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- Tom Fitzsimmons is discharged from the ranch where, as a cowboy, he has the nerve to propose to the ranch owner's daughter. Disheartened, Tom seeks what solace he can find in the nearby booze emporium, and there, in a penny dreadful, he reads of a hold-up. This determines his course and he goes out to become a bandit. In holding up the stagecoach, however, he finds that he is in reality holding up the hold-up man Red Bill, for whom $1,000 reward is offered. He completes his capture, collects his thousand dollars reward, and returning to the ranch dazzles the owner's eyes with his crisp thousand-dollar bill and wins the girl.
- Madeline's mother is a widow and her twin sister, Marion, is crippled. Mrs. Goddard takes in sewing, and Madeline sells newspapers. The daughter of a wealthy man becomes interested in the little newsgirl, and on further acquaintance May Gordon persuades her father to pay for an operation on Marion Goddard's hip. They take Marion home to their beautiful house to recuperate. Meanwhile. Red Hogan, wanted for burglary, breaks into the Gordon mansion with Whitey, his pal. Marion blocks his operations and effects his arrest. Mr. Gordon has offered $1,000 for Hogan's capture and this he now insists upon awarding to Marion. But she will not take the money. Mr. Gordon retaliates by making Mrs. Goddard and both Madeline and Marion members of his own household.
- Frank Edmanton, secretary to the president of the First National Bank, is a married man, yet he is infatuated with Lila Holmes, a woman of the half world. Lila herself is disgusted with the part she plays in life, especially so when her mother refuses to accept money from her, knowing her mode of making her living. Lila's mother has all her savings in a small country bank. Lila waves aside Frank's entreaties that she join him, with the statement that she can never consent to such a proposition unless he can supply her with the luxuries she has been accustomed to. There is a run on the country bank in which Lila's mother has her money. The president 'phones the First National in the city, asking for aid to ward off the rush of depositors demanding their money. Frank is selected by the president of the First National Bank to convey a large sum of money to the country bank. Feeling the money once within his hands, Frank is tempted to use it, and goes to Lila's apartment, shows her the money and begs her to flee with him. Lila, realizing in him another victim, consents. She bids him wait below until she gets ready to leave. Suddenly her eyes fall upon a paper naming the depositors of the bank. She then realizes that her mother's savings are in jeopardy unless the money reaches the country bank. Seizing the bag containing the money, she leaves the house secretly, and forcing Frank's chauffeur to do her will, is driven to the country bank, where she arrives just in time to allay the fears of the frenzied depositors. Her mother is in the crowd at the door, and recognition between them follows, with forgiveness. Frank, meanwhile, has found Lila absent from her apartment and decides he has been tricked. He goes home with the intention of quitting life, but his wife finds him with the revolver in hand about to kill himself. He tells her the whole story from beginning to end. His wife calls the country bank on the 'phone, where she learns what has happened. The president of the bank puts Lila on the 'phone and she asks for Frank. She dismisses him with the statement that she is going home with her mother, and admonishes him to be good to his wife. Frank explains to the bank president that, falling suddenly ill, he had turned the money over to Lila for delivery and no one except his wife and Lila suspects his intended absconding.
- Scotty's only daughter, Ethel, was becoming gradually blind. Doctors made an examination, and concluded that an operation was necessary to save the girl's sight, the cost of which would be two hundred dollars. Scotty had not the required sum and to make things worse, lost his job at the factory. At this state of affairs, Scotty, determined to save Ethel from a bitter life, set out into the world to find work. His wanderings led him to an oil well, where a goodly foreman pressed him into service. It was not long before Scotty was sent out on a special job near the wells. Meanwhile, the foreman's little girl had started from her mother's side and wandered to dangerous ground near a cliff. Scotty saw the little one and risked his own life to rescue her. He climbed the treacherous precipice and carried the child safely to the wells. His heroic act was witnessed by the frantic mother through a surveying instrument. At the wells Scotty fell, exhausted, and was carried to the foreman's house. On regaining consciousness he told of his own little girl back home becoming more and more blind every day, and to save whom he was struggling. His tale struck deep into the hearts of the men, all of whom had witnessed his valiant deed. It was voted to lake a collection, and, with the foreman as the largest contributor, Scotty was enabled to save his daughter from a calamity shortly worse death.
- A wealthy old man is murdered after deciding to write his nephew out of his will. Fearing that he will be accused of the murder, his nephew takes flight, but with the help of a young woman whose life he saves, he sets out to try to track down the actual murderer.
- David Garth, a country physician, earns only enough for a bare existence. His daughter, Winifred, takes care of their home. The doctor distrusts modern medical science and refuses to have anything to do with it. He is, naturally, infuriated when he learns that Kent, a young surgeon, has come to the village. The old man is further incensed when he learns that Winifred has taken a liking to Kent and refuses to meet him. Despite her father's prejudice Winifred and Kent become infatuated with each other and hold clandestine meetings. Dr. Garth falls into the snares of Shrubbs, a money lender. Shrubbs has a note of the doctor's and threatens to foreclose on the cottage. Tom, a servant of Garth's, steals the note from Shrubbs' office. Kent, in response to a letter from Winifred, leaves his office while Tom is committing the theft. The next morning the theft is discovered and Shrubbs offers $500 reward for anyone who will identify the thief. One of the townsfolk volunteers the information that Kent left the building late in the evening and the doctor corroborates the statement. Meanwhile Tom offers the note to Winifred and she tells him to return it. He leaves town at the same time Kent is accused of the robbery. Tom rushes back to Winifred and tells her of the arrest. They go to town to vindicate Kent. Tom declares his guilt and demands the $500 as a reward for finding the thief, himself. Shrubbs is compelled to pay and Kent makes him promise not to prosecute Tom. The doctor consents to the marriage of Kent and Winifred.
- Steve Frazer, a young cowpuncher on the Bar X Ranch, loved Madie, the winsome daughter of Chet Howard, the sheriff, and she was not indifferent to the manly cowboy. Loverlike, they had a post office in the mountains, among the rocks, and many little notes were exchanged between the happy pair. The mountains sheltered a pair of holdup men, who had long terrorized the country, and the cattlemen after a conference, decided to offer a reward for the capture, dead or a live, of the mysterious bandits. The notices were posted by the sheriff, but the depredations of the bandits continued, and one morning a ranchman, going home with a large amount of money, the payroll for his employees, was held up and robbed by one of the pair. The bandit escaped into the shelter of the mountain and by a strange coincidence cached the bag of gold in the lover's post office. Shortly after Steve Frazer rode up to get his accustomed note and found instead the bag of gold. Leaving the note and taking the gold, he hurries to the sheriff's home to report his discovery. A posse is formed and they start immediately for the scene of the holdup. In the meantime the bandit who committed the daring crime has sent his confederate, with minute instructions, to procure the gold cached in the lover's post office. He finds the place, but instead of the desired gold he finds a note: "If you love me as I love you, No knife can cut our love in two." Believing that his partner has duped him, he returns to the rendezvous and accuses him of double crossing him. This is denied emphatically, and together they return to the rock, but only find the note. Both are now thoroughly angry, and accusations against each other are fast and furious. "When thieves fall out, honest men get their dues," and forgetting where they are, start to fight. They are thus engaged when the posse come upon them and they are easily captured. The reward offered for their capture goes to Steve Frazer and he is now in a position to claim the winsome Madie Howard, and the culmination is a happy one.
- 'Arriet Rogers, the daughter of a retired costermonger, Tom Rogers, has two very ardent suitors, Bill Larkin and Bob 'Armon. Bill is a sailor at the London docks and is a very steady young fellow. Bob, on the other hand, is not nearly so steady, but makes a lot of money betting on horses. In this way, by helping him rake in several good pots. Bob curries favor with old man Rogers, who promises him that he shall wed his daughter, 'Arriet. They are married in great style and look regular toffs on their wedding day, driving down Whitechapel in grand style. Bill is abroad in his ship and does not hear of the wedding until long afterwards. Luck is fickle and soon turns against Bob 'Armon, who loses not only all his own money, but all the savings of his father-in-law. Then he takes to drinking heavily and badly ill-treats his wife, who is about to present him with an heir. His drunken and thriftless habits are such that old man Rogers soon dies of a broken heart, leaving 'Arriet in the sole care of her now utterly brutal husband. Even after the birth of 'Arriet's baby, Bob continues his downward career. After a drunken row in a public house, in which he severely wounds a pot companion, he is obliged to flee the country and leaves his wife utterly penniless. 'Arriet has now no means of supporting herself and the baby and is reduced to such straits that she is obliged to beg in the streets, to save herself from starvation. One day, when soliciting alms in a public house, she meets Bill Larkin, who has just returned from a long voyage. She recognizes him, but so weak has she become from lack of food, that she is unable to bear the shock and sinks to the floor in a swoon. Bill has her carried to her home and sends for a doctor. It is too late, however, for starvation has so shattered her health that she dies the next day, after receiving Bill's promise that he will care for her child as if she were his own. Bill faithfully fulfills his vow for the sake of the little woman he so dearly loved,
- This picture tells the story of Ralph Tillman, a clever United States Secret Service Agent and telegraph operator, who is instructed to report to the War Department. He is sent to General Sickles to become a northern spy. He chooses Frank Lyons, another telegraph operator to accompany him. Before leaving Washington, he calls upon his fiancée, Vera Colby, and tells her of his perilous assignment. In the South, Tillman meets Roxy, a beautiful waif, who understands telegraphy. She falls in love with him, but discovers that he is a Northern spy. She catches him telegraphing important news, covers him with her revolver and telegraphs to the Confederate camp that she has caught a spy. He tells her of his love in the North, and she permits him to escape. Tillman goes North to his sweetheart, finds her married, and returns South to bring love and happiness to Roxy.
- Lieut. Wallace leaves his fiancée, Dorothy West, to cross the border with his troops into Mexico. Later he is wounded, captured and taken to the hacienda of the Mexican officer, Senor Paranze, where his wounds are dressed by Senora Paranze. The latter falls in love with the American when he defends her from her brutal husband. She is about to aid him to escape when she discovers that he has a sweetheart. Learning who the girl is, Senora Paranze bids Wallace go to a certain spot and there await further instructions as to his escape. She then writes a note to Dorothy telling her to meet her wounded lover there. Dorothy receives the note and with her father makes a night ride to the spot. On arriving, the three Americans are captured by Mexican bandits. The Senora had arranged it. She awaits to enjoy the sight of her triumph. But it is more than she can stand; she attempts to secure their freedom. Unable to do this she returns to her husband. In the meantime Dorothy secures a knife and cuts the bonds of her lover and by an adroit action the pair holds up the chief and the band. They escape to be pursued across the border, where a skirmish takes place. A squad of American cavalry rescues the lieutenant and his party and drives off the Mexicans.
- They are true blue villains, both of them, and they are father and son. What is more to the point, they also are crooked lawyers. The son's wife is allowed none of the pleasures of life, but is obliged from morning till night to wash dishes, clean house, keep the rum bottle filled, and to discharge faithfully other innumerable duties which her husband sees fit for her to do. The lawyers are made the legal advisers of a pretty young girl. They plot that Villain, Jr., shall marry the girl and get the money, the disposal of the present Mrs. Villain, Jr., to be left to the future. However, the girl finds an able ally, and together they break the fact to the wife. She joins her muscle to theirs, well developed by her years of hard work, and father and son are worsted. In the finale the son comes crashing through the walls of his father's bedroom in a cycle car. nearly paralyzing the latter with fright. They both take a drink, however, and call it square.
- "Fighting Dan" McCool of the Confederate army, is detailed to visit Reidville as a private citizen and look out for spies who may be enlisting. There he meets Edith, a charming southern girl, and he immediately becomes suspicious of Bert, who is paying ardent court to the young woman. There is a call for troops and men from every walk of life abandon their labors and take up the cause of the South. Bert swaggers about in his new uniform and for the first time it is noticed that Dan has not declared himself as a volunteer. He is branded as a coward and is shunned by Edith and her friends. Within a few days Dan secures positive evidence of Bert's treachery, which is to give the Confederate battery to the Federals. A fierce engagement takes place in the village street and Bert displays his cowardice. Terror reigns and the southerners flee before the fierce and unexpected assault of the enemy. Dan now sees that it is time for him to act. He picks up Bert's discarded sword, rallies the troops and leads them to victory. Once again he is "Fighting Dan" McCool and the day is saved. As the evening falls Dan again visits Edith's house, where news of his valor has preceded him. He is now seen in his true light and when Edith promises him her hand, the hero declares that the day has brought him a double victory.
- Like many other little boys, Sonny Jim hates the dark. At bedtime his mother tucks him in his crib, surrounded by Chap, his dog, and a Teddy Bear. After she has put out the light and gone downstairs, his eyes get big and round with fright. Finally he creeps to the stairs and calls down, "Say Daddy Jim, it's awful dark up here." Daddy puts him back in bed, telling him very gravely not to be a "'fraid cat." Daddy's business is not going well, he must raise money immediately, and meeting Old Skinflint Pennyworth, desperately requests a loan. Old Skinflint finally agrees. Daddy Jim gives Old Skinflint his 30-day note for $5,000. A month later, the note falls due. Daddy has not the money to meet it and begs Skinflint for an extension of time, but receives a flat refusal. Sonny overhears Daddy angrily telling mother that, "The Old Skinflint would break me, if he could." That night, Daddy and mother go to a nearby party. Sonny in bed, awakens and finding himself alone in the dark, is badly scared. He tells Chap, "Perhaps the Old Skinflint has broken my Daddy all to pieces." Sonny steals outdoors, determined to go to Old Skinflint's house and accuse him of the crime. Daddy comes to see if Sonny is all right. Unable to find the boy, he is greatly worried, and rushes back with the news. Sonny, although terribly frightened at the awful darkness, finally reaches Old Skinflint's house. After much hammering and ringing, he is admitted. Old Skinflint is astonished and saddened when Sonny accuses him of "Breaking his Papa." He calls up Sonny's parents and tells them where the boy is. Daddy Jim arrives and finds Sonny asleep in Old Skinflint's arms. The old fellow is smoothing the boy's hair, his face wonderfully softened. Sonny awakes and tells Daddy, "I ain't a 'fraid cat anymore, and he didn't break you, did he Daddy?" Old Skinflint flushes and as Daddy is leaving with Sonny, the old man, whose heart has been touched, slips the canceled note into the boy's hand. Daddy thanks him and goes out with Sonny. Old Skinflint, with a wistful smile sits holding his arm as though Sonny were still there and tenderly stroking the child's head.
- Detailed to uncover a suspected still in the hills. Jack Curtis, a revenue officer, poses as an artist and meanders about the hills in search of the necessary evidence. After wandering from place to place he puts up at the little home of Jabez Morton, who is the owner of the still, and meets his daughter, Melinda. a beautiful young girl, Thinking to help along his search for the illicit still, he pretends to fall in love with the girl and for a while she finds herself really in love with him. She has a mountain sweetheart who suspects the supposed artist and tells Melinda of his suspicions. At first she does not believe that her sweetheart's accusations are justified, but she determines that should they prove correct, she will do all in her power to give Curtiss an opportunity to escape. She sees a love letter he writes to a girl up north, and in jealous indignation tells her sweetheart that she will arrange a meeting with Curtiss, which he must attend, concealed outside the door and, if she waives a handkerchief, to shoot Curtiss as he leaves the house. When Curtiss and the girl are alone she asks him to tell her the truth regarding his professed love for her. He at first tries to evade an answer, but when she persists he laughs cruelly, mocking her for thinking that he would really love a rough mountain girl like her. He turns coldly and starts from the house. Melinda stands poised an instant with her handkerchief in her hand ready to give the signal, but her love for the man who has treated her so badly is too strong to be overcome and she allows him to depart unharmed, gone forever from her life. Alone in the room, with a look of despair on her face, she sinks slowly to the floor, and, convulsed with sobs, buries her head in her arms. Her only consolation is in knowing that there is one man who really loves her and will cherish and comfort her.
- Major Baker, an officer of the Regular Army during the Civil War, becomes enamored of Millicent Brown, who, while she does not reciprocate his affection, esteems him very highly. He is about to propose to her when the scene is interrupted by the arrival of Col. Theodore Allison, a handsome young Colonel of the Fifth Pennsylvania Artillery. The men are friends and exchange greetings. Major Baker withdraws, and as he is leaving the room suspects that possibly the handsome Colonel is also a suitor for the band of Millicent. We next see the personages in whom we have taken an interest at a ball given at the armory of the Fifth Pennsylvania Artillery. After one of the numbers there is a dispute as to who has the right to the next dance with Millicent, Major Baker or Col. Allison. Each has the young lady a name on his card for the dance in question. The matter is settled by Allison claiming a preference because of the fact that he is the young lady's fiancé and showing to Major Baker the engagement ring on Millicent's finger. Major Baker bows stiffly and withdraws. In the next dance, a Virginia Reel, which is very prettily shown, we see the emotions that are uppermost in the breast of the Major and his growing hatred of the man who has come between him and the realization of his hopes. Suddenly into the ballroom come orderlies, dispatched from the Brigadier General to deliver messages to the various officers on the floor. The one to Allison reads, "Your regiment ordered to the front. Report immediately." A general order stops the dancing and all is confusion and haste. Millicent sees Major Barker crossing the floor on his way out of the armory, and begs him to make up with Col. Allison, as they are both going to the front and there is no knowing what may happen. As the two men face each other with the girl in between them, Major Baker deliberates a moment, then shakes his head and departs. Theodore and Millicent fondly embrace, and the young Colonel leaves for the front. Two months later we see the regiment of tailor-made soldiers of the Fifth Artillery under command of Col. Allison taking charge of Fort Loring, a key position in the mountains within the fighting zone of the Civil War. By a strange coincidence Major Baker is in command of the fort to which Col. Allison is detailed. As Baker's regiment of veterans marches from the fort they jeer and laugh at the "toy soldiers" of Allison's command. After the formal military ceremonies and just before Major Baker's departure, Col. Allison offers him his hand; instead of taking which Major Baker stiffly gives a military salute and joins his company. Time goes on and Major Baker becomes attached to a distant command at another scene of action. Orders are given for the advantage of a body of Union troops through a narrow gorge in the mountains in the vicinity of Fort Loring. Col. Allison is watching the men on the march. His eye suddenly discovers in the distance a Confederate officer ride into the head of the ravine and suddenly darts back toward the ridge of the hill. Presently a large force of Confederates rushes to cover behind the rocks on either side of the rough mountain roadway. Allison issues orders to his gunners down the line. He sees the Union men walk into the trap. There is no chance to save them before they do so, but immediately they begin to retreat and the Confederate force has driven them so that they are under the shelter of the guns commanded by him. Allison gives the order for continuous firing. We see the boys working behind the earthworks and also the effect of their shells upon the advancing enemy. For days the fight goes on. The Confederates attempt to go through but are constantly driven back by the shell fire. The fort is cut off from outside supplies by flank movements of the enemy. This fact is communicated to the General in command of the division in which Major Baker is now a prominent figure. As the dispatch bearer greets the General and the message is opened disclosing the fact that the Fifth Pennsylvania Artillery is fighting against odds without food, he turns to Major Baker and orders him to the immediate relief of the garrison. We now go back to the fort and see the men who were jeered and scoffed at because of their dudish appearance fighting against terrible odds, hungry, thirsty and haggard, but game. Their shell fire is more desultory than ten days previous, and the enemy, realizing the fact, takes a desperate chance and charges through the gorge. At the critical moment relief comes, and Major Baker's regiment rushes into the fort and repels the advancing charge. As Col. Allison staggers feebly and salutes the incoming commanding officer a thrilling and pathetic scene is presented. Baker is covered with dust and powder marks. Allison, who has been shot in the arm, is bravely replacing the colors which fell when the flag staff was struck by a shell, stands before him feebly saluting with his right hand, while the left arm hangs limply by his side. Baker presents his orders. As he does so Col. Allison topples and is about to fall, when Baker grasps him firmly about the waist. The emotions of the two men are better imagined than described. In the soul-stirring thrill of the moment Major Baker forgets his enmity. Holding Allison firmly with his left arm, he extends his right and grasps the hand he has twice refused to hold in friendship. Several months later Major Baker's regiment is passing through the city in which Millicent lives. Col. Allison has been given a furlough on account of his injuries and goes home in company with Major Baker. Millicent, while watching the returning troops, is surprised at the entrance of the two men and their changed relations.
- Dancing through the forest surrounding a lake far up in the mountains, Anita of the Forest, a beautiful child of nature, sees two campers on the opposite shore. Frightened, she runs away. The following day she suddenly comes face to face with Earle, one of the campers, and he falls in love at first sight. They gaze at each other a brief moment, then her shyness causes her to dash into the dense woods and hide. She meets Herbert, the other camper, who attempts to seize her, but she quickly eludes him and goes to her only friend and confidante, an old minister. She tells him of the two strangers, and he warns her against Herbert. Earle and the forest girl meet again, and she introduces him to the old minister, who approves of the young man. Later, they confess their love, and Earle places a ring on her finger. Then, for the first time, a man's lips touch hers. Shortly afterwards, the girl is caught by Herbert, who attempts to force his undesirable attentions upon her. Just then the minister appears, and warns the fellow to keep away from the girl. When Herbert learns Earle is engaged to Anita, he endeavors to persuade him to renounce her, telling him of the aspirations he is leaving behind for the sake of an unsophisticated girl. Anita overhears them and sorrowfully hands her ring to Earle. He tenderly replaces it and tells Herbert he intends to marry Anita and that their friendship is at an end. The two men part company and Earle and his bride-to-be go to the old minister, where, amidst the beautiful woodland bowers, they are made man and wife.
- Anne Strong and brother, a young Episcopal rector, live together in the rectory of Calvary Parish. The rector is engaged to Marjorie, who does not share in her fiancé's love for children. Marjorie's father forbids her marriage to Strong. Two days later Anne disappears. Later that year Strong finds a baby upon the doorstep of the parish and to the infant is pinned a slip asking Strong to rear and protect the child. Helen. Later Strong receives a note from Marjorie, telling him that because her father has not consented to her marriage that she has entered a convent. Strong learns to love little Helen as she grows older and his explanation to the vestrymen fails to satisfy them, so Strong presents his resignation and takes charge of a mission at Goldfield, Nevada. As years go on, Strong falls in love with Imogene, the daughter of the mine owner. He requests Imogene to become his wife and her father wires to Strong's former parish for information regarding him. The answer is that Strong was compelled to resign his parish because he could not prove the identity of the child. Rushton exposes Strong to the miners. Harold Gordon, after Anne's disappearance in the east, also goes to Goldfield, Nevada, where he becomes superintendent of Rushton's mine. He also proposes for Imogene's hand, but Imogene still loves John Strong. Gordon in a dance hall at San Francisco meets LaBelle Favorita. They quarrel; Gordon is later found dead while Favorita makes her escape. Helen, now a beautiful young girl, saves John Strong's life. Assisted by Imogene, Helen takes Strong to a farm house. Here LaBelle Favorita is now engaged as a maid. As Strong and Favorita recognize each other, the woman confesses that she is Anne Strong, his sister; that Gordon is the father of the foundling placed on John Strong's doorstep, 'neath Calvary's Shadow. At the end of Anne's story, Strong gives Helen, the foundling, to her mother and Imogene, now satisfied to whom the child belongs, begs Strong's forgiveness.
- When the little romance between the honest farmer and the sweet refined little school miss sprang up, people shook their heads doubtfully and wonderingly. The village folks had seen many unhappy marriages grow out of a little moonlight and sentiment. They realized that the farmer and the teacher were mismated and they foresaw the ultimate heartache and unrest. But the farmer and the school miss, they looked at their romance with rose colored glasses, and saw sunbeams and song and the old "happy ever after" fairy tale sequel. Well, they married. The farmer was sincere and devoted, but he was blunt and even coarse and uncultured. And after the romance bad graduated down to the dreary monotony of uninteresting intimacy, she became slightly tired, tired of the housework, tired of the sameness, tired of her husband's unpolished demeanor. One day a stranger passed the house. He was a gentleman, well-mannered, clean-cut, well-dressed. They chatted, the whisper of the serpent. And they saw each other again and again, and once they decided to run off. The farmer read the little note. "I'm tired of being a farmer's wife, and have gone away," looked into the shadows and the silence and prayed only that she be forgiven. The train on which they were eloping met with an accident, and the school miss was badly hurt. Once the gentleman looked at her glanced covertly about, and unperceived quietly slipped out of the station and away. He could not afford to have his name linked with a woman in a train accident. She got well again, and wended her way back to the little farm. She walked into the orchard again, and saw her husband sitting in a pensive dream. What his eyes saw, none can say, but suddenly they looked up and upon the form of her for whom he was longing. In a moment she was held in strong arms, and her repentant kiss eradicated all the memory of her weakness.
- Joe, the hostler at the "Magpie," wooed and won fair Annie and through years of cloudless sky a baby crept into their house and grew into childhood. One day down the lane chanced a gentleman to roam. Little baby laughed and smiled at him and the child that Joe and Annie had prayed for brought about the mother's sin. 'Ostler Joe came home one night to find the house deserted. Fair Annie had listened to tales of a great city and, forgetting everything, love, honor, child and husband, she had gone with the handsome gentleman who had passed by one day. Years passed by and Annie rose to fame and glory, but the law of compensation followed out its course. One day Joe read in the paper that the woman he had loved and who had deserted him, was dying in a London garret, destitute, poverty-stricken and alone. Death found her locked in those strong arms that had held her as a bride, and whose love had never faltered; a great, strong love that was higher and deeper than sin and a woman's weakness, greater than doubt and hatred and revenge, and so it is that the stone above her grave bears the sacred name of wife.
- Willie prevails upon his father to buy him a game called "New Magic Tricks." Father willingly presents his son with the game. That evening Willie takes a snooze in the big armchair and dreams. A magician walks calmly into the room, puts Willie wise to a few tricks, and with the knowledge thus gained Willie starts out to "start something," and a huge amount of fun follows. Everything Willie touches with his magic wand turns into life.
- "Salvation" Smith is a traveling preacher, who stops at Cattleville, Ariz. for the purpose of introducing religion among the cowboys. Our first scene shows the cowboys having a lot of fun with the new preacher. The next day we see the cowboys doing some very amusing dancing and acrobatic stunts when "Salvation" comes in and announces that he is going to hold a prayer meeting. The boys laugh, but Nellie, the daughter of old Pop Greyson, who keeps the hotel, comes in and insists that the parson be given a show. Smith prays, and the cowboys, touched by his fervor, respond to his preaching. "Salvation" becomes interested in Nellie, and he tries to teach her something about the Bible. Big Bill comes in, and thinking the minister is trying to court the girl, he strikes Smith, Jim Roberts, who is Nellie's real sweetheart, enters and calls Bill down good and hard. Bill and Jim agree to fight it out in the woods, where they meet. A thrilling duel ensues in which both men are shot, Bill seriously. Jim thinks he has killed Bill, and he crawls away. "Salvation" finds Bill and carries him to the hotel, where he is pronounced dead, and is laid out on the table. The sheriff goes after Jim, who, being wounded in the leg, has crawled to "Salvation" Smith's cabin. The sheriff goes after Jim, who, being wounded in the leg, has crawled to "Salvation" Smith's cabin. The sheriff is heard coming, and Jim begs Smith to save his life. A thrilling dramatic situation follows when the gentle preacher decides to protect the cowboy, and when, in answer to the sheriff's question, "Have you seen Jim Roberts?" Smith tells his first lie. That night Smith helps Jim escape on his horse. A very funny comedy scene follows in which Big Bill, who is laid out under a sheet as a corpse, comes to life and makes the watching cowboys believe he is a ghost. "Salvation" Smith leaves for other fields. While preaching on the street Jim Roberts, who believes he is a murderer, comes up. Smith stops preaching, grabs Jim and tells him the truth. Our last scene shows Jim and Smith being received by the cowboys back at Cattleville.
- Oscar Bingham believes he is the only pebble on the beach, so far as Mamie Devere, the popular musical comedy actress, is concerned, but one morning an anonymous letter from "A Friend," causes him most furiously to think, and act. Can this accusation of flightiness directed against his darling Mamie have any foundation in truth? He will investigate the matter forthwith. Evening arrived, Oscar dons his "glad rags" and hies himself to the Imperial Theater, and when he goes round onto the stage to visit Mamie at the end of the first act, the actions of his beloved seem to lend color to the accusations of Oscar's anonymous correspondent. But Oscar must be sure. And this is where his brain-wave occurs. He bribes the theater fireman to change places (and clothes), with him, and whilst impersonating the doughty flame quencher, sees quite enough to quench his own flames of love. An interview with the Fire Chief (during the course of which Oscar gives him an involuntary shower-bath), and an ignominious finish in the "cooler," leave Oscar in a considerably chastened frame of mind, so chastened that he vows never to chase after musical comedy satellites for the future.
- Pretty Kitty sends Smaxon and Jimstack, her two unwelcome suitors, off to await her under the old oak tree when she will elope with them. (Of course, neither knows of each other.) Kitty then elopes with Tom. Smaxon and Jimstack do not realize how lucky they have been until one day they peep into Parker's window and find him scrubbing the floor and she reading a novel. They then agree that "'tis better to have loved and lost," and so does Tom.
- A young girl elopes with her sweetheart and becomes wealthy, while her parents become poverty stricken. One day her mother, in search of work, gets a cook's position in a beautiful residence where her cooking is not satisfactory, arid she is again discharged. Being engaged and hired by the butler she never sees the mistress of the house until she comes to leave, when she discovers it's her own daughter.
- "Tis now the very witching time of night, when churchyards yawn and graves give up their dead." It is the hour when ghosts come forth and prowl, when elves and spirits of the spirit world hold merry carnival in the realms of the living. Imagine yourself at the midnight hour in an old house that has long had the reputation of being haunted, a house in which several people have attempted to sleep and have failed. You are impelled by a love of the mysterious to see if these reports are true, and have bolstered your courage up to the sticking point for the occasion. Approaching the building you are impressed by the ominous silence and gloom that envelop it. The hoot of an owl and the sudden apparition of a myriad of bats send cold chills chasing one another up and down your spinal cord. Entering a large room, your ears are assailed by unearthly noises and discordant sounds. You are about to seat yourself at a table when table and chair disappear as if by magic and you sprawl upon the floor. You see strange shapes and weird, flitting figures; you are chased from one room to another by toothless hags and dried up witches; skeletons grin at you from every nook and cranny of the building, disappearing and reappearing in a most bewildering fashion: a pretty girl comes out of the frame of an old picture, and as you are about to kiss her hand you find a donkey's head nestling snugly in your fingers. Would you be frightened? One young man about town certainly was when he saw all these strange happenings. The aforesaid young man had made a wager with some of his fellow club members that he would sleep in the old haunted house overnight. His friends, not doubting his bravery but thinking to have a little sport and at the same time make his evening interesting, engaged a professor of sleight-of-hand to take them to the haunted house and give an exhibition of his feats of magic for the benefit of the adventurous young club member. Fortunately for the picture loving public the Edison Company had an operator and his camera in the house that evening and everything that happened is now reproduced in detail as a moving picture, even to the young man's return to his club and the discovery of the trick played on him.
- Roger Pierce decides to go away for a change of scene. Arriving in a small town he purchases workman's clothes, takes lodgings in a modest boardinghouse, and gets a job in the Frederic Paper Mill, where Grace Howard's father is gate-watchman. One noon the watchman is attacked by an intoxicated man; Roger comes to the rescue and drives the man away, just as Grace arrives with her father's dinner and is introduced to Roger. After a time Roger marries Grace. Roger decides to surprise his young wife, so takes her back to his own home in the city, where Roger's mother treats her coldly; later she leaves their home. She leaves Roger a note of explanation; taking a photograph of him and a small bundle of clothes, she leaves and takes lodgings in a tenement house--owned, unknown to her--by Roger's father; upon his death, Roger inherits the tenement block. A few nights later, Grace is putting her 3-year-old daughter to bed in her little room. Sorrow has made deep furrows in her once-handsome face. Then she, too, retires. A fire starts downstairs, caused by a carelessly thrown match. Roger is notified at his club, and arrives in time to rescue Grace, whom he recognizes. He takes her home to his mother, where all are reconciled.
- It is Mazie's birthday. Jimmie, her beau, goes to the florist and asks the proprietor to send the lady twenty American beauties, to which he attached a card, reading: "A beautiful rose for each beautiful year." The florist, knowing that Jimmie is a good customer, adds ten additional roses gratis. What happened to Jimmy? Guess.
- A boy rides in Santa's sleigh for a round the world Christmas Eve jaunt.
- The owner of the great works seen in the film is afflicted with insomnia, and uses chloroform. His daughter, Eva, loves young Dennison, her father's engineer, much to the chagrin of Briggs, the works' manager. The latter uses every endeavor to belittle Ralph in the eyes of his sweetheart, and is present at the inspection of a huge chimney under course of repair. Eva and her father are also present, and Briggs insinuates that Ralph is afraid, when Eva dissuades him from journeying to the top of the shaft. On the way home, Eva's little brother forms one of the party, and Ralph, ever willing, is prevailed upon to procure a ball of cord for the youngster's kite; also the usual modicum of drugs for Eva's father. Briggs, during the absence of the younger man, forces his attentions on Eva while she is boating with her brother, and is repulsed. He evolves a scheme of revenge, and, at night, goes to the shaft, which he ascends from the inside and removes the top series of steps from its walls. On the following morning Ralph is given a letter warning him against Briggs, and in which Eva entreats him not to trust him. The works' manager is standing near and again taunts Ralph with his fear, with the result that the latter decides to ascend the chimney forthwith. Eva and her father arrive to witness the two men nearing the top of the huge shaft, and the girl's fears are soon realized to the full, for a violent quarrel is seen to be going on between the two, A few seconds later and the pulley block and rope come hurtling through space, Briggs having detached them from the cross bar, thus cutting off communication with the ground below. A terrific struggle follows, and the two men are seen at each other's throats on a perilous footing afforded by the brickwork. The brave workmen are making efforts to scale the interior, but are prevented by Brigg's rascally scheme. Ralph suddenly thinks of the cord for the youngster's kite, and is dropping this down when Briggs overpowers him. At last the villain dozes, tired out from his exertions, and Ralph, taking the drug from his pocket, plentifully dopes him, then throws down a note requesting the boy to fly the kite as soon as daylight permits. At dawn the kite is skillfully raised and we see it near the top of the shaft, where Ralph and the now securely bound Briggs are. The latter does not move, but Dennison is too intent upon the kite to notice him. At last the frail messenger of deliverance is within reach, and Ralph takes the revolver from Briggs' side, firing several shots as a signal. A rope is drawn up, and Ralph is enabled to reach the men who have scaled far up the interior of the chimney. He is assisted to earth and is seen to have turned absolutely gray from his trial. Briggs is found to be dead, having succumbed to the overdose of chloroform, Ralph is charged with manslaughter, but is finally acquitted of the charge, and the last scene shows the lovers free at last from care and delivered from a villain's treachery.
- It is the story of an only daughter of a farmer; her mother is dead and she is her father's consolation. She grows up and falls in love with the young man in her father's employ, but when they tell the father of their love affair, he orders the lover off the place. He goes, but later returns and takes the girl with him, followed by a father's curse. We next see them established in their own little home, which is brightened by the presence of a child, and both are as happy as can be. A glimpse of the father shows him unreconciled and alone in his bitterness. Then trouble comes. The young husband, at work in the cornfield, is overcome with the heat; a fellow workman takes him home and calls the doctor, but medical aid is of no avail and he dies without regaining consciousness. Later the little widowed mother is seen struggling against adversity; the once happy home is woefully bare and cheerless. The child, restless in its cradle, reveals the fact that there is no milk in the house, although it is now night. Placing the lamp on the window sill, the mother goes to a neighbor's for milk. While she is out the lamp sets fire to the house. This calamity the mother chances to discover while on her errand and she hastens back in time to save the baby. In the final scene she is seen sitting upon the steps of her old home with her baby in her arms. A shawl conceals her face, so the father does not recognize the suppliant for his charity as he takes the baby in his arms and helps the woman into the house. He ventures to remove the shawl and discovers his daughter.
- Jean is a poor student and Arthur is a rich one. They share a studio in Paris, and both love Nanette. It is the night before Christmas, and she demands a new gown for the party. Jean has received money from his parents for his return. At this moment he gets a telegram asking him to come home at once, for his mother is ill. But when Nanette begs for her gown Jean yields and gives her the money. The gown is torn to ribbons at the party, and in the morning Jean hears that his mother is dead. Nanette tries to comfort him, but he looks at her torn frock and puts her aside in disgust. He is away from Paris for two weeks. When he returns he finds Nanette has been posing for Arthur, who has given her a necklace. He begs her to return to him, as he has sacrificed everything for her, but she puts her arm around Arthur's neck and goes out with him, leaving Jean in despair.
- Frank McCracken is placed in the managing editor's seat by the owner of "The Daily Call.'' His promotion makes it possible for him to marry Margaret, daughter of the Hon. Hiram Johnson, reform candidate for mayor. Frank and Margaret call upon Johnson at his campaign headquarters, where Frank tells him of his promotion and asks Margaret's hand in marriage. Edward Cranston, private secretary to Johnson, secretly in love with Margaret, overhears Johnson's hearty consent and vows to break off the match. He rifles Johnson's safe and unearths evidence proving Johnson's connection with street paving graft of twenty years before. He then goes to the office of "The Daily Call," and surreptitiously places the papers upon Frank McCracken's desk. The young managing editor reads the incriminating evidence and is filled with consternation. Loyalty to his newspaper commands him to publish the story, which, upon the eve of the election, will mean the blasting of Johnson's political career and the ruination of his good name. He hastens to Johnson and asks him either to verify or deny the authenticity of the data, but Johnson will do neither and bids him choose between his duty to his newspaper and his duty to the father of his intended wife. Margaret, entering and believing her father to be innocent, orders Frank to leave her presence, as she places loyalty to her father before devotion to her lover. Cranston in the meantime has suffered the pangs of remorse, and going to Margaret, confesses his share in the matter and tells her he was actuated in so doing through his love for her and his jealousy towards Frank McCracken. She is filled with loathing at his treachery to her father and orders him from the house. Going to Frank, in the composing room of the "Call," she finds him and a "make-up" man, bending over the paged story, which is about to be stereotyped. She makes a final appeal to him to suppress the story, but he is compelled to refuse her request. The page is locked and the foreman raises the form to carry it away. Margaret, in desperation, seizes a mallet lying on the stone and shatters the type in the locked form. It is press time; the story is "killed," her father's name has been saved. At this moment a message is brought to Frank which advises him that the opposing candidate to Johnson has withdrawn because of graft charges and that in consequence Johnson is assured of election. Margaret has not only saved her father's reputation, but has been the means of his political triumph. Frank, realizing that he has individually done all in his power for his paper's interests, turns to Margaret, shows her the message and congratulates her upon the success of her coup. She, instantly forgiving him for what he attempted to do, extends her arms to him and the harmony between them is fully restored.
- A typist exposes a group of businessmen as German spies plotting to blow up a bridge.
- An old farmer lives in the country with his wife and daughter. One day a banker from the city comes along, sees the wife and is infatuated with her. He persuades the farmer's wife to leave with him for the city. The old farmer comes in the house and finds a note which she has left, saying that she is going to divorce him and marry the banker. The old farmer vows that he will trace and find them in order to be avenged. Later there is a murder committed. A policeman on the beat imagines that he hears a scuffle. He looks at the clock in the tower and sees that it is 11:30. He hears no more of the noise of the scuffle, and thinks he must have been mistaken. The next day the same policeman is standing on a corner talking to one of the detectives from the central station, when the old farmer rushes madly up to him and says that the banker has been killed. Thereupon the detective goes and investigates the case. He calls the coroner and presents evidence that the lover of the old farmer's daughter, who is now grown to womanhood, is the guilty party, he having been seen with a poker in his hand by the housemaid. Also suspicion is thrown upon the butler by the detective finding a button from the coat belonging to the butler. The coroner orders the butler and the lover held for the murder. The detective decides to look further into the case and investigates the spot where the murder took place, and finds upon the ground the imprint of a man's hand, which looks as though it had got there by a man putting his hand out to save himself in falling. The little finger in the imprint upon the ground shows that that finger was mangled in some manner. The detective takes these findings into the house and begins to examine the hands of those suspected of the murder, and finds that they are not the parties who made the print upon the ground. He then goes out to examine the body of the banker and finds that neither of his hands has a mangled finger. The old farmer comes through the arch from the living room of the house, and the detective asks him for a match, with which to light his cigar. He then notices that the owner of the mangled finger is the old man. This clears the name of the lover and of the butler, and the old farmer, who had been failing in health for a number of years after the death of his wife, is suddenly attacked by a git of coughing, and his life passes out.
- Those memorable words had just died upon the lips of the grand old general, as he gave Lieutenant Allen orders to reach Thomas. In order to do this, Allen had to pass through the heart of the enemy's country. Both men realized the excessive danger, and the younger officer salutes and leaves upon his mission. The message delivered, returning, the Lieutenant finds himself in close quarters. He feigns illness and is cared for at the home of Virginia Johnson, the sister of Robert E. Johnson, who is at the front. She unexpectedly receives a message from her brother, saying he will visit them that night. Allen, fearful of recognition even though he is disguised in Confederate uniform, plans his escape, only to be followed and captured. Later in battle Johnson and Allen are wounded and Johnson, feeling the end was near, places a little miniature in the hands of the Union soldier and asks him to find her. He recognizes it as that of Virginia, and the, "the heart of the rebel gray beats close to the stronger one of Union blue."
- Two young men are in love with a beautiful and popular young girl. She favors one but rejects the other. The latter in revenge closes a switch which will cause the locomotive carrying the girl's wounded father to collide with an approaching engine. To prevent the collision the lover lassos the switch, turns it over and the engine takes the siding, where it runs off the track, crashes into a house and kills the villain.
- Jack goes into the little mining town to get "grub." A letter is brought by a messenger to Bill, saying that his little girl in the east is dying end begging him to come at once. Bill takes from their cache the sack of gold they have saved. Carefully he divides it and is planning to leave the rest, when he discovers that a Mexican has come up and watched him through the window. Afraid, he takes the center from a loaf of bread, stuffs in the gold and puts back the bread. Then he writes that he is going away, but has no time to explain. Jack comes back. Bill is gone. He cannot understand until he finds the note. He wonders at it. Suddenly a cruel suspicion creeps into his mind. He examines the cache. The gold is all gone. Like a knife in his heart comes the assurance that Bill has taken all the gold. But Bill receives a telegram that the child is better, returns to the house and the truth comes out. Friendship is back again on its pillar.
- Tom, a cowboy, is in love with Vicky, daughter of John Gilmore. Gilmore refuses to give his consent to their marriage. Gilmore has a mortgage due, and draws $5,000 from the town bank. This money is seen by Bad Bill and Sneaky Sam. Tom plans to elope with Vicky that night, while the crooks plan to rob Gilmore of his gold. They take the money and place it in a covered wagon in which Vicky has already secreted herself, believing the wagon belongs to Tom. She realizes too late she is in the power of two desperate characters. Tom arrives to meet Vicky, is discovered by Gilmore, who thinks that Tom has robbed him. However, Tom proves by footprints and wagon tracks that others have robbed Gilmore of his money, and have abducted his daughter. Tom and Gilmore, after a sensational pursuit, overtake the crooks and rescue Vicky. Then it is that Gilmore, pleased at the return of his money, gives Tom and Vicky the parental blessing.
- More than 7,000 New York policemen marched in the annual parade of the force on Saturday, May 6. Among those who were in the reviewing stand were Police Commissioner Woods and his staff, Governor Whitman, Major General Wood, Mayor Mitchel and all the heads of the municipal department. The policemen assembled at Eightieth Street and Fifth Avenue and proceeded south about 1 o'clock. The procession was led by the police band, followed by Chief Inspector Max F. Schmittberger and his staff. The parade, passed the reviewing stand and U.K. Whipple, the Animated cameraman at Fifth Avenue, between Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth street, about 2 o'clock. In a mock hold-up before this reviewing stand a policeman, posing as a thug, was accidentally shot by a patrolman, who thought the "hold-up" was a real one.
- A pipe has sprung a leak, a plumber is sent for and arrives at the house with tools and furnace, which is the innocent cause of all the fun. The plumber, after lighting his furnace, happens to leave it in such a position that a chair is accidentally placed over it by the housekeeper, who is preparing breakfast for her employer. The chair has just about gotten good and hot when he comes in and innocently sits on the chair. The warmth of the chair begins to take effect, and the poor fellow is made uncomfortable for a few minutes; he puts his hand under the chair and it comes in contact with the furnace; he gives one jump and lands on the table, he poor plumber is then thrown out. The plumber now devotes the rest of the day to fun, and succeeds in getting plenty of it through the aid of his furnace. He meets a lady acquaintance and the two friends have a hot time, that is, their victims have when the furnace is placed under them, while they are comfortably sitting. A copper on a park bench, a Hebrew in a refreshment garden, and others are driven to hunt a cooler spot.
- Robert Blake, whose father has a big dressmaking establishment, is in love with Kitty, who works in her aunt's, Mme. Helene's millinery shop. Blake. Sr., wishes his son to marry Violet, daughter of one of his biggest customers. The girl is ill-tempered and snobbish, but has fallen in love with Robert. Her mother invites him to accompany them to the Vitagraph theater, but he declines, pleading previous engagement, which they discover, is to take Kitty to the same theater. Mother and daughter contemplate revenge. They warn John Blake of his son's infatuation for the little milliner, and he goes to the shop where he has been told Robert is calling, to give him a piece of his mind. There he is persuaded that Kitty is in reality not a girl at all, but a wonderful model or automaton. Kitty poses on a pedestal without winking an eyelash, and Blake is completely fooled. Robert persuades him to buy it for their showroom, and dad insists on having it delivered at once. However, Kitty is game and allows herself to be crated in and carted off to the Blake concern in an express wagon. During her enforced imprisonment in the showroom, Kitty catches a burglar with the pistol-like electric flashlight Robert has given her. Robert on learning this sends for his father, explains all to the astonished gentleman, and expatiates on Kitty's bravery until he relents and gives his consent to their marriage. All return to the basement shop where Madame Helene is appraised of the happy ending of the little romance.
- A marauder visits the home of little Edna Robinson, and is preparing to loot the house when he is frightened away by the entrance of the child. All he managed to take with him was Edna's toy bank, which contained the sum of 29 cents. But Edna grieves so bitterly about the loss of the bank that her parents decide to notify the police of the theft. "A 29-cent Robbery!" It is to laugh! And the police do. In fact, they laugh the parents out of police headquarters. When the parents tell the child about it she decides to see what she herself can do and call in person at headquarters. The captain is so fascinated by the child that he orders his officers to get busy on the case. They watch for a man carrying a toy bank, and make several arrests. Brought before Edna for identification, the suspects are pronounced guiltless by her and set free. Doubting the ability of the police to round up the right man, Edna secures a police whistle, and does some detective work on her own account. How good a sleuth she is the picture tells; and how good a picture it is we leave to you.
- Among the beauty spots of the world that section of the St. Lawrence River which includes the Thousand Islands and the wonderful channels between them, is one of the most unique and picturesque. The boat which makes the famous ramble trip among the islands passes by scenes representing almost every stage in the development of civilization, from the wild rocks and trees which cover some of the islands, to the millionaire palaces with flowerbeds, lawns, summer houses, etc. Some of the islands are on the Canadian side of the river and some on the American. In one case the owner of one of the beautiful summer homes has his house in Canada, and a little bridge leading across to a little summer house on a tiny island a few yards distant leads one into American territory. The film ends with a view showing a sunset across the water.
- A bachelor and a widow with a baby are living in the same hotel. The bachelor is engaged to a girl in the same town and he is preparing to visit her, when the widow's stay at the hotel is about to terminate. The bachelor's auto is in front of the hotel and the widow's is just ahead of it. The widow sends her maid to the auto with the baby. The maid remembers she has lost one of the baby's shoes, so she carefully lays the baby in the bachelor's auto and returns to find the shoe. The bachelor is late for his appointment, rushes out and jumps into the front seat of his machine with the driver, without noticing the baby in the rear. The widow comes out and finds the auto gone. Thinking someone has stolen her baby, she calls the police. In the meantime the bachelor reaches his fiancée's home. As she steps into the car she notices the baby, accuses him of a double life, and breaks the engagement. The bachelor returns to the hotel and sneaks to his room with the baby. The maid enters, observes the child and accuses him of stealing it. He bribes her to bring it a bottle. The widow and police return to the hotel and the maid hearing their conversation, informs them that a man has a baby upstairs. They all go up, and through the keyhole discover the bachelor in the act of feeding the baby. The widow and police rush in. He tells them of finding the baby in his auto. Then the maid explains her mistake. The picture fades with the bachelor admiring the baby and also the widow.
- Scrooge has never forgiven the elopement of his daughter Nell with Jack, even though the couple have been happily and prosperously married for a year. But even Scrooge's heart relents when he hears from Sis that there is "a grand new baby" at the young folks' house. Sis should have said "a new baby grand," for that is what her lover, Bill the butler at Jack's home, told her. When the older folks arrive at Jack's house, laden with toys, and there is no baby in sight, Sis attempts to get a substitute Infant, and that makes matters worse, especially since the substitute is Mammy Johnson's pickaninny.
- The story tells of the young widowed mother of two children who is forced by extreme poverty to part with one of her children, a baby girl, by placing it in a basket on the door steps of a wealthy banker. Before leaving the baby the poor mother takes one of its little shoes to keep as a memento. Returning to her cheerless home she is seized with a paroxysm and falls lifeless in a chair, with her little boy at her side. A neighbor hearing her cries runs for the parish priest, who finds the poor woman beyond human aid. Her soul has departed into eternity. She still clutches the little shoe which mutely tells the woman's sad story. The good priest takes the boy as well as his sister's shoe. Meanwhile the baby has been found by the banker and his wife and they decide to adopt it. Fifteen years elapse and we find the girl grown up in blissful ignorance of her origin, of course imagining the banker and his wife her parents, while the boy has gone through his collegiate course preparatory to Holy Orders. One afternoon while walking in the park the boy's attention is attracted by a runaway, and leaping to the roadway he seizes the bridle of a wild fractious horse and brings it to a standstill. Assisting the young lady occupant of the vehicle to a taxicab he escorts her to her home. A strong friendship between the two young people ripens later to love and the boy is seen struggling between the all-important questions as to his future, whether it be religious or secular. His love for the girl is so strong, so pure, that he determines to gain the old priest's consent to his marrying instead of entering the priesthood. What a blow it is to the good old father, but he feels it may be for the best and consents even to marry them. Now the banker's wife thinks it only just to the young people to reveal the truth about the girl, telling how she found her fifteen years before, and that one of her little shoes was missing. At this intelligence the old priest is staggered, for he sees at once that the marriage cannot take place; they are brother and sister. He raises his head in thanksgiving for the grace of God that brought about this timely revelation. However, brother and sister find "The peace that passeth all understanding." She becomes a nun and he goes to his ordination into the priesthood, giving their future lives up to the honor and glory of the Divine Master whose guiding hand showed the better way.
- When Dr. Wilton had waited for his buggy ten minutes, he became impatient. A moment later, when Forest drove up the curb, Dr. Wilton informed him that to be late again would mean dismissal. Dr. Wilton determined to buy an automobile. The next week one was installed, and, of course, Forest lost his job. Months go by. The fruitless search for work has discouraged Forest, who determines to rob the doctor's house. His thoughts are interrupted by his child. She wants him to play with her. She consents to hide her face while he hides her shoe in his pocket. The game is interrupted by his wife, who informs him that the rent collector has called several times. That night Forest gains access to the doctor's house and proceeds to fill his pockets with the doctor's silverware. While cleaning out his pocket he pulls out his baby's shoe. Slowly he realizes what he is about to do. He sees in a vision his wife questioning the child about the missing shoe. Dr. Wilton, who has heard a noise, enters. He is dumbfounded at what he sees, but appearing to understand the situation, he silently withdraws. Forest returns home to find his wife waiting for him. She feels instinctively what he has done and searches his pockets, only to find the baby's shoe. Slowly she understands, and raising her arms in supplication above, thanks God for the talisman that saved her husband. It is a great surprise to Forest and his wife, when the doctor visits them the next day and offers his ex-coachman the job of driving his car.
- Young Hugh Jordan, the nephew of the man who robbed the Winthrop children, is earning his living out west when he comes into the millions of his thieving old uncle. Hugh goes east and settles down to a life of ease and enjoyment. He is entertaining a stag party at his home when the butler announces the arrival of the Misses Winthrop. A letter left by their father told them to go to Hugh Jordon, as he held a mining claim in trust for them. Penelope, the oldest girl, shows the letter to Hugh and he invites the orphans to remain until he has investigated the matter. It is all plain sailing after that, and Hugh marries Penelope and the fortune is kept in the family. There is a slight underplot involving a handsome widow, who tries to capture Hugh, and a most despicable specimen of the wealthy class who tries to ruin Penelope.
- Bluff and Gruff, bachelors, live .at a boarding house. Bluff is continually drunk. Gruff to give him a scare tells him that the night before, while drunk, he asked their landlady, who is a shrew, to marry him. Bluff nearly faints. The next day he is again drunk. He makes love to the housekeeper and remembering Gruff's joke, again asks her to marry him, thinking to make good. The housekeeper's brother arrives in the midst of the lovemaking and insists upon immediate marriage. Bluff returns, and Gruff sobered by the seriousness of the situation seeks his advice. Gruff promises to get a fake minister. He induces his friend Luff to play the part of minister. Luff later determines to keep out of it. Meanwhile the group is waiting. The Rev. Dr. Parks stumbles into the house through accident. The brother asks him to perform the ceremony, and Bluff thinking him the fake minister, goes through with it. The next day Gruff meets Luff and finds out that he did not go through with his end of the joke. He informs Bluff that he is really married. Bluff nearly collapses, but really when brother brings in eight children and introduces them to Bluff as his wife's children and consequently his own.
- In our story, a physician is plainly in love with his ward, a pretty young miss whose parents died when she was a baby. One day, while she is out riding, her horse is spooked and runs away. A young man who happens to be a physician, rescues her unhurt, and after he has taken her home, it is clear that she has run away with her heart. Now it is doctor against doctor, in a game of love. Of course, the elder man has the advantage of intimacy with the girl, but the other is not at all deterred. Some time later the girl's guardian applies for life insurance, and who is the examining physician for the company but the young man. His rival in love visit him as an applicant for insurance, and departs. He has not been at home long, however, before he gets a notification that his application for insurance is rejected because his lungs are affected. It is a terrible blow to the man, and as is usual in such cases, he thinks his plight more serious than it really it. The knowledge that he is not a healthy man preys on his mind continually. The girl sees that he is worried, but he does not tell her why. The solitary brooding affects him more and more, until he finally makes an attempt at suicide. He swallows the contents of a vial while seated in his study. His groans arouse the girl, and she dashes into the room. While she is frantically trying to bring him to, the young physician enters. A glance at the limp form and another at his own letter of rejection now on the man's desk, and he sends the girl from the room. Not it is in his power to either allow the poison to do its work and thus remove a dangerous rival, or else to sacrifice his love on the altar of medical ethics. It seems that there is a great struggle within him, but he finally sets to work with a vim to rescue the man. He is successful in saving a human life, and perhaps that is a consolation when, some time later, he packs his grip and goes away from the scene of as stirring a romance as ever was written in Cupid's records.