“I’ll do my best,” Salt promised, “but I can’t make over a man’s face.”
Mr. Blake proved to be a trying subject. Posed on a stool in front of a screen, he immediately “froze” into a stiff position.
“Be sure to make it only a head and shoulders picture, if you please,” he ordered Salt.
“Can’t you relax?” the photographer asked wearily. “Unloosen your face. Think of all those little orphans you’re going to make happy.”
Mr. Blake responded with a smirk which was painful to behold. Nothing that Salt could say or do caused him to become natural, and at length the photographer took two shots which he knew would not be satisfactory.
“That’ll be all,” he announced.
Mr. Blake arose, drawing a deep sigh. “Posing is a great ordeal for me,” he confessed. “I seldom consent to having my picture taken, but this is a very special occasion.”
Completely at ease again, the real estate man began to converse with Penny. In sudden inspiration, Salt seized a candid camera from a glass case, and before Mr. Blake was aware of his act, snapped a picture.
“There, that’s more like it,” he said. “I caught you just right, Mr. Blake.”
The real estate man turned swiftly, his eyes blazing anger.