d.

Russ felt that he must rush forward to save his friend, but he had an
inborn instinct to stick to his camera--an instinct that probably every
moving picture operator has, even though he does violence to his own
feelings.

"He'll be hurt!" several in the crowd cried.

Ruth and Alice both turned aside their heads again, but there was no
need for alarm.

For the firemen, at the word of command from their captain, had rushed
forward with the life net. They were standing only a few feet away from
where Paul dangled in the air, but even at that they were only just in
time.

Paul fell into it heavily, for the mechanism depended on to check the
speed at which the rope payed out, did not work. But the firemen knew
just how to handle a situation of that sort, and they held firmly to the
net. It sagged under the impact of Paul's body, but he bounded upward
again in an instant, and then was helped out of the net and to his feet.

"Mighty lucky you fellows were here," observed the young actor, as the
cheers of the crowd died down.

"I was afraid something like that might happen," spoke the fire captain.
"I've seen too many accidents with these patent escapes to take any
chances. Now there's another inventor who will have to make quite a few
changes in his apparatus."

The man who had patented the fire escape had been in a frenzy of fear
when he saw Paul slipping, and, now that he knew the young actor was
safe, he began to explain how something unforeseen had occurred, and
that it would never happen again.

"Did you get that, Russ?" the manager wanted to know, for he thought the
operator, in his anxiety over Paul, might have forgotten to turn the
handle of the machine.

"Every move," was the reassuring answer. "It will make a dandy film. But
I'm mighty glad it turned out as it did."

"So am I," said the manager. "I guess that will be about all for Paul
to-day. His nerves must be on edge."

Paul declared that they were not, however, and wanted to go on with the
rest of the film, which included the showing of other, but less
dangerous, inventions.

"No, you take the rest of the day off," directed the manager. "There is
no great rush about this."

The crowd pressed curiously about Paul and the others of the moving
picture company, and, as Ruth and Alice were getting hemmed in, Mr.
Pertell called a taxicab and sent them home in it.

"Report at the studio to-morrow," he called.

"Did you have any more trouble wit