upplies came
through.

The storm, while it gave Mr. Pertell a chance to make some fine
pictures, had one drawback. He was not able to send the reels of film in
to New York for development and printing. He lost considerable time and
some money on this account, but it could not be helped.

But with the passing of the snow the highways were clear, and traffic to
and from the village was made easy.

One day Mr. Macksey came back from town with a good-sized bag, filled
with mail for the picture players.

"Oh, here's a letter for you, Ruth, and one for me!" cried Alice, as she
sorted them over. "One for daddy, too! Oh, it's a big one!"

The moving picture girls were busy over their epistles for some time, as
there proved to be a number of missives for them, from relatives, and
from friends they had made since posing for the camera. But when Alice
read all hers and was passing some of them to her sister, she happened
to glance at her father's face.

"Why Daddy!" she cried, "what is the matter?"

"Oh--nothing!" he murmured, hoarsely for he had caught a little cold,
and his voice was almost as bad as it had been at first.

"But I'm sure it's something!" Alice insisted. "Is it bad news? Ruth,
make him tell!"

The three were in Mr. DeVere's room, where they had gone to look over
the mail.

"Oh, it isn't anything!" declared the actor, and he tried to slip into
his coat pocket the letter in the large envelope that Alice had handed
to him.

"I'm sure it is," she insisted. "Please tell me, Daddy."

The letter fell to the floor, and Alice could not help seeing that it
was from a firm of New York lawyers.

"Oh, is it the trouble about the five hundred dollars?" the girl cried.
"Is Dan Merley making more trouble?"

"Yes," answered Mr. DeVere. "He has brought suit against me, it seems.
This is a notice from the lawyers that if I do not pay within a certain
time I will be brought to court, and compelled to hand over the money."

"Can they make you do that, Daddy?" asked Ruth, anxiously.

"I'm afraid they can, my dear. As I told you, I have no proof, except my
own word, that I paid Merley. He still holds my note, and that is legal
evidence against me. Oh, if I had only been more business-like!"

"Never mind, Daddy!" Alice comforted him, putting her arms about his
neck. "Perhaps there will be a way out."

"I hope so," her father murmured, in broken tones.

"How did the lawyers know you were here?" asked Ruth.

"They