Janet Hardy in Radio City

  Chapter Four

  HIGH PRAISE

  By the time everything was loaded into the bus, the sun was well downtoward the western hills and the ranch was bathed in the soft, warmlight of the late afternoon.

  Curt Newsom, who had finished superintending the loading of his ownhorses into his private truck, walked over to join the girls, his spursjingling as he walked.

  "Glad it's all over?" he asked.

  Janet shook her head.

  "Hardly. I've enjoyed it so much I really didn't want it to end, but Iguess that all good things come to an end."

  "You did a splendid job as leading woman," smiled Curt. "I wish all ofthem were like you. Every once in a while the girls they assign to thisunit get it into their heads that they are real actresses and they gotemperamental on us. But you two worked like real troupers and took allof the bumps as they came."

  "And they came, too," grinned Helen, rubbing her right leg, for she hadslipped and fallen from a horse two days before and her leg was blackand blue.

  Curt was silent for a few moments, smiling at the efforts of "Skeets" toround up the last members of the company and get them aboard the bigbus.

  "Are you going to stay with us?" he asked.

  "We don't know," replied Helen. "Fall's almost here and that meanscollege time. We're both awfully young to stay on in pictures."

  "Oh, I wouldn't say that. I've known girls younger than either one ofyou to make a success."

  "But they didn't last long," countered Janet.

  "Perhaps you're right on that," agreed Curt. "Are you going to school?"

  "I expect we'll decide that when we get back to Hollywood and have along talk with mother and dad," replied Helen.

  Just then Billy Fenstow hurried up, puffing and exceedingly warm.

  "Everybody accounted for?" he asked his harried assistant.

  "All here," replied the red-faced "Skeets."

  "Sit down in the back seat with me," the director told the girls. "Iwant to talk with you on the way back to the city."

  The last members of the company were herded aboard the bus and thegirls, Curt Newsom and the director were the last to get aboard.

  They sat down on the broad back seat which had been reserved for thedirector. The bus lurched into motion and rolled away from theranchhouse.

  Billy Fenstow mopped his perspiring brow and leaned back to enjoy theride.

  The dusty road wound through the hills, golden clouds of dust markingthe passing of the bus.

  They were halfway to the main highway when the motor started to coughand the big vehicle slowed to a stop.

  The driver buried himself under the hood and tinkered with the enginefor a few minutes. Then he climbed back into his seat and started themotor again.

  They progressed for several hundred yards and finally groaned to a stop.

  "Looks like we may be late in getting to dinner," said Curt. "Soundedlike serious trouble under the hood that time."

  The lanky cowboy uncoiled his legs and went out to see if he could be ofany assistance to the bus driver.

  Billy Fenstow, taking advantage of the stop, spoke to Janet and Helen,his voice so low that it was doubtful if he could be overheard by anyother member of the company.

  "What about staying in the company for my next picture?" he asked.

  "When will it start?" Janet countered.

  The director mopped his brow again and grinned.

  "Just as soon as I can hash together a good enough story. Two weeks,maybe three, or it might even be a month. Why?"

  "We're not certain what we want to do," explained Helen. "You see,college starts next month."

  "My heavens," exclaimed the director. "What under the sun do you want togo to college for? You're smart enough right now."

  "That's just it; we aren't," replied Janet. "And we're terribly young,if the truth were known."

  Billy Fenstow looked at them critically.

  "Yep, you're young enough," he conceded, "but what's that got to do withit?"

  "Well, we're nothing sensational as actresses," replied Janet, "andneither one of us would want to go along playing minor roles for years.If we ever hope to do more than that we've got to have more of abackground in education and college seems to be the easiest and surestway to attain that."

  Billy Fenstow nodded in agreement.

  "Maybe you're right," he admitted, "but you could stay on with me at onehundred or one hundred and fifty dollars a week for a long time."

  "But how many weeks a year would we work at that rate? There wouldn't bemore than twenty-five or thirty at the most and our expenses of stayingon in Hollywood would become heavier."

  "Now that you put it that way, you're probably right. But when you doget through college, don't forget to come back and we'll see how thingsgo then."

  The director started to get up, then sank back on the cushions.

  "You helped doctor the script of 'Kings of the Air,' didn't you?" heasked Janet.

  "I made a suggestion or two," she admitted.

  "I heard it was a little more than that," smiled the director. "Whydon't you see what you could do with a western script for me. I haven'tgot an idea and if I turn it over to the studio writers, I'll probablyget another stereotyped plot."

  "Are you serious?" demanded Janet.

  "Very much so. You might be able to put together something with a newangle. Mind you, it must be simple in action, for I've got to operate ona slim budget, but we must have a satisfactory love angle and aplausible plot. Think you can do anything with it?"

  "I'll try; I'll do my best," promised Janet.

  "Then I guess I'll take a little vacation when we get back to Hollywood.I'll need the story in about ten days, or at least a complete outline bythat time."

  The tubby little director lifted himself off the seat and ambled downthe aisle to learn how much longer they would be detained and Janetwatched him go with a strange elation in her heart.