His Friend, the Burglar (1911)

• 73%
• 1911
• Comedy
• Harry Solter

Tom Dayton was very anxious to get away to the club, but Mrs. Tom Dayton refused to let him go out that night. He sent a note to his friends at the club telling them how he was held a prisoner, by his better half, and asking them to maneuver in some way to secure his release. It so happened that shortly after the arrival of this note, a burglar was caught in one of the club rooms. He pleaded hard not to be arrested, and then one of the members thought of a plan for securing Dayton's release. In accordance with this plan, one of the clubmen dressed up in the burglar's clothes, masked and armed with a jimmy, repaired to the Dayton home, where he climbed in the window and gave a secret club signal that Dayton recognized at once. Dayton was not slow to "catch on." He sneaked into the room, put a large cut-glass vase full of flowers into the burglar's arm and told him to beat it. Then he proceeded to do the "hero" act, yelling "stop thief! Halt, or I fire!" and similar commands. He ran after the thief with great courage and absolute fearlessness. Mrs. Dayton screamed, and calling after her husband the wise injunction not to let the burglar kill him, she telephoned to the police. The burglar led his pursuer quickly to the clubhouse. When the detectives took up the trail they had no difficulty in following them thither, where the joke was explained to them and the anxious Mrs. Dayton was notified that her husband had captured the burglar.