Doris Dorn

A railroad engineer adopts a French orphan while he's fighting in the army in World War I, and takes him back to the US when the war ends. Later the boy needs an eye operation that the engineer can't afford, so he takes the rap for a murder he didn't commit in order to get his son the operation. (imdb)

When the California border town of Caliboro appears to be menaced by a bandit known as "The Black Mask," the local padre entrusts the sheriff with the church funds. The culprit, Ramon Gonzales, kills the sheriff during an attempted robbery, but shifts the blame on Deputy Sheriff Philip Morgan, who manages to stop the robbery. Morgan disguises himself as The Black Mask to track down the real villain, but is captured and threatened with lynching by the townspeople.