Neither of her friends, after all, realized that Ruth Fielding was actually in fear.  She was very anxious every waking moment.  That strange man whom the girls had spied here in the canyon might be a perfectly harmless person.  And then again—­

Two days were occupied in placing the paraphernalia and training the actors in their parts.  They all got a working knowledge of what was expected of them when the picture was being photographed, and the principals learned their lines.  For nowadays almost as much care is given to what is said by actors before the camera as by those having speaking parts upon the stage.

The big scene—­the really big scene in the drama—­was set upon that overhanging lip of rock that Ruth had spied when first she, with Helen and Jennie, had ridden up the trail.  On that overhanging shelf occurred the struggle between the white lover of Brighteyes and the Indian who had trailed him and the girl to this wild spot.

Mr. Grand, in spite of Wonota’s scorn of him, was a handsome man and made as fine an appearance in the out-of-door garments the part called for as he did in the dress-suit to which he was so much addicted.  The Indian who played the part of the villain was an excellent actor and had appeared many times on the silver sheet.  He was earnest in his desire to please the director, but he failed sometimes to “keep in the picture” when he was not actually dominating a scene.

Because of this failing in John Onehorse, Mr. Hooley sent Ruth to the top of the rock to watch and advise Onehorse as the scene proceeded.

She was quite able by this time to act as assistant director.  Indeed, it was Ruth’s ambition to direct a picture of her own in the near future.  She sometimes had ideas that conflicted with those of Mr. Hammond and his directors, and she wished to try her own way to get certain results.

Now, however, she was to follow Mr. Hooley’s instructions exactly.

The arrangement of the cameras were such, both from below and at the level of the scene to be shot, that Ruth had to stand upon a narrow shelf quite out of sight of the actors on the overhanging rock, and hidden as well from most of the people below.  This, to make sure that she was out of the line of the camera.

Behind her the narrow and broken trail led to the top of the canyon wall.  It was up this trail that Jennie and Helen had seen the “Man Friday” disappear on the occasion of their first visit to the place.

Patiently, over and over again, Mr. Hooley had the principal characters try the scene.  Below, Wonota, as the heroine, was to run into the camera field at a certain point in the struggle of the two men on the lip of rock.  To time the Indian girl’s entrance was no small task.  But at last the characters seemed to be about letter perfect.

“Look out now!  We’re going to shoot it!” shouted Jim Hooley through his megaphone.  “Miss Fielding!  Keep your eye on Onehorse.  Keep him up to the mark while he waits for Mr. Grand’s speech.  Now!  Ready?”