nd met Curt and the other two cowboys along the trail. From what they
told us we knew that none of you could stand it to be out in the storm
and we made all possible speed."

"How's mother?" asked Helen.

"Terribly worried." He turned toward Janet. "We'll phone your folks as
soon as we get home. The fact that a film company was caught in the
center of the fire was broadcast over a national chain and I'm afraid
they may be gravely alarmed."

"I'll call them at once," agreed Janet.

They talked at length of their experiences and at last Helen's father
turned to Fenstow.

"Lose all of your last-day takes?" he asked.

"Don't believe we lost a one," replied the other director. "We put the
film cans in the well. One of my boys shot some swell scenes of the fire
if the camera didn't get too hot and ruin the negative."

"Then I suppose you'll use a fire in your next western?" chuckled Henry
Thorne.

"Can't say," replied Billy Fenstow. "That will be up to Janet."

"Why Janet?"

"She's going to do my next scenario."

"You're not joking?"

"Of course not. I've gone kind of stale and I thought she could inject
some fresh material. At least she's going to get a fair chance to see
just what kind of a film story she can turn out."

"Then I'm predicting that she'll do a good job if it's anything like the
caliber of her usual work," replied Helen's father.

"Don't count on me too much," cautioned Janet. "This is a new field and
I may get in so deep I'll never get anything creditable."

The truck swung around a sharp curve. Ahead of them was a blaze of light
from the headlights of a score of cars which were parked along the paved
road. Raucous squawks of horns greeted the approaching truck.

It was still raining hard, but a trim figure, clad in a raincoat,
detached itself from a group in front of one of the cars and hurried
toward the truck.

"Hello mother. Here I am," called Helen. "Both of us are all right."

She jumped from the truck and into her mother's arms. After a brief
embrace, her mother spoke quickly.

"We mustn't stand here. You'll catch cold. Here, get under my coat and
we'll hurry to the car. Janet, you stay in the truck until we can pull
along here."

Henry Thorne looked down at Janet.

"Pretty tired?"

"Just about all in," she confessed and she found it hard to muster a
smile.

"Had enough of Hollywood?" he asked quietly.

Janet looked up quickly.

"I don't know, honestly I don't. The way