oor
fel---there, it's coming now!"

And right through it all the imperturbable operator kept grinding away.
It was a part of his business to get everything down, real or imitation;
and even an accident that imperiled human life might make good "stuff."

CHAPTER XI

IMITATION AND REALITY

Perhaps it was almost mechanically that Alec pressed the bulb of his
camera at just the very second when that wall was toppling over. He
had a faint recollection afterwards of doing so, though only filled
with horror at the moment itself.

There was a sudden cessation to all the clamor as the accident happened.
Indeed, the three quick reports from the director's revolver hardly
seemed needed to bring a halt to the proceedings. As the door was
about burst in, anyway, and some of the men could not longer be restrained
from clambering over the top of the walls, it would answer just as
well as though things had proceeded in their regular routine.

Immediately afterwards a new kind of noise burst forth. Women shrieked,
and men shouted. There were also cries of pain intermingled with
the rest, Hugh noticed.

Before the scout master could even give an order he missed one of his
companions. Of course, this was Arthur Cameron. The sight of that
mass of rock toppling over upon several of the motion-picture actors,
and carrying others down amidst a perfect jumble of heaped up stones,
acted on Arthur as a red flag does upon the angry bull in the ring.

Nothing could have kept him back, for his ears would have been deaf
even to an order from the leader, whom he delighted to obey. Arthur's
surgical instincts were aroused, and he saw the path of duty before
him. And Arthur never shirked his duty.

Hugh waited not upon the order of his going, but immediately chased
after the other. Monkey Stallings was not far behind him, with Billy
tagging along of necessity. As for Alec, he only waited to gather
up his beloved camera, even neglecting to turn the last exposure down
as a completed roll.

In fact everyone seemed to be trying to converge upon the spot where
the wall had collapsed. The manager was pushing his way through the
crowd, waving his megaphone, and looking somewhat alarmed, for he
felt dismayed at the idea of having so many of his supers being injured
more or less seriously. It would mean not only pain and suffering
for the poor fellows but a pretty heavy bill of damages to pay by the
company.

And yet, such is