- In Chapter 8, "A Partner To Providence", His lordship rides a train that is mistakenly rerouted into a headlong collision into another engine, with the well-worn Lubin train crash footage ensuing. He's pulled out of the wreck and recuperates with a rural family. He recuperates enough to win a fight with a crook at the end.—WesternOne
- Episode 1: "Lord Cecil Intervenes" From Lord Weston, a kindly club lounger and his friend Lord Cecil learns that Rose Middlehurst a wealthy orphan and daughter of one who had been his very dearest friend, is in the clutches of the Countess Lurovich, a clever and unscrupulous adventuress whose present game is to marry wealthy orphan girls to handsome rascals, afterwards dividing the spoils with the legal "husband." Realizing that craft will be necessary to save the girl from the miserable fate to which she is being beguiled, Cecil obtains employment as chauffeur at the Countess's country place, where Rose is a guest. He soon sees that a direct warning to the girl will be folly, as she has been infatuated by Count Luco, the rascal who has been assigned to marry her. The Countess is careful not to appear as a party to any of these marriages, and in this case has arranged that it shall appear, through the fact that Luco and Rose eloped, that the marriage had been opposed by her. Cecil learns the plans for the elopement which is to take place on the day Rose is of age, and makes preparations accordingly. He calls upon Lord Weston for assistance, and that nobleman who is acquainted with Rose, secures the services of a good-natured and discreet actress, whom he brings to the Red Lion Inn, near the Countess's country place. Cecil drives the machine in which Luco steals away with his victim, and speeds furiously to the Red Lion, despite the appeals and threats of the frightened Luco who is too terrified to attempt either to gain control of the machine or leap out. At the Red Lion, in accordance with Cecil's plans the actress dramatically declares herself Luco's wife, and Rose appeals to Lord Weston who apparently, appears upon the scene by chance, to take her home. Luco at length escapes from the woman who asserts that she is his wife and realizing that he could never make Rose believe the woman an impostor, flees Lord Weston discreetly discloses to Rose only the fact that Lord Cecil has saved her from a bitter fate, without explaining the methods employed, and the grateful girl insists on expressing her gratitude directly. This she does and tells him, moreover, that it she may she will henceforth love him as she did her father and his friend.
Episode 2: "An Untarnished Shield" Rodney, Lord Cecil's younger brother, falls under the spell of Mlle. Dazia, a foreign actress who has suddenly become the rage in London, and who has at her feet a score of noblemen and millionaires. She shows marked partiality for Rodney, however, and he is brought almost to the point of madness by her alternating moods of encouragement and coy retreat. Rodney is serving as an aide in the intelligence office of the War Office, and the real object of Mlle. Dazia is to so inflame his heart that he will for the sake of winning her, betray to the band of foreign spies of which she is a member the secrets of the British harbor defenses. This she at last accomplishes, and Rodney betrays his trust. Lord Cecil is informed of the affair by the old general, who is the head of the intelligence office, and who was the friend of Lord Cecil's father. The War Office was fully aware that the plot to steal the plans was underway but instead of preventing its successful conclusion had taken no notice, false plans having been substituted for the real ones, so that the stolen plans would, in the end, serve as a terrible snare should the enemy attempt to use them. For this reason no official punishment whatever would be meted out to the spies or their accomplices. Rodney is no less a traitor, however, because his deed would not result in disaster to his country. Lord Cecil is told that, so far as his brother is concerned, the matter is left in his hands and Rodney is ordered to accompany him to Croftlaigh and there await orders. This younger brother is all the world to Lord Cecil, to whom he has seemed more like a son, but Cecil does not hesitate to take the only course which appears in honor open, that of Croftlaigh has ever been an untarnished shield. He places upon the table in front of the boy a revolver, and leaves him to the fate which it has been the duty of his brother to condemn him, that the honor of the house might be preserved.
Episode 3: "An Affair of Honor" Aside from maintaining untarnished the honor of his name and being "good form," Lord Cecil is particularly interested in but two subjects, one being Rose Middlehurst, a young girl, the child of his dearest friend, now an orphan, and his nephew, Bob Stanley, Lieutenant in the Horse Gruards, a fine young chap, but impulsive and reckless. For each Lord Cecil has a deep affection, and he is made quite happy by their engagement. Bob falls in with a "sporting crowd," the leading spirit of which is the Countess Lurovich, a beautiful siren, with whom he becomes temporarily fascinated. The Countess, contrary to her custom, is infatuated with Bob. She induces Lemoine, another member of the set, not to press the youth for a card debt of 4,000 pounds, for which Lemoine holds I.O.U.'s. Bob soon gets over his fancy for the Countess, his real love for Rose asserting itself, but she has no intention of letting him go. When she realizes that her beauty and wiles have lost their charm, she is roused to a venomous hatred and determines to ruin Bob, even if she cannot cause his death. She tells Lemoine to demand the payment of the I.O.U.'s. She also plans that Count Lurovich, who has been absent but who now returns, shall receive a lurid account of the "affair" with Bob, expecting that the Count, who is a famous duelist, will kill the young guardsman. Bob, almost frantic with shame and grief at his approaching disgrace, which will mean the loss of his commission, the dishonoring of his name, and the breaking of Rose's heart, confesses everything to Lord Cecil, who assures him that everything will be arranged. By straining his scanty resources, Lord Cecil raises the $20,000 necessary to take up Bob's paper. He also contrives that Count Lurovich shall think that it is he who has been intimate with the Countess, and accepts the challenge which the Count at once gives. Lord Cecil fully expects to be killed, the Count's reputation being deadly. Lord Cecil is himself a splendid shot, but has no intention of attempting to kill Lurovich, against whom he has no unkind feelings. There is a little trip to France, and the meeting takes place. At the word, Lord Cecil fires in the air, the Count takes deliberate aim, and Lord Cecil falls, severely wounded. Lord Cecil recovers under the tender care of the deeply grieved Rose and the repentant Bob. He is quite content that he has saved the honor of his nephew and the happiness of the girl, for the single condition he has imposed upon Bob is that Rose must never suspect anything concerning her husband.
Episode 4: "An American Heiress" A year has passed since Lord Cecil risked his life and drew heavily upon his depleted fortune in "An Affair of Honor." His financial affairs are in very bad shape, his credit is exhausted, and his only remaining property, the ancestral family seat, Croftlaigh Manor, is heavily mortgaged. His creditors becoming insistent and the mortgagees threatening to foreclose, Lord Cecil resolves upon heroic measures, and gives his word to his creditors that he will marry an American heiress and settle their claims. He at once sails for America, where his famous name gains him a warm welcome in society. He is promptly taken under the wing of Mrs. Harris, wife of the millionaire peanut butter king, who is a social climber and wildly anxious to connect herself with a noble family. The only heir to the Harris millions is Mary, a pretty girl, and Lord Cecil promptly determines that she will quite do as the bride for whom he is in search. Mrs. Harris permits Mary no voice whatever in the arrangements. Just before the date set for the international marriage. Lord Cecil discovers that the gentle Mary is breaking her heart over the prospect of parting forever from a youthful American named Tom, who is rich in love and hopes, but quite poor in cash assets. Tom loves Mary madly but agrees with her that their passion is quite hopeless. Lord Cecil's kind heart is touched; he quite forgets his own urgent needs and interests, and suggests the substitution of Tom for himself as groom at the approaching wedding. Mrs. Harris will not hear of such a thing, however, and Lord Cecil is forced to practically kidnap his promised bride and put her in the arms of the overjoyed, but hesitant, Tom, see that they are safely married and started for South America, where Tom has a new job. Not until he receives a cablegram voicing the disappointment and wrath of his creditors, does Lord Cecil think of the detail to his playing at providence, that he has thrown away a fortune of some five millions of dollars.
Episode 5: "The Girl from the West" Lord Cecil, through his impulsive kindness in having surrendered to her humble lover the American heiress to whom be had become engaged, now finds himself in a deplorable financial condition, and as a last expedient sells what is left of his family jewels, thereby raising the sum of $25,000. This becomes known to Monte Carson, a professional swindler from the west, who has come east to hunt "big game." He has with him Betty, a charming young girl, whom he unofficially adopted when a child, and whom he finds very useful in his schemes. Betty half suspects the crookedness of Carson's deals, and rebels at the parts she called on to play, and it is only by playing on her feelings of gratitude and obligation that Carson is able to induce her co-operation. Carson frames up a deal, using Betty as a decoy, whereby Lord Cecil is relieved of his $25,000, receiving in return therefore the entire capital stock of the "Golden Hope" mine, which, he is later informed, is an entirely worthless hole in the ground. Carson and the girl return to the west, but Betty cannot forget the gentle and kindly Englishman on whose honest nature they so basely played. Nor can Lord Cecil, even after he realizes that he has been victimized, think in any way but tenderly of the appealing little girl. With the loss of the money derived from the sale of his jewels, Lord Cecil's last asset vanishes; he is left without funds or credit, and the knowledge that the mortgages upon his ancestral home will soon be foreclosed.
Episode 6: "The Golden Hope" On being informed that the "Golden Hope" mine, which he purchased for $25,000 from a swindler, Carson, whose success was due to the reluctant co-operation of Betty, a girl who made a great impression on the gentle-hearted nobleman. Lord Cecil finds himself quite without assets, his English creditors harassing him for money, and his ancient family seat about to be sold under a mortgage foreclosure. With a hazy idea of quickly making a fortune, he goes west. He arrives in the midst of a stampede for a new and amazingly rich gold field, but is too ill to try his luck. He is absolutely broke, and when the landlord of the primitive hotel demands money, he can offer nothing but the stock in the "Golden Hope." This the landlord scornfully refuses. Betty, who is staying at the hotel, and who never ceased to think of Cecil, though with bitter shame for the part she played in his despoilment, learns that the "Golden Hope" is the choicest claim in the new gold field, worth at least a million dollars, and succeeds in warning Cecil just in time to prevent him from giving his stock to the landlord, who has also learned the value of the stock and his mistake in having refused to take it in settlement of his bill. Carson, hearing of the great strike, hurries to the place, hoping that he will be able to again acquire possession of the Golden Hope stock. Discovering that Cecil has been informed of its value, he plots with the landlord to rob him of it, but Betty learns their plans and warns Cecil, also providing him with a revolver. Cecil is an easy victor in the encounter which follows. Betty, still burning with shame for her part in the original swindling of Cecil, is unable to face him, and he leaves for England without seeing her again, being forced to hurry in order to save his estates. She does not know, as she stands, a forlorn and wistful little figure, that he is carrying her picture in his heart.
Episode 7: "The Holdup" Lord Cecil, having learned the value of the mining stock which was thought to be worthless, is hurrying east on his way back to England. On the train he makes the acquaintance of Silas Meggs, an old man, who confides in him his romance, how, forty years before he, Silas, a laborer, had loved Jane Henderson, the daughter of the great man of the village; how the banker, discovering the affair, had forced the girl to write a note which sent Silas into the far west, to vainly seek ease of his heartache; how, at the end of two-score years, he had gone back to his native village, to learn that Jane had been faithful through all the long waiting; how he found her. sweet and beautiful in age as she had been in youth, at the poor farm, the once-wealthy banker having died penniless, and now Silas, having sold his mining claims, was now on his way to make the sweetheart of his youth his wife. The money which would ensure rest and happiness for their remaining years the old man carried with him. The train is held up by a small band of outlaws and the passengers are stripped of their valuables by one of the band while the others keep guard over the train crew and prepare to loot the express car. Old Silas is robbed of his treasure and the hope of making Jane happy at last. The cruelty of this misfortune stirs Cecil to swift action. Seizing an opportunity, he knocks out the bandit nearest to hand, possesses himself of his guns, and gives battle to the remainder of the band. In a few moments, the train men rallying to his assistance. Cecil has rounded up the outlaws, and the future of the aged sweethearts is reassured. A few hours later Silas gets off at his station, and Cecil feels fully repaid as he sees the joyous smile with which old Jane welcomes him.
Episode 8: "A Partner to Providence" The train on which Lord Cecil is traveling is wrecked, he being rescued by Jimmy Holt, the cashier of a construction company, who takes him to the home of Elsie, his sweetheart, which is near the scene of the accident. Lord Cecil is not seriously injured, and by the following day is able to be about. Peterson, the general superintendent of the construction company, is in desperate need and determines to rob the safe of the pay-roll funds, intending to cover his crime by a faked robbery of the safe by a couple of tramps. He secures the packet of money, substituting a dummy, an action which Lord Cecil chances to witness, but to which he attaches no significance at the time. Peterson's tools duly blow the safe, but are caught in the act by the sheriff. In the meanwhile Holt, uneasy for the safety of the money, has removed from the safe the packet which he supposes contains it so that the sheriff declares the safe to have been empty when blown open. Peterson had used the dummy package merely to blind Holt, it having been his plan for the tramps to remove and destroy it. Peterson is viciously jealous of Holt, and now changes his scheme, intending not only to cover his own crime, but to ruin Holt by fastening it upon him. He charges Holt with having stolen the money before the safe was blown. Holt triumphantly produces the package he has kept safely, and explains why he removed it, reminding the sheriff that he, the sheriff, had warned him that yeggmen were suspected in the region. Peterson scornfully denounces this as a bluff intended to give Holt a chance to escape, and demands that the money be shown. To Holt's amazement and horror, the packet when opened consists only of worthless paper. Lord Cecil now remembers seeing Peterson handling the packet, and concludes that Peterson is the thief. He makes the charge, and Peterson by attempting to escape, confesses his guilt. As Elsie throws herself into Holt's arms, however, Peterson's jealousy overwhelms all other emotions, and he attempts to kill the younger man, but is disarmed by Lord Cecil. Shortly after Lord Cecil goes his way, passing forever out of the lives of the young lovers.
Episode 9: "Lord Cecil Plays a Part" Having discovered that his supposedly worthless "Golden Hope" mining stock is worth a fortune, Lord Cecil hurries back to England to save his ancient country estate from seizure by his creditors. On board the steamer, Cecil's attention is drawn to Harry Ashton, a young man of attractive personality, but conceited manner, and to Ethel, his wife, a pretty and appealing girl. This young couple are on their wedding journey, which is also a business trip for Harry. Harry falls into the clutches of Marks and Badger, a couple of crooks, and is swindled out of his money. Half crazed with drink, the boy embezzles $10,000 entrusted to him by his employer, and acts in so brutal a manner to Ethel when she attempts to save him that the miserable girl attempts to throw herself over the rail. She is rescued by Cecil, to whom she tells the full story. Harry has lost all of the $10,000 and is crushed with remorse. Cecil pledges Ethel his word that he will straighten out the tangle. He recovers the stolen money by out-cheating the swindlers, and returns it to Harry. Cecil soon realizes that the return of the money to Harry has only partially straightened up the affair. Ethel has lost all respect for her husband, though she still loves him, and Cecil knows that their only chance for future happiness is to force Harry to re-establish his manhood in Ethel's eyes. To this end he resolves upon a difficult part. Selecting an opportunity when he knows the act will be observed by Harry, he seizes the girl in his arms and kisses her passionately, despite her angry struggles. At Harry's furious interferences Cecil laughs, and as Cecil had hoped he would have the manhood to do, knocks Cecil down. Still playing his part, Cecil slinks away. The scheme is successful and Ethel goes happily to the arms of her husband, who no longer appears to her, or to himself, as a despicable weakling. The crooks, thinking the $10,000 still in Cecil's possession, have determined to resort to desperate means to recover it, and armed with knife and blackjack steal into his stateroom. Cecil coolly gets the drop on them, disarms them, locks the door, throws his own revolver and their weapons into his trunk, and with grim joyousness prepares to solace himself, with his bare hands, for Harry's supinely accepted blow. Some time later he allows two battered wrecks to crawl from the stateroom. As Cecil stands in the center of his wrecked stateroom, his grim smile softens. A vision of Betty appears and with a look of tender pride presses a soft kiss upon his bruised cheek.
Episode 10: "Lord Cecil Keeps His Word" Upon learning that the mine which he purchased from the swindler, Carson, is really very valuable, Lord Cecil hurries from the United States back to England in order to save his ancient estate from sale under mortgage foreclosures and arrives just in time to do so. He found no opportunity to say good-bye to Betty, the little western girl, who, first assisting in swindling him, later saved his fortune from her self-appointed guardian, Carson. As Lord Cecil is now a millionaire, however, he intends to return and tell Betty of his love. Carson, taking Bettv with him. follows Lord Cecil to England, determined to regain possession of the mine. He informs Lord Cecil that as he, Carson, had no legal right to sell the property the former has no good title, that the mine belongs to Elizabeth Lee, an orphan, and that if Cecil is an honest gentleman he will give it up to her, Carson undertaking to refund the $25,000 paid by Cecil. This Cecil agrees to. Lord Cecil meets Betty and she learns of his love, and that the thought of the poverty he must now face, when he has given up the mine, keeps him silent. The girls love is great enough for her to tell him that she wishes him to marry her at once and his heart overcomes his judgment; they are married at once over the Scottish border. Betty asks him to keep the marriage a secret for a little time. Lord Cecil receives the $25,000 from Carson and gives him an order on his bankers, directing them to deliver to Elizabeth Lee the stock of the Golden Hope mine. Carson has expected that the stock would be delivered to him, and is furious, but helpless. The next day there is a meeting of Lord Cecil's creditors, and to Cecil's amazement the banker informs them that Lord Cecil has kept his word, given them long before, that he would marry an American heiress and that they may draw on the bank for all claims. The banker then conducts Cecil into another room, where they find Betty, and Cecil learns that her name is not, as he thought, Betty Carson, but Elizabeth Lee and that he has indeed married an American heiress. Scotland Yard informs Carson that his presence in England is undesirable, and he hastens to leave forever. Lord and Lady Cecil go to spend their honeymoon at ancient Croftleigh Manor, and enter their future home amid the cheers of the assembled tenantry. Henceforth the life of the Beloved Adventurer is to be one of prosperity and happiness.
Episode 11: "The Serpent Comes to Eden" Lord and Lady Cecil have begun an idyllic life at Croftlaigh. In Betty's sky is a tiny cloud. It seems strange to her that Cecil should desire no intercourse with the world of rank and fashion to which he had been use, and gradually there grows upon her the tormenting thought that he may be ashamed to present her as his wife. Monte Carson, the gambler, who had, for his own profit, assumed the position of foster-father to Betty when she was a child, and whose attempt to recover from Lord Cecil the "Golden Hope" mine had resulted in establishing Betty as the true owner, secretly returns to England, determined that he will in some way revenge himself on Lord Cecil and the girl, and secure control of her fortune. He gets in touch with the Countess Lurovich, an adventuress, whose schemes have twice been upset by Lord Cecil, and who welcomes an opportunity to harm him. A clever plot is formed, whereby Betty is made to think not only that Cecil is ashamed of her, but that he is in love with the Countess, an actor closely resembling Cecil being used to impersonate him in scenes with the Countess which it is arranged Betty shall witness. At the proper moment Carson appears and convinces Betty that she has misjudged him; that he is and always has been her true friend. He readily induces the heartbroken girl to flee with him from what is, as she thinks, a shameful and intolerable situation. She goes, leaving no trace or clue to her intentions, and Cecil is utterly crushed by this calamity. Betty is utterly indifferent to her fate, so long as she can get away from the scene of her humiliation and avoid ever again seeing Cecil, and allows the triumphant Carson, who thinks that he will soon be able to acquire from her control of the "Golden Hope," to take her where he will. Carson has not yet discovered that Betty's last act before leaving Croftlaigh had been to prove the unselfishness of her love for Cecil by making and leaving for him a deed of gift for the mine.
Episode 12: "Fate's Tangled Threads" Monte Carson, Betty's self-constituted guardian, has succeeded in convincing the girl that Lord Cecil not only is ashamed of her as his wife, but that he loves another, and she, broken-hearted, has allowed the gambler to take her away. Carson's hope of obtaining possession of the famous Golden Hope has come to nothing, by reason of Betty having, as a proof of her love, left for Cecil a deed of gift to the mine. Carson, nevertheless, determines to make the best of the situation by getting the deluded Betty to a secure and remote place and holding her for ransom. Awaiting a chance to escape from England, he conceals Betty in a mean tavern on the waterfront at Whitehaven. Lord Cecil is in despair over the strange disappearance of his bride, to trace whom all efforts fail. Meanwhile, a commonplace little drama has reached its climax on the Croftlaigh estates. Meg, a simple peasant lass, has listened to the blandishments of a stranger, and shutting her eyes to the love of her sweetheart, Ned Alwine (Cecil's chauffeur), had promised to run away. At the last moment her conscience and fears prove too strong, however, and she refuses to go. The stranger abducts her by force. The girl's old mother appeals to Lord Cecil, demanding, by ancient rite, the protection of the over-lord. Cecil instinctively responds to this appeal by an hereditary vassal, and sets out in pursuit of the abductor, who has fled in a motor car with his victim. Ned Alwine, frantic with grief and fear for the girl's fate, drives Cecil's machine with furious recklessness. The chase is long and desperate, an unlucky bullet which explodes a tire preventing a capture on the road. The quarry is finally run to earth in Whitehaven and Meg finds safety and forgiveness in the arms of her sweetheart. Cecil is suddenly filled with frantic joy as he sees, from a window overlooking the docks, the lost Betty, just as she and Carson get aboard a motorboat. Before Cecil can reach the pier, however, the motorboat has disappeared in the darkness. Cecil's despair is lightened by the knowledge that at least Betty is living, and as he thinks it will be impossible for her to leave Whitehaven unobserved he has a reasonable hope that he may be able to find her and clear from their lives the cloud that has come over them. Lord Cecil's response to the appeal of his humble vassal has been rewarded.
Episode 13: "Through Desperate Hazards" Betty, Lady Cecil, has been the victim of a plot formed by her former self-constituted guardian, Carson, the Nevada gambler, and the adventuress, Countess Lurovich, who, for revenge on Lord Cecil and in the hope of profit, have caused the girl to think that Lord Cecil no longer loves her and is ashamed to present her to the world as his wife. Broken-hearted, Betty has allowed Carson to take her away, and he has arranged that they escape from England aboard Captain Lars Pieterson's tramp schooner. After all attempts to trace Betty have failed. Lord Cecil accidentally sees her as she gets into a motorboat in Whitehaven harbor, but immediately she disappears in the darkness. While wearily searching the waterfront, Cecil saves a woman who is on the point of throwing herself from a pier, and learns her history. The woman is Sarah Gray, who, in her native inland village, had come to a faded middle age with nothing of romance or beauty to relieve the drabness of her life of labor and pinching economy. She owned a little cottage where she lived with her old mother, and had painfully saved a little money, so that altogether she was worth about eight hundred pounds. Captain Pieterson appeared in the village, won the heart of Sarah Gray, and, promising to marry her and take her to America, induced her to turn over to him her entire little fortune. He then brutally jilted her and, unable to face the certainty of the poorhouse for her old mother and herself, Sarah Gray attempted to end her wretched life. Lord Cecil determines to at least recover the stolen money, and hires a motorboat to take him and the woman to Pieterson's ship. The schooner has sailed, but the motorboat overtakes it, and Cecil succeeds in getting aboard unobserved, getting the money, and returning it to Sarah Gray. Cecil is discovered before he can escape, however, and is abandoned by his boatman. His life is saved only by the, breaking out of fire in the forward hold and the panic-stricken flight of the Captain and crew. The schooner is laden with contraband powder. Cecil discovers that Betty and Carson have also been left on the schooner. Carson makes a murderous attack, wounding Cecil, and is himself killed in the duel which follows. In the face of apparently certain death. Cecil and Betty see clearly into each other's heart, and await the end in a clinging embrace. Sarah Gray, however, bribes the motorboatman to take the chance of returning to the burning schooner, and Betty and Cecil are taken off. A few minutes later the fire reaches the powder, and the vessel disappears in the blazing roar of the explosion.
Episode 14: "A Perilous Passage" Lord and Lady Cecil (Betty) have returned to Croftlaigh, and the sorrows and dangers of the past are forgotten in peace and happiness. As a surprise for Betty, Cecil has brought from Nevada the cow-pony Betty had used and loved. Suddenly their serenity is disturbed by the appearance of Captain Robert Stanley, Cecil's nephew, who faces ruin and disgrace, and who appeals for aid and advice. Robert, after a brilliant military exploit in Northern India, was entrusted by the king of the newly-subdued state of Gokaral with a priceless jewel known as the "Star of Gokaral," to be delivered to the King of Great Britain. This jewel is regarded by the people of Gokaral as sacred, and they give their allegiance blindly to whosoever possesses it. Its political value is therefore enormous. The jewel has been stolen from Robert, after he reached England, by the secret agents of a foreign government. The identity of these agents is unknown to Robert. As a matter of fact, the head of the gang is the Countess Lurovich, an adventuress, who has on previous occasions come near bringing disaster upon both Robert and Lord Cecil. The Countess' country place adjoins Cecil's estate of Croftlaigh. Betty chances to discover that the "Star of Gokaral" is in the possession of the Countess' gang, and is about to be taken from England. There is no time to summon aid, and Betty bravely undertakes to recover the jewel, alone. She does so by the aid of the cow-pony, Pinto, and her lasso. She is at once attacked by the Countess and her band, and her life is saved only by the opportune arrival of Croftlaigh peasants who rally to the aid of their young mistress. The Countess and her pack suffer spectacular death through the collapse of the cliff which has been undermined by the sea. Betty restores to Robert the "Star of Gokaral."
Episode 15: "In Port o' Dreams" Lord Cecil and Lady Betty have had a year of perfect peace and happiness since the strange and thrilling experiences which came so near costing them their love and later their lives, and during which fate brought to tragic ends the two enemies to their contentment and prosperity, the Nevada gambler Carson and the daring adventuress Countess Lurovitch. All the ten thousand broad acres originally embraced by the Croftlaigh estate have been recovered from those to whom several generations of the Lords Cecil had been forced by poverty to sell. Betty is, on her own account perfectly content in the secluded life which they live, and has no social ambitions, but she fears that Lord Cecil will in time weary of the life of a country gentleman and be shamed when he realizes that high society is ignoring their existence. For the sake of the dignity of her husband's hereditary rank she regrets that she cannot command the deference given only to those of noble blood, and without which real social standing is impossible so long as society is dominated by the despotic and wealthy old aristocrat, the Duchess of Drex. The Duchess of Drex, though a rather terrible old lady to the eyes of the world, is at heart lonely and sad, a childless widow. Twenty years before her only daughter, Elizabeth, rejecting the noble marriage arranged for by the ambitious Duchess, had put love for Robert Lee, the son of a country squire, above all else, and as his wife had gone with him to seek fortune, in far lands, passing out of the life and knowledge of her stern mother. As she grows old the Duchess' heart softens, and she dispatches a trusted agent to seek for the lost daughter. The search for this daughter ends in the cemetery of a Western mining camp, but the agent returns to England with word that the Duchess is the grandmother of Betty, Lady Cecil. The old lady hastens to proffer to this child of her daughter the love which she has so long denied. As heiress to the enormous fortune of the Duchess of Drex and of her patrician blood, Betty's social status is fixed, but her pleasure in this is nothing beside a greater pride and joy which soon comes to her, when, in accordance with ancient custom, she stands beside Lord Cecil as he presents to the assembled tenants of Croftlaigh one who in proposed abandonment of their plans, Marie demands that he remain with her, leaving the matter of the epidemic in the hands of his subordinates, and declares that if he really loved her he would not leave her so soon, it not occurring to her to return with him. When he is firm in his intention to go back to his duty, the girl angrily informs him that if he persists in parting with her now, it will be forever. Loving her passionately, John is almost brokenhearted, but goes, and a complete estrangement results, Marie, in her selfish pride, refusing to consider anything but her personal viewpoint. Marie, who really loves her husband, attempts to find forgetfulness by social activities, but with small success. In the midst of her pleasures, she will see a vision of John, fighting desperately for the lives of the people of his city. Unconsciously, she becomes more thoughtful taking an interest in helpless and unfortunate persons of whom she hears. One of these is an old woman, very poor, almost an invalid, but who, nevertheless, is gentle and rather sadly happy. With her Marie becomes friends and at length is shown a wedding gown, yellow with age, and told a story. Fifty years before the old lady put on the wedding gown and started to the church where she was to wed the youth of her heart. Before she reached it, however, came wild tidings; they were fighting at Bull Run; the Standards of the South were reeling backward in defeat; every sword and every man was needed in desperate haste. Delaying only for a single kiss, the lover galloped away, and the girl returned to her home to take off the wedding gown she would never again put on, for though there came news of the victory, snatched from defeat, and a deed of splendid valor, the youthful lover did not return. But, through the long years his memory had been cherished in fond pride, and in the knowledge that her lover had not failed at duty's call, and that she had not hesitated to make her sacrifice upon the altar of patriotism, she who had been the girl of long ago had found a serene content. Marie soon afterward reads that the epidemic has been suppressed, but that John Woodward, bravely exposing himself that others might be protected, is desperately ill. With a sudden awakening to a realization that peace may hold its duties and dangers no less than war, and with a heart filled with love and repentance, she hurries to his side, and in an agony of suspense awaits the crisis, which comes and passes, and it is known that he will live. He looks at her with recognition, and as she bends tenderly over him he whispers, "1 could not love thee, dear, so much, loved I not honor more."
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