Fit for a King

Anxious to rid himself of his ambitious cub reporter, Hardwick, the editor of the New York Daily Blade , sends Virgil "Scoops" Jones to cover an assassination story he believes is phony. The eager Virgil, whose uncle owns the newspaper, tracks Archduke Julio, the assassins' target, to a pier, where he is nearly killed by a bomb. Shorthanded, Hardwick orders Virgil to follow the archduke to Europe, but Virgil is immediately outwitted by his rival, Briggs, and spends the entire boat trip in the brig. After landing, Virgil is sent by the Blade's Paris bureau to a health resort frequented by the count. While disguised as a crippled old man, Virgil meets Jane Hamilton, a pretty young American. Virgil ingratiates himself with Jane, unaware that she is actually Princess Helen, the next queen of Archduke Julio's homeland. That night Virgil disguises himself as a maid in order to spy on the archduke, but is chased by Briggs and then accidentally knocks out Jane. Ordered by Count Strunsky, a former prime minister, to distract Virgil, Jane uses her feminine charms on the reporter long enough for the noblemen to sneak out of their hotel. At the same time, Briggs uncovers Jane's identity and beats Virgil to the story. With renewed vigor, Virgil tracks Jane to a "frontier" border town and screams to see her in her mansion. After Jane confesses that she loves him and wants to return to America with him, Virgil declares that they must sacrifice love for duty. While Virgil is frustrated by Briggs's communications sabotage and the village's lack of telephones, Jane agrees to be crowned and marry Prince Michael. Unknown to Virgil and Jane, however, Strunsky is plotting to assassinate Jane and then implicate his country's current government in the deed in order to assure his re-instatement as prime minister. To that end, Strunsky locks both Briggs and Virgil in the mansion cellar and arranges for Jane, Michael and Archduke Julio to ride in an unprotected automobile across the border. Suspicious, Michael questions Strunsky, who stabs him and hides him in a closet. Soon after, Virgil is released from the cellar and stumbles on the prince, who with his dying breath, reveals Strunsky's plot. Disguised as a soldier, Virgil pursues Jane's automobile on a motorcycle and unwittingly steals the haycart that Strunsky has filled with his henchmen. After dislodging the conspirators and destroying the cart, Virgil bicycles to a telephone and, after calling in his story, saves Jane. To keep Jane out of prison, Virgil then offers to marry her and return her to America.