It Wasn't Poison After All
Directed by C.J. WilliamsA mischievous little boy employed in a drug store, resents the clerk's domineering manner and vows he'll be revenged. His opportunity comes when the drug clerk compounds a cough remedy. As soon as the clerk has filled the prescription and the customer has departed with the medicine the boy exchanges a bottle containing syrup for one marked poison and then deliberately accuses the clerk of having poisoned someone. The druggist overhears the accusation and after a hasty investigation concludes his clerk is guilty of an awful mistake. The druggist, feeling the responsibility of it all, berates the clerk in loud tones, attracting a crowd of curious people. Great excitement prevails, the clerk is arrested and the customer, described as a man with a basket who bought the supposed poison, is eagerly sought for in all directions. The druggist is seen to run up one street and down another, accosting every man who carries a basket, but in each case he "gets in wrong," for it proves to be the wrong man. He is on the point of giving up the search when he espies a man with a man with a basket entering a house who answers the clerk's description of the customer. He makes a wild dash for the house but not in time to prevent the patient from taking several doses of the "poison." Consternation now reigns in the sick man's house and a mad rush is made for the nearest doctor. in the doctor's office the excitement runs high, but the doctor fails to discover any symptoms of poisoning and suggests they go to the drug store to make a thorough investigation. Arriving at the drug store the mischievous boy becomes frightened at the state of affairs and confesses that he is the cause of the disturbance and it wasn't poison after all. The collapsed sick man immediately regains his equilibrium. The crowd laughs and the chagrined druggist gives the boy "what Paddy gave the drum."
