Gun Duel in Durango

Will Sabre, leader of an outlaw gang, wants to go straight and settle down, but his fellow outlaws insist that he remain in the gang. After Will rides away in defiance and scrapes his initials off his gun barrels, the ruthless Jake Dunsten leads the other outlaws in pursuit of him. As Will crosses into Colorado, he comes upon a lone covered wagon with a dead man inside. Nearby, Robbie, the man's ten-year-old son, is digging a grave for his father and Will offers to help him. Spotting Dunsten and the others in the distance, Will jumps into the grave, then surprises them when they approach. Dunsten accuses Will of running out on the gang, and gives him thirty days to return or be killed, then rides off. After Will and Robbie bury the boy's father, Will decides to adopt a new identity and take Robbie with him to Durango, although the boy is now aware of Will's past as a bank and stage robber. Just as they are about to leave, a small detachment of Texas Rangers rides up and their captain explains that they are looking for the Sabre gang. Will introduces himself to the captain as Dan Tomlinson and says that the man they have just buried was his brother-in-law. Shortly after the Rangers leave, the sounds of a gun battle are heard and Robbie wonders if Dunsten has ambushed the four Rangers. Will rides out to investigate and assists two wounded Rangers, but Dunsten escapes. Later, after Will, now posing as Dan, and Robbie arrive in Durango, a ne'er-do-well tries to steal Will's guns from the wagon and Sheriff Howard notices the damage to the barrels. Suspecting that the newcomer may be using an alias, Howard wires a description of him to Ranger headquarters. Meanwhile, Will takes Robbie along when he goes to visit rancher Judy Ollivant, a former sweetheart whom he has not seen since she left the saloon business to become a rancher two years earlier. Judy is aware of Will's recent activities, but when he convinces her that he has broken with the gang, she agrees to marry him. Judy changes her mind, however, when Will tells her that the gang is trying to kill him. Will, who has become very attached to Robbie, then asks Judy if she will look after Robbie, but she declines, saying he would be a constant reminder of Will. Robbie, waiting outside, overhears this and rides off on Will's horse and Will and Judy chase after him. After Robbie is thrown by the horse and knocked unconscious, Will and Judy take him back to the ranch where he recovers. Judy then decides to allow him to stay and work on the ranch. Will secures a job as a teller in the local bank due to his previous experience as a bookkeeper in a legitimate gambling house. Three weeks pass uneventfully until one day Howard and the Ranger captain Will rescued come into the bank and the captain convinces Howard that Will is not an outlaw. While stealing a gold shipment destined for the express office, Dunsten spots Will as he carries a strongbox from the bank to the express office. Two drivers are killed in the holdup, and after the gang escapes, Howard is bewildered as to why Will did not shoot the killers. Later, Robbie gets into a fight at school defending Will, but thinks Will did not shoot because he intends to leave him and rejoin the gang. At the gang's hideout, Dunsten decides to coerce Will into helping them rob the bank. At a rendezvous demanded by Dunsten, Will is informed that unless he cooperates, Dunsten will make it look as if Will committed the robbery. While he is with Dunsten, other gang members kidnap Robbie and hold him hostage. At one a.m. Will lets the gang into the bank and they leave with several sacks of cash. Later, a gang member gives Robbie some cash and releases him. Will sees the man, catches him and beats him until he reveals the location of Dunsten's hideout. Will then goes to the ranch where Howard is waiting to arrest him, as the cash given to Robbie included a note stating that this was Will's share of the robbery. Will outwits Howard and heads for the hideout where he knocks out the sentry, shoots the two other gang members then captures Dunsten and takes him and the money back to town. Later, Will receives a pardon from the governor and he and Judy adopt Robbie.