"Then where are we to get the proper pictures for our theatre?" demanded Patsy.
"It is quite evident we can't get them," said Louise. "Therefore we may be obliged to abandon the theatre proposition."
Another silence, still more grave. Uncle John was discreet enough to say
nothing. The Stantons and Mrs. Montrose felt it was not their affair.
Arthur Weldon was slyly enjoying the chagrin visible upon the faces of
Mr. Merrick's three pretty nieces.
As for A. Jones, he was industriously figuring upon the back of an envelope with a stubby bit of pencil.
CHAPTER XIII
A FOOLISH BOY
It was the youthful Sangoan who first broke the silence. Glancing at the figures he had made he said:
"It is estimated that if twenty picture theatres use any one film—copies of it, of course—that film will pay for its cost of making. Therefore, if you build twenty children's theatres, instead of the one or two you originally proposed, you would be able to manufacture your own films and they would be no expense to you."
They gazed at him in bewilderment.
"That is all simple enough!" laughed Arthur. "Twenty picture theatres at twenty thousand dollars each—a low estimate, my dears, for such as you require—would mean an investment of four hundred thousand dollars. A film factory, with several producing companies to keep it busy, and all the necessary paraphernalia of costumes and properties, would mean a million or so more. Say a million and a half, all told. Why, it's a mere bagatelle!"