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The Stepping Stone Synopsis

Mary Beresford is the devoted and self-sacrificing wife of a man whose ambition is great, but whose energy in achieving that ambition is less than nothing. He has a fairly responsible place with a well-known firm and holds it solely because his wife does most of his work for him after hours in their home. One day a particularly important stack of papers is given to Al Beresford by his employer; a report must be in the hands of their most distinguished client that night. Al dawdles through the day and at night takes the unfinished job home. He and Mary start to work it out together, but he pleads a headache and goes to bed. She finishes the work and delivers the papers in person to Elihu Jasper. Jasper is a powerful operator in Wall Street and lives alone in a big mansion. He is attracted to Mary and in an effort to help her summons Al to an interview. He soon finds that the man is unworthy of consideration, but because of the woman he gives Al many tips that increase his income and enable the Beresfords to move into palatial quarters. Jasper is a frequent visitor there, bored by the man's egotism, but secretly admiring the woman. There comes a day when Beresford is convinced that his rise is due entirely to his own efforts, he regards the wife who has made his position possible as a hindrance and urges her to give him his freedom. A widow in society has attracted him. Mary departs and the world swallows her up. Jasper is informed of the situation by her maid. His mind quickly formulates a plan. Al Beresford is wiped out in the street and commits suicide. Then comes the long hunt for Mary, but not until Jasper goes into the market to thwart a plot to deprive him of a profitable mine does he discover her as the secretary of his broker. He saves the mine and wins the woman.

The Alien Synopsis

A poor ditch-digger, Pietro Massena, lovingly raises his motherless daughter Rosina. Phil Griswold, in order to throw a party to celebrate his expected inheritance, induces his friend Robbins to rob the flower shop where he works. After the inheritance goes to Phil's brother William, who refuses Phil money to return to the flower shop, Phil abducts William's daughter Dorothy and sends a "Black Hand" ransom demand to throw suspicion onto Pietro, who earlier frightened Dorothy when he delivered a Christmas tree to William's house. William drives into the slums looking for Pietro and accidentally runs down Rosina. The grieving Pietro goes to the flower shop on Christmas morning to buy a rose for Rosina's coffin and is accused of the kidnapping, because Phil arranged to have a man known by "the sign of the rose" pick up the ransom money there. Pietro threatens to kill the arresting detective so that he can return to his "bambino," when William arrives with news that Dorothy has been found. William offers Pietro compensation, but he refuses and sorrowfully returns home.