- Tom Nelson had married Rose in a little country town, where she was the popular belle. Jim Mason, who had been his rival, brooded over the fact greatly. Some time after the wedding Jim meets Tom and invites him into a saloon for a drink. Tom reluctantly enters, and one drink leads to another, until Jim is finally compelled to bring Tom home to his bride in an intoxicated condition. Tom's employers have a strict rule that if any of their employees are discovered carrying intoxicating liquors into the factory they will be dismissed. Jim, knowing of this rule, manages to place a bottle of whiskey in Tom's coat, and then informs the superintendent that one of his men is violating the rules of the factory. Tom is discharged, and as there are no other factories in the town, he decides upon going to New York. During his absence Jim calls upon Rose and tries to convince her that Tom is a drunkard and will never amount to much. Indignant at this unjust accusation Rose flaunts a letter in Jim's face from her husband, in which he tells Rose of a good position he has, and asks her to join him in New York. Rose joins her husband, and the young couple are soon blessed with a baby girl. When Tom meets Jim in New York, he forgets all their old rivals and meet often after this, and Tom's brain becomes fogged from the liquor he consumes in his nightly trips with Jim. When too late, he realizes that his position is in danger, and he eventually finds himself walking the streets penniless and his wife and baby ill. Tom, in his aimless search for work, meets Jim and is persuaded to make a trip to Governor's Island. They arrive upon the day that the Government officials are to make a test of throwing dynamite bombs from a balloon. When the aeronaut learns that he must carry 120 pounds of dynamite, he refuses to make the ascent. Jim conceives the diabolical scheme of getting rid of Tom forever and have Rose collect the large reward offered by the Government. He plays upon Tom's poverty and love for his wife and baby and finally persuades him to offer to go up in the balloon and carry the 120 pounds of dynamite. While he is making arrangements with the officials to pay the money to his wife in case death overtakes him, Jim steals a slow fuse which is lying in the dynamite box and ties it to the dynamite sacks. Just as the balloon starts to ascend, Jim, on the pretense of shaking hands, touches the fuse with his lighted cigar. As the balloon ascends to a height of 200 feet, a bag of sand becomes loose and drops upon the head of Jim, killing him instantly. When the balloon reaches a height of 1,000 feet, the anxious watchers on the ground become horror stricken as a cloud of smoke envelops the balloon and a second later they are deafened by an explosion. From the midst of this flaming inferno a body is seen coming to earth. When within 100 feet of the water, the parachute which had been attached to Tom's belt opens, and, although saved from the frightful fall, he is still in danger of drowning. Hurriedly a nearby tug is pressed into service and Tom is pulled from the river unconscious but alive. With the money obtained from the Government, he returns to his native town with his wife and baby and again becomes a respected member of the community.—Moving Picture World synopsis
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