Photoplay (Jul - Dec 1936)

PHOTOPLAY MAGAZINE FOR NOVEMBER, 1936 95 She lay in his arms quiescent, and a slight shudder ran through him. An emotion he had never experienced before restrained him. She was so like a child, defenseless, too innocent even, to know that he had spared her. "Paul!" she whispered. "Yes, dear?" he said softly. " You — love me? " "I love you," he told her. His face was unguarded for once, relaxed. There was a long silence. Her eyelids fluttered. "I never knew, Paul," she said, "that such happiness — could exist. I never knew!" CHE saw him look down at her, and his eyes ^were strangely soft and youthful, unbelievably tender. She shivered when he kissed her. "Hurry!" he told her suddenly. ''We're running away — tonight! Sue! You sweet, unbelievable little thing! Will you marry me tonight, Sue?" "Tonight?" she whispered, her knees weak with an unaccustomed tremor. "But — Paul! We're mad — both of us!" "Of course," he agreed. "Everyone is — a little I think. Tomorrow would be an anticlimax. I've got a roadster here. We'll drive down to Palm Springs. I'll find a preacher. Now, hurry — make no noise. I'll leave a note for Kessler." That brought something else to her mind. "And — Alma Allen?" she asked suddenly. "I won't pretend to misunderstand you," he said, "but it meant nothing." He dismissed Alma Allen with three, trenchant sentences. Alma was trivial; one of the unimportant accidents that had nearly happened to them. "I'm asking you to marry me," he finished. "Is that an answer?" He kissed her. "Darling!" she breathed. His tenderness fired her; everything else was inconsequential. "I'll be down in fifteen minutes!" "Good! Meet me in front of the garage," he instructed swiftly. "Take only what you'll need immediately. We'll send for the rest later. The idea is — speed!" She was gone in a flash, and Paul Elsmere sat, his gaunt face still illuminated by some vivid afterglow. He could still hardly credit this thunderbolt that had struck him. Love then, he thought, was not merely a vulgar myth, a mere caprice of the senses, as he had always contended. Suddenly he arose and went to his room. Here he wrote a note to Kessler, grinning sardonically over it. "This," he finished, •'will solve all your worries. The perfect answer '' Then he dressed and packed a bag. CUE dressed with flying fingers that seemed ' '-'all thumbs. She packed a hasty bag, and then for a moment she stopped by the open window and looked out upon the moonbewitched night. Paul's last kiss was still warm on her lips, and her senses still thrilled with remembrance. Life seemed, suddenly, all silver and breathless. She stood motionless, her eyes like rainwashed stars. This, then, was what life was for! This poignant sweetness that poured through her veins. She saw Paul walking toward the garage. It was real! It was actual! She was eloping with Paul Elsmere — she was going to be his wife! Suddenly she slipped to her knees beside the bed and bent her head in an incoherent prayer. Then she picked up her grip and noiselessly left the house. \tfj «$& vrtien you step 0 ^ <cVA V — but you can wear Air Step Shoes with "Magic 0/"r» ^ Soles" that turn hard sidewalks into soft carpets THE PEBBLE TEST shows how AIR/STEP SJvocd Turn Hard Sidewalks Into Soft Carpels Note the SHOCK ABSORBING action of ^ Air Step's "Magic Sole" Walking in the smart new Air Step Shoes is like walking on a Ihick pile carpet. Because Air Step's light flexible "Magic Sole" with its countless invisible shock-absorbing air spaces protects you from all j oils and j ar s that cause weariness and fatigue. Wear these amazing new shoes for all occasions. Begin iodaY io let the "Magic Sole" of Air Steps carpet everY step You take— keep you Young, refreshed, vibrantlY alive. Air Steps are sold bY Dept. Stores, ShoeStores,Buster Brown and Brownbilt Shoe Stores. Write Dept. K for new Fall Style Catalog. Manufacturers • St. Louis Also manufacturers of Hir Step Shoes for men and BusterBrownShoes for children SHOES Choose styles for all occasions from the wide array of flattering new Air Step Shoes at your Step Store . . . Unusually priced at S5V SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN THE FAR WEST STEP