“How’d you ever win him to do all those falls on the trick spurs, and get the close-ups of them? Didn’t he know you were shooting?” “Oh!” Baird shrugged again. “A little talk made that all jake. But what bothers me--how’s he going to act when he’s seen the picture?” The girl became grave. “I’m scared stiff every time I think of it. Maybe he’ll murder you, Jeff.” “Maybe he’ll murder both of us. You got him into it.” She did not smile, but considered gravely, absently. “There’s something else might happen,” she said at last. “That boy’s got at least a couple of sides to him. I’d rather he’d be crazy mad than be what I’m thinking of now, and that’s that all this stuff might just fairly break his heart. Think of it--to see his fine honest acting turned into good old Buckeye slap-stick! Can’t you get that? How’d you like to think you were playing Romeo, and act your heart out at it, and then find out they’d slipped in a cross-eyed Juliet in a comedy make-up on you? Well, you can laugh, but maybe it won’t be funny to him. Honest, Jeff, that kid gets me under the ribs kind of. I hope he takes it standing up, and goes good and crazy mad.” “I’ll know what to say to him if he does that. If he takes it the other way, lying down, I’ll be too ashamed ever to look him in the eye again. Say, it’ll be like going up to a friendly baby and soaking it with a potato masher or something.” “Don’t worry about it, Kid. Anyway, it won’t be your fault so much as mine. And you think there’s only two ways for him to take it, mad or heart broken? Well, let me tell you something about that lad--he might fool you both ways. I don’t know just how, but I tell you he’s an actor, a born one. What he did is going to get over big. And I never yet saw a born actor that would take applause lying down, even if it does come for what he didn’t know he was doing. Maybe he’ll be mad--that’s natural enough. But maybe he’ll fool us both. So cheerio, old Pippin! and let’s fly into the new piece. I’ll play safe by shooting the most of that before the other one is released. And he’ll still be playing straight in a serious heart drama. Fancy that, Armand!” CHAPTER XV. A NEW TRAIL One genial morning a few days later the sun shone in across the desk of Baird while he talked to Merton Gill of the new piece. It was a sun of fairest promise. Mr. Gill’s late work was again lavishly commended, and confidence was expressed that he would surpass himself in the drama shortly to be produced. Mr. Baird spoke in enthusiastic terms of this, declaring that if it did not prove to be a knock-out--a clean-up picture--then he, Jeff Baird, could safely be called a Chinaman. And during the time that would elapse before shooting on the new piece could begin he specified a certain study in which he wished his actor to engage. “You’ve watched the Edgar Wayne pictures, haven’t you?” “Yes, I’ve seen a number of them.”