made, the stage-carpenter takes his place in the centre of the
stage and claps his hands a certain number of times to make his
men understand which particular set is wanted--if the sequence of
the sets has not yet been determined and written down for the
flymen to follow in definite order. Then the flymen lower a drop
to its place on the stage and the "grips" push out the "flats"
that make the wall of a room or the wings that form the scenery
of a forest--or whatever the set may be.

2. The Property-Man and His Assistants

Into the mimic room that the grips are setting comes the
Property-man--"Props," in stage argot--with his assistants, who
place in the designated positions the furniture, bric-a-brac,
pianos, and other properties, that the story enacted in this room
demands.

After the act has been presented and the curtain has been rung
down, the order to "strike" is given and the clearers run in and
take away all the furniture and properties, while the property-man
substitutes the new furniture and properties that are needed.
This is done at the same time the grips and fly men are changing
the scenery. No regiment is better trained in its duties. The
property-man of the average vaudeville theatre is a hard-worked
chap. Beside being an expert in properties, he must be something
of an actor, for if there is an "extra man" needed in a playlet
with a line or two to speak, it is on him that the duty falls.
He must be ready on the instant with all sorts of effects, such
as glass-crashes and wood-crashes, when a noise like a man being
thrown downstairs or through a window is required, or if a doorbell