Timber Fury

When Phyllis Wilson returns from boarding school to her father Henry's lumber camp, she learns that he is having difficulty meeting the delivery date on a load of lumber. After Henry informs his foreman, McCabe, that he has received an extension on the delivery date, McCabe who, unknown to Henry, is working for his competitor Paxton, arranges to sabotage the train carrying McCabe's timber down to the mill. Soon after the log cars disconnect and plunge off the track, river engineer Jim Caldwell, for whom Henry had sent to help unblock the river, arrives at the camp. There Zoro, Phyllis' white husky dog, playfully jumps on McCabe, who then tries to club the dog, but is stopped by Jim. The two men become involved in a fistfight but are separated by Henry, who then explains to Jim that because the river is very low, several log jams have occurred. Jim suggests they build a dam, then blow it up just as the logs reach it, thus causing them to flow downstream. Henry orders McCabe to work with Jim on the project. Later, in a saloon in the nearby town, Yvonne, a singer, entreats McCabe to take her away from the area and he promises her that he will soon be able to do so. Construction on the dam begins and one morning, while riding near the camp, Phyllis and Zoro encounter a bear cub and are attacked by its mother. Jim is nearby, however, and comes to their rescue. Once the dam is completed, Jim sets the dynamite sticks at its base and lights the fuse. However, McCabe double-crosses him and sets the upstream logs moving before Jim's signal. As hoped, the explosion does the job, but when Henry accuses McCabe of sending the logs too early and endangering Jim, McCabe states that his men were at fault and that he has already fired them. Yvonne becomes jealous of Phyllis and pesters McCabe again. Jim, meanwhile, has plans to leave to take some examinations but is delayed by events. McCabe intends to sabotage the lumber mill operations, but is discovered by Henry in a supply room. While Yvonne looks on, McCabe and Henry struggle and Henry is killed. Meanwhile, Phyllis uses her wiles to persuade Jim to stay on. After Zoro discovers Henry's body, the local sheriff is summoned, and McCabe tells him that he suspects Jim of killing Henry and reveals that Jim is Paxton's nephew. The sheriff decides to hold Jim as a material witness until the coroner's inquest. Later, McCabe stirs up the loggers to lynch Jim. While the sheriff confronts the mob, Jim escapes and heads back to the camp, but is followed by the mob. Zoro, pining for his master, finds McCabe's flashlight in the supply room, and he and Chung, Henry's manservant, stumble on Yvonne's high-heeled shoe prints outside the room. Phyllis and Chung confront Yvonne, and the two women get into a fight. Eventually, Yvonne confesses that she saw McCabe kill Henry. In the woods, Jim encounters McCabe and they brawl. When McCabe draws a gun on him, Jim realizes that McCabe has been working for his uncle. McCabe then forces Jim to help him escape across the river to Canada. As they attempt to navigate through rapids, Jim attempts to get the gun. They struggle and fall into the water, and Jim pulls McCabe ashore. Meanwhile, Phyllis and Chung are alerting the sheriff. When McCabe attacks Jim, Zoro comes to his rescue. McCabe shoots at the dog, who feigns a wound, then attacks him. After a struggle, McCabe falls into the river and is swept away in the rapids. Later, Jim decides to stay on with Phyllis.