“Well, I don't know how much you know about picture making—”
“You had better explain everything.”
“Well, Mr. T-S has built a large set, representing a street scene in Paris over a century ago. He has hired a thousand men—”
“Two tousand!” broke in T-S.
“In the advertisements?” I suggested, with a smile.
“No, no,” insisted the other. “Two tousand, really. In de advertisements, five tousand.”
“Well,” said I, “these men wear costumes which T-S has had made for them, and they pretend to be a mob. They have been practicing all day, and by now they know what to do. There is a man with a megaphone, shouting orders to them, and enormous lights playing upon them, so that men with cameras can take pictures of the scene. It is very vivid, and as a portrayal of history, is truly educational.”
“And when it is done—what becomes of the men?”
Utterly hopeless, you see! We were right back on the forbidden ground! “How do you mean?” I evaded.
“I mean, how do they live?”