The Great Ganton Mystery (1913)

Henry Ganton is a bacteriologist whose researches have brought him considerable fame. Most of his work is carried on in the laboratory at his magnificent home and about the grounds, where he is at present engaged in vivisectional experiments with guinea pigs. An advertisement for a French maid is placed in the newspapers by Mrs. Ganton. A comely young woman applies for the position and is engaged forthwith. As soon as her eyes fall upon Ganton and his upon her there is instant recognition. The wild, youthful days of Ganton while a student in Paris are focused upon his vision. The maid, too, is plainly affected, and all the bitterness and anger of her nature seem to possess her. The maid goes about her work. All the while, however, she is burning within for revenge. An idea comes with the reading of an article on scientific experimentation, which she chances to observe. So, when preparing an orange for Ganton in the morning, she designingly inserts some of the poisonous germs with which he has inoculated one of the guinea pigs and which she has cleverly drawn from the little animal. Ganton dies suddenly, and the whole affair becomes a perplexing mystery. The case is diagnosed as one of ptomaine poisoning, when Professor Felix Westerly, a well-known scientist and expert on bacteriology, is called in. Westerly, being of an intuitive turn of mind, begins work instantly. Finding some of the orange peels be examines them closely. Then going to the maid's room, he discovers the clipping from the scientific paper. Quickly scribbling a note on the back of an envelope, asking the maid to call at his home that evening, he leaves. The maid finds the note shortly afterwards, and after some hesitancy decides to go to the Westerly home. Hardly has she become seated, when Westerly works her into an hypnotic spell and draws the whole story of her early life from her: the meeting in Paris with Westerly, when she was a nurse, their intimate relations, the birth of her child, her desertion by Ganton, and finally the death of the baby. It is all revealed to Westerly. He dismisses the maid, and. after turning the facts over and over in his mind, pens a report in which he states he is unable to find any positive proof of foul play, at the same time expressing the opinion that the case will ever remain a mystery.

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Summary Details
Running Time22 min
GenresDrama Mystery Short