Hidden Genre Gems for Fans of M'Liss: Cult Guide

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According to Richard Standhope's will, his daughter Laura and her long-lost twin brother Larry must be reunited by a certain date or the estate will revert to her avaricious guardian, Andrew Brean. Following Standhope's death, Laura and her sweetheart, Jim Watson, read in her deceased mother's diary that Andrew had broken up the Standhopes' marriage soon after the twins' birth by unjustly accusing Mrs. Standhope of infidelity. Laura was then sent to boarding school, while little Larry, placed in his father's care, was neglected and later became a thief. As Laura and Jim ponder Larry's whereabouts, the house is robbed by none other than Larry, now called "the Kid," and his cohort "the Snail." Reunited, the twins arrange to meet Andrew at a local restaurant. Fearful of losing the estate, Andrew and his henchmen attack Jim and the twins, but in the end, Laura and Larry arrive at the will reading in time to save their fortune.

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The story relates how a hunchback in revenge against a woman who has repulsed him, lures her stepdaughter to the stage and assists her to become a dancer. The girl, whose name is Elaine, has two lovers, for one of whom, John Butler, she forms a sincere attachment. Her stepmother goes to see her dance, and the hunchback, still enraged at her, murders the woman. The hunchback goes mad and is killed by falling from a cliff. Butler, Elaine's lover, is accused of killing him. but Elaine clears him of the charge by proving the hunchback was the murderer of her stepmother. Elaine and Butler find that their mutual loves will make them happy in marriage.

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The mining district of Cobalt, Ontario, is the setting for the greater share of the picture, and there is careful attention paid to the scenes taken on board the millionaire's yacht, when Gresham is determined to get to his bank in time to prove to the clearing house committee that he is solvent and in so doing foils the Baylis attempt to take his mine away from him. It is not alone for the control of the mine that there is a struggle, but there is a girl in the story who is sought after by the two big men. Alice Chandler is worth the struggle. For a long time there seems little hope for Gresham, but the great moment comes when he is able to save Alice's life by carrying her to safety through a wild day, in which they both are at the mercy of the overflowing waters from a dam.

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A Nihilist Russian, Olga Petcoff goes after her younger sister killer, only to find herself being the romantic interest of several military men willing to wage war to win her heart.

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Phoebe Lester, a little country girl, whispers to her pet hen, "You've laid an egg for a man from New York. Ain't you proud?" and while taking breakfast to Philip, the new boarder, who came from that distant place, she gazes at him as if he has come from an unknown land. Returning to the city with a newfound love and regained health, Philip struggles to sell his poems to bring his "egg" girl to her New York. In the meantime, Phoebe's brown hen proves to be a golden one, and her egg money buys a ticket to Philip and her Wonderland. On the train, Laura, a flashily-dressed woman, meets Phoebe and, tempting her with a nice new dress, takes her to her house. There, Owen, a former employer of Philip, is fascinated by her simplicity. Such grandeur and strange "fizzy" drinks overwhelm her, but Providence intervenes, when the little brown hen hops into the street with Phoebe scrambling after. A big-hearted policeman finds her and takes her to Philip, and acts as "bridesmaid" at their wedding. Their little home, built on much love and little food, is brightened by the adoption of Johnny, an abandoned baby, that Philip finds on the dumbwaiter. Johnny brings good luck and Philip secures a good job through Owen and in nicer quarters their cup of happiness seems to be full, when Owen, to further his ends, contrives to get Philip to gamble with borrowed money. Phoebe, convinced by trickery, that Philip is unfaithful, is heart-broken and believes that love and her New York are unreal after all. But, the yielding, grief-stricken country girl awakens Owen's better self, and with his help the unhappy household is reunited.

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Dorian Keene, a broker, who has lost most of his money in Wall Street, and his wife, Florence, dissatisfied with her lot, wants a divorce. Out of his great love for her, Dorian agrees to allow her to have it. While the papers are being prepared Sanders, Florence's god-father, confesses to Dorian that he has misappropriated funds belonging to Florence. He fears an exposure, since she is getting a divorce, and may demand an accounting. Dorian promises to do what he can to protect Sanders. They go to Dorian's hunting lodge, where Florence agrees to meet Dorian with her lawyer. There Sanders weakens and tells Florence of the missing funds. She turns upon him in a violent temper. A maid hears them quarreling and soon afterward hears a shot. Hurrying into the room she finds Sanders dead with a bullet wound in his temple. She tells Dorian that Florence has killed Sanders. In his devotion to his wife, Dorian takes the blame for the crime. Then he escapes in an automobile. Down the road Dorian encounters a highwayman who holds him up, takes his clothing and the machine, and leaves his outfit with the bewildered broker. Further along the road the automobile goes over a steep embankment and the car is burned. The body of the highwayman is charred beyond recognition, and everyone thinks it is Dorian. Dorian, penniless, wanders to the water front in New York, intending to take a ship for Europe. There he learns that Henry Morgan, a fellow broker, who was instrumental in making Florence dissatisfied with her lot, has bought his old yacht, the Sea Gull, and is arranging for a smuggling expedition. Morgan has lost nearly all his money, and, in desperation, has taken a contract to smuggle Chinese into this country for a thousand dollars a head. Dorian succeeds in getting a job aboard the yacht as a stoker. The yacht puts to sea, and when some distance from land, meets another vessel, from which the Chinese are taken aboard. As the yacht nears New York, Dorian, after many thrilling incidents, gains control of the wireless apparatus, and notifies the Federal authorities of the smuggling scheme. A revenue cutter meets the yacht and the captain and crew are arrested. The captain names Morgan as the man higher up. Meanwhile Morgan has been pressing his suit with Florence, who, believing her husband dead, has agreed to marry Morgan. Instead, he urges her to come to him without a ceremony. Florence then spurns him, and realizing his true nature turns her thoughts to Dorian. Then the government agents call to arrest Morgan, and at the same time she learns that her husband is alive. Florence sends for Dorian, welcomes him home, and together they tear up the papers for the proposed divorce, which she has kept in her possession.

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Although Margaret "Peg" Martyn of the Carolina territory loves Terry, a poor poet, her father, Sir Wyndham Martyn, wishes her to marry the ancient Arthur Elliott. At the engagement party, Peg's wish that "the pirates might get her" comes true when Captain Bones and his men ransack Martyn's estate and carry Peg off to their ship. The most vicious mate of the crew, Flatnose Tim, wants to kill Peg, so to save herself, she feigns death. The pirates are about to bury her in their secret treasure cave when she fools them into believing that she is a ghost. After Tim discovers her deception, however, she is taken back to the ship, where Terry, now commanding his own ship and crew, rescues her. Impressed with Terry's bravery, Sir Martyn finally blesses the poet's marriage to his daughter, after which the couple returns to the cave to retrieve the pirate treasure.

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Col. Brendon, Chief of the English Diplomatic office, upon his departure for France, turns the office over to Capt. Mills, with the understanding that Jim Clifford, one of the ablest men in the Secret Service, will assist him. Among the papers left in Capt. Mills' care is a valuable document marked "File 117." Capt. Mills invites the boys of the war office to his apartment to play cards. Jim goes but does not play. He amazes them by explaining that he possesses the almost uncanny ability to tell the value of his opponents' hand. Capt. Mills loses heavily. In a rage he accuses Jim of being a sharp, and that he has been assisting one of the players by coaching him from behind. Jim resents this, and in a quarrel that follows Capt. Mills throws a glass of whiskey in his face. Later, his friends convince the Captain that he was in the wrong and owes Jim an apology. The Captain apologizes, but decides to give him an impossible task to perform and thus discredit him. Capt. Mills goes to the war office that night and abstracts "File 117" and the next day instructs Jim to search for it. At the end of a week he rebukes Jim for his unsuccessful search. Capt. Mills and Jim are invited by Lady Marion to spend the weekend at her place in the country. Capt. Mills accepts the invitation, but Jim remains behind to continue his search. He meets a cabman who asks him to return a cigarette case the Captain left in his cab a week before. Jim questions the cabman and learns that the Captain went to the war office after the card game in his home. Jim breaks into Capt. Mills' apartment, and after drugging the butler searches the premises. He fails to find the missing paper. Jim then learns that Capt. Mills is going with the weekend party for a short cruise in the beautiful Grace Weston's yacht. He disguises himself and succeeds in getting aboard. The next day the yacht tears a great hole in her side, when she crashes into treacherous drift ice. The entire party and crew, excepting Grace and Jim, get away in the lifeboats and are picked up by a steamer and taken back to England. Jim picks Miss Weston out of the water, in an unconscious condition, and takes her aboard a life raft. They land on an island along the coast. When they become hungry Jim suggests that he try to catch some fish, and asks his companion if she can spare anything from her apparel to use for a fishing line. While unlacing a string from her corset, she accidentally drops the missing papers from her bodice, which Mills had given her to keep for him. She recovers the papers quickly, but Jim decides to get them. The next day Jim and Grace are rescued, and taken back to England. In the meantime Col. Brendon has heard of the missing file, and calls Capt. Mills to task. The Captain, thinking the papers are lost with Grace, and knowing that Jim is mysteriously missing, places the blame upon him. Jim arrives, tells the Colonel of his experience, and is promptly promoted. Capt. Mills is dismissed from the service, and Grace, learning the truth of matters, finds that she has a growing interest in Jim.

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Because she has been dishonored by playboy John Radon, Stella Dean, a simple country girl, flees to the city to hide her guilt. There she develops a reputation as a profligate member of the chorus line, and eventually obtains great wealth as the courtesan known as the Black Nightingale. One day she meets Milton Taylor, an artist from her home town who knew her when she was an innocent country girl, and he prevails upon her to pose as his model of the Madonna. Stella agrees and is cleansed by the experience. When Milton discovers Stella's reputation, however, he begins to drink and leaves her, his illusions shattered. Repentant, Stella converts her mansion into a refuge for foundlings and returns to her home town of Pleasantville where, her soul cleansed, she is reconciled with Milton.

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The story deals with the coming of Henry Minuet, the son of the governor of New Amsterdam, to Danvers, now Salem, Mass., for the sake of buying grain for the helpless colony that he represents. Accidentally he sees Priscilla Elliott, the daughter of Danvers' physician, and while they do not speak the same language, they love each other from the start. Though Miss Elliott is sought for by Salvation Hibbens, she does not care for him because he is helpless away from his mother's apron strings. Then, too, she cares too much for Henry Minuet, and when her father dies, Salvation's mother tried to force her to marry Salvation through threats, but fails. The mother then makes trouble for Priscilla by having her declared a witch and while she is shunned by Danvers' society, she cares little, because Henry is with her. Finally the both of them are put in prison. A messenger comes from his father to learn what has been his fate. As soon as the governor of Danvers learns the name of the prisoner, he orders him set at liberty, but he has escaped in the meantime. Because of the escape, the mayor informs the Dutch messenger that he will not have anything to do with the colony of New Amsterdam under any circumstances. The soldiers capture Henry, while Priscilla is away. But Henry manages to inform her that it is best that she go and live at his father's house in New Amsterdam. Priscilla obeys, and leaves Henry, who, in the mean time, is released from prison and sent home. On his way to New Amsterdam, he meets Priscilla, who does not feel at home in his father's house, because his parents plan that Henry should marry Gretchen. Seeing that neither in Danvers nor in New Amsterdam could both of them find the peace and happiness that their love entitles them to, so they decide that by themselves, away from their friends they will find the happiness that only true love can give.