“This outfit is getting jitters,” he said. “I heard this morning that one of the pilots found several of his control wires half way eaten through by acid. That’s bad business.”
Janet, looking up from a dish of ice cream, spoke slowly. “Then that means someone is deliberately trying to cripple the company?”
“It means someone is doing it. That flyer pulled out; refused to take his plane off the ground again and some good shots are already ‘in the can’ with his plane in it. Means they’ll have to get another plane and fix it up like his or shoot over a lot of footage. Either one will be expensive.”
That night Henry Thorne called the company together. Their location was at the edge of the ghost town of Sagebrush, and members of the company were sheltered in the three or four habitable houses which remained. All of them had grumbled a bit, but there was nothing that could be done about it for the nearest town of any size was too far away to make the drive back and forth daily.
Helen’s father spoke plainly.
“There have been a series of accidents,” he said. “These have slowed up production and put us almost a week behind schedule. All of you know what that means on a picture of this size. I am convinced that someone in the company is aiding in this sabotage and I am giving fair warning now that this town will be patrolled at night and that all equipment will be watched. The guards are armed and have orders to shoot first and ask questions afterward.”
That was all, but it started a buzz of conversation that lasted nearly an hour. When the company finally broke up to go to quarters, Janet happened to be watching Bertie Jackson and she saw the blond actress, slip between two buildings and vanish into the night.
Helen was some distance away and Janet, playing a hunch, followed Bertie at a safe distance.
There was no moon, but the sky was studded with stars. The walking through the sand was hard going, but noiseless, and Janet, keeping low, could discern Bertie’s silhouette.
Suddenly the older actress stopped and whistled softly, a long, a short and a long whistle. The sound could not have carried back to Sagebrush and Janet, vaguely alarmed, waited.