Summary
From the rugged, coal-rich crags of the Blue Ridge Mountains emerges Madge Brierly, an unschooled but spirited young woman whose destiny intertwines with that of Frank Layson, a refined aristocrat vacationing from the Blue Grass country. Their nascent affection ignites amidst Frank’s chivalrous intervention, thwarting the machinations of the avaricious Horace Holten, who sought to swindle Madge of her invaluable ancestral lands. Enraged by his foiled scheme, Holten, a villain of insidious design, maliciously poisons the mind of Joe Lorey, a local moonshiner and Madge’s ardent admirer, by falsely painting Frank as a revenue officer. This deceit precipitates a perilous confrontation, from which Madge, with characteristic courage, extricates Frank. Their escape leads them to Frank’s opulent estate, a world apart from Madge’s humble origins, where he undertakes the tender tutelage of her literacy, unlocking new vistas of understanding. The tranquility is shattered when Holten, persistent in his malevolence, sets fire to the stables, imperiling Frank’s prize racehorse, Queen Bess. Once more, Madge’s quick thinking and bravery avert catastrophe. The narrative crescendos towards the pivotal Kentucky race, on which Frank’s family fortune precariously rests. Holten, ever the saboteur, incapacitates Frank’s chosen jockey with drink. Yet, fate, or perhaps Madge’s indomitable spirit, intervenes; she dons a disguise, mounts Queen Bess, and with an astonishing display of equestrian prowess, guides the mare to a triumphant victory. Slipping away unnoticed in the celebratory chaos, Madge encounters the Night Riders in pursuit of Joe Lorey. With a compelling narrative, she unveils Holten’s long-hidden culpability in her father’s death and his orchestration of Lorey’s predicament, redirecting the vigilantes’ wrath towards the true villain. Holten’s flight from justice ends in a precipitous fall from a mountain, a dramatic and fitting demise. The saga concludes years later, with the playful, inherited ‘feuding’ of Madge and Frank’s children, a charming coda to a tale of love, rivalry, and justice across the social divide.
Synopsis
Illiterate Blue Ridge Mountain girl Madge Brierly falls in love with vacationing Blue Grass aristocrat Frank Layson, when he stops Horace Holten from defrauding her of her coal-rich lands. For revenge, Holten tells moonshiner Joe Lorey, who loves Madge, that Frank is a revenue officer. After Madge rescues Frank from Joe's attack, they go to Frank's home, where he teaches her reading and writing, and she rescues his racehorse, Queen Bess, from a fire set by Holten. Because Frank has nearly all of his family's money riding on the big Kentucky race, Holten gets Frank's jockey drunk. Madge, discovering this, disguises herself and rides Queen Bess to victory. She leaves for home unnoticed, and comes across the Night Riders chasing Lorey. After she persuades them that Holten killed her father years earlier, and was responsible for Lorey's attack, they chase Holten who falls from a mountain and dies. Years later, Madge's and Frank's children play at feuding.
