The Right Clue (1912)

Mrs. Phillips sent her confidential business man a parcel of bonds to deposit in a safe place. Mr. Forbes, the gentleman in question, was about to put them in a safe when an interruption took him from the room and the precious papers found their way into the wastebasket and subsequently into the trash barrel outside. A detective is called in and his investigation turns up some cigar ash and he concludes that the man who smokes this kind of cigar must be the recipient or custodian of the lost bonds. The detective following up this clue examines the cigars smoked by a great many persons, much to their discomfiture and his own inconvenience. Finally, he comes across a policeman smoking the identical brand of cigar and this fact leads to the discovery that the lost documents are concealed in the policeman's hat, the same being placed there by his sweetheart, the cook, who thinks the hat too large to be becoming and thus pads it out sufficiently for a good fit. The cigar ash proved the right clue which led to the recovery of the documents and their return to the proper owner.

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GenresComedy Short