OCR Text |
Show sifmet ring. -TOu naa a dn i-cult i-cult time finding the wedding finger But you finally did Canuy You finally did." Now the truth dawned in all its clarity 'Good morning Mrs. Johnson, John-son, Candy said softly. "Good morning Mr. Johnson," she returned. His voice was very gentle. "You sure went to a lot of trouble last night to make it Mr. and Mrs." Elizabeth was riding high. It was intoxicating to have the whip hand for once. "The only trouble I had was with Mrs. Varner. She didn't want to get the City Clerk to perform the ceremony." She smiled. "You were quite agreeable after those drinks." Candy was frowning, hardly paying pay-ing any attention to her. "Yes sir, you sure went to a lot of trouble. Well, maybe I got conned in- this marriage and maybe I didn't," He reached for her. "But either way I don't figure to let it go to waste." She slipped awav Swyo rs - x: "No, Candy, you were singing, 'Here Comes The Bride1." 7 I fam'ily sentiment if you want to. ou see, Elizabeth and me got married mar-ried last night." Something happened to the Judge's face. It went white and dead. Suddenly he whipped out his gun. He was weaving on his feet Candy didn't move. Then, weak and defeated the Judge tmew the gun to the table, "i dune know why I carry that thing," he said bitterly. "I couldn't even shoot a dog." Candy raised the glass of whiskey. whis-key. "Have your drink Judge." The words that came were distilled dis-tilled poison. "I'm going to hat you as long as I live." Without a backward glance, Judge Cotton stumbled out of th room. It was late that afternoon before Candy could put the old man's stricken face out of his mind. But by the time he was sitting in the barber shop chair over at tha Nevada House, his spirits were soaring again. Once he looked at his reflection in the mirror. "I got along with this face for many a year. Now, all of a sudden I ain't so sur of it." It was then that Gold Dust walked walk-ed in. She was smiling and friend ly and Candy relaxed. She waved Eleanor, the barber, away. "One side. This is a job for an expert. Now she ran her fingers over Candy's head. "Yes sir Candy Man, I sure want to fix you up right." With a wink at Eleanor, she picked up the clippers and started to trim the back of Candv's hair into the traditional three cornered mark of the sucker. At home that night Candy took the steps three at a time. But when he tried Elizabeth's door ha found it locked. "It's me honey. Can I come in?" "What do you want? What are you doing out there?" Ruefully Candy considered tha situation. "Well, at the moment I'm trying to cook up an answer." Then he added in his most wheedling wheed-ling manner, "You know maybe you were right about that Boston courtship honey." , "You're beginning to say something," some-thing," Elizabeth called. He nodded. "Sure you were right." He was in stride again, Candy the "con" man. "A gal oughta get a breathing spell to find out about the gent she's going to marry. But honey you know a lot about me and what you don't know I'll tell you." "Go right on Mister Johnson," Elizabeth said encouragingly. Now he gathered steam. Glibly, he told her how he'd been born in Chattanooga and that his first day at school he'd gotten a bloody nose and the nickname of Fatty. 'Course he hadn't gone to school long because the folks needed him to help out at home. But even after he'd run away he'd always sent something back home each week. i He was going on at a terrific rate. It was then that Mrs. Varner passed by. She stood and looked at him curiously. "Say, what's that on the back of your head?" Candy touched it. "Yrs ripar " Klizaheth railed. ; Adapted from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture by FRANCES BARBOUR CAST OF CHARACTERS Candy Johnson ..... Clark Gable Elizabeth Cotton Lana Turner Judge Cotton Frank Morgan 'Gold Dust" Nelson .... Claire Trevor Brazos Hearn ...... Albert Dekker Rev. Mrs. Varner Marjorie Main The Sniper chill Wllla hotel." He went right on. "Then we'll buy out the town. I've been achin' to dress you like you ought to be: Plenty of plumes, black lace stockin's and a handful of diamonds dia-monds stuck in your hair." "A handful of diamonds dia-monds stuck In my hair," Elizabeth said wonderingly. "What girl could want more than that." As if on impulse, she added, "Let's drink to it." She brought out a bottle bot-tle of whiskey, then SYNOPSIS: En route to Yellow Creek where a new gold strike has been madeandy Johnson, "con" man without equal, encounters Elizabeth Cotton, reared in Boston. Bos-ton. Candy is nettled when she completely disregards his brash attentions. At Yellow Creek, her father, Judqe Cotton meets her. Candy recognises him as an old acquaintance, a confidence man like himself but for his own reasons doesn't give him away to Elizabeth. At the Placer Saloon Candy runs into blonde Gold Dust Nelson, an old flame. Then he finds himself face to face with the murderous Brazos. Bra-zos. In a battle of wits and bullets, bul-lets, Candy cows the man and determines to assume power in Yellow Creek. His ambitions also include Elizabeth, though marriage is not in his plans. As a first step toward winning her regard he offers to build a church mission for the Reverend Rever-end Mrs. Varner. Chapter Two and he was right after her. "Too bad we couldn't have had one of them long Boston courtships. In three, four years now, you wouldn't be so nervous. You'd be cool as a cucumber." Her cheeks were flaming and she spoke with the savagery of a baby tigress. "We're going to have one of those long Boston courtships. The only difference is, it's starting after the wedding. I'm going to have respect from you yet Candy Johnson. You're going to change." He stopped stock still and grinned. grin-ned. "That ain't why you married me honey. You didn't go to all that trouble to reform me did you?" "Maybe I did." Maddeningly, he sauntered to the door, then turned. "Okay honey I'll reform during the day. It may keep me busy till nine o'clock tonight, so be here then. So long." All was quiet at the Square Deal Saloon. Candy spoke to one of his waiters and ordered breakfast to be brought back to his personal said, in feigned recollection, "Oh Im sorry. I forgot that you can't drink." "Can but don't," Candy told her. Disappointed, she pouted a bit. "And I wanted to drink to the diamonds and the plumes." Now she poured two glasses full. "Oh come on, Candy it's not polite to let anyone drink alone." He picked up the glass hesitantly. hesitant-ly. "Say, you're makin' me look like a sucker from Boston." Then he downed the whiskey, shrugged and took another drink. "Okay, I guess the occasion is worth it." He held up a third glass full, "Here's to the gal from Boston..." Candy's head was as big as a house when he woke up the next morning. A soft voice spoke. It was Elizabeth. Eliza-beth. "Do you remember, Candy? I guess you don't." "W-what's that?" "Last night you told me that after three drinks you always find trouble sitting on the bedpost." Candy looked up and saw that his coat, tie and hat had been put upon a hanger in effigy. He looked around. They certainly cer-tainly weren't in Sacramento. He sat up suddenly. This must be Elizabeth's bedroom. Wafily, he said, "I got a compliment for you. You look prettier this morning than you did last night." "And I have a compliment for you," Elizabeth replied. Her composure com-posure was accented by the dimple that came and went in her cheek. "You looked prettier last night than you do this morning." Candy swayed to his feet. Then he stooped swiftly and kissed her. It was a tumultuous moment. Finally he asked, "What I want to know is, how do you feel about me this morning?" Completely unruffled, she said, "Exactly the way I felt about you last night. And I hope you're just as happy too Candy." Well at least that was something. some-thing. "Was I happy?" She nodded. "You were singing. I didn't care for the voice but the sentiment was beautiful." Relieved, Candy started to get into his jacket. "That's good. After the third drink I don't usually sing hymns, you know." Elizabeth's voice was quiet but there was a pulsing note in it. "It wasn't a hymn. No Candy, you were singing, 'Here Comes the Bride.'" She held up her left hand. On it was Candy's huge It didn't take long for Candy's gambling house and Mrs. Var-ner's Var-ner's mission to mushroom to completion. On the opening day of the mission, mis-sion, Candy pulled both a smart and a fast one. He attended services serv-ices and with his most brilliant burst of oratory, drew forth a col-ection col-ection from the congregation such as Mrs. Varner had never imagined. im-agined. Results came fast. First, it put the whole town behind Candy. Second, it actually softened Elizabeth Eliza-beth towards him, and it looked as if they were going to be real good friends. So now that that was all under his belt, it was full speed ahead. From the first day, the Square Deal gambling house brought in the gold hand over fist. The tinkle of the cash register soothed Candy's dreams. He had given the judge a good job too as contact man with the politicians, and everything was as pretty as a rolling prairie. There came a day though, when he decided that things should be settled with Elizabeth. He called on her that night. Elizabeth smiled and spoke to him as gaily as usual, but behind her eyes was the thought of Gold Dust Nelson's visit this morning. Gold Dust had warned Elizabeth that Candy wasn't the marrying sort. The best he'd offer would be a fancy room in a fancy hotel. And he wouldn't be renting it by the month either. Yes, and here was Candy telling her all about how they were going go-ing to Sacramento tonight and take 1 whole floor in the Sierra Palace. "Candy," she asked, "what if I don't go to Sacramento with you?" He looked at her searchingly. "Then I'm getting you off my mind If I have to hire a man with a gun to keep me away from you ( honey." He laughed. "But that's not gonna happen. We're leavin' tonight." j In a whisper, she said to her-lelf, her-lelf, "A fancy room in a fancy Gold Dust looked up as he came in. "Well," she said, "you walk in here like a feller who took over that girlish outfit." There was a further scrutiny. "But you look like a feller who got took." Candy poured himself some coffee. cof-fee. "Look harder honey." Then he added, "We got married last night." Gold Dust was like stone except for the quick tears that came to her eyes. She had loved this man well. She blinked . and said quietly, quiet-ly, "You got took." Now she went to the door. "Well I heard of fellers fel-lers bein' sent to jail; I never heard of 'em breakin' in." A smile stirred her cold lips as she saw the Judge. "I'll leave the congratulations congratu-lations to your father-in-law." A minute later Judge Cotton appeared and Candy said heartily, "Come in Judge I want to talk to you. Sit down. Have a drink." Blankly, Judge Cotton wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "You know, even in my prime I never drank before breakfast." With a jovial air Candy waved that aside. "I want to drink to your retirement. You see when a man reaches your age being Justice of the Peace is too much for him to worry about. From now on you get the same cut but you don't do anything for it." Slowly, the Judge rose. "Only a sucker expects to get something for nothing. Why?" Candy shrugged. "Put It down to "what were you saying?" i Candy exploded. The sucker ' mark. A fine yap he was. "The courtship is over," he roared. "Either let me in now or not at all." . Elizabeth couldn't believe her' ears. Then she cried out, "A fine idea of courtship you have. If you j cant' have decent honorable emo- j tions go away." j "I've got decent honorable emotions," emo-tions," Candy bellowed. He stood , back and went at the door like a battering ram. There was a thun-1 derous noise as it tore off its hinges. Glaring coldly, he walked in and looked at her there in bed, "I just came in to say good-night Mrs. Johnson," he ground out. Then he strode through the door. "Candy. Candy Johnson," Elizabeth Eliza-beth whimpered. "You come back here." She ran to the window. The downstairs door had slammed. She could just see Candy, walking furiously furi-ously toward the honky-tonk section sec-tion of the town. j (The last thing Elizabeth has expected ex-pected is that Candy would walk out on tier. Is this his final word . or can she bring him back the wan she wants himt Be sure to read the concluding chapter.) g-rlnWd In T7. 6. IA. Oo-rirM ihm by Hjmw' Em. |