Law of the Wolf

Carl Pearson, who was convicted of his brother Harry's murder, escapes from prison with the help of fellow inmate Duke Williams. Carl insists that he was framed by investor Roger Morgan, who had funded research for the Pearson Pursuit Plane that was being developed by Carl and Harry. Carl believes that Morgan lied on the witness stand after Harry's suspicious death in a test flight crash. Duke, hoping to be paid for helping Carl, accompanies him as he heads for Harry's cabin in Pine Valley, where Harry had hidden the blueprints for the plane. Morgan, meanwhile, plots to adopt Harry's orphaned son Bobby, and use Bobby to have himself declared sole owner of the designs. Carl's girl friend, Ruth Adams, and her uncle, ranger Jim, have been taking care of Bobby in Pine Valley. To track the escaped convicts, police lieutenant Franklin borrows Carl's German shepherd, Rinty, who is being cared for by Jim's nephew Johnny. Rinty reluctantly follows a scent leading to Carl and Duke, but protects his owner by leading Franklin and Jim away from their hiding place. Ruth, meanwhile, is unaware of the jailbreak and is called to town by Morgan, who is afraid his plan will fail if Carl reaches her first. When Ruth stops her car on a remote road to pick up a hat Bobby dropped out the window, the car rolls away with the boy inside. Ruth rescues Bobby just as the car goes over a cliff, and she is knocked unconscious in the fall. Bobby wanders off and gets into a canoe, which drifts into the middle of a lake. Rinty, who has followed Johnny fishing, hears the boy's cries and tows the canoe ashore, then rescues Johnny, who also swims to help. Johnny leaves an exhausted Bobby asleep in the woods under Rinty's watchful eye, while he goes for help. Rinty soon abandons his post to protect Bobby from a mountain lion and returns to the cabin, where he finds Carl. Urged on by his dog, Carl locates Bobby in the woods and returns him to the cabin. While he is gone, Duke finds the blueprints hidden in the fireplace and calls Morgan to make a deal. Johnny and Ruth encounter each other in the woods and return to the cabin, where Ruth is happily reunited with Carl. Her joy is short-lived, however, as Franklin shows up and places everyone under arrest. Morgan, who has traced Duke's call, arrives shortly after, and Franklin allows Johnny to speak with him while everyone else hides. After Morgan admits to framing Carl and murdering Harry for his valuable blueprints, Franklin emerges and arrests him. His plans gone awry, Duke escapes in a car, but Rinty leaps onto the roof and stays with the car until Duke stops for a roadblock. Rinty attacks Duke as he gets out of the car, and pins him until Franklin and Carl arrive. Later, a free Carl and Ruth watch a successful test flight of his plane, and he informs her that the government has bought a contract and will pay him a royalty on each plane. Carl then asks Ruth to sign a lifetime contract with him, and she consents.