Riders of the Dawn (1920)

Captain Kurt Dorn returns from the war in France, and is warmly greeted by his sweetheart Lenore Anderson, her father, and young sister Kathleen. Dorn proposes to Lenore. They set about harvesting wheat. Soon, Dorn is summoned to a secret conference and appointed to lead some vigilantes, known as "Riders of the Dawn," to fight against radicals intent on destroying farms and disrupting labor. They have already preyed upon Lenore's father. Dorn also has an enemy in Henry Neuman, a lawyer who had wanted Lenore for himself. Dorn is caught in a scheme whereby a woman claims to have married him in France. This briefly alienates Lenore until the story is proven to be false. Nash, who leads the gang of radicals, kills one of the workers at Kurt's place. Kathleen witnesses the murder, so Nash chases the girl and corners her in a deserted schoolhouse. Dorn reaches the schoolhouse but is too late. Nash has killed the child and escaped. That night, the gang set fire to one of Dorn's storehouses packed with wheat. Lenore, who has learned of the plot, attempts to warn Dorn, but is captured by Nash and imprisoned in one of the burning buildings. Dorn arrives in time to rescue her. He battles the entire gang until the Riders of the Dawn arrive to round up the radicals. Dorn kills Nash, and Neuman is exposed as a crook and faces punishment.