“Soldier shows?”
“Partly, but my main job was ferreting out good civilian actors to work with us—to bring about a better feeling between the local population and the Army.”
John Hamilton laughed. “Sounds as if you were doing shows in two languages—”
“Oh, no,” Chris said easily. “They had to be English-speaking, of course. It was a wonderful experience all around, but then I was in a skiing accident in Bavaria. Broke my leg. That finished both the job and the Army for me, and I came straight to New York.”
Mr. Hamilton handled the questions and conversation so skillfully that soon Peggy and Chris almost forgot this was a radio interview. They spoke about theater and sketched the plot of Dear Ruth, talking up Alison Lord as the star of the show.
“And the idea behind this theater, as I understand it,” Mr. Hamilton said, “is to attract more visitors to our area, isn’t that right?”
Peggy and Chris agreed enthusiastically.
“Then certainly it should be a good thing for Lake Kenabeek,” Mr. Hamilton went on, “and I want to wish you a lot of luck. But I’ve heard a rumor recently that you two might set straight while we have the opportunity here. People are saying that you are operating illegally in the high school—”
Peggy gasped, but Hamilton didn’t give them a chance to reply just then.
“—and that you may not be able to open at all!” he continued. “Now, what about this rumor? I’m sure our listening audience would like to hear.” He sat back and looked at them—“as if we were two fish on a hook,” Peggy thought, aghast at his question.