Other than a statement in the opening credits that the story owes its origin to a John Greenleaf Whittier poem, this film has little or no connection to the poem for which it shares its title. In this film, Kenneth Hale, a pampered, snobbish young boy, is sent by his father, John Hale, who has served time in prison for a crime he did not commit, down to the country farm of an old friend, Calvin Whittaker. The barefoot, honest, and plucky Billy Whittaker, his girlfriend Pige Bennett, and Kenneth get involved with a haunted house and a gang of crooks, while Billy helps make a better man out of Kenneth.