Ed Call and Jim Bold hold up a messenger carrying a payroll from the bank to the mine. They get away with the money, but as they near the state penitentiary, are pursued by the sheriff and posse, and seeing capture is inevitable, they bury the saddle bags containing the money. They are taken prisoners and given a grueling cross-examination by a shrewd detective in a last effort to make them reveal the hiding place of their loot. It is unsuccessful, and they are sentenced to ten years each in the penitentiary. During their confinement the different natures of the two men are shown plainly. Call is liked by the warden for his pleasant manner, and in a short time is made a “trusty” and allowed the freedom of the prison. Bold is sullen and resents Call’s promotion to the warden’s confidence. Alice, the warden’s daughter, becomes interested in Call and influences him for good. He finally decides to tell where the money is hidden, and gives her a diagram of the spot that it may be returned to the owners. The very day this happens, Bold plans an uprising. In the excitement he escapes, after wounding the warden in the arm. The warden’s daughter, who believes that Call has joined in the uprising in order to join his partner, goes after them, but when she arrives at the spot where the two men are standing over the hidden money, she realizes that Call’s intentions are honest, and when Call, after subduing Bold, orders him to return to the penitentiary with the money, she knows that her confidence in Call has not been betrayed. Later, the warden succeeds in getting a parole for Call from the governor and Alice asks to be allowed to hand him the paper. Needless to say, her heart went with it, and their ultimate happiness is assured.