"We can't，my dear，"responded the lady，laughing at her simplicity."The majority of the scenarios we receive haven't a single idea that is worth considering.In most of the others the ideas are stolen，or duplicated from some other picture—play.Once in a while，however，we ？nd a plot of real merit，and then we accept it and pay the author for it.""How much ？"inquired Arthur.
"So little that I am ashamed to tell you.Ideas are the foundation of our business，and without them we could not make successful ？lms；but when Mr.Goldstein buys an idea he pays as little for it as possible，and the poor author usually accepts the pittance with gratitude.""We were a little surprised，"Uncle John ventured to say，"to find you connected with this—er—institution.I suppose it's all right；but those girls—your nieces—""Yes，they are motion picture actresses，and I am a play reader.It is our profession，Mr.Merrick，and we earn our living in this way.To be frank with you，I am very proud of the fact that my girls are popular favorites with the picture theatre audiences.""That they are，Mrs.Montrose！"said Goldstein，the manager，a lean little man，earnestly endorsingb thestatement；"and that makes them the highest priced stars in all our fourteen companies of players.But they're worth every cent we pay 'em—and I hope everybody's satis？ed."Mrs.Montrose paid little deferencea to the manager."He is only a detail man，"she explained when Goldstein had gone way，"but of course it is necessary to keep these vast and diverse interests running smoothly，and the manager has enough details on his mind to drive an ordinary mortal crazy.The successful scenario writers，who conceive our best plays，are the real heart of this business，and the next to them in importance are the directors，or producers，who exercise marvelous cleverness in staging the work of theauthors.""I suppose，"remarked Arthur Weldon，"it is very like a theatre.""Not so like as you might imagine，"was the reply."Weemploy scenery，costumes and actors，but not in ways theatrical，for all our work is subservient to the camera's eye and the requirements of photography."While they were conversing，the two Stanton girls enteredthe of？ce，having exchanged their costumes for street clothes and washed the make—up from their faces，which were now fresh and animatedb.
"Oh，Aunt Janea！"cried Flo，running to Mrs.Montrose，"we're dismissed for the day.Mr.McNeil intends to develop the films before we do anything more，and Maud and I want to spend the afternoon at the beach."The lady smiled indulgently as Maud quietly supported her sister's appeal，the while greeting her acquaintances of yesterday with her sweet，girlish charm of manner.
"A half—holiday is quite unusual with us，"she explained，"for it is the custom to hold us in readiness from sunrise to sunset，in case our services are required.An actress in a motion picture concern is the slave of her profession，but we don't mind the work so much as we do waiting around for orders.""Suppose we all drive to the beach together，"suggestedMr.Merrick."We will try to help you enjoy your holiday and it will be a rich treat to us to have your society.""Yes，indeed ！"exclaimed Patsy Doyle."I'm just crazyover this motion picture business and I want to ask you girls a thousand questions about it."They graciously agreed to the proposition and at once made preparations for the drive.Mrs.Montrose had her own automobile，but the party divided，the four young girls beingdriven by Mr.Merrick's chauffeur in his machine，while UncleJohn，Arthur and Louise rode with Mrs.Montrose.
It did not take the young people long to become acquainted，and the air of restraint that naturally obtained in the ？rst moments gradually wore away.They were all in good spirits，anticipating a jollya afternoon at the ocean resorts，so when they discovered themselves to be congenialb companions they lost no time in stilted phrases but were soon chattering away as if they had known one another for years.
