About the hand of Ermengarde Stubbs, the daughter of a moonshiner and a farmer, two lovers are vying – the landowner Hardman and Ermengarde's childhood friend, Jack Manly. The former, ominous and unscrupulous, desires Ermengarde's hand solely because there is a vein of gold on her parents' estate (of which the landowners are unaware).
A parody of Horatio Alger's romantic-adventure novels about achieving the American Dream. It could also mock Fred Jackson, who wrote sentimental stories for "The Argosy" magazine.
