Drugged Waters

Summary

A captivating expose on the perils of avarice masquerading as wellness, "Drugged Waters" plunges into the moral murk surrounding the High Bluff Mineral Springs. Here, manager Clarence Webb orchestrates a lucrative charade, meticulously "enhancing" the spring's natural bounty with a concoction of inert minerals, thereby attracting a legion of hypochondriac elites. This elaborate deception, a veritable goldmine of imagined ailments, thrives under the complicit gaze of Dr. Perkins, the county health officer, whose silence is bought by both economic benefit to the region and a burgeoning affection for Cornelia Wrigley. Cornelia, aunt to the spring's unsuspecting owner, Gladys Saunders, shrewdly endorses the artifice, viewing it as a necessary evil to secure her niece's financial stability. The arrival of the discerning Dr. Sherwood, accompanying the capitalist Mr. Harron and his possessive daughter Selma, ignites a seismic shift. Dr. Sherwood's burgeoning connection with the naive Gladys throws Clarence's carefully constructed world into disarray, prompting a desperate proposal and a shocking confession of the spring's true, adulterated nature. As the ethical lines blur and loyalties fracture, Dr. Sherwood, a beacon of medical integrity, unmasks Clarence's fraudulent practices, proposing a radical, honest path to healing. This confrontation culminates in Clarence's vengeful public disclosure, forcing Dr. Sherwood into an audacious, if ethically dubious, quarantine to salvage his vision and the guests' well-being. The ensuing comedic chaos, fueled by eccentric patients and Selma's spiteful machinations, threatens to unravel everything. Yet, amidst the farcical turmoil, genuine healing begins, leading to a triumphant vindication of honesty, a blossoming romance, and the unmasking of a hapless tramp as the sole, absurd casualty of justice.

Synopsis

Clarence Webb, manager of the High Bluff Mineral Springs, has long doped the spring with lithia, sulfur, etc., to attract wealthy patients who imagine that they have aliments. The county health officer is aware of the fact, but as the county is benefited by the larger number of hotel guests, he holds his tongue. He has also another reason for keeping quiet, as he is attracted by Cornelia Wrigley, the aunt of Gladys Saunders, who owns the spring. Cornelia is also aware of the drugging of the spring, but she considers the end justifies the means, as the business provides a nice income for her niece, Gladys, who would have nothing without it. She jollies Dr. Perkins to keep him silent, but she prefers old "Doc" Jenkins, the clerk of the hotel, who also admires Aunt Cornelia. Gladys has lately returned from college and knows nothing of the methods used to obtain business. She knows her father's wishes were for her to marry Clarence, but she has given the matter no thought, as she is sorrowful over her father's death. A retired capitalist, Mr. Harron, and his daughter, Selma, who is in love with her father's physician, Dr. Sherwood, come to the spring hotel and an attachment springs up between Gladys and Dr. Sherwood, much to the chagrin and jealousy of Selma and Clarence. Clarence at once urges Gladys to marry him, but she refuses. He then tells her that she owes everything to him, that the springs are not naturally medicated and that he is the only one who can carry on the business successfully. She is horrified at the deception and still refuses him. He afterwards tells Aunt Cornelia he will tell all the guests she is defrauding the public. Terrified, she tries to persuade Gladys to listen to him. Clarence is then discovered putting ingredients in the water by Dr. Sherwood, who accuses him of defrauding the public. Clarence tells him that Gladys would lose all her property if it wasn't for the deception. Dr. Sherwood disagrees and tells him that the only real cure is diet, exercise and pure spring water; that he could effect cures, without the deception. Gladys, who has entered unobserved, promises to back him up if he will try his plan. Clarence in revenge tells the guests of the deception and they all prepare to leave. Dr. Sherwood, determined to keep them there and give his plan a trial, knows the only way to do so is to quarantine them. He has Clarence, who is about to leave town, locked in an old ice-house and tells the guests Clarence has smallpox and that they are quarantined. He stations guards outside the doors and windows and no one is allowed to leave the house. Many laughable difficulties with his eccentric patients present themselves to Dr. Sherwood, but the final catastrophe occurs when Selma, who is jealous of Dr. Sherwood, learns that Clarence hasn't the smallpox. She bribes one of the guards to send for the health officer and constable and they release Clarence, who at once tells the guests of the false quarantine. The guests have become much benefited by Dr. Sherwood's treatment, and when he asks them if they will stand by him instead of taking sides with the man who would allow them to remain invalids for life, they all rally to support Dr. Sherwood. As the Doctor could prove that Clarence defrauded the public for years, no one is arrested but poor Weary, the tramp, who, without clothes and food, has been locked in the house and has been dodging everyone until finally caught. He tells the constable disgustedly, "You couldn't find anyone else to arrest, so you arrested me." The path of true love appears smooth to Gladys and Dr. Sherwood as the business seems an assured success.