Volume II: Filmography Volume II: Filmography
a.k.a. AN AGENT FROM RUSSIA
September 14, 1914 (Monday)
Length: 2 reels (reels 25 and 26)
SYNOPSIS, Reel Life, September 12, 1914:
"With the mysterious disappearance of the Hargreave treasure, or rather the box in which the conspirators believed it to be, as narrated in Episode 12, Braine and his companions are puzzled what to do next. For a time they make no attempt to molest Florence, and she and Jimmy Norton spend many happy hours together, their thoughts far from the subject of the vanished million.
"Then the Countess Taglavia, a titled Russian who had been a girlhood friend of the Countess Olga, visits the latter and Braine. She brings a message from far-off Russia, which interests the chief conspirator greatly. A few days later, at a meeting of the conspirators, a strange knock is heard at the door. After certain preliminaries are gone through, the newcomer is admitted and his papers investigated and found correct. He is the secret agent from Russia, whose coming had been hinted at by the Countess Taglavia. Bearing with him the supreme authority from the inner council of the secret organization in Russia, he at once assumes command. 'I will take charge of this Hargreave matter,' he says importantly. 'Hereafter, you will do nothing without orders from me.' And the others are compelled to obey.
"Meanwhile the Countess Olga, who knows nothing of the agent's arrival, visits Florence. At the time of her arrival, Florence, who as yet has found no reason to suspect her of complicity in the many plots of the conspirators, is opening the morning's mail, which old Jones, the butler, has just brought in. She has just opened a mysterious-looking missive as the countess enters, but at once lays it aside to greet her pseudo friend, whom the watchful Jones is beginning to regard with a chary eye.
"They are deep in animated conversation, when there comes a crash in one of the rooms upstairs, and a moment later a weeping maid comes to tell Florence that she has smashed a priceless bust, one of the rare articles of vertu of which the Hargreave home has many.
"Florence excuses herself a moment, to ascertain the damage the maid has done, and the Countess Olga, left alone, does not neglect her opportunity. Almost the first thing that her roving eye lights upon in the letter, which Florence had just opened, as she arrived, but had not read. Glancing about her nervously to make certain she is not observed, the countess hurriedly reads the written page. As she does so her eyes light up in startled amazement, for this is what she reads: 'My dear daughter: I must turn the treasure over to you. Danger threatens me and I can no longer keep it in my charge. Meet me at eight o'clock tonight in the summer house by the old stone wall on the estate. Do not fail me, for unless I see you the treasure will be lost and my wife will pay the forfeit. - Your father, Sidney [sic] Hargreave
"The Countess Olga's mind moves fast. Hargreave then is alive after all? It is he who holds the secret of the vast fortune, which she and the other conspirators have vainly sought to solve. How shall she thwart him and at the same time gain possession of the treasure? At once a scheme that is as daring as it is promising of success occurs to her. Rising quickly, she steps toward the clock on the mantlepiece and turns its hands backward a full half hour. That done, she breathes a quick sigh of relief, and as Florence re-enters the room, makes ready to say her adieus. As for Florence, on picking up the letter after her visitor has gone, her astonishment is quite as great as was that of the countess on reading it.
"In the garden by the old stone wall that evening, two cloaked mysterious figures meet. The taller of the two, in his slouched hat, bears a curious resemblance to the missing millionaire - the other hooded form to Florence. 'The treasure is in an office downtown,' says the man in a low voice. 'There I can tell you all in safety.' Not far off, a taxi is waiting and in it they speed cityward. Strangely enough they draw up at a building, which if Jimmy Norton or Jones had been with them would have roused the suspicions of Florence's faithful defenders. But the caped and hooded figure of the girl makes no serious protest as her companion leads the way to a room in the upper part of the building. Flinging open a door at the end of the hallway, he suddenly thrusts the shrinking girl into a room in which the masked conspirators are gathered.
"'Here,' he says dramatically, pushing her roughly before him, 'is the girl you have been seeking so long.' For an instant there is a tense silence. It is broken by peals of sneering laughter, as the girl throws aside her cape and hood, disclosing the face and form of the Countess Olga. 'Seize him,' she says quickly. 'It is Hargreave - and he has the treasure.' Almost as quickly as herself, the man tears aside the beard and wig that disguise him, displaying the features, not of Hargreave, but of the secret agent from Russia. As for their intended victim, she sits weeping, alone in the Hargreave mansion. 'If the clock hadn't been slow,' she is saying, 'I should have seen my father.'"
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Copyright © 1995 Q. David Bowers. All Rights Reserved.