The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-01-03
''ROCkY ROAD
BIOGRAPHIES LATEST
The Latest Of Hiosraph Pictures will
be Shown at Dodse,s
Theatre This
Evening.
STIRRING AND THRILLING
Famous Little Biosraph. Girl Has
Leading Role-seyeraI Other
Features on the
Program.

The Rocky Road The truth OF
the expression: ''tis a long dane that
has no turning" has often been veri.
ned, but in this instance the road ter
inmates In cloud, the darkness. of
which is impenetrable. The story
shows the relentlessness Of Justice
and the cryptic prepollence Of Provi-
dence. Coincident as the episodes
may appear they are evolved with a
convincing consistency rarely found
In dramatic stories of this type, max
Ing it. on the whole, one OF the most
Eeart-stirring and thrilling prodnc-
lions ever made by the Biograph. Ben
Cook had been man of intelligent
energy, but meeting with reyerses
went the way of so many Others that
is, became addicted to drink Falling
lower and lower, we first see him a
drunken loafer. In return for his
wife's fearful entreaties he gives
abuse, and finally desertion; leaving
bis native town for parts unknown.
Landing in strange village, he seeks
and obtains employment in sawmill,
where he resolves to brace up. Mean
while, his poor wife learning from
her husbands companions Of his
flight, becomes unbalanced in mind,
and taking up her little three-year-old
child starts out in search of him. On
she wanders, cold and hungry, meet
ing kind-hearted Italian on the way,
who compasionately gives her an old
shawl to wrap about the child. Fur
Their on she falls exhausted beside a
haystack. Here the hallucination of
hearing her husbands voice calling
seizes her and she leaves the child to
go in answer to the imagined call.
The child is found later by an old
farmer, who adopts 1t, The poor
woman staggers on until she falls
helpless in the road. She is found by
a benevolent couple who take her in
and care for her. she performing light
homework in return for their kind
ness. Years later Cook, through his
close application to work, has become
manager Of the mill, and is enjoying
the best of fortune. A search for his
deserted wife had proved fruitless,
hence he assumed her dead. One day
while out in his auto, it becomes tenn
porarily disabled, and he rests UP at a
farmhouse, where they are celebrat-
ing their daughters eighteenth birth
day. The meeting with the daughter
incurs mutual love at first sight.
Later they are betrothed and the we'd
| ding day set. 1t is now the day of the
wedding and Cook is speeding to the
house to meet the wedding party
when his machine passes the place
where his wife has lived all these
/ years She recognizes him and
dashes after him, but, of course, Is far
distanced. Continuing, she comes to
the house shorty, after the party of
which she knows nothing, has left.
/ She asks for a drink, and while wait
ing sees her husbands picture in a
/ frame on the table. To her queries the
/ maid tells her in detail about the little
/ founding, the adoption the birthday
party, and now the wedding, which
4 may at this moment be taking pace
1t is for her the awakening. She
| realizes the horror of the situation,
and asking the direction to the church
dashes madly out, hailing passing
wagon begs the man to drive in haste
to it. The ceremony has Just begun
lwhen she rushes in. Oh God! What a
terrible revelation. She has just
strength to make the truth clear when
she falls into her husbands arms
dead. Thus, in fash he is made to
feel the weight of the hand of Divine
Justice in the horror and mortifica-
ton of the situation.
| This great Biograph will be shown
at Dodges tonight and several others.