Jim Riley is to be arrested for horse stealing and when the sheriff knocks at the door of Jim's shack, he asks his little girl Nellie to go and tell the man he is not at home. Nellie tries to persuade the big sheriff that her father is out, but to no avail, for Jim is arrested and taken away, while he promises his little girl he will soon return. The next day the vigilantes have learned of the arrest of the horse thief, and send a committee to demand the prisoner, and in spite of the sheriff's protests, Jim is dragged from his cell and taken out to be hanged. To prevent the lynching the sheriff decides to have the thief's child plead with the vigilantes. The little girl awakens the men to the realization of the crime that they were about to commit, and Jim is given back to the sheriff and promised a fair trial.