Picture Show (Nov 1919-Apr 1920)

The Picture Show, April ird, 1920. READ THIS .FIRST. Richard Ferris is absolutely destitute and weak when he is rescued and taken home by liill Graham, the owner of a shop of toy dogs, birds, and Persian tnts. He helps Graham in the shop in return for his keep. Sylvia, Graham's daughter falls in love with Richard, who, concealing his identity, informs them that his name is Dick Blake. Sylvia and Dick become engaged. Pansy Vivian is a frequent visitor to the Emporium, and mutual affection springs up between her and Dick, although Pansy is engaged to be married to John Baird. Realising his bond to Sylvia, and fearing his love for Pansy will get the better of him, he marries Sylvia secretly. On their return from the registry office, Sylvia finds a. telegram calling her away to Wales immediately to take a star part in a Mm. She goes off, and is met by Robert Nigel, her producer, who is in love with her, unaware of the fact that she is married. Pansy's fiance tells her that he has been left sole executor for the will of Sir Mais Ferris, who has left an immense fortune to Sir Richard Ferris, who is missing. He shows her a photo of Sir Richard, which she recognises as Dick Blake. She rushes oil" to tell Dick the good news, and, on entering the house linds Bill Graham lying dead. Rushing from the house she runs into Dick. You can now read on. The Harvest. '""TTAKE me away," Pansy implored fraxi 1 tically. Richard brushed his hand across his eyes. For a moment ho had a hazy, blurred impression that Pansy was but a phantasy of the brain. Even when he asked: " What are you doing here at this hour?" lie was hardly conscious that lie had spoken. His mind was in a state of chaos. After his marriage to Sylvia that morning and she had left him to join the film company at Euston. the old fear of Pansy's fascination gripped him. It drove him far away from the Emporium. In his wild desire to avoid and forget her — at least for one day, he found himself in an hitherto unexplored world, and the aftermath of that debauchery still clung to him. Ho hardly knew if he was awake or dreaming. " I haven't been drinking, Miss Vivian," ho jaid dully. " Believe me, I went down to the docks, because— well, the reason doesn't concern you in any way. I met a miscellaneous sort of rabble, and I fell in with a Chinaman. I went off with him to Limehouse, to a 1 ittle " He stopped abruptly. " But that's a secret, dear lady. However, I smoked the pipe of peace. Soft clouds of azure vapour floated around me. and through those alluring visions of ethereal light I saw you— twice as enchanting as you have ever been to me, but not more lovely than you are." Pansy gave a frightened sob. " Oh, you've been to an opium den." She saw that Richard was still far from normal. He obviously did not fully recognise what he was saying, still less what he was doing. " Hush," he said savagely. " What have my actions got to do with you?" He waved her aside as he staggered across towards the parlour. She sprang forward like a cat and caught his coatslecve, using all her strength to drag him back. "Listen — try to understand," she begged. " You can't go there now. I'm in a terrible position. I'm not surprised that you're amazed to find mo here. I acted on the impulse of a moment. The mischief's done; it's awfully late. Have pity on me, help mc to get home." Her white, quivering features, and the anguished distress of her tones, helped Richard to recover himself quicker than any artifice she might have employed. He bent towards her and then fell back against the wall, blot ting out the sight of her with his shaking ' hands. " By Jove, I am a fool," he broke out violently. " What on earth made you do it? Tf you'' people knew there'd be a deuce of a scandal. I'll iust explain lo Bill " By EDITH NEPEAN. You can begin this wonderful story of love and human suffering to-day. He made a second attempt to reach the parlour, but Pansy's voice rang out sharply : " Don't leave me. Take me away at once." She was trembling all over. Her knees felt that they would give way beneath her, and all the time one idea was reverberating in her brain. She must get away before the murder was discovered, for she knew only too well that if the police were summoned before she left, she would be compelled to give evidence at the inquest. She was bathed in cold perspiration. " Please don't delay," she begged. She held Richard's hand so tightly that he w.ould have had to use considerable force to break away from her. Terror had endowed hev with superhuman strength. He was obliged to follow her into the street. Whatever sins Richard might have enmmitted that day, Pansy was convinced that there was one at least of which he was entirely guiltless, and that was the murder of his employer. In her callous selfishness she decided that it was of greater importance to save her reputation than give information about her discovery. As they walked rapidly along Richard saw a taxi standing outside a public-house, and as luck would have it, a moment later the driver appeared. Pansy felt safer when Richard helped her into the car. His brain, although still confused and working slowly, was becoming disentangled. • " Give me your address?" He passed it on to the chauffeur, and he was about to close the door, when -he called out emphatically : " No, no, no ! You must come, too. I insist!" " I can't. It's impossible '." Richard's haggard features were full of suffering. The clearer his brain became, the greater, he knew, would be the danger of being alone with Pansy— and this was his wedding night. He suddenly gave vent to a burst of mirthless laughter. " 1 refuse to go home by myself, Mr. Ferris," said Pansy determinedly. " Ferris," he repeated hoarsely. " Where did you hear that name?" The next moment he was by her side, and he ordered the man to drive on. " I've got to thrash things out with you," said Richard furiously. " What Jo you mean by calling me Ferris? My name's Blake, and I've decided to see you home because " " You have remembered you are a gentleman," said Pansy swiftly. The more forbidding and rude his maimer, the greater was Richard's fascination over her. All her life she had wallowed in flattery and adulation, fervent promises of life-long devotion and love, for she was not only as exquisite as a June rose, but her wealth was correspondingly attractive. " A gentleman !" Richard laughed mockingly. "You can't have the faintest glimmer of an idea of what you're talking about. I'm only a tvvo-pound-a-weck assistant, in an animal depot!" " When a man's a gentleman," Pansy retorted determinedly, " the fact of his being a two-pound-a-weok assistant, as you call it, doesn't alter his social position the least bit in the world. You might turn a eidssingsweeper into a knight, but that's all you could do for him. On the other hand, you might be a crossing-sweeper, but you would still remain— what you are. Now do you understand — Sir Richard Ferris?" Richard turned upon her like a wounded animal. . " What pleasure is it for a girl like you, blessed by everything on earth, to come and' gloat over a poor devil like me? Arc you, so fed up with your amusements that in your' inexhaustible desire for a new sensation you are driven to torture men like me with your taunts? You are as merciless as the fiend who probes a wretched beast in his cage with a hot iron bar." " You are grossly unfair," Pansy gasped. Although he spoke so' bitterly she could only think how adorable he was. > . "I don't want to hurt you," she said tremulously. " I came because I thought I was bringing good tidings. .You are the missing heir to Ferris Castle !" " What?" At, last the absolute sincerity of Pansy's tones struck home. Richard caught her hand in his and held it so tightly that she could have cried out in agony, albeit the pain was not without its charm ! " It's quite true," she went . on breathlessly. . " Do you remember the name of the man who bought YumYum? It was John Baird. Perhaps you saw 'his cheque?" Richard nodded impatiently. "He's a lawyer — I mean John Baird," sho went on, " and he is the sole executor of the late Sir Mais Ferris's estate." " Do you mean old Mais is dead?" Richard asked incredulously. Pansy nodded. " And with the exception of one or two legacies, he left the whole of his fortune to you. I only knew to-night. John Baird came to dinner, and he told me that he was searching for Mais Ferris's heir, and that he had not been heard of for years. He showed me the enlargement of a snapshot. I recognised you at once, although you called yourself Blake." " My name is Richard Blake Ferris," Richard interrupted. " I dropped the Ferris when I came to grief and stuck to Blake, my mother's maiden name." '' I understand." Pansy turned to him appealing^y. " When you've seen me home, don't go" back to the Emporium, go to Mr. Baird, and set his mind at rest that you're alive and well." And with a momentarv touch of her old coquettish gaiety, she added, " Sir Richard !" He frowned. The irony of fate struck home. If only he had known twenty-four hours earlier, would he have married Sylvia, or would he have thrown himself on her mercy, and after confessing that he did not love her, lravo offered financial compensation for having asked her to become his wife? " My life's been hell," he said bitterly. " All this has come too late !" "Not loo late for happiness." Pansy insisted. " Besides, you're awfully rich. I've heard that there was nothing Sir Mais couldn't buy !" " To my knowledge, the very thing you've remembered was one of the luxuries he missed," said Richard, " and it will be my fate, too. I shall never know happiness, Miss Vivian." "That's absurd," said Pansy, believing that he was regretting his wild oats. " A new world is before you— it's like a clean sheet of white paper. Start writing afresh. I shall never tell anyone where and how you and I first met." . . With an odd laugh, Ferris thrust his hand down into the denths of an inner pocket, and he produced a dirty washleather bag. Urn tying it, he took out a couple of valuable old seals, -bearing the Ferris coat of arms. " No maUor how great my hunger, or how low the finances of my exchequer," he confided, "I never parted with those seals. They have been my mascot!" t " You're very proud of your name, said Pansy "and now 1 am going to tell you everything, and the reason I implore you not to return lo the Emporium. I went to find you to-night, because I was so excited and happy for your sake that luck had come (Continued cn page 8 )