Drink had secured such a strong hold on John Douglas that it threatened to ruin a life which was most promising. He had a brilliant mind for the law. He was in love with Ruth Boyton. One day when Ruth was out walking with another suitor, ...See moreDrink had secured such a strong hold on John Douglas that it threatened to ruin a life which was most promising. He had a brilliant mind for the law. He was in love with Ruth Boyton. One day when Ruth was out walking with another suitor, Henry Briston, they met John, who was intoxicated. This settled all Ruth's doubts, and shortly afterward she was married to Briston. The two men were the best of friends, and Briston often tried to break Douglas of his besetting sin, offering him a place in his law firm if he would only quit drink. Finally, when all efforts had failed, Briston and some of his friends determined on a scheme, which they believed would succeed. One evening, when they knew he had been drinking heavily, Briston called at his apartments and begged him to sober up. Douglas became angry and later fell into a drunken stupor. Briston telephoned to his friends, and they soon arrived to put the scheme into operation. They daubed his shirt bosom with red paint, giving the appearance of blood. Then they placed a revolver in the unconscious hand of Douglas. After a time Douglas awoke. He saw the form of his friend apparently dead and beheld the revolver in his own hand. He was half crazed with the thought that he was a murderer. He quickly placed the body in a large trunk, and then wandered out into the street still dozed. There he met some of the friends who were in the plot, and decided to make a clean breast of it. When he learned that the whole thing was a plan to get him to stop drinking, and that Briston was still alive and well, he was overcome with joy, and from that day he never drank another drop. Written by
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