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- Hugh Carver is an athletic star and a freshman at Prescott College. He falls in love with Cynthia Day, a popular girl who loves to go to parties. He finds that it is impossible to please her and still keep up with his studies and his athletic training, and soon the two face some difficult decisions.
- Following the Spanish-American War, a soldier is given the assignment of finding the leader of a band of rebels in the Phillipines. To do this, he must romance Roma, a cabaret spy working for the rebels. This does not please his commanding officer's daughter, whom he has been romancing.
- Colonel Cavendish's wife has an extravagant interest in Army Lieutenant Billy Brinkley, the hero of the Army/Navy Game. When he is assigned to the Colonel's command, her attentions to him are noted and reproved by her husband, who fears gossip. Billy is in love with her sister, Joy Grayson, whom Captain Sutherland also wishes to marry, although he is carrying on a clandestine affair with the Sergeant's wife, Jane Smedley. His presents to Jane are discovered by the Sergeant and she defiantly acknowledges them. Billy and Joy's engagement arouses the jealousy of both Mrs. Cavendish and Sutherland. At a card party, Sutherland's bad feeling toward Billy crops out and they are only prevented from conflict by the other men present. Billy returns to his quarters to find Mrs. Cavendish awaiting him there. She pleads that she can't give him up to her sister. Billy quiets her and insists upon showing her home. Smedley goes to Sutherland and the same night to beg him to cease his dishonorable attentions to Jane. Sutherland replies insultingly. They quarrel, Sutherland springs upon Smedley. In the struggle between Sutherland and Smedley, Smedley stabs Sutherland, killing him. The murder is discovered at once. Billy suspected and found absent from his quarters. Confronted upon his return, he realizes that he cannot prove an alibi without compromising the Colonel's wife. He is arrested by the civil authorities and at the Central Criminal Court the evidence is strongly against him. Mrs. Cavendish finally breaks down and confesses to her husband that she was the woman with Billy. He demands a public confession from her, in court, to clear Billy. As she is about to confess to the court, Smedley. conscience-stricken, rushes in ahead of her and admits that he killed Sutherland. Billy is accordingly exonerated, and he and Joy are united. Mrs. Cavendish's good name is preserved and Smedley receives his just punishment.
- An inventor, David Hammond is the son of a ship's captain. He leaves his sweetheart, Lisbeth Bixler, and goes to the city to promote his invention. Lisbeth's father, an unsuccessful artist, deserts his family, secretly intending to commit suicide. When he fails to return, "Cap" Hammond protects Bixler's wife and children. David forgets Lisbeth until he returns to perfect his invention and finds that she still loves him. During a fire caused by a flooding of a nearby river, Lisbeth rescues David; and both are picked up by "Cap" Hammond, who has saved the whole village. Bixler returns, his courage renewed, and all are happily reunited.
- Alice sues husband Robert for divorce for adultery. When her lawyer is murdered, her husband is charged. At the murder trial, as each witness speaks, we see the events they describe. A new witness pops up.
- Ira Wilton and his son-in-law Harry Bennett resort to the subterfuge of telling their wives that they are members of the Thirteenth Regiment, to be sure of having a night off each week, Friday night, for the regiment drills. They substantiate their deception by bringing into their little game Ira's daughter Laura and her fiancé Jack Brent, a genuine member of the Thirteenth. Their deception runs along nicely until one Friday night when the men have gone to the club, their wives find the invitation, and are just about to start out when they discover that the water pipe has burst. Laura informs the men by telephone what is discovered, and warns them to hurry home. They arrive and find that the kitchen and dining room are flooded, and, after all has been given a good soaking, Lord Dudley, an admirer of Laura, manages to stop the flow of water. Just as the trouble concerning the flood has subsided, Jack Brent arrives home and tells the men that the Thirteenth has been ordered to the front. The husbands, seeing a good chance to take a little vacation, purchase soldiers' clothing and fall in behind the Thirteenth Regiment as it passes their wives, but slip out as soon as it is out of sight. They then go to the barn, where they substitute their soldiers' habiliments for civilian clothes and then make all possible haste to the lake, where they intend to spend a little vacation. But their vacation is short-lived, for one day they see in the newspapers that the entire Thirteenth regiment has been wiped out. They hurry home to the old barn, where they get into their regimentals as quickly as possible--not forgetting to add a few rents here and there, to make it appear as if they have had a terrible struggle at the front and in escaping. When they arrive home they observe that Mrs. Wilton's brother has returned from the West and promised to take care of the "widows." In reply to Lena's (the fat cook), question concerning her lover Conrad, they were just about to tell her that he died with her name on his lips, when in come Harry and Conrad with the news that the newspaper report was all wrong. Ira and Harry fix it up with Conrad, and Jack, desiring to keep on the right side of the old man, tells the women that the men had a terrible fight, and brother Tom forgets about asking questions when a couple of good cigars are shoved into his mitt.
- Young Jamie loved a lassie and she loved him. His love was strong but his purse was weak, and so he went to sea to make his fortune with which to claim his lassie as his bride. The good ship "Ben Lomond" bore him away, and while he was on the seas the lassie's father had his arm broken, when the gypsies stole their cow and the mother of the lassie was taken sick. They were poor folk and the lassie was obliged to spin and weave, keep the house, care for her father and nurse her mother. "Auld Robin Grey," a friend of the family, generous and true, aids them in the time of their need and kindly bestows his beneficence whenever he can do so without pretension or obtrusion. He likes the father and the mother, but he loves the daughter. He asks her to marry him. Her parents favor good old Robin Grey, but the daughter still loves Jamie, and she cannot give heart and hand to another. Men must work and women must weep, but it seems the poor lassie must do both, for it is not long before there is great sorrow and excitement among the town folk. The ship "Ben Lomond" is announced as wrecked, with Jamie and all on board lost. They try to keep the news from Jenny, but bad news travels quickly, and despite Robin Grey's efforts to have the shock come to her as gently as possible she sees the bulletin posted on the outside of the ship chandler's and is supported from falling by her faithful friend Robin. Giving up her Jamie as gone to a watery grave, she is urged to marry Robin Grey, while her heart is at the bottom of the sea. Robin proves a good husband and she tries to be a good wife to him, although she does not love him. Like one from the dead Jamie escapes the wreck and comes back to claim Jennie's hand and heart. She can scarcely believe she sees aright, and she is not easily convinced that her Jamie is alive and talking to her, and when she does realize it she tells him she is the wife of "Auld Robin Grey," and he is a good man and she will do her best to be a faithful wife to him. Jamie and she kiss and then part from each other, to go their own ways as their consciences direct.
- Street people Armand and Marie are madly in love, and she persuades Armand and other gang members to rob the home of Pierre Marcel, a wealthy scientist. The police break up the robbery but Pierre hides Armand from them because he kept a gang member from stabbing him, but Armand is wounded in doing so. When Armand regains his health, Pierre takes him around town and introduces him to many women, and Armand has no objections. Marie - jealous of the women - swears revenge on Marcel. They meet and he falls in love with her, and they are married while Armand is away in London. On their wedding night, Marie tells Marcel she is an Apache and her revenge is complete, and she rushes into Armand's arms. But another Apache, in love with Marie, wounds her with a gun shot.
- A mother and child are at home alone when she discovers a fire. She calls her husband at the club to come to their aid.
- A harried propman backstage at a theater must put up with malfunctioning wind machines, roosters that spit nitroglycerine, and a gang planning to rob the theater's payroll.
- Madeline Winters--quite stout, coy, and sentimental--is breathless with sympathetic excitement as she finishes for the fourth time the last page of "Flaming Hearts." Nothing will suit her now except writing to the author for his photograph. Jonathan Whippletree--quite portly, and naively proud of his accomplishments--is a man who smiles warmly under the caress of compliments. His vanity is greatly satisfied by words of praise, especially from a woman, so he sends Madeline his photograph. Jonathan Whippletree is more than pleased to receive another scented note from his sweet admirer, thanking him for the photograph and begging him to call, also enclosing in another envelope a picture of herself. When this arrives it is Mr. Whippletree who is pleased, not his very rotund secretary, Mr. William Willies. For William falls desperately in love with Madeline the minute he lays eyes upon her photograph. The favored author makes himself as handsome as he can in his evening clothes and goes to see Miss Madeline Winters. But though she gives him every opportunity to express his feelings, his bashfulness prevents him from doing so. Excusing himself, he hastens to a nearby saloon to get up nerve. He has no trouble doing so, as he is not a drinking man and needs little stimulant to get the desired result. But William will not be outdone. At a wig and make-up shop he buys what will enable him to look like his hated rival and goes to Madeline's house in his new disguise. He makes a great hit with the lady by being anything but bashful, and when the vain author returns Madeline has become so fond of him that even when she learns of his ruse she will not give him up. Jonathan Whippletree tries to kill himself with a razor, a pistol and a bottle of poison, but finally ends his evening by solacing himself at a nearby saloon.
- Jack is orphaned as a young child when his wagon train is ambushed by Indians. Twenty years later, he rescues Rose from a runaway stagecoach. The two fall in love, much to the displeasure of Blaney, who later frames Jack for murder.
- At the outbreak of the Civil War in the United States, the six sons of widow Beecham enlist. The seventh son is very anxious to join the army and fight for his country, but his brothers insist upon his remaining home with his mother. At the "Battle of Bull Run" three of the brothers are killed. The seventh son, fired with patriotism, goes to the front, leaving his old mother alone. He distinguishes himself for bravery, saving his colonel's life during the "Battle of the Wilderness" at which three more of the widow's sons are killed. The youngest boy, his nerves shattered, flees in terror. He is brought up on charges of desertion and sentenced to death. Secretary of War Stanton receives an appeal from the boy's mother, but refuses to recommend his pardon. The widowed mother calls on the President personally. She is granted an interview. Lincoln listens with the tender sympathy for which he was noted. The bereaved mother unbosoms her overburdened soul and tells him of the six graves filled with the bodies of her sons, who fought and died for their country. With tears, she pleads for her last and only boy, the hope and love of her old age. The old lady anxiously awaits his decision and is about to leave his presence when the President calls her back and hands her her boy's pardon, saying: "You have given six sons for your country and I am going to give you the seventh."
- A young woman is released from the reformatory where she was unjustly sent. She starts a new life with the help of a judge and an idealistic young minister. But a gang of criminals have made plans that could destroy the new life that she has built.
- Having tramped the city day after day in search of a job and finding none, Tom Weyman is reduced to desperation. He has an invalid father to support and has spent his last cent. Honesty having failed him, he resolves to try dishonesty. Seeing a house deserted by its occupants for the evening, he climbs to a second story balcony and enters a window. He is seen, however, by two policemen, who at once hurry toward the house. Tom sees them coming and flees as fast as he can, but being weak from starvation, they soon gain upon him and he realizes that to get away he must take a desperate chance. Tom bursts through the fire-lines in front of a burning dwelling and rushes into the house, hoping to be able to get through and out at the back and so escape his pursuers. In the house he hears the cry of a small child upstairs and rushes up to rescue it. By the time that he finds the child, the stairs are alight and it is impossible to get out of the way. He climbs to the roof, and making a rope of clotheslines, he lowers the baby as far as the top of the nearest fire escape. Tom then makes another life line for himself and is able to let himself down to the ladder, where he faints in a fireman's arms. Tom is taken to the hospital, for he has been badly burned, but the policeman recognizes him and a guard is put over him as he recovers. He is visited constantly by the mother of the child he had rescued, a poor widow, who is filled with gratitude for what he has done for her. The newspapers take up his case and Tom is pardoned without trial. A kind sympathizer offers him a job and he is able to marry the widow who has fallen in love with him and whose love he returns. His fortune has turned and he is able now to support both his father and his wife in comfort and happiness.
- Ellen Carson volunteers to serve with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war and witnesses the charge of the Light Brigade.
- Oniatare, a young brave of the tribe of the Hurons, and Kowa, a chief of the Mohicans, are in love with Ethona, or "The River Flower," an Indian Princess. The Hurons and the Mohicans are sworn enemies. The young brave and "The River Flower" meet from time to time. Kowa notices this and in plaintive song would lure the fair Ethona to him. But it is of no avail. The Great Medicine Man of the Mohicans prescribes rest and a sleeping potion, which she takes and falls into a deep sleep. Both Oniatare and Kowa meet at her uncovered pyre. They fight a duel unto the death. Oniatare slays the older man, and then plunges the dagger deep into his own breast, dropping lifeless. The falling of his body across hers arouses her from her sleep and she awakens to behold his self-sacrifice, a still stronger evidence of his love for her. Seizing the blood-stained dagger from his breast, she thrusts it into the heart which goes out to his.
- When Charmion Winship is left penniless by her father, she travels to New York and there is hired by a gang of crooks to pose as a princess who is selling her jewels for relief money. A rich suitor and former admirer are rivals, and the latter, who once saved her life, wins her hand.
- Larry is the suitor for the hand of a charming young lady whose father favors a big rough guy. Almost the entire action takes place inside the home of the girl during a severe electric storm. The manner in which Larry and the other principal are being continually struck by lightning and the way the lightning follows Larry all over the place, up and down stairs and around corners, is cleverly done.
- That the way to a man's heart is by means of his appetite, is strikingly shown. Mother-in-law comes to visit the newly wedded couple and finds the young man somewhat discontented. It is no wonder, for his wife is so engrossed in her "art," although only an amateur, that she forgets all about cooking dinner and such like trivialities. Her mother shows her the error of her ways and son-in-law becomes very fond of her. Wifey's jealousy is aroused and she shows that she can cook just as well. Having restored harmony to the household, mother-in-law returns home, leaving nothing but happy memories behind her.
- A couple endure 365 days of marriage in order to inherit money.
- Bunny and Marsh attend a show and both fall in love with a charming danseuse. They send their cards into the Green Room to her, receive an audience and take her home in a taxi. Her father objects to their attentions and forbids her seeing them again. When her father is absent she sends them each a note to call on her. Bunny gets there first with a five-pound box of candy. While he and Lauretta are tete-a-teting Marsh is announced. Bunny hides behind the portieres. It is now Marsh's turn. He trips in with an immense box of Jacque roses, which he presents with a great flourish and much to do. He is getting on finely when another visitor comes in. Marsh is obliged to hide behind the lid on top of the grand piano, underneath the cover. The third caller is a very tall, handsome young man. To cap the climax her father returns and the last visitor takes refuge under the sofa. His obedient daughter tries to hold his attention. This is too much for the three hiders, who make up their minds to beard the lion in his den. Bunny and Marsh fearlessly face the old gentleman and bid him a cheery good-evening. The tall young man looks puzzled. Marsh and Bunny proclaim their admiration for the old fellow's daughter and tells him their intentions are honorable. This is the last straw for the tall young man. He waves them aside and boldly declares he has secretly married Lauretta and she is now his wife. The little fellow collapses and the big one takes his pal in his arms, carrying him from the room in tears, like a bawling infant.
- Two shop girls, Lizzie and Betty, meet a millionaire and a plumber at a beach resort and fall in love with them. However the villain is conspiring to steal Betty away from her husband and obtain his wealth.
- A beautiful secretary has her pick of the men in the office, but instead of marrying the boss, she takes one of his junior staff. Later, when she is suspected of committing a murder, her husband confesses to it--although he didn't do it--in order to protect her. Complications ensue.
- In the flat opposite Bunny's, just across the air-shaft, lives a very attractive widow. Bunny flirts with her and is caught in the act by his wife, who is going to the country. He tacks down the shade and promises that it will remain that way during her absence. She bids him a fond farewell, but she is no sooner on her way when Bunny unfastens the shade and continues his flirtation with the widow. This continues for two or three days, when an old maid living in another apartment of the house, sees their doings and considers it her duty to notify Mrs. Bunny of the proceedings. She goes to the telegraph office and sends his wife a wire, advising her to come home at once. Upon receipt of the telegram, Mrs. Bunny loses no time in packing her grip and starting homeward. That morning, John tries to cook himself breakfast, but makes a mess of it and is doomed to go to work without eating. The widow is solicitous about his comfort and calls to him across the shaft. He goes to the window and shoves a board from her window over to his. She spreads a table cloth on it, and he, with the aid of a cane, and she, with the aid of her parasol, manage to serve Bunny with an excellent meal. Just as he is in the midst of its enjoyment, his wife comes back and catches him. She berates the widow and tirades John. She calls in a carpenter and has the window boarded up, forever shutting out all communication between her husband and the widow.
- Upon his wife's death, attorney George Blake places his pretty daughter Lucy in a convent, then leaves the East. After traveling from place to place for a few years, trying to find some location in which he might be happy, he settles in Lariat Hollow, a mining town. He soon falls in love with a dance-hall woman named Anne. This incites the jealousy of Larkin, the town's political boss. To break George Blake, Larkin nominates him for mayor, purposing to have him defeated. Anne suspects the plot and tries to influence Blake to refuse the nomination, but Blake has given his word to enter the contest and goes in to win. Lucy writes to her father that she wishes to remain in the convent and become a nun; he gives his consent. Now with every Eastern tie severed, he asks Anne to marry him. She accepts, but says they will wait until after the election, fearing to ruin what political chances he might have by an alliance with a dance-hall woman. The election occurs and Larkin's confederates defeat Blake. On election night, Lucy arrives unexpectedly from the convent, having decided that she hasn't "the calling" after all. In his house of trouble, Blake is glad to have her back. Anne wanders out alone through the autumn forest, living through her "Gethsemane." She returns to Blake's cabin and tells him: "Lucy, your daughter, has the first claim on you. You must take her back East, away from me to the surroundings in which she belongs." Anne takes the girl in her arms and kisses her, then turns to Blake, bids him a last farewell, and goes into the forest alone.
- Young reporter Billy Joy's chief tells him that if he will secure certain letters connected with a prominent divorce scandal, he will raise his wages $10 a week. This increase will make Billy rich enough to marry his sweetheart, Claire Taylor. Mrs. Gardner shows Claire the letters Billy disguises himself as a milkman and makes love to Mrs. Gardner's cook to induce her to help him get a look at the letters in the case. While holding the cook on his lap, in the kitchen, Claire Taylor, his sweetheart, calls on Mrs. Gardner. During her visit, Mr. Gardner shows Claire the letters and explains to her their connection in the divorce case. Wishing some refreshments, Mrs. Gardner rings for the cook, who does not respond. She hurries to the kitchen, accompanied by Claire, and there they discover the cook sitting on Billy's lap. Claire, who still has Mrs. Gardner's letters in her hand, is so astonished at seeing her fiancé in such a compromising position, drops the letters upon the floor and will not listen to Billy's explanations; leaving the kitchen thoroughly disgusted. Billy has his eyes on the letters, snatches them from the floor, places them in his pocket and makes for the Editorial Rooms of his newspaper. His Chief, delighted with Billy's work, gives him the promised raise of salary, and straightens things between him and Claire, clearing up his attentions to Mrs. Gardner's cook.
- Tired of a dull job and an even duller fiancé, Mary Hale is fired from a department store after flirting with philandering socialite Gordon Kent. She leaves home following a quarrel with her father, William Hale, and moves into Gordon's apartment while he takes up residence at his club. Gordon's former mistress, actress Greta Verlaine, finds Mary at the apartment and forces her to leave. The distraught William traces Mary to the apartment and accidentally shoots Greta, mistaking her for his erring daughter. Although Gordon is blamed for the murder, William confesses, and the wealthy playboy spends his entire fortune to win an acquittal. After Mary and Gordon are married, he settles down to work for a living.
- Pete has an unscrupulous rival for the heroine Betty. When the rival is spurned by Betty, he gets even by persuading her to ride one of the wildest horses on the range. The horse runs away with her, and Pete knocks down the rival and races to her rescue. Pete later saves Betty from the insults of a crowd of bullies. In the climax, Pete saves a cowboy from being lynched by severing the rope with a single shot, while the posse rides to the rescue. He then saves Betty by leaping from a high bluff into a lake while on Lightning's back.
- No matter which way Albert Thompson turns, he finds everybody inoculated with the love germ. He is a confirmed old bachelor and very much disturbed when he finds the cook, the maid, and his typewriter all making love to his chauffeur, the policeman, and the clerk. A stroll through the park brings him in contact with young lovers, who are entirely unconscious of his presence. Seeing his disgust, Grace Williams, flirts with him and he becomes very interested in her. After several meetings with her, Cupid shoots his dart into his crusty heart. Thompson proposes to Grace, marries her, and becomes the spooniest of old spooners.
- Two men claiming to be scientists arrive in Arizona looking for Blair, a fellow scientist who disappeared while developing a death ray. The men hire Jim Wilson (Pete Morrison), who finds Blair living with his daughter on a ranch in an inaccessible valley near the Grand Canyon, where the scientist is testing his ray on birds and wild animals. Jim then discovers that the two men from the East are, in reality, agents of a foreign government, who hope to steal Blair's invention. Jim quickly sides with Blair, defeating the foreign agents with the help of Blair's daughter, whom he comes to love. Jim hands the agents over to law officers and returns to the ranch in Lost Valley.
- Shortly after being made the executor of a wealthy man's estate, a man murders his benefactor. He then makes a play for the widow, who rebuffs him. To escape his arduous pursuit, she takes her little daughter on a trip but dies in an auto accident. The daughter is rescued but disappears. Her grandparents spend years looking for her, as does the executor who killed her father--if she's found she'll inherit the estate and he won't get a penny. He aims to see that she's never found, and if she is he plans to see that she doesn't live long enough to make a claim to the estate.
- Noticeable among the feet proceeding up the gangplank of the steamer are those of Gladys Robinson, a pretty young girl; Edwin Bartells, a nice young man, and the flat feet of Priscilla Primps, an easily scandalized old maid. Watching the movements of these feet about the deck tells an interesting story. The feet of Gladys come along the deck, she is evidently seeking her steamer chair. After she has found it the flat feet of Priscilla are seen wandering in the neighborhood. She also finds her chair, next to that of Gladys, and seats herself in it. Very shortly the feet of Edwin wander along. It is easily seen by their movement that he has discovered Gladys. The porter's feet then get a move on them; he is off to look for Edwin's chair, which he brings and places on the deck between Priscilla and Gladys. The feet and hands of Priscilla execute several staccato movements; she is greatly shocked by the scandalous conduct of these two young people. The courtship of the young folks progresses rapidly, Edwin at last placing an engagement ring on the finger of Gladys. Priscilla's feet grow wildly excited as those of Gladys rise from the ground and it is seen by their position that she is sitting happily on Edwin's knee. The feet of the three people get hopelessly tangled, bringing them all to the deck with a thump, at last revealing the players to the interested observer, who has so far seen nothing but extremities.
- The man, Adam, not content to he alone, unto him was given a woman, Eve. They are happy and content, until one day, there comes to their home a tempter. They take him in, feed and house him over night, and during his stay, he shows them many trinkets, laces and other finery, which appeals to the woman's vanity, and she begs her husband to buy them for her. His scant earnings as a gardener cannot cater to the indulgence of luxuries, and he refuses. She pleads with him and when the peddler retires for the night, Eve persuades Adam to steal from the peddler's pack that she may possess that which she craves. Adam succumbs to her enticement and the seeds of sin are sown and their happiness and peace of mind depart from them from that time henceforth. In the morning, when the peddler leaves, they would believe that their unhappiness had gone with him, but not so, they must reap that which they have sown and the disquieting spirit of evil hath taken possession of their hearts and home. When the peddler discovers that he has been robbed, he is fired with the spirit of revenge and immediately reports his loss to the town authorities, who hasten to apprehend the culprits. On their way, the news spreads among the townspeople, who pretend to be inspired with righteous indignation, but in reality they secretly rejoice in the downfall of their weak and foolish neighbors. Brought face to face with the peddler, Adam and Eve confess their guilt and the discovery of the stolen property at once convicts them. Imprisonment is the penalty of their crime, but through their appeals for mercy, they are condemned to banishment.
- J. Anthony Bowden, who comes from a long line of brave Bowden family men, is not considered hero material by his father. To make matters worse, Anthony's fiancée, Elma Saunders, completely agrees and is starting to waiver in her feelings. After the elder Bowden leaves for a sea voyage, Anthony is falsely arrested for the murder of an old man. Wanting to prove his manliness, Anthony does not protest, then later escapes from jail with his burly cellmate. Anthony then learns that the cellmate has a grudge against Elma's father and wants to kill him. Elma is kidnapped by the convict's gang, a group known as the "Murder Club." After a series of adventures, Anthony saves Elma, only to discover that the entire escapade was a ruse set up by his father, who hired an out-of-work opera company to pose as members of the murder club. Satisfied that Anthony finally has proven himself to be a man, Bowden and Elma warmly embrace him.
- A damsel-in-distress Western melodrama and a stirring picture of railroad construction and the mining country, with a Snidely Whiplash villain performing dastardly deeds, a spunky and gritty Polly Pureheart heroine and a brave Handsome Harry hero...and filled with action, romance, adventure, bravery...and perils.
- Birthday or no birthday, John Bunny has to go to his city office just the same. On this particular occasion he has an unusually tiring days work and arrives home completely fagged out. His wife and son, Dave, have prepared a surprise for him in the shape of a dinner-party, to which several guests have been invited. Not knowing of this, Bunny, who is feeling absolutely all in, goes straight to his room and gets into bed instead of dressing for dinner, as is his usual custom. In the dining room, his wife and the guests are anxiously awaiting his arrival. Mrs. Bunny turns off the lights and instructs the guests to rise and give him a rousing cheer when he enters the room and switches them on. Then she calls to her husband to hurry, as she wants him. Not expecting company. Bunny descends the stairs in his pajamas, and is seen in that garb by the scandalized guests when he turns on the electric lights. Indignant at what they consider a very poor kind of a joke, they all depart hastily, leaving Bunny to comfort his sorrowing wife and explain matters as best he can. Before he goes upstairs to don his dress clothes, his son, Dave, arrives with his sweetheart, Ethel, who also sees him in flimsy attire and flees from the room with a horrified shriek. Dave rushes after her and explains things. After a good laugh at her future father-in-law's expense, she consents to stay to dinner.
- Miss Marbury comes on deck and looks haughtily at attractive young widow Mrs. Cray, half-suspecting that she has her steamer chair. When she finds that she is mistaken, she ties a large red ribbon upon her own chair, which is situated between Mrs. Gray on her left and Mr. Martin on her right. Miss Marbury is quite annoyed when little Dolores and Helen, Mrs. Gray's two playful children, come to settle a dispute over ownership of a tennis ball. Tom Blake stops to greet Mrs. Gray and plays with the children, making them forget their animosity. A very good-looking young woman walks by and attracts Blake's attention. Blake, the widow, and the children start for a walk, but the little girls stray away and go back to the chair; finding Miss Marbury asleep, they playfully pelt her with the tennis ball. Rising in a storm of wrath the indignant young woman throws the ball into the ocean and the girls run crying to their mother. Tom again comforts them and takes them for a walk. Passing by Miss Chaloner, sitting reading in her steamer chair, he conceives an idea how he might meet her: He writes upon a page torn from a magazine that he would like to know her. He entrusts the communication to Dolores, but mischievous Helen persuades her to place the note in the pocket of Miss Marbury's coat, that lady having left her seat for a moment. When Miss Marbury finds the note she becomes very kittenish and looks with longing eyes towards Mr. Martin, who is asleep on her right. He awakens, and is startled by the lady's demeanor. Blake is puzzled when he meets Miss Chaloner on the deck and she passes without noticing him. He discovers what the children have done and makes them get the note, much to Miss Marbury's disgust. Miss Chaloner finally gets the note and meets Tom.
- While plowing his fields one day, farmer John Cameron notices that his horse Jerry looks sick, so he stops work and takes the team up to the barn. He looses Jerry and lets him go into a loose box while he puts his other horse into his stall as usual. Cameron finds that Jerry is in bad shape, and at once he sets off to see a veterinary surgeon who gives him medicine, but doesn't come to see what's actually wrong with Jerry. That same morning, John's daughter Julia receives a reply from the principal of the School of Arts and Sciences to a letter she had written, asking the cost of a course she wishes to take. She has long hoped to get something better than a college education, and has been saving all the money she could make on her chickens so she can afford it. Her frivolous-minded older sister Bessie already attends the school, but their parents who also have several younger children, cannot afford to send Julia as well. Julia has invested much work and self-denial to save what she has, and now she's overjoyed to learn hat she has just enough to put her through. t That night, Jerry dies. Cameron despairs because Jim, Jerry's teammate, is old and not strong enough to plow alone. Unless Cameron is able to get his seed into the ground and reap the harvest, he will be unable to meet the mortgage payment that is due in the autumn. Both he and his wife are greatly distressed, for it looks like their work of years in improving the farm will all be wasted. Knowing this, Julia decides to forego her college course and offer them the money so they can buy a new horse. This is difficult; she has long dreamed of her new life. The sight of her frivolous sister, who does not seem to realize what opportunities she has, only makes her loss more painful. At first her father will not accept the money, knowing of the dream of his daughter's heart, but at length she persuades him to do so, all the time wearing a smiling face as though it means nothing to her. Truly it is such commonplace sacrifices as these that demand the highest courage.
- In the early 19th century, Beau Brummell was the most talked-of person in all the world, the extreme of fashion, the personification of elegance and the most pretentious individual imaginable. Helen, the daughter of Lord Ballarat, falls a victim to his charms, although she is warned by the Duchess of Devonshire, against him. Beau, not the least disconcerted, persists in his attentions to Helen and proposes to her. He is an intimate of the Prince of Wales and all the nobility of the period. They copy his style and ape his manners. Lord Devonshire and the Prince of Wales are very close friends, and when Beau Brummel insults the prince, the lord forbids Helen seeing Beau until he apologizes to the prince. Helen pleads with him to make amends to his highness, but he refuses, rather than disregard his own conceit or sacrifice his overbearing pride. The prince does not fail to resent Beau Brummel's effrontery and through him, Beau's privileges and importance are very much lessened. He indulges in all sorts of extravagances, irrespective of his means, and is soon reduced to social and financial ruin. Yet his pride is not at all disturbed, for he takes occasion again to snub the prince, whom he chances to meet. In desperation, Brummel endeavors to recoup his fortune with his few remaining crowns, by staking his all at cards and he loses. He is now besieged by creditors and placed in a debtor's prison. Helen Ballarat, in sympathy, sends him, through her bankers, five hundred pounds, and he is released. With shattered mind, he retires into seclusion, and after five years of destitution he is rescued from poverty and the madhouse by his old friend Alvanley, who gives him a comfortable home where he passes his time in dim memories of the past.
- As a punishment for falling asleep during the Preceptress' lecture, Alice is obliged to remain in her room alone for three days. She becomes restless and seeing some of her schoolmates outside on the campus, gets the janitor to take a note inviting them to come to her room at four o'clock, and have a jolly good time. The four girls, avoiding the vigilance of the Preceptress, appear on time, with smiling faces and "eats." They hear an organ-grinder playing outside; one of the girls darts out of the room and soon returns with the musician. He starts them going with a lively waltz. They are in the midst of the dance when they hear footsteps approaching. They push the organ-grinder into a closet and the girls creep under the bed. The Preceptress appears, finds everything quiet. The organ-grinder accidentally gives a turn or two of the handle of his instrument which the principal hears and she rushes out for help. In the meantime, the organ-grinder comes out of the closet. The janitor puts in an appearance and they soon explain matters to him and help the organist out of the window just as the Preceptress returns with a policeman, to whom she points out the closet. He opens the door and finds nothing there. Completely puzzled, the Head of the School cannot explain matters and she withdraws haughtily, followed by the officer, who slyly winks at the girls, as they peer from beneath the bed. Alice, and her chums acknowledge their appreciation of the janitor's services, in helping them, have their little frolic, by kissing him upon the top of his bald head.
- Ethel, whose financially distressed parents depend on her marrying into wealth, may be forced to abandon the man she loves for her father's rich friend.
- Vamp propositions a reform candidate for governor.
- Pete subdues a giant steer with his bare hands, and saves a helpless woman.
- Red Eye and his pal Sleek Face, two Indians of the Blackfoot tribe, steal a couple of ponies from a settler. One settler sees the Indians making off with the ponies and notifies the military authorities at the post. Sergeant Colton and Trooper Mulligan of the cavalry start after the culprits and trail them to the Indian village. They are met by the chief and the tribe that swarms out from the tepees and surrounds them. Bear Paw, chief of the Blackfeet, refuses to surrender the horse thieves and intimates that to attempt to take them by force might be fatal or mean war. The chief finally says that Red Eye and Sleek Face shall go up on a nearby cliff and that if the troopers can take them, all will be well. To this the troopers and the tribe agree. The culprits take their positions and on a signal, the troopers start from the Indian encampment, followed by the tribe, to see the battle. The troopers are armed with rifles, revolvers and knives; the Indians with rifles and knives. The tribe stands across the wide divide and sees the two white men struggling over the perilous edges of the cliff, pursuing the fleeing Indians and exchanging rifle shots. Sleek Face is killed. He rolls down the cliff, scattering a great shower of slag and rocks. From where the tribe stands he looks like a tiny fly against the steep sides of nature's towering eminence. Trooper Mulligan gets a bullet in his right wrist and abandons the chase. He lies upon a part of the cliff which commands a range of the course taken by the Indian and when Sergeant Colton is about to he killed by a knife stroke from Red Eye, he disarms the Indian with a rifle shot. Red Eye becomes panic-stricken. As he peers over the precipitous cliff and looks back at his pursuers, he shows the face of fear. He makes his way to the tribe. Instead of being received with open arms he is reviled for his cowardice. He is handed over to the troopers by the chief and his own mother, who praises the two soldiers for their bravery.
- Having developed a bad case of nerves, Lester Ridgeway is sent to Thorne's old homestead in the South to rest up and get well. It happens that there is a family "ghost" in this mansion, or so the legend avers. Ridgeway becomes infatuated with a portrait in the Thornleigh library of a dead ancestress, a very beautiful woman. Polly Allen, the great-granddaughter of the woman in the portrait, becomes aware of Ridgeway's infatuation, and remembering that there is an old dress in the attic which was worn by the lady in the picture when she posed for the portrait, she dresses herself in the gown, and decides to compare herself with the portrait. Ridgeway sees her and thinks it is the woman of the portrait. Upon his insistence upon the resemblance, old Lindley tells him the story of the woman in the portrait. How she was deserted and killed herself and how it is said she appears every now and then, wandering disconsolately about the premises. Polly overhears the story and decides that Ridgeway needs excitement. She decides to give him all he is looking for. It is her belief that what Ridgeway needs to get well is to have his mind taken off himself. He must be made to become interested in something besides his own concern. She dresses in her great-grandmother's dress, and leads Ridgeway a merry chase through the gardens of the estate and the great library. Thorn receives a letter from Ridgeway, telling him that he is deeply in love with the "ghost" lady, and intends to get her on the following Wednesday night, the anniversary of her death, when it is rumored that she will enact the tragedy of her life. Thorn thinks Ridgeway has gone mad. He persuades a specialist to come with him to Thornleigh and examine the stricken man. They find Ridgeway and a very substantial "ghost" lady in the garden, where all ends satisfactorily. Polly's prescription proves a real "cure-all."
- Leaving their little son, Bobbie, in care of a young maid, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon go off for the day. The maid thinks it a favorable chance to gossip with a friend and leaves Bobbie playing happily on the lawn with some of his toys. While she is gone a tramp comes along to the back door. Bobbie tells him that everybody is out. When the tramp tells the little fellow that he is hungry and has had nothing to eat all day, Bobbie takes him by the hand and leads Jim into the house, where he quickly finds some food for him. When the tramp has eaten, Bobbie invites him into his playroom and exhibits his toys. The tramp is reminded of his own little child, who had died years before. Forgetting the strangeness of his position he plays on with the child all the afternoon and is found there by Mr. and Mrs. Gordon when they return. Looking through the doorway they see the tramp on the floor with the child's small bank in his arms. Thinking that he is about to rob the child, Gordon is furious and is about to shoot the man when his wife stops him. She shows him that the tramp and the boy are playing together. Covering the man with his revolver. Gordon enters the room. The tramp tells Gordon and his wife the story of his own wife and child and of how little Bobbie had brought back to him the thought of his younger and better days.
- Norman Winthrop, a surveyor, accidentally meets John Bunny, an Irish watchman of a building. He introduces him to Tom and Will Hawley, two of his friends, at a little poker game in which Bunny pockets all the winnings. Talking over the matter the next day, the three men agree that it would be a great joke to introduce Bunny into society, and accordingly they take him to a ball, first buying him the correct outfit. Bunny has, in fun, styled himself Count O'Rooney, and it is under this name that he is introduced to the guests. Tom and Will tell everybody that, in addition to being a count, O'Rooney is a multi-millionaire, and everyone tries to become acquainted with him, particularly as he is found to be an amusing story-teller. The "count" makes a decided hit with the ladies, especially with Ethel and Molly Donovon, the sweethearts of Tom and Will. When the girls cancel a dance with the two boys, preferring to listen to Count O'Rooney's side-splitting anecdotes, both become considerably peeved and rather wish they had tried another kind of joke. Bunny convulses everybody by explaining that a red bandanna handkerchief, which he absent-mindedly pulls from his pocket, was a gift from the Czar of Russia. After the ball the girls rave so much about the "count" that the boys feel even more sick about it and decide to put a spoke in his wheel. After a day or two they organize a party, including the girls, and go down to the building where Bunny works as a watchman. When the girls see who he really is they receive a powerful shock and get very angry with the poor old man. He soon gets them laughing again, however, with one of his good stories. With a pocketful of Havana cigars, Bunny is quite satisfied with the ending of the affair, which he regards as the funniest incident of his life.