the climax, so to speak--the "big act" if the play
had been on the real stage. Naturally Mr. Pertell was anxious to have
everything right.

And so it seemed to be going. The flames crackled menacingly, and the
black smoke rolled up in great clouds that would show well on the film.

In brief, this action of the play was to depict the hardships of one of
the early Western settlers. He had taken up a section of land, built
himself a rude house, and was living there with his family when the
prairie fire came, and he was forced to flee.

Of course all this was "only make believe," as children say. But it was
put on for the film in a very realistic manner. Pop Snooks had
constructed a slab house, with the aid of the cowboys, who said it was
as near the "real thing" as possible. Later on the house, which was but
a shell, and intended only for the "movies," would be destroyed by fire.

Scenes would be shown in which the settler (Mr. DeVere) and his helpers
would try to extinguish the fire before they fled from it.

The first scene showed the fire starting, with the plowmen (Mr. Bunn and
Mr. Sneed) in the fields at work. They were seen to stop, to shade their
eyes with their hands and look off toward the distant horizon, where a
haze of smoke could be seen. The big distances which were available on
the prairies of the West, made this particularly effective in a film
picture.

The taking of the film had so far advanced that the warning had come to
those in the slab shanty. There were gathered Ruth, Alice, Miss
Pennington, Miss Dixon, Paul and others.

"Ride! Ride for your lives!" cried Mr. Sneed, dashing up on one of the
plow horses. "The prairies are on fire and it's coming this way
lickity-split!"

Of course his words would not be heard by the moving picture audiences,
though those accustomed to it can read the lip motions. Really the words
need not have been said, and it was this feature of the "movies" that
enabled Mr. DeVere to take up the work when he had failed in the
"legitimate" because of his throat ailment.

"Flee for your lives!" cried Mr. Sneed. "We're going to try to burn it
back, or plow a strip that it can't get over."

Thereupon ensued a scene of fear and excitement at the slab hut. A wagon
was hastily brought up by some of the cowboys, who were taking part in
the picture, and the household goods, (provided of course by the
ever-faithful Pop Snooks), were hastily packed into it.

Then the girls and o