The Fraud That Failed
Directed by Allan DwanMrs. Wren and her pretty daughter Mabel, lived alone on a desolate ranch. The nearest of their few neighbors were Ricketts and his wife. Ricketts had long coveted Mrs. Wren's fine ranch, and went one day to see how he might defraud her out of it. In a spirit of (fake) friendship, he commented on the ranch's condition and finally offered to buy--and the lonesome woman readily agreed. Home went Ricketts; he soon returned with a fake deed, not calculating on the handsome young man who had ridden in and chatted with the women. With that fine instinct which unconsciously suspects foul play, the ranger, after being informed the reason for the deed, asked permission to examine it. This he did with curious eyes and soon discovered the joker in the contract. Instantly animosity sprang up between them. Off they went on horseback, down the mountainside, firing shot after shot. The ranger's horse, being the faster of the two, soon overhauled that of Ricketts. They engaged in a deadly embrace, swinging treacherously to and fro over the backs of their galloping horses. With a death grip on Rickett's throat, the ranger bore him over the side and they both fell into the dust of the road. Returning to the desolate ranch, the eyes of the ranger swept Mabel's graceful form. He visited a few days and decided, with Mabel's permission, that he would stay forever and a day.
