A baby is born to
the young married couple, and they are very happy for a time. Then the
second friend, Jim, comes back to his old shop to take the position of
foreman. As the result of a quarrel between him and the young husband,
the latter is discharged. From that time on things go badly with the
young couple, and soon bad is followed by worse. When they are on the
verge of starvation, and the husband has returned home after a
fruitless search for work, the wife goes out to try to beg a bottle of
milk. While she is away, the husband, thoroughly disheartened,
resolves to ask her to die with him, confident that neighbors will
care for the child. She returns home empty handed, and, though at
first shocked and horrified by his proposal, finally consents. Just as
the husband covers his wife's eyes with his hand and raises the
pistol, the two friends of former days burst into the room. One of the
husband's shop-mates has told the third friend of how "Jim fired
him"--as a leader tells us--and the reproaches of the third friend
have been instrumental in bringing about a feeling of remorse in the
heart of the foreman. The two hurry together to the little home,
arriving just in time to prevent the tragedy.
All through this picture the cut-back is used most effectively.
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