Thundering Gun Slingers

When rancher Dave Carson is lynched for stealing cattle from Jeff Halliday, Halliday and his daughter Beth are appalled at the violence. Carson's hanging is the most recent incident in a wave of vigilantism covertly engineered by saloon keeper Steve Kirby, who has been fomenting unrest to motivate the local ranchers to sell their land cheaply. The news of Carson's death upsets his nephew Billy, who rides to town to investigate. Upon learning of Billy's impending arrival, Kirby sends his thugs, Ed Slade and Dawson, to ambush him along the trail and then throw the blame on Halliday. Kirby's plan goes awry, however, when Doc Fuzzy Jones, the town's veterinarian and physician, spots the ambush and warns Billy. Discovering that Billy has averted the ambush, Kirby, hoping to provoke a confrontation between him and Halliday, rides to the Halliday ranch to warn them that Billy has come to town to avenge his uncle's murder. Soon after Kirby departs, Billy arrives at the Halliday ranch and accuses Halliday of killing his uncle. When Halliday denies any involvement in his uncle's lynching, Billy throws a pistol on Halliday's desk and challenges him to a gunfight. At that moment, Beth and Fuzzy burst into the room, thus preventing a shootout. Later, in town, at the Silver Dollar Saloon, Kirby shows Billy an I.O.U. in the amount of $15,000, signed by his uncle. When Billy questions the validity of the signature, a fight ensues and the sheriff arrives to stop it. Kirby then hands the sheriff the promissary note and demands that it be repaid before Billy can claim possession of his uncle's ranch. Having failed in his plot to pit Billy against Halliday, Kirby decides to murder Halliday and frame Billy, and then force Beth to sell the ranch. When Kirby sends Slade to the ranch to kill Halliday, Billy, suspicious, follows him. At the ranch, Slade informs Halliday that his cattle have been wandering onto Carson land. As Halliday rides to round up his strays, Slade waits in the bushes to ambush him. Billy, arriving too late, watches helplessly as Slade shoots Halliday, then rides after him. Drawn by the sound of gunshots, Beth arrives just in time to see Billy galloping away from her father's body and assumes that he killed him. After losing Slade, Billy returns to town and is arrested for Halliday's murder. As Kirby incites a mob against Billy, Slade goes to Doc's office for treatment of his wound. Discovering that Doc knows about Slade's injury, Kirby orders Dawson to silence him. As Dawson approaches the office, Doc hides and then reports Slade's injury to the sheriff. When the sheriff refuses to believe that Slade is guilty, Doc drugs him and frees Billy. As Billy and Doc ride to the Halliday ranch in search of Slade, the sheriff organizes a posse to pursue them. Meanwhile, Slade, who has been dispatched by Kirby to evict Beth, arrives at the ranch and begins to menace her. Hearing Beth's screams, Billy and Doc gallop to the ranch house and apprehend Slade. Soon after, Dawson bursts into the room and Slade uses the distraction to pull his gun on Billy. After shooting Slade, Billy demands that Dawson expose the leader of the gang. The interrogation is interrupted by the arrival of the sheriff and the posse. After Beth greets the sheriff and sends him in the wrong direction, Billy coerces Dawson into admitting that Kirby ordered Slade to kill Halliday. With evidence in hand, Billy races back to town to confront Kirby, and a rousing fight ensues. Billy finally apprehends Kirby and brings him to justice.