"It may be." She laughed, yet rather doubtfully. "I am to be on the
watch for the 'hand in the dark,' am I not? At any rate when we are hear
Dakota Joe again, I will keep a very sharp lookout."

"Yes, of course, Miss Ruth, we'll all do that," returned Mr. Hammond,
more seriously now, for he saw that Ruth was really disturbed. "Still,
whatever his intentions, I do not believe Fenbrook will have the power
to do any real harm. At any rate, keep your courage up, for we are
forewarned now, and can take care of ourselves--and of you," he added,
with a smile, as he left her.




CHAPTER XII

BOUND FOR THE NORTHWEST


Because of the accident in which Ruth might have been seriously hurt,
the company was delayed for a day in New York, Altogether the various
shots (some of them of and in one of the tallest office buildings on
Broadway) occupied more than a week--more time than Mr. Hammond wished
to give to the work in the East.

Nevertheless, Ruth's finished script, as handled deftly by the
continuity writer, promised so well that the producer was willing to
make a special production of it. The money--and time--cost were
important factors in the making of the picture; but the selection of the
cast was not to be overlooked. Jim Hooley had chosen the few acting in