The Phantom Herd

by B. M. Bower

  CHAPTER NINE

  LEAVE IT TO THE BUNCH

  Not a word did Luck say to the Happy Family about his big opportunity.Instead, he avoided them half guiltily, and he filled the next day andthe one after that by seeing, or trying to see, the head of every motionpicture company in that part of the State. He even sent a night letter toa big company at Santa Barbara. Always he stipulated that he must takehis own cowboys with him and have a free hand in the production ofWestern pictures--since he did not mean to risk having another irateauthor descend upon him with threats of a lawsuit.

  By three o'clock of the day when he was to give Dewitt his decision,Luck was convinced that the two conditions he never failed to mentionwere as two iron bars across every trail that might otherwise have beenopen to him. No motion picture company seemed to feel that it neededseven inexperienced men on its payroll. A few general managerssuggested letting them work as extras, but the majority could not seethe proposition at all. They were more willing to give Luck the freehand which he demanded, had negotiations ever reached that far, whichthey did not.

  The Happy Family, Luck was forced to admit to himself, was a very serioushandicap for an out-of-work director to carry at the beginning of therainy season. He did his best, and he spent two sleepless nights over thedoing, but he simply could not land them anywhere. He talked himselfhoarse for them, he painted them geniuses all; he declared that theywould make themselves and their company--supposing they wereaccepted--famous for Western pictures. He worked harder to place them inthe business than he would ever work to find himself a job, and he failedabsolutely.

  Dewitt's eyes questioned him the moment he stood inside the office.Dewitt had heard something of Luck's efforts since their last meeting;and although he admired Luck the more for his loyalty, he felt quitecertain that now he was convinced of his defeat, Luck would hesitate nolonger over stepping into the official shoes of Robert Grant Burns, whowas lying on his broad back, and shouting pitifully futile commands tohis company and asking an imaginary camera-man questions which were asGreek to the soft-footed nurse. Dewitt, having just come from a visit toBurns, had a vivid mental picture of that ward in the Sister's hospital.But alongside that picture was another, quite as vivid, of Luck Lindsaystanding beside Pete Lowry's camera with a script in his hand, explainingto Jean Douglas the business of some particular scene.

  "Well?" queried Dewitt, and motioned Luck to a chair.

  "Well," Luck echoed, and stopped for a breath. "No use wasting time, Mr.Dewitt. I can't take any position that doesn't include the Flying U boys.I'm certainly sorry that prevents my accepting your offer. I appreciateall it would mean for me and for my Big Picture to be with you. But--somethings mean more--"

  "You're under no obligations to tie your own hands just because theirsare not free," Dewitt reminded him sharply.

  "I know I'm not."

  "Can you figure where it will be to their advantage for you to refuse agood position just because they happen to be out of work?"

  "I'm not trying to figure anything like that. Some things don't have tobe figured. Some things just are! Do you see what I mean? Those boysdidn't wait to do any figuring. When I quit the Acme, they quit--just asa matter of course. If I were as loyal to them as they have been to me,Mr. Dewitt, I wouldn't have taken two days to give you my answer. I'dhave told you day before yesterday what I'm telling you now."

  Dewitt did not reply at once. When he did speak he seemed to be answeringan argument within himself.

  "I can't let my own boys go to make room for yours. That is absolutelyout of the question. There is a little matter of loyalty there, also."

  "I know there is. I don't know that I should want you to let them go.We're both in the same position almost. And we're at a deadlock, Mr.Dewitt. I'm certainly sorry that I can't sign up with you."

  "So am I, young man. So am I. Come back if things shape themselves so youcan see your way clear to directing my Western company. I've an idea yourboys will be going back to their ranches before the holidays. In casethey do, let me hear from you."

  That was more than Luck had any right to expect, and he had the sense torealize it. He thanked Dewitt and promised, and went away with somethingof a load off his mind. He could go now and face the Happy Family withoutfeeling himself another Judas.

  He found them sitting around waiting for their supper and trying toinvent new words to fit their disgust with the Acme Film Company. Theygreeted Luck as though they had not seen him for a month.

  "Bully for you, Luck!" Andy shouted, and gave him an approving slap onthe shoulder that sent him skating dangerously toward the table. "Bestjob in town just came a-running up to you and says, 'Please take me!'--sothey say. That right?"

  "Yeah--what about this here Great Western gitting its loop on you firstthing?" bawled Big Medicine gleefully. "By cripes, that's sure one on theAcme bunch! They'll wisht they wasn't quite so fresh, givin' that littletin imitation of an author so much rope. Me 'n' Pink was over to thestudio to-day; honest to grandma, they was a sick lookin' bunch aroundthere. Me 'n' Pink sure throwed it into 'em too, about letting the onlyreal man they had git away from 'em the way they done."

  "My gorry, son, I sure am tickled to see yuh light with both feetunder yuh, like they say you done. I heard tell the Great Western'sgoing to let yuh put on your own pitcher; I guess them Acme folks'llfeel kinda foolish when they see it," declared the dried little man,grinning over his pipe.

  Luck was fighting his bewilderment and framing a demand for explanationswhen Rosemary bustled in from the kitchen.

  "Oh, but we're glad, Luck Lindsay!" she began in her quick, emphatic way."We all feel like a million dollars over your good luck. We're going tohave fried chicken and strawberry shortcake for supper, too, just for acelebration. I knew you'd come out and tell us all about it. So sit rightdown, everybody, and keep still so Luck can tell us just what everybodysaid to the other fellow, and how Dewitt happened to get hold of him soquickly. Is it true? The boys heard you were going to get two hundreddollars a week!"

  "Not get it--no." Luck unfolded his napkin with fingers that shook alittle. "I was offered it, but I'm not going to take it."

  "Not--why, Luck Lindsay!" Rosemary very nearly dropped her newpercolator.

  "_Y' ain't_?"

  "Aw, gwan! Only reason I wouldn't take two hundred a week would bebecause I'd drop dead at the chance and couldn't."

  "Well, listen. There's one point that hasn't spilled into studio gossipyet," Luck managed to slip into the uproar. "I didn't take the place.There were some details we couldn't get together on, so I thanked him andturned it down."

  There was silence, while the Happy Family stared at him.

  "What dee-tails was them?" Big Medicine demanded belligerently. "Way Iheard it--"

  "Studio gossip," Luck interrupted hastily. "You can't depend on anythingyou hear passed around amongst the extras. We failed to agree on certaintechnical details. I haven't any more job than a jack rabbit; let it goat that. What have you fellows been doing?"

  "Us? Why, the Acme's goin' to give us absent, treatment from now on,"Andy stated cheerfully. "They're paying us thirty a week apiece to stayaway from 'em--and I sure never earned money easier than that. Clementsis going to take orders from that so-called author, and he told mestraight out that they'll be using actors in those stories."

  "They'll need 'em," Luck commented drily. "You're in luck that they don'twant you to work. Any other news?"

  "You bet they's other news!" roared Big Medicine, goggling across thetable at Luck. "I rustled me a job, by cripes! Soon as this rain'sover, I'm goin' to cash in my face fer two dollars a day with theSunset. Feller over there wants me bad fer atmosphere in a pitcher he'sgoin' to make of the Figy Islands. Feller claims he can clothe me in anigger wig and a handful of grass and get more atmosphere, by cripes,to the square inch--"

  Rosemary gasped and bolted for the kitchen. When she came back, red-facedand still gurgling spasmodically, Pink was relating his experiences withanother compan
y. He and the Native Son and Weary, it transpired, wereduly enrolled upon the extra list and were reasonably sure of a day'swork now and then. Rosemary had paid her Japanese maid and let her go,and Andy was going to help her with the housework until the industrialproblem was solved. She listened for a minute and then made a suggestionof her own.

  "We're all in the same boat," she said, "and by just sticking together, Iknow we'll come out swimmingly. Why don't you leave the hotel, and comeout here and batch with us, Luck? It would be so much cheaper; and I canturn that couch in the kitchen into a bed, easy as anything. I'd like toshake that Great Western Company for acting the way they have with you.Think of offering a man a two-hundred-a-week position and thenhaggling--"

  "Say, Luck," the dried little man spoke up suddenly, "how much does oneof them there camaries cost? I'd be willin' to chip in and help buy one;and, by gorry, we could make some movin' pitchers of our own and sell'em, if we caji't do no better." He craned his neck and peered the lengthof the table at Luck. "Ain't no law ag'in it, is there?" he challenged.

  "No, there's no law against it." Luck closed his lips against furthercomment. The idea was like a sudden blow upon the door of hisimagination.

  The Happy Family looked at one another inquiringly. They had neverthought of doing anything like that. The dried little man may havemeditated much upon the subject, but he certainly had not given a hint ofit to any of them.

  "Oh, why couldn't you boys do that?" Rosemary exclaimed breathlessly.

  Luck stirred his coffee carefully and did not look up. "Don't run awaywith the idea that you can buy a camera for twenty or thirty dollars," hequelled. "A camera, complete with tripod, lenses, magazines, and cases,would cost about fourteen hundred dollars--at least."

  That, as he had expected it to do, rather feazed the Happy Family for afew minutes. They became interested in the food they were eating, andtheir eyes did not stray far from their plates.

  "I can ante two hundred," Weary remarked at last with elaboratecarelessness, reaching for more butter.

  "See yuh and raise yuh fifty," Andy Green retorted briskly. "I've got awife that's learning me to save money."

  "You can count my chips for all I got." Pink's dimples showed briefly."I'll go through my pockets when I get filled up, and see how rich I am.But, anyway, there's a couple of hundred I know I've got,--counting Acmehandouts and all."

  "We-ell--" the dried little man laid down his fork to rub his chinthoughtfully, "I never had much call to spend money in Sioux,North-Dakoty. I batched and lived savin'. I can put in half of thatfourteen hundred--mebby a little mite more."

  "Well, by cripes, I got a boy t' look out fer, and I ain't rich as some,but all I got goes in the pot!" cried Big Medicine impulsively.

  Luck leaned back in his chair and regarded the flushed facesenigmatically. "This is all good material for an argument on ourfinancial standing," he said, "but if you're taking yourselves seriously,let me tell you something before you go any farther. Buying a camera isonly a starter. Besides, I wouldn't play with little stuff and competewith these big, established companies releasing on regular programs. Say,for the sake of argument, that we cooperate and go into this; all I'dhandle would be features,--State's rights stuff. (Make big four-or-fivereelers, and sell the rights in as many States as possible; that's whatit amounts to.) But it isn't a thing to play with, boys. Let's do ourjoking about something else."

  Rosemary set her two elbows upon the table, clasped her hands together,and dropped her chin upon them so that she was looking at Luck from underher eyebrows. That pose meant determination and an argumentative mood.

  "I've been doing a little mental arithmetic," she began. "Also I've donea little thinking. I know now what spoiled that Great Western offer foryou, Luck Lindsay. It was because they wouldn't take the boys too. Andyou turned it down because you--oh, they're the 'technical details,'young man! You see? Your eyes give you away. I knew it, once the ideapopped into my head. What do you think of a fellow like that, boys?Refused a two-hundred-a-week position because he couldn't get you fellowsa job too."

  "That two hundred seems to worry you a good deal," Luck muttered, crimsonto his collar.

  "Now don't interrupt, because I shall keep right on talking just thesame. I've a lot more to say. Do you realize that the donations theseboys have made already amounts to over fifteen hundred dollars? And thatdoes not include Happy Jack or Miguel, because they haven't--"

  "Aw, gwan! I never had a chanct to git a word in edgeways," Happyhurriedly defended his seeming parsimony. "I'm willin' to chip in."

  "Well, the point is this: Why not all put in what you can, and just goout where there are cattle, and make your Big Picture, Luck Lindsay? Wecould live in the country cheaper than we can here: and there wouldn't beanything to buy but grub,--just a bag of beans and some flour and coffee.I'd be willing to starve for the sake of making that Big Picture!"

  "By gracious, there's our transportation money, too!" Andy broke anothershort silence. "Three hundred and fifty, right there in a lump."

  "Let it stay transportation money, too!" Rosemary advised quickly. "Itcan transport you fellows to where Luck wants to make his picture."

  They waited then for Luck to speak, but he was too busy thinking. On hisshoulders would rest the responsibility of the outfit. On his word theywould rely absolutely and without question. It was no light matter tolead these men into a venture which would take their time, more hard,heart-breaking work than they could possibly foresee, and the last dollarthey possessed. He was sorely tempted to try it, but for their sakes heknew he must not let their enthusiasm sweep away his sober judgment. Hadthey owned but half his experience it would be different; but their veryignorance of the game hampered his decision.

  "Well, boss, how about it?" Andy urged. "Are yuh game to try her a whirl?We haven't got much, but what we've got is yours if you want to tackleit. We'll be right with you--till hell's no bigger than a bullet ladle."

  "That's just what holds me back. I'd certainly hate to lead you upagainst a losing proposition, boys. And if I went into it, I'd go in overmy eyebrows; if I didn't make good I wouldn't have the price of a tag ona ten-cent sack of Bull Durham when I quit; so I couldn't pay you back--"

  "Aw, thunder! Think we never set into a poker game in our lives? Thinkwe're in the habit of hollerin' for our chips back when we lose? What'sthe matter with yuh, anyway?" cried Big Medicine wrathfully.

  "Why, of course we share the risk of losing!" Rosemary scowled at himindignantly. "We'll go in over our eyebrows, too,--and stand on our toeslong as we can, to keep our scalp locks showing above water!" Her browneyes twinkled a swift glance around the table. "If you think these boysare quitters, Luck Lindsay, you just ought to have been around when theywere hanging on to their homesteads! I could tell you things--"

  "You say buying a camera is just a starter. How much do you figure itwould cost to make our Big Picture? Cutting out salaries and all suchlittle luxuries, what would the actual expenses be--making a roughguess?" Weary leaned forward over his plate and forgot all about histempting wedge of shortcake.

  Luck pushed back his plate and smiled his smile. "For the Big Picture,"he began, while the Happy Family leaned to listen, "there'd be the cameraand outfit,--I could pick up some things second hand,--we'll call thatfourteen hundred and fifty. Then there would be at least five thousandfeet of film: perforated raw stock I could get for about three and threequarter cents a foot. Say a couple, of hundred dollars for that. We'dneed at least three dozen radium flares for our night scenes; they costclose around twenty dollars a dozen. And one or two lightdiffusers,--that's just to get us started with an outfit, remember. Thenthere'd be our transportation to Albuquerque, New Mexico. I know thatcountry, and I know what I can do there. I'd hit straight for a ranch Iknow between Bear Canyon and Rincon Arroyo--belongs to an old fellow thatsure is a character, too, in his way. Old bachelor, he is; got somecattle and horses, and round-pole corrals and the like of that. I knowold Applehead Forrman like I know my right
hand; we'd make Applehead'splace our headquarters--see? Exterior stuff we'd have right there, readyto shoot without any expense. As for interiors,--say! any of you fellowshandy with hammer and saw?"

  "By gracious, we all are!" Andy declared quickly. "We learned our littlelessons when we were building claim shacks for ourselves."

  "Good enough! You boys could be stage mechanics as well as leading men,"Luck grinned. "Add hammers and saws to the outfit. We'd have to build afew interior sets."

  Rosemary had her eyebrows tied in little knots, she was thinking so fast."I'll write the Little Doctor that she can have my silver teaset," sheinformed Andy impulsively. "She offered me fifty dollars for it, youknow. That would buy lots of beans!"

  Luck looked at her, but he did not say what was in his mind. Instead hereached into an inner pocket and drew out his passbook, "I've goteighteen hundred and ninety-five dollars in the bank," he announced,reading the figures aloud. "And my car ought to bring three or fourthousand,--if I can find the man that tried to buy it a month or sobefore I took the Injuns back. She's a pippin, boys!--"

  "Oh, your lovely, big, white machine!" wailed Rosemary. "Would you haveto sell it, Luck? Couldn't we squeak along without that?"

  "Aw, you don't want to sell your car!" Pink protested. "I know where Ican borrow two or three hundred. Maybe the Old Man--"

  "We'll put this thing through alone, if we do it at all," Luck told himbluntly. "Can't afford to work with borrowed capital; the risk is toogreat. Sure, I'll sell the car. I was thinking of it, anyway," hetestified falsely but reassuringly. "We'll need every cent I can raise.There's chemicals and Lord knows what all; and when we come to making ourprints and marketing, why--" he threw out both hands expressively. "If weland in Albuquerque with five thousand dollars and our outfit, we won'thave a cent to throw away. At that, we'll have to squeeze every nickeltill it hollers, before we're through. Believe me, boys, this is going tobe some undertaking!"

  "Nice, comfortable way you've got of painting things cheerful," theNative Son drawled ironically.

  "That's all right. I want you to realize what it's going to be likebefore you get in so far you can't back out."

  "Aw, who's said anything about backing out?" Happy Jack grumbled.

  "Let's get right down to brass tacks and see how strong we can go onmoney," Andy suggested, pulling a pencil out of an inner pocket. "Here,girl, you do the bookkeeping while we call off the size of our pile. Put'er down in this book till you can get another one. You can set me downfor two seventy-five--or make it three hundred. I can scrape it up, allright. How about you, Pink? This is hard-boiled figures, now, and noguess work."

  Pink blew a mouthful of smoke while he did a little mental calculation.Then he took his twisted-leather purse and emptied it into his saucer. Heinvestigated all his pockets and added eighty-five cents in small change.Then he gravely began to count, not disdaining three pennies in the pile."I've got seventy-five dollars in the bank," he said. "Add ninety dollarssalary, and you have a hundred and sixty-five. Add six dollars andeighty-seven cents, and you have--my pile."

  Rosemary twisted her lips and wrote the figures opposite Pink's name.Next came Weary, then Miguel and Big Medicine and the dried little manwho chewed violently upon a wooden toothpick and said he was good foreight hundred, and mebby a little mite more.

  They pushed their plates to the table's center to make room for theirgesticulating hands and uneasy elbows while they planned ways and means.They argued over trivial points and left the big ones for Luck to settle.They talked of light effects and wholesale grocery lists and ray filtersand smoke pots and railroad fares and the problem of cutting down theirbaggage so as to avoid paying excess charges. Luck, once he had taken themental plunge into the deep waters of so hazardous an enterprise, beganto exhibit a most amazing knowledge of the details of picture making.

  To save money, he told them, he would be his own camera man. He could dowithout a "still" camera, because he would enlarge clippings from thedifferent scenes in the negative instead. They'd have to manage the rangestuff with only one camera, which would mean more work to get the variouseffects. But with a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens he could comepretty near putting it over the way he wanted it. "And there'll be nomore blank ammunition, boys," he told them. "So you want to fityourselves out with real shells. I'm not going very strong on thisforeground bullet-effect stuff; we can afford to leave that for theWestern four-flushers that can't do anything else. But she's some wilddown where we'll be located, so we'll not be packing empty guns, at that.

  "And there's another thing," he went on, talking and making notes at thesame time. "If we're going to do this, we can't get started any toosoon. We may be able to hit a late round-up and get some scenes, whichwill save rounding up stock ourselves for it. And there's all thatwinter stuff to make, too; we haven't any more time to throw away thanwe have money."

  "Well, we're ready to hit the trail any time you are," Andy declared."To-morrow, if yuh say so. You go ahead with your end of it, Luck, andI'll be straw boss here in camp and get the outfit packed and ready toship outa here on an hour's notice. I can do it, too--believe me!"

  "Do you know," said Rosemary, "I'd let James and Weary buy our winter'ssupplies and have them sent by freight right on to where we're going.Things are awfully cheap here. I'll make out a list, and the boys canattend to that to-morrow. And I'll bake up a lot of stuff for lunches onthe train, too. We're not going to squander money in the dining car."

  "Say, we'll just borry one of them dray teams from the Acme corral, bycripes, and haul our own stuff to the depot!" Big Medicine exclaimed withenthusiasm. "Save us four or five dollars right there!"

  Luck rose and reached for his umbrella as though he had just recalled animportant engagement. "I think I know where to find a buyer for mymachine," he said, "so I'll just get on his trail. To-morrow I'll startgetting my camera outfit together. Andy, I'll turn this end of theexpedition over to you; that idea of getting food supplies here is allright, within certain limits. Don't buy any cheap, weighty stuff here,because the freight will eat up all you save. But I'll leave that to youfolks; I guess you've had experience enough--"

  "Considering most of us learned our _a-b-c's_ outa Montgomery-Wardcatalogues," Weary observed with a quirk of the lips, "I guess you cansafely leave it to the bunch. Range kids are brought up on themWind-river bibles, as we call mail order catalogues. I'll bet you I cangive offhand the freight on anything you can name, from a hair hackamoreto a gang plow."

  "Fly at it, then," laughed Luck, with his hand on the doorknob. "I amgoing to be some busy myself. I'll just turn over the transportationproblem to you folks. _Adios_."

  "Prepare to ride in the chair car," Rosemary called after him warningly."Even a tourist sleeper is going to be too luxurious for us; we're goingto squeeze nickels till they just squeal!"

  Luck held the door open while he smiled approvingly at her. "That'll beplaying the game right from the start. _Adios_, folks."