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The Island of Intrigue Synopsis

When oil magnate Thomas Waring receives a letter from his old friend, Mrs. Juliet Smith, suggesting that his beloved daughter Maida spend her vacation at Mrs. Smith's island home, Waring encourages Maida to accept as he has to go East on business. After Mrs. Smith supposedly gets Maida, Waring receives a call from the real Mrs. Smith, who says that Maida has left with an impostor. On the island, Maida lives luxuriously, unaware that her hosts are sending her father ransom notes. She meets Gilbert Spear, camping out, and they fall in love. After receiving no response from Waring, the kidnappers reveal their scheme to Maida and demand that she write to her father. They lock her in when she refuses, but she escapes and leaves the island with Gilbert. Although they are overtaken by the criminals, Waring and the police pull up and the gang is taken into custody, leaving Gilbert and Maida free to pursue their romance.

The Man from Nowhere Synopsis

After a two years' stay in western mining camps James Herron returns to his Virginia home. Antonio Gaudio, a foreigner, has won the affections of Betty, Herron's sister. While Jim is playing cards Betty writes a letter addressed to her brother, in which she promises to write in a few days to explain her sudden departure. Arriving in the city, Jim tracks the eloping couple to a fashionable boarding house, where Gaudio has engaged two separate rooms, one for Betty and another for himself across the hall. Jim enters and listens at the door and overhears Gaudio trying to convince Betty that she need have no fear of scandal, as he intends to marry her the next day, while Betty insists on leaving the house, as they have not been pronounced man and wife. As Gaudio tries to prevent her Jim breaks into the room. Gaudio rushes toward the window and fires just as Betty runs into her brother's arms. The bullet hits Betty and she falls on the floor. Gaudio makes his escape, and Jim is placed under arrest. Jim is brought up for trial and on the testimony of the maid, who works in the Herron home, that she heard the brother threaten to kill his sister if she did anything wrong in eloping, the prisoner is promptly convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Three years later the Governor makes an inspection of the prison where Jim is serving his life sentence. The prisoners take advantage of the occasion and try to make their escape. Several of them make an attack on the Governor and Jim, seeing this, comes to the Governor's rescue and saves his life. As a reward for his bravery Jim is made a trusty. Ruth, the Governor's daughter, hears of his heroic action and, as a token of her regard for his bravery, she sends him a carrier pigeon to lighten the gloom of his imprisonment. While Jim is brooding in prison over a face he cannot forget, the man who murdered his sister decides to return to America, having spent the intervening three years abroad. He mingles with the smart set under the false title of Count Lorenz. The Count, as Gaudio is now known, is a notorious card sharp, and at one of the fashionable clubs he meets Larry, the Governor's "sporty" son, and cheats him out of all his ready cash at the card table. After that he gets him into his power by accepting promissory notes. Larry learns that the Count is a cheat and decides to consult the prison warden, who is a friend of his. On returning to the warden's office Jim finds Larry in conversation with the warden. Presently the warden turns to Jim and says, "At our last prison show you pulled some clever card stunts for the prisoners' entertainment." Jim replied: "It has been years since I sat in a real game, but I am sure I can catch any sharper at his own trick." Jim learns that Larry is the brother of Ruth, who sent him the pigeon. Jim immediately manifests interest in him and turning to the warden suggests a plan of coming to Larry's rescue. Accordingly, under the pretext that he requires Jim to finish an important report he tells the guard that the prisoner is not to be returned to his cell, as he will remain in his apartment for the night. The warden dresses Jim up like a gentleman of leisure, and Larry takes Jim to his house. As he is introducing him to his sister, he hesitates in regard to his name, when Jim breaks in and says, "Just call me Barrs, the man from nowhere." Jim, Ruth and Larry drive in an automobile to the club, where a ball is in progress. During the ten minutes' ride Ruth decides that Mr. Barrs is quite the man after her ideal. While looking over the assemblage Jim sees the Count dancing in the crowd and immediately recognizes him as the man who shot his sister. At the card table that night Jim catches the Count manipulating the cards and exposes him. The Count grabs a sword from the wall and makes a lunge at Jim. Jim knocks the sword of his hand and, taking two swords of equal length from the wall, throws one to the Count with a warning to defend himself, denouncing him as the murderer of his sister. Although the Count is an expert fencer, Jim proves his master and the Count falls to the ground mortally wounded. He calls for a piece of note paper and signs a dying confession, in which he admits having killed Betty accidentally while trying to kill her brother, thus establishing Jim's innocence. The Governor receives the confession and pardons Jim. Ruth learns of Jim's real name, and as the picture dissolves out there is a sympathetic understanding between Jim and Ruth that promises a bright future.