The story
“William Deportment has wealth and a long, grey beard. William’s fair daughter, Doris, is beloved of Fenton, on whom her austere father frowns. William does not rave or threaten to disinherit Doris. He simply dismisses the affair as ‘preposterous.’ One day, on a railroad train, William loses his ticket and his wallet. The conductor, who is used to explanations, listens wearily, then orders William off at the next station. The dignified passenger hides under his seat, but is discovered and ejected. He lands near a small town, hobbles to the nearest depot, and sends a telegram collect to his daughter. After some waiting the answer comes. William’s daughter has eloped and his house is burned to the ground. There is nobody to pay for the telegram, and the operator demands that William somehow make good. So the telegrapher gets him a chance to substitute for the ‘Bearded Lady’ of the circus playing in town. The ‘Bearded Lady’ herself is away on a furlough to see her grandchild.
“The elopers arrive in the village in search of a minister. Fenton happens to recognize William on the platform with the freaks. For a moment Fenton was puzzled as to what to do. He wanted to see the thing through, and would have, but for the fact that the old man presented such a pitiful appearance. Fenton waited until the station platform had been cleared of passengers and then stepped up to the ‘Bearded Lady’ and made a clean breast of everything. The old man is rescued by his would-be son-in-law, who solemnly offers, in return for the parental blessing, never to betray how William’s whiskers worked in a side show.”
Summary from Reel Life · 18 December 1915
