After a hard struggle the old man has just saved enough money to justify the marriage of his daughter and adopted son, when word comes from the oil fields nearby that his brother has lost his job, the little girl is very ill, and there is no money in the house. The sacrifice is a big one, but it has to be made. The wedding is postponed. One day his brother rides over on a bicycle to pay a visit to his benefactors, but does not bring the money. The little family is at a desperate pass; the house has been put up for sale. An oil prospector discovers oil on the premises and takes an option on the property, then hastens away to form a syndicate. The old man's brother and the boy go out in a field to dig postholes, and strike oil. The importance of the discovery is appreciated by the former oil man, and the pair rush off to the house. On the way they fall into a disused well, from which the boy contrives to escape. The oil syndicate is on the way in a fast motor car when they are intercepted by a traffic policeman who has seen a little girl clinging to the back of the car. She is the old man's niece, who has risen from her sick bed, put on her roller skates, and gone on a lark. The oil men bundle the half-fainting girl into the car, rush to the house, and are forcing the old man to sign the papers when the boy enters and stops the transaction. The syndicate is foiled, and the great event takes place after all, some days later.