Tom Kirby and Buck Edwards are partners in their mining claims. Both have been up against it. Tom makes a big strike and he suggests that Buck finish making the monuments, so that he may be able to go and record the claims as quickly as possible. Tom gets his horse and as he is about to mount when the demon of avarice enters Buck’s soul and he shoots at his partner and wounds him. Buck thinks he is dead, and going on to the county town, he records the claims. When questioned, he states that Tom shot himself in despair before the strike. He proposes to the saloon keeper’s daughter and is accepted. Tom pulls himself together and with his finger dipped in his own blood, he writes on the horse’s side, “My partner killed me.” The horse is found at a water hole. Tom is found, revived and taken home. Buck confesses and is taken to the desert and left there.