the killing of Johnny
Croft; of the Lazy A, and the probable price that Carl would put upon
it if he were asked to sell the ranch and the stock; of the money he
had already saved, and the chance that, if he went to Carl now and made
him an offer, Carl would accept. He weighed mentally all the various
elements that went to make up the depressing tangle of the whole
affair, and decided that he would write at once to Rossman, the lawyer
who had defended Aleck, and put the whole thing into his hands. He
would then know just where he stood, and what he would have to do, and
what legal steps he must take.

He looked at Jean and grinned a little. "I'm not pretty enough for a
picture actor," he said whimsically. "Better let me be a rustler and
wear a mask, if you don't want folks to throw fits."

"You'll be what I want you to be," Jean told him with the little smile
in her eyes that Lite had learned to love more than he could ever say.
"I'm going to make us both famous, Lite. Now, come on, Bobby Burns has
probably chewed up a whole box of those black cigars, waiting for us to
show up."

I am not going to describe the making of "Jean, of the Lazy A." It
would be interesting, but this is not primarily a story of the
motion-picture business, remember. It is the story of the Lazy A and
the problem that both Jean and Lite were trying to solve. The Great
Western Film Company became, through sheer chance, a factor in that
problem, and for that reason we have come into rather close touch with
them; but aside from the fact that Jean's photo-play brought Lite into
the company and later took them both to Los Angeles, this particular
picture has no great bearing upon the matter.

Robert Grant Burns had intended taking his company back to Los Angles
in August, when the hot winds began to sweep over the range land. But
Jean's story was going "big." Jean was throwing herself into the part
heart and mind. She lived it. With Lite riding beside her, helping
her with all his skill and energy and much enthusiasm, she almost
forgot her great undertaking sometimes, she was so engrossed with her
work. With his experience, suggesting frequent changes, she added new
touches of realism to this story that made the case-hardened audience
of the Great Western's private projection room invent new ways of
voicing their enthusiasm, when the negative films Pete Lowry sent in to
headquarters were printed and given their trial run.

They were ju