The School Teacher and the Waif 1912

Nora, the waif, is forced to attend school. She warms to her teacher for the way that he defends her against the taunts of some of the students, but when she's made to wear a dunce cap, she flees the schoolhouse in shame. Unsupervised by her alcoholic father, Nora becomes a determined truant, wandering the town during school hours. There she catches the attention of a huckster, who convinces her that they will run away and be married. The schoolmaster, meanwhile, preoccupied by Nora's absence, leaves his other students to go find her. He encounters her at a crossroads, being spirited away by the huckster, and calls the man's bluff by saying that he'll find them a minister.

Cast:

Edwin August
The School Teacher 

Mary Pickford
Nora, the Waif 

Charles Hill Mailes
Nora's Father 

Bert Hendler
A Street Fakir 

Claire McDowell
The Street Fakir's Sweetheart 

William A. Carroll
The Street Fakir's Assistant