruth joined her. There was an irritating 
 odor noticeable in the cabin. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," Captain Brisco said, as 
 the others stepped closer to Russ, so they could be 
 discerned. " I didn't know who it was. I am 
 glad to see you. That's a paint-remover you 
 smell. It is irritating. I am very glad to see 
 you." 
 
 But he did not say it at all as though he meant 
 it. Alice said afterward she thought her sneeze 
 had broken in on the captain's denunciation of the 
 proposed sea voyage. 
 
 " It was just as though he were going to say^ 
 it was the most foolish and nonsensical thing of 
 which he had ever heard," Alice explained. " Oh, 
 why did I have to go and sneeze just then? " 
 
 " Did you want to hear what he would have 
 said ? " asked her sister. 
 
io 6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Yes, I did. I don't like Captain Brisco." 
 
 " You mustn't say such things," Ruth cau- 
 tioned her. But this was some time later. 
 
 Just at present the commander of the Mary 
 Ellen was trying to make his unexpected guests 
 feel a welcome he rather grudgingly extended. 
 
 " We have been over looking at the Ajax" ex- 
 plained Russ, " and we thought we'd stop in and 
 pay you a call." 
 
 " Oh, yes, I'm to carry the Ajax on deck, I be- 
 lieve," the commander said. " Well, you'll find 
 us all pretty busy here," he went on. " Mr. Jep- 
 son, will you kindly go forward and see how the 
 men are coming on with that caulking ? " 
 
 It was a very different voice from the one he 
 had used when Ruth, Alice and the others had 
 been unseen listeners. 
 
 " What about the mainmast ? " asked Sailor 
 Jack. " It's sprung, as I told you it was, and un- 
 less those stays " 
 
 " I'll look after that ! " interrupted the captain. 
 " You do as I tell you, and leave that mast to me." 
 
 " But you said that it didn't need — " persisted 
 the second mate. 
 
 " Never you mind what I said ! " and the com- 
 mander's voice was harsh. " I'll look after that. 
 Now you go forward ! " 
 
 It was more in the nature of a command than is 
 
"ALL ABOARD!" j Q y 
 
 usual between captain and mate. The girls felt 
 this, as well as did the boys. But they said noth- 
 ing. 
 
 " Come along and see how we are progressing," 
 continued Captain Brisco in more genial tones, as 
 Jack Jepson left the cabin. 
 
 " Then you are going to be ready in time ? " 
 asked Paul. 
 
 " Ahead of time," said the commander, boast- 
 fully. 
 
 " That's good ! " exclaimed Russ. " Mr. Pertell 
 is anxious not to be delayed." 
 
 " He won't be on my account," Captain Brisco 
 assured the young operator. " A few more de- 
 tails, and we'll be ready for sea. About time, too, 
 for this good weather won't hold any too long 
 down among those West Indian islands." 
 
 " Oh, are we going there ? " asked Alice. 
 "That will be delightful!" 
 
 " I thought we were to go only to Florida," 
 Ruth remarked. 
 
 " There has been a slight change in the plans," 
 the captain said. " Mr. Pertell and I decided on 
 it. I believe it is not generally known yet, but 
 there is no secret about it. I told him he could get 
 better results by going a little farther south than 
 merely along the Florida coast, down toward 
 some of the West Indies, and he agreed with 
 me. 
 
I0 8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " The West Indies," mused Alice as she fol- 
 lowed the others about the refinished schooner. 
 " I wonder if we will get near the ' Hole in the 
 Wall' that Jack told about? I'd like to see it, 
 but I suppose a hole in the water is a pretty hard 
 thing to find." 
 
 Alice wondered whether she would see the old 
 sailor before they went ashore again. She had 
 taken quite a fancy to him, as had Ruth, and the 
 old salt, on his part, seemed to like the moving 
 picture girls more than any other members of the 
 Comet Film Company. 
 
 " I wonder what he was doing all alone there 
 in the cabin ? " mused Alice as she hung back a 
 little while the others were examining some 
 changes that had been made in the dining-cabin. 
 " It seemed as though he were trying to discover 
 some secret panel, a passage or hiding place, or 
 something like that. And Captain Brisco cer- 
 tainly was rather brusque about it. I do hope 
 there won't be any quarreling or mutiny aboard 
 the Mary Ellen when we put out to sea." 
 
 For a time Alice was a little alarmed, but she 
 soon recovered her composure, and was able to 
 take her part in the conversation. 
 
 The Mary Ellen was indeed assuming a " ship- 
 shape " appearance. The litter that had ob- 
 structed her decks on the first visit had given 
 
ALL ABOARD!" 
 
 109 
 
 place to a semblance of neatness. The craft had 
 been newly painted and she glistened in the sun, 
 her brass work having been highly polished. 
 
 " A few more days and we'll pull out of here," 
 announced Captain Brisco, as they went up on 
 deck. " Then I suppose you folks will begin to 
 cut up all sorts of capers," and he smiled indul- 
 gently. He seemed to have recovered his good 
 nature, or, rather, perhaps, to have summoned 
 some of it to be used on this occasion, 
 
 " Well, we'll leave the ' cutting-up ' to Mr. 
 Switzer," said Paul with a laugh. " He's the 
 comedian of the company." 
 
 One of the workmen approached and asked the 
 captain some question. It seemed to be about 
 pumps, though the girls did not understand it 
 very clearly. 
 
 " You needn't bother to mend those valves," 
 the commander said. " We shan't need the 
 pumps anyhow, and there's no use putting too 
 much time and work on the old hulk. Pertell 
 told me to get her ready for sea so she'd last a 
 reasonable length of time. They're going to 
 wreck her anyhow, you know." 
 
 " Yes, I know. But those pumps " 
 
 " Let 'em go ! " the commander ordered. 
 " Now about those stays," and he and the sailor 
 plunged into a mass of technical details in which 
 
IIO THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 the moving picture girls were not interested, nor, 
 I am sure, would you be, my readers. 
 
 In spite of all the work that had been done on 
 the Mary Ellen, she was still far from being a 
 fine ship. Many things were left undone, as they 
 would not show in a picture. As the captain had 
 said, Mr. Pertell was not desirous of putting too 
 much time or expense on her, just to send her to 
 the bottom after a few days' use. Still the craft 
 had to be rendered seaworthy, as some views 
 were to be taken showing her progress down the 
 coast to the Florida Straits. 
 
 A little later Captain Brisco was called below, 
 and he took leave of his visitors, saying he would 
 be busy for some hours. 
 
 " Well, it's time for us to go," Ruth said. 
 " We promised to meet daddy at dinner," she 
 added to her sister. 
 
 Alice assented and looked around, as though in 
 search of someone. 
 
 "What is it?" Ruth asked. 
 
 '* I was looking for Jack, to say good-bye. 
 There he is over there, and she pointed to the old 
 man polishing the brass work of the binnacle in 
 front of the steering wheel. " I'm going over 
 and speak to him," she added. 
 
 Jack Jepson had his back toward Alice, and 
 was not aware of her approach. She heard him 
 
 I 
 
"ALL ABOARD!" IIX 
 
 murmuring to himself, and the words sounded 
 strange to her — as strange as the first ones she 
 had overheard from him that day. 
 
 " It'll never do ! It'll never do ! " Jack Jepson 
 was saying. " It's criminal wrong, that's what it 
 is. But I'll jest keep a sharp watch, an' at the 
 first sign of danger, I'll — " 
 
 Then he heard the footfall of Alice on the 
 deck, and turned quickly. He smiled at her, and 
 the smile was in strange contrast to his rather 
 ominous words. As Alice knew very little about 
 the sea or boats, she paid no attention. 
 
 " I came to bid you good-bye," she said. " We 
 are going back to New York now, but we'll soon 
 be aboard here for a long stay, I hope. My, how 
 nice everything looks ! " 
 
 " Yes, but it — it's too nice ! " exclaimed Jack. 
 
 *' Too nice ? What do you mean ? " she asked 
 wonderingly. 
 
 " Oh, well, nothing, Miss Alice. You wouldn't 
 understand. I'm glad to see you. This isn't a 
 mate's work, properly speakin','' he said, as he 
 indicated the box of polish, " but then we haven't 
 started discipline yet. We'll do that at sea." 
 
 " And I'll hope we'll soon be out on the deep," 
 voiced Alice. 
 
 A week later the entire moving picture com- 
 pany that was to take part in the marine drama 
 
II2 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 assembled at the dock where the Mary Ellen had 
 been refitted for her last voyage. Stores and 
 provisions had been put aboard, the Ajax lay 
 stowed in the cradle on deck, and the members of 
 the company, the moving picture operators and 
 the manager and his assistants, had sent their bag- 
 gage aboard. There was plenty of extra film. 
 
 " All aboard ! " called Captain Brisco, and the 
 gangplank was about to be hauled in. " All 
 aboard! We won't wait for him! " he went on, 
 speaking to the first mate and to Mr. Pertell who 
 stood near him. 
 
 " Won't wait for whom ? " Alice heard Mr. 
 Pertell ask. 
 
 " A new hand I hired at the last minute. He's 
 a good navigator, better than Jepson, and that's 
 why I took him on. But he isn't here, and so 
 we'll go without him." 
 
 " Not short-handed, are you ? " asked the man- 
 ager, rather anxiously. 
 
 " No, not for this voyage. I think " 
 
 But the captain was interrupted by a shout up 
 the wharf. A man, seemingly a sailor, came run- 
 ning toward the schooner. 
 
 " There he is now ! " the captain exclaimed. 
 " All aboard. Hurry up, my man, or you'll be 
 left." 
 
 The man flung himself on the gangplank which 
 
"ALL ABOARD!" H^ 
 
 was separated from the dock by some little dis- 
 tance. He scrambled aboard, and just then, 
 Alice, standing near Jack Jepson, heard the old 
 sailor utter an exclamation of surprise, and mur- 
 mur: 
 
 " Can that be him ? Can that be him — after 
 these years ? No, it can't be ! " 
 
 " All aboard ! " cried Captain Brisco. And the 
 Mary Ellen, in charge of a fussy little tug, began 
 moving away from the dock. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 OVERBOARD 
 
 Alice was so impressed with what she had 
 heard sailor Jack say, that, in spite of the desire 
 to give all her attention to the start of the voyage, 
 destined to be so momentous, she looked first at 
 Jepson and then at the new arrival. The latter 
 appeared to be an ordinary sailor, but there was a 
 commanding air about him, as though he were 
 used to having his own way. But he was suffi- 
 ciently subservient to Captain Brisco, saluting 
 the commander in formal fashion. 
 
 " You're late ! " growled Captain Brisco. 
 
 " Yes — couldn't help it," was the almost cheer- 
 ful answer. " You knew I wouldn't be left 
 though, didn't you? " 
 
 " Well, I wasn't sure of it," Alice heard the 
 captain answer. " Get below, and then we'll talk 
 later." 
 
 Alice turned to see how Jack Jepson was taking 
 this. The old salt seemed to be listening intently, 
 but he had his back turned. 
 114 
 
OVERBOARD 
 
 "5 
 
 " He knows that man who j ust came aboard," 
 decided Alice, " and there is something queer 
 about it all. In fact there is something queer 
 about this vessel and Captain Brisco. I feel as 
 though I were in the midst of a mystery. I'm 
 going to see if I can't solve it." 
 
 That was Alice's way. She always did like to 
 solve puzzles, from the time when she was a small 
 child, and she went at this one in much the same 
 way as had been her habit in the case of the sim- 
 ple ones in the juvenile papers she took when a 
 little girl. 
 
 " There's something between Captain Brisco, 
 Jack Jepson and this new man," Alice decided. 
 " Jack is afraid of being recognized, and yet he 
 wants to make sure who this new man is. Can it 
 have anything to do with the mutiny, I won- 
 der?" 
 
 It was a question she could not answer just 
 then. She resolved to be on the watch, to look 
 and listen, without saying much, until she had in 
 her mental grasp some of the loose ends of the 
 puzzle. 
 
 Ruth was some distance off, talking to her 
 father. Mr. DeVere, in spite of the warmth of 
 the day, had a light silk scarf about his throat, 
 which had pained him during the night. The 
 other members of the company were scattered 
 
H6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 about the schooner which was being towed out to 
 sea. Miss Pennington and Miss Dixon were 
 waving to some young men who had come to see 
 them off. Mr. Wellington Bunn's face wore a 
 glum look. Perhaps he saw no chance of doing 
 anything with his favorite role of Hamlet in this 
 marine story that was soon to be enacted. 
 
 Alice heard Jack muttering to himself. She 
 could not catch all the words, but she heard him 
 say: 
 
 " Yes, it must be the same one ! He hasn't 
 changed much — not as much as I have. He won't 
 know me. But what am I to do ? " 
 
 The old salt's musings, however, were cut 
 short, for Captain Brisco called to him. 
 
 " I say there, Mr. Jepson," ordered the com- 
 mander, " will you go forward, and see how the 
 bitts are standing up under the strain of that 
 hawser? I don't want them to pull out, and 
 they're none too strong. Lively now ! " 
 
 "Aye, aye, sir!" dutifully answered the sec- 
 ond mate, and he shuffled off along the deck, 
 while Captain Brisco and the new arrival went 
 below, being, apparently, on very friendly terms. 
 
 " And that is another queer part of it," 
 mused Alice. " That new man is supposed to be 
 a common sailor — he must be, as all the offices, 
 from captain down, are filled. And yet Captain 
 
OVERBOARD uf 
 
 Brisco treats him as an equal. I can't understand 
 
 it." 
 
 None of the others of the moving picture com- 
 pany appeared to find anything odd in the recep- 
 tion of the man who had almost been left. In 
 fact, save for Alice and Jack Jepson, no one paid 
 any attention to him. As the captain and the new 
 man whom he had addressed as " Hen Lacomb " 
 went below, the attention of Alice was taken by 
 Ruth. 
 
 " Don't you think, dear," her sister said, " that 
 we had better get our possessions in order. I un- 
 derstand that some pictures are to be taken aboard 
 the schooner here, and we will want to get our 
 costumes out where we can easily reach them." 
 
 " I suppose so," murmured Alice. " But I 
 wonder who he is?" she added, half uncon- 
 sciously. 
 
 "What in the world are you talking about?" 
 asked Ruth in some surprise. " Do you mean 
 that young man who was waving to Miss 
 Dixon?" for a certain youth seemed very loath 
 to bid farewell to the former variety actress. 
 
 "Yes. Who is he?" asked Alice, accepting 
 this chance to get out of answering, though what 
 she had meant was the identity of the mysterious 
 Hen Lacomb, and not the youth on the dock. 
 
 " I've seen him before," Ruth said. 
 
n g THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Who ? " asked Alice quickly, her mind stil! 
 intent on the mystery. 
 
 " Why, Alice, how odd you are ! That young 
 man of whom we are speaking, to be sure. I 
 mean I've seen him around the studio. He seems 
 to be quite impressed by Miss Dixon." 
 
 " Yes," said Alice, vaguely. " Well, let's go 
 below," she suggested. " You notice how nauti- 
 cal I'm getting," she went on. 
 
 " Forgetful you mean," supplemented Ruth. 
 " Well, anyhow, we have fine weather for the 
 start." 
 
 The schooner was well out from the dock now, 
 and the pilot was in charge, so there was nothing 
 for Captain Brisco to do for the present. He had 
 gone to his cabin, and the stranger, or, rather, 
 Hen Lacomb, to give him the name bestowed on 
 him, was with the commander. 
 
 " I wish I knew what they were talking about," 
 said Alice, and, without intending to do so, she 
 spoke aloud. 
 
 " Who? " asked Ruth. " Really, you are say- 
 ing the strangest things this morning, Sister 
 mine! " 
 
 " Oh, I was thinking — thinking — " 
 
 Alice was rather at a loss for words to explain. 
 
 " You must have some of your new roles on 
 the brain," went on Ruth. " I know I've been 
 
OVERBOARD ug 
 
 doing a lot of thinking over mine. They are 
 nearly all nice ones, I'm glad to say, but I don't 
 like the parts we have to take in the shipwreck. 
 Fancy having actually to jump into the water." 
 
 That was one of the things required, according 
 to the scenario. 
 
 " There's no danger," Alice said, as she and 
 her sister reached the stateroom they were to 
 share. 
 
 " Oh, but think of sharks in those Southern 
 waters ! " 
 
 " I'm not going to think of them," declared 
 Alice. " Besides, we shall be in the water only a 
 short time, and the motorboat will pick us up. 
 It will be nice and warm." 
 
 The plan of the shipwreck included the jump- 
 ing overboard of some of the company, and their 
 rescue in small boats, or by the motorboat Ajax, 
 that would follow, with Russ in it taking the 
 moving pictures of the " thrilling scenes." 
 
 " Well, that doesn't come until toward the 
 end," Ruth remarked, " so I'm not going to think 
 about it until then. Now let's unpack." 
 
 Ruth and Alice had comfortable, if rather re- 
 stricted, quarters in a small cabin containing two 
 bunks. Their father was near them, and the 
 other members of the company had rooms scat- 
 tered about. The ship's crew, of course, berthed 
 
I2 o THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 forward, and the two mates, of whom Jack Jep« 
 son was one, were quartered with the captain. 
 Alice wondered what would be the standing of 
 Hen Lacomb. 
 
 She learned a little later when she saw him 
 taking his bag " aft." That meant he was to be 
 treated as an officer. There is all the difference 
 in the world on a sailing ship, whether a man 
 bunks " forward " or " aft." In the latter case 
 he is either an officer or a passenger, and in the 
 former case he is classed as a member of the 
 crew, a " foremast hand," and, as such, has no 
 authority. 
 
 " Hen Lacomb is evidently someone in power," 
 decided Alice, though she said nothing to her 
 sister or father, or even Jack. She managed to 
 learn, by judicious questions, that Hen, as she 
 began to think of him, was a friend of Captain 
 Brisco, and a sort of passenger-helper on the 
 Mary Ellen. 
 
 And now that the voyage was really started, 
 those who were to take part in the play began to 
 consider their roles. 
 
 In brief the plan was this. The schooner, un- 
 der her own sail, would proceed to the warm West 
 Indian waters and clime, and there, when suit- 
 able surroundings were found, the taking of the 
 main scenes in the big drama would begin. 
 
OVERBOARD 121 
 
 I shall not weary you with an account of the 
 trip down. In spite of her age, the schooner 
 proved a good sailor, for she had been well re- 
 fitted, even if she was to be wrecked. Day after 
 day passed and the sun shone warmer as they 
 came farther and farther south. 
 
 Some few scenes were filmed aboard the craft, 
 but there was not much work for anyone, and the 
 time was most enjoyable. Even Mr. Sneed, the 
 " human grouch," consented to smile, now and 
 then. 
 
 They passed Key West, but did not dock, and 
 kept on. Alice wondered if they would come 
 near the " Hole in the Wall," but she did not like 
 to ask, for fear of making trouble for Jack. She 
 did not know how much of his story he wanted 
 known to those aboard the ship. 
 
 It was a warm, sunny day, and Mr. Pertell 
 had announced that he would begin some of the 
 more important scenes of the drama in a short 
 time. The Mary Ellen was plowing through the 
 blue waters, bending over under a good wind. 
 Nearly all the members of the company were out 
 on deck, under awnings. Alice saw Jack Jepson 
 at some work on the port rail, and noticed Hen 
 Lacomb and the captain stroll toward him. The 
 two latter seemed to converse for a few minutes, 
 
I22 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 when suddenly there was a heavy lurch and roll 
 
 to the craft. 
 
 " Mind your helm there ! " sang out Captain 
 
 Brisco angrily to the steersman. At the same time 
 
 there rang out a cry from Hen Lacomb. 
 " Man overboard ! Man overboard ! " 
 Alice, startled, leaped to her feet. Jack Jej> 
 
 son had disappeared! 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 " SAIL HO ! " 
 
 Alice DeVere was not an ordinary sort of 
 girl. She may have been, once, but that was be- 
 fore her advent in moving pictures. There had 
 been times when a sudden emergency would cause 
 her to feel faint, if not actually to succumb to 
 that interesting ailment, which is so useful, es- 
 pecially in stories and books. 
 
 But Alice, who was the nearest to the scene of 
 what had just happened, neither fainted, nor be- 
 came unduly excited. She had seen too many 
 emergencies in the work of taking moving pic- 
 tures to become " rattled," which is not used in a 
 slangy sense at all, but merely to indicate that 
 one's nerves vibrate too rapidly. Consequently, 
 after her first scream, Alice was almost as calm 
 and collected as could be expected of a veteran 
 sailor. 
 
 "Man overboard!" Alice cried, echoing the 
 shout of Hen Lacomb, who, she noticed, after his 
 first hesitation, began lowering a boat, or trying 
 to, for it needed two at that task. 
 123 
 
124 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " I'll help ! " cried Alice rushing to the aid of 
 the strange man who seemed so friendly with 
 Captain Brisco. 
 
 "Oh — you — !" he exclaimed, with a swift 
 look at her. Then he resumed the work of loos- 
 ing the ropes so they would run freely in the pul- 
 ley blocks of the davits. 
 
 Meanwhile Captain Brisco had bawled out an 
 order to the helmsman to bring the ship up in the 
 wind. A sailor had tossed overboard a life-ring, 
 and then came to help Lacomb lower the boat, for 
 Alice found it beyond her strength, eager as she 
 was. 
 
 " There he is ! " cried Russ, as he rushed to the 
 rail beside Alice. He pointed to the water. For- 
 tunately the sea was smooth, and rising and fall- 
 ing on the waves could be seen the head of the 
 old sailor. 
 
 " Oh ! Oh ! " gasped Ruth, who glided over to 
 the side of Alice. " If — if a shark should come 
 now." 
 
 " There aren't any around here ! " declared 
 Russ. He did not know whether there were or 
 not, but he said that to make the girls feel more 
 comfortable. After all, if there were sharks, 
 whatever he said would be of no effect, and it 
 was better to take the best view of it, he thought. 
 
 " Lower away ! " cried Hen Lacomb, and the 
 
"SAIL HO!" I2 5 
 
 boat went down to the water. Two sailors, be- 
 side himself, slid down the ropes into it, and took 
 the oars. They cast off the davit blocks, and be- 
 gan rowing toward the bobbing head. Old Jack 
 could swim well, it seemed, in spite of his age. 
 The water was warm, and it was broad daylight, 
 so he was in comparatively little danger — except 
 from sharks and from the fact that he had on his 
 clothes, which would soon become soaked and 
 hamper him. 
 
 But no sharks appeared; that menacing tri- 
 angular fin which marks them was not seen cut- 
 ting the water, and no big twelve-foot man-eater 
 was observed to turn on his back in order to 
 bring his curious, under-shot mouth with its rows 
 of keen teeth to bear on poor Jack Jepson. 
 
 If a shark had appeared, it would probably 
 have put an end to the plans of Mr. Pertell to 
 have his company give an idea of shipwreck by 
 leaping into the water. No one would have 
 jumped into those waters had they been shark-in- 
 fested. But, as I have said, none of the tigers 
 of the deep showed, and, a little later, Jack was 
 being lifted into the small boat. They had 
 reached him just when his strength was about ex- 
 hausted. 
 
 " Oh, have they saved him ? " asked Miss Pen- 
 nington, coming on deck very pale. Alice said 
 
I2 6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 afterward she had not had time to put on hei 
 " war paint." 
 
 "I — I can't bear to look!" faltered Miss 
 Dixon, following her friend. " Tell me dear — is 
 he — is he dead? " she asked of Alice. 
 
 " Dead ! No, of course not ! " said Alice, none 
 too politely. " Don't be silly ! He just fell over- 
 board, and they got him back again; that's all." 
 
 Miss Dixon looked angry and flounced back to 
 her cabin with her chum. Jack and his rescuers 
 were hoisted up in the boat, the other sailors 
 hauling on the ropes, the blocks of which were 
 hooked fast to rings in the bow and stern posts 
 of the rowing craft. 
 
 " Well, you tried to leave us rather suddenly," 
 said Mr. Pertell. " Don't go trying that again, 
 Jack — at least until we finish making the pic- 
 tures," he went on with a whimsical smile. 
 " You're in too many important scenes to be lost 
 that way." 
 
 " I haven't any fancy that way myself," said 
 Jack, who seemed little the worse for his unex- 
 pected bath. 
 
 " How did it happen ? " asked Captain Brisco 
 of his mate, though it seemed as though he had 
 been near enough to have seen for himself. 
 
 " Why, I was standing near the rail," Jack ex- 
 plained, " talkin' to Mr. Lacomb, here," and he 
 
SAIL HO! 
 
 127 
 
 indicated the strange man, " when, all at once the 
 ship gives a lurch, and — well, I went over, that's 
 all I guess," and he looked at Lacomb, as though 
 to get him to confirm the account. 
 
 " Yes that's right," said the other. " I — I tried 
 to grab him, but I was too late. I nearly went 
 over myself," he added, grimly. 
 
 " Yes," assented the old salt, " you did," and he 
 shot a look at the other. 
 
 Did Alice fancy it, or did Lacomb wince, and 
 shrink back? And did a look pass between him 
 and Captain Brisco — a look full of meaning? 
 
 Alice was puzzling over these questions in her 
 own mind, when the helmsman spoke. 
 
 " It wasn't my fault," he said. " I was steering 
 all right, but Captain Brisco came and spoke to 
 me and handed me a paper. I took one hand off 
 the wheel, and the " 
 
 " No one has said it was your fault," broke in 
 the commander quickly. " I was giving you a 
 copy of the sailing orders for the day. I wouldn't 
 have bothered you if I had known a puff of wind 
 and a big wave were coming along together, to 
 snatch the wheel out of your grip. But it wasn't 
 your fault. However, no harm is done. You had 
 better get below, Mr. Jepson, and put on some 
 dry clothes. Mr. Lacomb will stand watch until 
 you feel all right again." 
 
I2 8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Oh, I'll be all right in a little while," Jack 
 said. " I don't need no one to stand my trick 
 on deck. I'll be back shortly." 
 
 He went below, the water dripping from him. 
 The ship was put back on her course. The ex- 
 citement had not lasted long. 
 
 " Too bad you didn't have a camera ready, 
 Russ," said Paul to the operator, when matters 
 were normal aboard the Mary Ellen once more. 
 " You might have filmed a good rescue scene." 
 
 " I was too much excited to think about that," 
 Russ admitted. " Besides, we are going to have 
 plenty of rescue stuff in a few days, and this 
 wasn't a particularly thrilling one. Poor old 
 Jack ! I wonder how it feels to fall overboard ? " 
 
 " Not very pleasant," Paul said. He had done 
 it more than once in the interests of the pictures. 
 
 Alice, going below for something a little later, 
 met the old salt on his way to the deck again, he 
 having changed to dry garments. 
 
 " Oh, are you all right?" she asked anxiously, 
 for she and her sister, as well as Mr. DeVere, had 
 taken a liking to Jepson. " Are you all right ? " 
 
 " All right, Miss Alice," he replied. " No harm 
 done at all." 
 
 " I thought sailors never fell overboard," she 
 said, half jokingly. " I supposed they were so 
 sure-footed that accidents like that never hap- 
 pened to them." 
 
"SAIL HO!" 129 
 
 " They don't — not usual like, Miss," said Jack 
 with that earnest, honest air that characterized 
 him. 
 
 " Then how did you come to do it? " 
 
 " I — I didn't do it, Miss," Jack answered. " I 
 didn't fall overboard." 
 
 " You didn't ? " cried Alice, not noticing the 
 accent Jepson put on one word. 
 
 "No, Miss. Not exactly." 
 
 He looked around as though to make sure no 
 one was listening, and then, in a hoarse whisper, 
 he said : 
 
 " I didn't fall overboard. I was tossed! " 
 
 Then, before she could ask him what he meant, 
 he gave her a warning glance, and passed on. 
 Just as he did so, Captain Brisco came along the 
 passage way. 
 
 " I was just coming down to see how you 
 were," he said, with a quick look at Alice. " I 
 didn't know you were here, Miss DeVere," he 
 continued, rather awkwardly. " Hope the ac- 
 cident didn't upset you." 
 
 " Oh no," she said, glad that it was rather 
 dark, and that the commander could not notice 
 how pale she had become at hearing the ominous 
 words of the old sailor. 
 
 " Accidents will happen, but they don't always 
 end so luckily," the captain went on. Jack Jepson 
 
!30 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 had passed up on deck, and Alice, not feeling in 
 the mood for talking, passed to her cabin. Cap- 
 tain Brisco, after a moment of hesitation, went 
 up on deck again, and, had anyone observed him, 
 they would have seen him in close conversation 
 with Hen Lacomb. The two men spoke in low 
 tones. 
 
 Jack Jepson was soon himself again, and on 
 duty as though nothing had happened. But he 
 had created a very queer state of mind in Alice 
 DeVere. Her suspicious were increased, and she 
 asked herself a multitude of questions she could 
 not answer. Nor dared she repeat them, even to 
 her sister. 
 
 "If he were tossed overboard, who did it?" 
 she asked herself. "And why? The only one 
 near him was Lacomb, and what object could he 
 have in wanting to drown Jack? Oh, I can't 
 understand it! I must ask Jack what he meant." 
 
 This was not so easy to do as Alice had ex- 
 pected. She wanted to speak to the old sailor 
 privately, but there was no chance. 
 
 That afternoon there began the taking of some 
 of the more important scenes of the marine 
 drama. These scenes were those that had to be 
 filmed on the ship itself, and they kept everyone 
 busy. Besides, Alice did not want to make too 
 obvious an effort to talk to the old salt, as she 
 
"SAIL HO!" 1^1 
 
 feared Captain Brisco would become suspicious. 
 There was a nameless mystery in the air that had 
 its effect on Alice. Ruth noticed a difference in 
 her sister, and questioned her about it, but Alice 
 was able to say it was due to the difficult and ex- 
 acting work of the new drama, and, in part, it 
 was. 
 
 Several days passed, and she had had no chance 
 to speak to Jack. Each day was filled with work, 
 or rehearsals, and some of the films had to be 
 taken several times, due to the uncertain footing 
 on the deck of the ship, which produced awkward 
 motions on the part of the actors. 
 
 It was on a warm afternoon, with a hint of a 
 storm in the atmosphere, when Mr. Pertell said: 
 
 " Well, I guess that will do for a while. This 
 will pretty nearly bring us up to the shipwreck 
 scene. We shall have to make a landing on one 
 of the islands here, to get the proper back- 
 ground." 
 
 They were then well down among the West 
 Indies. 
 
 "Where do we land?" asked Alice, who was 
 on deck with her sister, standing near Jack Jepson, 
 who was acting as lookout, with a telescope in 
 his hand. 
 
 "Well, I'm not particular," Mr. Pertell said 
 " Perhaps Jack can suggest a good place." 
 
132 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Well, I know something about the locality 
 here," the old sailor answered, and he looked at 
 Alice with a friendly wink. " I shouldn't want 
 to go ashore at the place where I escaped from 
 after that mutiny," he went on. " They might 
 not want to let me go again." 
 
 " No, that's so," agreed Mr. Pertell. " It 
 might not be just the thing, though you could 
 prove your innocence." 
 
 " No, I can't ! That's the trouble ! " cried Jack, 
 who had told his story to the manager. " I don't 
 want to be caught, and put in jail. I'm going 
 to keep away from that island where I was locked 
 up." 
 
 " Which one was it ? " asked Ruth. 
 
 " I don't know the name," Jack said, " but I 
 can tell it the minute I set eyes on it. I don't 
 want to go there. I had enough — " 
 
 Jack paused suddenly. The glass went to his 
 eye, and he called out: 
 
 "Sail ho!" 
 
 "Where away?" demanded the helmsman. 
 
 " Two points off on the lee bow. She's a small 
 steamer, and she — she's flying the British flag!" 
 added the old man. 
 
 A strange look of fear came over his face. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 THE ACCUSATION 
 
 *' What's this ? " demanded Captain Brisco, 
 coming on deck just then. " What's up? " 
 
 " Sail ho ! " repeated Jack Jepson. " Over 
 there, Captain ! " and he pointed, and extented 
 the telescope. Alice noticed that the hand of the 
 old salt trembled, though usually he was as steady 
 as the proverbial surgeon. 
 
 " Hum ! Yes. One of the English revenue 
 ships," remarked Captain Brisco. " It's the first 
 one we've met down here." 
 
 "It is a British vessel, isn't it?" asked Jack 
 Jepson, and there was a queer strain in his voice. 
 
 "Yes," replied his superior. "What of it?" 
 
 "Oh, nothin'sir! Nothin'." 
 
 But Alice thought it was something. 
 
 " Well, we haven't any need to speak to her," 
 went on Captain Brisco. " We're going to an- 
 chor soon." 
 
 " Anchor ? " asked Jepson. 
 
 *' Yes, they want to take some of their pic- 
 133 
 
!34 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 tures ! " It was evident to Alice, from the tone 
 of voice in which Captain Brisco spoke, that he 
 had little sympathy with the work of the film 
 actors. But he had been hired to do his part with 
 the ship, and must carry out his agreement with 
 Mr. Pertell. 
 
 The captain handed back the glass, and went 
 to consult with the manager about making a land- 
 ing. They were near several small islands, any 
 one of which would probably do as a background 
 for some of the picture-play scenes. 
 
 Left to himself Jack Jepson took another long 
 look at the oncoming steamer. 
 
 Alice watched him curiously. 
 
 " Yes, she's a lime-juicer," he remarked, and 
 something like a sigh escaped him. 
 
 "A — a lime-juicer?" repeated Alice in some 
 surprise. " I thought you said she was a steamer." 
 
 " So she is. But we old sailors used to call all 
 British ships ' lime-juicers,' because they used to 
 be the only ones that was compelled by law to 
 carry lime juice." 
 
 "Why lime juice? " Alice wanted to know. 
 
 " To prevent scurvy, Miss. Lime juice, pota- 
 toes or anything like that will keep sailors from 
 the scurvy disease, Miss. They found it out, the 
 Britishers did, and made their ships carry such 
 stuff. Lime juice is easier to stow away than 
 
THE ACCUSATION i^ 
 
 potatoes, and every sailor had to have his share. 
 
 " Scurvy is a bad disease, Miss. It's terrible, 
 and though lots of fun was made of the lime juice 
 British ships, they done their duty, Miss. It got 
 so other nations had to fall into line. And, though 
 lime juice isn't as needful as it was, 'cause they 
 have other things that do as well, perhaps, I 
 always think of a Britisher as a lime-juicer." 
 
 " I see," murmured Alice. " Yes, I can see the 
 English flag," she went on, as she looked through 
 the glass Jack passed to her. " She is headed 
 right for us, too." 
 
 " That's what I make out, Miss. And I wish 
 it was my watch below; I sure do, Miss! " 
 
 " Why, you aren't thinking that they may be 
 after you, are you, Jack? After you on that old 
 mutiny charge? " 
 
 " They might be, Miss," he said in a whisper, 
 looking cautiously around. " You see that charge 
 isn't dead, and then there's the one of escapin' 
 from an English prison. They might over- 
 look the mutiny, especially as they may not 
 have all their witnesses now — some of 'em may 
 be dead. But an English prison officer never 
 forgets, nor forgives, an escape, and the law 
 doesn't either. If they was to see me, I'd be taken 
 back to stand the charges ag'in me." 
 
 " But how would they know you ? " asked 
 
I3 6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 Alice. " Besides, it isn't at all likely that anyone 
 on that vessel had anything to do with your being 
 taken into custody on the mutiny charge. That 
 was years ago." 
 
 " I know Miss, but they might remember me, 
 even if I have changed a lot. And this is mostly 
 English waters around here. English islands, 
 too. It was somewhere about here I was im- 
 prisoned. Before I set foot on land, I'm going 
 to find out if it's English, and if it is, I'm goin' 
 to stay on board. I'm not goin' to take any 
 chances." 
 
 " But can't they arrest you at sea, if there 
 should be such a possibility that they recognized 
 you?" 
 
 " Not if I'm three miles from land, I think. 
 Still, I may be wrong about that. I wish I 
 hadn't come on this voyage, that's a fact. I don't 
 like the sight of that English flag." 
 
 " Don't worry," advised Alice. " There isn't 
 one chance in a thousand that you would be rec- 
 ognized after these years. In the first place, 
 you have changed a lot. And, in the second place, 
 probably the English officers who arrested you, 
 and the others, are in some other part of the 
 world now. Why do you think they may be on 
 that steamer ? " 
 
 " Well, things don't change down here as much 
 
THE ACCUSATION j^ 
 
 as you might think," replied Jack, as he and Alice 
 watched the steamer coming nearer. "And an 
 Englishman is less likely to change than anybody 
 else, Miss. He'll often stay in the same berth 
 until he dies. So it's likely some of the same 
 officers who were around here when I was ar- 
 rested are here yet. And they may be on that 
 vessel." 
 
 " But how can they recognize you ? " Alice 
 persisted. 
 
 " Well, if they didn't know me, they might 
 know this ship." 
 
 " This ship ! Why, this is only a small vessel, 
 and yours was a big five-master." 
 
 " I know, Miss, I know," said Jack, with a 
 nervous look over his shoulder. " But here's a 
 secret I haven't told to anyone yet. This may 
 be the Mary Ellen, but she used to be the Hal- 
 cyon!" 
 
 Alice started back in surprise. 
 
 " The Halcyon! " she gasped. " How could 
 it be?" 
 
 " This way, Miss. They built her over, cut 
 down her length, and changed her so hardly 
 anybody would recognize her. But I knew the 
 Mary Ellen for the Halcyon almost as soon as 
 I came aboard." 
 
 " And is that why you acted so — so queer ? " 
 
I3 8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Partly — yes. You see she was first the 
 Mary Ellen and the mutineers named her the 
 Halcyon. Then, when she was rebuilt she became 
 Mary Ellen again." 
 
 " But I never knew they could make vessels 
 over," Alice protested. 
 
 — " Oh, yes, it's often done," the sailor assured 
 her. " This certainly was the old Halcyon, as she 
 was called when the mutineers had her, and any- 
 one who had sailed in her would know it. A 
 sailor's eye can't be deceived. There's others on 
 board as know it, too." 
 
 " Others here? Of the mutinous crew? " 
 
 "Hush, Miss, if you please! Not so loud! 
 Yes, others who were in the mutiny, but who got 
 off scott free, while I was the one to suffer. But 
 they're tryin' to keep under cover. There's a 
 game afoot, but I'll spoil it if I can — that is, if 
 this British steamer don't make trouble for me." 
 
 Alice's head seemed to swim. She was getting 
 into the depths of the mystery now with a ven- 
 geance. What did it all mean? To what did 
 Jack have reference? Could it be that Captain 
 Brisco, and the man with whom he was so 
 friendly, were in a plot? 
 
 Alice felt as if she must tell someone. It was 
 too big a secret for her to keep to herself. 
 
 One thing seemed necessary. She must rid 
 
THE ACCUSATION j^g 
 
 Jack of some of his fear of being arrested again. 
 
 " But if the ship is changed so, how could 
 any of the British officers, provided any are on 
 that steamer, recognize her ? " Alice asked. 
 
 " I don't know how, but I'm sure they could," 
 said Jack, rather unreasonably. " And you mark 
 my words. They'll see us and in spite of our 
 change of rig, they will want to speak us. A 
 sailor never forgets a ship. Of course there may 
 be no officers on that steamer who would know 
 the old Halcyon, but ag'in, there may be. I'm 
 afeered, Miss." 
 
 "Oh, but you needn't be. Mr. Pertell will 
 make it all right even if " 
 
 " He isn't bigger than Johnnie Bull," said Jack 
 ominously, " though Mr. Pertell is a good friend 
 of mine. Ha! Didn't I tell you? There they 
 come right for us, and they're signallin' us to lay 
 to." 
 
 It was evident that something had taken place 
 aboard the steamer. A signal flag broke out at 
 her mast, and Captain Brisco, seeing it, exclaimed 
 impatiently : 
 
 " What can they want with us ? " 
 
 " They want to talk, that's evident," said Hen 
 Lacomb, who stood near the commander. 
 
 "But what about?" 
 
 " We'll soon know." 
 
140 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 As the Mary Ellen lay almost motionless on 
 the sea, for she had been brought up sharply, the 
 steamer approached. It was so calm that she 
 could come quite close without danger of a colli- 
 sion. A man, evidently an officer, hailed through 
 a megaphone. Jack dared not desert his place 
 as lookout. 
 
 "What vessel is that?" demanded the officer 
 of the British steamer. 
 
 " The Mary Ellen, from New York," answered 
 Captain Brisco. " Out on a moving picture 
 cruise. We're in a hurry." 
 
 " Better not be," was the exasperating com- 
 ment. " There's someone here who wants to ask 
 you a few questions." 
 
 Another figure joined the speaker, and at the 
 sight of this second officer, old Jack Jepson 
 groaned. 
 
 " I knew it ! I knew it," he whispered to Alice. 
 " That's the man in charge of the revenue cutter 
 who arrested me years ago. See ! He recognizes 
 me! I thought this would happen." 
 
 It was evident that something out of the ordi- 
 nary was taking place. 
 
 <c Mary Ellen ahoy ! " called the second officer. 
 "If you didn't used to be the Halcyon, I miss my 
 guess. And there's a man aboard you I want! 
 There he stands ! " and he pointed an accusing 
 %iger at Jack Jepson. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE STORM 
 
 The old sailor seemed to shrink down in his 
 clothes and become smaller. He cast an appeal- 
 ing glance at Alice who stood near him. 
 
 "See!" he murmured. "What did I tell 
 you?" 
 
 " It may be all right yet," she answered. 
 " Surely after these years they can do nothing to 
 you, especially when you were not guilty." 
 
 " Ah, but it's the escape from the prison that 
 hangs over me," he said. " They want me more 
 for that than on the mutiny charge. Oh, what 
 shall I do?" 
 
 " Stay here and ' face the music/ as Russ or 
 Paul would say," suggested Alice. " I'll speak to 
 my father, and to Mr. Pertell. You are an 
 American citizen, and — " 
 
 But she had no time for further advice. Again 
 came the hail from the steamer. 
 
 " Stand by there, Mary Ellen, or Halcyon, as 
 your name used to be," was the sharp order. 
 141 
 
142 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " I'm going to send a boat aboard you. We 
 want that man ! " and once more he pointed ac- 
 cusingly at Jack. 
 
 " I don't know what you're talking about," 
 blustered Captain Brisco. " That man is my 
 second mate, and you can't take him from me 
 that way. This isn't war time," and he seemed 
 disposed to protect Jack. 
 
 " Don't let them take me, Captain ! " the old 
 sailor pleaded. " You know what it means. 
 Don't let them take me away ! " 
 
 " I won't ! " declared Captain Brisco, and for 
 the moment the heart of Alice warmed to him. 
 She fancied she had misjudged him. But as she 
 looked at him, she saw a look on his face that 
 made her doubt. It was a look that made his 
 words seem insincere. And when the moving 
 picture girl saw the captain speaking in an aside 
 to Hen Lacomb, her doubts were redoubled. 
 
 " Stand by ! " someone on the steamer ordered. 
 " We're sending a boat to take the prisoner." 
 
 "This is a pretty how-d'-do!" blustered Cap- 
 tain Brisco. " They're going to leave me short- 
 handed, and just at a time when I'm likely to 
 need every man I can get, too," and he cast an 
 anxious look around the horizon. It had sud- 
 denly become quite dark. A bank of clouds, slate 
 colored, and fringed with an ominous yellow, had 
 
THE STORM I43 
 
 gathered in the west, and there was a moaning in 
 the air as though a far-off wind were sending a 
 message to those in peril to beware of its breath. 
 
 The sea, too, had a glassy look. The big waves 
 rose sullenly, and sank back into troughs, with an 
 oily smooth motion as though they resented being 
 thus confined. It was like the action of some 
 raging beast in leash. There was a curious op- 
 pressiveness in the air, too, and more than one 
 found difficulty in breathing. 
 
 " What is it? Oh, what is it? " asked Ruth, as 
 she came toward her sister. " I feel as though 
 something terrible were going to happen." 
 
 " Something has happened ! " Alice exclaimed. 
 " They've got poor old Jack ! Isn't it a shame, 
 when everything was going so nicely ? " 
 
 " Got him ! " questioned Ruth. " What do you 
 mean ? " 
 
 " It's those Britishers ! They recognized this 
 ship as the one on which the mutiny occurred. 
 She's been built over — the ship I mean — but the 
 steamer knew her — I mean some officer did. 
 And they're going to take Jack away. You know 
 he told us how he broke out of jail, after he was 
 locked up on an unjust charge. Well, they want 
 him for that, but he doesn't want him to go — at 
 least he pretends he doesn't." 
 
 Alice paused for breath — she needed it. 
 
I44 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Well ! " exclaimed Ruth. " You may under- 
 stand what you mean, but I don't, my dear. Who 
 wants whom, and who doesn't want whom — and 
 what?" 
 
 Thereupon Alice explained how Captain Brisco 
 had declared Jack should not be taken, and yet 
 how Alice, herself, believed he would give him up. 
 
 " But what does it all mean — that enmity you 
 say Captain Brisco has against Jack?" Ruth 
 asked Alice, for Alice spoke about the time Jack 
 had fallen overboard, and mentioned how the 
 sailor had said he was tossed over the rail. 
 
 " I don't know what it means," the younger 
 girl replied. " It is all queer and mysterious, and 
 it's getting worse. But I think there is some se- 
 cret between Captain Brisco and that Hen La- 
 comb that Jack has found out, and they're afraid 
 he'll tell. That's why I think they would be glad 
 to see him taken away — no matter what happened 
 to him. It's all very well for Captain Brisco to 
 say he doesn't want Jack to go, but I believe he's 
 glad this happened." 
 
 " Oh, Alice! What a thing to say! " 
 
 " I don't care ! I believe it ! " 
 
 All this while preparations had been under way 
 aboard the steamer to lower a small boat, but 
 there seemed to be some delay. 
 
 Meanwhile Jack Jepson remained as lookout on 
 
THE STORM 145 
 
 the Mary Ellen, though there was no need of him 
 there, for the schooner was now merely drifting, 
 with sails aback, and the steamer, too, was at the 
 call of the wind and currents. 
 
 " Come on, mate ! " hoarsely whispered a sailor 
 to Jack. " Slip below, mate, and we'll hide you. 
 If they try to take you, we'll stand 'em off. I 
 don't like the Britishers anyhow. I was shang- 
 haied into one of their lime- juicers once, an' I 
 never forgot it ! Slip below ! " 
 
 " No, I'll take my medicine ! " said Jack grimly. 
 " Might as well get it done with. This thing has 
 been hangin' over my head a number of years 
 now, and I'll be glad to hear the last of it. It's 
 a terrible thing for an innocent man." 
 
 " Perhaps some way may be found for clearing 
 you," suggested Alice. " I'll speak to my father. 
 He knows some prominent lawyers in New York, 
 and they will induce the government to take up 
 your case. Go quietly, Jack, and we'll do all we 
 can for you." 
 
 " Oh, I shan't raise a row, Miss, never fear. 
 No good'd come of that, and it would only make 
 trouble. I'll go quietly enough." 
 
 "Ha! What is going on?" asked Mr. De- 
 Vere, who had been down below. " Has any- 
 thing happened? " 
 
 Alice and Ruth tried to tell him at once, the 
 
I4 6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 former eager to enlist his sympathies in Jack's 
 cause. Mr. DeVere promised readily enough. 
 
 " Though I can't hold out any hope for you," 
 he said. " I know nothing of law, but inter- 
 national affairs are always slow." 
 
 " But I ought to get justice in the end, ought I 
 not? " asked Jack, respectfully. 
 
 " You ought, my man, and I'll do all I can for 
 you," said Mr. DeVere. 
 
 " Oh, what a pretty sight ! " exclaimed the 
 voice of Miss Dixon, as she emerged from a com- 
 panionway with her chum, Miss Pennington. 
 " Isn't it romantic — stopping to speak to a 
 steamer at sea? " 
 
 " Delightful," agreed Miss Pennington. " I 
 wonder if the captain of the steamer will ask us 
 to tea ? It's a British vessel, and Englishmen are 
 so fond of tea." 
 
 " Yes, and they are so romantic and good- 
 looking," agreed Miss Dixon. " But perhaps this 
 is only for moving pictures." 
 
 " Oh, pshaw ! Perhaps it is ! " sighed her com- 
 panion, and the two of them, who had been taking 
 surreptitious glances in mirrors, enclosed in the 
 flaps of their bags, ceased " primping," until they 
 could be sure whether or not there was any ob- 
 ject in it. 
 
 " What's it all about ? " asked Miss Dixon 
 again. 
 
THE STORM i 4 y 
 
 " Oh, they're going to take one of our men, I 
 believe," said Pop Snooks, the property " angel," 
 as the ladies often called him." 
 
 "Oh dear! What are they? Pirates?" 
 gasped Miss Pennington. 
 
 " No, it's Jack Jepson they're after. Some old 
 charge, I believe." 
 
 " Ha ! I knew something would happen on this 
 voyage ! " exclaimed Mr. Pepper Sneed. " I felt 
 it in my bones all along." 
 
 " Good thing you're not disappointed," mur- 
 mured Alice. 
 
 " Oh dear ! " sighed her sister. " It's too bad. 
 And I liked Jack so." 
 
 " So did I," returned Alice. " But they're 
 a long while sending that boat." 
 
 It did seem so, for there were no signs yet, 
 of one being lowered over the side, though Cap- 
 tain Brisco, after the command to lay to, had 
 ordered his accommodation ladder lowered to re- 
 ceive the visitors. 
 
 Then came another hail from the steamer. 
 
 " Mary Ellen ahoy! " 
 
 "Aye, aye!" 
 
 " We won't send a boat right away. A hurri- 
 cane is sweeping up fast, and this is a bad locality 
 in which to be caught," called one of the steamer's 
 officers through a megaphone. " We'll have to 
 
I4 8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 get out of here, and so had you better. There's 
 no sea-room here. We'll pick you up later, and 
 don't forget you are in English waters, and sub- 
 ject to our orders. We're going to have that 
 man!" 
 
 " Well, if you put it that way, of course I'll 
 have to give in," said Captain Brisco. " I'll wait 
 for you after the blow." 
 
 " Well, that's a respite, anyhow, but not a very 
 pleasant one," said Alice. 
 
 " No," agreed Jack Jepson, who breathed 
 easier now. " We're in for a bad storm, I reckon. 
 We'll have to make everything snug." 
 
 " Attention ! " once more came the hail from 
 the steamer, and when Captain Brisco answered, 
 he was ordered to follow a certain course by 
 compass, as being safest. 
 
 " Then I can pick you up ! " the steamer cap- 
 tain cried as the propellers began to churn the 
 water. The British vessel swept away, leaving 
 Jack Jepson still on the schooner, but under 
 threat of arrest. 
 
 Then the forerunner of the storm came, filling 
 the sails of the Mary Ellen, and heeling her over 
 until the lee scuppers were awash. 
 
 "Make everything snug!" cried Captain 
 Brisco. " It's coming on to blow great guns ! " 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 GRINDING AWAY 
 
 Events aboard the Mary Ellen did not tran- 
 spire at all slowly. In a comparatively short 
 space of time she had been converted from an old 
 hulk into a good sailing vessel, she had put to sea 
 with a party of moving picture workers, includ- 
 ing a sailor accused of mutiny, who had broken 
 jail. She had been stopped by the English ship, 
 and now the old schooner was starting to scud 
 before the blast of a hurricane. For the time 
 being the accusation against Jack Jepson was 
 forgotten. 
 
 " Lively now, everyone ! " cried Captain 
 Brisco. " When a storm breaks down here, it 
 isn't any child's play. Double reefs in all sails, 
 and two men at the wheel. Lash everything 
 fast, pass life-lines, and passengers keep below." 
 
 " Oh, but I want to see the storm ! " exclaimed 
 Alice. 
 
 " Oh, how can you ! " remonstrated Ruth. 
 " It is going to be — awful ! " 
 149 
 
!5o THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 And indeed, if the evidence of sky and sea, 
 and the moaning of the wind, were any indica- 
 tion, a great storm was in prospect. 
 
 The billows that had been rolling with oily 
 smoothness now began to show little feathery 
 crests of foam, and they were following one an- 
 other with greater quickness, as if impatient to be 
 at their shattering work. 
 
 The wind seemed most ominous of all. It was 
 as though it came from afar off, down behind 
 the horizon line that showed black, with a fringe 
 of angry yellow in the west. A low, mumbling, 
 roaring, moaning wind it was, that whistled 
 mournfully through the rigging of the schooner, 
 and howled down the companionways. 
 
 "Oh dear!" sighed Ruth, as she slipped her 
 arm into that of her sister, and started for their 
 cabin. " Come on, Alice. I'm afraid ! " 
 
 " Nonsense ! What of ? Nothing has hap- 
 pened — yet." 
 
 " No, but there is going to be a terrible storm ! " 
 
 " And I just love a blow. I've never seen one 
 at sea, and, as this may be the only chance I'll get, 
 I'm not going to miss it. Stay up with me, 
 Ruth. Don't be like those sillies, and go below," 
 and she motioned to Miss Penningtion and Miss 
 Dixon who were scurrying for cover, as the wind 
 and the sea increased. 
 
GRINDING AWAY 
 
 151 
 
 " Well, I'll stay up a little while," agreed Ruth. 
 " But I — I'm afraid all the same." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " cried Alice gaily. " We have 
 a good ship under us. It went through a mutiny, 
 and I guess it can weather a storm." 
 
 " That's just the point — can it ? " asked Ruth 
 in a low voice. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " Alice asked in a curi- 
 ously strained voice. 
 
 " I mean that this is an old vessel, ' made over,' 
 as we would say of a dress, Alice, it can't be as 
 good and strong as a new one would be, and in a 
 storm " 
 
 " Oh, don't be nervous ! " broke in Alice. 
 " Here, I'll ask Mr. Blake," and she stopped the 
 first mate who was hurrying to and fro direct- 
 ing the men at their work of making everything 
 snug below and aloft. 
 
 " Isn't she safe, Mr. Blake ? " Alice appealed. 
 
 "Who?" the first mate wanted to know. 
 
 " This ship." 
 
 " I— I think so," he said. " Yes, surely," he 
 added quickly. " We will ride out the storm, 
 never fear. It hasn't gotten here yet, and we 
 may only get the outer edge of it. But you must 
 excuse me now," and he hastened along the deck. 
 
 "There!" cried Alice. "What did I tell 
 you ? " she asked triumphantly. 
 
152 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Well, I'll stay here with you a little while" 
 Ruth agreed. " Then I'm going below and " 
 
 " Bundle up all your possessions and sit on a 
 life preserver," broke in Alice with a laugh. 
 "Oh, Ruth, you are — hopeless!" 
 
 " Yes, but look at that ! " and the older sister 
 pointed to the west. There had been a rapid 
 change. There was more yellow in the clouds 
 now and less blackness, though there was enough 
 of that ominous color too. " Doesn't it scare you, 
 Alice?" 
 
 " Not so much, no. Of course I've never been 
 in a bad storm down here, and I don't know what 
 they do to one. But I think we'll weather it, as 
 the sailors say. But I wonder what Mr. Pertell 
 is doing? " 
 
 She motioned to the manager who was seen 
 amidships, talking to Russ, the chief camera 
 operator. They were near the big motorboat 
 Aja.v, which still rested in the cradle on deck. 
 
 Mr. DeVere was also in conversation with the 
 manager and his chief helper. 
 
 " Let's go over and see what it is," suggested 
 Alice. " Maybe they are frightened too." 
 
 " I wouldn't blame them," murmured Ruth, 
 with a nervous glance over her shoulder at the 
 oncoming storm. 
 
 The two girls joined their father and the 
 
GRINDING AWAY jg-j 
 
 others. Pop Snooks, the property man, who 
 could make almost anything from a brick wall 
 to a king's palace, on short notice, was called 
 into the consultation. 
 
 " I'm sure they're going to do something ! " 
 Alice exclaimed, as she noticed Mr. Pertell beckon 
 Captain Brisco to him. And when the girls 
 reached the group they learned what was afoot. 
 
 " Why yes, you'd have time for some pictures 
 before the storm gets here," Captain Brisco was 
 saying. " It's evidently going to be slow in 
 breaking." 
 
 " And it wouldn't be too rough for the motor- 
 boat?" asked Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " Oh, no. She's built dory fashion, and bigger 
 waves than these wouldn't swamp her. It's a 
 question though, if your man is game." 
 
 " Oh, don't worry about me! " exclaimed Russ 
 Dalwood. " I'll make pictures as long as the 
 light will hold good. How is the boat? Is she 
 all ready to start? " 
 
 " All ready to put into the water," the captain 
 assured him. " She has been that way since we 
 reached this locality. What do you say?" he 
 asked the manager. " Shall we lower away? " 
 
 " I think so," was the answer from Mr. Pertell. 
 " I want to get some views of the schooner sail- 
 ing off before the storm. It will be a sort of 
 
154 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 introduction to the shipwreck that is to come 
 later." 
 
 "All right!" exclaimed Russ. "That suits 
 me. I'll get the camera and films ready. I'll need 
 a helper." 
 
 " Oh, of course," agreed the manager. " You 
 can't manage the boat and the engine and work 
 the camera too. Grinding away at the film will 
 keep you busy, especially as the water's a bit 
 rough." 
 
 " A bit rough ! " exclaimed Russ with a smile. 
 " I like the way you say it. But the rougher it 
 is the better effect we'll get on the film. I'll be 
 ready when you are, Captain Brisco." 
 
 " All right, I'll have the boat over at once," and 
 the commander gave the necessary orders for 
 lowering the Ajax over the side. This had been 
 provided for when she was cradled, so there was 
 little delay at this task. 
 
 " Are we to do any ' stunts,' while Russ is 
 taking pictures?" asked Alice of the manager. 
 
 " No, you are just to stand around on deck, 
 and look a bit anxious. You are supposed to be 
 an old-time passenger packet you know, on a 
 long voyage, and you are running away from 
 the storm. We don't want many feet of this 
 film — just enough to indicate what is to come. 
 The real shipwreck — that is the imitation of it 
 
GRINDING AWAY i$$ 
 
 —will come later, when this storm blows over. 
 Get on the side where the motorboat will be," 
 the manager directed, " and line up along the 
 rail." 
 
 While Russ was " loading " his camera, Ruth 
 and Alice watched the sailors getting the Ajax 
 ready. The engine had been tested, and seemed 
 to work well. Jack Jepson came along with a 
 small keg of water, and a bundle done up in a 
 piece of sail cloth. 
 
 "What's that for?" asked Alice. 
 
 " Provisions and water," answered the old 
 sailor. 
 
 " But they're only going to be away a few 
 minutes," the girl objected. " They won't want 
 anything to eat or drink." 
 
 " It's a rule of th' sea," said old Jack, " never 
 to put a boat over the side without provisioning 
 and watering her. You never can tell what will 
 happen on th' ocean. I've seen boats put out 
 just for a little row around, and a fog would 
 come up, and they'd be away nearly a week. 
 And when they didn't have any water or food 
 aboard — well, Miss, them's not nice things to 
 talk about to ladies," he said simply. And Alice 
 understood. 
 
 The storm seemed to be holding off, at least for 
 a time. Far away the dark mass of the British 
 
!g6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 steamer conld be seen. The Ajax was soon 
 ready, and lowered to the heaving water. 
 
 " Mr. Sneed, you get in and help Russ," ordered 
 Mr. Pertell. " You know something about motor- 
 boats, don't you ? " 
 
 " A little, yes. But I — er — I don't like to get in 
 one when a storm is coming up." 
 
 " Nonsense ! " the manager ejaculated. 
 " There's no danger ! You are going only a short 
 distance away from the schooner, to get some 
 views of her as she rides the waves. It will make 
 a good film, the coming storm, and the waters ris- 
 ing and falling. Get aboard, Mr. Sneed, and do 
 whatever Russ wants you to. He'll be busy with 
 the camera so you will have to steer, and run the 
 engine. The last won't bother you though, for 
 it has a self-starter on and a gear clutch. You'll 
 be in no danger." 
 
 Mr. Sneed did not seem anxious to go. How- 
 ever, orders were orders, and members of the 
 company, even Mr. Wellington Bunn, thought 
 twice before refusing Mr. Pertell. So, when Russ 
 came up with his cameras, bringing two in case 
 of emergency, Mr. Sneed was already in the boat, 
 which was rising and falling at the foot of the ac- 
 commodation ladder over the side of the schooner. 
 
 " All aboard ! " sang out Russ gaily, as he pre- 
 pared to descend, his cameras having been lowered 
 to Mr. Sneed by a rope. " Look pleasant, girls, 
 
GRINDING AWAY i^y 
 
 you're going to have your pictures took," and he 
 laughed. 
 
 There was an ominous hush in the air now. 
 The moaning of the wind seemed to have died 
 down, at least for the time being, but the waves 
 were higher, the swells were long, and did not 
 break much. 
 
 It was lighter, also, though the light was of 
 a sickly yellowish cast. However, it would serve 
 for a few pictures. 
 
 "Let her go, Pepper!" called Russ to his 
 actor-helper and the motor whirred, as the Ajax 
 started away from the side of the schooner. Russ, 
 setting his camera up on the platform made for 
 it in the bow, began grinding at the crank, taking 
 many views of the pitching, tossing schooner as 
 it rose and fell on the bosom of the heaving 
 ocean. 
 
 " I don't like this ! " exclaimed Mr. Sneed, 
 when a dash of spray wet him, as he sat at the 
 wheel. " I wish I hadn't come. I'm sure some- 
 thing will happen ! " 
 
 " Something sure will, if you don't keep her 
 headed up into the seas," declared Russ. " We'll 
 be swamped, that's what will happen. Steady 
 now. I'm getting some good ones," and he 
 worked away at the camera, while the schooner 
 sailed farther and farther away. Russ wanted to 
 give the idea of distance on the film. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 DISABLED 
 
 " How much longer you going to be ? " asked 
 Mr. Pepper Sneed, as he saw Russ change slightly 
 the position of the camera. 
 
 " Oh, not much longer now/' was the answer. 
 " I have about all they'll want, I guess. This is 
 only a sort of ' cut-in ' effect, anyhow — a pre- 
 liminary to the grand performance that is to 
 come later. Poor old Mary Ellen, we'll soon see 
 the last of her, I expect." 
 
 " Burr-r-r ! " exclaimed Mr. Sneed as he 
 shifted his helm. " Don't talk that way. It 
 sounds rather prophetic, you know, seeing the 
 last of the ship, and all that, you know." 
 
 " Well, I meant that they're going to sink her. 
 You knew that, didn't you ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, worse luck ! I'm to be one of the 
 last to jump over the side, I believe. I don't 
 like it." 
 
 " Well, it won't be for long," Russ said. " It 
 will be all over in a few minutes — I mean the 
 158 
 
DISABLED i$g 
 
 shipwreck proper, though there'll be a lot of 
 rescue scenes, and then the castaways on an 
 island, and all that sort of thing. Put me over 
 a little more to the left, Pepper. I can get a fine 
 view that way, with the light shining on the pas- 
 sengers at the rail." 
 
 He clicked away at the camera crank, and then 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " No, no ! I said to the left. You're putting 
 me to the right." 
 
 " Oh, so I am. I was watching that storm. I 
 don't like the looks of things, Russ. I believe 
 we're going to be in for it sooner than they 
 thought" 
 
 " It does look as though it were going to burst," 
 Russ agreed, as he looked up from the " finder " 
 of his machine long enough to take a glimpse at 
 the weather. " Mr. Pertell said he'd signal us 
 with a flag when he thought we had enough, but 
 I don't see anything of a signal, do you? " 
 
 " No," answered the gloomy actor, who had 
 not been needed in the present scenes. " And I 
 wish I could see it. It's getting too rough out 
 here for me, even if we have a good boat," and 
 he adjusted the gasoline feed to give a little more 
 power to the engine. 
 
 " Well, it's getting almost too dark to get any 
 more pictures, anyhow," Russ declared. " "VW 
 
j(5o THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 sure are in for a blow. It's coming up fast too. 
 We'd better get back to the ship without waiting 
 for a signal. They may have hoisted one, that we 
 didn't see." 
 
 " That's it, I think ! " cried the other. " Say, 
 where is the schooner, anyhow ? " 
 
 Russ, who was taking the tripod from his 
 camera looked up quickly. 
 
 "Why, can't you see her?" asked the young 
 operator. 
 
 " No, and I don't believe you can, either, nor 
 can your camera find her. She's disappeared ! " 
 
 " Disappeared ? Nonsense ! " Russ cried. " It's 
 just that the sea mist has come up and hidden 
 her. It will blow away in a moment. Say, but 
 it is getting rough ! " 
 
 Well might he say that, for he could hardly 
 keep his footing on the platform where he had 
 stood to make the views. He came down into 
 the half -covered cabin which formed the forward 
 part of the Ajax. 
 
 " Well, where is the schooner, if you can see 
 her?" growled Pepper Sneed. "Steer for her 
 if you can sight her — I can't ! " 
 
 He seemed morose and angry. Perhaps it 
 was just fear. Russ did not stop to determine 
 that point. The operator took the steering wheel, 
 first standing up to get an idea of his course. 
 
DISABLED l6l 
 
 " Say, it is getting dark ! " he cried. " Well, 
 we'll have to go it blind. We'll pick up the 
 schooner in a minute or two, I expect. She ought 
 to be right over there," and he pointed. 
 
 "Where?" asked Mr. Sneed. 
 
 " There," said Russ again. 
 
 "Humph! You're away off!" declared his 
 companion. " The last I saw her, and I was 
 headed right for her, she was over there," and 
 he indicated a direction differing from that Russ 
 had shown by at least forty-five degrees. 
 
 " I wish they'd show a light! " Russ murmured 
 as he tried to peer through the mist and the 
 gathering darkness. " Why don't they show a 
 light ? We could see that ! " 
 
 " Maybe they don't know we're lost," suggested 
 Pepper Sneed. 
 
 " Lost ! " cried Russ. " We're not lost ! We'll 
 be up to them in a minute or so, but I do wish 
 they'd show a light." 
 
 The motorboat Ajax was chugging over the 
 heaving water at good speed, but as far as the 
 eyes of either of her occupants could see, she 
 might have been driving straight into the utter 
 desolation of a vast ocean, for not an object was 
 in sight. 
 
 The wind had again taken up that nerve-rack- 
 ing moaning and groaning sound, as of an un* 
 
jfe the moving picture girls at sea 
 
 seen giant in distress, and the spray from the 
 crests of the waves blew in the faces of the two 
 young men, as they crouched down behind the 
 shelter of the half-cabin. 
 
 It seemed as though the storm had begun, 
 had halted in its purpose, or had gone off mo- 
 mentarily in some other direction, and was now 
 headed back, to sweep destruction down on those 
 aboard the Mary Ellen, and the two in the motor- 
 boat. 
 
 But where was the Mary Ellen? 
 
 That was a question Russ and Mr. Sneed asked 
 of themselves over and over again as they drove 
 into the very teeth of the storm. They had to 
 head into it, as in the small boat no other course 
 would have been safe. Fortunately the Ajax 
 was built dory-fashion, with high bow and stern, 
 after the pattern of the skiffs in which the 
 fishermen of the New Foundland banks go out 
 in heavy weather. 
 
 " What are you going to do ? " asked Mr. 
 Sneed, as Russ increased the speed of the engine, 
 so that the small craft fairly tore up the inclined 
 hills of green waters, which the waves repre- 
 sented, and slid down them with sickening speed 
 on the other slope. 
 
 " I'm going to keep on until I find her — find 
 the schooner," Russ said, grimly. " That's all 
 
DISABLED 163 
 
 we can do. But I can't understand why they 
 don't show a light." 
 
 " Maybe they're having troubles of their 
 own," suggested the actor. 
 
 " Well, they could shout, so as to let us know 
 where to steer," Russ went on, rather provoked. 
 
 " We could do that ourselves," Pepper Sneed 
 said. 
 
 "Do what?" asked Russ, hardly conscious of 
 what he was saying, for just then a heavy wave 
 threatened to swamp the dory, and it required 
 skillful handling to keep her from being swamped. 
 
 " We could yell," suggested Mr. Sneed. 
 " Come on, give 'em a call ! " 
 
 Russ agreed to this, and, standing up, so their 
 voices would carry better, and bracing them- 
 selves against the tumbling, swaying motion of 
 the craft, they sent out a cry for aid — and yet 
 not so much a cry for aid, as they were not yet in 
 distress, but a cry for direction. 
 
 " If I could only see where to steer," Russ 
 exclaimed, when they had paused in their yell- 
 ing, well-nigh exhausted, " it wouldn't be so 
 bad ! But I can't see a thing. It's getting darker 
 every minute. I never saw such a funny storm." 
 
 " It's coming up all right," declared the actor. 
 " Going to blow great guns soon." 
 
 " It's blowing them now," said Russ, grimly, 
 
!6 4 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 as he clung to the wheel. " I can hardly keep her 
 on the course." 
 
 " What's the use of steering a course when 
 you don't know whether it's right or not?" 
 asked the actor. 
 
 " Well, I'm not going to give up," Russ said, 
 grimly. " I think I'm headed for the schooner, 
 though I ought to have fetched her sooner than 
 this, at the speed we're going." 
 
 " Perhaps she's blowing away from us," sug- 
 gested Mr. Sneed. 
 
 "That's it!" Russ cried. "Why didn't I 
 think of that before ? She's running away from 
 us. She can't help it, though, for she must scud 
 before this storm. We've got to increase our 
 speed to catch up to her. The wind and our 
 engine ought to be more than a match for her 
 sails alone. I'll put on more speed." 
 
 The wind was now a howling gale. 
 
 Suddenly, as they drove on, the motor seemed 
 to increase its speed. 
 
 " What's that ? " asked Mr. Sneed. " I thought 
 you had her running at her limit." 
 
 " So did I," Russ answered, bending over the 
 machinery. Then he cried: "She's racing! 
 We've lost our propeller ! We're disabled in this 
 storm ' " 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 IN THE VORTEX 
 
 " Haven't we looked distressed long enough? " 
 
 " I'm going below. I can't bear to watch 
 that storm ! " 
 
 The speakers were Alice and Ruth DeVere re- 
 spectively, and they were leaning over the rail 
 of the Mary Ellen, peering off into the swirl 
 of driving mists, and across the heaving waters 
 toward where the motorboat had been last seen. 
 
 " Yes, I think Russ has enough pictures," Mr. 
 Pertell said in answer to the remark of Alice. " I 
 think you all looked sufficiently distressful. If 
 the scenes of the shipwreck itself go as well as 
 the first part of the drama has gone, we'll have 
 a fine film." 
 
 " Then may I go below ? " asked Ruth. " I 
 don't like the looks of the weather." 
 
 " It does seem as though we'd get the storm 
 after all," her father remarked. 
 
 " Go below, by all means," assented the man- 
 ager. " We have done enough for today, and 
 I'll signal Russ to come in, if he hasn't alreadv 
 165 
 
j66 the moving picture girls at sea 
 
 started to do so. My, but this wind is blowing 
 a regular gale ! " 
 
 Others than Ruth found it uncomfortable on 
 deck, and there was a general movement toward 
 the cabins which had been fitted up with con- 
 siderable comfort, even if the craft was an old 
 one. 
 
 But just then, when there was a partial calm 
 before another burst of fury on the part of the 
 storm, something occurred that threw the ship into 
 a flurry of excitement for a time. The sailors 
 were making some changes in the craft's canvas, 
 when suddenly the throat and peak halyards 
 of the mainsail either parted, or, coming loose 
 from the cleats, came down on the run. The 
 effect was to lower the sail so quickly, and in 
 such a fashion, with the wind blowing hard 
 against it, that there was a crash, a banging and 
 booming of the canvas, and the boom and gaff. 
 The first mate, who was standing near the mast, 
 was knocked down, narrowly escaping going 
 overboard. 
 
 " Oh, what has happened ? " cried Ruth. 
 
 " Be still ! " commanded Alice, clutching her 
 sister by the arm. " Yelling isn't going to do any 
 good. We're not hurt." 
 
 They were standing near a companionway, 
 well out of reach of the falling sail. 
 
IN THE VORTEX jfy 
 
 " Oh, we're sinking ! We're sinking ! " 
 screamed Miss Dixon. 
 
 " And the sharks ! The terrible sharks in the 
 water!" hysterically added her friend. 
 
 The other ladies of the party were very much 
 frightened, naturally, not only by the accident to 
 the sail, but by the screams of the two former 
 vaudeville actresses. 
 
 " Lively now, men ! " called Jack Jepson, who 
 happened to be nearest the confusion of tangled 
 ropes and sail. " Get him below. He doesn't 
 seem to be much hurt." 
 
 He pointed to the motionless body of the first 
 mate. A quick examination showed that the man 
 was badly stunned, but that seemed to be the ex- 
 tent of his injuries, as far as could be told. 
 
 " Up with her now ! Up with her ! " the second 
 mate cried, as he gave orders for hoisting the sail 
 again, for the schooner was not under proper 
 control with the main canvas down, and a storm 
 coming up rapidly. The sail had been reefed, so 
 the gaff had not fallen as far as otherwise would 
 have been the case. 
 
 " What's the matter? " shouted Captain Brisco 
 who came up from his cabin with Hen Lacomb. 
 The two were seldom apart of late. A glance 
 served to tell the commander what had happened. 
 He saw that Jack Jepson had matters well in 
 
!68 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 hand, and though Alice guessed that- Captain 
 Brisco had no love for his second mate, the com- 
 mander knew seamanship when he saw it. 
 
 "Lively now!" he cried. "That's the idea! 
 We'll run before the gale now." 
 
 " But the motorboat ! " cried Ruth, who had 
 conquered her desire to flee to the cabin, and hide 
 her eyes and ears from such nerve-racking sights 
 and sounds. " Where is the Ajax — and Mr. 
 Sneed — and — Russ?" she faltered. 
 
 " They'll probably be coming in now," the cap- 
 tain said, but he did not take the trouble to look 
 around and see. " We can't wait for them in this 
 wind," he went on. 
 
 " But we must wait for him ! " Ruth cried, get- 
 ting excited. " We can't go off and leave them in 
 that motorboat, on the ocean, in a storm! We 
 must wait ! " She started toward Captain Brisco, 
 with her hands held out appealingly. 
 
 Alice was wildly looking around for a sight of 
 the smaller craft. She had seen it just before the 
 sail fell, but now there was nothing about the 
 schooner but a bare waste of waters. 
 
 She knew enough about the technical side of 
 moving pictures to realize that for some time, it 
 had been too dark to take any film. Russ must 
 have known that, too, and would have started 
 back for the schooner. But if he had, where was 
 he now ? 
 
IN THE VORTEX jfig 
 
 Alice asked herself that question as she looked 
 around. 
 
 " You must wait for him! " cried Ruth. 
 
 " Who ? What's this ? " demanded Mr. Pertell, 
 for he had been hurrying to and fro, making sure 
 none of the members of his company had been in- 
 jured in the slight accident. 
 
 " Russ hasn't come back," volunteered Alice, 
 who almost always spoke ahead of her sister. 
 
 " He's out there ! " Ruth found voice to say, 
 " and Captain Brisco isn't going to wait for him." 
 
 " You can't hold a ship still on the ocean, and 
 a storm coming up!" the commander cried, as 
 though to justify himself. " We've got to run 
 for it. It would be madness now to lay to." 
 
 " But we can't desert Russ and Mr. Sneed ! " 
 cried the manager. " I thought he was coming 
 in. What shall we do ? We must do something ! 
 I shouldn't have asked him to risk it ! " 
 
 The schooner was rapidly forging ahead, even 
 under reefed sails, so powerful was the wind. 
 
 " We could work around," said Jack Jepson, 
 who had come up on deck after seeing the first 
 mate comfortably bestowed in his berth. " We 
 could work around and " 
 
 "Who's in charge of this ship; you or me?" 
 snapped Captain Brisco. 
 
 " You are, of course," was the quiet answer. 
 
l70 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Well then, have the goodness to keep still and 
 let me manage matters. I'm giving orders — not 
 you!" 
 
 Poor Jack slunk back, smarting under the un- 
 deserved rebuke. 
 
 " I don't care who is in command ! " cried Mr. 
 Pertell. " This is my ship and you're under my 
 orders, Captain Brisco. I order you to pick up 
 that motorboat! " 
 
 " And I tell you we can't do it ! They've got to 
 come to us, we can't go to them. They're not de- 
 pendent on the wind as we are. They can travel 
 any direction they like, and they'll have to head 
 for us." 
 
 " But we must make some effort to find them ! " 
 cried the manager. " It would be wicked — crim- 
 inal not to." 
 
 "Look here!" cried Captain Brisco. "You 
 are the owner of this schooner, it is true, and as 
 such you are my superior, but the law gives me 
 supreme command of this craft at sea, unless I'm 
 dead, or otherwise deposed. And I tell you I 
 won't risk all these lives by trying to beat back in 
 the teeth of this wind, to pick up a motorboat. It 
 would be worse than criminal — worse than wicked 
 to do it. It would endanger all on board ! " 
 
 There was some logic in that. Even Mr. 
 Pertell, exercised as he was by the threatened 
 danger to Russ, could appreciate that. 
 
/AT THE VORTEX 
 
 171 
 
 " But we must do something," the manager re- 
 peated. 
 
 " I'm doing all I can," Captain Brisco replied. 
 " I'll shorten sail down to the minimum ; that will 
 keep us before the wind, and out of the trough of 
 the sea! More I can't do. We must depend on 
 them to pick us up. They ought to be able to do 
 it. You told me Dal wood could manage a boat." 
 
 "So he can — but — " 
 
 There was ominous meaning in the broken-off 
 sentence. 
 
 " Well, we'll do the best we can," concluded 
 Captain Brisco. " They will have to take chances, 
 as we're doing." 
 
 He went forward to give some orders. 
 
 Those aboard the schooner peered anxiously 
 over the storm swept waters for a sight of 
 the motor craft, but they saw nothing. They 
 shouted and called, but only the wind howled back 
 at them. 
 
 Then, with a suddenness that was appalling, 
 they seemed to be flung into the midst of a hurri- 
 cane. The wind lashed the sea to fury, and the 
 Mary Ellen spun around like some gigantic top. 
 
 " We're in the vortex ! " cried Jack Jepson. 
 " We're in the vortex of a cyclone ! All hands 
 look to themselves ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 WRECKED 
 
 Confusion on board a ship in a storm may be 
 real confusion and riot, or it may only seem so to 
 those not usd to the sea. Often what is a hope- 
 lessly tangled mass of sails, ropes, spars and gears 
 to the landsman, is as clear to a sailor as a skein 
 of yarn is to an experienced knitter, who can ply 
 her needles in the dark. 
 
 It was so on the Mary Ellen when the storm, 
 that had been so long threatening, and half -per- 
 forming, broke in all its fury. 
 
 There was a tangle of ropes, a banging and 
 slamming of canvas, which, stretched taut and to 
 its utmost, was as stiff as a board. There was a 
 rattling of blocks and the creaking of the boom- 
 crotches against the masts. The squeak of the 
 gaffs higher up added to the din. 
 
 The shouting of Captain Brisco, and the an- 
 swering calls of his men did not lessen the con- 
 fusion. 
 
 " Lower away ! Lower away ! " the com- 
 mander cried, ordering even the already doubly- 
 172 
 
WRECKED 173 
 
 reefed sails gotten down, so the powerful wind 
 would have less resistance. Even with the small 
 area of canvas shown, the craft was being heeled 
 over until the scuppers — or the holes by which 
 water runs off the deck — dipped under the waves, 
 and there was plenty of sea aboard. 
 
 "Set that storm jib!" came the next order, 
 when the main sails had been furled, and that was 
 no easy task with the sharp pitching and tossing 
 of the schooner. Not a very seamanlike job was 
 made of it, but there was no time for the finer 
 touches. The sails were just clewed up to pre- 
 vent them from blowing away, until more time 
 could be devoted to them. 
 
 The storm jib, which is the sail furthest front 
 on a vessel, unless it be a flying jib, was set to 
 give her enough way so she would respond to the 
 helm, for it was necessary to keep the craft be- 
 fore the wind, and head on to the seas — that is, the 
 big waves must be cut and broken by the sharp 
 prow, or bow, for had they come at the schooner 
 sideways, she would have been swamped in- 
 stantly. 
 
 Even the small area of the storm jib was hardly 
 necessary. The Mary Ellen, in that blow, would 
 have scudded along fairly well " under bare 
 poles," that is with no sails set at all. Even Cap- 
 tain Brisco had his doubts about the storm jib re- 
 
174 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 sisting. It might pull away from the holding 
 ropes at any moment. But its loss would do no 
 harm, for it would only be blown out to sea, and 
 there were enough spare sails. 
 
 So, as I have said, order came out of confu- 
 sion, but even the order was somewhat confused, 
 at least to the members of the moving picture 
 company. They had been ordered below, and 
 had managed, somehow, to get there, though 
 more than one received bumps and bruises on the 
 pitching, tossing companionway. 
 
 " Oh, what an awful storm! " complained Miss 
 Dixon, when they were huddled in the cabin. 
 
 " Isn't it awful — terrible ! " agreed her com- 
 panion. " I am frightened to death. We may 
 sink at any minute." 
 
 " Oh, not so much danger of that in a wooden 
 ship," said Paul consolingly. He wished the two 
 former vaudeville actresses would try to have a 
 little courage. 
 
 " I am so frightened," murmured Miss Pen- 
 nington. " I wish Captain Brisco would come 
 down here." 
 
 11 What for? " asked Alice, hardly able to keep 
 the contempt out of her voice. 
 
 "So he could tell us if we are in any danger, 
 and what we ought to do," was the selfish answer. 
 " He must save us ! " 
 
WRECKED 
 
 175 
 
 " He's trying to save the ship ! " said Alice, 
 " and you two ought to be ashamed of yourselves 
 at a time like this. Think of poor Russ and Mr. 
 Sneed out in that motorboat all alone ! " 
 
 " Oh, but they — they're men," faltered Miss 
 Dixon. 
 
 " Then why don't you try to be women ! " 
 snapped Alice. 
 
 " Hush, my dear," said her sister gently. 
 
 " I can't ! " was the answer. " When I think 
 of poor Russ " 
 
 " I'm going to put on a life preserver," ex- 
 claimed Miss Pennington, favoring Alice with a 
 frosty stare. 
 
 " Perhaps that would be a good plan for us, my 
 uears," said Mr. DeVere to his daughters. " It 
 fan do no harm, at all events." 
 
 " No," admitted Alice. " But we appear to be 
 all right — for the time being, at least." 
 
 It seemed quieter up on deck now, for the sail- 
 ors had ceased rushing about adjusting the can- 
 vas, though there was still plenty of noise. There 
 was the rattle and bang of blocks, the whipping 
 about of ends of ropes, the slap, now and then, of 
 the storm jib, as it was whipped back and forth. 
 Now and then a heavy sea would fall on deck 
 with a crash. 
 
 At such times the Mary Ellen, stout as she was, 
 
1^6 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 would tremble from stem to stern, and those in 
 the cabin would shiver and look at one another 
 apprehensively. 
 
 " Come on, Laura," called Miss Pennington to 
 her companion. " Let's take all the precautions 
 we can. We'll put on life preservers. But oh, I 
 daren't think of being in the water with all those 
 sharks." 
 
 " Don't talk that way ! " said Paul in a sharp 
 whisper, as he saw Ruth shrink back at the word 
 " shark." 
 
 Miss Pennington did not deign to answer, but 
 she and her friend were soon struggling with the 
 straps of a life preserver. At this moment Cap- 
 tain Brisco came down into the cabin. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " he asked, and his 
 voice was stern. 
 
 " We — we are getting ready for an — an emer- 
 gency," faltered Miss Pennington. 
 
 " Well, there won't be any emergency — at least 
 not for a while," the commander said grimly 
 " We are doing very well. If you want to be un- 
 comfortable do so, and put on those cork jackets. 
 But there is no need of it. I'll give you plenty of 
 warning if the ship is likely to founder, and we'll 
 lower the boats." 
 
 "Is there any real danger, Captain?" asked 
 Mr. DeVere. 
 
WRECKED I7 7 
 
 " Well, of course there always is, in a storm 
 at sea. But we are in no more danger than hun- 
 dreds of others. This is a wooden ship, and it 
 will be a long time sinking, even if it gets to that 
 point, which is far off. We haven't leaked a drop 
 yet, and we're running before the storm nicely. 
 You need have no fears." 
 
 " That's what I thought ! " exclaimed Alice, 
 with a look at the two former stage actresses. 
 
 " Humph ! " sniffed Miss Dixon. " Any one 
 would think you were a sailor." 
 
 " She's a good deal better 'n some," said Jack 
 Jepson coming into the cabin then to report some- 
 thing to Captain Brisco. 
 
 " Then you would not advise us to put on life 
 preservers ? " asked Mr. DeVere. 
 
 " Not now, at least," the captain replied. " I 
 have done everything possible, and the only thing 
 now is to run before the storm. We are in good 
 shape. The Mary Ellen is a better craft than I 
 gave her credit for being. The only thing to do 
 is to wait, and hope for the best." 
 
 " Have you plenty of lifeboats? " the old actor 
 wanted to know. 
 
 " Yes, enough for all hands. They are pro- 
 visioned and watered, and are staunch craft My 
 men have orders to stand by in case of any real 
 danger, and put the small boats over. But we will 
 
i 7 8 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 stick to the ship until the last, though that is not 
 saying mind you, that we will have to desert 
 her." 
 
 " Oh! I couldn't think of going in one of those 
 small boats ! " cried Miss Dixon. " They are so 
 low in the water. I should faint every time I 
 looked over the side." 
 
 " Well if she looked once, and fainted and 
 stayed so, it would be a good thing for all hands," 
 murmured Paul Ardite. 
 
 " Oh, don't say that," Alice reproached him. 
 
 " That's how I feel about her," he answered. 
 
 " What can be done about picking up the mo- 
 torboat?" asked Mr. DeVere. They all looked 
 anxiously toward Captain Brisco. 
 
 " I have a man on the lookout," answered the 
 commander. " It may seem to some of you heart- 
 less to go away and leave her." 
 
 " It was," murmured gentle Ruth. But she 
 only whispered the words. There were tears in 
 her eyes. 
 
 " But I could do nothing else," resumed Cap- 
 tain Brisco. " As I told you, a vessel can't re- 
 main stationary on the sea. We had to move on 
 before the gale. And, as I also said, the motor- 
 boat has a better chance of going where she 
 wants to than have we, who must depend on our 
 sails. I have no doubt but that the two in the 
 A fax are safe." 
 
WRECKED I79 
 
 But if Captain Brisco, or any of those then 
 huddled in the cabin of the Mary Ellen, could 
 have seen Russ and Mr. Sneed just then they 
 would not have envied them. 
 
 With the racing of the engine, indicating to 
 Russ that the propeller had dropped off into the 
 sea, he at once shut off the power. Without the 
 resistance of the screw the machine would soon 
 have racked itself to pieces. 
 
 " Well, what's to be done? " asked Mr. Sneed. 
 
 " That's the way to talk," was the response. 
 " We've got to do something, that's sure." 
 
 The storm which at that moment was envelop- 
 ing the Mary Ellen was, at the same time, buffet- 
 ing about the smaller motorboat. When she lost 
 headway by the stopping of her engine she no 
 longer took the seas head, or bow, on. She fell 
 into the trough, and was in imminent danger of 
 being swamped. 
 
 " We've got to bring her up, the first thing we 
 do," Russ decided. " What we need is a drag 
 anchor. That will bring her head on to the 
 waves, and we can ride them better until help 
 comes." 
 
 "Will help ever come?" asked the actor, de- 
 spondently. 
 
 " Of course it will. Or else we'll find the 
 schooner, or they us ! " responded Russ. 
 
!8o THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 While he was talking, he was looking about for 
 something to use as a drag anchor. 
 
 " That will do ! " Russ decided as he saw a 
 heavy wooden box. " I'll use that." Quickly he 
 tied a rope to it, and tossed the box out. 
 
 " This is better ! " exclaimed Russ. " Now let's 
 take an account of stock, and see what else we 
 can do. We may be here for some time." 
 
 " We can't live very long in this awful 
 weather! " groaned, rather than spoke, Mr. Sneed. 
 
 " Oh, don't give up so easily," said Russ. 
 
 But when the storm grew worse, and the tiny 
 craft was buffeted about, shipping considerable 
 water, even stout-hearted Russ was not as hope- 
 ful as he had been. He had stowed the camera in 
 a safe place, and put the films in a water-tight 
 box well forward. Then the only thing to do was 
 to wait. In vain he scanned the sea through the 
 storm for a sight of the schooner. He could 
 catch no glimpse of her. 
 
 Meanwhile the lookout on the Mary Ellen was 
 eagerly watching for any signs of the Ajax, but 
 he had even less chance of seeing her than Russ 
 and Mr. Sneed did of sighting the larger vessel. 
 
 The storm was constantly growing worse. As 
 old Jack had said, the schooner had actually been 
 caught in the very vortex of it, but the whirling 
 motion, imparted by the meeting of two different 
 
WRECKED X 8i 
 
 wind currents, had been the saving of the craft. 
 She had been shunted to the outer edge, as a 
 cork, going around in a whirlpool, is sometimes 
 tossed to safety by the very violence of the mo- 
 tion. 
 
 Then she had scudded before the gale. 
 
 All that night they scudded before the storm, 
 not knowing where they were, and when morning 
 came there was a wild and tumultuous waste of 
 waters all about them. Alice ventured up on 
 deck, against the advice of her father and sister. 
 
 She saw Jack Jepson and some sailors amid- 
 ships. They seemed to be in earnest consultation. 
 Alice drew near them, intending to ask if there 
 were any news. 
 
 As she came near the mainmast, there was a 
 sudden veer to the craft, a snapping, splintering 
 sound, and the mast, with its gear of sail, boom 
 and gaff crashed over the side, smashing the 
 stout bulwarks. 
 
 " Look out, gal ! " hoarsely cried Old Jack, and 
 he snatched Alice back only just in time, for the 
 mast splintered down right in front of her. 
 
 With the crash and splintering of the wood, 
 and the breaking of the side of the schooner, 
 there arose the cry of : 
 
 " We're wrecked ! We're wrecked! " 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 " mutiny! " 
 
 Jack Jepson's first thought was to get Alice to 
 a place of safety. 
 
 " You shouldn't have come up ! " he shouted in 
 her ear, as he fairly carried her along the sloping 
 deck. He had to shout to be heard above the roar 
 of the wind, the pounding of the broken mast 
 against the side of the schooner, and the swish of 
 the salt water whipped into spray by the power- 
 ful gale. 
 
 Jack set Alice down at the head of the com- 
 panionway, and indicated by gestures, rather 
 than words, that she was to go below. As she 
 descended the sloping stairs, holding to the rope 
 rail to prevent stumbling, she saw Captain Brisco 
 spring forward. Whatever else he was, the com- 
 mander did not shrink from any emergency. 
 
 "Cut away that mast!" he cried. "She'll 
 have us stove in if we don't cut her loose ! " 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " answered Jack. 
 
 He and several other sailors had seized axes as 
 182 
 
MUTINY! 
 
 183 
 
 soon as the result of the crash was seen, and now 
 sprang to the broken bulwarks, over which the 
 mainmast lay, the jagged end of it in the water, 
 pounding against the side of the schooner at every 
 roll, and threatening to punch a hole in her as a 
 battering ram punctures a wall. 
 
 "Strike hard, men!" called Jack, and the 
 sound of their axes followed. Ropes were sev- 
 ered with a blow, but the wire shrouds were 
 tougher, and it was not until several minutes had 
 passed that the mast, with its tangle of sails and 
 ropes, was chopped free to float away on the crest 
 of a billow. 
 
 " Get up the mizzen storm sail ! " ordered Cap- 
 tain Brisco. " She's falling off ! " 
 
 The schooner was indeed in danger of wallow- 
 ing in the trough of the big waves. 
 
 Pausing only for a moment, the sailors who 
 had labored so valiantly at cutting loose the 
 broken mast, sprang to get more sail on the craft. 
 She was deprived of the reefed, or shortened, 
 one that had been on the stick which was now 
 overboard, and the jib was not enough to hold 
 her head to the waves. 
 
 "What is it? Oh what is it?" gasped Miss 
 Pennington as Alice fell, rather than walked down 
 the companionway into the cabin. 
 
 "Are we sinking?" demanded Miss Dixon. 
 
!8 4 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Not at all ! " answered Alice, catching her 
 breath, and, with a shake of her head freeing her 
 face from the salty spray that had drenched her. 
 " It isn't anything at all." 
 
 She determined to make light of it, even though 
 her own heart was beating like a hammer at the 
 thought of her narrow escape from possible death. 
 
 Alice really did not know whether there was 
 any danger or not from the fall of the mast. She 
 had often read of such things happening, and she 
 remembered that the masts were always " cut 
 away." So she supposed, as long as this was 
 being done, that the proper course was being fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 " There's no danger at all," she said, speaking 
 more calmly now. 
 
 " No danger ! " cried Miss Pennington. " Lis- 
 ten to that ! " 
 
 It was the noise of sailors on deck chopping 
 away the mast-gear. 
 
 " Oh, one of those upright sticks, that they 
 hang the sails on, fell over. Not enough glue on 
 it, I guess," said Alice, calmly. 
 
 " Not enough glue ! " gasped Paul. " Well, I 
 never — " 
 
 " Can't you take a joke? " Alice whispered to 
 him, as she saw that her minimizing of the acci- 
 dent was having its effect. 
 
• MUTINY! 
 
 185 
 
 " Oh, yes, of course ! " Paul exclaimed. " Not 
 enough glue on it — Oh yes ! " and he had to turn 
 away to keep from smiling at the idea of a mast, 
 — that is the most firmly set of anything on a 
 ship, (being indeed almost an integral part of it) 
 • — the idea of that being stayed with glue was 
 enough to make almost anyone smile, even in the 
 midst of danger. 
 
 The sounds on the deck gradually became more 
 quiet. The danger seemed to be oyer for the time 
 being. The moving picture actors and actresses 
 crowded around Alice to hear her story of the 
 accident. She carefully avoided mentioning her 
 own peril, but she resolved to properly thank old 
 Jack later. Just now Alice did not want her 
 father to worry. His throat w&s troubling him 
 because of the amount of salt spray in the air. 
 
 On deck Captain Brisco and Jack Jepson took 
 charge of matters until the wreckage had been 
 cleared away. And a lot of wreckage there was. 
 The Mary Ellen looked little like the trim 
 schooner that had left New York a few weeks be- 
 fore. 
 
 Jack Jepson stepped close to the stump of the 
 mainmast. He gave one look at it, and uttered a 
 single word. 
 
 " Rotten ! " he exclaimed. 
 
 " What's that ? " cried Captain Brisco sharply. 
 
^6 the moving picture girls at sea 
 
 "Rotten!" repeated the mate. "That mast 
 had dry rot to the very core. Only the varnish 
 held her together." 
 
 "What's that to you?" cried the captain in 
 angry tones. " You keep your opinions to your- 
 self ! When I want 'em, I'll ask for 'em! Now 
 get below and see if we're taking in any water." 
 
 " Very well, sir," was the answer, but Jack 
 gave the captain a queer look. 
 
 He found some water coming in, but not more, 
 he thought, than the pumps could take care of, so 
 he reported the matter only to Captain Brisco. 
 
 " That's good," the commander said, seemingly 
 well pleased. " I guess they can have their fake 
 shipwreck after all, if the weather clears." 
 
 As the day advanced, the storm lulled slightly, 
 but it was still rough. Those of the moving pic- 
 ture company who ventured up on deck went be* 
 *tfw again with white, scared faces at the sight of 
 the wreckage of the mainmast. For it did look 
 doleful. 
 
 " This shipwreck comes pretty near being real," 
 said Mr. Pertell. "If we could only photograph 
 it now, it would make a line film." 
 
 " Can't you? " asked Alice. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose I could make some views." 
 
 A. few hundred feet of film were exposed by 
 one of the operators, but the pretended shipwreck 
 
'MUTINY! 
 
 I8 7 
 
 would need to be taken from a small boat, and 
 the sea was too rough to admit of that. 
 
 Then the storm, that had given them a brief 
 respite, began again, worse than before. The 
 schooner was tossed about like a toy, and the 
 mizzenmast was sprung so that no sail could be 
 rigged on it. 
 
 Then when a great wave struck the craft, wash- 
 ing over her from stem to stern, the work of the 
 ocean and the storm elements seemed completed. 
 The Mary Ellen staggered under the blow like 
 some living thing, and she did not rise to it as 
 buoyantly as she had before. 
 
 Jack Jepson came rushing up from below. 
 
 " We're leaking fast! " he cried. " We'd bet- 
 ter take to the boats, Captain Brisco ! The pumps 
 won't work ! " 
 
 " The boats ! Nonsense ! " the captain cried. 
 " We'll ride it out here. The schooner is all 
 right ! " 
 
 " I tell you she's sinking ! " yelled Jack. " We 
 must take to the boats." 
 
 " What ? Do you dare give orders in my 
 face ! " stormed Captain Brisco. " This is mutiny, 
 sir! This is mutiny ! I'll put you in irons ! " and 
 with raised fist he started toward the old sailor. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 HELP AT LAST 
 
 Jack Jepson was a brave man. He proved it 
 then by standing unflinchingly in front of the 
 angry captain, when shrinking back might have 
 meant a blow that would have brought about a 
 general fight. Seeing him standing there fear- 
 lessly, made Captain Brisco pause. And that 
 gave the others time for action. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " cried Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " He is trying to start a mutiny as he did once 
 before ! " fairly yelled Captain Brisco. 
 
 " I never started a mutiny before, and I'm not 
 trying to do so now ! " retorted Jack, and he 
 seemed to have lost much of his timid simplicity. 
 " I tell you the ship is sinking, and we had best 
 take to the boats while there is time." 
 
 " And I tell you that you are wrong ! " snarled 
 Captain Brisco. " I order you below ! " 
 
 " And I won't go, until I have told these people 
 what is going on here ! " retorted Jack Jepson. 
 
 " If that isn't mutiny, I'd like to know what 
 is," cried the captain. 
 
 1 88 
 
HELP AT LAST ^ 
 
 " Well, if that's mutiny, then I'm glad to be a 
 mutineer ! " shouted the old salt, " and any court 
 in the land would uphold me, for I am trying to 
 save lives, and you're trying to throw 'em away." 
 
 " Throw 'em away ! What do you mean ? " 
 
 " You know what I mean," replied Jack, and 
 there was significance in his voice. " I won't say 
 anything about putting to sea in a ship that wasn't 
 fit — with masts that were nothin' but dry rot, and 
 with pumps that only half work at best. And I 
 won't say anything about your plot — there isn't 
 time now. But I will say " 
 
 " A plot ! " cried Alice, who, with Ruth, stood 
 near her father. 
 
 K Yes, a plot, Miss ! " Jack Jepson cried. " I'll 
 tell you about it later. But now we've got to do 
 something. The water's comin' in fast, and if 
 we can't stop it, we'll have to take to the boats." 
 
 " Look here ! " stormed Captain Brisco, and his 
 voice was almost in keeping with the howl of the 
 gale all about them, and almost as raucous as the 
 salty spray that flew over everything. " Look 
 here! Who is captain of this ship? " 
 
 " You are," replied Jack quietly enough. He 
 looked the angry man full in the eye, and the half- 
 raised fist of the commander fell again. 
 
 " Then if I'm captain, I'm going to be 
 obeyed ! " came next. " I order you below, Jep- 
 
190 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 son. You're no longer mate of this craft 
 You're deposed ! Hen Lacomb, I hereby appoint 
 you first mate until my regular one recovers, and 
 you, Hankinson, you're second mate. Lively 
 now. Jepson, go below, and if he makes any 
 more trouble, Hen, clap him in irons," he added 
 significantly. 
 
 For a moment there was silence following this 
 announcement — that is, as much quiet as the 
 storm permitted. Then Alice cried out : 
 
 " Father, won't you say something ! Mr. 
 Pertell, you're not going to permit this, are you? 
 I'm sure Jack Jepson is honest and that he is 
 faithfully warning us. Don't let him be put down 
 this way. Ask him what he means by a plot ! " 
 
 " Oh, Alice ! " protested her sister. " At a time 
 like this — when we may all be drowned ! " 
 
 " We'll all be drowned worse, maybe, if Jack's 
 advice isn't taken. What is it ? " she asked, ap- 
 pealing to the old sailor. " What is the plot you 
 spoke of ? " 
 
 " Ask him ? " cried the old salt, pointing an 
 accusing finger at the captain. " Ask him, and if 
 he doesn't tell you, I will. Talk about a mutiny ! 
 It wouldn't be half as bad as his plot for getting 
 possession of this vessel." 
 
 " What's that ! " cried Captain Brisco, starting 
 forward. " You dare accuse me " 
 
HELP AT LAST 
 
 191 
 
 " Yes, you and Hen Lacomb ! " cried Jack, who 
 seemed to have acquired a new boldness. " I 
 charge you with plotting to make a fizzle of the 
 shipwreck these picture people planned. You 
 were going to pretend the vessel was sinking, be- 
 fore the time set for the pictures, and you were 
 going to get them to abandon the schooner. Then 
 you and Lacomb were going to come back to the 
 ship later, take her to some secret port, fit her out 
 again and use her for your own purposes. 
 
 " That's the plot ! That's what I overheard 
 you and Lacomb plannin', and when you suspected 
 I knew, you thought I'd be better off in the sea. 
 That's how I happened to go overboard. I was 
 thrown! That's what I charge you with. Deny 
 it if ye dare ! " and he pointed an accusing finger 
 at the two men. " You threw me overboard, Hen 
 Lacomb! And Captain Brisco planned to have 
 you do it ! " 
 
 Captain Brisco appeared to struggle with some 
 emotion. His face went red and white by turns. 
 He seemed unable to speak. But at last he choked 
 out: 
 
 " What ! You dare say that to me. You ac- 
 cuse me ! " 
 
 " Yes, and I have the proof ! " cried Jack. 
 " Here's the agreement you made Lacomb sign. 
 You were afraid to trust to him unless he made a 
 
I9 2 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 promise in writing, and here it is. I found it in 
 the secret compartment in your cabin. Your 
 cabin that used to be mine in the old Mary Ellen. 
 That's how I made sure this ship was the old one 
 I used to serve on, made over. I found this agree- 
 ment! It's the proof of what I say. Deny it if 
 you can." 
 
 " Why — why — " stammered the captain. " Do 
 you dare — " but it seemed he could not get any 
 farther. He glanced at Hen Lacomb who stood 
 near him. A meaning look passed between the 
 two men, and Hen started edging around toward 
 Jack Jepson. 
 
 " Father ! Mr. Pertell ! " cried Alice. " Let us 
 have this settled ! Jack has made charges. They 
 may be true or they may not be. But our lives 
 surely are in danger if this vessel is sinking." 
 
 " And I say she isn't sinking ! She's as sound 
 as a bell below the water line ! " cried the captain. 
 
 " And I say she has a hole stove in her, an' un- 
 less it's stopped we'll be at the bottom in a few 
 hours ! " cried Jack. " The mast knocked a hole 
 in her and she's takin' water fast. The pumps are 
 no good, but they can be fixed with a little work 
 on 'em." 
 
 " Keep still ! " the captain shouted. " You're 
 under arrest as a mutineer." 
 
 " No he isn't ! " exclaimed Mr. Pertell. " This 
 
HELP AT LAST z g$ 
 
 is my vessel. I'm the chief owner of it, and I here 
 and now depose you as captain, Mr. Brisco, and 
 appoint Jack Jepson in your place ! " 
 
 There was a gasp of baffled rage from the 
 former commander. 
 
 " Jack, take charge," said Mr. Pertell. " Select 
 as mates whoever you want. We'll go into this 
 matter of the plot later. Just now we must save 
 the ship if we can. Everything must give way to 
 that. Do you accept ? " 
 
 " What ! Him captain ? " cried Hen Lacomb, 
 who was edging nearer and nearer to Jack all this 
 while. 
 
 " Why not? " asked Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " He doesn't know how to navigate. He'll run 
 us aground." 
 
 " I wish he would run us on der ground ! " mur- 
 mured Mr. Switzer. " I haf hat enough of der 
 ocean. Der ground is goot enough for me." 
 
 " I can navigate ! " cried Jack. " I hold a 
 master's certificate, though I've only filled mates' 
 berths of late." 
 
 " I — I refuse to serve under him," stormed 
 Captain Brisco. " And when we reach port, I 
 shall lay this matter before the authorities. You 
 can't depose a captain this way ! " 
 
 "Can't I?" asked Mr. Pertell coolly. "I 
 rather think I can. I looked up the law on the 
 
194 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 rights of owners before I started on this voyage, 
 Jack Jepson is captain." 
 
 " And I refuse to serve under him." 
 
 " Very well. Then you can either work your 
 passage, or pay for your passage, I don't care 
 which. But I'm going to save this ship, and the 
 lives of those aboard her, if I can." 
 
 There was a sudden little scuffle near Jack Jep- 
 son, and Hen Lacomb went sprawling on the 
 deck. 
 
 " No you don't ! " drawled Mr. Switzer in his 
 most German comedian voice. " I think you haf 
 fallen. Dit you hurt yourself ? " he asked of the 
 prostrate Hen. 
 
 The latter, with a growl, got to his feet, an 
 angry look on his face. 
 
 " What happened? " asked Mr. Pertell. 
 
 " Oh, noddings dit happen," was the reply. 
 " It iss only vat might haf happenet. He vas get- 
 ting so close by Jack dot Jack might fall ofer 
 board again, und ve don't vant to lose our new 
 captain so soon yet," explained Mr. Switzer 
 cheerfully. 
 
 He thus made light of the affair, but later it 
 came out that Hen Lacomb had evidently had the 
 intention of at least trying to pitch Jack over- 
 board, as the easiest solution of the trouble of 
 Captain Brisco and his crony. 
 
HELP AT LAST jqij 
 
 "This is enough!" cried Mr. Pertell. "Jack, 
 you're captain. Do what you like to insure the 
 safety of us and the ship. Captain Brisco is no 
 longer in command of this vessel," the manager 
 went on to a wondering group of sailors. " I call 
 for three cheers for Captain Jack Jepson ! " 
 
 They were given with a will, for evidently Jack 
 was a favorite, and the deposed captain was not. 
 The latter slunk below followed by Hen Lacomb. 
 
 " We've got to try to stop that leak first of 
 all ! " said Jack, as he carefully put in his pocket 
 the paper he had claimed was an agreement be- 
 tween Brisco and his crony. " I appoint Jim 
 iWest as first mate and Frank Snyder as second ! " 
 the new captain went on. " Come below, you 
 two, and we'll see what we can do. We've got to 
 mend the pumps. Keep her about as she is," he 
 ordered the steersman. 
 
 " Aye, aye, sir ! " was the respectful answer. 
 Jack was already developing new qualities as a 
 commander. 
 
 " This is a distressing state of affairs," said 
 Mr. DeVere. 
 
 " Not as bad as it might be," Mr. Pertell an- 
 swered. " There is a chance for us now. I 
 never dreamed that Brisco was such a scoundrel." 
 
 " Oh, I'm so glad Captain Jack is in charge ! " 
 cried Alice. " And I'm so glad he found out 
 
196 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 about the plot. Maybe this will help to clear him 
 of the other unjust charge," she went on. 
 
 " Perhaps," agreed Ruth. " But oh, Alice ! If 
 we should sink! " 
 
 " Nonsense ! We're not going to sink ! " 
 
 And so it proved — at least the Mary Ellen was 
 not doomed to go to the bottom at once. The 
 storm still raged with seemingly unabated vio- 
 lence, but the sailors, under the direction of Cap- 
 tain Jepson, got a heavy piece of canvas over the 
 worst leak, and then the repaired pumps kept the 
 water in the hold down to a normal level. 
 
 The failure of the pumps to work, until Jack 
 and the men fixed them was due to criminal negli- 
 gence on the part of Brisco. He put to sea with 
 this necessary part of a ship in poor condition, not 
 thinking they would be needed. 
 
 Brisco was a desperate man, and so was La- 
 comb. They had been involved in more than one 
 shady transaction, and though both may have 
 been aboard with Jack, during the mutiny, they 
 successfully covered their tracks. 
 
 Brisco and Lacomb sulked below, and, for the 
 time being, no effort was made to bring them up 
 and set them to work, though every hand was 
 needed. Some of the members of the film com- 
 pany turned in and helped. It was thought better 
 not to incite a fight. 
 
HELP AT LAST igy 
 
 So the Mary Ellen lurched on through the 
 storm, a mere semblance of the gallant craft she 
 had appeared to be on leaving port. And those 
 aboard labored desperately to keep her afloat. 
 
 " Talk about a shipwreck ! " gasped Mr. Pertell, 
 as a wave drenched him, " this is the most realistic 
 I ever saw. If I could only picture this! " 
 
 But it was impossible. How the planned 
 drama of the sea would end, no one could tell. 
 
 '■' And oh! to think of poor Russ and Mr. Sneeri 
 out in this — if they are still out in it," murmured 
 Alice, as she and Ruth clung to one another in 
 their cabin. 
 
 " The Ajax may have survived," Ruth said, 
 hopefully. 
 
 And indeed, at that moment, the motorboat 
 was making the best of the bad weather. 
 
 The sea anchor which Russ had rigged pro- 
 vided the necessary drag and steerage way, and 
 the boat's head was kept to the waves. Her high 
 bow, and covered fore-part, enabled her to ride 
 seas that would have swamped another craft of 
 like size. And her dory-build added to her safety. 
 The bank fishermen know well how to shape a 
 boat to meet heavy seas. 
 
 " Well, we seem to be doing fairly well," said 
 Russ, as he and his companion settled down in the 
 
198 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 shelter, to nibble at a bit of hard tack and drink 
 some of the water Jack had put on board. 
 
 " Yes, I suppose it might be worse," agreed 
 Mr. Sneed. And that, for him, was saying a 
 great deal. 
 
 So the Ajax drifted on, as the Mary Ellen was 
 driving, before the gale, the occupants of neither 
 craft knowing aught of the others. And the 
 storm still raged. 
 
 After a while Russ, for want of something bet- 
 ter to do, began looking over the motor. Pres- 
 ently he discovered something that made him 
 shout for joy. 
 
 " What is it? " asked his companion. " Do you 
 see the schooner ? " 
 
 " No, but I can make this boat run. Look, 
 the propeller hasn't dropped off at all! The set 
 screws of the sleeve have become loose and the 
 propeller shaft didn't turn, that was all." 
 
 If any of you know anything about motor- 
 boats, you know that the shaft which passes 
 through the stuffing box, and to which shaft the 
 propeller is fastened, is joined to the shaft of the 
 engine by a coupling, or sleeve. If you take two 
 lead pencils, and thrust an end of each into each 
 end of a hollow, brass pencil holder, you will get 
 an idea of what I mean. One pencil will repre- 
 sent the shaft to which the propeller is fastened, 
 
HELP AT LAST 199 
 
 and the other the engine shaft. The brass holder 
 is the coupling, or sleeve. In order that the 
 shafts will be held rigidly together, turning at the 
 same time, set screws in the sleeve are tightly 
 turned down on the shaft, binding both in the 
 sleeve. 
 
 It was the set screws on the propeller shaft that 
 had loosed, allowing the sleeve to slip uselessly 
 around, that had caused all the trouble. With a 
 wrench Russ tightened the screws. He tested 
 them, and, finding them firm, started the engine. 
 A moment later the Ajax was moving over the 
 waves under her own power. 
 
 "Hurray!" cried Mr. Sneed. "This is 
 great ! " 
 
 " And we don't need this any longer," Russ 
 said, hauling in the drag anchor. Then, able to 
 mount the waves, the motorboat was in much bet- 
 ter condition for fighting the storm. 
 
 On and on she rushed. Hour after hour 
 passed, but the gale showed no signs of abating. 
 The two young men were weary and disheart- 
 ened, when, as there came a little rift in the clouds 
 Russ, who stood up to look about, gave a yeli. 
 
 " What is it now ? " asked Mr. Sneed. " More 
 trouble?" 
 
 " No ! " cried Russ. " I see a steamer. Help 
 at last ! I'm going straight for her ! " 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS 
 
 Russ had been running the motor at moderate 
 speed, for he did not know just how long the 
 supply of gasoline would last, and he did not 
 know as yet what might be before him and his 
 companion in distress. But the sight of the 
 steamer gave him hope, and he turned on full 
 speed. 
 
 The Ajax was a powerful craft, though even a 
 mighty steamer would not have found it easy to 
 make headway in that sea and in that gale. The 
 motor craft responded gallantly, and shot up on 
 the crest of each wave, sliding down the opposite 
 side as though she were going to investigate the 
 uttermost depths of Father Neptune's caverns. 
 
 " Steamer ! I don't see any steamer ! " ex- 
 claimed Mr. Sneed, as he looked in the direction 
 toward which the face of Russ was turned. 
 
 " You will when we both come on top of a 
 wave at the same time," was the answer. " You 
 see we lie so low in the water she can't see us, 
 
 200 
 
A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS 2 0I 
 
 and we can't glimpse her until we're both on a 
 crest together. She's off to the east there. 
 Watch and you'll see her. Look now ! " 
 
 At that moment the Ajax rose on a mighty 
 wave, which lifted her high toward the sky, 
 in which were now rifted clouds. Mr. Sneed 
 glanced to where Russ pointed, and saw the long, 
 black hull of a steamer, from whose stacks 
 belched forth clouds of smoke, showing that her 
 engines were being driven at top speed to over- 
 come the storm. 
 
 " There she is ! " cried Russ. " Now if we can 
 only reach her, we'll be all right, and we can help 
 the others." 
 
 " The others," murmured the actor. 
 
 " Yes, those on the Mary Ellen. She must be 
 in trouble in this storm, for she isn't built for this 
 sort of thing. It's a wonder she lasted as long 
 as she did." 
 
 " Maybe she's at the bottom now," suggested 
 Mr. Sneed. 
 
 "Cheerful, aren't you?" remarked Russ. "I 
 thought you'd given that sort of thing up." 
 
 " I meant to. I really did. I'm sorry ! " the 
 other exclaimed, contritely enough. Really he 
 was a different sort of Mr. Sneed , from the 
 " human grouch " who often made matters so un- 
 pleasant for members of the Comet Film Com- 
 
202 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 pany. Since he and Russ had so nearly faced 
 death, Mr. Sneed was much braver and more 
 cheerful. 
 
 " I think she'll keep afloat for some time," Russ 
 went on, " as she is all wood, you know. She 
 may be pretty well battered, though." 
 
 If he could only have seen the hapless Mary 
 Ellen then, he would have believed her quite bat- 
 tered indeed. For another rotten mast had fallen. 
 
 " Do you mean you're going to ask those on the 
 steamer to look for the schooner," asked Mr. 
 Sneed. 
 
 " That's what I'm going to do, if we can get 
 to her," Russ said. " It's going to be nip and 
 tuck, for she's going fast and she won't see us, 
 as we're so low in the water. She's not heading 
 in our direction, either, but I'll go after her on a 
 long slant, and maybe I can reach her, or get near 
 enough to make her see us. This is a pretty fast 
 boat." 
 
 They were speeding over the waves, now down 
 in a hollow, and again on the crest. Sometimes 
 they would lose sight of the steamer altogether, 
 and again they would catch a fleeting glimpse of 
 her. And, when they did, she seemed farther off 
 than ever. 
 
 " Oh, we'll never reach her ! " said Mr. Sneed, 
 despondently enough. " She'll never give us any 
 aid." 
 
A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS 203 
 
 " There you go ! " cried Russ. " I thought 
 you'd given up that sort of thing ! " 
 
 " Well, I didn't mean just that," the actor said. 
 " Perhaps we will make her see us after all." 
 
 "That's better!" exclaimed Russ. "We'll 
 get her — or crack a cylinder ! " and he tried to 
 get a few more revolutions out of the fly wheel. 
 
 In spite of their brave front, Russ and his 
 companion were sufficiently miserable. Their 
 boat constantly shipped water, and they had to 
 use the hand force pump, which, fortunately, was 
 in the craft. A pump was connected with the 
 cylinder cooling apparatus, designed to free the 
 cockpit of bilge water, but the pump would not 
 work. 
 
 Russ and Mr. Sneed were wet through, for the 
 cabin could not be entirely closed against the 
 spray. And they had nothing to eat except cold 
 victuals. There was a gasoline stove aboard, but 
 there was nothing to cook, for only an emergency 
 ration had been put in the craft, and that was 
 more because of a whim on the part of Jack Jep- 
 son, than because he really thought it would be 
 needed. 
 
 But more than once as they drank of the 
 water, and nibbled the hard biscuits, or crackers, 
 in the water-tight box, Russ and his companion 
 blessed the forethought of honest Jack Jepson — I 
 
204 
 
 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 beg his pardon, Captain Jepson it was now, 
 though neither Russ nor Mr. Sneed knew that. 
 
 " I think I'll hoist a signal," said the actor, as 
 they drove on, now seeing the steamer, and again 
 losing her. 
 
 " Good idea," Russ agreed, as he busied him- 
 self with an oil can. 
 
 Mr. Sneed managed to lash an oar upright, and 
 on it he fastened a bit of canvas. It stood out 
 straight, like a board, so strong was the wind that 
 whipped it. 
 
 " I hope they see that," commented the actor. 
 
 " I hope so, too," added Russ. " It doesn't do 
 any good to yell, for the wind is blowing from 
 them to us." 
 
 More than once, as they urged their craft on 
 a long slant toward the steamer, they almost gave 
 up hope. But it sprang up again, and finally, as 
 a break in the clouds let out a little rift of light, 
 someone on the watch aboard the steamer saw the 
 fluttering signal. 
 
 " She's seen us ! She's seen us ! " cried Russ in 
 delight. 
 
 "How can you tell?" demanded his com- 
 panion. 
 
 " She whistled. I saw the steam. You'll hear 
 the blast in a second." 
 
 And they did. Light travels faster than sound. 
 They saw the steam from the powerful whistle 
 
A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS 205 
 
 before they heard the hoarse blast; even as one 
 sees the flash of a gun before hearing the report. 
 
 The steamer changed her course, and came on 
 toward the motorboat. 
 
 " Suppose it's the English one, that wants to 
 capture poor Jack," suggested Mr. Sneed. 
 
 " That doesn't make any difference," Russ 
 said. " She'll save us, and then look for the 
 schooner. We can take up Jack's case later." 
 
 It did not prove to be the English steamer. In- 
 stead it was a powerful fruiter, hailing from New 
 York, and Russ and Mr. Sneed were soon aboard, 
 the Ajax being hoisted to her deck. Then she 
 resumed her course, but it was a different one. 
 
 For, on the earnest plea of Russ and Mr. Sneed, 
 the steamer's captain consented to turn back and 
 search for the Mary Ellen. 
 
 " I don't know as I'll find her," he said, " but 
 we can't let all those poor souls perish." 
 
 So the search began. It lasted three days, 
 during which the storm nearly blew itself out. 
 And on the morning of the fourth day, when the 
 sullen sea was trying to calm itself, and when the 
 wind had died down to a moderate gale, the 
 lookout of the Sirius called out : 
 
 "Sail ho!" 
 
 " Where away ? " came the demand. 
 
 " Dead ahead. She's a schooner, low in the 
 water, and she's flying a signal of distress!" 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 CLEAR SKIES 
 
 Instantly there was commotion and excite- 
 ment on board the Sirius, for Russ and Mr. Sneed 
 had told their story of the starting out to make 
 a pictured shipwreck, which shipwreck had evi- 
 dently, now, become real. 
 
 " That's the Mary Ellen, I'm sure of it ! " Russ 
 cried as he caught a glimpse of the sighted 
 schooner. " But what has happened to her? " 
 
 " Masts are gone, and she's sinking," one of 
 the steamer's officers told him. " I guess we 
 can't get to her any too quickly." 
 
 And it was high time a rescue was made, for 
 Captain Jepson, and Mr. Pertell had decided to 
 take to the boats with all on board. 
 
 The Mary Ellen was sinking; there was no 
 doubt of that. All that could be done had been 
 done, but to no avail. 
 
 But hope revived when the steamer was sighted. 
 
 A little later, the Sirius stood by. And high 
 time, too. As a last resort, when it was found 
 206 
 
CLEAR SKIES 207 
 
 that the repaired pumps could not keep the water 
 down in the hold, so big was the leak, the signal 
 of distress had been hoisted. And, after many 
 anxious hours, it had been thus providentially an- 
 swered. 
 
 Then a thought came to Mr. Pertell. The 
 weather had cleared. The schooner would keep 
 afloat a few hours more. Why not make the 
 pictures of the shipwreck now? It would be his 
 only chance. True, they would not be just as 
 planned, but they would be better than losing all 
 the efforts that had been made. 
 
 There was a brief talk with the captain of the 
 Sirius. He consented to stand by until the sea 
 drama, quickly revised, was acted out — at least, 
 until shipwreck scenes were portrayed. 
 
 It was rather an exciting time, the passengers 
 dropping overboard from the sinking schooner, 
 and being rescued in boats. Russ, on board the 
 Ajax, which was again put into the sea, worked 
 the camera. The Mary Ellen made a more real- 
 istic wreck than had been hoped for. Former 
 Captain Brisco and Hen Lacomb, alone, refused 
 to take any part in the drama. 
 
 At last the final film was run off, the last rescue 
 was made by the motor craft and small boats, 
 and all, passengers and crew, from the sinking 
 schooner, were taken aboard the Sirius. 
 
2 o8 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " There she goes ! " said Alice softly, as, with 
 a final lurch, and a blowing up of her decks, from 
 the compressed air under them, the old craft, 
 bow first went beneath the waves. Russ took the 
 final pictures. 
 
 "Game to the last!" said Captain Jepson. 
 " She went down bow on, to show she wasn't 
 afraid of Davy Jones! That's the last of her, 
 and the last of Brisco's schemes to get her for his 
 own use." 
 
 " Tell me about that now," suggested Mr. 
 Pertell. " I have time to listen now, for we aren't 
 trying to save a sinking ship." 
 
 They were all now safely aboard the steamer, 
 which had resumed her course. The moving pic- 
 tures had all been taken, save some that needed a 
 shore background, and these could be done later. 
 
 " Did Brisco really plot to get the Mary 
 Ellen? " asked the manager. 
 
 "He did," said Jack Jepson. "I'll tell you 
 the whole story." And he did. Briefly it was 
 this: 
 
 On his first trip to the schooner, Jack had recog- 
 nized Brisco as an unscrupulous man who had 
 been engaged in several shady ship transactions. 
 But Brisco denied his identity, and Jack pre- 
 tended to have been mistaken, in order to throw 
 him off his guard. Brisco was also, Jack said, 
 
CLEAR SKIES 209 
 
 one of the mutineers of the Halcyon, but the 
 plotter denied this, and Jack admitted he may 
 have been mistaken. 
 
 Then came the advent of Hen Lacomb, whom 
 Jepson recognized as a fellow plotter with Brisco. 
 The evil men knew him, too, after a bit, but they 
 counted on the charge of mutiny hanging over 
 him to make him keep quiet, and not reveal their 
 plot. 
 
 Brisco and Lacomb plotted to get the schooner 
 for themselves. They were not really going to 
 endanger the lives of the passengers or crew, but 
 their game was to only pretend to sink the ship, 
 and to raise such an alarm that she would be 
 hastily abandoned. Then they would come back 
 to her later, salvage her, and use her for their 
 own ends. 
 
 Jack Jepson had overheard this plot, and, as he 
 had said, found the incriminating document 
 signed by Lacomb. This was hidden in a secret, 
 compartment in what had formerly been his bunk, 
 when the schooner was the Halcyon. 
 
 When Brisco and Lacomb discovered that Jep- 
 son knew their secret, they tried to get rid of 
 him, by a seeming accident. But Fate interfered 
 with their plans, and the storm made a big 
 change. Then came the deposing of Captain 
 Brisco, and the rest of the story is known to my 
 readers. 
 
iIO THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 " Well, Jack Jepson — or, Captain Jepson, 
 though you haven't now command of any ship," 
 said Mr. Pertell, " we owe much to you." 
 
 " It's nothin' at all," Jack said, modestly 
 enough. ** When I saw this steamer, though, I 
 thought it was that Britisher coming back for 
 me." 
 
 " It's a shame that the charge of mutiny should 
 hang over you!" exclaimed Alice. "I think it 
 should be wiped out." 
 
 " I wish it could be," Jack said with a sigh. 
 
 A steward, a little later, came to where the 
 rescued ones were talking together — Brisco and 
 Lacomb having gone off by themselves — and the 
 steward said the steamer's captain wanted to talk 
 to the schooner's commander. 
 
 " There he is," said Mr. Pertell, pointing to 
 Jack Jepson. " That's our new captain." 
 
 The steward looked. A queer change came 
 over his face. 
 
 "Jack!" he cried. "Is it really you? I've 
 looked all over the world for you ! " 
 
 " Tom Buttle ! " cried Jepson, leaping to his 
 feet. " My old shipmate. Say, if anyone knows, 
 you do, that I never had a thing to do with that 
 mutiny on the Halcyon. Don't you know I 
 didn't?" 
 
 " Of course I do! " the steward cried. " I can 
 
CLEAR SKIES 211 
 
 prove you were as innocent as a babe, and I know 
 others who can, too." 
 
 "What's this — more of the mystery?" asked 
 Alice. 
 
 " It's the end of it, I hope," iaid Jack solemnly. 
 "Tell 'em, Tom!" 
 
 " There isn't much to tell," the steward said. 
 " I was a shipmate with Jack on the Halcyon or 
 the Mary Ellen, in the old days. He's probably 
 told you of the mutiny. I was hurt in it, and lay 
 unconscious when they arrested him for it. I 
 didn't recover until he had been put in jail, and 
 when I tried to give my evidence, I could get no 
 one to listen to me. Then I heard Jack had es- 
 caped and I rested easy. I never knew the charge 
 was hanging over him all this while. 
 
 " I've been all over the world since, sailing in 
 different vessels, and in every port I'd inquire of 
 Jack from those who knew him. But I never 
 found him until now. Clear him — of course I 
 can clear him of the unjust charge! " 
 
 " Thank Heaven for that ! " said Jack Jepson. 
 
 " Everything is cleared up ! " cried Alice gaily. 
 " Even the sky — see how blue it is ! " 
 
 In due time Jack's innocence was proved be- 
 fore the English courts, and the charge against 
 him wiped out. He was then free to come and 
 go as he pleased. But the mystery of the disap- 
 
212 THE MOVING PICTURE GIRLS AT SEA 
 
 pearance of Captain Watson, of the Halcyon, or 
 old Mary Ellen, and his companion, Mike Tul- 
 lane, was never solved. 
 
 The Mary Ellen, all that was left of the recon- 
 structed Halcyon, was, of course, a total wreck. 
 Brisco's plan failed. Nothing was done to him. 
 as it would have been difficult to prove a case 
 against him. 
 
 Arrangements were made for taking the needed 
 land scenes of the sea drama, and when this was 
 done, the whole company returned to New York. 
 
 " Well, Alice," remarked Ruth one day, as 
 they were on their way up the coast in a steamer, 
 " did you have enough of sea-life this trip? " 
 
 " I certainly did," was the answer. " No more 
 shipwrecks for me ! " 
 
 "Same here!" put in Russ. "It's taking 
 too many chances ! " 
 
 " Oh, you'd do it over again — or something like 
 it — and so would you girls, if you knew a good 
 film would come of it," predicted Paul Ardite, 
 with a laugh. 
 
 And here we will say good-bye to the Moving 
 Picture Girls. 
 
 THE END 
 
THE JANICE DAY SERIES 
 
 By HELEN BEECHER LONG 
 
 12 mo, cloth, illustrated, and colored jacket 
 
 A series of books for girls which have been 
 uniformly successful. Janice Day is a character 
 that will live long in juvenile fiction. Every volume 
 is full of inspiration. There is an abundance of 
 humor, quaint situations, and worth-while effort, 
 and likewise plenty of plot and mystery. 
 
 An ideal series for girls from nine to sixteen. 
 
 JANICE DAY, THE YOUNG HOMEMAKER 
 JANICE DAY AT POKETOWN 
 THE TESTING OF JANICE DAY 
 HOW JANICE DAY WON 
 THE MISSION OF JANICE DAY 
 
THE NAN SHERWOOD SERIES 
 
 By Annie Roe Carr 
 
 12 mo, cloth, illustrated, and colored jacket 
 
 In Annie Roe Carr we have found a young woman 
 of wide experience among girls— in schoolroom, in 
 camp and while traveling. She knows girls of to- 
 day thoroughly — their likes and dislikes — and 
 knows that they demand almost as much action as 
 do the boys. And she knows humor— good, clean 
 fun and plenty of it. 
 
 NAN SHERWOOD AT PINE CAMP 
 
 or The Old Lumberman's Secret 
 
 NAN SHERWOOD AT LAKEVIEW HALL 
 
 or The Mystery of the Haunted Boathouse 
 
 NAN SHERWOOD'S WINTER HOLIDAYS 
 
 or Rescuing the Runaways 
 
 NAN SHERWOOD AT ROSE RANCH 
 
 or The Old Mexican's Treasure 
 
 NAN SHERWOOD AT PALM BEACH 
 
 or Strange Adventures Among the Orange Groves