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Two Men of Sandy Bar Synopsis

John Oakhurst is a chivalrous gambler, and his friendship for Sandy Morton forms the motif of the story. Sandy Morton was given to excessive drink, which through the connivance of the duchess, the queen--of the gambling houses--resulted in the loss of his birthright. Though his father had maintained a search for him covering a number of years, he had never been able to locate him. Circumstances so shaped themselves that Oakhurst innocently, and believing Sandy dead, took the place of the long-lost son in his father's affection and household, and these circumstances reached a climax when Sandy's true identity was revealed at the psychological moment by the duchess herself. So upright has Oakhurst been in all his dealings with the eider Morton that as he turns to leave the room, the old man calls him back and announces that henceforth the name under which he will operate his banking business will be Alex, Morton and Sons and Oakhurst. Thus do the troubles of the two men cement their years of friendship into a life-long association.

The Idler Synopsis

"The Idler" is Mark Cross, a young man of good family, who in a wild fit of daredeviltry has emigrated from London to the far west. John Harding, also well-born of wealthy parents, but disinherited, and a poor clerk, is also seeking his fortune in the gold fields. One day Harding receives a letter from a firm of London solicitors informing him that his father has died and that he is now Sir John Harding, Bart. He sets out at once to make his preparations for his return to civilization and to take up the station in life that is rightfully his. But that very day he becomes involved in a quarrel with Felix Strong, the young brother of a miner named Simeon Strong, and Felix is shot accidentally during the dispute. Harding is accused of murder, but flees to England in time to escape the vengeance of a posse, headed by Simeon Strong, who is determined to avenge his brother. Years after in London, Harding, who has married the girl both he and Cross were in love with before they emigrated, comes face to face with Cross and Strong, who have become partners and have "struck it rich." In order to win Lady Harding for his own Cross allows the evil side of his nature to get the upper hand of him and plots to have Strong kill Sir John in a duel. Strong slaps Harding in the face in the foyer of the opera house in order that he may involve him in "an affair of honor" and avenge his brother's death by killing Harding. Cross in the meantime lures Lady Harding to his rooms where Sir John comes to seek her. She hides in Mark Cross's bedroom, but reveals herself at a dramatic moment when Harding, shouting "Curse you, I'll kill you," springs at Cross's throat. Her splendid nature, as shown in her denunciation of both men, one as a husband without faith in his wife and the other as the would-be destroyer of a home, overcomes them with shame. They shake hands and Mark, parting forever with Lady Harding, orders his valet to pack his things for he is off "on a long trail."