His Flesh and Blood

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Ralph Bradford, a wealthy lawyer, sightseeing on horseback, loses his way and inquires at Dora's house how to return to his home. Meeting Dora, he falls in love and induces her to elope, but ashamed of the difference in their life, he marries Dora secretly and takes her to a boarding-house under an assumed name. Two years later, one of the male boarders admires Dora's baby, but Bradford misconstrues the interest, drives Dora away and takes his son to his own home. Dora threatens a revenge that culminates a few months later in regaining her son. Bradford keenly feels the loss and determines to spend his fortune to regain him. Later, Dora at the point of death, succeeding in winning the affection of Bill Duke, a boniface, and his wife, induces Bill to raise Jack as his own son, and gives the boy his name. Bradford, to ease the pangs of remorse over the loss of his offspring, becomes guardian of Freda Fowler, and years later sends his own son, innocent of the misdemeanor for which he stood charged, to the reformatory to congregate with future criminals. Escaping, Jack returns to his old haunts and becomes the leader of Smiling Jack Duke's gang, named after himself. The gang, terrorizing the community, draws out the energies of Bradford, who has now become the district attorney to put an end to the gang and puts detectives upon the trail of the leader. Freda, having grown up under Bradford's care regarding him as her father, takes kindly to Bradford's desire to look with favor upon Herbert Hamilton, a prominent politician, whose favor Bradford courts, until she meets Smiling Jack, whose gangsters, robbing a clergyman, were put to rout by Jack, who, taking the clergyman home, meets Freda. With them it was love at first sight. Jack, escorting Freda home, met his father but neither knew, nor did Bradford know that the man he thanked was the leader of a gang. The detective sent out to get the goods on Duke made the acquaintance of "Ferret" Smith, a habitué of the underworld, and made a deal with "Ferret" to squeal. Bradford recognized Bill Duke, one day, as the man who took away his son, and gives chase, but fails to get him. Jack, in the meantime, has become attached to Freda, and blocks the gang's scheme to kidnap Bradford. A few days later he is guest at a reception at the Bradford house when the gang learns of "Ferret's" double-cross, and hunts him down. The claws of the law closing around Jack, he confesses to Freda his identity and swears that although guiltless of the "Ferret's" death he was guilty of other wrong-doing and was willing to take the penalty. Jack surrenders to Bradford. He is sentenced to five years at hard labor, when Bill Duke confesses to Bradford that Smiling Jack was his own flesh and blood. But Freda, knowing he was more sinned against than sinning, parted with Jack at the cell door with a kiss of love and told him she would wait for his release.