“Read that, Ma Bassett!” cried the news vender.
Mrs. Paisley gave expression first to wonder, then utter amazement, as she read the item Ruth had had inserted in this particular “edition” of the Harpoon. She was a fine old actress and her facial registering of emotion was a marvel. Mr. Hooley had seldom to advise her.
Now his voice was heard above the clack of the cameras:
“Pass it to the lady at your left. That’s it! Cling to the paper. Get your heads together—three of you now!”
The amateur players looked at each other and began to grin. The scene promised to be as big a “fizzle” as the one shot the previous day.
But the woman next to Mrs. Paisley, after looking carelessly at the paper, of a sudden came to life. She seized the Harpoon with both hands, fairly snatching it out of the actress’ hands. She was too startled to be polite.
“What under the canopy is this here?” she sputtered.
She was a small, wiry, vigorous woman, and she had an expressive, if a vinegary, face. She rose from her seat and forgot all about her “play-acting.”
“What d’you think it says here?” she demanded of her sister-members of the ladies’ aid.
“Sh!”