SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS.
Act I. Love vs. Impulse.—Dollerclutch’s office.—A fruitless journey, a heap of accumulated business and a chapter of unparalleled impudence.—News from the front.—A poor girl’s trouble and a lawyer’s big heart.—Hilda’s sad story.—“I’ll see this thing through if it costs me a fortune!”—A sudden departure in search of a clue.—The meeting of friends.—One of nature’s noblemen.—Maitland betrays his secret by a slip of the tongue.—The ball at Beachwood.—Two spooneys, fresh from college, lose their heads and their hearts.—“Squashed, by Jupiter!”—Trusting innocence and polished villainy.—The interrupted tryst.—An honest man’s avowal.—A picture of charming simplicity.—Murdell and Hilda meet face to face.—“I dare you to make another victim!”—A scoundrel’s discomfiture.—Tableau.
Act II. The Separation.—The Maitland homestead.—Anastasia’s doubts.—A warm welcome and its icy reception.—Forebodings and doubts.—Father and son.—Searching questions.—A domestic storm and a parent’s command.—A foiled villain’s wrath.—Enlisting for the war.—The collapse of the cowards.—“It’s no use, ’Dolphy, the jig’s up!”—Hilda’s sympathy and Adrienne’s silent despair.—The result of impulse.—The father pleads for his son.—Anastasia and Dollerclutch.—Coriolanus comes to grief.—Good and bad news.—Husband and wife.—Reginald demands an explanation.—A hand without a heart.—The separation.—A new recruit.—Too late; the roll is signed.—Tableau.
Act III. Duty vs. Impulse.—Four years later.—A camp in the army.—Longings.—“Only six miles from home!”—The skeleton in the closet.—A father’s yearning for his child.—A woman-hater in love.—Dollerclutch’s dream.—A picture of camp life and fun.—Coriolanus has his revenge.—News from home.—Dollerclutch makes a big find. “Eureka!”—Proofs of Hilda’s parentage and marriage.—A happy old lawyer.—“I’ll take them to Hilda!”—Detailed for duty.—A soldier’s temptation.—The sentinel deserts his post.—The snake in the grass.—“At last, I can humble his pride!”
Act IV. The Reconciliation and Sequel.—At Reginald’s home.—News from the army.—“Grant is not the man to acknowledge defeat!”—Adrienne and Hilda.—False pride is broken.—The reconciliation.—“Will Reginald forgive me?”—Dollerclutch brings joy to Hilda’s heart.—“You are the daughter of Morris Maitland!”—The stolen documents and the snake in the grass.—“Hang me if I don’t see this thing through!”—A letter to the absent one.—Face to face.—The barrier of pride swept down.—“Reginald, I love you; come back!”—The happy reunion.—An ominous cloud.—“I have deserted my post; the penalty is death. I must return ere my absence is discovered!”—The wolf in the sheepfold.—A wily tempter foiled.—A villain’s rage.—“Those words have sealed your doom!”—The murder and the escape.—Dollerclutch arrives too late.—The pursuit.
Act V. Divine Impulse.—In camp.—Maitland on duty.—The charge of desertion and the examination.—“I knew not what I did!”—The colonel’s lenity.—Disgrace.—News of Adrienne’s murder is brought to camp.—Circumstantial evidence fastens the murder upon Reginald.—The court-martial.—Convicted and sentenced to be shot.—Preparations for the execution.—“God knows I am innocent!”—Dollerclutch arrives in the nick of time.—“If you shoot that man you commit murder!”—The beginning of the end.—“Adrienne lives!”—A villain’s terror.—Adrienne appears on the scene.—“There is the attempted assassin!”—Divine impulse.—The reward of innocence and the punishment of villainy.—Good news.—“Hurrah, the war is over; Lee has surrendered to Grant!”—The happy denouement and finale.—Tableau.
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Harold Roorbach, Publisher,
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