Left an orphan by the death of her mother, Margaret Weston goes to live with her father's old friend, Thompson, who has been appointed her guardian by her mother's will. Upon her arrival the guardian, a thorough man of the world, is ...See moreLeft an orphan by the death of her mother, Margaret Weston goes to live with her father's old friend, Thompson, who has been appointed her guardian by her mother's will. Upon her arrival the guardian, a thorough man of the world, is greatly impressed with her youthful beauty, and it is not long before he begins showering her with unwelcome attentions, which, in view of their relations, she does not know how to avoid. Thompson hires a young landscape engineer to supervise some improvements at his country place, and when the young fellow meets Margaret it is a case of love at first sight. Thompson, angered at Margaret's refusal to marry him. and suspecting her fondness for the engineer, discharges him. The two lovers continue to meet, however, their clandestine trysts being arranged by Bartlett, an old servant, who is very devoted to the girl. One day Margaret accompanies Thompson and a party of mutual friends on a fox hunting expedition. She purposely allows her horse to drop behind and, finding a shady nook, settles down to dream of her absent lover. Thompson notices her absence, retraces his steps and finds her alone. He tries to kiss her and she resists his attempt. Angered, he seizes her just as Bartlett appears upon the scene. The old servant raises his rifle and fires. Thompson falls, and Bartlett, thinking he has killed his master, drops his gun and flees without having been seen by either Margaret or her guardian. It happens that on the morning of the day of the hunt, Bartlett and the engineer, both hunting, had met in the woods. Their rifles, just alike except for the initials of their owners carved in the butts, were interchanged. As a consequence, when the police find the young man's rifle in the bushes from which the shot was fired, he is suspected of trying to kill his former employer and thrown into jail. Margaret suspects that Bartlett fired the shot and sets herself to search for him. She finally locates him in an old hut where he has hidden from pursuit, and persuades him to come into court and tell the truth. The result is that Thompson is discredited, the engineer cleared and the court, deciding that Bartlett's shot was justified, sets him free. And it is not long before wedding bells ring out for Margaret and the engineer. Written by
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