Tricks of Fate

The death of their only child completely stuns the Prestons. The grief-stricken couple, hearing a slight sound at the outer door, investigate and find a deserted infant which they decide to adopt. Jim Blake, a vagrant, has seen the child left there by a mulatto woman who he thinks must be the mother. Blake decides to keep his secret. The only clue to the identity of the baby is a locket engraved with the name Naida. Years pass and Naida, who shows no trace of negro blood, grows to girlhood ignorant of her real parentage. One day Blake calls at the Preston home and tells Naida's foster-father that he can prove that her mother is a mulatto woman and will remain silent only it paid to do so. Preston satisfies the blackmailer, but Naida overhears the terrible disclosure. That night, overcome by the dreadful knowledge of her parentage, she silently leaves her home and goes to the city. Her foster-parents and her fiancé are plunged in despair by her disappearance.