One of the earliest westerns directed by William S. Hart. In this film Sferiff Hale (Hart) lets a villain escape to pay his 'debt' to him, at the risk of designation.
John Ashby and Allene Houston, two neighboring ranchers, are in love, but their parents' violent dispute over the route of the new X. Y. Z. Railroad eventually drives them apart. Colonel Houston and the elder Ashby are killed in a fight, leaving John and Allene to continue the feud, John accepting a job with the railroad company and Allene swearing never to cross their property.
Slim Higgins bears the reputation of a hard character out in the west. He is placarded as a desperate fighter, who is quick in drawing his six-shooter. The citizens are warned against him. An old settler and his pretty daughter are driving across the desert in their prairie schooner, exhausted and weary for lack of water and rest. They do not dare to stop
Professor Duane, an ethnologist, and his assistant, Roscoe Harding, plan a journey into the wilds of Hindustan. Harding is in love with Lydia, the daughter of Professor Duane, and they are engaged to be married. Lieutenant Tavish, a British army officer, is attracted to Lydia and plans to take her away from Harding by fair means or foul.
The cattle owners have formed a lynching party and are in pursuit of a rustler who has been ravaging the country. Broncho Billy, the sheriff, goes after him and captures him single handed. He takes the prisoner to a hotel for the night, and while in the barroom the lynching party comes along. They leave their shotguns outside and step in for a drink.
Mollie Owens, engaged to sheriff’s deputy Dick Calvert, is taken captive by outlaw Monk Turgis and imprisoned in the "death cabin” so called because everyone shunned it after of two mysterious murders were committed there. Turgis and his friend try to scare money out of Mollie's mother, but Dick sets out on their trail. He sees one of them enter the cabin and immediately investigates.
The great cowboy star takes over the reigns of a stranded production crew, offering the audience a rare insight into the filming of a typical comedy-Western.
Esther Lee, a western girl, attending a college in the east, becomes engaged to Harold Shaw, a young collegian. She goes home to spend her vacation on the ranch, and arrives just after the election which has made her father the county sheriff.
Tom and Dick are good friends, but they are both in love with the same young woman, Vera. Vera herself cannot decide which of the two suitors she prefers. Realizing that Vera cannot make up her mind, the two young men turn to their friend Bill Bush for help. After thinking it over, Bill suggests an unusual contest to see which one gets to ask Vera to marry him.
Tom Allen, a hardworking young miner. He cautions his wife, Beatrice, about the presence of a "worthless chap" named Joe Hills, who frequently loiters around their cabin. Hills subsequently steals Allen's gold, and Beatrice discovers him in the act.
Broncho Billy, the sheriff, is in love with a girl, but another man wins her affections and marries her. He is a worthless sort of fellow, and when Broncho sees him in the saloon, drinking with an outlaw, he gives the bartender orders to sell him no more liquor. This causes a fight, but peace is soon restored.
A sheriff and his posse shoot it out with a gang of robbers headed by Bad Jake Kennedy. The surviving robber, Buckshot John, won't tell where the gang's loot is hidden and gets 30 years in prison. Halfway through his sentence he "gets religion" and in order to save his soul, decides to tell where the gang has hidden its stash of gold. However, a phony clairvoyant, The Great Gilmore, finds out about John's intentions and tricks him into revealing where the gold is. When John finds out what happened, he decides to break out of prison and take care of matters himself.
Moya Lantry, a belle of Cattleland. has captured the hearts of two bold cowboys, Bob Davis and Frank Scott. They arrange, a contest to decide which shall marry her and Scott wins out by a trick.
While on the round-up, Broncho's rival one night steals his sweetheart's picture from his watch. He then returns to the girl with a note saying that Broncho has fallen in love with another girl and is returning her photograph. He signs Broncho's name. Believing Broncho's love dead, she marries the forger some time later.
Billy rescues a child and returns her to her mother. When the husband returns and discovers that the savior of his child is a wanted outlaw, he's faced with a moral crisis.