Coyote Trails

Tom Riley and his sidekick, Windy, ride toward John Baker's Bar X Ranch, where jobs are waiting for them. Both men are thirsty, but Tom, who loves horses, gives the last drops from his canteen to their horses. Two villains try to stop Tom and Windy from going to the Bar X, but Tom jumps them, scattering their horses and stealing their boots. Phantom, a wild white stallion, chases a herd of mares through a hole in a wire fence at the Bar X and disappear through a cavern. Neighboring rancher Mack Larkin assures Bert, Baker's crooked foremen, that he will back up his story that Phantom lured the mares away. When Baker hears of his latest loss, he offers $1,000 to anyone who will bring him Phantom's head. The clever Phantom sees one of the reward notices posted and tears it down. Later, however, Phantom's leg becomes caught in a trap, and Tom, who happens by, releases him. After Tom prevents Bert from shooting at Phantom, the horse belonging to Baker's daughter Helen bolts as Phantom passes, and Tom rescues her. Helen explains that Phantom is ruining her father's ranch with his "rustling." At the ranch, Baker accepts Tom's offer to capture the horse in forty-eight hours and temporarily cancels the reward offer. The Bakers' cook, meanwhile, falls in love with the hungry Windy. On the range, Tom finds the cut fence and is about to catch Phantom when Mack shoots through his rope. Mack tries to turn Helen against Tom, but Tom tells Baker about the fence and his belief that there are more rustlers than Phantom. While Tom and Helen share a romantic stroll by a creek, Mack tells Bert that their rustling operation is over and refuses to pay him his "cut." Later, Tom interrupts a meeting that Mack is holding in a saloon by allowing a henchman to start a fight. In the ensuing melee, Tom and Windy escape. Tom sets a rope trap and captures Phantom, riding him through the cavern until he is thrown off. He finds Mack's cabin, but is taken prisoner after a fight. Eventually, Tom cuts through his ropes and sends a message to Windy via his horse. Just then, Bert enters the cabin and joins him in a fight against Mack and his confederates. The villains escape, but Bert promises to tell Baker the true story. After receiving Tom's note, Windy gathers Baker and his ranchhands to go after the rustlers. While riding Phantom, Tom captures Mack and hands him over to Baker, who now has Bert's testimony. With Mack and his associates behind bars, Phantom stays with Helen's horse as she and Tom share a ride home on his horse.