| Plot Summary |
During the season the arrival of aviators at Stapleton was of such frequent occurrence that their coming and going aroused very little curiosity on the part of the visitors who thronged the front of this delightful seaside resort. It was different, however, when it was announced that the celebrated aviator, Jack Marriott, would arrive on the following Sunday, and during his stay would give a series of sensational flights. The coming visit aroused much speculation as to the class of exhibition the aviator proposed, but few could have prophesied its conclusion. In addition to being a clever airman, Marriott had a way with him which appealed to the fair sex, and it was not surprising to find Lucy Harding falling in love with him. Although she had paid close attention to the flights which he gave, it was not until several days after his arrival that the two met. Red Cross day gave her an excuse for calling upon him, and after Jack had subscribed a handsome sum to the charity, conversation veered round to aviation, its risks and attractions. Lucy expressed a wish that Jack would fly round her father's villa, and he promised that he would do so on the following day. The next evening we see the aviator taking repeated flights around the villa and still further arousing the admiration of the girl. She confided to her diary that already she loved him and felt rather unhappy because she could not answer her own questions as to whether her feeling was reciprocated. Following the flight Lucy went to the aerodrome, where she thanked the aviator for the pleasure he had given her, and artlessly expressed the opinion that the girl who shared his life with him would be very happy. When she had gone Jack thought over their conversation, and finding, after searching his own heart, that he loved too, wrote to Lucy asking her if she would share his life. He loved her and humbly placed his life at her feet. This was what the girl was waiting for, and she replied that he had all her heart and had better come and "ask papa." Jack did not trouble to consider the opinion of papa, and, assuming that the hand of the girl must be given to him, had a betrothal bouquet cut in the garden of his villa and, flying over Lucy's house, contrived to drop it on the terrace. Her father concluded that things were not as they should be and demanded an explanation. Lucy informed him that Jack was going to ask for his consent to their marriage. The old gentleman was enraged and told his daughter that she should only marry a man of his choice, otherwise he would disinherit her. Such is the unbounding optimism of the present-day young lady that this threat did not trouble her in the least and she immediately wrote to Jack that her father was opposed to the marriage, but that did not matter at all since they loved each other. She suggested an elopement the following morning when her father would have left for the hunting field. Seeing how matters stood, and realizing that the father's consent would be difficult to secure, Jack decided to adopt this suggestion, and the following morning met Lucy. Her father, however, had not yet left for the country, and was quickly on the track when she left the house, but before the enraged parent's motor car could reach the aerodrome the two had started. Underrating the speed of the aeroplane, the irate old gentleman pursued the machine with his car, but it was quite useless. They steered straight for the sea and within an hour had landed in Lakewood. Here they were successful in enlisting the sympathies of a lady who directed them to the house of the nearest clergyman, and the two wayward young people were made man and wife. Immediately after the ceremony they returned to Stapleton, where they met the father. As the machine approached land, we see the anxious parent watching its evolutions from his house, and he is so thankful to have his daughter safely back with him that he overlooks her conduct and makes the best of the situation as it presents itself.
Written by Moving Picture World synopsis
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