An Elopement at Home
Directed by Van Dyke BrookeBilly would like to marry Mabel, the judge's pretty daughter, but he is ordered from the premises by the angry father, who selfishly wishes to keep his daughter at home. This is witnessed by the justice of the peace, a next-door neighbor, who rejoices at the judge's discomfiture. Billy and Mabel plan to elope, while the judge is sleeping peacefully. Mabel enters his room and takes all of his clothes to delay his pursuit. But when she tries to get out of the second-story window to descend by the ladder, she gets her skirt caught in the window and cannot unfasten it. Billy breaks into the house and is on his way upstairs to help Mabel, when he is met by the judge. He is taken for a burglar, and, at the point of a revolver, is locked up in the attic. Billy climbs through a trap-door onto the roof and calls to Mabel and tells her of his capture. The milkman sees the couple and is amused at their predicament. Billy throws him some money and tells him to go next door and call the justice of the peace to come and marry them in ten minutes. The justice of the peace is tickled to death at an opportunity to vex his old political enemy. By this time the judge has discovered the theft of his clothes and suspects that he is being duped. When he hears voices outside he goes to the window and sees Billy urging the justice to marry him to Mabel. The judge angrily forbids the ceremony, but the justice laughs and, asking the milkman to remain as a witness, proceeds with the marriage. The judge wraps a blanket about himself and tries to get out of the room, but the door knob breaks and he falls back on the floor. When he returns to the window he sees the justice, the milkman and Billy and Mabel all drinking to each other's health from milk bottles. The judge fires the broken door-knob at the justice, but misses him, and all laugh at the defeated father's expostulations as Billy leans over the roof and kisses Mabel.
