CHAPTER VII
ETHAN ALLEN COMES TO LIFE AGAIN
For the next days the troop's headquarters on Otter Hill was thestrangest place imaginable. Passers by were surprised to find groups ofreal Indians in war paint, Colonial soldiers, British troopers and GreenMountain Boys in buckskin garments walking up and down in front of thebuilding or sitting in the sun waiting for their turn to "go on" in thestudio room upstairs. These were the regular actors of the HistoricalMotion Picture Company, who had come to Woodbridge by train to take partin the Ethan Allen film which Mr. Dickle was making.
To be sure, all this fascinated the scouts. It was a decided pleasure tobe allowed to circulate among such famous people. Ethan Allen was a big,broad-shouldered actor whose name was known from coast to coast. So wasthe individual who took the part of Captain Rember Baker, Captain Warnerand Captain Warrington. Anne Story was a girl whose face the boys hadseen on a dozen different billboards, and there were any number of otherwell-known individuals in the troupe. And there were real live Indians,too, who afforded the boys no end of interest. Altogether, the advent ofthe motion picture company was a liberal education for the lads.
But for knowledge of the technical nature, which the boys liked best, theinterior of headquarters presented a world of opportunity. When thecompany's electricians and stage carpenters had finished with their workin the big meeting room Bruce and his chums scarcely recognized it as thesame place. Two banks of a dozen electric lights as big as street arclamps, and just as powerful, had been strung across the ceiling. These,by means of reflectors, were made to flood the far end of the room, "thestage," with a steady white light.
Behind the light was the camera man, grinding away steadily, takingsixteen pictures a second, while before the light were the actors playingtheir parts, now in a log cabin, now in a Colonial mansion and again in acourtroom at Albany, according to the way the scene shifters arranged theportable canvas scenery.
Between the camera man and the actors, to the left of the stage, sat Mr.Dickle in his shirt sleeves, clutching a bundle of manuscript in one handand a megaphone in the other. Through this effective mouthpiece hedirected each of the actors. The members of the cast did their workentirely in pantomime, except when Mr. Dickle bawled a few lines at them,which they repeated so that the camera could register the action of theirlips.
It was all so perfectly wonderful to the scouts that they stood for hourswatching the making of the film; that is, they stood still and watchedwhile the actors and photographers were at work, but the moment businesswas suspended, while scenes were changed, they began to ask questions ofevery one in sight.
They learned that the big lights were a new type of tungsten lamp filledwith nitrogen gas which made them burn three times as bright as otherlamps. They discovered that the original photographs were onlythree-quarters of an inch long and they were magnified from thirty tofifty thousand times when they were projected onto a movie screen by themachine in the theater. They found out also that raw film cost fourcents a foot, that movie actors were paid as high as $20,000 a year, thatthere were nearly four hundred American firms making movies, that most ofthe films of the world were made in this country, that American "movies"were being shown in China, Australia, India and all sorts of far-offcorners of the world, and that in one American city alone the "movie"theaters took in more than $40,000 a day in admission fees.
All this and a great deal more did the inquisitive youngsters gather,until they became veritable motion picture encyclopedias. Of course,chief among the men whom they questioned was Mr. Dickle. In fact, everytime the manager finished directing a scene, Bruce and several otherscouts pounced upon him and began plying him with questions concerningthe film industry, all of which he answered in great detail, for heappreciated the fact that they were boys who wanted to learn andunderstand.
It was during one of these periods of catechising that he finallyexplained the big film he was making at the time.
"This photoplay," he said, "is to be a feature production; five reels of1,000 feet each. I'm going to give all the details of the troubles EthanAllen and the Green Mountain Boys had with the authorities of New YorkState over the New Hampshire Grants. Of course, you boys know the story.It's history."
"You bet we do," said Bruce; "find a Vermont boy who hasn't read aboutthe Green Mountain Boys."
"Well, I'm glad you are so well informed. It will help a little when youtake your parts tomorrow afternoon. I've finished the studio work on thefilm now, and all that remains are some exteriors in the vicinity of theLake. The film will wind up with a big battle between Allen and hisGreen Mountain Boys against the Sheriff of Albany, assisted by someIndians and Red Coats."
"I want you fellows to be the original Green Mountain Scouts. Yourbuckskins are all downstairs in the trunks. They came by express thismorning. I'd expect you all to report here tomorrow at two thirty. Getinto the duds and come up to the lake. You'll find us all ready for youup there with an automobile full of flintlock rifles and things. Thestage will all be set for the big battle around the mouth of the realEthan Allen cave. How does that suit you?" It was a thrilling idea.
"How does it suit? Wow; were there ever fellows as lucky as we are?Just think of being in a real movie film; I tell you--"
"Jiminy crickets, we'll have the time of our life, Mr. Dickle. Why,we'll do it for nothing, just for the fun of the thing," exclaimed Gordongenerously.
"Oh, no, you won't; you'll get fifty cents each, and, besides, I'm payingyou ten dollars a day for the use of this building. Forty dollars is dueyou so far. That should help the troop's treasury a little, eh, boys?"
"You bet it will," said Bruce. "Only we don't like--"
"Tut, tut; that'll do. I owe you money, and I'm going to pay it. If youdon't take it I'll give it to your Assistant Scout master, Mr. Ford. Imet him yesterday," said Mr. Dickle. Then, to the actors, he called:"Next scene, gentlemen! Ring the bell, Benny!" And Bruce and the scoutsrealized that it was time for them to leave.
The following day Woodbridge witnessed the strangest scene in itshistory. It was that of a score of Green Mountain Scouts, in buckskinsand coon caps, traveling up the dusty road toward the Lake. Some wereastride motor cycles, a half-dozen were crowded into "Old Nanc" and therest were walking.
An hour after leaving headquarters they reached the lake shore. EthanAllen's cave was up a very steep grade from the water and the boys couldsee as they rounded the bend in the road dozens of Red Coats and Indianswaiting for them. Bruce and the lads on the motorcycles put on highspeed and took the grade in whirlwind fashion but "Old Nanc" was notequal to the hill, so she was parked in a lot by the lakeside and therest of the troop went up to the cave on foot.
Immediately upon their arrival activities began. Mr. Dickle formed themin line and marched them up beside the big automobile truck that stood inthe middle of the road. Here each lad was given a flintlock rifle andsent over to the mouth of the cave, where Ethan Allen and a half-dozenGreen Mountain Boys were waiting, seated about a camp fire.
"Now, boys," said the manager, when all had been served with guns and hadtaken their places, "those weapons of yours are only dummies. I don'twant you lads fooling with powder even in a sham battle. I won't beresponsible for your eyes. My regular actors will do all the firingnecessary, and they will make smoke enough to cover the film. All I wantyou fellows to do is aim and pull the trigger. Are you ready now,gentlemen? Camera!"
Mr. Dickle stood with his feet apart, megaphone in hand, in the middle ofthe road. The camera man had set up his tripod on the rear end of themotor truck, which was held on the very brink of the grade by its brakes.At the word "Camera" he began to turn the crank of his machine rapidly,and almost before they knew it the Boy Scout Engineers were beingphotographed as part of a real feature film.
Action followed swiftly. While the lads were sitting about the fire anIndian came out of the woods. It was Neshobee, the friendly Red Man ofJudge Thompson's story. H
e advanced to Ethan Allen, his hand extendedaloft as a sign of friendship. Then he began to talk, pointing into thebushes and up toward the leaves of the trees. Instantly the GreenMountain Boys were alert!
"The Red Coats and the Sheriff!" snapped Allen, and every man wascrouching, gun in hand, waiting for the attack. A Red Coat appeared inthe bushes!
Up went a dozen muskets, and the next instant there was a thunderingroar! The Red Coat disappeared! But others came! They bobbed upeverywhere! Behind bushes and trees! From rocks and logs they sprang,advancing and firing in apparently deadly earnestness! The roar of themusketry was deafening! Bruce and his chums were thrilled withenthusiasm, and they snapped their guns at every enemy in sight! On camethe Red Coats and the Indians with the Sheriff of New York leading them!They advanced into the open, firing deliberately at the little group ofdefenders about the cave! But their fire was answered with interest, andsoldiers and Indians were stumbling and falling in all directions!
And above all the din could be heard the voice of Mr. Dickle, the stagemanager, roaring directions through his megaphone. "Great scene! Fine!Register excitement! Fall down, Murphy! Tumble over, there, Lisk;you're dead--tumble, I say. Don't be afraid of your uniform. I'll payfor that. Fall!--fall!--fall! Now, Green Mountain Boys, up and at 'em!Charge! Charge! Beat it, you Red Coats--you're licked. Run! Git! Beatit, I say! After 'em, scouts, after 'em! Fine! Great scene! All right;that'll do. Quit firing."
The roar of the flintlocks ceased and Bruce and the rest of the scoutsstopped, thoroughly out of breath with excitement. The Red Coats andIndians stopped also, and, turning about, rejoined their erstwhileenemies. The "dead" and "wounded" stood up, too, and began to walk aboutand chat with the rest, all of which gave the scouts the impression thata "movie" battle was the only really pleasant kind of battle, after all.
"Well, you scouts certainly filled the bill as Green Mountain Boys," saidMr. Dickle when the boys reached the road where he was standing. "Thatwill make a great scene. Now, just as soon as Bob gets his stuff stowedaway in the truck, we'll start for town."
Bruce noticed that the camera man was having difficulty in getting hisoutfit in the truck unassisted, so he ran on ahead of the others to helphim.
"Here, Bruce," said the movie operator, "you get up in the wagon and Iwill hand the things to you and you can stow them under the seat."
The camera man handed up the box-like machine, which Bruce startedpacking under the seat. Just as the operator started back up the hill toget his tripod, in some unaccountable manner the brakes of the heavytruck loosened and the big vehicle started to roll slowly down the hill.So steep was the grade that the truck gained momentum at a terrific rate.
Bob, the camera man, noticing what had happened, turned and ran swiftlydown the hill. But it had gained such headway that he couldn't overtakeit.
"Hi, there!" shrieked Mr. Dickle. "Stop that trunk! Stopit! My film!It's all in the camera, and the truck's running away! Stop it, some one!Save the film!"
Bruce's first impulse was to jump from the truck and leave it to itsfate, but when he heard the manager's frantic appeal to save the preciousfilm he climbed quickly over the back of the high seat. In anotherinstant he grasped the steering wheel and jammed his foot down upon thebrake lever.
Then bang--! the brake band snapped and the truck lurched forward again!Bruce had applied the brake too suddenly, and the next moment he foundhimself in a runaway motor truck that could not be stopped until itreached level ground.
The patrol leader felt like he was turning cold. Before him stretched along grade, and at the end a sharp turn! If he did not make that turnthe motor truck would crash against a rock or tree and kill him, or atbest it would plunge into the Lake and then the film would be lost!Could he make the turn?
On rushed the massive truck. It had developed express train speed nowand it rocked from side to side like a ship in a gale as it tore down therough country road! Bruce clutched the big steering wheel with deathlikegrip and tried his mightiest to keep the cumbersome vehicle straight!He realized that a loose stone or a deep rut meant death to him anddestruction to the motor car! His teeth were clenched and his face waswhite! The wind had whisked away his coonskin cap.
"Oh, if I can only make that turn! I must! I've _got_ to!" he toldhimself, as he saw the distance to the foot of the hill being eaten up bythe flying motor car. Nearer and nearer came the turn. It was a hundredyards away. Now seventy, fifty, forty! Would the truck stay on all fourwheels or would it go plunging on madly, end over end, into the lake?Could he make it? The road bent slightly now. Brace followed the curve.Now came the turn. Bruce tugged at the wheel. The big truck swerved.It was skidding! It was two wheels and ploughing up the dust in greatclouds! It was almost around! It was around! The road ahead of him wasstraight and clear!
Bruce breathed a great sigh of relief. And so did fifty individuals whohad been watching the terrible race from the top of the hill. Theycheered loud and long when the big truck shot safely around the bend andheaded up the level road toward Woodbridge. Then all of them starteddown the grade pell mell, nor did they stop until they reached the placewhere the truck had finally stalled. Then every one tried to shake theboy's hand.
"By Jove, but for your nerve, Bruce, my boy, we'd have been minus filmand motor truck. For pure grit, I think you scouts take the prize. Iwish I could think of some way to repay you," cried Mr. Dickle, pumpingBruce around somewhat roughly.
"Why--er--you see--we don't want any pay for what we do, but if it can bearranged, I--I--well, we sure would like to see that 'movie.' Can't yousend one to the Woodbridge Theater?" said Bruce.
"Huh, send one to the Woodbridge Theater! Why, I'll bring the firstrelease of it to Woodbridge myself and show it in your headquarters.How'll that suit you fellows?"
And the enthusiastic replies of the scouts convinced the "movie" managerthat he had hit the right idea.