Sealed Orders (1914)

War is in the air. Relations between the two nations are strained to the breaking point. Count Spinelli is the secret agent of the foreign power, and it is his mission to find out what the plans of the government are. To assist in attaining his end, the count organizes a carrier pigeon service between his government's headquarters and an old mill on his own estate.

Upon war being declared, Rear-Admiral Van Houven arranges his order of attack, and hands over the sealed orders referring to same, to his son, Lieutenant Van Houven. Through an extremely tragic train of events, these sealed orders are placed in the way of Spinelli, who, of course, is not slow to take advantage of his opportunity. Accordingly he copies the orders and sends them by carrier pigeon to his own chief. The pigeon, however, is shot by a government officer; the message is discovered and Rear-Admiral Van Houven learns of the treachery. Quite naturally he immediately suspects his son, and putting duty before paternal affection orders his arrest. The son is court-martialed, found guilty and ordered to be shot. Lieutenant Van Houven's wife reads the result of the trial and makes an abortive attempt to save her husband. Now we see some of the inner workings of Fate. Count Spinelli is trapped in the old mill; round about the war is raging; deeds of heroism are being performed; Lieutenant Van Houven is taken out to be executed and his wife lies at home prostrated with grief. In the midst of a troubled sleep she has a complicated dream, and we are shown in a very graphic manner how in this dream she tries to piece together all the various tragic details of the story. Her troubled brain eventually connects up the incidents in the proper sequence, and awakening she sees a way out of the maze. Through a series of stirring scenes, the problem is rapidly brought to a satisfactory solution and the story winds up in the happy manner the public taste demands.