Outlaws' Highway

When cattle mysteriously disappear from the Carter and Matthew ranches, lawman Jack McKenzie and his dog Kazan are called in to investigate. Jack's boss, Sheriff Hibbs, suspects that outlaws are trying to scare away the ranchers in order to use freely the gully that lies between the two properties as a diamond smuggling route. Jack arrives in town and meets Sally Carter, who since the death of her parents runs the ranch herself, and Gordon Matthews, recently returned from the big city to help his aging father run his ranch. Jack and Kazan accompany Sally, Gordon and town buffoon and undertaker Unger to Matthews' ranch, and as they approach, they see that the house has been destroyed by fire. Later they discover that Gordon's father has been murdered. While Sally comforts Gordon, Kazan and Jack set off to follow the hoof prints leading away from the ranch, and upon reaching the banks of a wide creek, Kazan, sensing danger, refuses to move. While Jack rides off to get additional men, Chet, a local drunk with leering eyes and bad teeth whom Kazan had growled at earlier in town, attempts to cross the creek, causing Kazan to attack. In retaliation, Chet injures Kazan with a rock, ties him by the legs to his horse and proceeds to drag him across the rocky terrain, leaving him for dead under a tree. Jack rescues Kazan in time and returns to Sally's ranch, where he is introduced to her uncle Frank, who is visiting from El Paso. Unger and a group of Sally's ranch hands go into the fields to guard the cattle. Unknown to all, Frank is the leader of the smuggling gang and tips off his henchmen to the herd's location, his scheme being to divert the ranchers' attention so that he can carry out one more large scale smuggling operation through the gully. The villains tie up Unger and the others, stealing their horses, but purposely allow one horse to return to the house so that Jack and Gordon will search for the men. After Jack and Gordon rescue Unger and the ranch hands, Kazan picks up a scent and with persistence leads Jack away from the herd and toward the creek. Jack confronts Chet, who is obviously up to no good, but is shot in the back by Frank. Kazan escapes to get help, and Chet argues with Frank over his cut from the shipment of smuggled diamonds. After Frank assures Chet that he will receive his share, he loads Jack, who has passed out, onto his horse and returns to Sally, telling her that Jack was shot by an unknown assailant. His plan is foiled, however, when Chet and a group of ragged outlaws follow Frank into Sally's house and tie him up in order to steal the entire shipment of diamonds. After Chet reveals to Sally that her uncle is a diamond runner, Kazan leaps at him, knocking the gun out of his hand and sending it toward Frank, who tries to grab it, but pulls away when Kazan bares his teeth.