"I see!" said Mr. Pertell. "Well, I guess Russ has a good idea--we'll get a moving picture of them hiving the swarm. But what do the men make all that noise for?"

"Oh, there's a notion that bees will settle down in a bunch around th' queen, and not fly away if they hear a racket. I don't know whether it's true or not. Some folks spray 'em with water, and that usually fetches 'em."

Meanwhile Russ came out with the camera and began taking pictures of the odd scene. First he got pictures of Ruth, Alice and the teacher applying mud to the stings of the children.

"Well, we'll get a good film out of it, after all," said Mr. Pertell.

"And we can do the school room scene over again after the excitement calms down."

Then Russ began taking pictures of the men making a noise to try and induce the bees to settle. The men themselves seemed to enjoy being filmed. They wore veils of mosquito netting, draped over their broad-brimmed hats, for they approached close to the bees, which were now flying low.

"I'd like to get a near view of these bees," said Russ, "but I don't fancy getting too close. It's no fun to be stung eight or ten times."

"I'll lend you my hat," offered one of the men and, thus protected, Russ moved his camera closer and got a fine view of the swarm of honey-making insects as they alighted on the low branch of an apple tree.

"Git the hive, now, sir!" called another of the men, and while the hive was brought up, to receive the bunch of bees when they should be knocked into it, with their queen, about whom they were cl.u.s.tered, Russ got a fine film of that.

Afterward Sandy explained how bees swarm. A colony of bees will permit but one queen in a hive. Sometimes, when a new one is hatched, the swarm divides, part of the bees going off with the new, or sometimes the old queen, to form a new colony.

This is called "swarming," and the idea is to capture the new swarm, and so increase your number of colonies. Sometimes the bees will go off to the woods, and make a home for themselves in a hollow tree, being thus lost to the keeper. A swarm of bees will make in a season many pounds of honey more than they need to feed themselves during the winter.

Sandy explained how faithful and devoted a colony of bees is to their queen, which is the bee that lays eggs out of which are hatched drones, or male bees, and the workers. There is a peculiar kind of honey called "queen bread," and sometimes, it is said by some, when a queen bee dies, the workers will select a "cell" containing an egg that will eventually hatch, and surround this egg with queen bread so that when the insect develops enough, it can feed on that instead of on ordinary honey.

This is said to change the character of the insect and make a queen of it to replace the one that has died. Or, if this is not done the queenless colony may merge with another that has a queen.

In order to prevent the hatching of too many queens the bee keeper will examine his hives frequently, and cut out all the "queen cells,"

thus preventing them from hatching and so causing the bees to swarm frequently.

They all watched while the men shook the cl.u.s.ter of bees into the new hive, and carried them away, Russ, meanwhile getting a fine film of the operation. Later this film was shown with much success in New York, so that, after all, the interruption of the school scene had a happy outcome. Later the little play was finished.

"Whew!" exclaimed Paul, when it was all over. "That was some going on, all right!"

"Does your sting hurt much?" asked Alice, solicitously.

"I think it would be better for some ammonia," he replied.

"I'll put some on for you when we get back to the house," she offered, "and some witch hazel, too."

"It feels better already--just with the thought of that," he answered gallantly.

CHAPTER XX

THAT MAN

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, we will now get ready for our big play,"

announced Manager Pertell to his company of actors and actresses one morning. "It will be the biggest farm drama we have yet attempted.

One scene will include the burning of the barn, and the rescue of one of you ladies from the structure."

"Not any of that for mine," remarked Miss Pennington, pertly. "I'm not going to run any chances in a burning building."

"There won't be any chances," returned Mr. Pertell, quietly. "I will have everything arranged in advance so that there will be no danger.

That is why I want to start in plenty of time. We will have a number of rehearsals. I am going to have part of the roof of the barn cut away before we start the fire."

"What for?" asked Russ.

"So there will be no danger of anyone getting caught in the burning structure. The cut-out section can be placed back again, after it is sawed, or chopped out, and it will not show in the picture. But it will be a measure of safety. Now, Russ, you come out with me and we'll figure on the best position to get the pictures, and the best part of the roof to cut away."

"Who's going to be rescued?" asked Miss Dixon. "If it's all the same to you I'd rather not be one of those characters."

"You won't be," replied Mr. Pertell, with a laugh. "I have cast Alice and Ruth for that. There'll be a double rescue scene."

"Oh, I don't know that I can do it very well," said Ruth, quickly, though she did not say she was afraid.

"You can do it all right," declared Mr. Pertell, confidently. "In fact, you won't have to do anything, except allow yourself to be carried down a ladder. You see, you and your sister will pretend to be caught in the burning barn. The only way to get you out is through the roof.

"Paul Ardite, as a farmer's son, goes up a ladder and chops a hole in the roof. But the roof will be sawed away beforehand. You see, I want no delay with you inside the burning structure. Then Paul carries you down the ladder, and Mr. Sneed will rescue Alice.

"That will be fine!" cried Alice, in her lively manner. "I've always wanted to be carried down a ladder. You won't mind; will you, Daddy?"

and she appealed to Mr. DeVere.

"Oh, I guess not, if the ladder is good and firm," he replied in his husky voice.

"That's just the point; it won't be!" predicted Mr. Sneed in his usually gloomy manner. "It's bound to break!"

"Comforting; isn't he?" laughed Alice. "I'm not afraid, Mr. Sneed."

"No, but I am," he went on. "I don't want that part, Mr. Pertell."

"You'll have to take it," said the manager, decidedly. "I have no other one I can cast for the part."

"Can't you give it to Mr. Bunn?" asked the "grouch."

"Eh? What's that? Me carry someone from a burning building? Not much!" exclaimed the tragic actor. "I resign right now."

"Well, I must say neither of you is very gallant," laughed Alice.

"Paul, I guess you'll have to rescue both of us!"

"I'd be pleased to do it!" he retorted, gaily.

"Oh, I suppose I can manage it," grumbled Mr. Sneed, fairly shamed into taking the part.

"Good!" exclaimed the manager. "Mr. Bunn, you will be one of the fire-fighters in the bucket brigade. You'll help pa.s.s the buckets of water along to put out the fire."

"What? I become a country fireman?" demanded the tall-hatted actor.

"Certainly."