Photoplay (Jan - Jun 1941)

— that was what he had called her the first time he had spoken to her alone; that was what he believed her to be. Neither one of them reckoned with the powers that could drive them into this strange and unconventional relationship 1 Ias a terrible template wake him — to exi why she was stealTp into the night I'VE seen a lot of dames in my time ..." Mike Harrigan had said, ". . . you're man-poison!" Ever since that moment on the airfield at Yuma, when Mike Harrigan had spoken those cruel words to Annabelle Clark, they had always been in her consciousness or on the fringe of it. So much had happened since Mike's admonition: "What do you want with him, anyway? The kid has a great chance at your father's studio — so you step in and complicate things for him." Annabelle had told George Hurley what his friend had said, but that hadn't stopped them. That evening they returned to Hollywood from their elopement to find Holton Clark waiting for them. Holton had spoiled his daughter in the way that wealthy American fathers have learned so well how to do. Now he made it clear that young Hurley's promising career at Clark Studios was finished. But the next day he made a deal with his daughter. He would send her husband to Guatemala to play the lead in Mike Harrigan's picture, but she must promise she wouldn't follow George, to "let the fever die down," as he dramatically put it. In exchange, George Hurley's contract with Clark Studios would be renewed when he returned from location. She had agreed because she knew how much his career meant to her husband. So it came about that George Hurley went to Guatemala and there — died of malaria! It was Helga Bentley, the famous columnist and friend of Holton Clark, who broke the dreadful news to Annabelle. For days she was inconsolable, but when she heard that the expedition was arriving at San Pedro she drove down, hoping to learn from Mike Harrigan the details of what had happened. The pain of that meeting was almost more than Annabelle Clark could bear and for the first time Mike Harrigan felt some sympathy for her. How much more he would have felt if she had told him that she was bearing George's child! Then, when she dropped him at the Clark Studios and Holton came to meet them in the driveway, her father tried vainly to conciliate her. Poor Holton. For the first time in his life he had doubts about something he had done. She drove along the Pacific trying to clear her mind in the fresh morning air. Near Venice she met an odd old man, a traveler who told her his philosophy of life. "Get rid of what doesn't matter to you. That's the way to be happy," he said. That was what she had done, sent her car back to her father, given away all but the simplest of her clothes. Then one day, in Los Angeles, where she had found a cheap room in a hotel and was searching for a job, Helga saw her, and so her father found her. Holton Clark had told Mike that he would manage somehow to make Annabelle take money. His way was to tell her that it was insurance which he had taken out on George's life. Annabelle accepted it — but headed for Fresno, near which George's father and mother lived on their almond ranch. AND so the strange meeting had come about. Annabelle gave Mrs. Hurley the five thousand dollars and told her that some of it would be used when the child arrived. It was providential that Mike Harrigan had come to visit the Hurleys and so he was witness to the moment when Frank Hurley, embittered by the death of his son, had said, "Why doesn't she go away and leave us alone?" Annabelle hurried from the house. Then Mrs. Hurley told them the truth about the money and Annabelle's secret. Mike had followed her, his mind in a turmoil. When he caught up with her she saw in his eyes something primeval and earthy — not hunger, but overwhelming compassion. A moment later she had fainted and Mike thought, with desperation, that she was dead. "Annabelle," he whispered, "Oh, Annabelle!" He saw her eyelids flicker and although there was no recognition in her glazed look he knew with relief that she would be all right. Gently he lifted her and carried her into his car. She stirred, (Continued on page 93) BY FRANCES BARR MATTHEWS 65