The Little Cripple

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The hero of this story is a little boy who has no legs, shuffling painfully along on a pair of crutches. His friend is a little fellow whose mother keeps the village tavern, and the opening scene finds the boys playing in front of the house, when a drunken man goes staggering into the inn. He orders several drinks and then falls asleep with his head on the table. Now the lads, apparently tired of playing, part, and the tavern woman's son enters his home. Wishing to close the inn, the mother tries to arouse the sleeper, but finally decides to allow him to spend the night by the table; the boy turns his attention to his school lessons, and after his mother goes to bed all is quiet. Now, outside of the boarded entrance to the tavern, two desperadoes appear, and they soon succeed in jimmying their way in. Entering the barroom, they see the boy, but manage to tiptoe by him unobserved to the chamber above. Here they attack the woman before she can spread the alarm, and ransacking the room, go again to the barroom; sneaking up behind the occupied little fellow they suddenly throw a sheet about him and carry him off. But as they go from the tavern they are seen by the legless friend of their captive, and he follows them, for he has divined the situation. As soon as they reach some passerby he passes, the alarm and some people go for aid. Meanwhile the murder of the woman has been discovered, and the suspect is the innocent drunkard who had fallen asleep at the table; the corpse is taken in custody, and the protesting man is taken to the police station, accused. But the little cripple during this time has been following his men, and they lead him to the water side, where they take the unconscious form of the boy into a boat and pull out from the shore. Waiting only to throw off the wooden stumps which serve him as limbs, the little fellow dives into the water and is soon swimming desperately after the boat, unobserved. When in midstream the robbers drop the boy over into the water, and turn back to shore. Of course, the legless swimmer rescues his friend, but when the men reach the shore the police are waiting and after a fierce fight they are captured. The next scene shows the accusation of the men, but they deny their guilt, insisting that the drunkard is the criminal. At once the door opens and the crippled hero enters, and straightway tells his story, after which the suspect is set free and the others incarcerated. The last picture shows the tavern boy thanking his rescuer.