the
behest of some enthusiastic manager.

Mr. Pertell was not that sort, however, though he did insist on his
players doing a reasonable amount of hard work--and often disagreeable
work, as in this case.

But aside from getting wet and muddy, which conditions could be remedied
by a bath and dry clothes, the actor suffered no great hardship, except
to his pride, and perhaps he had too much of that, anyhow.

"Come on!" cried the manager. "Crawl out of that, and keep on with the
chase."

"Keep on--in this condition! Do you mean it?" Mr. Towne asked.

"Certainly I do. The play must go on. Just because you fell in the ditch
is no excuse for stopping it. Keep on! Right along the path. Crawl out
and run on."

"But--but look at my clothes!" complained Mr. Towne. "They are--they're
muddy!"

"There is a little mud on them, to be sure," agreed Mr. Pertell. "But
don't worry. It will wash off."

"A _little_ mud!" spluttered the actor. "I--I--"

"Keep on!" cried the manager. "You are delaying the play!"

The young actor groaned, but there was nothing for it but to obey. He
climbed out of the ditch, his once immaculate suit dripping mud from
every point, and then he began the pretended chase again, seeking to
find the escaping lovers.

Of course this was the farcical element, but managers have found that
this is much needed in plays, and though many of them would prefer to
eliminate the "horse-play" the audiences seem to demand it, and managers
are prone to cater to the tastes of their audiences when they find it
pays.

"I'm glad I wasn't cast for that part," remarked the dignified Mr. Bunn,
as he saw what Mr. Towne had to go through.

"I'd never consent to it," declared Mr. Sneed. "This business is bad
enough as it is," he complained, "without deliberately making it worse. I
presume he'll want me to try and catch an alligator next, or drive a sea
cow to pasture."

"What's a sea cow?" asked Alice, who had overheard the talk, while Mr.
Towne was being filmed in his muddy state.

"The manatee," explained Mr. Sneed. "They are curious animals. They
browse around on the bottom of Florida rivers, and sea inlets, as cows do
on shore, eating grass. We'll probably see some down here."

"Are they dangerous?" asked Miss Dixon.

"Not as a rule," answered the grouchy actor, who seemed to have taken a
sudden interest in this matter. "They might upset a small boat if they
accidently bumped into it, for often they grow to be fo