The Witching Hour

Jack Brookfield is a professional gambler. His niece, Viola, is engaged to Clay Whipple. Whipple's mother, a widow, was Brookfield's former love. Frank Hardmuth, the District Attorney, is Whipple's rival for Viola's affections. Whipple has inherited a fear of a particular cat's-eye jewel. At a party, a drunk named Tom Denning taunts Whipple with the jewel, causing Whipple to strike and kill him. Hardmuth prosecutes the case, and gets Whipple convicted. Behind bars, Whipple has a dream of his wedding day, seeing himself and Viola at the altar; then a rope falls from above and encircles his neck. Whipple's mother remembers that Judge Prentice, who is on the Supreme Court, was once in love with her own mother. She appeals to him to intercede, and he recalls an incident involving the jewel which caused him to fight over Mrs. Whipple's mother, who also had a reaction to the jewel. The Judge secures a new trial for Whipple, and testifies on his behalf regarding the jewel. Whipple is acquitted. Brookfield exposes Hardmuth, who had been seeking the Governor's office, in a murder plot.