CHAPTER XIII
THE IDEA IS BORN
"What? What? _What_?" Helen cried, as she gazed, wide-eyed, at the checkand at Mr. Hammond's letter.
The check for twenty-five dollars there could be no mistake about; and shescanned the moving picture man's enthusiastic letter shortly, for it wasbrief. But Helen quite misunderstood the well-spring of Ruth's sudden joy.
"Oh, Ruthie Fielding!" she gasped. "What have you done now?" and shehugged her chum delightedly. "How wonderful! _That_ was the secret betweenyou and that Mr. Hammond, was it?"
"Yes," admitted Ruth.
"And you've written a _real_ moving picture?"
"That is it--exactly. A _one_ reel picture," and Ruth laughed.
"And he says he will produce it at once," sighed Helen.
"So Mr. Hammond says. It's very nice of him."
"Oh, Ruth!" cried Helen, hugging her again.
"Oh, Helen!" responded Ruth, in sheer delight.
"You're famous--really famous!" said Ruth's chum, with sudden solemnity.
Ruth's clear laughter rang out spontaneously.
"Well, you are!"
"Not yet."
"But you've earned twenty-five dollars writing that play. Only think ofthat! And you can give it to the dormitory fund. Is that what you are sopleased about? Mercy, Ruth! you don't expect us all to set about writingpicture plays and selling them to Mr. Hammond?"
"No," said Ruth, more seriously. "I guess that wouldn't do."
"Then what do you mean about every girl at Briarwood helping in this waytoward the fund?" Helen asked, puzzled. "At any rate, twenty-five dollarswill help."
"But I sha'n't do that!" cried Ruth.
"Sha'n't do what?"
"I shall not give this precious twenty-five dollars to any dormitoryfund--no, indeed!" and Ruth clasped the check to her bosom. "The firstmoney I ever earned with my pen? I guess not! That twenty-five dollarsgoes into the bank, my dear."
"Goodness! You needn't be so emphatic about it," protested Helen.
"I am going to open a special account," said Ruth, proudly. "This will becredited to the fact that R.F. can actually make something _with herbrains_, my lady. What do you think?"
"But how is it going to help the dormitory fund, then?" demanded her chum.
"Not by adding my poor little twenty-five dollars to it. We wanthundreds--_thousands_! Don't you understand, Helen, that my check wouldonly be a drop in the bucket? And, anyway, I would come near to starvingbefore I would use this check."
"We--ell! I don't know that I blame you," sighed her friend. "I'd be aspleased as Punch if it were mine. Just think of your writing a real movingpicture!" she repeated. "Won't the girls be surprised? And suppose itcomes to Lumberton and we can all go and see it? You _will_ be famous,Ruth."
"I don't know about that, dear," Ruth returned happily. "There issomething about it all that you don't see yet."
"What's that?"
"This success of mine, I tell you, has given me a great, big idea."
"About what?"
"For the dormitory fund," Ruth said. "Mercy is right. Great oaks _do_ growfrom little acorns."
"Who's denying it?" demanded Helen. "Go on."
"Out of this little idea of mine which I have sold to Mr. Hammond, comes athought, dear," said Ruth, solemnly, "that may get us all the money weneed to rebuild the West Dormitory."
"I--don't--just--see----"
"But you will," cried Ruth. "Let me explain. If I can write a one-reelpicture play, why not a long one--a real play--a five-reel drama? I havejust the idea for it--oh, a grand idea!"
"Oh, Ruth!" murmured Helen, clasping her hands.
"I will write the play, we will all act in it, and Mr. Hammond shallproduce it. It can be shown around in every city and town from which wegirls come--our home towns, you know. Folks will want to see us Briarwoodgirls acting for the movies--won't they?"
"I should say they would! Fancy our doing that?"
"We can do it. Of course we can! And we'll get a royalty from the film andthat will all go into the dormitory fund," went on the enthusiastic Ruth.
"Oh, my dear!" gasped Helen. "Would Mr. Hammond take such a play if youwrote it?"
"Of course I don't know. If not he, then some other producer. I _know_ Ihave a novel idea," asserted Ruth.
"What is it?" asked the curious Helen.
"A schoolgirl picture, just as I say. Of course, there will have to besome _real_ actors in it; we girls couldn't be funny enough, or seriousenough, perhaps, to take the most important parts. We could act out somereal scenes of boarding school life, just the same."
"I should say we could!" cried Helen. "Who better? Stage one of our oldmidnight sprees, and show Heavy gobbling everything in sight. That wouldmake 'em laugh."
"But we want more than a comedy," Ruth said seriously. "I have the germ ofan idea in my mind. I'll write Mr. Hammond about it first of all. And wemust have Miss Gray in it."
"He says here," said Helen, glancing through the moving picture man'sletter again, "that he wants you to try another. Oh! and he says that in afew days he is coming to Lumberton with a company to take some films."
"So he does! Oh, goody!" cried Ruth. "I'll see him, then, and talk rightto him. He is an awfully rich man--so Hazel Gray told me. We'll get himinterested in the dormitory fund, anyway, and then, whether I can write afive-reel drama well enough or not, maybe he can find somebody who willput it into shape," Ruth added.
"Why, my dear!" exclaimed her chum, with scorn. "If you have written _one_moving picture, of course you can another."
Which did not follow at all, Ruth was sure.
"We'll have to ask Mrs. Tellingham," said Helen, with sudden doubt. "Maybeshe will not approve."
"Oh! I hope she will," cried Ruth. "But we must put it up to the girlsthemselves, first of all. They must all be in it. All must have aninterest--all must take part. Otherwise it will not accomplish the end weare after."
"Oh, oh, oh!" cried Helen, finally waking up. "Of course! this is the verything you wanted, Ruthie--to give every girl something to do that isimportant toward earning the money for the building of the new dormitory."
"That's it, my dear. We all must appear, and do our part. School scenes,recreation scenes, athletic scenes in the gym; marching in our graduationprocession; initiating candidates into the S.B. sorority; Old Noah's Arkwith the infants arriving at the beginning of the year; the dance wealways have in the big hall at holiday time--just a great, big picture ofwhat boarding school girls do, and how they live, breathe and have theirbeing!"
"Oh, jolly!" gasped Helen, taking fire from her friend's enthusiasm. "Say!the girls are going to be just about crazy over this, Ruth. You will bethe most popular girl in the school."
"I hope not!" gasped Ruth, in real panic. "I'm not doing this for anysuch purpose. Don't be singing my praises all the time, Helen. The girlswill get sick and tired to death of hearing about 'wonderful me.' We allwant to do something to help Mrs. Tellingham and the school. That's allthere is to it. Now, _do_ be sensible."
They were not long in taking the girls at large into their confidence.When it was known that Ruth Fielding had actually written one scenario fora film, which had been accepted, paid for, and would be produced,naturally the enthusiasm over the idea of having a reproduction of schoollife at Briarwood filmed, became much greater than it might otherwise havebeen. As a whole, the girls of Briarwood Hall were in a mood to worktogether for the fund.
"No misunderstandings," said Jennie Stone, firmly. "We don't want to makethe sort of mistake the rural constable did when he came along by theriverside and saw a face floating on the water. 'Come out o' that!' hesays. 'You know there ain't no bathing allowed around here.' And the facein the water answered: 'Excuse me, officer; I'm not bathing--I'm onlydrowning!'
"We've all got to pull together," the plump girl continued, very much inearnest. "No hanging back--no squabbling over little things. If RuthFielding can write a picture play we must all do our pretti
est in actingin it. Why! I'd play understudy to a baby elephant in a circus for thesake of helping build the new dormitory."
Already Mrs. Tellingham and the doctor had been informed by the girls'executive committee of the sums both actually raised by the girls, andpromised, toward the dormitory fund. It had warranted the good lady'ssigning contracts for the removal of the wreckage of the burned building,at least. The way would soon be cleared for beginning work on a newstructure.
Offers of money came pouring in from the parents interested in the successof Briarwood Hall; and some of the checks already received by Mrs.Tellingham were for substantial sums. But this proposal of Ruth's for allthe girls to help in the increase of the fund, pleased Mrs. Tellinghammore than anything else.
She read Ruth's brief sketch of the plot she had originated for the schoolplay, and approved it. "The Heart of a Schoolgirl" was forthwith put intoshape to show Mr. Hammond when he came to Lumberton, that event beingexpected daily.
About this time the girls of Briarwood Hall were so excited and interestedover the moving picture idea that they scarcely had time for their studiesand usual work.