Border Badmen

Convinced that he will inherit money from the vast estate of his recently deceased, distant cousin, Silas Stockton, cowboy Fuzzy Q. Jones cajoles his partner, Billy Carson, into accompanying him to Stockton's hometown of Silver Creek. At the entrance to the town, the cowboys discover a toll gate, which appears to be manned by an armed but sleeping guard. Unable to pay the hefty toll, Billy prepares to turn back, but Fuzzy is determined and approaches the guard. Just as Fuzzy and Billy realize that the man has been stabbed to death, Silver Creek deputy Spencer and his men ride up and arrest them for murder. In Silver Creek, meanwhile, Mayor Jed Bates shows Merritt, Stockton's former superintendent, a letter from Stockton's niece Helen, announcing her impending arrival. Merritt, along with Spencer, Bates, banker Gillan and hotel owner Evans, wants to take complete control of Silver Creek by acquiring Stockton's wealth. To that end, he plots to prevent Helen from claiming her share of Stockton's fortune by kidnapping her and then having another woman, Roxie, pose as her at the upcoming probate hearing. Not wanting any additional claimants in town, Merritt orders Spencer to release Fuzzy and Billy. On the road outside town, the cowboys, who are aware that the murdered man was Silver Creek's honest sheriff, Bentley, meet the unsuspecting Helen. Just then, Helen is accosted by Spencer and his men, and despite Billy and Fuzzy's help, she and the cowboys are forced at gunpoint to ride to a remote cabin. There, Spencer demands that Helen turn over all of her identification papers. Merritt, meanwhile, sneaks Roxie out of town so that she can "arrive" as Helen the next day. Before Merritt can deliver Roxie to the cabin, however, Helen, Fuzzy and Billy overpower their guards and escape. Billy and Fuzzy take Helen to Sheriff Bentley's widow's house, and after Mrs. Bentley implicates Merritt in the death of her husband, who was the only person in Silver Creek who could have identified Helen, the cowboys head for town. Fuzzy and Billy check into the hotel, and as soon as Evans sees that Billy has signed in as "Billy Stockton," he alerts his cohorts. Billy and Fuzzy, meanwhile, sneak into the neighboring room, which turns out to be Bates's. In Bates's desk, Billy discovers Helen's letter, but before he and Fuzzy can slip away, Bates, who has been a reluctant conspirator, falls into the room, stabbed to death. While Billy goes to Merritt's room to investigate, Fuzzy is attacked by a knife-wielding man, who suddenly appears in Bates's room. In turn, Billy is surprised by Merritt, but knocks him out. Returning to Bates's room, Billy unknowingly interrupts the attack on Fuzzy, but refuses to believe Fuzzy's story because the assailant has disappeared. Eventually, however, the cowboys discover that Bates's room has a hidden doorway, which leads to a secret passageway. Following the passageway, Billy and Fuzzy end up back in their room, where they fight with some of Merritt's men. Billy and Fuzzy overwhelm the men, then flee the hotel after learning that Helen has been kidnapped again. At the hideout, Billy and Fuzzy take Spencer's men by surprise and force them to reveal that Merritt has taken Helen to town. On their way back to Silver Creek, Billy and Fuzzy encounter Roxie and coerce her into admitting that she is an impostor. Billy and Fuzzy then overwhelm Merritt and Spencer at the hotel and free Helen. At that moment, Evans appears in the hidden doorway and tries to stab Billy, but is overpowered. After Evans confesses that he killed Bentley and Bates on Merritt's orders, Merritt is arrested. Later, at the probate hearing, Helen is awarded a handsome sum, while Fuzzy receives only one dollar and all of the dead man's unpaid bills.