By Power of Attorney

Summary

A naval lieutenant’s pulse races for a lion-whip virtuoso whose silk tights still reek of sawdust and danger; their elopement detonates a chandeliered stalemate where an apoplectic Marquis keels over mid-scrawl, bequeathing a fortune that never reaches the groom. While the newly-wed officer is marched in chains toward a Belopore pyre, a school-chum turned human termite tunnels into the Hilton vault through forged petals of attorney, usurping palazzos, emeralds, even the panther’s cage where the bride now twirls for pennies. Across two continents, the plot pirouettes from Calcutta mailbags to the Court of Lions, from cradled infant cries to treacherous garden shears, until a home-coming husband—scarred, sun-scorched, presumed ash—crashes through velvet drapes to throttle the usurper with the same bare hands that once spliced rigging in monsoon gales.

Synopsis

Jack Hilton, naval lieutenant, has fallen in love with Adriana Duncan, a wild beast tamer, but his relatives refuse to sanction the marriage owing to the poverty and to the humiliating occupation of his fiancée. In despair, Milton appeals for the last time to his eccentric old uncle, Marquis Hilton, who threatens to alter his will in favor of another if he persists in his mad intention. A fortnight later, in spite of this determined opposition, the marriage is celebrated. Furious at this disobedience, the Marquis is in the act of disinheriting his nephew when his old complaint seizes him and he dies without having time to change his will. Jack is ordered out to conduct an expedition into the interior of India with a view to discovering the unknown sources of the "Sacred River" of Belopore. Sadly he takes leave of his young bride and sets out upon his journey. In the train he meets Thomas Trevalny, his old school friend, and on board the liner, a few minutes before the departure, he receives the news of his uncle's unexpected death and of his own inheritance. In great haste, Hilton entrusts the important documents to Trevalny, saying that he will send the power of attorney from Calcutta. Left alone, Trevalny determines to gain possession of his friend's valuable inheritance, and gains admittance into his house as gardener in order to intercept the letters from the East, and also Hilton's power of attorney, Trevalny succeeds in his villainous plan, and, while poor Adriana is still waiting for news of her husband, he becomes master of the fortune by means of the intercepted power of attorney. At last Jack Hilton and his expedition are bivouacking on the banks of the "Sacred River." The Rajah, however, an unrelenting foe of all Europeans, is informed of their intrusion, and sends his fanatic soldiers to attack the encampment. Overwhelmed by a superior force, the Europeans are almost all massacred, and Hilton himself is taken prisoner. The Rajah himself condemns the unfortunate man to be burned alive, but, at the entreaty of his favorite Fedorah, he imprisons him for life. Meanwhile Adriana has become poor once more, and believes her husband to be dead. A son is born, of whose existence the father knows not, and Adriana is compelled to devote herself once again to her old profession of wild beast tamer in a menagerie to provide food for her child. At Belopore, the Rajah observes Fedorah's nightly visits to the European's prison, and the unfortunate Jack Hilton is thrown into the Court of Lions. Fedorah, however, persuades the faithful Pipel to save her lover, and he flees from Belopore to his safety. Trevalny, who loves Mrs. Hilton, comes one day to force his will upon her, and is driven from the house by the unexpected arrival of one of her leopards. Furious at his failure, he buys the menagerie where Adriana is employed, and writes a letter to her, announcing his fixed intention, either to realize his desire or to drive her into the streets with her little son. Helpless, Adriana comes to appeal to his better feelings. That same evening, after two years' absence, Jack Hilton returns home, finds the threatening letter, and guesses the danger of his wife's position. Without losing a moment, he runs to Trevalny's mansion, and bursts into the drawing room where the scoundrel is trying to seduce his wife. With a terrible cry he hurls himself upon the traitor, but, at his wife's prayer, restrains his fury until the arrival of the police. So, after so many sufferings, Hilton and his wife embrace once more, while Trevalny awaits the punishment he well deserves.