The Squatter's Child (1912)
Dan Brierly has built a shack on disputed land. He has two daughters, Nellie, a young lady of nineteen and Edna, a child of five. John Colby, a big land owner, claims the land upon which Dan has built and, accordingly, with his son, Ned, calls upon Dan and advises him to vacate. Dan refuses and John Colby hurries away to call upon the law for aid. On their way to and from the shack, the two men meet both the squatter's daughters and Ned is exceedingly pleased with Nellie. The next day, Ned, with the officers of the law, call at Dan's shack, and as soon as Ned realizes that Nellie is the squatter's daughter, he sends them back, declaring he will attend to the matter and report to his father. Ned then proceeds to make friends with the girls and their father, but not with their hired man, the "harmless" half-wit, Pete, who is jealous of Ned's attentions to Nellie. Ned then rides away to plead with his father to allow the settler more time. The friendship of the two young people ripens into love, while the jealousy of Pete increases, especially after Nellie has refused his flowers. Ned and Nellie's trysting place is upon a small bridge. Here Pete makes one last appeal to Nellie and is not only coldly received, but upon forcing his attentions upon her, Pete is knocked down by Ned. Knowing that preparations for blasting are going on near-by, Pete goes to the place, and hiding behind a rock until the foreman's back is turned, steals half a box of dynamite and places it under the bridge. Waiting under the bridge until the time when the young people meet, he lights the fuse, but Ned and Nellie leave the bridge a few minutes before the end of the fuse is reached. In the meantime, little Edna has observed the little light under the bridge and extracts the fuse. Pete, unable to bear the strain of watching the child any longer, has rushed to the child's father and confessed. When the men reach the bridge, little Edna innocently hands the box of dynamite up to her father. The half-wit is locked up for safe keeping and John Colby is so overcome by having his boy's life saved by little Edna, that he swears eternal friendship with Dan and relinquishes his claim to the squatter's land, while the young people are happily unconscious of anything save themselves.
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GenresShort
Western
IMDbPro
See more details at IMDbPro
| Filmmakers | Role |
|---|---|
| Milton J. Fahrney | Director |
| David Horsley | Producer |
| Cast | Role |
|---|---|
| Jack Conway | |
| William Clifford | |
| Viola Barry | |
| Fay Brierly |
