Lost, Twenty-Four Hours

Dick Swift has promised that in the absence of his wife he will attend all meetings of the Society for Furnishing Tooth Brushes to the Natives of Baroola. But instead he falls in with Adolphus Smiley and the two visit several barrooms. Their car wrecked, they take the steering wheel and with it guide an uncertain homeward course on foot at an early morning hour. Dick falls into a sleep which lasts twenty-four hours, Smiley awakening him by clinking ice in a pitcher after doctors had failed. Mrs, Dacre, whom Swift invited to call on himself and wife, does call. There is consternation. He makes David, his brother, insist the woman is their long lost sister. Mary Churchill, sweetheart of David, and her militant mother suspect the ruse. Sam Golden, the owner of the machine Dick smashed, arrives with a policeman and Swift eagerly submits to arrest. Dick is perfectly contented in his cell, safe from relatives and friends. But they sweep down on the police station and drag him forth. The sergeant finally unravels the mystery of Mrs. Dacre, who confesses she attempted to blackmail Swift. Everybody is happy at last but Adolphus Smiley, who started it all, isn't destined to be happy for long.