Death Valley Outlaws

After delivering a herd of cattle to the stockyards, cowboy Johnny Edwards meets a young drifter, Bill Weston, who is returning home after an absence of several years. Johnny accompanies Bill to Hopetown, where they see Bill's childhood friend, Carolyn Johnson, get thrown from her wagon after being chased by a group of masked men. Johnny and Bill rush Carolyn to the local veterinarian, Doc Blake, who tends to Carolyn and explains that the masked men are members of a vigilante group that has been terrorizing the ranchers. After Carolyn leaves, Bill and Johnny go to the Weston ranch, which is being attacked by the vigilantes. Bill's father is dead, and as Bill chases after the gang, he also is shot, but before he dies, makes Johnny promise to avenge him. Meanwhile, the gang's secret leader, bank president Charles W. Gifford, forces Carolyn's father to take out a large insurance policy naming himself as the beneficiary in order to secure a bank loan. Gifford had used the same scheme with Bill's father, but tells his henchman, town marshall Jim Collins, to first rob an incoming gold shipment before rustling Johnson's cattle and destroying his ranch. After conferring with Doc Blake, Johnny decides to get evidence on the gang by joining them, and so pretends to be a notorious train robber. Johnny steals the gold shipment before Collins and his men can, after which Gifford arranges a meeting with him. Gifford gives Johnny a week to decide if he wishes to join the gang, in exchange for turning over the gold, or leave town. During the week, Johnny, who has deduced that Gifford and Collins are behind the gang, organizes the ranchers and successfully defends the Johnson ranch against a vigilante raid. The next night, Johnny goes to keep his appointment with Gifford, who sends Collins' right-hand man, Jeff Edwards, in his place. Jeff, who is Johnny's long-lost brother, tries to talk Johnny out of joining the gang, but Johnny does not recognize him because he is masked. Just as Johnny talks Jeff into helping him expose the vigilantes, Gifford and Collins reveal that they have eavesdropped on the entire conversation. Jeff is wounded as he helps Johnny escape, and it is not until the next day, as his brother lays dying, that Johnny discovers his identity. Enraged, Johnny rushes to the bank, where Gifford and Collins have planned to stage a robbery before leaving town. The ranchers, alerted by Doc Blake, round up the rest of the gang, but Gifford and Collins take Carolyn hostage and escape in a stagecoach. Johnny chases after them and, after fighting with both men, returns Carolyn safely to town. Later, Doc's servant, Snowflake, uses Johnny's horse "Cyclone" and dog "Duke" to convince the cowboy to settle permanently in Hopetown.