The Luring Lights
Summary
A drab provincial kitchen, reeking of scorched lard and her aunt’s sulfuric tongue, is the crucible that forges Anna’s hunger for phosphorescence. She bolts at the first whiff of greasepaint, flinging herself into a ramshackle repertoire troupe that zigzags across back-road Americana like a moth with a torn wing. Darnton—lank-haired, eyes flickering with the greenish pallor of last night’s absinthe—plays stage villains by gaslight and wrestles a demon bottle in the wings. Anna’s unguarded laugh becomes the hinge upon which his life tilts: liquor loses its grip, replaced by a tremulous adoration that terrifies them both. The company splinters under the weight of box-office anemia in Manhattan’s harsh electric glare; suddenly Rita glides in, lacquered and predatory, steering Anna toward Marbridge—agent, pimp, connoisseur of fresh bruises. A midnight joyride in a borrowed Packard becomes a danse macabre: tires scream, iron twists, glass blooms red, and only Anna crawls out, clothes singed with gasoline and guilt. Curtain calls follow, bouquets, the dizzy altitude of sudden stardom, yet every spotlight feels wan beside Darnton’s absence. The manager, Enwright, frets that passion will blunt precision; he exiles the reformed drunk to Chicago’s frozen boards. The ruse fails: Anna wilts, audiences sniff the hollowness, receipts sag. A clandestine telegram, a westbound express, a surprise re-entry mid-melodrama—villain strides onstage, heartbeat hammering beneath black cape, heroine gasps, house holds breath. When the final line lands, footlights dim, the fourth wall dissolves; two silhouettes merge in velvet darkness, the orchestra’s last chord suspending them above the abyss they have defied.
Synopsis
Anna, who lives with her harsh-tempered aunt, eagerly seizes the opportunity to join a traveling repertoire company. The girl and Darnton, the "villain" in the company, become deeply interested in each other, and because of Anna Darnton conquers his terrible craving for liquor. Later, when the troupe disbands in New York, Anna meets Rita. The girl makes the acquaintance of Marbridge, an agent of the worst type, and only her wit saves her from the man's clutches. Following a quarrel with Darnton, Anna foolishly consents to go autoing with Rita and the fast set with which the latter associates. The auto hurtles over an embankment and Anna alone escapes death. A reconciliation with Darnton follows. Anna obtains a position in the company in which Darnton plays the villain. The girl receives her great opportunity when the star, whom she is understudying, is injured on the opening night. Enwright, the manager, learns of the love between the new star and Darnton. Fearing lest sentiment affect their work, he sends Darnton to head the Chicago company. But the separation depresses Anna so greatly that Enwright orders Darnton to return. The player comes back unknown to Anna and suddenly appears before her at the next performance. The ensuing scene thrills the audience, which never for a moment suspects that the heroine and the villain are secret lovers. But the moment the curtain has descended Anna walks into Darnton's arms. Her lips meet his.
