Plot

Whistling Dick, so named because of his ability to whistle almost any air, is invited to the City on the day before Christmas to escape the annual round-up for the rock pile, and trudges out into the country in search of a proper resting place for a man of leisure. As he whistles his way along a country road he is passed by a young lady who calls "Merry Christmas" to him. In her excitement she loses one of a pair of new stockings she is taking home, and Dick picks it up. His nose leads him to a hobo stew being prepared in a gully near a fine plantation home and he finds Boston Harry, a crook friend, and his gang, and partakes of the feast. He is invited to assist in robbing the home in which the young lady lives but refuses and is held under guard until the robbery can be pulled off. Dick gets an idea when he finds the stocking in his pocket, writes a note and sticks it in the toe of the stocking with a stone. When no one is looking he slings it through the window of the house, his message of warning alighting on the table during the Christmas Eve celebration. The men capture the gang and release Whistling Dick, who is feasted and honored all evening and is put to bed with the promise of the best job on the plantation. The idea of work is repugnant to his nature, however, and he escapes the next morning to resume his annual hunt for winter quarters.—Moving Picture World synopsis