John Sinclair was the son of a sturdy old ranchman who had proved his courage in the Indian fight of the early seventies, but John was destined never to follow his father as a fighting man, for an accident in infancy had doomed him to be a cripple for life. Mary Shirley, a pretty girl who lived on a neighboring ranch, was a great favorite with the Sinclairs, and John worshipped her. A new foreman came to the Sinclair ranch; Mary Shirley met him and liked him; the feeling she had for him was not the friendship that she gave to John, but unselfish and devoted love. They became engaged. The sheriff's posse captured the leader of a band of desperadoes, due entirely to the efforts of the foreman. The outlaw a few weeks later escaped from prison, and determined to wreak vengeance upon his captor. He made his way to the ranch, accompanied by some of his band, and found it deserted, save for the foreman and the crippled son. They ignored John as unworthy of consideration and made their way to the bunkhouse, where the foreman was bound and gagged. The bunkhouse was set afire and the outlaws prepared to leave. John had seen the band approach and knew their object. At first he exulted over the fate which was to befall the man he hated, then he thought of Mary and his feeling changed. Hastily he hobbled to the bunkhouse, but before he could reach it he was seen by the outlaws and fired upon. They rode away, leaving him badly wounded. But despite his growing weakness, buoyed up by the love for a girl who preferred another, he crawled into the burning house and dragged forth the foreman to safety. The Sinclairs, returning from town, saw the flames in the distance, and hastened to their home, accompanied by Mary. There they found the foreman unhurt, and heard from his lips the story of John's heroism. The cripple's life was ebbing away, but it was a happy end, for Mary kissed him and told him with a sob that he was the bravest man she ever knew.
Where to Watch The Bravest Man
