The Golden Angel

by Gilbert, Morris

  Dorothy Winslow picked up one of the clippings and shook her head. “This one impresses me a little more. Imagine meeting General Pershing and President Harding.”

  Katie Winslow smiled. “I bet Erin was excited about it. I’d like to have seen her. She says in her letter that their mechanic and extra flier, Revelation Brown, asks all of them—movie stars, president, general, and all, if they know the Lord.”

  Barney slapped his leg and laughed aloud. “That’s good!” he exclaimed. “That’s what I’d like to have heard.”

  “Well, I would, too,” Phillip said. He shook his head in envy. “Our Erin has really done herself proud.”

  “And I know you’re proud of her,” Amelia said, looking at Barney and Katie. “After she did so poorly in school all her life, now suddenly to be in the newspapers, and have everyone talking about her.”

  “Do you think she’ll be coming home soon?” Phillip asked eagerly.

  “I’ll read you part of her letter,” Katie said. She moved over to a side table and picked up an envelope. Extracting several sheets, she ran her eyes down and said, “Well, first of all, she sends her best to all of you.”

  “She’s been very good about writing,” Dorothy nodded. “We’ve had several letters from her.”

  “But not since she became famous,” Phillip argued. “I’d like to get one now. Maybe her autograph will be worth a lot of money someday.”

  Katie smiled at him and then began reading:

  “I can’t really tell you how shocked I am at how things have exploded around here. It’s all due to Jo Winslow, of course. Her story about Quaid and me started it all. That very day it appeared the reporters were at the air show, and they’d never been there before. She’s a wonderful woman, and I’m anxious to meet her husband. He’s coming over with their daughter for a visit soon, and I’ll get the chance.

  “We’re getting offers now from everywhere—Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Little Rock. The big question is which invitations we can accept. Of course, having Rev Brown as a mechanic has made all the difference. Quaid never said so, but he was very nervous about the planes. He’s a fair mechanic, as he says himself, but Rev is an expert.

  “We’ve made enough money so that I was able to repay Grandfather for the airplanes, so we’re in the black now. I’m sending a check along with this letter to help with the mission work. I know there are always needs.

  “You might not believe it, but I miss home a great deal. During the act, of course, I can only think of one thing, and that’s flying. But still at night, and even at times in the day, I get lonely for all of you. Tell Nbuta that I miss him dreadfully and all of my other friends there. I can’t write to all of them because I just don’t have time, but I’ll do the best I can.

  “A man named Joseph Harlin was here. He has something to do with making movies in Hollywood. He asked if we’d be interested in going there and maybe being in a movie. I thought it would be fun, but Quaid wasn’t too excited about it, so I don’t suppose anything will come of it.”

  Amelia spoke up with amazement. “You mean she’s got a chance to go to Hollywood and be an actress, and she’s not going to take it?”

  “I hope not!” Barney exclaimed. “I don’t think Hollywood is a good place for a young woman to be.”

  “I’ll agree to that,” Andrew said. “After that episode with Fatty Arbuckle, I wouldn’t think any young woman would be safe there.” He referred to an actor named Roscoe Arbuckle, who had been tried for rape and manslaughter of a young Hollywood starlet at a wild party the previous year. It had been in newspapers not only in America but around the world. Barney shook his head grimly. “If the movie industry doesn’t clean up its act, it’s going to be the ruination of America.”

  “Well, I understand they’re going to try,” Dorothy said. “They’ve appointed a man named Will Hayes, who was the postmaster general at one time, to introduce moral qualities into movie contracts.”

  “I doubt if anything will come of it,” Barney said moodily. “People want to see exactly the kind of thing they shouldn’t.”

  “What else does Erin say?” Phillip asked.

  “Nothing about coming home. You can read the letter if you want to.” Katie handed it to Phillip, and Amelia came over at once, sitting close to him and scanning the contents eagerly.

  Barney sat silently for a moment and then said, “I think the sort of thing that’s happening to Erin right now can be dangerous.”

  “Why’s that, Barney?” Katie asked quickly. There was a worried look in her eyes, and she trusted her husband’s judgment. “What’s the danger?”

  “Well, Erin is a very unsophisticated young woman, and now all the spotlights are on her. Everybody wants to meet her. They’re talking big money.” Barney Winslow shook his head sadly. “That’s a bad combination, Katie. It would be hard for anybody, even someone with more experience than Erin, but I just don’t think it’s a healthy thing for her.”

  “We can’t tell her to quit,” Barney said ruefully. “I always felt bad for her when she didn’t do well in school, and now she’s doing very well. At least the world would say so.”

  Amelia looked up at her father and said, “Dad, you’ve got to let us go to America!”

  Immediately Andrew and Dorothy exchanged glances. This was not a new argument. Both of their children had been agitated for some time. Now they were old enough to do as they pleased, and it was obvious that they were going to get to America one way or another. Andrew and Dorothy were not concerned about Phillip, but Amelia was a different story. She was an impulsive young woman with a streak of rebelliousness. It had been difficult enough to keep her to a straight and narrow path while she was a teenager. Now she was a grown woman, and her parents knew she was headed for trouble unless she had a change in her life.

  “We’ll talk about it when we get home, dear,” Dorothy said.

  The women left to begin putting the meal together, but Barney sat talking for a while with his brother. “It looks like you’re going to be losing Amelia and Phillip pretty soon,” Barney said quietly.

  “I know, and I dread it,” Andrew said with a sigh. “Some bad things are happening in America. Some of the papers are calling it the ‘Roaring Twenties.’ Prohibition has been a flop. It hasn’t been policed right, and all it’s done is make some criminals into millionaires.”

  “Well, I hope our children have better sense than to get involved with something like that.”

  Andrew was moody. He stepped over to the window and stared outside. His eyes were fixed on a group of trees close to the house. They threw shadows like old sacks on the ground, and the moonlight touched their tops with a silver fire. He turned around then and shrugged his shoulders. “The world’s changing, Barney. It’s not the same one you and I grew up in.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right.” Barney dropped his head for a moment and then said, “We’ll just have to keep praying.”

  ****

  Later on, when they were alone, Katie and Barney talked more about Erin. Both had serious doubts about the life she was leading, and Barney said quietly, “Andy could be partly right. Erin’s never had any real attention, and now she’s a target for everyone. It would turn the heads of most young women.”

  “She’s very strong in many ways, Barney. Growing up was hard for her, but it gave her a toughness, too.” She hesitated, then said, “Do you suppose we could go to America? We’ve talked about going back a number of times, but we just never do. And it’s been such a long time.”

  Barney turned to her and smiled. “I think we’ll have to.” He thought for a moment and said, “I wouldn’t doubt but what Amelia and Phillip would go with us.”

  “That would be hard on Andy and Dorothy. They’re worried about Amelia. She’s a handful. “

  “I’m grateful we never had to worry about Erin in that way. I can’t say I blame them for worrying about Amelia. She seems bound and determined to go her own way. But that’s what being a parent is all a
bout—having the courage to turn your children loose sooner or later.”

  ****

  “Well, I’ve been to three county fairs and two snake stompin’s,” Rev Brown announced as he threw himself into a chair across from Quaid and Erin in the hotel room he and Quaid were sharing. “But I ain’t never seen nothin’ like this place.”

  The trio had arrived in Hollywood three days earlier. They had performed two shows and had been swarmed by reporters. One had even brought a movie camera to record an interview with the Golden Angel and Quaid.

  “Do you like it here, Rev?” Erin asked innocently, winking at Quaid. She well knew the answer, for Brown’s opinion of Hollywood and movies and actors was no secret.

  “Why, it’s got the whiff of brimstone about it! Sodom and Gomorrah, that’s what it is!”

  Quaid laughed. “Stop trying to hide your feelings, Rev. Just come right out and tell us what you think.”

  “I think it was less dangerous flying against Germans than bein’ in this place.”

  “You don’t really think that!” Erin protested. “It’s such beautiful country.”

  “Nothin’ wrong with the surroundings,” Rev said defiantly. “It’s the people here that bother me.”

  “What’s wrong with ’em?”

  “Why, they’re as phony as a three-dollar bill. Ain’t nothin’ natural about ’em. Met one of them so-called starlets, and you know what that hussy done? Why, she kissed me right on the mouth!”

  “I think kissing in Hollywood is just like shaking hands everywhere else,” Erin said.

  Rev stared at her and then demanded, “Do you like it here, Erin?”

  “Well, we’ve only been here three days. The scenery is gorgeous, and the climate’s wonderful.”

  “I agree with Rev,” Quaid said. “The people here are pretty artificial.” He was sipping a lemonade, and now he stared out at the hotel swimming pool. None of the three had ventured to try it, since it was usually quite crowded. The bunch gathered there now was getting increasingly rowdy, enjoying a great deal of laughter and horseplay. “Look at them,” Quaid muttered, his face and tone suggesting annoyance at the antics of the poolside guests.

  “Why, they’re just having fun,” Erin said. “I don’t see why you two are so set against Hollywood and movies and the people here.” Actually she did understand Rev’s attitude. He was highly moralistic, and the subject matter of most of the movies would certainly cross a line for anyone who believed strongly in the Bible’s admonition to keep one’s thoughts pure at all times. Why, even the new Miss America pageant out East, which all the papers were talking about, horrified Rev—he couldn’t quite fathom women going around in bathing suits that came up above the knee! He had prophesied doom for the nation if things like that weren’t stopped. Quaid, however, she did not understand. He was, in his own way, sophisticated and had dabbled in the world enough not to be shocked by such things, but ever since they had been in Hollywood, he had been acting gloomy. Now she tried to figure out what was going on in his brain. “Didn’t you like Mary Pickford, Quaid? I thought she was very sweet.”

  “How could you tell? She’s sweet all the time,” Quaid said. “In all her pictures she’s sweet. She’s had lessons in how to be sweet. She makes millions of dollars being sweet!” He sipped the lemonade, then stirred it with his finger. “She may be the meanest woman in California. You’d never know it because she’s always being ‘Sweet Mary Pickford.’ ”

  Quaid’s mocking attitude disturbed Erin, and she whined at the two men, “I was hoping we’d have a good time while we were here, but you two are spoiling everything.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what we can do,” Rev said. “Let’s go to church tonight.”

  “Church? But this isn’t Sunday,” Quaid spoke up at once.

  “No, but there’s a revival going on right in the middle of town,” Rev explained excitedly. “I saw an advertisement in the paper. I never heard of the evangelist, but if he don’t preach the gospel, we’ll go find another one.”

  In the end, Rev—by sheer energy—succeeded in getting Quaid and Erin to the revival meeting. It was in a tent on a vacant lot, and they got there barely in time to find a seat.

  “The mosquitoes are probably going to carry us off,” Quaid protested. He was sitting to Erin’s right, with Rev to her left. Quaid sat silently waiting for the service to begin.

  Rev, on the other hand, was in his element. He got up half a dozen times to greet people until the crowd thought that he was part of the evangelist’s team. He greeted each one with the same question, “Are you saved, ma’am?” or “Are you saved, sir?” Most of them were indeed believers, and Brown was having a wonderful time.

  Erin, too, enjoyed being at the meeting. The tent was full and there was a large choir that sang very well. During one of their numbers she noticed that Quaid was singing along quietly.

  “You know these hymns, Quaid?”

  “Some of them. My folks took me to church pretty regularly.”

  “It’s so exciting to me. It takes me back home. I used to go out with Dad and Mom, and we’d have a meeting out in the bush. No tent, no nothing. Just black faces surrounding us.”

  “You miss that?” Quaid said abruptly.

  “I do,” Erin nodded. “How could I not?”

  “I thought you had an unhappy life growing up.”

  “Just in the classroom. But with Dad or with the Masai everything was wonderful.” She turned to him and said, “Maybe we could go there one day.”

  “I don’t imagine there’d be too many places there for a flying act like ours.”

  “I mean just so you could meet my folks. I’ve tried to get them to come over here, but I don’t think they’ll ever leave.”

  “I’d like to meet them. They sound like wonderful people.”

  The preacher was beginning his message, so Erin and Quaid turned their attention back to him. The sermon was simple, and the evangelist was enthusiastic and appeared to have memorized the entire Bible. He was also a great storyteller, and Erin enjoyed it tremendously.

  When the invitation came to give their lives to God, she looked at Quaid out of the corner of her eye and saw that he was staring at the songbook but not singing. She had an impulse to offer to go with him, but she was very much aware that such an offer would probably be rejected.

  Rev moved among the crowd eager-eyed, looking for any who seemed as though they might be seeking God. He found one older man with white hair, and the next thing Erin and Quaid knew, Rev was by the man’s side, escorting him to the altar for prayer. After the service was over and the three friends were heading back to their hotel, Rev gave a satisfied grin. “I’m comin’ back every night. That fellow really preaches the gospel.”

  ****

  The crowds at the air show the next day were enormous. Despite the early-August heat, the weather was beautiful, and the performers outdid themselves for the enthusiastic audience.

  At the inevitable interview that now followed every performance, Erin consistently brought Quaid into the forefront. It was difficult to do, for he offered little to the reporters.

  One of the reporters asked, “What are you going to do next? Do you have any new wrinkles in your act, Miss Erin?”

  Erin shot a glance at Quaid, who didn’t seem to be listening. They had been having a running argument for some time, and now she said loudly, “Yes, I’m going to do some wing walking.”

  The reporters all exclaimed at that, and Quaid’s head snapped up. His eyes seemed to burn, and Erin knew that she would have some explaining to do. After the interview the first thing he did when he got her alone was to demand, “Why did you say a thing like that?”

  “It would be so great for the act. You said so yourself.”

  “I also said you couldn’t do it.”

  “But I can do it. I know I can. You can think of some way, Quaid, to minimize the danger. But we need to keep adding new things all the time.”

  The argument went on
for some time, and finally Erin said, “I don’t insist on many things, but I really want to do this. It can be very simple.”

  “The spotlight’s getting to you, Erin,” Quaid said shortly. “I hate to see it.” He turned around and walked off without another word, and Erin was miffed.

  “It seems like he’d be happy,” she said to Brown later.

  “I don’t think your risking your neck will make any of us happy.”

  “Oh, I can do it! I’ve always had good balance, and I’m not afraid of heights.”

  Revelation Brown stared at the young woman and said, “Well, if I get a vote, I’m plumb against it.”

  ****

  “Hello? Is this Miss Erin Winslow?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “This is an admirer of yours, Miss Winslow. I’d like to meet you if I could.”

  Erin was accustomed to this sort of thing. She had her answer down and said quickly, “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come to the show.”

  The voice was pleasant and full of confidence. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Derek Wells.”

  Derek Wells!

  Erin knew that he was one of the biggest stars of Hollywood, some said even bigger than Douglas Fairbanks. He specialized in adventure movies and did his own stunts.

  “Are you there, Miss Winslow?”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Wells. I was just shocked that you would call.”

  “I don’t see why you should be. Look, I know it’s short notice, but could you possibly spare me a little time tonight? Go out to dinner perhaps?”

  Erin’s first thought was, I could never face Amelia if I didn’t go. Derek Wells is her idol.

  “Why, I think that would be very nice, Mr. Wells.”

  “Good. I’ll pick you up at your hotel. I know where you’re staying. Say seven o’clock?”

  “That would be fine.”

  Erin put the phone down and started to call Quaid, but she knew he was upset with her about the wing walking. “I’ll tell him about it when I get home,” she said and immediately began thinking about what she could wear to go out with a Hollywood movie star.