He went down to the theater very early, after a hasty dinner, and found
Mr. Baker in the box office. The moving picture man did not recognize
him, of course, and Duvall, after drawing him aside, had some little
difficulty in convincing him of his identity. Once it had been
established, however, Mr. Baker conducted him to a dressing room behind
the scenes, and motioned him to a chair.
"We can talk here without being seen or heard," he said. "Is there
anything new?"
"Nothing. I have taken Mrs. Morton and her daughter to a hotel, where I
feel sure they will be quite safe from further annoyance. Ruth will not
come to the studio for a few days, until we have gotten to the bottom of
this affair. I am staying in an adjoining room, so as to be on hand at
once in case of any trouble. I suppose you have everything fixed for
to-night?"
"Yes." Mr. Baker's tone was dubious. "I have inserted in the film the
material you gave me. It will appear just at the end of Part I. I hope
it will not spoil our picture."
"I think not. As a matter of fact, when the reasons for its introduction
become known, I imagine it will give you a lot of very valuable
advertising."
"Possibly so," Mr. Baker granted. "But after all, I begin to feel very
doubtful as to the results. This woman, whoever she is, that is
persecuting Miss Morton seems to be mighty clever. She may not be
affected in the way you think, by what she sees on the screen."
"I realize that. It is only a chance. But don't you think that, under
the circumstances, it is a chance worth taking?"
"Most certainly; otherwise I should not have consented to it. But, as I
say, I doubt very much its success."
"Well--we can only try. You will remember what I said about the lights,
and the call for a doctor, if one appears to be needed."
"Yes. I have all that in mind. Miss Morton is not coming to-night, I
presume."
"No. I advised against it."
"I'm glad of that."
Duvall sat in silence for a moment.
"By the way," he said presently. "There is one important matter that I
have overlooked. Do you give your employees passes for these opening
performances?"
"No--not regularly, that is. But any member of our organization who
wishes to see the performance would of course be admitted. We reserve a
section of the house for that purpose. A number of our people usually
come over."
"Good! That's just what I had hoped for. Where is this section?"
"The last five rows on the left-hand side of the house. But why?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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