ight. "He said he was 'king of the pipes'--whatever that
may mean. Poor old fellow!"

"Well, it seems he most certainly had been 'smoking the pipe'--or do they
call it 'hitting the pipe'?"

"Don't ask me to aid you with any information on slang," admonished her
friend. "I don't suppose he is really king of anything except of a
country of his dreams--poor fellow."

"Dear me!" grumbled Helen. "You never will boost romance, Ruth Fielding.
Maybe there are pirates on that island."

"Or pipes," said Ruth calmly.

"Never mind. When the boys come I am going to shoo them on to that
place."

"What boys?" demanded Ruth in surprise.

"The Copleys arrive to-morrow. And their place is not five miles away
from this very spot. We'll get a motor-boat and go down there to-morrow
evening and welcome them. I got a telegram from Tom when I came back from
canoeing. I forgot to tell you."

"Tom!" exclaimed Ruth, and for perhaps the first time in her life she
seemed undesirous of hearing about Tom Cameron.

Helen gave her a somewhat puzzled side glance as she found the telegram
and gave it to her chum, who read:

"Vacation begins to-morrow. Will be with you next day. Tom."

Helen giggled. "You can make up your mind that he knows Chess Copley has
started for this neck of woods. Tom is becoming Mr. Jealous Jellaby. Did
you ever?"

"I am sorry Tom considers it necessary to take a vacation when he has
only just begun work with your father, Helen."

"There you go again!" exclaimed her chum. "I don't understand you at all,
Ruth Fielding. Tom doesn't have to work."

"It might be better if he did," said Ruth, and refused to discuss the
point further that evening.

The next day was just as lovely as that first one. Preparations were
under way all over the island Mr. Hammond had rented for the making of
the picture which Ruth had written. The continuity was being studied by
Mr. Hooley, the director; and the principals had been furnished with
their detail.

The ordinary participants in the filming of a picture--the "extras"--seldom
know much about the story. They merely appear in certain scenes and do what
they are told. As the scenes are not made in sequence these actors of the
smaller parts have little idea of the story itself.

Ruth, under the advice of Mr. Hammond, had chosen a certain series of
incidents relating to early French-Canadian history, and it began with an
allegory of the bringing of the Christian religion to the I