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252 DRAMA not bring interest. The killing is not the vital act, but the conse- quences of the killing. The story of Eugene Aram is vastly more dramatic than the history of Jesse James because the single killing produced a stronger effect upon Aram than did his more numerous exploits affect James, who came to regard shooting men more or less as a detail of his business. 7. It is no uncommon thing for the novice writer to drag death into a story merely to bolster up a period of inaction. Along in the middle of his play he has Jack and Jessie quarrel. Lacking invention he cannot devise a clever reconciliation. He has Jack's ]\Iother die, then Jessie comes and at the bier they are reunited. The poor old lady has been slaughtered for no better reason than to give Jack a chance to weep and rave and to bring his sweetheart back to him. The author feels that he is making his story intensely interesting through the introduction of the death scenes, when he is merely ex- posing the limitations of his mind. 8. It frequently occurs that the threat of death is more dramatic than the event, for danger .brings the suspense that is the second element of all well-told stories. Death terminates the suspense of that period of action since it is the termination of the action. It may, however, give rise to a new period of suspense if the death places the protagonist in jeopardy. To enlarge upon an illustration employed in the second edition of this book, two men enter a shack. One is the hero; the other the villain. Both are known to be armed. A single puff of smoke floats out of the window or through the door- way. What has happened? Has the hero been killed, or has the- villain suffered his just deserts? Until we know what has taken place the situation is rich in suspense and the exterior of the shack with its uncertainty is better dramatic material than is the interior. Once inside we know what has happened. The period of suspense has been terminated. 9. Somewhat similar is the situation in the script used as Example A, in the Appendix, w^here Cort and Jack are waiting for the snake to strike. Here the interest rises from our interest in the men and not from the fact of death. We do not wish Cort to be killed because we know him to be innocent. There is no reason why Jack should die since he seeks to avenge his ruined home. Given these two men, both of whom must live, and the suggestion that one must inevitably die, we get a scene of far greater suspense than would have arisen from a development in which Jack at once shot and killed the other. 10. Danger is more potent in its appeal than injury or death. A battle scene is impressive and dramatic in its suggestion, but it may have no bearing upon the story being told, and so offer no addition in dramatic value to the story. If, however, the hero of the story is called upon to lead a desperate charge or to perform some other action that will make it probable that he will be killed in the battle, then the battle scene becomes a part of the story and contributes to the dramatic effect because it is through the battle that the life