Show J f t e a R jw I II I What the big idea said aid Edna EdnaI I Purviance looking a as cool coola a as she he 1 ever looked in the of one 01 Charlie Chaplin custard pie 0 bombardment And tho those words word k f F n probably saved aved her life The pistol pinto that covered her wa was sud ud- ud 3 y f n denly lowered and dropped a from the young mans man's faltering Y YiTi Ji Jih h iTi s son w h hat at i It i t f Y I f Iv ck- ck 1 y I II I to it py Nib Q p n A N on der Re- Re Rey y JI 1 cent tte M on s I By CARL DE VIDAL HUNT PARIS r TT OW beautiful Edna Purvia Purviance How H leading woman in the Cha Chaplin films for ten years cam near losing her life lifo in the dram sequel of a Sicilian vendetta and hog the Duke who almost killed her hr h r wound d lP by falling madly in love with he her r was revealed on the eve e of the movie stars star's recent departure for America The near tragedy took place at Monte MonteCarlo MonteCarlo Carlo The handsome young oung nobleman who staged the drama and tried to kill the woman he now wants to mari marry is none other than the Duke di Villarosa heir to the great sulphur mines of Sicily and carrying the burden of a dozen titles with the nonchalance of a a true Sicilian mountaineer And what came so near being a tragedy has become a charming charm charm- charming chaing ing romance with the young oung Duke for its hero and beauteous Edna the heroine Whether or not the strange vagaries of fate fete will lead them to the marriage altar depends entirely upon Miss Purviance ante ance for it is understood that a da day before she boarded the French 1 liner Paris to return to Hollywood the Duke ardently begged her to become Edna Duchess di Villarosa Princess di Furnari Fur Fur- Furnari Inari nari Countess del Priolo del Baroness di Blanca Manca Baroness s di 1 and Baroness di Roccella Boccella The Duke whose first name is Pietro added that his family escutcheon dated ted back to the year and that he is fur fur- further fur then ther entitled to bear upon his visiting 4 card the emblems of a civilian and mili- mili military military tary chevalier of the order of Malta MIt ilta It could not be ascertained if the Duke pronounced his name in one breath nor whether Edna fell in a faint under underweight the weight of it but enough information was obtained to warrant the statement that Pietro intends very soon to follow Edna to the United States there to topeat re- re repeat repeat peat that life is empty without her and that the sulphurous mountains of Sicily would be far better for her complexion corn pie than those of California The near tragedy and the romance that followed are all the result of a curious mistake in identity on the Dukes Duke's Dupart part The girl he wanted to kill in revenge re for a wrong done several gen gen- generations generations ago against one of his ancestors by a member of a hostile Sicilian family is still living in the hills hilla east cast of Palermo while Edna Purviance whom the Duke miStook for her is now safely back in America wondering if she should lito listen to the man who nearly shot h her hr r to death d and accept the glittering array of the titles he offers her as his bis bride The first chapter of this real life scenario happened at Monte Carlo in inthe inthe the gardens of the Casino Edna Pur- Pur Purviance had been heen in Europe nearly four months month when she decided to visit the thee e French Drench Riviera jf l Th Thrilling rl log had motored over o the e r battlefields ana paid aid her respects to Napo Napo- Napoleon's leon eons leons s tomb and the and Surprising Su s- s r Moulin Rouge Pouge Now i she want wanted d to do I d something something The The Promenade diverting des o y ing ing 0 as Any A Oy fly Edna Purviance husband heroine of of the tragedy near tragedy near that gives ives her h the offer of ofa a rich Anglais at Nice and witha with a record-breaking record string of titles the terraces of then Casino n at t Monte Ms the or i Drama 7 Y a Y You g ou l 91 See In in the Movies bT e PC So when you OU arose and walked to athe a 6 Carlo she was told A n little frequented part cart of the gardens l 1 her a t thrill that could never y cream was at be matched in Holly- Holly Hollywood goodwood least as good goil wood So she aban aban- I as the k kin i n r i d her handsome Gad h b her I e r parti partner suite in the tha Carlton f Fri 1 Charlie some some- sony II H o 0 tel t 1 and e went I 1 times dropped gresco straight to th the Ne Nc- Nc a ah h into the decol- decol dec gresco what at Nice to see lete of his h i i s what was going on w there film be there that could not I but iut be duplicated in the famous thew w where oh her h e r oh e-oh e famous American film where were city theTo the thrills the the To her ber great disenchant disenchant- disenchantment The Italian Duke di man from Cooks Cook's had ment she he soon soon concluded that Villarosa who pointed promised her the liveliest places on the a pistol in Miss It was in the midst mi Promenade des Anglais had antes ante's face and now now- now of these reflections nothing on Hollywood Bou Bou- ou- ou wants wa to her that Edna Ednas Edna's attention levard and th A fri marry can sheiks strutting leisurely along t the beach in their fantastic regalia were not anywhere as interesting as the Val Valen- Valen tinos linos of Sunset Inn Ian and Peacock Alley in the BilLmore So she set out to dis- dis discover discover cover Monte Carlo and its promised sensations It was an ideal idel November day with will i a adeep deep adeep blue sky above and a deep blue bl Mediterranean below In the little lit square in front of the Casino the date di palms were waving their majestic hea heads just as they do in the suburbs of Los I Angeles abd at the little tables in front of the Cafe de Paris gay crowds were we sipping amer pitons and scotch and a sodas just as they would like to do in Los Angeles There was nothing thrilling in the Mediterranean that could not be had in inthe inthe the Pacific Ocean off Santa Monica or Ocean Park so 80 Edna promptly decided deci to find finda secluded d a table among the gay sippers of strange refreshments on the Cafe de Paris She did not know that a young man m had bad been watching her from a a distance Had she seen the pale face and burning eyes of this well groomed gentleman she s would indeed have stopped a mome moment and looked around for a motion picture camera he he had bad so much the air of a millionaire villain in one of Hollywoods Hollywood's smart society dramas But Dut she the did not see him So she sat i down with an undisturbed air anda and a craving for French l rench ice cream Her lIer lor long long- ing ine- was promptly satisfied The ice i was attracted by the theman theman man with the pale face and burning eyes He was at a table only a few feet from hers and was looking fiercely at ather ather her over his newspaper She caught the expression of hatred in the eyes of the man and turned turn turnaround a around round to see whom it was meant for f nut But there were only three elderly ladies es and an ugly Pekinese pup behind her So she looked again in the direction of the strange man but this time he seemed completely absorbed by his paper paper paper-al- i though hough t as she noticed he held it upside down Edna con concluded eluded that he must I be deeply preoccupied in thought perhaps thought a scenario writer thinking out a plot ot full of curdling blood-curdling thrills Eventually she paid for her ice cream and rose to go She went for a walk among the gardens of the Casino again ignorant of the presence of the young man who was now following a few steps behind her In the garden she sat down upon a bench and looked over ov the broad expanse of the Mediterranean Sea with its white dots of sails in the distance andone and one or two yachts at anchor near the shore Presently the young man stood in front of her Edna Purviance looked cd up into a face that was haggard with wi determination and whose blanched lips twitched nervously as 88 from some terrific terril J emotion 1 It was a secluded part of the gardi garden j there was no one to whom she could call for help Any young oung woman with nerves less lell well trained than Miss l Pur Pu ir 1 have been by the thrills of t the he movies would have been frightened al- al almost almost most if not quite into hysterics B But Butt t the e agitated young man in front of t her looked so much like the villain in a film drama that she kept ex- ex x- x pectin to hear some voiced hoarse hoarse director shouting Hold Hod it a and Camera In In another instant h she km knew that this was no make believe The T young mans man's hand jerked nervously to his coat pocket and drew out out out-a a small sm all automatic pistol He lie pointed it at her h more menacingly than any other weapon had ever been pointed And still Ednas Edna's nerves trained by years of experience on location and andin andin nd in the studios to meet all sorts of emer- emer emergencies emergencies did not give way the big idea she said look ook- ook k ing as cool as she ever looked in t the midst of one of Charlie Chaplins Chaplin's cus- cus custard tard t ard pie bombardments And those se words probably saved her life The pis- pis pistol p pis tot tol that covered her was lowered lowered lowered-it it dropped from the young mans man's faltering hand A curious change came over him He I wiped the cold perspiration from his 1 forehead lifted his hat and address addressed ed her in French so hurried and stammer stammer- stammering ing i n g that she had no idea of the words he tried to utter There There there soothed the movie ie star Put the little toy cannon away y before some cop grabs it for evidence and tell sister Edna all about it it The e idea of your acting up this way a peaceable American girl who thinks chinks a million times worse than Sher- Sher said The young man seemed to be coming ig I of a bad dream He lIe stared at her hi mumbled incoherently now in 1 and now in his is native Italian Italia last l st he regained d control of himself c to mumble in English I beg your pardon Madame I mai made terrible mistake mistake almost But Dut the little speech of ot explanation apology was more than his over over- ove nerves could endure Ills His H shaking stroking body collapsed lIe to his hia knees knee and buried his face In hands This was the cue for Miss 1 Purviance to make her exit The man might be a maniac she thought or some strangely desperate criminal But leer l cr r curiosity was arouse aroused She looked for the hand hand- handsome handsome ha some young man later latet in the gambling gambi salons but didn't discover him any any- anywhere anywhere where It was only in Paris weeks eks later that she I he met him him again He lie walked up to her in th the lobby of the Carlton and asked if he could ex- ex explain ex plain his conduct in the garden at Monte MonteCarlO Mo Carlo Carla It occurred to Edna that the young man was I rather good g od looking looking- and then there was her curiosity So Soshe she s he asked him to sit down dawn and explain in The The first thing he lIe did was to introduce himself My name is Pietro di Villarosa he said I am n 11 a Sicilian and came coma near m making you pay for a wrong done to my my great-grandfather great by one of the Dal DalFerro DalFerro Ferro family who live in the eastern parts of Sicily You must forgive me The most beautiful girl inI ing in I Sicily is Maria dal dalFerro dalFerro i Ferro And you look like her so touch much that it seems a miracle that you ou are i inot ire not she All except your blue eyes and b blonde londe hair which I could not see under your our hat My 1 brother Giovanni was in love with Maria but she laughed at him lie He is sick now from his love toes for her But s she still laughs She has no heart She She he said to Giovanni she could kill him with with- without without wi out a knife It Tt was her way to carry carryout carryout ry out the family vendetta And when I saw you OU I thought it was Maria the most beautiful and most st girl g rr of Sicil Sicily I was sure you were the girl it was w as duty to kill For hours I I trailed you y hand band forever clutching my pistol after time I Iwas about was to press trigger when something happened ed to me think best beat to lo postpone your your There were too man many people about il gendarmes stood so near th that hey would have been upon me within a seconds after the shot was fired what I wanted least of all was pub pub- scandal All An I craved was revenge revenge- for or the wrong done my an- an ant t generations ago and the heart heart- heal t- t I cruelty with which Maria has hall c my brother Giovanni was sure that the opportunity I Ito to wipe out a II great wrong was at hand Like a wolf trailing its prey I followed you along the sunlit paths of the Casino gardens my hand band in my coat pocket clutching the the pistol with which I ex- ex expected expected to avenge avenge- the wrongs of my famil family I grew impatient As you strolled along so leisurely I was several severa times on th of shooting you down and andrunn runn running ng the risk of immediate exposure and arrest Thank heaven I did not do that but followed you on andon and on until at last you sank down on a bench that was free from all observance This I thought was the opportunity I had been waiting for But Dut when you faced my drawn pistol so nonchalantly when when you ou met its threat of death with such cool crisp American words I knew V ne neVI I had made a terrible mistake Had it been Maria r who faced me as you did didI I well wen knew that she would have flung herself like a tigress at my throat t And now most humbly I beg your forgiveness beg forgiveness beg it as I have never begged anything else in my life Edna Purviance did not promise to the young man at once She said she would think it over And so Pietro called again to receive his absolu- absolu tion t ion He looked so penitent that the movie star finally forgave him liim She even took luncheon with one him h him ln one day andon and on another occasion danced with ith him at the palais of the Prince de Bourbon deBourbon of the Italian branch of the tho family Soon people in the r aristocratic circles of Paris began to whisper things It was apparent that Pietro had had fallen f f lIen llen deeply in love with thy the actress and many wondered if it this would be bethe the second case after Gloria Swanson where a II film star marries into European nobility But Edna herself had nothing to say I She smiled and did not even say per g Pietro Duke di Villarosa was more On On his return from St station after fter bidding Edna au au he said She is iii the most molt wonderful girl in he world If she will marry me I will her the happiest duchess in Sicily r anywhere I will even go to Holly Holly- to please her |