was heavily made up and in
the costume of a gypsy, he thought, a short vivid skirt, a gay waist,
heavy gold hoops in her ears, and dark hair massed about her small head.
He remembered that this would not be her own hair. She fell at once to
her food. The men at the next table glanced at her, the director without
cordiality; but the other man smiled upon her cheerfully.

"Hello, Flips! How's the girl?"

"Everything's jake with me, Governor. How's things over at your shop?"

"So, so. I see you're working."

"Only for two days. I'm just atmosphere in this piece. I got some real
stuff coming along pretty soon for Baxter. Got to climb down ten stories
of a hotel elevator cable, and ride a brake-beam and be pushed off a
cliff and thrown to the lions, and a few other little things."

"That's good, Flips. Come in and see me some time. Have a little chat.
Ma working?"

"Yeah--got a character bit with Charlotte King in Her Other Husband."
"Glad to hear it. How's Pa Montague?"

"Pa's in bed. They've signed him for Camillia of the Cumberlands,
providing he raises a brush, and just now it ain't long enough for
whiskers and too long for anything else, so he's putterin' around with
his new still."

"Well, drop over sometime, Flips, I'm keeping you in mind."

"Thanks, Governor. Say--" Merton glanced up in time to see her wink
broadly at the man, and look toward his companion who still seriously
made notes on the back of an envelope. The man's face melted to a grin
which he quickly erased. The girl began again:

"Mr. Henshaw--could you give me just a moment, Mr. Henshaw?" The serious
director looked up in quite frank annoyance.

"Yes, yes, what is it, Miss Montague?"

"Well, listen, Mr. Henshaw, I got a great idea for a story, and I was
thinking who to take it to and I thought of this one and I thought
of that one, and I asked my friends, and they all say take it to Mr.
Henshaw, because if a story has any merit he's the one director on
the lot that can detect it and get every bit of value out of it, so I
thought--but of course if you're busy just now--"

The director thawed ever so slightly. "Of course, my girl, I'm busy--but
then I'm always busy. They run me to death here. Still, it was very kind
of your friends, and of course--"

"Thank you, Mr. Henshaw." She clasped her hands to her breast and gazed
raptly into the face of her coy listener.

"Of course I'll have to have help on the details, but it starts off
kind o