Volume II: Filmography Volume II: Filmography
August 10, 1914 (Monday)
Length: 2 reels (reels 15 and 16)
SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, August 8, 1914:
"Raging at the defeat of their efforts to capture Florence, which ended in the tragedy of the drawbridge, as told in Episode Seven, but still determined to gain the secret of the millionaire's treasure, which they are sure she possesses, the conspirators form another plan. James Norton, the reporter, is the one man, who, with Jones, the old butler, has thus far successfully thwarted them at every turn. With him out of the way they argue it will be an easy matter to get Florence in their toils. Neither Braine nor the Countess Olga as yet knows of the closer bond which now exists between Florence and Norton, although the latter's woman's intuition leads her to suspect something of the kind. Nevertheless, a little bird has whispered the secret abroad, and the Duke of Manchester and the Princess Troubetzkoy, both of whom had been warm friends of her father, together with some of their friends, call to extend their felicitations and good wishes to Florence. Also they seek to aid her in gaining a trace of the missing million, but are forced to leave the Hargreave mansion quite as much in the dark as when they entered it.
"In the meantime the conspirators have not been idle. One of them (Albert C. Froome) has enlisted the aid of a band of thugs and cutthroats and to them he unfolds the plan which Braine has evolved. He shows them a manhole cover made to look, in every respect, like one of the big iron disks used to cover sewer openings, but which in this case is made of flimsy papier maché. He explains that they are to replace the regular iron manhole cover at the corner of a certain street at a given time with the papier maché duplicate and then await the coming of the victim.
"One of the gang becomes a taxi chauffeur at the instigation of Froome, as none of the chief conspirators wish to take direct part in carrying out the plot, fearing that Norton will recognize them no matter how cleverly they disguise themselves. This man, having received his instructions, waits in his car outside the newspaper office where Norton is employed. A telegram, purporting to be from Florence, is then sent to Norton, urging him to come to her with all speed, as she is in danger. Norton's face pales as he reads its contents and seizing his cap he leaves the office without delay.
"Hailing the nearest taxi, which happens to be that of the conspirators, he rides off, never suspecting that he is a victim of a plot, his only thought being to hasten to the side of the girl he loves. He urges the chauffeur to put on all speed, but suddenly, as the car comes to the place where the trap is set, the man brings it to a dead stop opposite the manhole with its papier maché cover. 'Something's the matter with the motor,' volunteers the chauffeur with a leer, in response to Norton's hurried inquiry. 'You'd better walk it or get another machine.' And Norton, his whole thought centered on Florence's need and quite unsuspicious, steps from the car and plunges into the blackness of the sewer.
"The conspirators, who have been nearby, replace the manhole cover and hasten away. But the accident has been seen, and a few hours later the butler brings the news to Florence and her companion Susan, in the library of the Hargreave home, where they had been awaiting the reporter's homecoming. They are still reading, with horrified feelings, the accounts in the afternoon papers of Norton's tragic taking off, when the door of the library opens, and he enters, little the worse for his terrifying experience. Florence embraces him tearfully, while he tells them how, unconscious, his body had floated out of the sewer into the river, where he was picked up by some boatmen. He narrates the clever plot of the false manhole cover by which the conspirators have endeavored to make away with him and vows that he will not again so easily be a victim of their wiles.
"The next day, the Countess Olga calls to condole with Florence over Norton's disappearance and learns to her astonishment and disappointment that not only is he not dead or missing, but extremely alive and well, considering his mishap. Dissembling her real feelings before Florence, who thus far does not suspect her, the Countess returns to the headquarters of the conspirators and upbraids Braine and the others for consistently making a fizzle of their plans for sequestrating Florence, making away with Norton and learning where the missing million is located.
"'You men have done your best - and failed,' she says scornfully. 'Now let a woman try. I'll show you how to break up this friendship between Norton and the girl. The rest will be easy.' The Countess' plan is simple. Florence has promised to call upon her the following afternoon and by a subterfuge, Olga gets Norton to call also, but shortly before Florence is due. Previously she arranges with her maid, that when the latter arrives, the girl shall press an electric button which lights a handsome standing lamp in the drawing room where she and Norton are seated. When this signal comes, she knows that an instant later Florence will enter the room.
"Norton arrives and is listening to her rambling talk, wondering just why she has sent for him, when the light flashes. The Countess staggers to her feet, pressing her hand to her heart. 'I am ill,' she gasps, tremblingly, her voice full of appeal. She totters as if about to fall, and Norton, who has also risen, catches her for an instant in his arms. A fatal instant, for within its brief space, Florence has entered the room, seen all, and indignantly withdrawn, with Norton none the wiser. A little later, the Countess having now fully recovered, he, too, leaves the house.
"When he arrives at his lodgings he is startled and pained to find a coldly formal note from Florence severing their engagement and returning his ring. He is wounded and hurt by this action and the sudden change in her attitude toward him, which seems quite inexplicable, and all his efforts to obtain an explanation are balked. Nevertheless, he sends candy and flowers and pleading notes without end to the Hargreave mansion in the hope that she will relent.
"But Florence is obdurate. Convinced that she has seen unquestionable proof of Norton's fickleness, she refuses herself to all callers, even declining to discuss her trouble with the sympathetic Susan. Outwardly, she is not unlike the Florence of yore, although coldly indifferent to the things that were most wont to interest her. But inwardly, she is a veritable volcano of conflicting emotions. For she realizes, that in spite of all she has seen, she still loves Norton dearly. And as she battles with herself, torn between pride and love, the conspirators lay their plans for another coup. Meanwhile, Jones, the old butler, is greatly worried. What will be the outcome of it all, he wonders?"
REVIEW, The Moving Picture World, August 15, 1914: This review is reprinted in the narrative section of the present work.
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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.