Magic Melody

• 1913
• Other, Drama

Charles Lennox, an American physician, his wife, Clara Lennox, and little daughter, Mildred, settle in a remote section of Mexico to develop a mining claim. He still retains his physician's sign, but does very little medical work. Mrs. Lennox is an accomplished violinist. Tomas, an ignorant, savage mountain peon, who lives with his mother and sister, Carita, in a hut in the mountains, has not heard of the doctor in the valley. The peon's mother falls ill. Carita, in passing the doctor's house, sees the sign on the door and returning to the hut, tells Tomas of the white physician. Tomas goes to Lennox's house and there hears Clara playing her violin. The peon, who never heard anything of the kind before, is entranced by the music. Dr. Lennox goes to Tomas' hut, examines the mother and leaves a bottle of medicine and a spoon, with instructions that the peon shall give the patient a dose of one spoonful. The doctor gone, Tomas, in his ignorance, throws the spoon away and makes his mother drink the entire bottle of medicine at one time. The dose is too much and next morning finds Tomas' mother dead. The peon blames the doctor and under his belief of "a life for a life," swears vengeance. That morning Lennox goes to the mine as usual, while Mrs. Lennox departs on an errand, leaving baby Mildred locked in the house. The child climbs out the side window and goes off up the mountain, where she meets Tomas and Carita. The coining of the child suggests a plan to the peons. Tomas takes baby Mildred to the ancient sacrificial altar of the sun god on the mountain trail. Carita hurries to the doctor's house and pins a note on the door, which states that unless the doctor goes to the sun god altar before sunset and give his life for the mother, baby Mildred will be sacrificed. Mrs. Lennox returns about fifteen minutes before sundown and finds the note. Distracted and without firearms, Mrs. Lennox hits on the idea of using her violin to distract Tomas and save baby Mildred. Leaving a note on the door sounding danger, Mrs. Lennox rings the bell, which summons Lennox from the mine, and mounting her horse, gallops for the mountain altar. There she finds Tomas just about to kill baby Mildred and holds him off hypnotized by placing her violin. Later, Lennox and three rurals he met on the road arrive in time to relieve the exhausted wife and save the child. Tomas is arrested.