Stolen Orders (1918)

John Le Page is about to drink poison so that his little daughter Ruth can collect his life insurance when two burglars break into his jewelry store. One of the thieves, Bill Cory, drinks the poison and dies, while the other, Joe Allen, is arrested for stealing jewels that Le Page actually had taken. Fifteen years later, during World War I, Le Page becomes attached to a German spy who plans to secure certain highly classified documents from Admiral Gaveston of the United States Navy. To this end, the spies invite Felicia Gaveston, the admiral's wife, to their luxurious gaming establishment, hoping that she will submit to her passion for gambling. Felicia loses so much that she agrees to steal the documents in order to conceal her losses. Lieutenant Dennis Gaveston, the admiral's brother, learns that Le Page is planning to transport the papers to Berlin via dirigible balloon and resolves to pursue him. Ruth, who loves Dennis, reluctantly accompanies her father in the balloon, and Dennis follows in a hydroplane. Le Page's accomplice reveals himself as the man who had served time for Le Page's crime, and in a fierce struggle, they both fall from the basket and drown. After Ruth parachutes to safety, she returns the documents to Dennis, the seal still unbroken.