Joe Wood, a cattle rustler, has grown rather careless and particularly bold in plying his mischievous and sinful vocation. He is about to brand a maverick when he is surprised at his task, abandons it quickly and rides away. Unfortunately for him, his horse sheds a shoe close by the scene of the branding, which is picked up by the sheriff. This horse-shoe has the initials of the bad "J.W." stamped in the metal and when the sheriff rides to the town blacksmith shop with his good-luck symbol and finds Joe, he having just had the shoe replaced, the rustler sniffs a rat, jumps into the saddle without touching the stirrups, and is away like the wind. The sheriff drops the horse-shoe, and unlimbers his artillery, but ineffectually, for the rustler not only gets away scot-free, but sends a bullet back that clips the sheriff in the shoulder and sends him down for the count. Joe, with his usual shiftiness, jumps into a job, and is next seen on a ranch doing some dare-devil stunts with frenzied steers and outlawed horses. These acts are far away from the conventional in originality and daring, and the reel closes with the loud approval of all the rival, but admiring cowboys. The sheriff has recovered from the leaden compliment sent by the rustler, and is again on his trail, and happens to get a sight of the much wanted individual, who is driving a lot of stock to the roundup. Again Joe sets away. Subsequently he sees the sheriff at the spring taking a drink, and just to show him there is no ill-feeling, and that he has not forgotten how to shoot, he sends a bullet through the cup, knocking it out of the sheriff's hands. This starts something. The outlaw, finding that he is closely pursued, rides toward the railroad, and seeing a freight train moving along, rides close enough to clasp the rungs of the iron side ladder, and. abandoning his pony, swings onto the train and climbs up on the top of the cars. The sheriff, not to be outdone in this specie of agility, also catches the same moving train. Then commences the duel proper over the tops of the cars as both empty their guns until the last cartridge is gone. They then close in and have an exciting and desperate fight on the roof of the running cars. The train is crossing a river, and the men, clasped in each others' arms, fall into the water far below. The bath apparently cools them off, and each man starts to swim for himself. Singularly enough, the cowboy, in heavy chapparos, reaches the shore first, and although almost exhausted, he struggles up the bank to a place of concealment, and the sheriff having providentially secured a horse, starts in pursuit. Joe, the rustler, in a frantic effort to escape, rushes into a bed of quick-sand, finding himself in a most dangerous and desperate predicament. He is being slowly engulfed in the soft sands when the sheriff comes upon the little bluff and sees his man, who has given him such a chase, gallantly struggling against the seeming inevitable. He takes his trusty lasso, and by a skillful cast, he loops it about the outlaw's shoulders. Then giving it a turn about the cantle of the saddle, he hauls the victim of the quicksand out and these two game men shake hands at last on firm ground, face to face, and the outlaw gives himself up at last.