When Bat buys a derby hat in a small Missouri town he is aghast at the price. Learning that a freight line owner forces shopkeepers to use only his line to ship their supplies from the river, Bat decides to break his monopoly.

When an honest man is elected to be the town sheriff campaigning for fair taxes, the wealthy railroad owner ships his cash out of town to avoid paying his fair share. Bat provides the new sheriff with help to collect the taxes.