d it. He held the smoke bomb, all right, but he didn't
throw it soon enough, and, as a result, it exploded almost in his face.
Lucky it's only made of heavy paper and not very powerful powder, so he
was only knocked down and scorched a little. But I guess he'll have more
respect for smoke bombs after this."

"Foolish fellow!" remarked Mr. Hadley. "He never will listen to reason.
I hope he isn't badly hurt."

"It's only his feelings, mostly," declared the juvenile actor.

Mr. Piper, otherwise called C. C., came limping along toward the
producer and the moving picture boys.

"Mr. Hadley, you may have my resignation, effective at once!" cried the
tragedian.

"Oh, don't say that, Mr. Piper. You're not hurt----"

"Well, it isn't any thanks to one of your men that I'm not. I offered to
show them how to throw a smoke bomb, and they gave me one with an extra
short fuse. It went off almost in my face. If my looks aren't ruined my
nerves are, and----"

"No danger of your _nerve_ being gone," murmured Blake, nudging his
chum.

"I should say not!"

"Anyhow, I resign!" declared C.C. savagely.

But, as he did this on the average of twice a week, it had become so now
that no one paid any attention to him. Mr. Hadley, seeing that he was in
no danger and hardly even painfully scorched, no longer worried about
the gloomy comedian.

"And now to get back to what we were talking about before that
interruption came," said Mr. Hadley to the moving picture boys. "Do you
think you'd like to tackle the job?"

"What is it?" asked Blake.

"Give us an idea," added his chum.

"Well, it isn't going to be any easy work," went on the producer. "And I
might as well tell you, first as last, that it will be positively
dangerous on all sides."

"Like anything we've done before?" Blake wanted to know.

"Not exactly. Earthquake Land is as near like it as anything that occurs
to me. In short, how would you like to go to Europe?"

"To the war?" cried Joe.

"Yes; but to take films, not prisoners!"

"Great!" cried Blake. "That suits me, all right!"

"The same here!" agreed Joe instantly. "Tell us more about it!"

"I will in a few days," promised the producer. "I have several details
to arrange. Meanwhile, I have a little commission for you along the same
line, but it's right around here--or, rather, down in Wrightstown, New
Jersey, at one of the army camps.

"I can tell you this much: If you go to Europe, it will be as special
agent