Trama

Episode 1: "The Treasure Trove" Stephen Walcott favors the suit of Sebastian Navarro, a Spaniard, for his daughter Leontine's hand, foreseeing in the marriage a prop to strengthen his tottering fortunes. Leontine is deeply in love with Jerry Carson, a penniless young writer who has taken passage on her father's ship. The ship burns at sea and all are reported lost save the captain and a seaman. Jerry, however, has managed to swim ashore, where he finds in a bottle a manuscript written by a shipwrecked scientist, Matthewson, which gives the location on an island of a buried fortune. Matthewson also writes of some black pellets he has manufactured which will give the finder "power beyond the dreams of all men." Sebastian, thinking Jerry dead, tries to hasten his own marriage by having One Lamp Louie forge a paper which casts a blot on Jerry's memory. Jerry, after many hardships, arrives shortly after the paper is shown to Leontine and her father, and tries to secure it from Diego, Sebastian's brother. During the struggle Diego falls and is killed, his head hitting a heavy desk ornament. The only witness is One Lamp Louie, who sees it through a window. When Jerry is found bending over Diego, he is arrested on a charge of murder, Louie keeping silent, fearing he will be implicated also.—Moving Picture World synopsis

Episode 2: "Into the Depths" Jerry Carson through the plotting of his rival, Sebastian, is unjustly convicted of murder charge. On a prison ship he hides in a cholera victim's coffin and is buried at sea, but manages to free himself and swims ashore. He journeys to his sweetheart's home and cautiously approaching the garden he overhears Leontine, who thinks him dead, promising to marry Sebastian. Jerry does not know she is doing so only to save her father from financial ruin, and with the stern proviso that she will be a wife in name only until Sebastian can win her love. With bitterness in his heart, Jerry rushes from the place without making his presence known, steals a yacht and sets sail for a buried treasure for which he has plans. Reaching the spot he finds the skeleton of the dead scientist and in his bony hand three black pellets. While reading in a diary that they will give the finder power beyond the "dreams of all men," he is unconscious of the tentacles of an octopus which are slowly creeping towards him. Suddenly they coil around him and drag him into the depths. Months have passed and Sebastian and Leontine have gone to New York to live. One night he forgets his compact and tries to force his affections upon her. Suddenly in a corner of the room "The Shielding Shadow" appears, two burning eyes and two ghostly white hands, one of which threatens Sebastian with a dagger. Leontine hears a voice: "Be true to your love of Jerry and courageous and all will be well." Sebastian, terror-stricken, flees from the room. Leontine picks up the dagger, a proof that it was no hallucination.—Moving Picture World synopsis

Episode 3: "The Mystic Defender" One Lamp Louie, who has forged a paper for Sebastian, holds the disclosure as a cudgel to blackmail him. Sebastian is forced to take Louie to his club. There they make the acquaintance of the Mysterious Stranger, Ravengar. A party is formed at Ravengar's suggestion to see the latest music hall favorite, Muriel Mason. Louie, fascinated with her, becomes a nightly patron. Muriel's brother has stolen a thousand dollars and if unable to return it the following day prison faces him. While Muriel is alone in her room striving to think of a means to raise it, a roll of bills appears and a pencil picks itself up and writes: "Lure a confession concerning a forgery from One Lamp Louie and this will be increased to one thousand." Just as she is securing it from Louie a fire breaks out in the theater and a falling beam hitting Louie makes his mind a blank. Muriel, disheartened, reaches home and again the pencil writes: "You tried your best," and the balance of the money appears beside it. During the fire, Leontine, cowardly deserted by Sebastian, is rescued by Ravengar. Sebastian, jealous and goaded by the fact that he has been unable to win her love, threatens her violence. Suddenly the Shielding Shadow appears with its burning eyes and dead white hands and protects her.—Moving Picture World synopsis

Episode 4: "The Earthquake" Sebastian Navarro reads in a newspaper that One Lamp Louie has struck gold out west and has become a millionaire. Sebastian, a nervous wreck from the increasing visitations of the mysterious "Shielding Shadow," decides to flee from it and with Leontine, he journeys to the remote mining town where Louie has found his fortune. Arriving, the first person they see is the Mysterious Stranger, Ravengar. The Shielding Shadow appears to Louie in his shack and hypnotizes him into writing a confession of his part in the forgery for Sebastian which sent Jerry Carson to prison and later to his death. Sebastian, who has made his way to the shack, enters as Louie is signing his name to it, and during a struggle to secure it, the paper disappears as if picked up by an unseen hand. Later one of a band of crooks overhears Sebastian offer Ravengar $10,000 for it. He refuses and Sebastian leaps at him, but the fight is interrupted by an earthquake which wrecks the town. Ravengar, while rescuing Leontine, loses the paper, which is secured by the crook leader. After a wild pursuit he eludes Ravengar by jumping from a high bridge.—Moving Picture World synopsis

Episode 5: "Through Bolted Doors" Leontine, to secure One Lamp Louie's written confession of a forgery, which has unjustly sent Jerry Carson to prison and later to his death, contrives to enter a closely guarded gambling house, where Ramanoff, a master crook, who has stolen the paper, is consulting with Bianca, a Queen of Blackmailers, concerning its value. Within is a "hidden house," the only entrance to which is through a secret panel. Leontine, pretending she has fainted, is carried into the secret chamber by a servant. On the other side of the wall she finds herself before the beautiful Bianca surrounded by her band of gentlemen crooks, and is astounded to discover her husband, Sebastian, who is bargaining for the paper, the disclosure of which would implicate him. The tense scene suddenly has an invisible intervention. The paper is mysteriously snatched from Bianca by an unseen force, and Leontine finds it in her own hand. One by one the crooks, who attempt to seize it from her, are knocked down by a powerful invisible antagonist. Sebastian, fighting with the unseen foe, is felled by a vase which rising in the air hurls itself at him. Step by step to the door Leontine is shielded by her unseen defender and escapes. After a fight she pauses breathlessly beneath a street lamp and begins reading. Suddenly it is snatched from her by One Lamp Louie, who has followed her.—Moving Picture World synopsis