rned and shook his head in response to Janet's inquiring
gaze.

"I've checked everyone in the studio," he said, "and no one knows
anything about it. Can you do the manuscript over?"

"Probably," assented Janet, "but I'd prefer not to under the
circumstances."

The director did not insist and Janet thought perhaps he even seemed a
little relieved.

Other members of the company arrived. Several of them had been in the
film company on the coast but most of them were from the regular stock
company which the studio maintained for its dramatic needs. Most of them
were pleasant enough. Only one of them turned Janet against her and that
was the small, dark-haired actress who had bumped into her the day
before and called her a "clumsy fool." That was Rachel Nesbit and Janet
thought her eyes a trifle too close together and her mouth too hard. It
looked as though it was difficult for Rachel to look pleasant and there
was a sulky twist to her lips.

Janet soon found that Rachel was the pampered member of the studio's
stock company. She was considered an actress of ability and she arrived
late and left early during rehearsals. Her one redeeming grace was that
she came through when she was before a microphone. Janet also learned
that Rachel was writing in addition to her acting and that she had had
several of her skits produced on the air.

As soon as the company was assembled, Director Adolphi plunged into the
task of rehearsing. Sound men brought in the necessary paraphernalia and
through the hours of the morning they went over the first scene which
was to be presented in their radio show. The program was to be unusual,
running half an hour for five consecutive nights, each of them
increasing the tempo and mystery of the action. Janet, reading the
script, could feel the thing getting into her blood and she was anxious
for the hour to come when they would actually go on the air.

She had no fear of the microphone, now, for that had vanished while she
was working for Billy Fenstow in the westerns with Curt Newsom and
Helen.

The trio had lunch together that noon, and returned immediately to the
studio, where rehearsals continued into the afternoon and at the close
of the day the director rather grudgingly conceded that the company had
made excellent progress.

"Be here tomorrow sharply at nine," he cautioned as he dismissed them
for the day.

Members of the company scattered quickly, some of them hurrying away to
catch