The Mysterious Rider (1927)

In the California desert, homesteaders who are struggling for an existence find their land titles are jeopardized when Cliff Harkness obtains a Spanish land grant superseding their claims. He offers to sell them his title for $25,000; Bent Wade advises them to buy off Harkness, and after desperate efforts the money is turned over to Wade. Meanwhile, Mark King, a city capitalist representing a power company, offers Harkness a much larger sum; Harkness doublecrosses Wade by signing his receipt with disappearing ink and resells the land to King. Faced with eviction, the homesteaders try to lynch Wade, but his friend Lem intervenes and he is jailed. Wade escapes and goes from ranch to ranch, warning the ranchers not to give up their homes without a legal fight; he threatens Harkness with torture, forces him to confess his treachery, and proves the original receipt is legal. He finds happiness with King's daughter, Dorothy.