Outlaws of the Panhandle

While driving their cattle to market, Monument Springs rancher Walt Burnett and his daughter Doris are attacked by rustlers. When Bob, the ranch foreman, and his cowhands respond with gunfire, Jim Endicott hears the shots, pulls Morganson, one of the outlaws, from his horse, pummels him unconscious and shoves him over a cliff, thus earning the Burnetts' gratitude. Soon after, Jim, a rancher from the neighboring town of Missouri City, comes to ask the ranchers of Monument Springs for their help in building a railroad through a gap in the mountains that would connect the two cities and guarantee safe passage of their cattle via rail. Enthusiastic about Jim's idea, Doris rides to town to ask Elihu Potter, the president of the bank, to finance the project. After Jim and the others depart, "Faro Jack" Vaughn, a crooked gambler, sees Morganson's body lying at the base of the cliff and finds a note from Potter in his pocket. In town, after Potter refuses to lend the money to the ranchers, Faro arrives at the bank and accuses Potter of stealing the ranchers' cattle. When Faro produces the note as proof that Morganson was working for the banker, Potter admits that he hired the rustlers to force the cattlemen to sell their livestock in town, thus driving down the price and forcing them into bankruptcy and foreclosure. Potter relates Jim's plan to bypass the rustlers by shipping cattle via railroad and Faro proposes that Potter lend the ranchers their money, and then sabotage the railroad construction by luring the workers to carouse in his casino. Struck by the brilliance of Faro's plan, Potter agrees to lend the ranchers funds to finance the railroad on the condition that they repay the loan in two months. As Jim supervises the building in the north, Mart Monahan supervises construction around Monument Springs. One day, Jim sees Faro hoist a sign proclaiming the opening of the Wheel of Fortune Café in Monument Springs. Familiar with Faro's tactics, Jim proposes launching a public campaign against the gambler, and Potter accuses him of slandering Faro's name. When Faro invites the railroad workers for a night of free drinks at the casino, Jim and Monahan try to prevent the men from attending, but to no avail. That night, Jim, Monahan and Bob and the boys escort the workers to the casino, hoping to forestall trouble. Faro persuades his naïve younger brother Neil to challenge Monahan to a poker game, which ends in charges of cheating. The lights go out and shots ring out, and when the lights are turned back on, Monahan is dead and Neil wounded. To protect Neil from the angry workers, Jim escorts him to the doctor's office and then sneaks him out the back door. Faro and his men watch as Jim and Neil gallop out of town and follow them to the Burnett ranch. There, Faro directs Dogger, one of his henchmen, to watch the ranch while he returns to town. The next day, Potter, panic-stricken, storms into the casino, proposes dynamiting the mountain tunnel through which the workers are burrowing and arranges to meet Faro at the mouth of the tunnel. Jim, meanwhile, tells Doris and her father that someone has framed Neil for Monahan's murder and decides to hide him in the tunnel to protect him from the bloodthirsty mob. When Dogger reports back to Faro, Faro rides to the Burnett ranch and forces Doris to divulge that Jim has taken Neil to the tunnel. Taking Doris hostage, Faro rides to the tunnel, where Potter and his men have just finished planting the dynamite and have lit a five-minute fuse. When Faro orders Potter to stop the explosion, Doris breaks free and runs to warn Jim. Just as Jim pulls Neil from the tunnel, the explosives detonate and Faro shoots Potter in the back and flees. Catching up to Faro, Jim accuses him of murder, and in the ensuing shootout, Faro perishes. Disillusioned by his brother's treachery, Neil is comforted by Doris.