The Game of Life
Directed by E.A. MartinRobin Hale, a mushy multi-millionaire, is addicted to strong drink and it finally dawns upon him that he must either give up whiskey or his hold on life, so he concludes upon an original plan, to abandon the haunts of men, take himself off to an uninhabited island and live the life of a recluse for a time. He is in love with Cleo, but she is a high-spirited young woman, and while she likes the millions, she dislikes the mere man-possessor. Consequently, the sodden Hale hardly staggers out of her presence before natty Paul Lawler nimbly steps in and appears to have her heart and hand. Lawler, who had pretended to be Hale's best friend, urged upon him the advisability of going away and overcoming the drink habit. This possibly may have been primarily philanthropic. Latterly it proved to be supremely selfish. Lawler lays all the plans for deporting his friend on his own yacht, and then losing him upon some forgotten island in the foreign seas. While poor Hale is stolidly making plans for sailing, Lawler and Cleo are having clandestine meetings that are discovered and render the soul of poor little Jo, the foster sister, to Cleo. Robert Hale, together with his false friend and others, sails away on his private yacht for his lonely home in the far-off islands of the sea. There he is comfortably marooned and supplied with firearms, so that he can live, if necessary, by his own efforts, upon the island, which has wild goats and the usual tropical fauna. His yacht, on the return trip, founders and all hands perish, except Paul Lawler, who escapes with the chart of the island, marking Hale's location, and so he comes joyfully back to the waiting arms of Cleo. Cleo and Lawler plot to secure possession of Hale's property. Cleo burns up considerable incriminating evidence against herself and her lover. While she is occupied in this incendiary task, Lawler comes upon the scene, interrupting her before it is finished. The precocious child of the servant in Cleo's house comes into the room in search of some material with which to fill her sawdust doll that has ripped open. She picks up a crumpled bit of paper and stuffs it into the doll; the paper happens to be the chart of Hale's whereabouts. Jo, the foster sister, finally becomes so objectionable to Cleo that her punishment is determined upon. Poor Jo leaves the unpleasant neighborhood of Cleo and goes away. The servant's little girl, as a keepsake, stuffs into her trunk the rag doll. Time is passing, and in the interim, Hale's island is destroyed by a volcano. Hale escapes in a boat with only the barest necessities of life and happily lands upon another island, where he now fights for bare existence. A passing ship observes the destruction of Hale's island, the captain tells the story of it, it finds its way into the columns of a paper, and the guilty pair charter a yacht to visit the site of the island to make doubly sure of the death of Hale. Fate pursues them like a Nemesis; their own ship catches fire, and they, in a frail boat, after experiencing the tortures of thirst and starvation, are tossed ashore upon the island where Hale found refuge. He finds the pair unconscious and carries them to his own rough retreat. There he discovers incriminating documents upon the man and the marriage license upon the woman, together with newspaper clippings which show the dark drift of their criminal intention. Hale revives the pair; the members of the triangle come face to face and the guilty ones see the horror of their fate in the grim and grizzled, half-wild man clad only in skins, as he accuses them of their perfidy. Hale mercifully allows them living space on his island, but divides the territory with a warning that they must not infringe. They, however, begin to plot and plan, and one day steal into his section unobserved and try to brain him with a club. A terrific struggle ensues in which the two men battle on the edge of a cliff, and both go over. Lawler falls to the bottom and is instantly killed. Cleo, in endeavoring to help him, falls after him and finds the same death. Hale, immune to hardship, wonderfully rugged and athletic, survives his injuries and lives on his lonely island. Away off in the big city the little foster sister one day, in looking over her possessions, comes upon the rag doll and finds the missing chart stuffed into it, revealing the location of Hale. She immediately charters a steamer and rushes to the rescue. She is accompanied by faithful legal friends. Eventually they find Hale and restore him to his rightful estates, so that he is triumphant in the game of life.
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