The Phantom Herd Part 22

Next, by some twist of the red tape in the Philadelphia express office,--or perhaps R.J. Crittenden was a good fellow and asked them to do it,--the two thousand dollars came by wire, just three days after Luck had received notice that his s.h.i.+pment of positive film was being held for him at the express office in Albuquerque. Also came other offers, mostly by wire, for states rights to _The Phantom Herd._ And when the Happy Family realized what those offers meant, they didn't care how hard or how long Luck worked them in the little house which he had turned into a laboratory.

Being human, intensely so in some ways, the first set of prints they turned out Luck sent to Los Angeles with a mental G.o.dspeed and a hope that Bently Brown and Martinson would see it and "get wise to what a _real_ Western picture looked like." There were other orders ahead of Los Angeles in Luck's book, but they waited a little longer so that he might the sooner taste a little of the sweets of revenge.

Whether Bently Brown and Martinson saw _The Phantom Herd,_ Luck was a long, long time finding out. But he learned that some one else did see it, and that right speedily. For among his many telegrams that came clicking into Albuquerque was this one which makes a fitting end to this story:

Luck Lindsay Albuquerque New Mexico

Congratulations on _The Phantom Herd_ Wonderful Production New Proposition You to Produce Western Features with Your Present Company on Straight Salary and Bonus Basis Miss Jean Douglas to Play Your Leads if I Can Sign Her up Can You Come Here at Once to Close Deal Answer

Dewitt

"All right, boys, you can run and play." Luck handed them the telegram, looked at his watch, and began to roll down his sleeves. "I'll catch the next train for 'Los' and see Dewitt,--don't take any studying to know that's the thing to do,--and if you'll pack all this negative, Bill, I'll take that along and hire the rest of the prints made. Andy, you're riding herd on this bunch while I'm gone. Just hold yourselves ready for orders, because I don't know how things will shape up. But believe me, boys, she's shaping up like a bank-roll!"