Range Land

Whip Wilson and his pal, Winks Grayson, come to the aid of U.S. Marshal Matt Mosley, who is being chased on horseback by three gunmen. Whip shoots two of the gunmen while the third escapes. Mosley is severely wounded, but before Whip takes him to a doctor, Mosley gives him one of his prized sidearms. Meanwhile, in Redrock, Doris Allen has received a telegram from her father, stamp mill operator Ben Allen, advising her that he is returning from the state capital on the stage. Doris shows the telegram to mine owner Bart Sheldon, who is trying to persuade her to marry him. When she leaves, Sheldon receives a visit from ex-convict Rocky Rand, who used to work for him. Rocky states that he has just shot a marshal and needs to lay low for a while, so Sheldon gives him a job at his mine. Ben, meanwhile, boards the stage to Redrock, and Whip introduces himself as a rodeo performer on his way to appear at a big fiesta the governor is holding. Ben tells him that over fifty thousand dollars in gold bars have been stolen in recent stage holdups and that his insurance company has canceled his insurance, but none of the numbered bars has yet been offered for sale by the robbers. At his mine, Sheldon introduces Rocky to Shad Cook and Red Davis and orders them to go and intercept the stage. Sheldon then tells Rocky that he intends to take over Ben's mill. As the stage nears Redrock, Doris rides out to meet it and joins her father inside to hear his news, while Whip joins the driver, Joe Evans, up top. Evans is one of Sheldon's men and flashes a signal on a hand mirror to Cook and Davis, warning them not to proceed with the holdup as Doris is on board. Whip catches a glimpse of the mirror and tells Evans to stop the stage, then handcuffs him to one of the stage's wheels. Whip rides Doris' horse to look for Evans' accomplices and finds the mirror he discarded. Back at the stage, Whip says that he made an error and releases Evans. After the stage rolls on, however, Whip shows the broken mirror to Ben. When the stage reaches Redrock, Winks tells Whip that Mosley is recovering. Whip visits Sheriff Winters and presents him with a letter which states that he was a marshal for four years and, although he is now in the rodeo business, offers Winters his help. Meanwhile, Sheldon pays Evans off, then sends Rocky to kill him. Later, Winters tells Whip that the Redrock Mining Co. had been idle for a number of years until Sheldon arrived in town and took it over, six months previously, and hired a professor, Ambrose, as his mineralogist. Thinking that he has seen the bibulous Ambrose before, Whip consults with authorities in Washington and learns that Ambrose is an alias for a known criminal, Peter Anderson. Whip convinces Ambrose that he is an outlaw named Trigger Gates and is looking for a hideout. Ambrose takes him to the mine and vouches for him to Cook and Davis, then shows him his laboratory, claiming to have discovered a chemical more powerful than dynamite. Unfortunately, Doris tells Sheldon that Whip is a former marshal who is now helping them. When Cook tells Sheldon and Rocky that the new man at the mine claims to have shot Marshal Mosley, Rocky knows that is not true as he shot Mosley. They head for the mine, where Whip and Winks are confirming that the serial numbers of gold bars found in the professor's safe match those that were stolen. The professor surprises them, gun drawn, thinking that they are trying to steal the bars. He explains that he has invented a solution that restores the gold to its natural state and suggests that he, Whip and Winks form a partnership. While the professor prepares the bars for later collection, Whip beats Davis in a fistfight after sending Winks into town to bring the sheriff and posse. When Sheldon, Rocky and Cook arrive at the mine, a gunfight erupts. However, the sheriff and his men arrive and, after Whip captures Rand, they discover that Winks has Sheldon and the professor imprisoned in the safe. After the sheriff rounds up the rest of the gang, Whip and Winks leave for their rodeo engagement, knowing that Matt Mosley will soon be back on the job.