ou've ridden in from the ranche. We get the horseback stuff
later. You all come in yelling and so on, and the boys scatter, some to
the bar and some to the wheel, and some sit down to the tables to have
their drinks and some dance with the girls. You distribute money to them
from a paper sack. Here's the sack." From a waiting property boy he took
a paper sack. "Put this in your pocket and take it out whenever you need
money.

"It's the same sack, see, that the kid put the stolen money in, and
you saved it after returning the money. It's just a kind of an idea of
mine," he vaguely added, as Merton looked puzzled at this.

"All right, sir." He took the sack, observing it to contain a rude
imitation of bills, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Then, after the boys scatter around, you go stand at the end of the
bar. You don't join in their sports and pastimes, see? You're serious;
you have things on your mind. Just sort of look around the place as if
you were holding yourself above such things, even if you do like to give
the boys a good time. Now we'll try the entrance."

Cameras were put into place, and Merton Gill led through the front door
his band of rollicking good fellows. He paused inside to give them bills
from the paper sack. They scattered to their dissipations. Their leader
austerely posed at one end of the bar and regarded the scene with
disapproving eyes. Wine, women, and the dance were not for him. He
produced again the disillusioned look that had won Henshaw.

"Fine," said Baird. "Gun it, boys."

The scene was shot, and Baird spoke again: "Hold it, everybody; go on
with your music, and you boys keep up the dance until Mother's entrance,
then you quit and back off."

Merton was puzzled by this speech, but continued his superior look,
breaking it with a very genuine shock of surprise when his old mother
tottered in at the front door. She was still the disconsolate creature
of the day before, bedraggled, sad-eyed, feeble, very aged, and still
she carried her bucket and the bundle of rags with which she had mopped.
Baird came forward again.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Of course you had your old mother follow you
out here to the great open spaces, but the poor old thing has cracked
under the strain of her hard life, see what I mean? All her dear ones
have been leaving the old nest and going out over the hills one by
one-you were the last to go-and now she isn't quite right, see?

"You have a good home on