"Stop! Stop, I say! I protest. I will not have it!"
"Vell, you goin' to git it, all right!" cried the German, and with the brush he liberally daubed the Shakespearean actor with the white and sticky stuff. All the other players were laughing at the ridiculous scene.
"More paste!" ordered Mr. Pertell. "More paste there, Mr. Switzer. Don't be afraid of it, Mr. Bunn! It's clean!"
"Oh, this is awful—this is terrible!" groaned the tragic actor. "My hat is ruined."
And such did seem to be the case, for the shining silk tile was filled with paste, the outside also being well covered.
Mr. Bunn tried to get away from the slapping brush of Mr. Switzer, but the German was not to be outwitted. The two had fallen to the floor under the impact of the comic player, and were now tangled up in the ladder.
"That's good! That's good!" laughed Mr. Pertell. "Get all of that, Russ! Every bit!"
"I'm getting it!" cried the operator, as he continued to grind away at the crank of the moving picture camera.
Again Mr. Bunn tried to get up and away, but the ladder, through which his legs had slipped, hampered him. Then a roll of the paper got under the feet of both players. It unreeled, and some paste got on it. The next instant part of it was plastered over Mr. Switzer's face, and, being unable to see, he pawed about wildly, spattering more paste all over, much of it getting on Mr. Bunn.
"Better than ever. Use some more of that paper!" ordered the manager. "Paste some on Mr. Switzer, if you can, Mr. Bunn."