Overland Red, a tramp prospector, and Collie, the boy he has befriended, stumble across an aged miner in the last stages of starvation, whose pockets reveal the map of a secret mine and a bag of gold dust. Silent Saunders, the unscrupulous sheriff of a nearby town, and his gang arrive just after Red has buried the gold and the map. Believing that Red knows the location of the mine, Saunders charges him with the murder of the old man. With the aid of Louise Alacarme, the daughter of a neighboring rancher, Red and Collie escape from jail. After a series of misadventures, Red discovers that the old miner was Louise's uncle who had left the mine to his niece. The mine is restored to Louise who marries Collie and appoints Red president of the mining company.—AFI