Gunsmoke Mesa

After killing Tom Andrews and his wife at their family cabin, gunmen Sam Sneed and Frank Lear search for the couple's infant son. Hearing the distant sound of gunfire, Texas Rangers Jim Steele, Tex Wyatt and Panhandle Perkins ride toward the cabin to investigate, thus forcing the outlaws to flee. Andrews had sent for the rangers, and when they search the cabin, they find a threatening note addressed to Andrews and signed "Black Star." In the closet, the lawmen discover the Andrews' infant son and beside him, a deed to the Black Star mine. Electing to work undercover to unmask the killers, Jim tells Panhandle to take the baby to the cabin of his old friend, Denver Jones, while he and Tex deliver the Andrews' bodies to Mesa City. In town, meanwhile, Sneed and Lear report back to their boss, Henry Black. Black, who is a cousin of the Andrews', had ordered the killings so that he would be awarded custody of the child, and through him, control of the family mine. When Black learns that his henchmen have failed to locate the infant, he sends them back to the cabin. Along the trail, they encounter Jim and Tex, driving a wagon containing the Andrews' bodies. Sneed and Lear accuse the pair of murder, so Jim and Tex mount their horses and gallop off to Denver's cabin. There they rejoin Panhandle and the baby and learn that Denver has gone prospecting for a month. Later, in Mesa City, justice of the peace Ezra Plymouth listens to Lear and Sneed's testimony and rules that the three strangers killed the Andrews. After issuing a warrant for their arrest, the judge appoints Black the baby's guardian. At the cabin, Panhandle and Tex look for food to feed the infant. Finding a cow at a neighboring ranch, the pair borrow the animal and take it to Denver's cabin. When the cow's owner, Joan Royal, discovers that the animal is missing, she follows the tracks to Denver's cabin. Joan's anger turns to compassion when she sees Jim milking the cow to feed the baby. After she demonstrates how to diaper the baby, Joan reclaims her cow, and Tex and Jim ride to Mesa City to investigate the identity of "Black Star." At the newspaper office, they meet Mace Page, the deputy sheriff and Joan's sweetheart. Assuming that "Black" refers to a man's name, Jim asks Mace to introduce him to Black, claiming that he is interested in buying the Andrews' mine. Mace conveys the message to Black, and soon after, Black and his thugs appear at the newspaper office, guns drawn. In the ensuing fight, Tex and Jim dash out of the office, mount their horses and gallop back to the cabin. When Joan tells Mace about the three strangers staying at Denver's cabin, Mace innocently passes the information along to Black, who rides to the cabin with Sneed and Lear, intending to kill the strangers and abduct the child. At the cabin, Jim and Tex put Panhandle in charge of the baby while they ride to Joan's ranch for more milk. After they depart, Panhandle slips a wax cylinder into the phonograph, intending to record the baby's words. Soon after, Black and his gang arrive, capture Panhandle and kidnap the baby. Unknown to the outlaws, the phonograph is recording their entire discussion about the Andrews' murder. Breaking loose from his captors, Panhandle fires a gun, and Tex and Jim, hearing the shots, hurry back to the cabin. Taking Panhandle and the baby prisoner, Black and his gang flee, pursued by Tex and Jim, and after stashing the baby among some rocks, Black rides back to town. While riding in the hills, Joan hears the baby cry and finds the infant. Panhandle, meanwhile, escapes his captors and rejoins his friends. Upon returning to the cabin, they discover the recorded cylinder incriminating Black and his gang. In town, Joan delivers the baby to the sheriff, who then turns him over to Black, his legal guardian. Armed with the recording, the rangers ride to town, break down the door to Black's office and overpower the outlaws. Panhandle then displays his ranger's badge, and when Tex plays the incriminating recording, the judge convicts Black and his gang of murder and awards custody of the child to the soon-to-be married Mace and Joan.