The story
“Daphne, a dance-hall girl, has drained the cup of pleasure to the dregs. She longs to escape from it all. Grandon Fish, an old admirer and a man of wealth, is very insistent in his attentions. But though Daphne realizes that she may have a life of luxury—at least for a few years—if she yields to the entreaties of Fish, she knows all too well what the end will be. An automobile accident brings to Daphne a rescuer, David Dodd, the keeper of a lighthouse on a distant island. He visits her in the hospital, and they fall in love. Daphne returns with David to Shell Isle as his bride. She keeps her past a secret from him. Some months later, Fish turns up on the island. He recognizes her, and tells her husband the truth. Daphne pleads with David to forgive her. But the stern young islander orders his wife from his house. Daphne, broken-hearted, finds refuge with some fisher-folk. One afternoon the husband goes to the mainland, and tries to drown his sorrow in drink. He falls asleep at the table in the saloon. Here, at a late hour, Grandon Fish finds him. ‘I see the lighthouse is dark to-night,’ says the former admirer of Daphne, tauntingly. Seized with a sickening dread, David rouses and hurries off to his boat. Suddenly, across the bay, the great light pierces the darkness. David finds Daphne lying, her clothing reeking with sea water, in a sleep of exhaustion, on the lighthouse floor. He realizes that she has risked her life swimming from the mainland to fulfill his forgotten trust. Love and forgiveness reunite man and wife.”
Summary from Reel Life · 9 October 1915
