ice in connection with a valuable patent he had
evolved for a moving picture machine.

The second volume was called "The Moving Picture Girls at Oak Farm; Or,
Queer Happenings While Taking Rural Plays." In that book was told how the
acquaintance was made of Sandy Apgar, who ran a farm in New Jersey. As
Mr. Pertell was looking for some country scenes to use in connection
with his moving picture dramas, he took his entire company out to Oak
Farm, hiring it from the Apgars.

A curious mystery was solved by the girls, and other members of the
company--a mystery that involved the happiness of the old couple who
owned Oak Farm, but were on the verge of losing it.

"The Moving Picture Girls Snowbound; Or, The Proof on the Film," was the
title of the third book. As its name indicates, the girls and other
members of the company were really snowbound. After the summer at Oak
Farm, and the fall spent in New York, Mr. Pertell decided to make some
dramas in the backwoods of New England, where there was much snow and
ice. And for a time there was almost too much snow, for Elk Lodge, where
the company of players was housed, was almost buried by a blizzard.

Before going to the backwoods, Mr. DeVere had been much annoyed, and
alarmed, by an unjust demand, and how a certain illegal suit against an
electric car company was called off, through a discovery made by Ruth and
Alice, you may read of in the book.

Russ got "the proof on the film" and when this moving picture was shown
privately it caused Dan Merley's lawyer to say:

"You win! We are beaten!" And Mr. DeVere was at ease after that.

Many beautiful films were made at Elk Lodge, and some wonderful pictures
of snow and ice scenes resulted from the trip to the backwoods. Then the
company returned to New York, and now we find them _en route_ for
Florida, when the accident to Mr. Towne occurred.

Mr. DeVere and his two daughters lived in the Fenmore Apartment house, in
New York City. Across the hall lived Mrs. Sarah Dalwood, and her sons,
Russ and Billy, the latter aged about twelve. The Dalwoods and the
DeVeres became very friendly, and Russ thought there never was a girl
like Ruth. Paul Ardite, the younger leading man of the Comet Film
Company, thought the same thing of Alice.

Frank Pertell was the manager and chief owner of the film company. He had
a large studio in New York, where all indoor scenes of the plays were
enacted, and where the films were made for rental to the