Range Justice

Ranch owner Ma Curtis tells her foreman, Stoner, to keep a lookout for Johnny Mack Brown, a new hand she has hired. Upon arriving in town, Johnny meets brother and sister Glenn and Beth Hadley, who are dismayed when they hear that Johnny is going to work for Ma, their neighbor, with whom they have been feuding. Stoner is plotting with real estate agent J. R. Dutton to ruin Ma and acquire cheaply her ranch and its valuable water rights. Upon arriving at the ranch, Johnny encounters two of Dutton's men attempting to dynamite the barn, and a gunfight ensues. Although one man escapes, Johnny captures the other, Dade. Ma tells Johnny she believes that nesters and claim-jumpers are trying to move in on her land and thinks Glenn is also involved, although Johnny defends him. Stoner states that he is taking Dade to the sheriff, but on the way, shoots and kills him. Later, Johnny finds a fence torn down and, while repairing it, is shot at by the Hadleys. They complain to him that Ma has fenced off formerly open trails and insist that they only want to get their cattle to water. They also claim not to know about any other feud against Ma, and Johnny says he believes them. When he tries to enlist their help, however, they refuse. Later, in the town saloon, Stoner and henchman Lacey try to trap Glenn in a poker game. When Stoner accuses Glenn of cheating, Lacey is ready to shoot Glenn, but Johnny enters and disarms him. A fistfight ensues and Johnny pummels Lacey. Later, knowing that Stoner is eavesdropping, Johnny talks with local feed store owner Alibi, and tells him that Ma is expecting a large shipment of money, which she needs to buy more stock, on the next day's stage. Stoner then arranges with ranch hand Kirk to rob the stage, and tells Glenn that a marshal is coming to see him at the stage station so that he will be found there and they can frame him for the robbery. When Glenn arrives at the stage station the next day, Johnny and Alibi think that he has become part of the gang. After Johnny and Alibi interrupt the holdup and shoot Kirk, Glenn realizes that he has been tricked, and agrees to work with Johnny. In order to discover the real culprits, Johnny then persuades Ma to put out the word that she has fired him because he was siding with the claim-jumpers. When Dutton hears this, he tells Lacey to have Johnny join the gang. Once in the gang, Johnny passes a message to Alibi that Stoner is planning to blow up a wagon-load of new equipment just delivered to Ma's ranch. The explosion occurs but the equipment had already been removed from the wagon. The next morning, after Stoner uses the explosion to try to convince Ma to sell out, she and Johnny have a good laugh together about Stoner's ineptitude. After Stoner tells Johnny that they are going to rustle Ma's remaining cattle, he finally introduces him to boss Dutton, who tells Johnny that once he has Ma's ranch, he will control water rights for the entire valley. The next day, Lacey and a henchman follow Johnny to Glenn's ranch, where Johnny tells him that Dutton is behind all the troubles. When Lacey shows up, Johnny convinces him that Glenn is joining them in the rustling. However, Johnny and Glenn foil the rustling and Johnny takes Stoner prisoner, intending to hand him over to the sheriff. Along the way, Johnny first stops at the saloon and adds Dutton to the package. Ma's ranch is saved and after she hires Glenn to be her new foreman, Johnny moves on.