Hoot is the only cattleman in the neighborhood and he is about to be run off the range by the wealthiest sheep man in the district. Hoot is in love with the sheep man's daughter, and refuses to be run off. The little son of the sheep herder strays away and wanders to Hoot's shanty, where Hoot keeps him, sending a note to the father to come after him. A villainous foreman intercepts the note and plots a kidnapping frame-up. After a near tragic climax, Hoot captures and unmasks the villain, winning the girl and the good will of her father.
A broken-down cowboy applies for work at one of the Western ranches. The boss agrees to hire the wanderer provided he can ride an unmanageable horse. He consents, rides the horse and gets the job. In accomplishing this "stunt," he arouses the jealousy of the foreman, for the latter learns that the ranchman's daughter has seen the new-comer subdue the wild animal and is beginning to fall in love with him. To prevent this the villain accuses his rival of many misdeeds, but in the end is a victim of his own folly.
Young Harry Kenyon returns home to Tondo City after graduating college so he can help his rancher father drive a herd of cattle to the annual market, but a pair of outlaws - Cactus Ben and Tondo Bill - are planning to steal the herd for themselves.
The inaptly named Peace City is held in a grip of fear by the corrupt Sheriff Sellers. The benevolent, black-hatted 'Stranger,' who unexpectedly arrives in town, is in actuality an undercover Texas Ranger determined to restore law and order.
Cowpoke Sandy Adams overhears a plot to frame rancher Duncan McKenna for a rash of cattle rustlings and methodically turns the members of the gang against each other.
The hero is affected in his daily life by petty superstitious fears, which gives the heroine an idea he is cowardly. She returns his ring, but later events prove his real mettle and she is glad when a reconciliation comes.
Ranchmen try to play a joke on one of their associates by signing his name to a letter addressed to Sarah Smith, who has advertised in a matrimonial journal. A mix-up occurs on the day of the arrival of the lady when a younger woman, sent to buy stock, also appears on the scene and is mistaken for the prospective bride.
The hero befriends a young school teacher, who adopts a child at his suggestion. The real father of the child, who neglected its mother and allowed her to die, tries to make the teacher believe the hero is its father, which brings about an interesting complication.
Jim West, foreman of John Calhoun's ranch, falls in love with Helen, the boss's daughter, after rescuing her from a runaway horse. Her brother, Ted, falls into the companionship of Bill Jackson, a notorious gambler and saloon keeper, who persuades Ted to sign I. O. U.'s while under the influence of alcohol. Jim, in company with Red Irwin, a tough deputy sheriff, confronts the gambler and forces a confession. Jackson plans a raid on the Calhoun cattle, forcing Ted to be his ally. Dolores, a dancehall girl, overhears the plot and tells Jim, causing Helen to misunderstand his motives.
The plucky boy rider Red discovers the dead body of Jim Crawford in the desert. A message scratched on a canteen begs the finder to protect Jim's daughter Ann from the killer, Luke Matthews.