Billy the Kid in Santa Fe

In a courtroom in Red Gap, Billy the Kid is found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang, despite his protests that he was framed. After Billy is led away, his friends, Fuzzy Jones and Jeff, overhear rancher Hank Baxter paying crooked gambler Texas Joe for his perjured testimony and advising him to look up his friend, saloon owner Steve Barton, in Santa Fe. The sheriff helps Billy escape, knowing that Baxter's men are waiting outside to ambush him, but Fuzzy and Jeff come to Billy's rescue, and they decide to go to Santa Fe. On the way, they disperse a group of cattle rustlers, but are themselves apprehended by Pat Walker's men and taken to her ranch. Pat recognizes Billy, and tells him that she had mentioned his name to the cattlemen's association as someone who could restore law and order in Santa Fe, and Billy suspects that Barton was behind the attempt to frame him. Later, in town, Billy meets up with a former partner, "Silent Don" Vincent, who has since traded in his gun belt for a quiet life with his books. Texas Joe, meanwhile, decides to head for the coast, but Barton is uneasy because the gambler overheard his plans to rob a bank messenger. Meanwhile, on an isolated road, ranchers Bert Davis and Charlie Bates see Baxter riding by, and Charlie follows him to a shack where Texas Joe is recovering from a bender. Barton arrives in time to see Charlie enter the shack, and fires through the door and kills him. He and Baxter then put a gun in the drunken Texas Joe's hand. After Billy and Jeff ride up to the shack and find Charlie's body, Billy wounds Texas Joe as he escapes. Later, in town, Billy agrees to take charge of the newly deputized ranchers, then rides out to Don's house, where he finds Texas Joe and arrests him. After Barton's henchmen let Texas Joe out of jail, Bert forms a posse, which tracks Texas Joe down and, after a hasty mock trial, lynches him. When Don hears about Texas Joe's death, he dresses in black and begins killing members of the lynching party, leaving a playing card on each body. At Don's house, Billy finds a picture of Texas Joe inscribed to "the best brother a fellow ever had," and informs the deputies of Don's motive. They are sympathetic, pointing out that Don has only killed the posse members who worked for Barton, and when Pat comes across the wounded Don while riding, she brings him to her home. There, she gently reproaches him for taking the law into his own hands. While Billy is riding in search of Don, Fuzzy, Jeff and the deputies form an ad hoc court and declare Don not guilty. Billy then arrives at Pat's place, but he and Don find they are unable to fight each other. As they are making peace, Fuzzy and the others arrive and announce their verdict of justifiable homicide. An exuberant Pat kisses Fuzzy, who bolts in panic, and Billy and Jeff laugh heartily as they ride after him.