These two girls were spending the winter months in the glorious climate of Southern California，chaperoned by their uncle and guardian，John Merrick.They had recently established themselves at a cozy hotel in Hollywood，which is a typical California village，yet a suburbc of the great city of Los Angeles.A third niece，older and now married—Louise Merrick Weldon—lived on a ranch between Los Angeles and San Diego，which was one reason why Uncle John and hiswards had located in this pleasant neighborhood.
To observe this trio—the simple，complacent little man and his two young nieces—no stranger would suspect them to be other than ordinary tourists，bent on escaping the severe Eastern winter；but in New York the name of John Merrickwas spoken with awe in financial circles，where his many millions made him an important figure.He had practically retired from active business and his large investments were managed by his brother—in—law，Major Gregory Doyle，who was Miss Patsy's father and sole surviving parent.All of Mr.Merrick's present interest in life centered in his three nieces，and because Louise was happily married and had now an establishment of her own—including a rather new but very remarkable baby—Uncle John was drawn closer to the two younger nieces and devoted himself wholly to their welfare.
The girls had not been rich when their fairy godfather ？rst found them.Indeed，each of them had been energetically earning，or preparing to earn，a livelihood.Now，when their uncle's generosity had made them wealthy，they almost regretted those former busy days of poverty，being obliged to discover new interests in life in order to keep themselvesoccupied and contented.All three were open—handed and open—hearted，sympathetic to the unfortunate and eager to assist those who needed money，as many a poor girl and worthy young fellow could testify.In all their charities they were strongly supported by Mr.Merrick，whose enormous income permitted him to indulge in many benevolencesa.None gave ostentatiouslyb，for they were simple，kindly folk who gave for the pure joy of giving and begrudgedc all knowledge oftheir acts to anyone outside their own little circle.
There is no doubt that John Merrick was eccentric.It is generally conceded that a rich man may indulge in eccentricitiesa，provided he maintains a useful position in society，and Mr.Merrick's peculiarities only served to render him the more interesting to those who knew him best.He did astonishing things in a most matter—of—fact way and acted more on impulse than on calm reflection；so it is not to be wondered at that the queer little man's nieces had imbibed some of his queerness.Being by nature lively and aggressive young women，whose eager interest in life would not permit them to be idle，they encountered many interesting experiences.
They had just come from a long visit to Louise at the ranch and after conferring gravely together had decided to hide themselves in Hollywood，where they might spend a quiet andhappy winter in wandering over the hills，in boating or bathingin the ocean or motoring over the hundreds of miles of splendid boulevardsb of this section.
Singularly enough，their choice of a retreat was also thechoice of a score or more of motion picture makers，who had discovered Hollywood before them and were utilizing the brilliant sunshine and clear atmosphere in the production of their ？lms，which were supplied to picture theatres throughout the United States and Europe.Appreciating the value of such a monster industry，the authorities permitted the camerasto be set up on the public streets or wherever there was an appropriate scene to serve for a background to the photo—plays.It was no unusual sight to see troops of cowboys and Indians racing through the pretty village or to ？nd the cameraman busy before the imposing residence of a millionaire or the vine—covered bungalow of a more modest citizen.No one seemed toresent such action，for Californians admire the motion pictureas enthusiastically as do the inhabitants of the Eastern states，so the girls'"adventure"was really a common incident.
