"The bet is this," he tells me. "Here"s this boy Adams, who, bein" De Vronde"s valet, is undisputed low man in Film City. He"s disgusted with life, he ain"t got the ambition of a sleepin" alligator, or nerve enough to speak harshly to _himself_. All right! If Miss Devine will follow my orders for a couple of weeks without Adams knowin" who or what she is, I claim that bird will make good! All that guy needs is a reason for tryin", and she can make herself it!"
"You don"t expect a dame like that to make love to a guy that cleans De Vronde"s shoes, do you?" I asks him.
"You must of been a terrible trial to teacher when you went to school!"
he snorts. "No!--I don"t want her to make love to him. I want to prove to her that the things we put in the movies is happenin" all the time in real life, only more so! I want her to make Adams _feel_ just how far back he"s gone. I want her to cut him dead, because he"s a valet, and let him know that"s the reason. Then nature and him will do the rest, or I"ll pay off! Who put Adam over? Eve! All right, I"m gonna wind this thing up and let it go. I"ll take the best scenes from the last six pictures we put out, and make Adams and Miss Devine play "em out, without either of "em knowin" it. They oughta be a villain, and I"m shy one just now, but I"ll lay six to five that one will turn up!"
"Look here!" I says. "Suppose Miss Devine should fall for this Adams guy for _real_! Did you ever figure that?"
"Yes!" he snorts. "And suppose the Pacific Ocean is made outa root beer!"
I guess Miss Devine must of been a sport, because Duke starts his stunts off the next day. She promised to give Adams a month to show signs of life and to do exactly as Duke tells her. Adams ain"t to be told a thing about it, and Miss Devine giggles herself sick over how she"s gonna show Duke the difference between real life and the movies.
They put up a thousand bucks apiece.
The first action come off when Miss Devine and Adams meets in the "Sahara Desert" set.
"Good morning!" pipes Adams, bowin" and raisin" his hat.
"I beg your pardon!" comes back Miss. Devine, drawin" herself up and presentin" him with a glance that"s colder than a dollar"s worth of ice.
"I--I--said good morning!" stammers Adams, kinda fl.u.s.tered.
"You have made a mistake, my man!" she says, each word bein" about twenty below zero. "A mistake I shall report to your master. I--"
"But--," begins Adams, gettin" red. "You--"
"That will do!" she cuts him off. "I"m not in the habit of arguing with servants. You may go!"
Sweet cookie!
The poor kid looks like he"d stopped one with his chin and for the first time since I"d seen him, he straightens up with his hard, white face fairly quiverin". I thought he was ready for a peach of a come-back, but he fooled me. He walks off without a word.
Miss Devine laughs like a kid with a new rattle and snaps her fingers after him.
The next day, Duke is directin" a scene in a big thriller they"re puttin" on and Miss Devine is appearin" in it as a super at his orders.
She"s wearin" enough jewels to free Ireland and she looked better than 1912 would look to Germany. Adams is standin" on one side with his arms full of De Vronde"s different changes.
Duke looks at Miss Devine for a minute and then raises his voice.
"Say--you!" he bawls at her. "What"s the matter, can"t you hear? You made that exit wrong four times runnin", d"ye think we get this film for nothin"? What d"ye mean by comin" here and ruinin" this scene on me, eh? You wanna be a movie star, they tell me--well, you got the same chance that I have of bein" made Sultan of Turkey! If you can act, I"m King of Shantung! Why--"
Miss Devine gasps and looks more than ever like a rose, by turnin" a deep and becomin" shade of red. n.o.body pays any attention to the thing. They"d all heard it a million times before, when Duke was rehearsin" supers.
n.o.body but Adams!
He drops all of De Vronde"s clothes right on the floor, and I thought the fair Edmund would faint away dead! Adams walks right through the camera men up to Duke and swings him around while he"s still bawlin"
out Miss Devine.
"That"s enough!" he snarls, white to the ears. "One more word to this lady, and I"ll knock you down! You hound--you wouldn"t dare use that language to a man!"
Duke"s eyes sparkle, but he looks Adams over coolly and sneers.
"Curse you, Jack Dalton!" he says. "Unhand that woman, or you shall feel my power, eh?" He sticks his chin close to Adams"s face. "Take the air!" he growls. "Where d"ye get that leadin" man stuff? If I see you around here any more this afternoon, I"ll fire you and you"ll walk home for all the money you"ll draw from this man"s firm. Now, beat it!"
Adams hesitates a minute, and then he looks like on second thought he"s scared at what he"s done. He mumbles somethin" and walks right outa the picture, nor even turnin" when De Vronde squawks at him for walkin"
over his silk duster which he"d throwed on the floor.
"That"s all for now, ladies and gentlemen!" pipes Duke suddenly, turnin" to the bunch. "I"ll shoot the rest of this to-morrow."
They all blow out except Miss Devine. Duke looks at her, rubbin" his hands together and grinnin".
"All right!" she smiles back. "First honors! What will I do next?"
She didn"t have to do nothin" next! The thing that Duke had started got away from him and Adams led all the tricks from then to the finish.
Duke told me afterwards he felt like a guy which has lit a match on Lower Broadway and seen the Woolworth Buildin" go up in flames!
The very next afternoon, Mister Jack Adams becomes a star. Yes, sir!
A gang of supers is hangin" around the general offices waitin" for their pay. De Vronde and Miss Devine is sittin" at a cute little table under a tree drinkin" lemonade, and Adams is standin" with the supers, watchin"--Miss Devine.
"Look at that big stiff tryin" to make the dame!" pipes one of the extrys, a big husky grabbed up off the wharves in Frisco. He points at De Vronde. "If I was built like he is, I"d eat a.r.s.enic!"
Adams walks over to him.
"Why?" he says, very cool and hard.
"Heh?" says the super. "Why, look at "im. Lookit the lace shirt he"s wearin" and them pink socks. Why--"
"Shut up!" snarls Adams. "I know your kind--you think because a man bathes, shaves, speaks English and wears clean linen, that there"s something wrong with him! You roughnecks resent the--"
"Well, I"d hate to be the family that brung that up!" interrupts the super. "Gawd! It makes a man sick to look at "im!"
It all happened so quick that even Miss Devine and De Vronde didn"t get it. They"s just a sudden swish--a crack of bone meetin" bone, and the big super is flat on his ear! The rest of the gang mills around, shoutin" and yellin", and Adams prods the super with the toe of his shoe. I see Duke runnin" over with a couple of camera men which is so excited they"ve even brought their machines along.
"Listen!" spits out Adams, bendin" over the fallen gladiator. "Don"t make any more remarks like that about--about Mister De Vronde, while I"m in this camp! If you do, I"ll hammer you to mush! If you don"t believe that, get up now and I"ll ill.u.s.trate it!"
The super plays dead, and Adams turns away.
By this time, Miss Devine and De Vronde, on the outskirts of the mob, has seen some of it.
"Really," says De Vronde, frowning "you"ll have to stop this brawling, Adams! I can"t have my man--"
Adams gives him the up and down.
"Aw, shut up!" he snarls--and blows.
Well, right now I"m a million miles up in the air and no more interested in the thing than the bartenders was in final returns of the prohibition vote. They"s two things I can"t figure at all. One of "em is why Adams should knock a man kickin" for roastin" De Vronde, who didn"t have a friend in the place, and the other is what Duke and them camera men is doin" there.
About a week blows by, and then Miss Devine rides out alone one mornin"
on a big white stallion. In a hour the horse trots into camp with the saddle empty. For the next twenty minutes they"s more excitement in and about Film City than they was at the burnin" of Rome, but while Duke is gettin" up searchin" parties, Adams has cranked up Miss Devine"s roadster and is a speck of dust goin" towards Frisco.