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- Thornton Darcy, an idealistic poet, is at work upon an allegorical poem which he calls "Virtue." He devotes the first part of it to picturing the idyllic state of the earth prior to the advent of evil in which Virtue is the world's guiding spirit. Virtue is represented by a nude female figure, artlessly adorned with filmy drapery. In the second part he introduces the Greek myth of Pandora, who releases Evil on the world. Finishing his work for the day, Darcy falls into a light doze and upon awakening discovers that his dream girl, Virtue, has come to life in the person of a young woman clad in a simple homemade dress kneeling on the bank of the stream gathering flowers. They become acquainted and he learns that her name is Purity Worth, and that she lives near the woods in a humble secluded home. She makes an instant appeal to Darcy as he does to her and they repeat the meeting in the woods, with the result that they fall in love and are engaged, in spite of the fact that there is no immediate prospect of marriage, owing to Darcy'e reduced circumstances. Darcy is unable to sell his poems, and the publisher will not print them for less than five hundred dollars. Claude Lamarque, a painter, strolling in the woods, sees Purity bathing in a stream. He later succeeds in meeting Purity and makes her an offer to pose for him. She refuses, but accepts his card. Purity receives word from Darcy that he is ill in bed and begging her to come with him. His final effort to publish his book of poems has met with refusal. Unselfishly seeking t aid him, she goes to Lamarque, secures five hundred dollars in advance with a promise to repay him by posing for him, and earning money from other artists, and at once turns the money over to the publisher to bring out Darcy's book. She binds the publisher to secrecy. Darcy is confined to his bed with a siege of illness, and is only saved from death by the happy turn. Purity guards from him the secret of her share in it. In the meantime, she poses regularly for Lamarque. Through his interest in her he secures an engagement for her to pose in imitation of marble statuary at a fete given by a fashionable young widow, Judith Lure. No sooner is Darcy's book published than it excites instant attention and praise, and he becomes the lion of the hour. In the meantime, Luston Black, an acquaintance of Lamarque, having caught a glimpse of Purity posing for the artist, has become infatuated with her. He assumes that because of her position as a model he will have an easy conquest. But Purity, despite her innocence, sense his base motives and spurns him. Darcy, accepting an invitation to visit Lamarque, comes into the studio while Black is pressing his attentions upon Purity. He thrashes Black, who taunts the poet with the fact that his fiancée is posing in the nude. Darcy will not believe it. Purity acknowledges the truth. Darcy will not listen to Purity's explanations and casts her off. A short time later the poet sees Lamarque's finished picture of "Virtue." Darcy is quick to read the great truth that the picture is intended to convey and upon learning that Purity was the instrument through which his poems were published, hastens to her. They are happily reunited.
- In Southern California lived Jose de Cabrillo on an estate which he had inherited from his ancestors, who obtained the land from the King of Spain. The scene is laid in the year 1840, "Before the Gringo came." A young American, Sam Blythe. who wishes to settle in California, notices in riding by the gate of the ranch, that it is offered for sale. He says he will buy it if the olive industry is what he desires. Mercedes, the daughter of Jose, is incensed at the thought of her father's selling the ranch, and especially so when she thinks of an American as a possible owner. The young American is shown all the processes of the olive industry from the moment of the picking of the olives to the finished product, the oil. When paid the gold for the purchase of the ranch, Jose puts the gold in his desk. Ortega, the Spanish fireman, sees this and robs the desk. He refuses to share with his accomplices, who capture and kill him by placing him in the olive press. Prior to this the American has recovered the gold from the thief and in admiration of his bravery, Mercedes relents and the love that she has really felt all the time is manifested and the ranch is still hers and the American's.
- "Damaged Goods" pictures the terrible consequences of vice and the physical ruin that follows the abuse of moral law. It is a stirring plea for a pure life before marriage, in order to make impossible the transmission of unhealthy hereditary traits to future generations.
- Bertie is an embryonic botanist. He is pottering with some flowers in the garden, when Nell, the idol of his dreams, passes. He runs out and escorts her home, pleading soulfully with her to marry him. Nell is a full-blooded western girl, and while she admires Bertie for many things, she prefers a real man for a husband. News comes from Nell's uncle, in Red Cloud, that he is going to sell out his store, and go back to Vermont. Nell and her mother set out for Red Cloud, and Bertie, determined to prove himself a man, accompanies them. At Tucson the stage is late, and growing impatient, Nell and Bertie start out for Red Cloud on foot. Bertie purchases a burro to pack their baggage, and it happens to be a burro formerly in the employ of "Tiger Jack," the lone bandit, who has caused the community to quake with fear. The Tucson, Red Cloud stage is held up by "Tiger Jack," and with the property of the passengers, he makes off into the hills. Bertie and Nell and the burro are plodding along toward Red Cloud. Bertie's time is divided between making love to Nell and rhapsodizing over the botanical specimens along the way. He does not observe the disappearance of the burro, and eventually is forced to desert Nell while he goes in pursuit of the wayward animal. Instinctively, the burro wanders into the hiding place of "Tiger Jack," and, a moment later, Bertie encounters the bad man. Bertie is timid until "Tiger Jack" contemptuously destroys Nell's hat, which is on the burro's pack-saddle. Then, the botanist loses his temper and wallops the bandit. He is putting the finishing touches upon the bandit, when Nell comes up. She is amazed at the powers of her lover, and lavishes congratulations upon him. He takes it in a matter-of-fact sort of way, and calls for a rope. When the sheriff's posse rides up, a few moments later, "Tiger Jack" is helplessly bound. The sheriff informs Bertie that he is entitled to the $5,000 reward offered for the capture of the outlaw, and the story closes with the botanist enriched by a bank roll and a bride.
- Bill McCurdy, an outlaw, brings his second wife, a refined woman, to [his] ranch. Here, they meet Pat McCurdy, a brother of Bill, who reprimands Bill for his duplicity. The shock is too much for Bill's second wife and she collapses. Meanwhile, Pat has informed Bill's first wife of her husband's wrongdoing, and together they ride to Bill's ranch, where they are told that the doctor who attended her has escorted her to the home of her friend, the U. S. Marshal. A few minutes after the arrival of the doctor and Mrs. Mary McCurdy, Pat and Bill's first wife come upon the scene. Bill is about to shoot his lawful wife when the outlaws stop him and lead him away. The doctor and Mary plight their troth and soon are married.
- Minta, an orphan, has long been an abused slavey in the junk store of the Millers. She is fond of reading and her favorite book is that of Cinderella. Miller objects to her reading. When he catches her disobeying his order he beats her. Minta's cries are heard by Frank Towne. He forces Miller to desist. Miller continues his abuse of Minta and she resolves to run away. In carrying out her resolve she takes with her an old accordion. She spends the night in an old dry goods box when she is pursued by a policeman. In the morning she finds a cat and several newly-born kittens in the box. She steals milk for them. Minta manages to earn a livelihood with the accordion. She becomes known as "The Little Troubadour." Joshua Quimble, president of the bank where Frank is employed, is a millionaire. He has one curse and one passion, namely, gout and fishing. He has a standing offer of $1,000 to the person who will make him forget his gout. Frank Towne is studious and ambitious. His roommate, Tom, also employed in the bank, cares more for cards than for study. She plays before Quimble's home, and he is so delighted that he orders his housekeeper to take care of her in his own home. He learns that she is of good parentage. Summertime comes. Frank and Tom are spending their vacation near Quimble's home. She recognizes Frank as the same young man who stayed Miller's hand when he was beating her. Frank buys a lottery ticket. When he learns from Quimble that gambling in any form is against the rules of the bank he crumples up the lottery ticket and throws it toward the wastepaper basket in his room. Both Frank and Tom fall in love with Minta. She likes Frank. Frank receives a letter from his sister, Julia, that her husband has embezzled $500. His only hope to avoid disgrace is to obtain the money from Frank. Frank has not that much money, and he tries unsuccessfully to borrow from Tom. While walking with Frank and Tom, Minta wrenches the stone in a diamond ring and hands the ring to Frank and asks him to have it fixed. Frank learns that he has won $400 on his lottery ticket. Combining that with money he had, he telegraphs $500 to his sister. Frank and Tom quarrel over Minta. They permit Quimble to decide by asking him whose prospects are the best. Unfortunately they are the cause of Quimble losing the biggest trout he ever hooked. He angrily declares that neither can court Minta until he has landed the trout they made him lose. Tom, by mistake, receives a telegram addressed to Frank. In it Frank is thanked for the money. The message is signed, "Julia." He scents a love affair. Frank, on the way to deliver Minta's ring, drops it in a creek on Quimble's estate. He tells Minta. She believes him until Tom appears, produces the telegram and accuses Frank of selling the ring to send money to the mysterious Julia. Minta demands an explanation. Honor forces Frank to remain silent. Minta accepts this as a confession. She is just sending him away when Quimble bursts into the group with the big trout the boys made him lose. Not only this, but he has the diamond ring which Frank lost. The trout, attracted by the bright object, has swallowed it when Frank dropped the bauble in the creek. Minta now recognizes the treachery of Tom and sends him away and shows by her actions that she loves Frank.
- Man's vocation is not always one of choice; it is more often one of circumstances. This story illustrates the fallacy of parents selecting, without regard to the natural inclination or ability of the child, a line of pursuit or means of livelihood, which accounts for the large number of dismal failures in life. In this instance John Wallace's father's religious fervor prompts him to urge his son to enter a monastery. John obligingly acquiesces and starts on the journey, but later changes his mind, seeks employment on a farm, and subsequently marries. Old man Wallace often meditates about his boy and watches the pilgrimages of the padres, hoping to get a glimpse of his son. John finally visits his father, bringing his wife and child. The father's disappointment is intense but the sight of his grandchild softens his heart and he yields to nobler sentiment.
- John Montgomery, young, rich and of fine family, is eagerly sought after by the elite of old San Francisco. He and Ellie Fenwick meet for a moment at a hall, and are mutually attracted. Montgomery's impulsiveness and generosity cause him to fall an easy prey to Willie Felton, leader of a fast set, who introduces the young man to Martin Rood's gambling house. Rood, seeing in Montgomery a lamb to be shorn, quickly fleeces him of a large part of his fortune and then persuades him to invest the rest in a bogus mining deal. The young San Franciscan finds himself penniless. Meanwhile, he has met Carlotta Valencia, mistress of Rood, who develops for Montgomery the first real affection she has ever felt for any man. He is infatuated with her beauty and cleverness, and when he begins to hear evil stories against her, he stoutly defends this Spanish woman of doubtful arts. Montgomery's own reputation is sullied because of his associates, and only Ellie Fenwick continues to have faith in his inherent nobility. She believes Montgomery more sinned against than sinning. Her father, however, will not permit her to have anything to do with the man she loves. Montgomery, denied the companionship of the one woman who might have redeemed him, turns for consolation to Carlotta. One morning early, Ellie is returning from the market to prepare a birthday breakfast for her father. Passing Rood's gambling house, she hears a pistol shot. Through the swinging doors of the bar-room, the proprietor of the resort falls out dead. Montgomery, with a smoking revolver in his hand, leaps out after him, and the next instant, flinging away the weapon, has fled. Ellie, panic-stricken, hurries home, where she tells her father and District Attorney Dingley what she has seen. Nobody else has witnessed the incident, and Ellie, violently against her own will, is obliged to serve as chief witness for the state. Carlotta lures the girl to her house and tries to bribe her into silence. When this fails, she attempts to induce her to drink a cup of poisoned wine. Ellie, however, is on her guard. Her father has made her feel that it is her duty to God and to society to testify against the man she loves. Montgomery is convicted of the murder. As he is leaving the courthouse a band of Mexican horsemen, hirelings of Carlotta, enact his rescue. He and the Spanish woman plot to flee the country together. A chance meeting with Ellie, however, causes Montgomery to resolve to leave the city alone and start life over again. He writes Carlotta his intention. Ellie is driving him in her carriage to the borders of the town when both are arrested by the sheriff's posse. The girl flees, taking refuge in Carlotta's house. She finds the beautiful Spaniard sitting erect in a chair, dead. A written confession in her own hand reveals that it was she who murdered Rood. Later, Perez, Carlotta's servant, corroborates the story, throwing light on Montgomery's heroism in shielding the guilty woman. Montgomery is exonerated. He begins life anew, with Ellie as his wife.
- Judson Brand, a powder manufacturer, is approached by the envoys of two warring nations, but before entering into a contract with Baron Von Halstyn, envoy for Gravonia, he sends his son, Marshall, to investigate the country's financial condition. Burghoff, Sashofen's envoy, is advised of a blockade and instructed to halt shipments of munitions to the enemy. Both envoys try to enlist the help of Jan Bernheim, a clever political exile from Gravonia. Out of revenge, she promises to aid Burghoff, but patriotism prevails and she goes over to Von Halstyn, although pretending to remain in the employ of Burghoff. Elinor, Brand's daughter, is engaged to Fosdick, a humanitarian propagandist, who opposes Brand's mercenary attitude in furnishing munitions. Burghoff allies himself with Fosdick, and together they hope to control the vote of the congressional committee against furnishing munitions. The committee is divided in opinion and the deciding vote is with Hayes, the chairman who favors the non-participating policy. Brand quarrels with Fosdick about the issue and forces Elinor, in sympathy with Fosdick, to break her engagement, when Fosdick refuses to renounce his principle. Jan induces Burghoff to give Fosdick a check for a thousand dollars "for charitable purposes." Jan secures the canceled check which the unsuspecting Fosdick has accepted, for evidence against him, and when Von Halstyn urges her to win over Hayes to their side, she does so by showing him the check, which she makes him believe was accepted as a bribe from Burghoff. Burghoff refuses to accept defeat and proposes to Fosdick the blowing up of the powder mills, but Fosdick refuses to listen, so Burghoff undertakes it alone unknown even to Jan. Brand's son, traveling through the war zone, finds their Brandite shells being used by both sides, and is so absorbed in commercialism that he is untouched by the evidence of suffering about him. Fosdick saves the life of a child belonging to one o£ the men employed by Burghoff to blow up the mills. Brand receives a favorable report from his son and he and Von Halstyn ride over to the mill to sign up the contract, accompanied by Elinor and Jan. Fosdick, in Burghoff's office waiting for him, answers the telephone and learns of the plot to destroy the mills within an hour. He tries to reach Brand only to find that he and Elinor have gone to the mill. Fosdick drives to the mills, and through his efforts the plan only partially succeeds; no one is hurt but Mason, the man who was on the job. Fosdick is found trying to put out the fuse and is accused by Brand of attempting to blow up the mill. Mason, however, clears him when he recovers and Von Halstyn and Jan are arrested by a secret service man who has been trailing them. Brand stubbornly insists that Fosdick is to blame for it all and vows he will sign the contract away. Then the final argument presents itself, his beloved son has been killed by a Brandite shell. Later Von Halstyn and Jan are deported. Burghoff flees the country and Fosdick and Elinor are united. Brand turns from the manufacture of ammunition to Red Cross work.
- Billy and Jim are old friends, and rivals in love. Billy takes Marion Carroll to the theater and to supper afterwards. She orders and orders and keeps on ordering, until Billy finds that he hasn't enough money to foot the bill. Hearing his friend Jim's voice in the adjoining booth (which, however, Marion cannot hear from her side of the table), he excuses himself for a moment and goes to ask his rival for a loan. Jim is determined to drive a bargain instead. He says he'll pay for the supper if Billy will let him eat it and take Marion home. Reluctantly Billy consents. He fakes a phone call and hurries away. Jim takes Marion home in a taxi, and then is driven to his apartments. There he discovers that he cannot pay the driver. He is arrested and borne off to police headquarters, whence he phones Billy to come around and pay his fine. But Billy is sore. Instead, he calls up Marion and gives her the message. But little does he know the girl. She turns up at the station house just before him, drags poor dumbfounded Jim out before his eyes, bundles him into the taxi and whisks him off. Back in his rooms, Billy has a phone call, and Marion, in sweetest tones, announces, "So good of you to let me know. I got him, and we're engaged."
- Lord Loveland in England is besieged by his creditors and consults his mother as to what he should do. He is advised to go to America and marry an heiress. He plans to sail on a certain ship, but at the eleventh hour changes his plans and departs on another vessel without informing his relatives of the change. Meanwhile, In England, his valet, annoyed at not having been paid a year's wages, impersonates Lord Loveland. At New York's most expensive hotel Lord Loveland discovers he has but forty cents in his pocket. He goes to bank and presents his letter of credit, but the bank determines that he is a bogus Lord and will not honor the draft. Disgusted, Lord Loveland returns to his hotel, where he finds he has no credit. He is ejected and his baggage is held in lieu of the bills he has already accumulated at the hostelry. Lord Loveland is alone in a strange world and with forty cents in his pocket. He applies to a friend for aid, but the friend, thinking the card presented is that of the bogus Lord Loveland. refuses to even see the visitor. Disheartened and disgusted, the nobleman betakes himself to Central Park, where through the thrilling rescue by Lord Loveland of a mongrel puppy, he forms a fast friendship with one Bill Willing, a likable old man out of work. Willing takes Lord Loveland to a cheap hotel where his forty cents is more than sufficient to procure two beds. In the morning he takes the English peer to a restaurant where in payment for meals, Willing draws artistic signs which advertise the day's tempting viands at Alex's restaurant. Lord Loveland, attired in evening clothes and monocle, has no trouble in getting employment as a waiter. He hopes thus to earn sufficient funds to pay his passage back to the dear old British Isles, but Tony Kidd, an enterprising New York reporter, learns of the monocled waiter and writes a story for his paper. Crowds come daily to Alex's restaurant to be waited on by this unique garcon. Among them is Leslie Dearmer, a woman playwright with whom Lord Loveland had become acquainted on shipboard. There is an explosion in the kitchen and the guests flee panic-stricken from Alex's restaurant. Lord Loveland becomes a hero when he extinguishes the blaze and causes the guests to return to their tables. Later, he loses his job through the apparent affection he has for Izzy, who is Alex's daughter. He takes up with a 10-20-30-cent troupe of theatrical players with whom he plays minor parts. Miss Dearmer seeks out the manager of Lord Loveland's troupe, intending to sue that individual for the use of one of her copyrighted plays. She calls and is surprised when her gaze meets that of the British nobleman. To her, the Lord relates his plight and she engages him as her chauffeur. The nobleman falls head over heels in love with his fair employer. The two are out for a spin when the Englishman summons up courage and declares his love. So ardent does he become in his proposal that he fails to heed the path his automobile is taking. The machine leaves the road, crashes into a tree and both occupants are thrown violently from their seats. When consciousness returns, Miss Dearmer is in Lord Loveland's arms, and the two plight their troth. The tide of Lord Loveland's fortunes have turned, By a combination of circumstances, he becomes recognized as the real Lord Loveland and he is restored to the position which is rightfully his. Henceforth, all is love and happiness and the nobleman has no desire again to see dear old Britain's shores.
- A woman is kidnapped, but is resourceful enough to drop playing cards as she's carried along on horseback so the hero can follow her trail.
- Rocky bets on "everything, anything and nothing at all". On one occasion he wins a high bet including the saloon bully's gal, thanks to a cheat played by a girl competitor who wants the man for herself. When the bully finds out he believes Rocky has fooled him and goes furiously after him.
- In the romantic days of the Eleventh Century the prologue of this picture shows us, Sir Errol, a victorious knight, returns to the castle of his liege lord, the Baron Edward, where he renews his vows with Lady Maud, his betrothed mistress. During Sir Errol's absence from the realm, the Baron has married Lady Elfrieda, daughter of an impecunious nobleman. Edward loves Elfrieda, but for her the marriage was solely one of expediency. She loses her heart to the handsome young knight. Learning that Errol and Maud are affianced, Elfrieda banishes her lady-in-waiting by sending Maud home to her father. Sir Longson, a retainer of the Baron's. The lovers meet secretly on the eve of Maud's departure, and she pins over Errol's heart a small, white rosette. He pledges to remain always her true and loyal knight. No sooner is Maud out of the way than the Baron's bride lays siege to Sir Errol. She plots with Lord Kerrigan and his followers to have the Baron murdered and Errol installed in the baronetcy. The conspiracy finds its way to Lady Maud's ears. On the eve of the night appointed for his death, she determines to warn Edward. Disguised as a maiden knight, she reaches the Baron's chamber, just too late. Maud is fatally wounded by the assassins. On recognizing his dead love. Sir Errol, renounces the Lady Elfrieda, and plucking the white rosette from his breast, swears on the hilt of his sword that he will atone for his dishonored life, be it now or a thousand years to come. The picture then introduces us to Pierpont Carewe, a railroad magnate, whose wife, Frieda, has married him solely for his wealth. Thomas Eric, a young civil engineer in Carewe's employ, returns to New York after a successful survey for a new road, and Carewe rewards him with a block of stock in the company. Frieda falls in love with Eric. The young engineer already is engaged to be married to Joan Long, daughter of Carewe's head engineer. Frieda schemes to get the Longs exiled to Bermuda, and then plots with Van Kerr, an unprincipled grafter, to place Eric in a position involving both his financial and his personal honor, the only solution of which shall be that he yield to the implorations of his inamorata, the wife of his chief. A few days later, Frieda traps the young man in her boudoir, declares her love, and begs him to run away with her. Finding his loyalty to his absent sweetheart still unshaken, she informs him that the stock which she recently borrowed of him, she tricked out of him, the better to have him in her control now. Eric, left to choose his course, is visited by a vision of his medieval forbear, Sir Errol. The life of that blasted flower of ancient chivalry passes before his inner eye in a series of vivid pictures until, over the dead body of the Lady Maud, in the character of Errol, he swears to atone for his faithlessness. Coming to himself, the young man recognizes in the present situation the opportunity for expiation which the restless soul of his ancestor has been seeking for nine hundred years. That night he attends the Carewe's fancy dress ball, costumed as the knight of old. Frieda is robed as the faithless Elfrieda. And Joan, mysteriously returned from the Southland, appears as Lady Maud. Eric is discovered by his temptress, renewing his vows to Joan. Frieda turns over the block of stock to Van Kerr, and Carewe, entering, demands an explanation. A quarrel ensues. Eric is just in time to save Carewe from being choked to death by his enemy. Frieda, check-mated, sobs out her bitter rebellion against Fate.
- Willoughby Whipple, son of a New Yorker, invests his all in a rundown country newspaper, after his father discharged him for writing poetry, instead of attending to business. The paper turns out to be a "lemon," but Willoughby is determined to make a success of it. With the assistance of Virginia Winters, a practical young woman of high ideals, and "Daddy" Eggleston, a tramp printer, whose worst enemy is drink, "The Bugle" finally shows signs of coming to life. Then, Squire Barton, who has announced himself as a candidate for mayor, and who owns the building in which "The Bugle" office is located, calls on Willoughby, and offers him rent free if he will agree to boost the Squire's candidacy. In the next issue of "The Bugle," Willoughby denounces the Squire a grafter, and exposes his attempt at bribery. Meanwhile, Willoughby has protected Virginia from the unwelcome advances of Spence, the Squire's son, and has gained his enmity. As a result the Squire calls on Willoughby and orders him to get out of his building. When Willoughby goes in search of a new location, he discovers that the Squire owns every other available store building in the town. Not to be beaten, Willoughby moves his print shop into a tent, and later, in a public encounter, threatens to get even with the Squire, and defeat his candidacy for mayor. To get Willoughby out of the way, the Squire plans to set fire to the old Bugle building, and to use Willoughby's threat as evidence that he committed the crime for revenge. The night that the Squire plans to commit the outrage, "Daddy" Eggleston goes on a spree, and through force of habit wanders back to the old Bugle office, now an empty storeroom, and falls asleep on an old abandoned couch. Later, he catches the Squire in the act of saturating the premises with coal-oil, and in a struggle that follows, is knocked senseless. Regaining consciousness, "Daddy" discovers the building on fire, and drags himself into an old vault, to escape the flames. The building burns down, and Willoughby, reminded of his threat to "get even" with the Squire, is arrested, charged with the crime. While an angry mob clamors about the jail, Virginia telegraphs Willoughby's father, who starts for Homeville. The mob has broken into the jail and are about to drag Willoughby forth, when a tramp, looking about over the ruins, discovers "Daddy" Eggleston's dead body in the old brick vault. "Daddy," who has died of suffocation, has left a chalked message on the vault wall, implicating the Squire. The discovery exonerates Willoughby, and the Squire and his son, Spence, meet with their just desserts. The citizens of the town nominate Willoughby for mayor in the Squire's stead, and are carrying him aloft on their shoulders, with shouts and cheers, when Willoughby's father speeds into Homeville. When Willoughby announces his engagement to Virginia, the old man is so proud of his boy that he promises to build him the finest newspaper office in the state for a wedding present.
- Filippo, a rather prosperous peanut merchant, receives a letter from his wife, stating that she will shortly arrive in America. On his way home, he finds a lost child and, being unable to learn where she lives, takes her to his own home. He is seen, followed and arrested, and is unable to meet his wife when she arrives. His wife, finding no one to meet her, and in a strange country, soon becomes destitute and in desperation steals, is caught and is also locked up. Upon the day of the trial, by chance Filippo and his wife's trials come upon the same day. They meet. Overjoyed, they explain to the judge and are both dismissed. Their little home is brightened by the presence of wife and son, and the reunion is celebrated by a "spread."
- In the year 100 A.D., Trajanus was emperor of Rome. He was one of the great emperors of that period, and one of the great works by which he beautified Rome is known as the Column of Trajan. The emperor had prepared a "Triumph," as the ceremony was known in those days and the victims of his conquest were marched in Rome to the throne. Among them is seen Decebalus, Prince of Dacia, and his mother, Queen of Dacia. The Emperor promises the Prince his freedom if he will swear allegiance to Rome. He hesitates, but the Queen says: "In Dacia we are royal and shall not be vassals to Rome." The Emperor is angered and sends them to the dungeons of the Circus Maxims to await their fate in the arena. The arena is prepared, the Emperor is in the imperial box and all is ready for the conflict of the gladiators. At last Decebalus is told he must go in the arena and fight. He asks: "With whom?" A Dacian is pointed out to him. He says: "Why, he is of Dacia, and therefore my brother." Notwithstanding, he is forced out and we see them in the arena before the imperial box saluting the Emperor. They fight and the Dacian is thrown to the ground in battle. Decebalus does not wound him, and when he appeals to the Emperor and the court for their decision, the Emperor show by the word "Habet" and the downward turning of the thumb that death is his portion. Decebalus raises his sword as if to kill, but with the other hand extended to the Dacian, they leap from the arena into the imperial box and are about to kill Trajan, but Decebalus is made prisoner by the centurions in attendance on the Emperor. He again escapes and is brought before the Emperor just as the word is brought that the Huns have invaded Rome. Decebalus volunteers to fight the invaders and is victorious. When offered a reward he demands his mother's freedom, which is granted. Trajan also gives him Octavia to wed and restores him to his own country.
- A wandering cowboy is hired by a ranch owner. When the other cowboys show the newcomer their refusal he turns to his donkey pal and his usual loneliness. Then his boss'daughter comes home wanting to experience Western life and the pilgrim feels attracted to her.
- Mrs. Mayfield, sister of Judge Elliot, of Nashville, dispirited over the dissolution of an unfortunate marriage, sits moodily in the Elliot home and broods. Judge Elliot, one-armed and a stern old veteran, finds it impossible to control her. The Judge's son, Tom, intensely fond of his aunt, suggests that they go forth in search of adventure into the Tennessee mountains. Mrs. Mayfield eagerly seizes the chance of escape from fashionable boredom. Straightway they make arrangements, and a few days later arrive in the heart of the hills and in the midst of a civilization so primeval and natural that Mrs. Mayfield's delight knows no bounds. They arrive at the home of Jasper Starbuck, a giant mountaineer, whose strong but simple nature, quaint philosophy and fearless courage charm the city folk and furnish a needed balm for the gentle, wounded nature of Mrs. Mayfield. In the days that follow, Tom and Lou Starbuck, Jasper's daughter, learn to love each other. Jim Starbuck, a country preacher and nephew of Jasper, pays a visit to the Starbucks at this time. Long-legged, awkward and extremely diffident, but possessed of a soul that revels in the beauties of nature, and also possessing a quaint backwoods eloquence and dauntless physical courage, Jim Starbuck appeals strongly to the imagination of Mrs. Mayfield. They are thrown much together, and love comes before either realizes it. Only big Jasper Starbuck, with his keen eye and whimsical humor, discovers the secrets of both couples. Adjoining the Starbuck property is the home of Lije Peters, a bully but not a coward. He is also passionate, unscrupulous and murderous in his likes and dislikes. He loves Lou Starbuck, but the girl spurns him, and his smoldering anger quickens into revengeful hate. Near the Starbuck home, old Jasper has made moonshine whiskey without a government license, just as his father and grandfather had done before him, and just as many of the residents in the neighborhood did. It was no secret, and the United States officers had long ceased to penetrate the deadly hills for offenders. Eager for revenge on the Starbucks, Lije Peters applies for the position of Deputy United States Marshal. In the meantime he makes many trips to the Starbuck home, and threatens old Jasper, demanding the hand of his daughter and loans of money. One day Lije's appointment came. Soon afterward he and two deputy marshals from Nashville wreck the Starbuck still. Jasper Starbuck, who had many notches to his credit on the stock of his Winchester, oils that weapon and goes out after his enemies. Twice he had a bead on them and twice he lowers his rifle, remembering that his daughter Lou is now the wife of Tom Elliot and that his nephew Jim has married Mrs. Mayfield. He hurls the rifle from him and then goes down to meet the officers. He is taken to the jail at Nashville, where he awaits trial with all the fortitude he can summon. Tom Elliot had telegraphed his father acquainting him with his own marriage and that of his aunt, but failed to give the maiden name of his wife. In reply, Judge Elliot writes his son a good-natured letter of congratulation. Incidentally he mentions that he is about to try an old soldier named Starbuck for moonshining, and that the prospect was anything but pleasant. The news brought the honeymoon couples post haste to Nashville. Mrs. Jasper Starbuck, who had become lonesome in her mountain home, also came to the prison to see her husband at this time. Out of respect for Jasper Starbuck, as a veteran, Judge Elliot decides to try the case in his chambers and not before a jury. The old soldier's plea is so eloquent that the Judge pardons him. At this moment Tom and Lou and Mrs. Mayfield and Mrs. Starbuck arrive on the scene. The Judge learns for the first time that Jasper Starbuck is the father of his son's wife, and inquires why the old soldier had not acquainted him with the fact. "Jedge," he replied, "it would have looked like I was a-cringin'. I know how to bleed for my country, but I don't know how to beg for myse'f."
- A hunted bandit cleverly outwits the sheriff after a thrilling chase over rocks and sandhills. Reaching the Point Loma Lighthouse, he introduces himself as a revenue man to the lighthouse keeper and his daughter. The bandit's attentions to the girl are bitterly resented by her fisherman sweetheart. The fisherman falls in with the sheriff and suddenly realizes that his rival is the sought for bandit. The sheriff is put on the right track, but the bandit escapes through a subterranean passage. The pursuit ends with the capture of the bandit on the seashore.
- The theme of this story has to do with the trials and final success of two young people, a boy and a girl, who leave their homes to join in a stampede to a newly discovered mining district. Later they find themselves on the trail facing the necessity of doing for themselves things they have never done before. Next day affairs run no better with either of them, and the young man, in attempting to make a pie, burns it. As it was impossible to eat this, he nails it to a post in front of his tent and above is placed a sign, "Girl Wanted." The sign attracts the girl's attention, and, after a little maneuvering, it is agreed that she help him out in his cooking, while he makes himself of use to her in many other ways. Eventually they form a regular working partnership. The busy days roll by without much success. One day as he is resting on a hillside with a group of fellow prospectors, they slip a lot of loose rock into his pack, and upon arrival at camp he learns why his pack was so heavy. He is tired and out of humor, and it is the girl who first notices that the rock is really gold ore and very rich. They learn from the others where this rock was placed in the pack, and later find the original ledge and locate it. In working their find, and being unaccustomed to the use of dynamite, they have an accidental explosion in which the boy is injured and is obliged to remain in camp a week or more. Upon their return to the claim, they find two men in possession, who refuse to vacate, and as the explosion has destroyed their location notice, there is no proof of their property. They return to camp and call a miners' meeting and the entire party return to the claim and in the discussion that takes place, the girl finds a piece of the original notice blown into a crevice of the rocks and the jumpers are forced to relinquish their claim. The boy, in his enthusiasm, takes the girl into his arms, and in the confusion, a grizzly old miner, with a wink, slips a ring off his finger to the boy, who passes it on to the girl, who accepts it. They are married by a justice, move the two tents into one establishment and the final scene shows that evening, two silhouetted figures against the tent walls in fond embrace.
- Old Ben Hoover, with his wife and two pretty daughter, managed to eke out a precarious livelihood, raking alfalfa and helping generally on the big ranch. John Rich, foreman, had long made love to Mabel, but she did not return his affection. A day came when Rich went to her parents. They readily gave consent. Out of the prairie rode a handsome young man, dressed in fashionable riding garments and mounted on an expensive, sleek-looking mare. He dismounted in the bushes and hastily changed his clothes, appearing before the foreman as a day worker in quest of labor. Rich eyed him carefully and finally handed him a rake. The young man proved a poor workman, however, for he soon found Mabel's company much too enticing for heavy work. On the way home that night he made love to her and found a not unwilling listener. Rich, also called, and finding but little comfort in Mabel's unresponsive mood, attempted to kiss her by force. Just then the newcomer stepped in and an inspiring fight followed. The following morning Rich peremptorily discharged father, mother and the two daughters, while the newcomer leaned on his rake and blandly smiled. Then Rich turned to him. The newcomer, with a well-aimed blow, laid Rich on his back in the alfalfa, and turning to the other workers, quietly drew a card from his pocket. Rich arose from the grass in time to hear the name of the ranch owner and to discover that he had been kicked about by that very person. Later the newcomer called on the old folks and formerly asked the hand of their daughter. The old man refused to hear him at first, believing him to cause of their trouble, but when his magic name was whispered in the old fellow's ear, a transformation tool place, and, you can easily imagine, there was but little trouble in convincing the girl that the time to marry had come.
- Broken under the strain of Wall Street, Saddler arrived in the West, bringing his butler and some few comforts to which he had been accustomed. He saw Jim Worthy and his child Helen and saw a miracle that he did not understand, for Worthy was happy and hard working. He looked first with contempt, then with envy at the happy farmer and then marveled at it all. His butler brought his mail and he angrily ordered it away. His wife and mother arrived by automobile, and he angrily and irritably ordered them from the premises. He wandered for miles over the countryside, nervous, quarrelsome, easily irritated, until one day, Little Helen, daughter of his happy neighbor, came to visit him. Her childish innocence, her sweet baby ways, brought about a revulsion of feeling in him. Why could he not be happy like her - like her father? A great resolve came to Saddler. He went to Jim Worthy and asked for work as a farm hand, and the delighted Jim was only too pleased to oblige him. One long year did this Wall Street man stick to his work, rising early and going to bed with the same promptness. After that lapse of time he surveyed himself in the mirror. The dark circles were gone, the step was elastic and hope and happiness swelled in his bosom. Then came his wife and daughter and he welcomed them with open arms, showing Helen, the child that had caused it all. And so he returned to his old life, a wiser, a healthier and a better man.
- Ione, a Spanish girl, is deemed and recognized among her circle of friends as a heartless flirt. One afternoon, while seated at the edge of a pond in her father's garden, she is startled by the reflection of a face in the water. It is the face of "Bandit Bob" in the woods, where she has just experienced the satisfaction of crushing another heart thrown at her feet. He displays the primitive instinct by carrying her off to his home on the hill, and there making her his wife, while she is still bewildered at having found a personality which expected submission instead of submitting. Later a love-making scene follows, and the story closes with the sheriff and "Bandit Bob" at peace and the little cabin blessed with a baby.
- Young Bettina Warren inherits a construction camp. She brings along her lawyer, Walter Daniels, to inspect the camp and to run it until Bettina gets married. However, Daniels' heavy-handed management style--which included firing popular and experienced foreman Herb "Overalls" Drew and replacing him with inexperienced and roughneck alcoholic Buck Savage and his cronies--results in tensions boiling up in the crew, who wants Savage thrown out and "Overalls" brought back, a sentiment shared by Bettina because she has fallen in love with him. Daniels, however, is determined to do things his way. Complications ensue.