Tom Slade, a young tough of sixteen, falls under the influence of the Boy Scout movement, and while he at first affects to treat the idea of scouting with contempt, he finally becomes a heroic character in the organization. Tom, whose father is a worthless individual, finds himself not only without a home, but also without his parent, who has deserted him, and in his extremity encounters Mary Temple and her brother, Wilfred, who are children of John Temple, the landlord who evicted Tom and his father from their shanty. Through Mary’s influence Tom is induced to make an effort first toward self-support, and then, as he becomes acquainted with the scout movement and begins to earn his own self-respect, he learns that scouting is a bigger thing than he had any idea of, for he finds that it is engaged in building men of character out of the boys it enlists. Tom joins the scouts and goes with them on a camping expedition, and there he learns that his father has joined a band of tramps and is engaged in the life of crime. John Temple and his children are living in a house not far from the Scout camp. Temple is violently opposed to the Scout movement, as is his son, Wilfred, but the Scouts manage to render Mrs. Temple a service, and thus enlist her sympathies and admiration. Bill Slade, Tom’s father, and his pals try to rob Temple’s home, but are frightened away by the arrival of a troop of Scouts. The tramps steal a motor car and get away, but not until Tom has recognized his father. Later that night the tramps return to the Temple home and make another attempt upon it. In the disturbances that ensues Tom’s father is wounded, but escapes, and one of the Temple’s servants is shot. The Scouts again come to the rescue and with their wireless equipment manage to procure medical assistance for the wounded servant. Temple refuses to recognize the value of the services the Scouts have rendered him. He and his son go off on a fishing trip and get lost in the woods. The next day when they do not return Mrs. Temple asks the Scouts to search for them. In the wood Temple has found Slade, who is also lost, and the men fight until they both fall unconscious. They are discovered late at night by the Scout patrol and both are carried to the Temple home. Temple undergoes a complete change of heart concerning scouting, his son asks to be admitted to the movement on his own account, and Bill Slade goes to work and becomes a useful member of society.