Western
Lovely Jessie Stevens falls in love with Jim Sullivan, much to the dismay of Red Collins (L.J. O'Connor), who wants the girl for himself. Red blackmails Jessie's father, Job, into ordering his daughter to forget all about Jim, who takes to the bottle instead.
Jessie Stevens
Job Stevens
Jim Sullivan
Rex, Red's Dog
Red Collins
Sheriff's Wife
Black Beauty, a Horse
Quiet and fairminded Jack Bliss traces his missing father to Hell's Hole, where he meets Helen Turner and Jack Hall, the leader of an outlaw gang rendezvousing at Hell's Hole. Hall kills Helen's father but fails in his attempts to get rid of Bliss and Helen, and Bliss, singlehanded, takes on the gang while the neighboring ranchers, settlers, and herders unite to clean out the outlaws.
In a saloon in a Mexican border town, a group of cowboys, including a Mexican named Pedro, play poker. One man is discovered cheating, and is shot dead by Pedro, who is wounded as he attempts to escape. Pedro is followed home by the local sheriff, who proves the next victim of Pedro's quick temper and pistol. Pedro's wife, Juanita, is thrown into jail, but he manages to break her out. They head for the border, unaware that a posse is waiting for them.
Getting his laundry from the Chinaman, "Honest Jim" spruces himself up in preparation to make a call on "Bess," with whom he is in love. Calling at Circle Ranch, her home, he finds Jack Rance making overtures to her father for "Bess' " hand. She greets Jim pleasantly, but she dislikes Jack; there is something about him which is distasteful to her and when her father intercedes for him she leaves the porch and hurries into the house. She does not have to wait very long to see "Jim" and "Jack" in their true colors and make a choice between the two. The clergyman of the ranch settlement and the .surrounding country comes to the post office where a crowd of cowboys are gathered to receive their mail.
Lt. Tom Brennan is cashiered from the 7th Cavalry on two charges, both unjust: that of deserting his men in the face of a cruel Indian attack, and of entertaining a married woman in his quarters after hours. Tom wanders into the desert and is picked up half-dead by Yuba Bill, a prospector with whom he goes into partnership. The Indians go on the warpath, and Tom rides to the fort and warns the colonel. Tom's innocence is established by the confession of an enlisted man, and Tom is reinstated to the service with full honors, renewing his engagement with Margaret Cranston.
A thousand dollar prize is offered to the winner of a dog race, and Jan Ducet would have used the money to doctor up his little child's bad leg if he had won. But he lost; and the winner, Otto Franke, runs away with Jan's wife. A priest takes care of the little girl while Jan gives chase and finds the regretful woman in the snow. A fight follows and Jan hurls Otto from a high cliff and returns home with his wife.
Jane Carston was to return tomorrow from Ohio, where she had been for the past three years in school, and the ranch was all agog with expectancy and cleanliness. Bob Evans, head cowboy, was most eager and most anxious of the lot. Tomorrow finally became today and Pa had gone to the station in his best linen duster and the buckboard to meet Jane. Finally, in a cloud of dust. Bob discerns them on the brow of the hill. Arriving at the house Jane greets mother with a rousing smack.
Returning to his hometown, Bill Duncan conceals his identity due to a longstanding feud with the Flynne family. He is soon found out and arrested for the murder of rancher Red Flynne. Flynne's estate is bequeathed jointly to his foreman Rolfe McPherson and his daughter Helen. Helen believes her father wished her to marry Rolfe, unaware that he plotted the murder. Clued in by the housekeeper of Rolfe's guilt, Bill escapes and pursues Rolfe who has kidnapped Helen and is headed for the Mexican border. Bill comes to the rescue, brings the villain to justice, and wins Helen.
