The Ne'er-Do-Well

Kirk Anthony, a prodigal scion condemned by his own father for reckless extravagance, is surreptitiously conscripted onto a vessel bound for the Panama Canal Zone, a punitive exile that becomes the crucible of his metamorphosis. In the sultry heat of the tropical port, Kirk's swagger draws the attention of the aristocratic Mrs. Edith Cortlandt, whose lingering ennui finds a brief respite in his brash charm. Yet it is Chiquita, the spirited daughter of a formidable Panamanian general, who awakens within him a yearning for authentic purpose beyond the gilded veneer of American high society. Through the patronage of Stephen Cortlandt—Edith’s husband and a magnate of the burgeoning railroad enterprise—Kirk secures a position that promises both financial stability and social redemption. The narrative reaches its apex when Kirk encounters Allen Allan, a seasoned Negro mercenary whose worldly wisdom and stoic resolve serve as a stark counterpoint to Kirk’s erstwhile frivolity. The sudden demise of Stephen Cortlandt, initially cast as a murder implicating Kirk, is exonerated by Edith’s revelation of a suicide note, thereby absolving the young man. Empowered by his newfound resolve, Kirk excels in his railroad duties, culminating in a triumphant return to the United States alongside Chiquita, who embodies his reformed identity, to seek his father’s forgiveness and cement his place within the lineage he once spurned.