Bones in London

"True," said Bones, and scratched his nose.

He looked round for likely lawyers. Hamilton stole gently away.

"Now, why the dickens didn't you remind me, you careless old producer,to bring two lawyers with me?" asked Bones. "Dash it all, there'snothing here that looks like a lawyer. Couldn't it be taken somewhereelse?"

Mr. Becksteine had reached the stage where he was not prepared to makethings easy for his employer.

"Utterly impossible," he said; "you must have exactly the same scenery.

The camera cannot lie."

Bones surveyed his little company, but without receiving anyencouragement.

"Perhaps I might find a couple of fellows on the road," he suggested.

"It is hardly likely," said Mr. Lew Becksteine, "that you will discoverin this remote country village two gentlemen arrayed in faultlesslyfitting morning-coats and top-hats!"

"I don't know so much about that," said the optimistic Bones, and tooka short cut through the wood, knowing that the grounds made an abruptturn where they skirted the main road.

He was half-way through the copse when he stopped. Now, Bones was agreat believer in miracles, but they had to be very spectacularmiracles. The fact that standing in the middle of the woodland pathwere two middle-aged gentlemen in top-hats and morning-coats, seemed toBones to be a mere slice of luck. It was, in fact, a miracle of thefirst class. He crept silently back, raced down the steps to where thelittle party stood.

"Camera!" he hissed. "Bring it along, dear old thing. Don't make anoise! Ham, old boy, will you help? You other persons, stay where youare."

Hamilton shouldered the camera, and on the way up the slope Bonesrevealed his fell intention.

"There is no need to tell these silly old jossers what we're doing," hesaid. "You see what I mean, Ham, old boy? We'll just take a pictureof them as they come along. Nobody will be any the wiser, and allwe'll have to do will be to put a little note in." All the time he wasfixing the camera on the tripod, focussing the lens on a tree by thepath. (It was amazing how quickly Bones mastered the technique of anynew hobby he took up.)

From where Hamilton crouched in the bushes he could see the two menplainly. His heart quaked, realising that one at least was possiblythe owner of the property on which he was trespassing; and he had allan Englishman's horror of trespass. They were talking together, theserespectable gentlemen, when Bones began to turn the handle. They hadto pass through a patch of sunlight, and it was upon this that Bonesconcentrated. Once one of them looked around as the sound of clickingcame to him, but at that moment Bones decided he had taken enough andstopped.

"This," said he, as they gained the by-road where they had made theirunauthorised entry into the park, "is a good day's work."

Their car was on the main road, and to Hamilton's surprise he found thetwo staid gentlemen regarding it when the party came up. They wereregarding it from a high bank behind the wall – a bank which commanded aview of the road. One of them observed the camera and said somethingin a low tone to the other; then the speaker walked down the bank, opened a little wicker door in the wall, and came out.

He was a most polite man, and tactful.

"Have you been taking pictures?" he asked.

"Dear old fellow," said Bones. "I will not deceive you – we have."

There was a silence.

"In the – park, by any chance?" asked the gentleman carelessly.

Bones flinched. He felt rather guilty, if the truth be told.

"The fact is – " he began.

The elderly man listened to the story of "The Bad Girl's Legacy," itsgenesis, its remarkable literary qualities, and its photographic value.He seemed to know a great deal about cinematographs, and asked severalquestions.

"So you have an expert who sees the pieces as they are produced?" heasked. "Who is that?"

"Mr. Tim Lewis," said Bones. "He's one of the – "

"Lewis?" said the other quickly. "Is that Lewis the stockbroker? Anddoes he see every piece you take?"

Bones was getting weary of answering questions.

"Respected sir and park proprietor," he said, "if we have trespassed, Iapologise. If we did any harm innocently, and without knowing that wetransgressed the jolly old conventions – if we, as I say, took a pictureof you and your fellow park proprietor without a thank-you-very-much, Iam sorry."

"You took me and my friend?" asked the elderly man quickly.

"I am telling you, respected sir and cross-examiner, that I took youbeing in a deuce of a hole for a lawyer."

"I see," said the elderly man. "Will you do me a favour? Will you letme see your copy of that picture before you show it to Mr. Lewis? Asthe respected park proprietor" – he smiled – "you owe me that."

"Certainly, my dear old friend and fellow-sufferer," said Bones.

"Bless my life and heart and soul, certainly!"

He gave the address of the little Wardour Street studio where the filmwould be developed and printed, and fixed the morrow for an exhibition.

"I should very much like to see it to-night, if it is no trouble toyou."

"We will certainly do our best, sir," Hamilton felt it was necessary tointerfere at this point.

"Of course, any extra expense you are put to as the result offacilitating the printing, or whatever you do to these films," said theelderly man, "I shall be glad to pay."

He was waiting for Bones and Hamilton at nine o'clock that night in thedingy little private theatre which Bones, with great difficulty, hadsecured for his use. The printing of the picture had been accelerated, and though the print was slightly speckled, it was a good one.

The elderly man sat in a chair and watched it reeled off, and when thelights in the little theatre went up, he turned to Bones with a smile.

"I'm interested in cinema companies," he said, "and I rather fancy thatI should like to include your property in an amalgamation I am making.I could assist you to fix a price," he said to the astonished Bones,"if you would tell me frankly, as I think you will, just what thisbusiness has cost you from first to last."

"My dear old amalgamator," said Bones reproachfully, "is that business?

I ask you."

"It may be good business," said the other.

Bones looked at Hamilton. They and the elderly man, who had driven upto the door of the Wardour Street studio in a magnificent car, were theonly three people, besides the operator, who were present.

Hamilton nodded.

"Well," said Bones, "business, dear old thing, is my weakness. Buyingand selling is my passion and Lobby. From first to last, after payingjolly old Brickdust, this thing is going to cost me more than threethousand pounds – say, three thousand five hundred."

The elderly man nodded.

"Let's make a quick deal," he said. "I'll give you six thousand poundsfor the whole concern, with the pictures as you have takenthem – negatives, positives, cameras, etc. Is it a bargain?"