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- "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.
- 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.
- Although Ethel and Bud come to the conclusion that they want to marry each other, Ethel's father, who is some concluder himself, announces that the girl will marry no man but Mike. The lovers try to elope. But when Bud finds papa waiting at the bottom of the ladder, he decides to postpone the event. Later, when Ethel's pa finds Bud innocently stealing a kiss from Marie, the cook, he gets an idea. Bud is confronted by Tempest who offers to present him with $500 upon condition that he wed Marie. Seeing a way in which to annex Ethel as well as the cash, Bud agrees. Pleased with his idea, Tempest tells Mike all about it, and arranges to have Bud and Marie, and Mike and Ethel married at the same time. On the day of the event, Bud imprisons Marie in the refrigerator, while Ethel dons the cook's bridal attire. While Tempest and Mike impatiently wait for Ethel, Bud's sweetheart, a veil covering her face, takes her place by his side. Bud demands his $500 and gets it. He then informs Tempest of his great desire to be married immediately. Glad to get Bud out of the way, the father agrees and the ceremony is performed. Barely is this over when Pete, a policeman, brings in the real Marie, who has been frozen solid. Then, while Mike and Tempest stare in amazement, Ethel raises the veil, blithely kisses Bud, and then speeds out of the house with him.
- Ham and Bud are employed to steal a bathtub.
- Ranchman Merrilies has fallen into the power of Madah Singh, a Hindu mystic. The Madah has induced him to discharge his ranch hands, replacing them with Hindu "ragheads" and is fast bleeding him of his wealth. Madge Merrilies appeals to her friend, Barbara Brent, to aid her. Barbara becomes a guest at the Merrilies home, while her father pays a visit to Congressman Wallace, owner of the adjoining ranch, who has engaged the discharged hands. Barbara learns that the Madah is keeping a Hindu girl prisoner in the attic of the Merrilies home and when she investigates finds that the girl is used as "the spirit maiden" to force large sums of money from Merrilies. Gungha, in love with the prisoner, plots to usurp Madah's position as leader of the Hindus. Barbara invades the attic at midnight and finds the chest in which the Hindu has stored the money forced from the ranchman. She takes the prisoner and the money to her room, but Madah. who was preparing for flight with his ill-gotten gains, overhears Barbara and Madge, and bursts into the room. Madge escapes and succeeds in phoning to Wallace and Brent for help, while Barbara struggles with Madah for the possession of the chest. Meanwhile Gungha has decided that the hour is ready for him to strike, and sets out for the house after telling his followers to attack if he does not return in fifteen minutes. Madah is overpowering Barbara when Gungha enters by the window and the mystic turns to confront this new opponent. In the struggle that follows a lamp is flung across the room and in a minute it is in flames. Madah escapes, and jumps into his waiting auto with the prisoner and the money chest. Gungha manages to climb on the rear of the auto as it starts, while Barbara mounts her horse and sets out after the Hindus. Gungha's followers, fearing for the safety of their leader after the expiration of the time limit, start to attack the house and Wallace and Brent arrive just in time to aid Merrilies and Madge in their defense of a burning fortress.
- While at work in the woods, Tom meets Sue. Tug, who seeks to win the girl's hand, becomes insanely jealous when he learns of her friendship for Tom. The mountaineer inflames Sue's father against the surveyor and the old man forbids Tom to visit the premises. Some time later, Tug is given some mail addressed to Sue. Opening one of the letters, he discovers it to be a message from a promoter who has discovered that the railroad intends to lay its tracks through the girl's land. Meeting the promoter, Tug represents himself as Sue's husband and receives $10,000 on an option for the right-of-way. When Tom learns of this piece of crookedness, he hastens to the Elwood cabin. Tug, however, has poisoned old Elwood's mind and the two attack the surveyor, making him a prisoner. Tom is placed in an outbuilding until his captors can decide upon his fate. Sue, who has been locked in her room because of her refusal to marry Tug, succeeds in escaping and sees the two men imprisoning her lover. She liberates Tom and the two start for the village, where they meet the promoter and explain the situation. The treachery of Tug is exposed and Sue's father consents to allow her to marry Tom.
- With the kind of assistance of Squiggs, who in his spare moments acts as sheriff. Pussyfoot Pete, a burglar, gains entrance into the home of Araminta. Araminta, who is an old maid, discovers his presence. Does she get frightened? Not a bit, instead, she thanks Providence for sending her a man. In answer to her inquiry as to how he became a burglar, Pete tells her it was the fault of his indulgent parents. They never denied him anything. In fact, according to Pete, his father even reached up and unhooked the moon from the sky when he cried for it. While relating his sad story, Pussyfoot Pete demonstrates his taking ways by robbing Araminta of her valuables. Later, while the old maid prepares a meal for him, the burglar tries to escape. He gets caught in the window, but Squiggs again kindly assists him. Not until the sheriff misses his watch does he conclude that Pete must be a burglar, b'gosh. Araminta joins Squiggs in his pursuit of Pete. The latter is finally captured. Araminta offers him the choice of either marrying her or going to jail. One look at Araminta's awful face and Pete gladly declares his willingness to go to jail for life, if necessary. The lady is heartbroken. But not for long. Lost in admiration for the fearless woman, Squiggs pops the question. Before he can find time to change his mind, Araminta throws herself in the sheriff's arms.
- Jack Towers, a young and prosperous broker, receives a call from Walter Prentice, an old college chum whom he has not seen for years. Walter informs Jack that he is now the manager of the Prentice Detective Agency. That night Jack goes to visit his sweetheart, Wynne, the daughter of Carter, a noted scientist. She gives him her answer which he has long awaited, but informs him that he must ask the father, who at that time is strolling about the lawn, lost in meditation. The butler has asked for an hour to go and visit his aged parents. As he passes out of the grounds he sees Jack and Carter engaged in a spirited altercation. The father does not wish to give his daughter in marriage and also resents Jack's interruption. Jack returns to Wynne and bids her a curt goodbye. She goes into the lawn to seek an explanation from the old gentleman and is horrified to find him stretched on the ground, dead. Controlling herself, Wynne telephones to Jack, knowing he was the last person with the scientist. The butler returns and discovers the young couple carrying the body into the house. Believing his suspicions to he confirmed, he secures an officer and demands Jack's arrest. The young broker begs for time and summons his old friend, Prentice, who establishes the fact that the old scientist was struck by a meteoric fragment.
- When his uncle Hiram forbids Jed to marry Mary, Jed determines to leave the farm and make his fortune in the city. At the same time Hiram receives a message from two confidence men offering some nice green goods for sale. Jed makes his home in a boarding house. One of the boarders, a fortune teller, informs the boy that he is to come into a fortune. Inspired, Jed goes forth in search of a job. Jobs, however, seem hard to get. Hiram arrives in the city with a $5,000 bankroll. Hoyle and Casey, the confidence men, meet him and soon annex his money. Meanwhile, Jed is waylaid by highwaymen. After sandbagging the boy, the men throw him into an alleyway. Hiram discovers he has been swindled and goes in pursuit of the crooks. Threatened with capture, the men throw Hiram's roll into an alleyway. Jed is just recovering consciousness when the thieves pass. The money falls into his hat. After staring unbelievingly at the roll, Jed rushes to a clothing store and gets a new outfit. Back to the farm he goes. When Hiram, compelled to walk home, finally arrives he learns of Jed's luck. The sight of Jed's money overcomes the uncle's objections, and he consents to let Mary and his nephew wed.
- In a spirit of adventure, Helen, who is stopping at the beach, writes a note requesting the finder to meet her in front of the hotel.. The missive is placed in a bottle and set adrift. Bob, her sweetheart, learns of the incident and sets a dozen similar notes adrift. The following morning, Helen is astounded to find a dozen men from all walks of life waiting for her. Her flight takes her through the various amusement devices at the resort, winding up at a boat landing. Her pursuers all go overboard, and engage in a lusty battle in the shallow water. Bob comes to his sweetheart's rescue and carries her away.
- Climbing into a cab of a freight engine, Bobbie Layson, the son of a station pulls the throttle open. The alarm goes out and Helen, stationed at Lone Point, is ordered to derail the runaway and thus prevent it from running head-on into the approaching passenger train. Fearing for his son's life, Layson phones Helen and implores her not to send the engine into the ditch. Outside the station a small truck suggests a way out of her dilemma. Leaving the derail open, Helen gets the car on the track and speeds down the grade to the end of the siding, where she opens the switch and flags the passenger train. Her warning causes the engineer to sidetrack his train. This done, Helen speeds to the Melius Bridge and reaches it before the runaway train. Climbing to the topmost girder she then hangs suspended by a rope and as the onrushing train roars across the bridge she drops to the top of a freight car and in a few seconds the runaway is brought to a stop.
- The story of a brother's jealousy. The two brothers of our story, Jack and William, both love the same girl, Lucile, the daughter of their father's lifelong friend and their own childhood playmate. As to dispositions the brothers are opposites. Jack is a happy-go-lucky fellow, full of animal spirits, inclined to be wild, quick to anger, but as quick to forgive and noble and generous at heart. William is delicate quiet and studious, the model of the town and his father's favorite, but a bit hypocritical. Lucile prefers the wild Jack and they have secretly plighted their troth unbeknown to their fathers or to William. Scene I: Both Brothers Love Lucile. At the opening of the first scene Lucile and her father are seated out on the lawn of their home. As Lucile is reading a letter the maid has brought her they hear someone approaching and both rise to greet the two brothers, Jack and William, who have stopped in on their morning ride to pay their respects. As greetings are exchanged the hands of the four cross and Lucile laughingly calls attention to the old saying that such a hand crossing means a marriage within a year. Both brothers look self-conscious at this. Now William shows Mr. Ward some investments he made the day before, while Jack and Lucile become engrossed in each other. Soon they stroll away. William plainly shows his displeasure at this and after a moment begs Mr. Ward to excuse him and follows them. Jack and Lucile soon reach a secluded part of the grounds. Glancing cautiously around, Jack steals a lover's kiss. But here comes William. He sneeringly remarks that he hopes he is not intruding and reminds Jack of an important business engagement. As he leaves, Jack and Lucile follow, butt manage to steal a kiss while his back is turned. Scene II: Lucile Refuses William. Scene III: William's Jealousy is Aroused. Scene IV: William Plans Jack's Disgrace. He sees Jack's coat on the ground. Here is a chance to be rid of Jack as a rival. At first he hesitates. Then his mind made up. He picks up the coat and drawing money and valuable papers from his pocket, he places them in the pocket. Scene V: Next Morning, the Accusation, Jack Disowned. Jack bewildered, but not angry at his father's little faith in him says, "Yes, I will go, never to return." He turns to William, who retreats in fear, then is leaving when Lucile grief-stricken steps forward and holds out her hand. He takes it, bids her a passionate good-bye and rushes away, leaving his weeping father heart-broken and William triumphantly smiling. Scene VI: A Vision of Lucile Turns Jack Homeward. Scene VII: William's Dying Confession. Scene VIII: Home and Happiness. It is the day of William's funeral. His wasted body has been laid away in the family vault. Lucile and her father accompanied Mr. Ward home and now after bidding him good-bye they go slowly down the path leaving the desolate old man standing alone as if too afraid to enter his lonely house where he had hoped one day would resound the merry voices of his grandchildren. As Lucile and her father turn from the outer gate they hear a cry and turn to find Jack beside them. Lucile flies to his arms. In a few hurried words they tell of William's dying confession. Jack's lips tremble for he has always loved this brother of his. Now all hasten back to the house. They find Mr. Ward just as they left him gazing out hopelessly with sorrowful eyes. The future holds nothing for him. One son is dead, the other lost to him by his own rash temper. Suddenly he hears the word "father" spoken softly and turns to find Jack standing before him. With a glad cry father and son embrace. Now Jack takes Lucile in his arms and Mr. Ward extends his hand to Major Crandon, for while he still thinks sorrowfully of the erring son he has just laid away, he sees here the consummation of his dearest wish, the union of their two families.
- The widow Lane learns from the reading of her late husband's will that if she marries again she will lose the $1,700 a year, which he has provided her. Perk Cherry, proprietor of the village barrel shop, reads in the newspaper of the widow's income, and decides that this is the chance for a handsome bachelor. Procuring a bouquet of flowers, he proceeds to call on the dusky widow. Shortly after his arrival, another guest, in the person of Roost Sweet, the village swell, puts in an appearance. Perk believing he has no chance against the swell, takes his departure. Arriving at the barber shop, he writes a note to Roost, asking him to cease his attentions to the widow, and stating he will sell his complete emporium for $30. This looks good to Roost. He borrows $30 from the widow and buys the barber shop. The next day, when calling on the widow, and during her absence from the room. Roost reads the will and finds that the widow is cut off if she marries again. As soon as an opportunity presents itself, Roost goes back to his barber shop, and writes to the widow, canceling their engagement. This angers the young woman, who calls on Roost and makes things a trifle lively for him. Perk calls on the widow, and between them they scheme to get the best of Roost. The widow furnishes the money to purchase a barber shop outfit. She fits up her parlor and enters into a partnership with Perk, while Roost waits in vain for customers.
- Ham has at last found a job, and he really works. In fact he works so hard that The Mysterious Stranger, a Hindu mystic, endows him with power to win Norma. Bud, without the aid of The Mysterious Stranger, is in strong with Norma and takes her in a canoe for a spin on the lake. But The Mysterious Stranger has the goods, for lo and behold, Ham, pushing his lawn mower before him, actually walks out of the water and across the lake in pursuit of Bud and Norma. He captures Norma and sets out to buy a flivver car. Bud succeeds in stalling The Mysterious Stranger's package of all-powerful pills. From then on life is just one flivver after another for Ham, for each one he purchases ends in smithereens. As long as he has $1.98 left he buys another. As Bud's jealous hand is at the bottom of the trouble you can imagine the fate in store for Ham when he finally sets out with Norma in a car and Bud, in disguise, is at the wheel. It's a riotous, breath-breaking ride, and finally ends when the car, Ham, Bud and Norma all race off the end of the pier.
- Kentish, recently arrived from England, is astounded to discover in the locket dropped by Ethel Porter, a photo of Stingaree. The Englishman shrewdly suspects Ethel of being in love with the bushranger. Later, Kentish is a passenger on the stagecoach held up by Stingaree. When the bushranger departs with the stolen mail bags, Kentish follows. First, however, the man scribbles a note, which he requests the driver to deliver to the police inspector at the next station, with instructions that it be opened at six o'clock, should he fail to return with the mail bags. Hearing Kentish approach, Stingaree holds the man up. To the bushranger's amazement, the Englishman calmly informs him that he knows his real identity. He also tells Stingaree that unless the mail bags are delivered up to him, the letter in the police inspector's hands will inform this officer as to who the bushranger really is. It develops that Kentish had known Stingaree prior to the outlaw's' exile from England and that he entertains a strong feeling of sympathy for him. This, together with the desire that his identity remain secret, causes Stingaree to turn the mail bags over to Kentish and help the man reach the spot where the stagecoach is to pick him up. The Englishman returns to the station just in time to prevent his letter from being opened. The man hastens to see Ethel, to whom he tells his adventure. In the light which shines in the girl's eyes, Kentish finds his reward.
- Agnes is the trusted secretary of the president of the Hopewell Rubber Company and is in love with Tom, the president's son. Tom returns from South America with a new formula for the manufacture of rubber. Newspaper reporters visit the vessel when it arrives in quarantine but succeed in securing little information from the young manufacturer. However, from advice they have gathered they take it upon themselves to publish an article calling attention to Tom's possession of the new formula. When the article comes to the notice of Hasting, the manager of a rival rubber company, he becomes alarmed and determines to secure the formula by strategy. He is given a cold reception when he attempts to bribe Agnes and therefore, resorting to desperate means, he employs two accomplices to assist him in entering the office of the Hopewell Company. That night Agnes and Tom go for a drive and take her pet dog along with them. As they pass the office building they notice a light in the window and go up to investigate. They discover Hastings and his men busy at the safe and they are made prisoners in the private office. Tom and Agnes succeed in removing their bonds and attempt to write a note beseeching help. They can find neither pencil nor pen and fear that the noise of the typewriter will alarm the robbers. Agnes therefore places a blank record on the phonograph, dictates a cry for help, and the cylinder is placed around the dog's neck. The dog, lowered from the window, runs to the Hopewell home. Hopewell's butler discovers the phonographic record and places it on the machine. He arouses his employer and both hasten to the office, accompanied by two policemen, in time to liberate Agnes and Tom and affect the capture of the criminals.
- John and Mack, two modern Munchausens, decide to hunt big game in the jungle and do not overlook the notebooks in which they are to keep an account of their experiences. On the border of the jungle John shoots a rabbit and makes the following notation in his diary: "Killed before breakfast this morning, two lions, three elephants and one giraffe." In their travels the brave hunters are pursued by a ferocious lion and hastily climb a palm tree. The lion leaves in disgust but continues the chase when the unsuspecting hunters descend. John and Mack discover a band of cannibals in the distance and find themselves between two fires. They take a chance on the cannibals, however, as the lion is close at their heels, but they find they have left the frying pan to fall into the fire. The cannibals prepare for a feast day and John, taking out his notebook, inscribes: "Captured by the cannibals on the 17th of March. Good-bye." While making this notation he observes a statement in the book that an eclipse of the son is scheduled. Just at that moment the sky begins to darken and John, playing upon the credulity of the savages, claims to be responsible for the extinguishing of the sun. The natives fall prostrate and the mighty hunters make their escape.
- Hattie, the village belle, has many admirers to whom she offers little encouragement. Rube, a country boy, arrives in town and secures a position in the grocery store, where his gallantry and salesmanship win Hattie's heart. Consumed with jealousy the boys determine to humble Rube. They invite the gullible youth to accompany them on a snipe hunt. When they reach a lonely spot Rube is given a sack to hold and is informed by the boys that they will go out and drive in the snipes. The boys, however, go home and Rube waits all night in vain. Next morning Hattie decides to invite Rube to a "picnic for two" and she prepares a fine lunch. As she approaches the village she discovers the plight of the grocery clerk. Hattie explains to Rube that he has been made the victim of a deep laid plot and they proceed to enjoy the lunch. When the boys return to have the laugh on Rube they find to their amazement that they have merely promoted his love affair.
- David Blair, foreman of the Red River Ranch, asks John Durham, owner of the ranch, for his consent to marry his daughter Rachel. The rancher, refusing, the young lovers decide to elope. Riding to the nearest settlement they are quickly married, and ride to a small cabin close to the top of a nearby mountain, where the young couple plan to live as brother and sister while waiting for forgiveness from Rachel's father. Allen Ford, a cowboy employed on an adjacent ranch, while traveling over the mountains, becomes lost and sustains an injury through a gall. The accident is witnessed by Rachel, who quickly calls David from the cabin and he works his way to the injured stranger. Finding him apparently badly hurt, Blair throws him over his shoulder and carries him to his temporary home, where he is introduced to Rachel as Blair's sister. As Ford convalesces, he falls in love with his handsome nurse. This causes an unpleasant situation, and as soon as he is able to travel, he is invited to leave. In the meantime the rancher Durham has relented, and offers a reward for information leading to the location of Blair and his daughter. Ford, seeing the advertisement, and thinking that Blair is to be arrested for some crime, out of revenge, goes to the nearest town and informs the sheriff of the hiding place in the little mountain cabin, offering to lead the way to the couple's retreat. On arriving at the mountain top, the sheriff hands Rachel a note reading: "My daughter Rachel has eloped and married my foreman, David Blair. I will pay $100.00 in gold to anyone who will reach and assure them of my pardon, providing they return home to the ranch at once." This note was as pleasant a surprise to the happy couple as it was disappointing to Ford.
- Foster sister of the Duchess d'Aubeterre, Madeline, marries Jean Renaud, a French soldier, and has a daughter named Adrienne. Five years later, on a battlefield, Renaud is entrusted by the Count de Moray with jewels and papers proving that Adrienne is his heir. After Moray's death, Renaud gives everything to Madeline and then returns to the battle. Lazarre, who had followed Renaud, then goes to Madeline and demands the jewels. Madeline's refusal awakens Adrienne, but Madeline quiets her by saying that her father is home. When Madeline still refuses Lazarre's request, he stabs her. Later, Adrienne tells the neighbors that her father had just been with her mother. Renaud is sentenced to prison for life, after which the Duchess adopts Adrienne. Many years later, Adrienne re-encounters her father and eventually the true murderer is revealed and Renaud is pardoned.
- Red Fox, an Indian brave, wins White Doe, the chief's daughter, but to emphasize the fickleness of the Indian husband he becomes enamored of Mary, a settler's daughter. Finding that his pleas for her love have no effect on the white girl he captures her and binding her to a tree, leaves her to think over in solitude his request that she become wife no. 2. White Doe, discovering what her husband has done, liberates the white girl and while guiding her through the forest they are overtaken by Red Fox, who recaptures the white girl, Binding thongs around her wrists he throws the ends of the thongs over the limb of a tree, making them fast. Jack Howard, a hunter, shooting at a deer misses the animal and by chance cuts the thongs that hold Mary in her uncomfortable position. She cries out and on the arrival of the hunter who follows the sound of her voice, she falls fainting to the ground. Jack quickly revives her and takes her to her home. Just as they are about to enter her father's cabin, Red Fox, having discovered her escape and having trailed the hunter and Mary, attempts a vicious attack on the white man, but is shot in the wrist by White Dor. Jack is inclined to make short work of the Indian, but Mary interferes. Hurrying into the cabin, she brings forth an Indian peace pipe that has previously been given to her and tells them all they must smoke the pipe of peace. At first Red Fox refuses, but Mary begs him, and they all take a puff from the pipe. Red Fox now repentant makes his peace with White Doe and they disappear into the forest.
- On the wide waste of waters a raft is seen. Upon it are a man and a woman. We can enter into their sufferings, for we see the man rise and shake a white fabric in the air as if hailing approaching deliverance. But when the deliveries arrive they find the man dead and his wife also no more. When they reach the raft they also see beside the dead bodies the live one of a child. This is, as it were, the prologue of the story. Fifteen years pass and we see the child grown into a girl, who attracts the attentions of a banker's son living in her neighborhood. She yields to his embraces. It is soon evident that he is not sincere in his protestations, for he seeks the hand of another girl more his social equal. Then the fisher-lad lover of the girl witnesses the banker boy's fickle act and subsequently both young men quarrel over the sea waif. She, however, interferes and parts the contestants. The story leads us to the grave of the girl's parents, over which the banker's son tells the girl of his approaching marriage to another woman. On learning this news the girl swoons across the grave of her parents, and there she is found later in the night by her fisher lover, Dan. The little story ends with the mutual embraces of the lovers, who, it is to be assumed, are never more to be parted.
- This is a dramatization of a real episode of the Revolutionary War. No attempt has been made to deviate in the slightest from the original pretty story which is immortalized in many of the early school readers. Captain Roger Bacon, an officer in the Continental Army, is in love with Betty Wadsworth, a true patriot. The campaign has centered around the section in which the Wadsworth mansion is located and a party of gay young Hessian officers take possession of the fine old house and make it their headquarters. Captain Bacon in the meantime has been corresponding with Betty, and when she puts up a plan to outwit and overcome the Hessians he readily falls in with it. Betty organizes a little party in honor of the Hessian officers, nod after a cotillion an old-fashioned game of forfeits is proposed. In this game the Hessian officers are induced to surrender their side arms, to be won back during the progress of the game. As soon as the Hessians are disarmed, however, a signal is given to the waiting patriots outside: doors and windows are flung open and Captain Bacon with his men burst in and take the hapless Hessians captive. Every scene in this production is vouched for by the Kalem Company as a true picture of stirring times in New England during the period of the Revolutionary War, and as such the film is of the highest educational value. It will be noted that the gowns worn by the women of the Kalem stock Company in this production are originals in possession of the owners of the mansion about which the picture was made.
- Ruth finds a catalogue issued by the Smokem Tobacco Company, announcing that a grand piano will be given for one million coupons. She declares that she will marry the man who secures the piano and soon a "smoky battle" takes place. But alas, when Tom and Dick have accumulated the required amount of coupons, a law is passed prohibiting their redemption, and Harry, who has never acquired the tobacco habit, wins the day by purchasing the coveted piano.
- In a spirit of fun Jack wagers with Ned that he can hold up the stagecoach with his straight-stem pipe. Both men are in love with Nell and Ned sees an opportunity to gain the ascendancy over his rival. Ned takes passage on the coach and with the other travelers turns over his valuables to the supposed highwaymen. In gathering up the passengers' belongings that he may return them and claim his wager. Jack inadvertently leaves his pipe by the roadside and and Indian picks it up. Meanwhile, the stage returns to inform the authorities and Ned accompanies the sheriff's posse to capture the robber. They meet Jack on his way home and the young man is overwhelmed when Ned repudiates the wager. As Jack has lost his pipe he cannot convince the sheriff that he has merely been perpetrating a joke. A trial is held and the evidence of Ned and the other passengers convicts Jack. The sheriff and deputies lead Jack to a lonely tree for execution. Nearly prostrate with grief, Nell comes to the stage-house and implores her friends to intercede for Jack--to no avail. Just as she is about to abandon hope, the Indian who has been sleeping on the porch extracts the pipe and starts to fill it. Nell recognizes it as Jack's and orders the Indian to accompany her to the tree, where her sweetheart's innocence is established.
- The seven-year-old son of the night operator is on a handcar racing to certain destruction when Helen pursues on an engine. By a daring feat she succeeds in lifting the youngster from the handcar to the engine in the nick of time as the handcar crashes to splinters under the wheels of a passenger coach.
- Sambo, engaged to Verbena, receives $10 from Rastus, his rival, upon condition that he surrender the girl. Verbena discovers that Sambo has the ten-spot and makes him spend it on her. Rastus demands that Sambo live up to the agreement. Aided by Verbena, the lover beats him up. On the day of the wedding. Sambo steals a suit from a second-hand shop and runs home with it. He finds Rastus waiting for him. Without the aid of the husky Verbena, he falls an easy victim to Rastus' fists. The latter dons the stolen suit and departs for Verbena's house. Sambo meets the clothing dealer and a policeman. He leads them to the scene of the festivities. Rastus is arrested wearing the stolen suit, while Verbena and Sambo are made one.
- The opening scenes take place just as the war was being declared. Miss Betsy, the heroine, has two lovers, one of Southern tendencies, the other loyal to the North. The Northern young man has been previously favored by the girl, but when he has announced his choice he is cast aside and leaves to join the Northern army with the idea that his sweetheart is lost to him forever. As the war is about to close, however, the action brings his regiment into the neighborhood of the girl's home, and while on special duty he is pursued by Confederates and is forced to take refuge in the girl's house. The girl, wavering between love and duty, yields to the former, and the fugitive is hid in an old linen chest and his pursuers turned off the track. He is captured later on, however, and is condemned and is about to die as a spy when the news comes that the war is ended. Convinced by the girl's interference in his behalf that she still loves him, he returns to her home and claims her hand. He is not wrong surmise. She loves him as much as before and he is again accepted, although not before he and his former rival, the Confederate captain, have shaken hands and have pledged to forget the past and renew the friendship of the Blue and the Gray.
- Malva, a seventeen-year-old purse-snatcher, escapes from a pursuing policeman by dodging into the Rescue Mission. Services are being conducted by Deverill, a young minister. His sermon shows the girl the way to a new life. Malva's father and brother, Dave, plan to rob a store. Ulster, a sneak thief, overhears them and demands to be taken along. His request denied, the man becomes abusive and Dave knocks him down. In revenge, Ulster turns informer. Dave and his father find the police ready for them. Dave is arrested after a hard chase and struggle. The father escapes, although desperately wounded. The man staggers home and bursts in upon Malva. The girl runs to Deverill for assistance. The minister returns to the house with Malva just as the father dies. Deverill takes Malva to his home. His mother makes her a member of the household. Two years later, Dave is released and searches for his sister. Finding her happily located, he decides to blackmail her. The brother has learned of Ulster's treachery. Ulster has also discovered Malva's whereabouts and plans to rob the house. Dave, waiting in the library, hears a sound at the window. Ulster forces the window open and climbs into the room. Dave pounces upon him. Ulster attempts to use his pistol. In the struggle, the weapon is fired and Ulster is killed by his own bullet. Dave escapes, Deverill finds the body and is later accused of the crime. He is placed under arrest. Malva knows of the feud between her brother and Ulster. She returns to the underworld and finds Dave. Through strategy, she gets him to confess his crime. The man is arrested and Deverill freed. The minister has grown to love Malva and upon his release, makes her his wife.
- Old Tom Wells, a victim of drink, is unable to pay the rent when young landlord Steve arrives; his stormy interview is broken by the appearance of Tom's daughter Alice, whom the landlord has made many unsuccessful efforts to court. Alice, who has given her promise to Martin, an industrious young farmer, entreats with her father to overcome his weakness. Wells, knowing he will he dispossessed, becomes desperate and starts for the village to secure money. He is tempted to steal Steve's horse, but is discovered by the landlord, who declares that he will have the old man imprisoned if he does not force Alice to consent to the marriage. The unhappy father therefore refuses to permit Martin to visit Alice, to whom he explains that he is in the landlord's power. Alice sacrifices her happiness and marries Steve. Wells makes his home with the young couple but finds that he is in the way. Steve is harsh, often cruel, and the old man is finally obliged to leave the farm. Meanwhile, heartbroken Martin leaves for the village, unable to bear the sight of the old places where he has known so much happiness. Wells, in his journey, falls by the wayside and dispatches a note to Martin, beseeching him to look after the unhappy daughter. Steve meets a young woman with whom he determines to elope and he returns home to secure his money. He discovers Alice weeping over an old photograph of Martin and attacks her. Martin, fulfilling his trust, arrives on the scene and is confronted with Steve's revolver. In the struggle the pistol is accidentally discharged and the unfaithful husband is killed. As the days pass. Martin;s true love makes Alice forget her past unhappiness.
- After escaping from jail. Ham and Bud conceive the idea of becoming policemen when they see a "copper" remove a few bananas from a fruit stand and stroll away without bothering to pay for them. Ham is accepted, but Bud is disqualified on account of his height. However, he accompanies Ham on his beat. Willie Mackarel. the prison keeper, is in love with the warden's daughter. When all other methods fail, he decides to use the "cave man" method of courtship, and is successful in making away with his sweetheart. They are spooning in the park, when they are seen from a distance by Ham and Bud. Ham decides to stop the "flirtation." But when he finds that the culprit is his old Nemesis, the keeper, he and Bud flee for their lives. The keeper catches them, but promises them a chance to make a getaway if they will get him a minister. When Bud, disguised as a minister, comes upon the scene simultaneously with the enraged warden, things begin to happen and finally end up in a whirlwind climax when Ham and Bud are pursued by the keeper in a boat which happens to have no bottom. They finally forsake the water for the sky, when the keeper hurls a stick of dynamite which land in Ham and Bud's boat.
- Thursday morning. Everything goes wrong. Wife leaves a note for her husband reading: "I am going away for a little rest. If I don't do anything to suit, you won't miss me. Jane." Wife retires to the hayloft and watches developments. Thursday noon. Wife's plan isn't working. Thursday evening. Wife can't stand it without the children. Wife makes a clandestine visit to the house for food and is suspected of being a burglar. Friday morning. Wife is hungry. Suspicious noises induce hubby to call the police. Captured.
- Grant, police reporter on The New York Chronicle, is assigned to interview Jenny Dobbs on her sixtieth birthday. Jenny, the richest woman in the United States, has the reputation of being the meanest. She refuses Grant the interview, but his disappointment is assuaged when he makes the acquaintance of Jenny's niece, Claire. "Two-Spot" Thomey, a confidence man, learns that Jenny has in her possession two hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of bonds. While she is on her way to the butcher shop to do her own shopping, he kidnaps her in a taxi and takes her to a room in a tenement in Throgg's Neck. There he fails to force her in sign an order for the bonds, and determines to keep her a prisoner until she agrees to sign. Worried over her aunt's failure to return from the butcher shop, Claire seeks the assistance of her friend, Tom Grant. He promises to look her aunt up, but the next day he has nothing but failure to report. He takes Claire out to lunch in the Shanghai Café. There Grant sees a man whom he recognizes as Phil Kelsey, who poses as a doctor, but who, in reality, is a confidence man. Thomey enters and sits down at the table with Kelsey. Grant overhears him say, "Yes, old Jenny Dobbs, I've got her up at Throgg's Neck, but I can't get her to come across." Kelsey says, "Take me to her; I think I can make her see things your way." When they leave the café and jump into a taxi, Grant and Claire follow them. Arrived at Throgg's Neck, Grant sees the two conspirators enter the house and lock the door after them. But he manages to gain a point of vantage by scaling fire-escapes to the roof of the next building. From here he sees Kelsey trying to force Jenny to sign the order by threatening her with a small, sharp knife. Grant appropriates the flagpole from the roof, winds the rope around it, stretches the pole across to the roof of the house in which Jenny is a prisoner, and by catching hold of the end of the rope and jumping off the roof, Grant is able to lower himself to Jenny's window and at the same time swing across to her building. He leaps through the window, just in time to save her. Claire has, meanwhile, gone for the police, who arrive and make Thomey and Kelsey prisoners. Jenny produces the bonds out of her old umbrella, awards Grant with fifty cents for his trouble, and is persuaded to consent to an interview.
- Upon learning that a gang of smugglers are using freight cars to bring Chinamen across the border, the railroad officials order all employees to keep a strict watch for traffic of this nature. Daniels, Helen's relief, is a member of the smuggling band and keeps in touch with his chief by means of messages concealed in oranges. Helen gets one of the fruit by mistake and in opening it, discovers that a number of Chinamen are due to be smuggled across the border inside a freight car that morning. Daniels, learning that Helen is aware of his gang's operations, reports to his chief. The smugglers descend upon the station and bind and gag the girl before she can give the alarm. Helen is thrown into the baggage room. Casey, her dog, tries to aid his mistress and finally leaps out of the window. His antics cause several trainmen to follow him, and the animal leads them to the station. Helen's predicament is discovered and she is freed. By this time, the smugglers have loaded several cases containing Chinamen, into a freight car. Seeing Helen and the trainmen approaching the criminals hold up the engine crew of the freight and compel the men to pull out of the station. Nothing daunted, Helen and her men commandeer a locomotive and go in pursuit. In accordance with Helen's plan, the locomotive overhauls the freight and passes it. Reaching a bridge Helen makes a leap for the brace bar and then climbs hand over hand until she is directly above the center of the parallel track. The freight approaches and Helen drops to the roof of one of the cars. Taking Daniels by surprise, she wrests his revolver from him and holds up the rest of his band. The freight is halted and the smugglers placed under arrest.
- The fact that the building of the dam at Fenwood would be unconstitutional and would rob the citizens of the town of their homes, mattered nothing to George Marvin, of the Marvin Water Corporation. And he orders his attorney, Jason Williams, to draw up a bill for the legislature authorizing the construction of the project. But Williams, who loves Alice, Marvin's daughter, refuses to be a party to the scheme and informs his employer that he does not propose to aid him in breaking the laws of the State. Furious, Marvin discharges him, and when Alice declares her determination to help her sweetheart, she is ordered from the house. The bill is rushed through the legislature by Marvin's tools, and signed by a corrupt governor. The passage of this bill causes a tremendous sensation and the people of Fenwood appeal to Williams to act as their attorney and save their homes. Rushing to the capital. Williams secures an injunction from the Supreme Court halting Marvin's men just as they are in the act of evicting the Fenwood citizens from their homes. When the injunction is made permanent, the people are wild with joy, and in their gratitude announce their determination to make Williams their next member of Congress. Balked at every turn, Marvin finally acknowledges his defeat and becomes reconciled to Williams and Alice, giving them his blessing.
- Tom and Joe, brakemen on the N. and O. Railroad, are the best of friends until Ruth, the new operator, arrives at Crawley. The rivalry to gain her favor, friendly at first, soon causes the old friendship to give way to enmity. Tom is promoted to the position of freight conductor. On his first run a hot-box delays the train and the conductor upbraids Joe for his carelessness. The brakeman, envious of Tom's promotion and angered because of the reprimand, concludes to further delay the train. He shuts off a steam-cock and climbs on the caboose. Reaching a downgrade the train gains speed and the engineer is unable to control it. The brakeman attempts to alight but he is obliged to stay on the train. Tom has received orders to hold the freight at Whitmark that the eastbound passenger may pass, and when the train dashes by the siding hie works his way over the box cars to the cab and learns from the horrified engineer that the train cannot be stopped. The conductor sees that the hand brakes are applied and realizing that something desperate must be done he places a message in a lantern and throws it through a station window. The operator receives the warning and endeavors to hold the passenger at Spotford, only to find that the train has left on time. At the little wayside station at Crawley, Ruth comes on duty and overhears the message of the frantic operator passing over her wires. She rushes to the switch, breaks the lock with a stone and sidetracks the runaway train. In a few seconds the passenger flashes by. Tom learns that the air-brakes have been tampered with and Joe by attempting to steal away incriminates himself.
- Grim meets Valeria, an heiress, at Mrs, Masterly's home, Hume, a fortune hunter who aspires to Valeria's hand, becomes intensely jealous when he learns that Grim has fallen in love with her. Perceiving this, Valeria who cares nothing for Grim, flirts with him out of sheer mischief. A bank failure wipes out Valeria's fortune. The girl discovers Hume's real character when the fortune hunter hears of her misfortune. Grim, however, begs Valeria to marry him. Piqued by Hume's action, the girl consents. A revulsion of feeling overcomes the girl immediately after the ceremony and she tells Grim she hates him. Too proud to plead with his wife, Grim departs for the west on business. During his absence Hume endeavors to see Valeria. Heavily in debt, the ne'er-do-well steals a purse dropped by his friend Travis. The latter learns of Hume's contemptible act after the money has been spent. He gives the man twenty-four hours in which to return the money. Desperate, Hume calls up Valeria late that night. The girl reluctantly consents to see him. The wretch informs her of Travis' threat and begs her for money. Amazed, Valeria shrinks from him just as Grim returns home. Filled with cold fury, the husband drives Hume from the house. The following morning, Valeria is informed that her husband has instituted proceedings for divorce. Grim leaves on a hunting trip in an effort to forget what has happened. Valeria, who has discovered that she loves her husband, ascertains his destination and follows him. While pursuing a bear, the husband steps into a bear trap. His agonized cries are heard by Valeria who comes to his rescue. Later comes the knowledge of his wife's love for him. His heart filled with joy. Grim takes her in his arms.
- Sis is the maid in the Higgins home, adjoining that of Prof. Doolittle, a physical culture specialist. Sis takes up the study of "fysical culture" with disastrous results, for her throwing out of the medicine ball renders the Doolittle maid a subject for hospital treatment. Sis is then loaned to the Professor's establishment. On that night the perfect maid had planned with her pal to get away with the family plate. Sis and the Professor plan an elopement, the Professor's sister and Skull N. Bones, the local undertaker, plan the same thing, the pal arrives to carry out his plan with the maid, and detectives who have beard the maid delirious talk in the hospital, appear to frustrate the scheme. Naturally there is a mix-up of considerable proportions with a goodly share of laughs before matters are straightened out.
- Paul Brooks, a heavily-bearded man, registers at the Grand Hotel and asks for a room without bath. The man is assigned to No. 12, next to No. 14, occupied by Brant, who had registered earlier in the day. Rooms 12, 14 and 16 really comprise a suite, but have doors which, when locked, allow the rooms to be rented separately. Late that night Jenkins, a diamond buyer in No. 16, is attacked by a masked man, who enters from the next room. The thief is temporarily frustrated and goes back to No. 14. When Francis and Hilton investigate, they find Brant, bound and gagged, in a chair. The man declares he had been overpowered by the burglar. Two hours later, Jenkins is again attacked and this time five big diamonds are taken. The house detectives, investigating, find Brant has disappeared. Out in the hall they meet Brooks, carrying soap and towel, and clad in pajamas, coming from the bath room. The diamond salesman finds something strangely familiar about Brooks and imparts this suspicion to the house detectives. The latter spy upon the man and see him carefully place the soap in his trunk. Overpowering Brooks they examine the soap and find it contains the stolen diamonds. Brooks confesses that he and Brant are one and the same person. After the first attempt to rob Jenkins, he had removed his beard and played Brant. The robbery perpetrated, he retreated to No. 12 and assumed his disguise, donning pajamas and going to the bath room to establish an alibi.
- Jack is becoming altogether too attentive to Dorothy to suit her mother, so she ships her off to Aunt Clara. As her aunt has never seen her, Dorothy considers it a bright idea when she meets Sis on the way to the same house, to accept a job as maid to change places, since she will thus be able to see Jack without any trouble. So Sis is installed as the "young lady of the house," while Dorothy becomes the maid. But the arrival of Sis' persistent suitor, none other than Indifferent Ignatz, results in a mix-up that gets everybody in a tangle before Dorothy's mother comes to expose the whole affair.
- Showing how a sketch team nearly raised a riot at Coytesville.
- Tom reclines lazily in his Morris chair. The pipe between his teeth is drawing well. His eyes scan the pages of the book of Indian tales until the type blurs. The young man's head nods, his eyelids droop. Tom is accidentally shot while on a hunting trip in Bear Canyon. Eagle Heart and his sister, Mountain Dew, arrive upon the scene. The Indian maid treats the wound. The young man loses his heart to Mountain Dew. When Eagle Heart learns of this he interferes. He tells Tom that he and his sister have sworn to have nothing to do with the palefaces. The story he tells is so vivid that Tom seems to visualize the incidents. According to Eagle Heart, a band of white trappers attacked the camp of his people when he and Mountain Dew were children. In the battle both their parents were slain. The orphans ran from the camp in fright and sought shelter at the cabin of a settler. The latter drove them off, however. Later, Eagle Heart and Mountain Dew found the camp of another tribe, where they were adopted by an old squaw. As they grew up, the children swore to hate the palefaces because of the wrongs the latter had heaped upon them. Tom tries in vain to overcome the Indian's objections. Although Mountain Dew loves the white man, she silently departs with her brother. Tom becomes conscious of a burning sensation in his shoulder. He leaps to his feet. For a moment he stares wildly about him. The familiar walls of his room restore him to his senses. During his slumber, the pipe had slipped to his shoulder, where a spark from the bowl had burnt through his clothes to the flesh. He picks up the book of Indian tales he had been reading. For a moment he scans its pages. Then with a sigh for the Indian maid of his dream, he lays the book aside.
- Nellie and Jane, two fifteen-year-old girls, are the pupils of Rosy Rossisky. They are employed in a department store owned by Henry Burden. Nellie is employed at the cashier's desk, while Jane is a salesgirl. Jane, by sending the purses she steals to Nellie through the pneumatic tube escapes detection. Walker, department manager, is accused by a customer of having stolen her purse. Jane has taken this purse and has sent it to Nellie via the tube. Walker takes the angry woman to Burden's office. The owner is inclined to believe the department manager guilty. Grace, Burden's daughter, loves Walker and determines to investigate. Suspecting Jane, she leaves her diamond pendant on the counter. The salesgirl falls into the trap. That night, the two students of the female Fagin turn all their proceeds over to their teacher. They keep the pendant, however. Jane wears it to a motion picture theater. Grace sees the piece of jewelry on the girl's neck and knows she has found the perpetrators of the thefts. The following day, she takes Nellie's place at the tube. A few hours later she receives a purse that has been stolen by Jane and sent up. The two girls are taken to Burden's office, where they confess their guilt. Jane tells of their schooling in crime by Rosy Rossisky. Walker, Grace, the store superintendent and an officer accompany the girls to their home. The female Fagin suspects the girls of having betrayed her. Turning the key in the door, she attempts to throttle Jane. Nellie opens the door and Walker, the superintendent, and the policeman overpower the woman after a hard struggle. Repenting of his unjust suspicion concerning the department manager. Burden gives his consent to Walker's marriage with Grace. The two take Jane and Nellie into their home where, freed from the influence of the female Fagin, their redemption is affected.
- Johnson, the owner of fertile Western acres, secures exclusive control of the water supply by constructing a large dam and refuses to allow his neighbors irrigation privileges. The owners of adjoining lands make vehement protest, but to no avail, and Johnson becomes known as "the Water Hog." Grace Lewis purchases the ranch next to Johnson's land, and arriving on the scene, she finds that the arid tract is practically valueless because of the Water Hog's high-handed control. She, too, makes a protest, but can accomplish nothing. The spirited girl determines to show Johnson that he has gone too far. Under the cover of darkness, she directs a party of men who destroy the dam. They hide on a hill nearby, and, heavily armed, prepare to thwart the efforts of Johnson's men to reconstruct the dam, which has caused all of the trouble. But Johnson is not to be dealt with so easily. He declares he will fight to a finish, and, securing arms for his men, he endeavors to drive Grace's party from the hill. When things are going against Grace, Ralph, Johnson's son, who has recently returned from college, climbs up the hill to overpower his father's enemy. To his amazement he finds a girl with whom he has already fallen in love, and he hears Grace's side of the story. As a result, he prepares a paper for his father to sign, which forces Johnson to discontinue his interference with the neighbors. Johnson is not inclined to give up the fight, but Ralph's statement that he will tell the whole ranch how one girl held off the Johnson party, enables the young man to carry his point.
- John, in order to get off for a day's fishing, tells his boss he is sick. Being excused from work he hurries home, secures his rod and basket, says good-bye to his wife and rushes off for a day's sport. After a long and tiresome wait John lands a fish. While he is baiting his hook a sea-gull swoops down and secures John's catch. This so rattles our hero that in the excitement of the moment while throwing the line, the hook catches in the dress of a very pretty girl who is fishing nearby. Through the misunderstanding that arises, John gets into difficulties that result in his being driven from the wharf and into the sea. The story he tells his wife is the usual fish story but it must be seen on the screen to be appreciated.
- As a photographer, Ham convincingly proves himself to be the unluckiest man in seven counties. Bud is to blame for most of Ham's difficulties. For instance, while Ham is talking to some prospective customers, Bud places a seltzer bottle in the camera. As the result, when Ham attempts to snap some pictures, he douses his patrons with water. The sight of Bud doing a war dance in the next room, arouses Ham's suspicion. Without further ado, he aims the camera towards his assistant and almost drowns him. Later, a delegation of firemen visit the studio, but just as they are ready to pose, the fire bell rings. With one accord, the red-shirted heroes dash madly out of the studio, using Ham and his camera as doormats. Angelica Footlights visits the studio with her son Billie. In reply to Ham's queries as to what pose she desires to assume, Angelica removes her cloak and stands before the photographer clad only in tights. In an effort to recover his self-possession, Ham stalks out of the room, takes a kick at Bud, and then returns to the scene. The kick makes Bud anxious to square accounts. Filling a flashlight pan with nitro-glycerin and gunpowder, he gives it to Ham and hotfoots it to safety. Unaware of the trick Bud had played upon him, Ham poses Angelica and then puts a match to the explosive. What follows, ruins the studio and buries Ham and his camera under the wreckage.