Summary
Broadway Bill Clayton, a scion of New York's gilded idleness, finds himself adrift in a maelstrom of self-indulgence and dissipation. His quest for personal rectification and the retrieval of Muriel Latham's esteem propels him from the urban labyrinth into the rugged, arboreal embrace of John Underwood's Maine lumber camp. This pastoral exile, however, is no tranquil retreat. He immediately confronts the malevolent machinations of Buck Hardigan, a foreman whose illicit maple syrup enterprise fuels his paranoia, viewing Bill as an encroaching sentinel. A relentless gauntlet of perilous stratagems ensues, from which Bill, with a burgeoning resilience, emerges unscathed. His ultimate triumph over Hardigan, both physically and morally, elevates him to the very position of authority once occupied by his adversary, symbolizing his burgeoning self-mastery. Yet, this hard-won sobriety teeters on the precipice of despair when a spurious journalistic report of Muriel's engagement threatens to plunge him back into alcoholic oblivion. It is only through Muriel's timely arrival, accompanied by Underwood, and Bill's heroic intervention during a snowstorm to rescue her imperiled brother, Jack, that the veil of misunderstanding is rent, and the path to genuine redemption and enduring affection is finally illuminated.
Synopsis
"Broadway Bill" Clayton, a New York playboy and heavy drinker, takes a job at the Maine lumber camp of John Underwood hoping to reform himself and regain the affections of Muriel Latham. Foreman Buck Hardigan, who has been stealing and selling Underwood's maple syrup, suspects that Bill has been sent as a spy and decides to get rid of him. Bill survives several plots on his life and finally defeats Buck in a fight and is elected foreman. His struggle with alcohol is nearly won, but when he reads a newspaper item erroneously stating that Muriel is engaged to another, he decides to drink again. Muriel visits the camp with Underwood, and everything is cleared up after Bill rescues her brother Jack in a snow storm.
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