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Page 73
"Who is it?" Kennedy became quite excited.
"Werner, the director."
"Werner!" in surprise. "What are you going to do?"
"Arrest him first--examine him afterward. I've sworn out the
warrant already, and I'm going to start in by car just as soon as
we hang up. I thought I'd phone you first in case you wanted to
accompany me to the studio."
"We'll hurry there," Kennedy replied, "and meet you."
"Outside?"
"No, up on the floor."
"You'll be there fifteen minutes to half an hour ahead of me. I
hope there is no way for anyone to tip him off so he can escape."
"We'll stop him if he attempts it."
"Good!"
The courtyard of the studio of Manton Pictures, Incorporated, was
about the same as upon the occasions of our previous visits
except that I detected a larger number of cars parked in the
inclosure, including a number of very fine ones. Also, it seemed
to me that there was a greater absence of life than usual, as
though something of particular interest had taken everyone inside
the buildings.
The gateman informed us that Werner was working the large studio.
We made our way up through the structure containing the dressing
rooms and found the proper door without difficulty. When we
passed through under the big glass roof we grasped the reason for
the lack of interest in the other departments about the
quadrangle. Here everyone was gathered to watch the taking of the
banquet scene for "The Black Terror." The huge set was
illuminated brightly, and packed, thronged with people.
It was a marvelous set in many ways. To carry out the illusion of
size and to aid in the deceptive additional length given by the
mirrors at the farther end, Werner had decided against the usual
one large table arranged horseshoe-like, but had substituted
instead a great number of individual smaller tables, about which
he had grouped the various guests. The placing of those nearest
the mirrors had been so arranged as to give no double images,
thus betraying the trick. The waiters, all the characters who
walked about, were kept near the front toward the cameras for the
same reason. It seemed as if the banquet hall was at least twice
its actual size.
I saw that Millard had arrived ahead of us. Either the changing
of the scenes in his script to fit Enid had not taken him very
long or else the photographing of this particular bit of action
had proved sufficiently fascinating to draw him away from his
work. I wondered at first if he had come to the studio to use his
office here, an infrequent happening, from Manton's account. Then
I realized that he was in evening dress. Without doubt he planned
to play a minor part in the banquet. His presence was no
accident.
Then I picked out Manton himself from our point of observation in
a quiet corner selected by Kennedy for that purpose. It was
evident that the promoter had cleared up his business at the
office rapidly since we had left him there to go to our quarters
on the Heights and had departed immediately from the latter place
so as to precede the District Attorney here.
Manton as well as Millard was in evening dress. A moment later I
recognized Phelps, and he, too, wore his formal clothes. In an
instant I grasped that Werner actually was saving money. Not only
were these officials of the company present to help fill up the
tables, but I was able now to pick out a number of the guests who
were uneasy in their make-up and more or less out of place in
full-dress attire. They certainly were not actors. One girl I
definitely placed as the stenographer from Manton's waiting room
at the studio; then other things caught my attention. I could not
help but doubt the stories of waste told us by Phelps as I looked
over the scene before me. The use of the mirrors to avoid
building the full length of the floor did not seem to fit in with
the theory that Manton and Werner were making every effort to
wreck the company deliberately.
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