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- Denton rides into Yellow Ridge with a money-belt filled after years of toil in the mines beyond the desert. The local gamblers covet the fortune but fail to get Steve to try the roulette table until the enticer, Trixie, comes to exercise her charms on him. He blindly follows her lead and is watching the wheel with stern stare when a telegram is received. He asks the woman to read it. She lies when she says it contains good news, for it tells of his mother's critical illness. In the morning Steve awakes to find his belt is empty. In his feverish search through his pockets, he comes upon the telegram. As the truth dawns he goes to the telegraph office to send home a wire. The operator hands him the news that his mother has died. Wild with rage, he shoots up the town and drives away with Trixie lying limp over his horse before him. His heart is now filled with hate for all women and Trixie becomes his slave in a community where he tolerates only the scum of the section. Across the desert comes a pack train of Mississippi farmers who have left their fertile valleys to hunt for gold. Their water is all but gone and their stock is fagged. Their leaders plead with Steve for aid, but the white race may expect nothing from him. Back to the wailing women and children go the despondent leaders. Mary Jane, a waif among them, is not cowed by the story they tell, and by night she goes to repeat their please to the harsh white man. He looks upon her as another victim to share Trixie's lot, but her innocent, fearless attitude toward him makes him hesitate. Meanwhile, his men have carried off the women of the train. As the men pursue and bloodshed is in the air, Steve yields to the little girl and trades the safety of those people for his rich mine, leaves his wealth to his followers and guides the strangers out of the desert.
- Peggy, a rambunctious young American girl, goes to Scotland to visit her uncle. Her American ways both shock and eventually delight the people of the old village--especially the handsome young minister.
- Confederate soldier Frank Winslow is terrified of the war and eventually runs away from battle. But when he finds himself behind enemy lines with vital information, he must decide between his fear and his conscience.
- The U.S. Army and the Indians sign a peace treaty. However, a group of surveyors trespass on the Indians' land and violate the treaty. The Army refuses to listen to the Indians' complaints, and the surveyors are killed by the Indians. A vicious Indian war ensues, culminating in an Indian attack on an army fort.
- In the wayward western town known as Hell's Hinges, a local tough guy is reformed by the faith of a good woman.
- Jim Maitland (Gordon Mullen) loses his last cent gambling the Double Stamp saloon and gambling hall, and shortly after it closes, he robs the proprietors "Keno" Bates (William S. Hart) and "Wind River" (Herschel Mayall) are robbed, at gunpoint. After the surprise, they track Maitland down, and Keno shoots him dead on self defense. Keno goes through his belongings and finds a letter and a locket; the letter announces the arrival of the deceased's sister, and the locket has a cameo picture of Doris Maitland (Margaret Thompson). Thus, Keno tells Wind River they must do a heap of lying. Meeting the girl at the stagecoach's arrival, Keeno feels responsible for the innocent and attractive Ms. Maitland; he tells her a white lie, that her brother was a good man, "killed in a mine accident," who had left her a cabin and money - and Keno turns his own cabin over to Doris. Keno and Doris began to fall in love. Anita (Louise Glaum), a dance-hall girl, aggressively tries to seduce Keno. Keno repels her, and later, the dance-hall girl catches sight of her rival when Keno muses on the cameo. Anita decides to expose his lies to Doris in a private conversation at the cabin. First, Doris gets into a fight with the saloon girl but then Doris accepts the painful truth. Furious, Doris confronts Keno outdoors, and his admission of having killed her brother is followed by her sending a bullet into his body. Keno, disillusioned, wounded, staggers back to the Double Stamp, asking Wind River for his saddle bags so he can ride out. But not far from town, as he lays dying, Wind River tells Doris all the facts about her brother. They find Keno, and Doris nurses him back to health.
- Al Metz is accused of horse stealing. He goes to a nearby farm, owned by Rudolph Slausson, and there hides from the sheriff and a posse of cowboys. He gets away from them and boards a freight train bound for New York City, where he robs the New York National Bank. Fearing that he will be caught, he goes to the Central Station with the money on his person. While there a number of emigrants come in, among whom is a young German girl. As he is afraid he will be caught with the money, he deposits it in the bundle of the German girl. When this girl reaches her home she finds upon opening her bundle a bunch of banknotes. She shows them to her husband, who is Mr. Slausson, owner of the farm on which Metz hid. They are both delighted over the money, but are unable to explain where it came from. They finally decide to go back to Germany, but while purchasing their tickets the agent notices that the number on the check is that of the check that was stolen from the bank. They are taken to the police station and questioned as to the money and held as guilty of the bank robbery. In the meantime Metz at a New York hotel, sees in a paper that the real robbers of the National Bank have been caught. He recognizes the name of Slausson as that of the man who helped him hide from the sheriff and the cowboys. He then decides that the only thing for him to do is to go to the police station and confess that he is the real robber of the bank. This be does and Mrs. Slausson and her husband are released.
- Everett Nelson was born on a farm and is an only son. He does all the hard work on the place for his father, who keeps the country bank. Unable to stand the bondage any longer, Everett leaves for New York in quest of work. While job hunting he sees a sign on the door requesting the services of a janitor. On entering to apply for the position he finds himself on the stage of a theater, where a rehearsal for a musical comedy is in progress. The astounded manager gazes at this apparition, and then an idea strikes him. He hires the "Clodhopper" for a rural number in his show. How the "Rube" makes the hit of his life as well as showing he is not to be laughed at as a prodigal son is shown in the events that follow.
- Tom "Wolf" Lowry, the owner of the Bar Z ranch, tolerates no intruders into his life. When he hears that settlers have entered his valley, he goes to confront them but has a change of heart when he sees Mary Davis, a young woman who has come West to find her missing sweetheart, Owen Thorpe. Mary nurses Lowry back to health after he is wounded by Buck Fanning, the real estate agent who sold Mary her claim, when Lowry prevents Banning from raping Mary. Lowry soon falls in love with Mary and she agrees to become his wife, having lost all hope of finding her former sweetheart. By coincidence, Lowry finds Owen, but when Owen and Mary meet and plan to run away together, Lowry insists that she honor her agreement to wed him. On the day of the wedding, however, Lowry has a change of heart and takes Owen and Mary to the minister and tells him to marry the two lovers instead. Lowry then leaves Mary a note saying that he is going to Alaska. Five years later, Mary and Owen are the parents of a young son, named Tom, and the recipients of a letter from Lowry who now lives in isolation in Alaska.
- In war-torn Europe, Colonel Damien seizes an enemy town, then to persuade the defeated soldiers to give up their ill-gotten money, the Emir of Balkania, commander of the supporting native troops, threatens to unleash his men on the women who are staying in the town abbey. After giving the captured men a payment deadline, Damien collapses in a chair and falls asleep. As he sleeps, the emir goes to the abbey where Sylvia, the colonel's daughter, is staying in secret. He offers to free the other women in exchange for her sexual favors, but after complying with his demands, she shoots and kills him. When Damien discovers the emir's corpse, he orders the assassin shot, and covered in a veil, Sylvia is promptly executed. After her body is identified, the colonel is overcome with grief. Finally, he wakes up in his armchair and, realizing the tragedy was only a dream, orders his troops to leave the town in peace.
- An outlaw on the run comes upon a widow and her small child. When the child is bitten by a snake, the outlaw risks his life by riding into town to get a doctor.
- D'Artagnan goes to Paris and becomes a member of the famous King's Musketeers. The Queen sends him on a dangerous mission to England. His three companions are either captured or put out of commission in the course of fights on foot and horseback. D'Artagnan reaches London and recovers from the Duke of Buckingham a pair of studs the Queen gave him as tokens of regard. On the ship on which he returns the hero is captured by his deadly enemy, De Rochfort. Jumping over the side, he clings to the chains of the vessel till it reaches port in France. He restores the studs to the Queen, and she has them put back into the necklace where they belong. Cardinal Richelieu has induced the King to command the Queen to appear wearing the necklace at a great court ball. When he sees the complete necklace, his plan to embarrass the Queen falls through. In addition to obtaining the favor of the Queen, D'Artagnan is rejoiced over the safe return of his comrades and his reward from his sweetheart for his bravery.
- "Draw" Egan, a notorious bandit of New Mexico, has come to the end of his tether. His gang has been dispersed, many slain, and more in jail, and there is a reward of $1,000 offered for Egan, "dead or alive." While drinking in a saloon at Muscatine, Egan chances across Matt Buckton, a leading citizen of the neighboring village of Yellow Dog. Yellow Dog is a town infested with gunmen who make life miserable for the few respectable citizens. Buckton is on a still hunt for some strong men who will shoulder the unenviable responsibilities of sheriff, and put the fear of God and the law into the hearts of his undisciplined fellow-citizens. While Buckton is thinking over his seemingly impossible quest, the bully of Muscatine enters the saloon and accosting "Draw" Egan, finds himself crumpled upon the floor without opportunity for repartee. Buckton is so much impressed by the quietude and deftness of Draw Egan's work that he immediately offers him the job of cleaning out Yellow Dog. So Draw Egan, as William Blake, is installed as sheriff of Buckton's promising community. William Blake soon has the bullies and gunmen of Yellow Dog well in hand, with law and order restored by the capable ex-bandit. At the time when the respectable citizens are singing the praises of the new sheriff, one of the worst of Egan's old gang, Oregon Joe, strolls into town, sizes up the situation, and holding a threat of betrayal over the sheriff's head, proceeds with the aid of the tough element to undo the sheriff's good work. For himself Egan cares little, but while endeavoring to live down his past and lead a clean life, he has fallen in love with Buckton's daughter Myrtle. Day by day he submits to Oregon Joe's insults and the tough element gradually gets the upper hand. Things have reached such a pitch that one day the gunmen, headed by Oregon Joe, decide to drive the respectable citizens out of town and run the place for themselves. It is up to the sheriff to decide, and his manhood asserts itself. He confesses the evils of his past life, throws himself on the mercy of his fellow citizens and promises to surrender to the government if they will allow him one day to restore order. He makes good; the gunmen are whipped into submission and Oregon Joe, the blackmailer, meets his just reward. The sheriff surrenders and is locked up in the caboose, but the next morning a delegation of citizens greets him with the assurance that to them Draw Egan has ceased to exist and that Yellow Dog only recognizes Sheriff William Blake. Myrtle Buckton is one of the delegation.
- After building a financial empire, Frederick Mallery feels chained to his wife Winnie, who stood by him during the years of poverty. As a result, he offers Warren Woods, a down-and-out former playboy, $50,000 to seduce Winnie, so that he will have an excuse for a divorce. Warren works hard at his job, but instead of weakening Winnie's devotion to Frederick, he himself falls in love with her. Needing the money, however, he boasts to Frederick of having seduced Winnie. Suddenly, Frederick becomes jealous, and after calling off the deal with Warren, he goes to Winnie and tells her that he loves her.
- Lillian Hillary's mother encourages her to marry a rich man after her father's death and the loss of the family fortune. She chooses Bert Werden, who is more wholesome than her other wealthy suitor, financier Graham Henderson. When Werden loses his fortune, Lillian's goading causes him to work night and day dealing in the stock market. Although he regains his fortune, his health soon suffers and he develops an obsession with making money. Werden neglects Lillian, who misses his attentions. After Werden forgets their third wedding anniversary, he responds to Lillian's displeasure by coldly handing her a $50,000 check. When Henderson tries to gain control of a syndicate to bankrupt Werden so Lillian will leave him, Werden, to save himself, asks her to give the check back, but she refuses. Thinking that Lillian will accept Henderson, Werden is about to shoot himself when he overhears her tell Henderson that she refused Werden's request so that he would go broke and forget about greed. Werden sends Henderson away and is reconciled with his wife.
- Jim Carson, a young Tennessee mountaineer, and Millie James, a mountain girl, are worried over the condition of Jim's mother. Millie nurses her tenderly. Jim's worry is increased by a note which he has received from John Calhoun, a miserly landowner, stating that, unless he pays the overdue rent on the shack which they occupy, that Jim will be evicted. Realizing that terrible shock would be dangerous to his mother, Jim goes out and attempts to borrow the money. He meets with no success. Meanwhile, Calhoun, accompanied by two deputies and his overseer, Ned Simms, goes the rounds of the cabins to collect his rent. He arrives at Jim's cabin. Jim being absent upon his mission, Millie states that they have not the rent, whereupon Calhoun orders them evicted and the men at his command place the dying woman out on the roadside on a mattress, also throwing their scant furniture into the roadway. The shock of the eviction kills the mother, Calhoun goes on his way. Jim arrives at the cabin and learns of the eviction and the death of his mother. Shortly afterwards he leaves to wreak his vengeance upon Calhoun. The mountaineers carry the dead woman into the cabin and restore the furniture to its original position. Jim Carson, by a short cut, waylays Calhoun, shoots at him and kills his horse. In a desperate struggle between the two men, Calhoun's revolver is accidentally discharged and Calhoun is killed. The body is discovered and Ned Simms and a posse set out upon the trail of Carson. He is captured, placed on a horse under a tree with a rope about his neck and left there, Simms knowing that at sunset the horse will return to the stable, leaving Carson to hang. Simms returns to the cabin of Carson and finds Millie there and taunts her with Jim's fate. The mountaineer whose horse Jim borrowed his already arrived on the scene. He hears the argument in the shack, goes to the window and covers Simms with his own rifle. Millie leaves on horseback and rescues Jim. She liberates him and at her request Jim rides towards the North, where Millie promises to join him after burying his mother.
- A confederate soldier gives up his life in order to save his rival.
- Molly Ashley, a child of the slums, is charged with being an accomplice to a shoplifter. Although innocent, she is convicted of shoplifting and sentenced to two years' imprisonment. Jim Tracy, the leader of a band of gangsters, rescues Molly. The following morning Detective Stone is assigned the task of locating and running down Jim Tracy's gang. To secure evidence against the gang, he disguises himself as one of the gangsters, runs into their place, and pretends that the "cops" are after him. Tracy and the gang take him in. Molly falls in love with Stone and discovers his true identity. One of the crooks gets sore at Jim and betrays them to the police. Jim accuses Molly of betraying them. Stone resents his accusation. A fight follows and Jim is killed. Stone takes Molly away and gives her a chance to be self-supporting.
- Jack o' Diamonds and his partner, Two Spot Hargis, are known as square sports in the desert town of Oxide. Jack gives liberally to all charities, and is surprised when one day a pioneer missionary refuses to take his money as he considers it ill-gotten. About this time Col. Ransome enters Jack's gambling place. The colonel, a big ranch owner, intoxicated and loaded down with money received in a cattle deal, insists on a game for the highest stakes. Jack consents, wins the colonel's money and also a deed to the ranch. In the fight that follows Colonel Ransome is shot by one of his own foremen, Anastacio, who has previously planned to rob his master and hates to see the money get away from him. The onlookers think that Jack killed the colonel, but as there is a general shooting no fuss is made about the matter. Jack becomes disgusted with his present mode of life and quits the gambling game. He takes up the ranch that has been deeded to him by the dead colonel. When Jack and his partner, Two Spot, arrive at the ranch they discover that the colonel has left an only daughter, Virginia Ransome, who is being educated in New York. Jack determines to put the ranch in order and hand it over to the rightful heiress. When things are in shape he writes to Virginia to come west. When Virginia arrives she treats Jack as a hired servant. He still keeps on with the work around the ranch, but is hampered by Virginia's attitude, as this encourages Anastacio and the hands to almost open mutiny. After plotting to dethrone Jack and secure both the ranch and Virginia for himself, Anastacio tells Virginia that Jack Diamond is the murderer of her father. Virginia dismisses Jack and makes Anastacio her foreman. Jack and Two Spot leave the ranch, but determine not to leave "the little lady" to the mercy of Anastacio. Jack dispatches Two Spot to the nearest fort for the rangers and returns in time to rescue Virginia from Anastacio and the rangers arrive in time to clear up the ranch. One of Anastacio's associates tells Virginia that her father was shot by Anastacio and not by Jack. Virginia apologizes to Jack for her past unkindnesses and offers to turn over the ranch to him as rightful owner. Jack will only entertain a proposition that involves a half ownership, and eventually wins Virginia as his wife.
- Jim Treen, a road agent, is engaged to Molly Stewart, who has no notion of his secret profession. When she discovers Jim's hidden treasure cache, she breaks their engagement. Though he pleads with her, promising to reform, Molly will not marry the bandit. Bill Carey, interested in Molly's savings, woos and wins her. The evening they are to be married, she entrusts to Carey her bank account, asking him to invest it for her. Carey beats it out of town on the night stage. Jim Treen is notified that Carey has left Molly in the lurch. The former road agent rides after the stage. Carey bribes the driver with a bonus of one hundred dollars to make the eastbound limited. Treen, however, by taking a perilous short cut over the mountains, stops Carey at the train, snatches away his gun, and compels him, at the point of his own weapon, to hand over Molly's money. Jim restores her savings to the woman he still loves, and Molly becomes his wife.
- Bill Eagan, a young bandit, holds up the stage coach and robs the passengers of all their valuables. A reward of $500 is offered for Bill, dead or alive. Shortly after the hold-up, Bill calls at the Muscatine Post Office for a letter which is advertised for him. Bill covers the postmaster with his pistol and the letter is delivered to him. Bill then starts back to the hills and is pursued by the sheriff and his posse. He is captured and is about to be lynched when he asks as a last request that the sheriff read to him the letter he has just received from the Muscatine Post Office. The sheriff complies with Bill's request. The letter, which is from Bill's mother, says she is coming to see him. Just then the stage drives in and Bill's mother is one of the passengers. She sees Bill and hurries to him with outstretched arms. The sheriff pities her, as she is a sweet-faced woman. He tells the mother that Bill has just been made sheriff of the town, and pins his own badge on Bill. Bill's mother thanks the sheriff and the villagers. She is then shown to the best room in the hotel, with Bill in the room next her. After the sheriff and villagers leave Bill and his mother, the mother takes off her wig and make-up and proves to be Bill's pal, a young cowgirl. That night she and Bill escape from the hotel and rob the bank and the post office. They get away. The next morning the sheriff discovers how he has been tricked by Bill.
- Mildred is the heart link between a sturdy blacksmith named Judson and his wife, their only child and a fascinating personality. Judson is living in the danger zone when he decides to be one of those responding to Lincoln's second call for troops. He leaves his work and his family, just as loyal men must do in time of stress and storm, and becomes a private in the Union army, but there is an added stimulus, the troops in gray are within striking distance of his home. The parting scenes between the blacksmith and his wife are unusually affecting, due largely to the exceptional acting of the lady who plays the lead, whose name has not been furnished. She displays striking capability throughout the play, though I do not recall having seen her face before on the screen. The little girl, Mildred, does all that might be expected of a child under the circumstances; she knows nothing of patriotism and glory, and her opportunities come later on. All three leads are consistent performers. When the tide of battle rises to the village where the blacksmith's family lives the inhabitants flee on foot and in all sorts of vehicles with whatever valuables they can carry. Mildred is seated in the rear of a wagon when she drops her doll, and she climbs out to recover it. She stands gazing at the stream of refugees passing her for a while, then wanders away and is lost in neighboring woods, where she is exposed to the fire of both armies. She wanders on and on, hugging her doll close to her breast, while the ravages of war are going on all around her. She screams when shells explode near her and runs from them in horror, but she escapes uninjured until nightfall. She is not far away from the Union lines when the soldiers in blue stack their arms and light their camp fires, and her movements are noticed by one of the pickets, her own father. He challenges; receives no answer and fires. He is overwhelmed with grief on finding that he has severely wounded his precious little girl and deserts his post to carry her to his own house. His wife has returned in search of her little one and lies prostrated with grief over her loss. There is an affecting scene when the three are brought together, but other sentinels have discovered the absence of Judson, have reported him as missing from post, and a squad has been sent to capture him at his home. He is placed under arrest, tried by drum head court martial and sentenced to be shot at sunrise. So much for the liberty of him who sacrifices all that he holds dear for the sake of liberty. He is brought to a realization during his brief imprisonment that patriotism counts for so little in the end that he had better have stuck to his forge and his family. Now comes little Mildred's opportunity. She and her invalid mother go to the tent of the officer in command to plead for the life of the man who yielded to God-given instincts in saving his child at the risk of leaving his post unguarded. The rules of war are not those of compassion, and the weak creatures are not permitted to enter, but the child takes the law into her own hands and slips by the sentry. Her appeal in behalf of her father is the high point in the drama, and it is successful in every sense of the word. The stern martinet refuses with grim determination until the child's gentle presence recalls a parting scene at his own home, when he gradually relents. The prisoner is set free and restored to his family. In artistic conclusion, in relief from the conventional, the commanding officer is seen in his tent absorbed in his work when he receives a letter and a package from Mildred. The latter contains her doll. The note says, "I am sending you my best doll because you were so kind to daddy. When he is through fighting, please send him home." -- Moving Picture World synopsis
- An narcissistic woman with the ability to charm, Leila Aradella reaps delight from preying upon weak men. Her first victim is John Morton, a talented lawyer, whom she ruins both morally and financially. Her second victim, Rex Walden, the generous son of society matron Mrs. Walden, becomes her complete slave. Mrs. Walden sends her elder son Franklin to try to dissuade Leila from toying with Rex's affections. Franklin, however, also falls under Leila's spell, and Rex is driven to suicide by her callous behavior. Desperate, Mrs. Walden enlists Adele Harley, a girl of strong moral character, to fight Leila for Franklin's affections. Adele's determined victory causes Leila to lose her confidence, and in a drunken state, she cuts her own face with a shard from her shattered mirror. Permanently disfigured, Leila ends a broken and lonely woman.
- Doris Wingate is featured in a Sunday magazine supplement as the most snobbish girl in America. In reality, Doris is lovable and eager for friends, and it is her Aunt Priscilla who deliberately cultivates the false impression. Realizing this, her uncle ships Doris off to a co-educational college, but unfortunately, her reputation preceded her and she is snubbed by the other students. However, in Robert Lee Hollister, a fellow student who takes in washing to earn his tuition, and his little helper Dolly Temple, Doris finds true friends. Entering into a business partnership with her new friends, Doris spends her happiest hours sorting linen until her Aunt Priscilla arrives to break up the match. Doris defies her aunt and elopes with Bob, thus shattering her image as a snob, and the two settle down to a happy life together.
- The picture tells the story of a little Spanish boy who is cast upon the shore of the east coast of Mexico early in the sixteenth century, when Mexico was dominated by the Aztec Indians. Never having seen a white person before, the local natives, a tribe called Tehuans, bring him up as a god and call him Chiapa. When he reaches manhood, Chiapa is given authority over his entire tribe. He falls in love with the priestess, Tecolote, and she yields to his advances although she is quite unworthy of him, and encourages other suitors. Then the Aztecs hear that under the white god the Tehuans are very prosperous, and start forth to conquer them. The Aztec army is under command of Mexitli, the chief general of Montezuma, the Emperor, and having conquered the Tehuans, he carried off Tecolote as his personal slave. Chiapa follows as a spy. In the garden of Montezuma, he is wounded by a guard, but Lolomi, the beautiful daughter of the Emperor, saves him. They fall in love. Meanwhile Mexitli has tired of Tecolote, and now seeks the hand of the Princess Lolomi, who would rather die than have him. As the Emperor gives Mexitli his consent, he tries to get the princess by force, and in doing so discovers Chiapa. Luiapa is sentenced to die at the end of the year on the sacrificial stone. But Lolomi, finding her pleas to her father of no avail, sends word to the Tehuans that their god is captive. An avenging army sweeps down, and there is brought about a sequence of thrilling scenes with a smashing finish.
- Promising young lawyer Jack Dunn becomes a victim of drugs and loses his standing in the legal world. He passes his idle hours in the slums where he meets underworld figure Nan Bishop, whose influence helps to make a man out of Dunn; with her help he breaks his dependence on drugs and is successful in obtaining a position as a criminal lawyer. Years later, they meet again in a courtroom: Nan has been falsely accused of murder and Dunn is the prosecuting attorney. Learning that Dunn's professional future depends on his winning the case, Nan pleads guilty, but at the last minute, the real criminal is discovered and Nan is cleared of the crime. She then accepts Dunn's offer of marriage and together they look forward to a happy future.
- Most of the patients of Dr. Ward Allison are women, and his wife Margery is becoming increasingly jealous of all the time he spends with them. One day he tells her that he has been called out of town, but she is told that he is really staying at the house of a friend and colleague, Dr. Hendon, and the two are planning wild parties with their female patients. What she finds out, however, is even more shocking than what she expected.
- Through the efforts of the Rev. John Drummond, who comes to a small western mining town with his little boy, all the saloons are closed. Jim Howe and his daughter, Nell, being unable to carry on a liquor business in the town, move to the mountains, where he runs an illicit still and continues to supply whiskey to the Indians. The sheriff gets on his trail and he is soon placed in the custody of the law. Nell, determining to avenge herself for the capture of her father, fires n shot into a party of hostile Indians, secreting herself in a bush as she does so. The Indians, seeing the soldiers coming, and thinking that they fired the shot, rush at them, but are defeated. This plan of revenge having failed, she makes her way to the minister's home, but is prevented from doing any harm to him by the maternal instinct which rises in her when she sees his little boy praying for his mother in heaven. Just then the sheriff's posse captures her and is about to lead her off when the minister persuades the deputies to parole the girl in his custody. She falls in love with the reverend gentleman and they are later married. This incident causes the villagers to pass much adverse comment upon the pair. Being unable to withstand such criticism, Nell leaves a note on the table saying to her husband that she is going away. Soon after her departure the sheriff calls upon the minister with a warrant for Nell's arrest on account of her fight with a woman who has a vitriolic tongue. The sheriff and his posse decide to help the minister find his wife, and they start out. They locate the lifeless body upon the desert, and a pathetic scene takes place as the minister comes upon the body.
- Alma Clayton is a butterfly type of girl. She is being wooed by a gilded youth, Neil Webster, whom she likes to a degree. At a public banquet Alma becomes acquainted with Wayne Burrous, a brilliant criminal lawyer, and won by the man's eloquence, she casts Neil aside and eventually marries Wayne. Her husband's strict attention to business piques her, and it results in Wayne leaving her use of their large mansion while he takes up his residence in the club. Alma, while out shopping with a friend, meets Neil, who tells her that his love for her is gone. At home she calls him by telephone. He arrives at Alma's home, and informs her that what he said about his love for her is not true, and that he is actuated by the desire of revenging himself on Wayne for winning her away from him. She is undetermined whether to elope with him or not. Meanwhile Jim Sims, a burglar, breaks into Wayne's room. After taking a number of gold and silver pieces his eye fixes on a portrait of Wayne. He recognizes it as representing the lawyer who had once saved him from jail, although Sims was penniless: He carefully replaces the articles from his sack to the dresser and is about to leave empty-handed on account of respect for his benefactor when he hears the excited conversation of Alma and Neil. He steals down the stairs and suddenly confronts them just as Alma is about to yield and go away with Neil. At the point of his gun he makes Neil sit quietly, while Alma is compelled to tie him with a rope to his chair. Then Sims makes the woman go upstairs to Wayne's room, where he shows her the picture of her husband and tells her of his saving Sims from jail. The burglar insists that such a man could not be the brute that she thinks him. He is so forceful in the presentation of the claims of Wayne and of the penalty that she would have to pay if she should break the laws of society that the woman is won over. Then Neil manages to drag himself, still securely bound to the chair, over to a telephone. He gets the receiver off the hook with his teeth and calls the police. On their arrival Neil is released. Alma hides the burglar and tells the officers that the burglar escaped through a window. When they are gone she rejects Neil. Neil goes out the back door, is mistaken for the burglar and is badly beaten up by an officer. Alma gives the burglar the picture of her husband as a souvenir of gratitude for his aid in setting her right. She then calls up her husband, and on his return there is a happy reconciliation.
- Running Wolf, the son of the High Chief of a Southland tribe, is fascinated by the vision of an Indian maiden that appears to him at intervals. He gently declines the advances of Nona, a woman of his own tribe, to his father's sorrow. One Bear, an exhausted Indian, staggers into the camp and tells them of a tribe of fierce Indians far to the north, called the Tribe of the Three Brothers. He also describes a beautiful Indian girl whom Running Wolf recognizes as the girl of his dreams. He journeys north to secure the Indian maid. He arrives, defeats the two brothers in battle, and the Indians calls upon the third terrible brother who always wears a grotesque mask over his face and whom they regard with superstitious awe. Running Wolf previously sheltered the Indian princess who was lost in a rainstorm. The terrible third brother appears on the scene, but Running Wolf makes a dash for him and he retreats. The chase leads into the forest, where Running Wolf unmasks the mysterious personage and reveals the face of Nona, the maiden of his own tribe. They make their escape back to the village of his father.
- Cliff Hudspeth, the leader of a band of outlaws in Arizona, has won his place by the killing of notorious gun-bullies. At their headquarters, in the Gila Mountains, in consultation with "Ace High," his lieutenant, he plans depredations on the neighboring settlements. Although Hudspeth is powerful, their rule is disputed by El Salvador, a half-breed, and his following of desperadoes. Desert Pass is the scene of many conflicts between the contending bands. Rumors of the arrival of miners with gold causes El Salvador to send "Cactus" Fuller, his henchman, to levy tribute by a hold-up, which is successful. Flushed with triumph, he boasts in the "Golden Fleece" saloon of the ignominies to which he would treat Cliff Hudspeth if he ever met him. Hudspeth arrives and makes Cactus, whom he throws out of the saloon, realize that something must be done to retrieve a shattered reputation. Coming out of the saloon, Hudspeth sees Norma Wright, a milliner, standing at the door of her little store, and waves her inside, as he anticipates trouble. The shooting commences and Cactus is defeated. As Hudspeth is preparing to leave town Norma denounces him as a cold-blooded murderer. Stung almost to madness by the girl's accusation, he seizes her and gallops out of town. At his retreat he locks the stupefied girl in a room and seeks to drown the memory of her words with whiskey. The whiskey, and his awakened conscience, bring him to review his life, and, half delirious, he sees his victims pass reproachfully before him. The girl, too, becomes aware of the human side of the man and next morning she brings him around to her way of thinking and extracts a pledge that he will never willingly kill another human being. Soon after there comes from a member of the legislature offer of a pardon and restoration to citizenship if Cliff will undertake to rid Arizona of El Salvador. Hearing of Cliff's new appointment, El Salvador is wild with rage, and burns the town and drags Norma away to the mountains. Cliff Hudspeth rescues her and kills El Salvador, although mortally wounded himself. He places the girl on a horse, which bears her to safety, and passes away consoled that his last killing was in her defense.
- Ashley Hampdon, a Wall Street financier, has a daughter named Lina. Gregg Lewiston wants to marry the girl. The father tells him that the girl can please herself. As he does not seem to progress in his love-making, Lewiston puts through a scheme to ruin Hampdon in the market, so that the father will bring pressure to bear on his daughter to marry the suitor as he has lots of money. Hampdon is distracted by his losses. While aimlessly looking over his papers Hampdon comes across a little note signed by a western mining man, Bot White. It is an offer from White to assist Hampdon at any time and in any place, physically or financially. Hampdon had once befriended White and as he would not take anything else in return, White gave him the written offer. Hampdon sends a message to White to come to New York at once. When White appears, Hampdon tells him of his suspicion, that Lewiston injured him through an accomplice who had given him a wrong tip. Lina takes offense at a conversation she hears between Lewiston and White and tells White that she objects to him. He is put up at a club by Hampdon. There Lewiston sends Rankin (the same broker that he used to ruin Lewiston) to White with a tip on the market. White sends for detectives. They connect White's room with that of Lewiston's on a floor above by means of a wire and with the aid of a Dictaphone they overhear Lewiston and Rankin concocting a scheme to ruin White as a friend of Lewiston and a possible rival to Lina's hand. White and Hampdon use this information to make a fortune much to the discomfiture of Lewiston. As his treachery is now revealed, Lewiston is unable to win Lina. He goes to the club and insults White by saying in a loud tone of voice that this is the first case he has known of a man trying to buy a girl. White wants him to fight, but Lewiston excuses himself by remarking that it is a gentlemen's club. Finally Lewiston strikes White for calling him a coward, but spectators separate the men. Lewiston goes to his uptown home and White follows him. There is a fight and White gets the best of it till Lewiston hits White over the head with a bronze vase. Just then John Worth, who is a friend of White's and is half crazed from losses due to the villainy of Lewiston, appears at a window and shoots Lewiston in the arm. White having accomplished his mission, goes to bid his friend, Ashley Hampdon, good-bye. Lina has come to admire White for his loyalty to her father and for his efficiency. He does not seem to understand the change in her and bids her farewell. She, however, gets her father to take her on the same train on which White goes. They meet on the platform of the observation car where the misunderstanding is cleared.
- The Colonel is at a financial low ebb, and his only recourse is to get his horse safely to the big race and win. But obstacles appear at every turn.
- Nell, the sister of Colonel Wilson's wife, is in love with Private Walsh, one of the post telegraphers. The colonel is fond of Nell, and his wife, being of a jealous disposition, is uneasy. The colonel discovers Nell's love affair, and takes from Walsh's desk Nell's photograph autographed, "Lovingly, Nell." Mrs. Wilson sews a button on her husband's coat and finds the photograph. She overhears snatches of conversation in which the colonel is trying to persuade Nell to give up Walsh and misconstrues them, and in a fit of temper accuses the colonel of being in love with her sister. The colonel is too hurt to give her an answer, and Nell is indignant. Nell and Walsh elope, Nell writing a note to her sister, Mrs. Wilson finds out for the first time the true circumstances, and begs her husband's forgiveness. The colonel goes in pursuit of the elopers with a squad of soldiers, and is surrounded by hostile Indians. A desperate fight takes place, and Walsh sees that the soldiers are being hard pressed. He climbs a telegraph post, taps the wire, and sends in a call for help. His figure on the top of the post makes an excellent target for the Indians, and he falls, badly wounded. Nell picks up his gun and holds off the Indians, who attack her, until the arrival of the troops. The Indians are badly defeated, though many of the soldiers are shot, and the horses tumbled to the ground. Walsh is tenderly carried to the fort and nursed back to health. For his bravery he receives a lieutenant's commission, which removes the social barrier between him and his wife.
- Abraham Lincoln is shown in his youth addressing an audience of villagers on a street corner. A terrific thunderstorm comes up, driving his auditors away, and Lincoln mounts his horse and rides away. The storm increases in fury, and Lincoln is compelled to seek shelter at a farmhouse owned by a widow, Mrs. Barnes, who has a 10-year-old son, Harry. Mrs. Barnes prepares a hearty meal for Lincoln, who dries himself at the hearth, and when the storm has ceased wishes to pay Mrs. Barnes for the meal. Knowing his poverty, she refuses to accept anything, and Lincoln gravely gives her an I.O.U., reading: "I.O.U. the price of one good meal. Also my life, as I might have lost it in the storm. Abe Lincoln, Lawyer." Ten years later the Civil War breaks out, and Harry Barnes enlists. During the course of the war the Union soldiers take up headquarters with a Southern family, and Harry meets Betty and falls in love with her, and secures her promise to marry him after the war is over. As the Union soldiers move on they are caught in an ambush, and Harry's horse is shot from under him. He leans into the thicket and in a running fight with his pursuers manages to elude them and takes refuge at Betty's home. Betty is fearful that Harry will be captured, and provides him with a suit of civilian's clothes, and that night he endeavors to steal back to his regiment. He is captured, however, and according to military rules is held as a spy, being caught within the enemy's lines without his uniform. Harry sends a letter to his mother telling her of the facts, and she makes an impassioned plea to General Porter, the Southern soldier for her son's life, to no avail. Harry is shot, and a pathetic and dramatic scene takes place as the mother fondles her boy's lifeless body and calls for vengeance upon the heads of those responsible for his death. A month later General Porter lays plans to crush the North, and sends his son Bob to General Lee with plans of the Union fortifications. Bob has a narrow escape from capture, and in his flight comes upon the home of Mrs. Barnes. With her heart heavy with grief over the death of her son, her sympathy goes out to this hunted youth, and she hides him in the room formerly occupied by Harry. Bob has thrown down his coat, and the letter to Lee drops out. Mrs. Barnes reads it, and in a flash she plans a terrible revenge on General Porter. While Bob is sleeping in thorough exhaustion after his nights of peril, she hides his clothing and substitutes her son's uniform, and when the Union soldiers come hunting for Bob she helps in his capture and accuses him of being a spy, turning over to the Union officer the letter to Lee and telling him that Bob came there posing as a Northern officer. Bob is arrested and held for trial as a spy. The failure of Bob to deliver the letter leads to a terrific battle, in which the Confederates are driven back. Mrs. Barns, in calm contemplation of her work, realizes what an injustice she has done, and filled with remorse has terrible visions which nearly drive her mad. She finally resolves to appeal to Lincoln, and hurries to him. Her plea is overruled by the cabinet, but when Mrs. Barnes lays Lincoln's old I.O.U. in his hand and demands payment of his obligation, he is persuaded to sign the pardon which is rushed by fleet messengers to save the Southern boy's life.
- Luke McVane, a big, good-natured, desert miner, comes into the little adobe frontier outfitting town of Sage on the Arizona desert with about $300, the result of three months' hard work and a clean up on his desert claim. Not a bad sort at heart, but crazed by desert fire water and fleeced of his wad by "Crooked Jim" Ashley, a tough gambler. Luke turns bad, kills his man and, sobered by the tragedy, makes for the desert with the sheriff in pursuit. Jim Daly, the sheriff's deputy, forms a posse and follows the trail of the sheriff and Luke. Luke lures the sheriff into the sand hills and ambushes him and shoots him from his horse. Unaware of the pursuing posse, and not having the heart to let the sheriff die in the desert, Luke takes the wounded man with him to his claim. He matches up the sheriff's wound and nurses him back to health. The posse find the sheriff's horse but lose the trail in a sand wash and return to town. During the sheriff's convalescence, Luke tells him the facts of the case: that he really shot in self-defense and fled fearing that he would be lynched by the gambler's friends before he could secure a fair trial. The sheriff believes him and promises to use his influence to have the charge against Luke dismissed if Luke will surrender and accompany him back to town. Luke thinks it over and decides to take the sheriff's advice. When the sheriff is able to travel but still weak from the wound, they start back. Hostile Apaches jump their reservation nearby and they intercept Luke and the sheriff on the way back to town. In the battle that follows both the sheriff and Luke lose their lives. They are found by a posse from town after the Indians. Luke with a revolver in each hand wounded by a number of bullets, with his back supported by a small sand hill and across his lap the body of the dead sheriff.
- Fred Martin is a Southern spy. A northern dispatch bearer is captured, and the signature to his messages is forged and Martin is sent on the dangerous mission of luring the Northern troops into an ambush. He accomplishes this, and a terrible battle results, in which the Federals are driven back. The work of Martin is so damaging to the North that plans are laid for his capture, and John Bruce, a secret service man, is assigned to the task. He goes to Martin's home town and presents a forged letter of introduction to the Martins, purporting to be signed by Fred Martin. He is welcomed into the home and to further his ends makes love to Anna Martin. While in the Martin home the Northern troops surround the house and Bruce, fearing that his plans to capture Martin will fall if the field is not left clear for him to return, is compelled to make himself known to the Northern officer. Fred Martin is expected on a visit that night, so Bruce shows his credentials as a secret service man and instructs the soldiers to secrete themselves about the house. In bidding good-bye to Anna he drops the passport, and she learns the awful truth. Anna has been expecting her brother, and has given the signal, a candle in the window, that the coast was clear. Gun in hand, Bruce awaits Fred, and the anguished girl sees the spy in the moonlight, crouching behind a bush. Galloping towards home, Fred is surprised on a bridge by two northern sentries. Dismounting, he hands them a pass hoping they will be deceived by the northern uniform he is wearing. In swift succession he delivers crushing blows upon the faces of the sentries, and they tumble off the bridge into the water, and leaping on his horse he gallops away. With swift strokes one of the sentries gets to shore, and leveling his rifle takes a quick shot at Fred as he goes around a bend in the road, little thinking it will hit the mark. Fred's horse is struck, and leaping into the air it turns a complete somersault backwards and falls on Fred, Crushed and hurt, Fred extricates himself from the dying animal, and crawls away. The delay has saved him, for the northern soldiers awaiting him give him up in the early hours of the morning, and when Fred drags himself to the door he is unobserved. Anna and her mother put Fred to bed. In his wounded condition he is helpless, and Anna realizes that he must be captured unless she saves him. Attempting to leave the house, her way is barred by a northern sentry. Donning her brother's clothes she manages to affect her escape, and leaping on a horse gallops swiftly away. Bruce has determined upon a bold stroke, and impersonating Fred he goes to the union colonel and tells him a detachment of southern soldiers is nearby, and attempts to lead the northern soldiers into an ambush. In the meantime Anna is making a wild ride, sparing neither the horse nor herself, and she arrives in time to bare Bruce's plot, and accuse him. On her part, Anna has fallen desperately in love with Bruce, and he has lost his heart to the brave girl, but each buries personal feeling for the sake of their respective countries. Bruce is arrested and quickly tried and convicted of being a spy. He is led out in the field, and a dozen soldiers face him with leveled rifles. Anna sees the impending execution and with an agonized scream darts across the field, but the rifles thunder a volley and the man she loves falls dead. The picture ends with Anna sobbing over the dead secret service man.
- John Ruskin, an unknown artist, penniless, tramping over England, stops at a tavern and tells the innkeeper that he will paint him a new sign for his tavern if he, will give him something to eat. Ruskin meets the innkeeper's daughter and falls in love with her, but the father drives him away. Later, the old man dies and the girl and her mother are turned from the tavern by the old man's creditors. They go to the city, taking the sign painted by Ruskin, who is now a well-known and successful artist. Mildred takes the painting to an old art dealer, who recognizes the signature of Ruskin. He obtains the girl's address, and takes the painting to Ruskin to ask him if it is an original. Ruskin, who has been longing for Mildred, pays the art dealer for the painting and asks for Mildred's address. Mildred is surprised and pleased to find that he has not forgotten her, but is more surprised to learn that he wishes to marry one in her station in life.
- Two brothers fall in love with the same girl and a rivalry develops between them. When the American Civil War breaks out, the brothers enlist and find that the war brings greater conflict to their relationship.
- Dr. Dudley Duprez is a well-known Louisiana physician. His beautiful but wayward niece, Rose Duprez, is abducted by Paul Crenshaw, a friend of the doctor, and to prevent her shame from becoming known, Rose kills herself. Dr. Duprez learns her secret and determines to make Crenshaw expiate his crime. While traveling on a Mississippi River steamer, the doctor wins Mercedes, a beautiful slave, at cards. He takes her home and, passing her off as a distant relative, arranges it so that Crenshaw falls in love with the girl. A wedding is arranged, and immediately after the ceremony Dr. Duprez announces to the assembled guests that Mercedes is a slave and that he considers he has punished Crenshaw sufficiently by making him the husband of a "nigger." A yellow fever epidemic breaks out shortly after, and Crenshaw is shot when attempting to evade the quarantine. Dr. Duprez is told by a dying overseer from the plantation where Mercedes was born that the girl is of Spanish and American ancestry, without a drop of negro blood in her veins, and was made a slave through a conspiracy. The doctor returns home, confesses his wrong to Mercedes and is forgiven by her. In the end they are married.
- While covering a sensational divorce case, reporter Janice Salsbury becomes disillusioned with the institution of marriage. Convinced that her impending marriage to fellow reporter Billy Williams will result in a loss of her freedom, Janice breaks her engagement and enters a period of Bohemian living. Her mentor, elderly Phillips Hartley, sadly watches as Janice's friends lose all respect for her and finally succeeds in effecting a reconciliation between Billy and Janice.
- Marie Chaumontel, a spy for the Germans during World War I, vamps her way through the French high command, accumulating state secrets as she discards lovers. Captain Henry Ravignac commits suicide because of her, after which his brother, Lieutenant Charles Ravignac, vows revenge. As a result, he pretends to be a German spy and then becomes an assistant to Marie, all the while gathering evidence against her. Finally, he accumulates enough to hand her over to French authorities, after which he is hailed as a hero for so damaging German espionage operations.
- Van Dyke Tarleton is an artist. He is absorbed body and soul in his latest creation, "Lucifer, Son of the Morning," but lacks a model to depict the brooding evil, the smoldering, sardonic sin that he has visualized in the spirit's face. Naomi Tarleton, his wife, is a beautiful and gentle creature. Tarleton has an attack which necessitates a sojourn in the desert, and he, with his wife, arrive in Tophet, an Arizona border town, where "Bowie Blake," bad man, witnesses their arrival. Tarleton recognizes in Blake a Lucifer in the flesh, and insists that "Bowie" become his model. His demand is refused. Later Blake becomes enthralled when he sees Naomi. Tarleton witnesses the meeting from a window and determines that his wife shall accomplish what he has failed to do. He sends her to the gambler, telling her to beg Blake to come. She does this, and Blake becomes the model. Tarleton insults his wife continually in Blake's presence to prevent the brooding evil, sardonic hardness, and the grim deadliness in the eyes and face of his model from disappearing. One day Tarleton faints at the canvas and the doctor advises that he be taken to the mountains. The three find an ideal camp, and the painting goes on, Tarleton insulting his wife more and more, until Blake decides to leave them, as he can stand it no more. He hesitates on the road, not willing to leave Naomi alone with Tarleton, and eventually returns to find that "Red" Gleason and Jose Ramirez, two outlaws, have killed the painter and are drawing cards to see who shall possess the woman. He kills them both, and takes Naomi to a cave farther in the mountains. Through an injury, Naomi loses her mind. Blake treats her as a child, until her mind becomes clear. He then tells her that he intends to have her as his own. Naomi exerts her influence, and he fights his battle, and wins over himself, upon which he agrees to take her back to town. They stand where the trail leads to the desert town. She holds her hand out to him: "What can I say?" she cries plaintively; "What is there for you and me to say to each other?" Bowie remarks: "I'm sayin' just this: some day I'm comin' after you." She looks at him and answers softly: "Yes, I think you will do that, but I make no promise, there are things to be done, that time and striving will do. It is in your hands, Bowie." "That's all I ask," he answers. "I'm takin' that chance."
- Jim Benton has been too busy making money to learn to read and write, but he persuades Evelyn Hastings to open school on his ranch and he is her most devoted pupil. The sheepmen carry out their threat to cut off Benton's water supply and Evelyn makes him promise to shoot only in self-defense. He keeps his promise, but still he has to kill, and a packed jury of sheepmen bring in a death verdict. The cattlemen attempt a rescue, but it is Evelyn who saves the day.
- Prince Tonio of Bothalia, a mythical kingdom in the Balkan Mountains, escapes an arranged marriage to Princess Athalia, the elderly daughter of a neighboring king. Filled with wanderlust, he becomes a sailor and goes to San Francisco where he becomes a member of a Bohemian artist colony. After Burton Randall, an artist friend, gets him a job as a Maitre D'Armes fencing instructor, Tonio meets a young singer from the Barbary Coast named Fluffy, falls in love with her, and rescues her from political boss Murphy who tries to seduce her. Later, an ambassador from Bothalia, Count Metropolski; arrives to tell Prince Tonio that his uncle has been assassinated and that he is now the sole heir to the throne. Tonio must decide between duty and love, and he chooses love, renouncing the throne.
- Lieutenant Danny Ward, just out of West Point and ready for action when he is sent to the United States Mexico border. He falls in love with Ysobel Ventura, and then rescues her from Pedro Lopez and his gang. Looking for revenge, the bandits come after Danny, and when they catch him, they put him in front of a firing squad. After the apparent execution, the bandits start terrorizing Ysobel, but then Danny saves her once again, because the bullet that should have killed him lodged instead in a St. Christopher medal that Ysobel had given him. After routing the bandits, who believe that they are fighting a dead man, Danny brings Ysobel to his regiment's fort and marries her.
- Ordered to foreign waters, Ensign Carver bids his fiancée goodbye and sails for Japan. Carver, his chum Blake, and two or three other officers, take shore leave at Nagasaki and go sight-seeing. They visit a Japanese garden and meet Myo, a beautiful Geisha girl. Carver falls in love with the girl. So infatuated is he that he refuses to return to his ship. Blake, in order to save Carver from himself, attempts to arrest him, but Carver makes his escape. Blake, to save Carver from disgrace in the service, tells the captain that Carver has fallen and broken his thigh and will be compelled to remain in the hospital for some time. Carver marries Myo and remains in Japan and writes to Cecelia, breaking the engagement. Two years later, Cecelia's father Senator Ridgway is ordered to Japan on diplomatic service. They meet Carver in the Japanese Tea Garden. He is now a derelict, spending most of his time drinking. Carver learns that Senator Ridgway is desirous of procuring certain papers from the Japanese government and in order to regain his lost favor in Cecelia's eyes attempts to steal the papers from Baron Yoshido. He is watched by Takura, Myo's deposed lover, and followed to Senator Ridgway's apartments, where Carver commits suicide rather than be captured by the Japanese soldiers. The picture closes with Myo sobbing at her shrine in the garden.
- Amos Dyer receives word from Washington that there are wireless messages being transmitted from a point in Oregon to foreign battleships off the Pacific Coast. Dyer, the Secret Service representative on the Coast, sets out with his assistant, Calhoun. He arrives, assumes the disguise of an invalid being wheeled about in a chair by his assistant and interviews the regular wireless operator at that point. The suspicions of the Secret Service Department are verified. Dyer writes to a large electrical supply house in Portland and learns that a powerful radio equipment has been sold to Ralph Bell, an artist. Dyer sets out to visit Bell, who is engaged in painting the ruins of the Mission of Santa Rosa to cover his real occupation, that of British secret service agent. Dyer and his assistant gain admittance to the Mission, interview Bell, whose suspicions are lulled by the invalid appearance of Dyer. Dyer goes into the town of the Mission but he is unable to find any incriminating evidence, as Bell has his apparatus carefully concealed. A few nights later Dyer and Calhoun from the window of their bedroom in the hotel see a suspicious light in the tower, and set out to investigate. Bell meanwhile is busy in the tower transmitting messages to British fleet off the coast and a naval engagement takes place in which the Germans are defeated. Dyer and his man arrive at the tower and Dyer climbs the vines. As Dyer is about to take Bell into custody the man is struck by a bolt of lightning and killed while the wireless apparatus is entirely demolished.