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.Among the bits of information conveyed in the welcome lecture was the fact that Mr.Hearst liked to refer to his castle on a hill and its surrounding territory as the Ranch.Naturally other people had taken to calling it that also, though most of them tended to smile when they used the term.And indeed it turned out to be unlike any ranch that Jubal, newly arrived from Colorado, had ever seen, heard of, or dreamt about—he would have bet no one had ever imagined a place like this.Despite the fact that therewas a real cattle ranch—altogether apart from the zoo of exotic animals, and the aviary of fifteen hundred birds—on the land surrounding the castle.Something like a hundred thousand acres altogether, if Jubal's Dad had got his numbers right.Their bedrooms were adjoining, in Casa del Mar.Most of the guests were put up in the main house, where there were almost forty bedrooms, so even a large party was unlikely to feel crowded.All very interesting.But it didn't take Jubal long to decide that the most interesting aspect of the weekend was going to be Esther.Actually Esther Summerson was only her screen name.The publicity handout Jubal had glanced at, when his father picked it up somewhere and brought it home, said the name was taken from some character in a Charles Dickens novel, when a rousing musical version ofBleak House was being planned.There was talk Page 27ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthat Hearst might be going to finance the film, as he had so many others.Somehow the young girl's real name was never mentioned in the handout, or at their first meeting, and Jubal supposed that maybe it didn't matter any more.Jubal, who sometimes tuned in on his parents when they whispered about the situation between themselves, gathered that Hearst had probably been hoping to get the big part inBleak House for his long-time girlfriend Marion Davies.She was a well-known actress who had starred in half a dozen movies, and might have done very well in Hollywood even had the hundreds of Hearst newspapers not supported her and puffed her achievements outrageously at every opportunity.But at this stage in her career Miss Davies seemed reluctant to do a musical, and the old man had finally allowed himself to be convinced that she was now too grown-up for the part."Grown-up" was his word for her situation.She herself was ready to admit that she was well past thirty, and forty was probably more like it.She was a sweet lady, though, nice-looking though her shape was no longer quite that of a teenager, and with nothing the least bit stuffy about her.She'd made a special effort to put young Jubal Doors at ease when he arrived with his parents on Friday afternoon.Marion Davies sized up young Jubal with a single glance and moved to take him under her wing at once.At the first opportunity she got him off away from everyone else for a little private talk.When they were on the far side of the swimming pool from everyone else, they might as well have been in another county.She spoke with an occasional stammer that had somehow become an endearing help rather than a hindrance to her career."Look, kid, don't let these movie people awe you.You'll see some faces here that you'll—you'll recognize because you've seen 'em on a big screen, but so what? They put on their pants one leg at a time just the way you and I do.Remember, if someone took a c-camera and put your face on the big screen, it would look just as big as theirs.""You're a movie star too, Miss Davies," he'd said impulsively.He knew that, as everyone did, though he'd only actually seen one of her films,Operator 13 , which had just come out last year.That was only because comedies weren't really the kind of show he liked.Somehow in talking with this lady Jubal had already got the feeling that he need not be on guard, that it would be all right to just blurt out whatever came into his head.The fact that she stuttered and stammered from time to time only made her more approachable.And Marion was delighted."Thereyou go! See? Sure, I-I've been in a couple of movies, but that don't mean you have to be scared of me.Here you are, talk—talking to me just like anyone else.""Thanks, Miss Davies.""Call me Marion.Now where's this girl Esther Whatshername? I hope you and her can get along.Sure you will."Mr.Hearst himself was a big man, gray-haired and obviously getting well up in years, a lot older than Marion, with a long, straight nose and a piping Page 28ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlvoice so surprisingly tiny that some people almost burst out laughing when they first heard it coming from his huge frame.No one at San Simeon was laughing, though.Jubal had heard it whispered that this was the man who had actually started the Spanish-American War, back around the turn of the century, though how he might have done that Jubal had no idea.Mr.Hearst kept his gaze fixed on Marion Davies whenever she was in sight.Not as if he we're suspicious, or worried, but just in a kind of appreciation.Obviously there was a special relationship between them.He shook hands with Jubal as if welcoming some important business partner, giving him a full minute of undivided attention.Despite the efforts made to put him at ease, Jubal had inevitably been somewhat awed by the first recognizable big-screen faces he encountered, those of Errol Flynn and the lesser-known David Niven.But thanks to the inoculation administered by Miss Davies, the feeling hadn't lasted long.Jubal's disenchantment was helped along by the fact that he did not seem to exist at all in the eyes of Esther Summerson, when she finally showed up.Their train had been delayed, and of course there was nothing to be done about that.Her parents, even more nervous than Jubal's, seemed irritated by her attitude.Jubal wasn't the only one she tended to ignore.Esther's thoughts and feelings were obviously far away from San Simeon, but who knew where? She had already played midsized roles in a couple of pictures, but she wasn't a big star, and not very recognizable, but everyone at the Ranch that weekend seemed to take it for granted that she was going to be.Esther in.person was brittle and keen-looking, not like the image she generally projected on the screen [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]