man, and they could easily carry him,
for he was supposed to be overcome by the smoke.

"Ready, Alice?" asked Ruth, as they went through the action called for
in the script.

"Yes, ready. You take his head and I'll take his heels. Don't be too
stiff," Alice admonished the young man. "We can carry you better if
you're limp."

"I'll be limp enough if I swallow any more of that smoke," choked the
actor. "It's fierce!"

Indeed, Pop Snooks had been very liberal in the matter of smoke bombs.
Great clouds of the black vapor swirled here and there, and Ruth and
Alice had to get free breaths whenever they could.

"Come on!" yelled the director through his megaphone. "Lively!"

Alice and Ruth, half carrying, half dragging, the wounded soldier,
staggered out, Russ clicking away at the camera.

"Good! That's good! It's fine!" exclaimed the enthusiastic director.

Ruth was conscious that she was suddenly dragging more of the weight of
the man's body than at first. But she thought one of Alice's hands had
possibly slipped off, and she did not want to call a halt to get a
better hold.

"My! But this is choking!" gasped Ruth.

Finally, she staggered out into the open, dragging the soldier by his
shoulders. She slumped down on the ground, in a place free from smoke,
and registered exhaustion.

"Where's Alice?" cried Paul, who was holding back in readiness for his
appearance in the scene. "Where's Alice?"

"Isn't she there?" gasped Ruth, rising on her elbow.

"No, she isn't. She must be----"

"Hold that pose, Ruth! Don't stir or you'll spoil the scene!" yelled the
director. "We'll get your sister!"

CHAPTER XV

THE HOSPITAL TENT

"The show must go on!" This is the motto of circus and theatrical
performers the world over. No matter what happens, under what strain or
pain the player labors, no matter what occurs short of death itself, the
public must not be allowed to guess that anything is wrong. And
sometimes even death itself has been no barrier--for players have gone
through with their parts on the stage when, but the act previous, they
have learned that some loved one had passed away.

And more than one clown has bounded into the sawdust ring with merry
quip and jest, with a smile on his painted face, while his heart was
breaking with grief.

And so it was with Ruth DeVere. As she staggered out of the smoke clouds
and saw that Alice had not followed, at once the dreadful thought came
to her that her