As Russel Donavan rides into the Western town of Quake City, Theodore Ogelvie and Amos Tucker, two blundering bandits, attempt unsuccessfully to hold him up. Later, at a poker table in the town’s saloon, Sheriff Homer McCoy explains to Donavan that no gold has been mined in town since the recent earthquakes and Donavan tells Mayor Leonard Sharpe that he is on his way to New Orleans to open a gambling house. John Wintle, a disheveled cowboy, approaches the table, eager to recruit a volunteer to pick up his valuables from a stagecoach delivery to come the following day because he is leaving for San Francisco before they arrive. Donavan agrees to take charge of Wintle’s shipment. The next day, the Butterfly Stage pulls into Quake City with Magnolia “Dusty” Clydesdale in the driver’s seat wearing men’s clothes. She shows Donavan that Wintle’s “valuables” are three young children, Bobby, Clovis and Celia Bradley. Despite Donavan’s claim that he has nowhere to keep the children, Sheriff McCoy forces him to take them to Wintle’s decrepit cabin. There, Donavan reads their father’s will and learns there is no inheritance except shares in the Commodore mine. That evening, rain pours through the ceiling as Donavan attempts to cook dinner. When the oldest child, Bobby, assures him that there is gold in the Commodore mine, Donavan is skeptical. Their dinner catches fire, but Dusty arrives with left over stew. Later, when Donavan praises Dusty’s affect on the children, she accuses him of trying to dump them on her and leaves. The next day, Donavan unsuccessfully attempts to place the children with a series of unsavory Quake City locals. Returning to the saloon, he leaves the children to their own devices. As the children search for the Commodore mine, an ore car jumps its track and takes them down the mountain, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Meanwhile, Donavan comes away from a poker game with sizable winnings. Although Theodore and Amos plan a second attempt to rob Donavan, his money quickly disappears when the townspeople demand reimbursement for damages caused by the children. After a series of mishaps, Theodore and Amos again fail in their thievery. Dusty informs Donavan that Theodore and Amos were part of the outlaw Stilwell gang until Amos accidentally shot Stilwell in the leg. Donavan forgets that Dusty is a lady and offers to buy her a drink, but, realizing his mistake, he proceeds to the saloon alone and leaves Dusty forlorn. The following morning as Donavan stumbles out of the saloon, the children rush to tell him they are on their way to the Commodore mine to find their gold inheritance, but Donavan insists the mine is empty and refuses to join them. As the children start to dig, an earthquake strikes, revealing an enormous gold nugget. When the gold is deposited in the town’s bank, Theodore and Amos plot to steal it. Meanwhile, Donavan takes the children to a fancy restaurant for their favorite meal, apple dumplings, and Sheriff McCoy tells him that the townspeople are clamoring to take the children so he is free to go to New Orleans. However, Sheriff McCoy opines that Dusty is the only suitable person in town to take custody of the kids. Donavan reminds the sheriff that Dusty is unwed, but McCoy suggests that Donavan marry her for the sake of the children. After persuasion from the kids, Donavan agrees, but on his way into town that evening, he disrupts Theodore and Amos as they attempt to rob the bank. Donavan proposes a business deal to Dusty in which she would have custody of the children and their inheritance while he could settle his debts and leave for New Orleans. When he promises not to exercise his husbandly duties, she agrees to marry him for the children’s benefit. Meanwhile, the Stilwell gang plots to steal the gold. Sheriff McCoy, who is also a justice of the peace, performs a perfunctory wedding ceremony for Donavan and Dusty that is certified with a handshake instead of a kiss. However, as McCoy awards custody of the children to Donavan and Dusty, Wintle appears and the sheriff is compelled by law to let him take the kids. Back at the saloon, Frank Stilwell is disguised as a preacher and learns from Dusty’s father, the drunken Col. Clydesdale, that the Butterfly Stage’s most valuable shipment to date, the children’s 356 pound gold nugget, will be leaving from the bank the next afternoon. Stranded at their hideout, Theodore and Amos consider making a promise to Sheriff McCoy that they will never rob another bank when the children approach them with a plan. They offer their gold to Theodore and Amos to prevent Wintle from taking it. The children hope that Wintle will lose interest in them and they will be returned to Donavan and Dusty. Although Theodore is skeptical, Amos suggests they call themselves the Apple Dumpling Gang and they agree to plot a heist with the kids. The next day, Stilwell, still disguised as a preacher, gains access to the bank and holds up Mayor Sharpe. When the children appear, they witness Stilwell’s heist. As they run to tell Theodore and Amos, they are caught by Stilwell’s guards. As Stilwell and his men haul the gold from the vault, Theodore and Amos run inside with guns and dynamite, but are quickly subdued. Displeased by the reunion with his former henchmen, Stilwell orders Mayor Sharpe to lead them to the stagecoach, but young Clovis kicks Stilwell’s bad leg and his men drop the gold crate on Amos’s feet. Presuming the approaching stagecoach is the law, a member of Stilwell’s gang sets off a gun battle with the townspeople, who return fire. Stilwell decides to escape without the gold and takes little Celia hostage instead. Donavan and Dusty give chase and as Donavan jumps aboard a hijacked fire wagon, Dusty grabs Celia. The fire wagon careens into a river with Stilwell and Donavan fighting aboard. After Donavan takes control and pulls Stilwell to the riverbank, Dusty jumps on Donavan and they kiss in the water. Sheriff McCoy and the townsmen arrive and see an explosion in the distance. Back in Quake City, the bank is destroyed by Theodore and Amos’s dynamite, but the onlookers are delighted to discover nuggets of gold scattered on Main Street. When Sheriff McCoy, Donavan, Dusty and Celia return to town, Wintle tells Donavan that he can have the kids. The door of the bank vault falls open and reveals Theodore and Amos inside, plugging their ears. The next day, Donavan is rewarded $5000 for the capture of Stilwell, but when Dusty appears in a white dress and parasol, he exchanges the cash for the deed to a homestead and drives away on a coach with his new family. Along the road, they meet Theodore and Amos, who promise to give up crime, and Donavan allows them to climb aboard as they head toward a new life.