"How very odd!" cried Alice. "And are there manatees down here?"
"Many in Florida? Yes," was the answer. "I suppose we'll see some if we stay long enough. But I'm going to serve notice on Mr. Pertell now that I refuse to drive any of the sea cows to pasture."
"I don't blame you!" laughed Ruth. "Oh, look at Mr. Towne! He's fallen again!"
And so the unfortunate actor had, but this time into a clump of rough bushes that tore his now nearly ruined white flannels.
"That's good!" cried Mr. Pertell, approvingly. "You did that very well, Mr. Towne!"
"Well, I didn't do it on purpose," the actor protested, as he managed, not without some difficulty, to extricate himself from the briars.
Then he ran on, Russ making picture after picture, while the manager rapidly changed some of the other scenes on the typewritten sheets to conform to the accident of which he had so cleverly made use.
"Mr. Bunn, I have a new part for you, in this same play," the manager said, when Mr. Towne was finally allowed to rest.
"What is it?" asked the older actor. "I hope you can put in something about Shakespeare. I have not had a Shakespearean part in so long that I have almost forgotten how to do it properly."
"I can't promise you that this time," said the manager. "But it just occurred to me that you could also try to trace the escaping lovers, and get stuck in a bog-hole."