It was the last scene of the day--we reserved the nasty ones for the finish. Mary’s place in the car was between my husband and myself. Hardly were we comfortably settled, hardly had the chauffeur time to put the car in “high,” before Mary with all the evidence of her good sportsmanship so plainly visible, naïvely looked up into her director’s face and sweetly reminded him of his promise. She got her raise. And I got the shock of my young life. That pretty little thing with yellow curls thinking of money like that! Later, when Carl Laemmle had bucked the General Film Company with the organization of his independent company, the “Imp,” he enticed Mary away from the Biograph by an offer of twenty-five dollars a week over her then one hundred weekly salary. Mary was still under legal age, so Owen Moore, to whom Mary had been secretly married, had to sign the contract. He with several other “Biographers” had gone over to the “Imp.” Mrs. Smith with Lottie and Jack still clung to the Biograph. Mid anguished tears Mrs. Smith showed me the contract, and in a broken voice said: “What’s to become of Mary at that awful ‘Imp’ with no one to direct her? How could she have been influenced to leave Mr. Griffith for only twenty-five dollars extra and not even consult her mother? What good will the twenty-five dollars do with her career ruined?” But the break did not hurt Mary. It helped her. She soon sued the “Imp,” claiming that her artistic career was being ruined as she was being forced to act with carpenters. That was the story according to the dailies. Shortly afterward she was back at Biograph with another twenty-five dollar weekly advance in her salary. CHAPTER XV ACQUIRING ACTORS AND STYLE Through conflicting emotions and varying decisions and an ever-increasing interest and faith in the new work, Biograph’s first movie actors stuck. With Mary Pickford pictures winning favor, David Griffith became ambitious for new talent, and as the right sort didn’t come seeking, _he_ decided to go seeking. He’d dash out of the studio while the carpenters were putting up a new set, jump into a taxi, call at the different dramatic agencies, and ask had they any actors who might like to work in moving pictures at ten dollars a day! At one of these agencies--Paul Scott’s--he arrived just as a good-looking manly sort of chap was about to leave. “That’s the type I want.” Mr. Scott replied, “Well, I’ll introduce you.” Mr. Griffith lost no time in telling the personable Frank Powell about the movies, and offering the new salary, secured his services.