lared. "That would spoil it."

"Oh! A surprise! I love surprises," said Jennie Stone.

"I don't. Not when my chum and my brother have a secret from me and won't
let me in on it," and Helen turned her back upon them in apparent
indignation.

After that Ruth and Tom discussed the matter with more secrecy. Ruth said
in conclusion:

"If he was there at the mill the day my story was stolen, and now submits
this scenario to Mr. Hammond--and it is merely a re-hash of mine, Tom, I
assure you----"

"Of course I believe you, Ruth," rejoined the young fellow.

"Mr. Hammond should be convinced, too," said the girl.

But there was a point that Tom saw very clearly and which Ruth Fielding
did not seem to appreciate. She still had no evidence to corroborate her
claim that the hermit's story of "Plain Mary" was plagiarized from her
manuscript.

For, after all, nobody but Ruth herself knew what her scenario had been
like!

CHAPTER XXV

LIFTING THE CURTAIN

Ruth slept peacefully and awoke the next morning in a perfectly serene
frame of mind. She was quite as convinced as ever that she had been robbed
of her scenario; and she was, as well, sure that "John, the hermit," had
produced his picture play from her manuscript. But Ruth no longer felt
anxious and excited about it.

She clearly saw her way to a conclusion of the matter. If the old actor
was identified by Ben and Uncle Jabez as the tramp they had seen and
conversed with, the girl of the Red Mill was pretty sure she would get the
best of the thief.

In the first place she considered her idea and her scenario worth much
more than five hundred dollars. If by no other means, she would buy the
hermit's story at the price Mr. Hammond was willing to pay for it--and a
little more if necessary. And if possible she would force the old actor to
hand over to her the script that she had lost.

Thus was her mind made up, and she approached the matter in all
cheerfulness. She had said nothing to anybody but Tom, and she did not see
him early in the morning. One of the stewards brought the girls' breakfast
to the shack; so they knew little of what went on about the camp at that
time.

The rain had ceased. The storm had passed on completely. Soon after
breakfast Ruth saw the man who called himself "John, the hermit," making
straight for Mr. Hammond's office.

That was where Ruth wished to be. She wanted to confront the man before
the president of the film corporation. S