Summary
Joe Brooks, a modest bookkeeper aboard Captain Williams' bustling merchant vessel, succumbs to avarice and siphons more than $16,000 from the shipowner’s ledger. The captain, whose affection for Brooks' wife Emma borders on patronizing, remains oblivious until Jimsy Smith, a fellow dockhand enamored with Emma, uncovers the discrepancy. Confronted with exposure, Brooks coerces Emma into pleading with the captain, promising to erase the debt at any price. Jimsy, arriving first, offers to settle the sum, but is rebuffed. The captain, seizing a perverse bargain, proposes to furnish a receipted bill if Emma will sacrifice her honor, a proposition that horrifies her and convinces the captain of her innocence. He hands over the receipt as a token of respect. When Emma presents the document to her husband, his fury erupts; he lunges to choke her as she declares her departure. Jimsy intervenes, thwarting the murder. Emma departs with Jimsy, while a despondent Brooks ends his life.
Synopsis
Joe Brooks a bookkeeper, embezzles over $16,000 from his employer, ship owner Captain Williams, who is fond of Brooks' wife Emma. Jimsy Smith, who also admires Emma, discovers the theft. When Joe realizes he has been found out, he convinces Emma to talk to the captain and cancel the debt at any price. Jimsy arrives at first and offers to pay off the debt, but is refused. To Emma, the captain agrees to give a receipted bill for the debt if she will sacrifice her honor. Emma's horror over the proposition convinces the captain that she has had no part in the scam, and he gives her the receipt as a token of his respect. When Emma gives Joe the receipt, he turns on her, believing that she compromised herself. Joe tries to choke Emma when she tells him she is leaving him, but Jimsy arrives and prevents the murder. Emma then goes off with Jimsy, and Joe commits suicide.
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