“Oh! hardly all that,” laughed Hugh; “and in this case you’re away off, because it never occurred to me until I spoke. But besides those pictures, there may be some other things turn up before we get back that will be worth while snapping. I’ve got a few stunts figured out, you know, that will give you a chance to do some quick work, if you want to finish out a film.”
“We must be getting close to where that old tree went to smash when the lightning struck it, Hugh,” remarked Bud.
“There she is, right ahead there!” cried Billy, before the leader could answer. “And say, boys, let me tell you the wreck looks just as fierce as it did yesterday. I’ve been wondering whether we mightn’t have magnified things a little, seeing we were so worked up over the escape; but just look at the way the limbs are scattered around! It’s going to be a hard thing for you to get a proper focus on all that stuff, Art, and us grouped in the bargain.”
But the experienced photographer had already cast a quick look around, and seemed fully confident that he could manage nicely.
“Plenty of sunlight at this early hour,” he remarked first of all; “but by three o’clock the shadows of those other trees would have bothered me. And now, you fellows stand just by that little open place, where you won’t be in the line of the riven stump. The hole must show that I wanted you to crawl into before the storm broke. After I get you well focussed, I expect to join you. I’ve got an extra long rubber tube, you notice, connected with my rapid drop-shutter; so when we’re all fixed, I’ll press the bulb, and the thing’s done.”
He was very particular how he placed them all, and after he had viewed the scene from under his light-proof cloth, he came back several times to make alterations.
Finally, even the particular artist seemed to be satisfied.
“Nobody move a hand or foot, or more than breathe, till I come back and join you,” he told them, as he hurried to his camera which he had mounted on its tripod. “That’s going to be a Jim Dandy view, I’m giving it to you straight, fellows; and above all, the hole shows up fine. You see, that’s what will gain us points in this game, if anything will, and the committee must be able to tell that the oak tree struck by lightning was hollow, so that they can know how close a call we had. Steady there, Billy Worth; don’t act so frisky. We don’t want to spoil this picture, let me tell you; and I’m going to take a second snap, to make doubly sure of it.”
When the official photographer of the Wolf patrol had rejoined his three waiting chums, he stooped to secure possession of the bulb that completed the long thin line of rubber tubing.
“Now, look natural, everybody!” he remarked. “I’m going to press her. All ready? Here she goes! There, that counts for one snapshot! Now wait here where you are till I turn another exposure, and we’ll make a second picture.”