Bar-Z Bad Men

Hell-raising cowboy Jim Waters is arrested for disturbing the peace, but the judge suspends the six-month sentence when Jim informs him that he has bought half of his friend Ed Parks's Bar-Z ranch in Arizona. Jim travels to the ranch and, when he arrives, finds Ed engaged in a shootout with men who have mysteriously been adding stolen cattle to Ed's herd in an attempt to make him look like the rustler. The men escape and Hamp Harvey, owner of the Bar 7 ranch and the missing cattle, and Sig Bostell, a leading citizen, arrive to investigate. Harvey's foreman, Brent, states that he traced the missing Bar 7 cattle on Ed's ranch, but Harvey's daughter Beth talks her father out of taking the law into his own hands. Harvey takes his rifle and leaves, and is followed by Brent. Ed confides to Jim that he suspects Brent and Pete, another of Harvey's men, are behind the rustling, but Jim is suspicious of Bostell. While Jim tends the horses outside, he hears a shot and rushes to the house, where he finds that Ed has been murdered. Jim then goes to Harvey's ranch, where he finds a freshly ridden horse and Harvey's rifle, which has been fired recently. Jim takes the rifle as evidence, causing Beth to fear that her father is the killer, even though Harvey says he lost his rifle during his ride to town. Later, Bostell, who is the boss of the gang, orders his henchman Hank to take care of Jim. Hank attempts to shoot Jim but fails, and the next day, Bostell goes to Harvey's ranch and convinces Harvey that Jim is going to testify that he saw him shoot Ed. Despite Beth's objections, Harvey agrees to go to Bostell's cabin to hide, after which Beth gets Jim and the deputy. The trio arrive just as Brent, Hank and Pete are ambushing Harvey, and although Harvey is wounded, they rescue him. Pete is also injured, and while Brent and Bostell are making plans to ditch the rest of the gang and leave the country, Jim finds Pete in a saloon. Pete confesses that he is part of Bostell's gang and that they were trying to run Ed and Harvey off so that Bostell could grab the land and make a huge profit when the railroad came through. Pete also tells them that Brent is the one who stole Harvey's rifle and shot Ed with it. Brent overhears Pete's confession and travels on ahead to the gang's hideout. He gets there before Jim does, but Jim nonetheless captures him and Bostell and turns them over to the deputy. The deputy's posse goes with Jim back to Harvey's ranch, where Harvey, Beth and Pete are besieged by the rest of the gang. Pete is shot in the shoulder, but the rescuers arrive in time to apprehend the gang. Jim tends to Pete, then happily carries Beth off when she pretends to faint.