Can i help you . No thank you. How do you do, sir . What can i do for you . And you must be miss parker. I heard that Baxter Center had a very goodlooking postmistress. Oh, thank you. Im sam harris. Postal inspector from washington. Well, im certainly glad to see you, m harris. Weve been expecting someone from washington for some time. Anything for me . No, jay, not a thing. Well, its quite all right, mr. Harris. This is jay willoughby, who owns thehetore. Oh, i see. A post office detective, huh . Ive read and heard a lot about you fellas. I suppose youre out here to investigate the mail robberies and holdups weve been having in thihidistrict, huh . Thats right. Im afraid youre up against jay is right, mr. Harris. These outlaws seem to know when and where to strike. Swift and sudden. And then disappear into thin air. So ive been informed. Well, ill be seeing quite a bit of you, miss parker, but right now, i think i better pay a visit to the sheriff. Susu didnt lose much time. Come on. Hes dead. Who is he . Sam harris. A United States postal inspector sent here to investigate the holdups weve been having. I wonder who shot him . I was sitting right there in front of the store and i didnt see anybody. Doggone strange. Killed by someone who disappears into thin air. Maybe its one of those outlaws. They discovered somehow who he was and why he was here and shot. Im included to agree with elaine. Poor fella didnt have a chance. Those crooks wont stand a chance either if i ever get my hands on them. Keep your hands away from your guns. Think we did it, huh, sheriff . You act like you still believe we belong to that outlaw gang. I do,cy in jail . I will when i can prove what i suspect. Give me a hand with him, will you, boys . Well, pancho, isnt breakfast ready yet . No, breakfast aint ready and i dont care if it never get ready. Wts the matter . Did the coffee pot boil over . No, i am boiling over. All day long, i am standing over this hot fire, cooking the breakfast, cooking the dinner, cooking the supper, cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking, cooking didnt you tell me that you loved to cook . Si. Nd didnt you tell me that you were the best cook in the west . Well, even the best cook, he gets tired of his own cooking. Oh. So thats it, huh . Oh, what wouldnt i give for one of those nice dinners cooked by mama maria. The albondigas soup, the chili rellenos and the de leche. And when she cooked those frijole beans with the skins on the top, ooh, when you eat that, you just laughing well, pancho, if it makes you visit, huh . Ou mean that, cisco . Of course i do. Oh, cisco, you are a true companero. I will go get everything ready, huh . Hey, pancho, pancho. Not so fast. First were going to have breakfast, then im going to write a letter to mama maria telling her when to expect us. No, cisco, no. Writing the letter, that means the post office. The post office means going to town and going to town means getting in trouble. Oh, pancho, dont worry. Well only be in town long enou to mail the letter, then well leave. Now lets eat. Come on. No, no, cisco. In trouble. Ay ay now the trouble begins. Good morning, miss. How do you do, sir . What can i do for you . Would you please tell me how much it takes to send a letter to mexico . Yes, its 65 cents. Here you are, miss. Whats the matter . Is my face dirty . No, uh, you reminded me of someone, thats all. Youll have to pardon me while i get some change from the store owner. Listen, jay, try to act casual while you change this bank note. Take a look at the man over there. All right, what about him . Hes the cisco kid. Are you surur im positive. Ive seen his face on wanted dodgers. Hes possibly one of those outlaws. Maybe the one who killed mr. Harris. That could be. Here. Heres your change. Im sorry you had to wait. Oh, think nothing of it, miss. Waiting for you is a pleasure. What a pretty speech. You a stranger here, arent you . Yes. Im sorry to say, just passing through. Thats not veryryomplementary to our town. We expect visitors to stay over for a while. Baxtxt center is noted for its hospitality. It must be if the rest of the people are as pleasant as you are. Now whats this all about . As if you didnt know. Lock him up, sheriff. But i you can talk all you want in jail, cisco. Mosey along now. Some hospitality. You had enough water. Now lets before cisco gets all into trouble. What i told you . We in town 10 minutes and hey, cisco. Well, mr. Cisco, maybe next time you will listen to me, huh . How you like this place . I think maybe im going to let you stay here a little while. Listen to me closely. Diablo steady. Now, easy. Now. Easy. Easy, boy. Easy. Easy. Go, diablo. Go ahead. Go on. Go on. Well, loco, were going to wait here for the sheriff like cisco said. And besides, i dont like to get shoot t anyhow. Put your hands up. Why . What for you chase me anyhow . Why . What do you mean by shooting up the town, you oneeyed jasper . R . Me . I didnt do nothing. I was just feeling good. Maybe you wont feel so good after mount up. You tricked me good, cisco, but youll be back in jail soon. And yoyo pal too. I doubt it very much. Pancho, take him to the shack. Andale. I hate to leave you like this, sheriff, but i have a little job to do. I dont want you getting ininy way. You know, i think sheriffs is the nicest people tied u no, not that. Come on. What are we going to do now, cisco . Were going back to town anan call on a young lady. You see, i knew there was a senorita mixed up in this somewhere. Cisco, lets before we get there too late to have some of mama marias tortillas, eh . Pancho. Cant you think of anything else except tortillas . Yeah. Arroz con pollo, chili rellenos, frijoles con queso. Cisco, forget all about the pancho, you dont understand. A postal inspector was killed a little while ago in Baxter Center and they think i did it. Oh. Is that why they threw you in jail . Yes. Now i cant leave town until i clear myself. Oh, cisco, trouble, trouble, trouble. Always trouble. . . There you are, debbie. Give my regards to tom. Good morning, miss. What are u doing out of jail . Your sheriff is a very charming man. Very easy to talk to. When i convinced him he didnt want me, he turned me loose. Oh, the sheriff is a very no trouble at all. Well, im sorry, cisco. If apologizes are in order, id like to offer mine. I had a hand in your arrest too. Oh, that dont make no never mind. Ciscscs always like this when he sees a beautiful senorita. You know, miss, getting involved in this murder has rather interested me. Who else besides yourself knew what the postal inspector was doing in town . W wl, only mr. Willoughby, the store owner. Anyone else . Not as far as i know. Hm. Chinese puzzle. Well, come on, pancho. You and i will go to the hotel, get ourselves a room and look into this puzzle after we get some sleep. Nice to have met you. Me too. Much obliged. Right. Cisco, hotel, sleep, chinese puzzles. What kind of simple talking is this . Youll soon find out, pancho. I told you before, pancho. I think either the man who owns the store or the girl or maybe both of them are behind the killing of theostal inspector. Yeah, i know, i know, cisco. You told me. But if its true, well soon have well, cisco, if we gonna have the visitors, i dont know why we have to play the guguea pigs. Because, pancho. They are going to try to come in with their guns and their hands to kill us. Kill us . Kill us . What do you mean, kill us . You know i dont look pretty good when im dead. speaks spanish all right, boys, weve got work to do. What is it this time . Cisco kid and his pal pancho. Theyre holed up in a room at the hotel. Boss wants us to get em. Theyre a couple of tough hombres. Hope the boss knows what hes doing. He has so far. Come on, saddle. Well pick up dave and lefty on draw back. That oughta te care of them. Circle around from the back, pancho. Look, cisco, im making a collection but i dont want these guns. I got one. Cisco if i ever catch him, i will kill him cisco, aint nobody here. What that, cisco . A clue, pancho. One that will hang the killer of the postal inspector. A little thing like that, a clue . Its a little piece of rubber. Yes, pancho. But it smells of burnt powder. Freshly burnt powder. I think the shf coco on bueno. We go. The sheriff . Hey, cisco, what are you saying . Well, you messed things up beautifully, didnt you . Can i help it if ciscsccarries a rabbits foot with him . Youre pulling out, huh . Only fools stay to the last t nute. Here, give me a hand. I guess this is the end of the mail holdups for me and the rest of the boys. Only for the time being. Well be in bubuness in a little while. Ill get in touch with you as soon as i get located in some other town. Well, well. I never w h you, the mastermind of the gang. Im sorry you found this out, elaine. Youve suddenly become quite a problem. Well, cisco, i suppose youve come back to kill me. On the contrary, sheriff. Pancho, get busy. Im going to give you back your gun. You are going to arrest the head of those outlaws, the one who killed the inspector from washington. You know who he is . Yes, and i have a little plan how to prove it. Lets have it. Ill tell you on the way to town. Shell talk. Better get rid of her. I intend to, just before i leave. In the meantime, well put her in the closet and she can holler her head off in there and no ones going to hear her. Tell the boys what i said and ill contact them later. Just a minute, willoughby. Im the one thats leaving. Im taking your little bag with me for company. Hand it over. But, uh . . You both know what to do. Anybody in the store . Anybody here . Ill be right with you. Well, well, cisco, i must say that you have a lot of nerve, wandering around the town with the sheriff after you. Ciscos not afrfrd of sheriffs. Where is miss parker . Found a clue to the man who killed the postal inspector. Oh, thats very interesting, cisco. Who did it . You, mr. Willoughby. I . Well, what do you know about that . Maybe you can tell me w i killed him . Thats very easy. Youu been cleaning up as the head of those outlaws who have been holding up the mail. You wanted to protect your interests. Now ive heard everything. Now perhaps you can tell me how that little matter i expect to prove very y on. See you later. Did you hear enough, sheriff . I sure have, cisco. Good timing, pancho. Youre very clever, willoughby, but not clever enough to get away with murder. No one is that clever. And heres another one. Its coming from the office move, willoughby. Lets see whwh else youve been up to. Dan, hes the one who i know, elaine. Cisco set a little trap for him and he fell right into it. He also killed one of his men. Youll find him behind the desk. Get over there. Ive been very stupid, havent i, cisco . More stupid than pancho when his brains dont work and that happens quicker than sometimes and also before, dont you . What made you suspect willoughby . It was the rubber tip from a cane. It smelled of freshly burnt gunpowder. Suddenly it dawned on me it was the tip from a cane gun. Yeah. And since the shot came from the store and willoughby used the cane, cisco and i mixed our braiai together and figured it out just like that. Right, pancho. Just like this. You know, you are positively brilliant. You got brains too, cisco. Oh, pancho. Goodbye, amigos see you soon are you the sheriff, please. Well not exactly. Im kind of a first class assistant you might say. Can you stop a robbery from happening . Robbery . Yes sir. Its got to be stopped beforees killed or something. Sure, sure it does. Now, uh, where is this robbery going to take place . I dont know. Well, would you know when its going to happen . No, only its probably real soon. Well that dont give us much to go on. To pull this hold up, would you . His name is bart mccallin. Porter, texas. August nineteenth. It looked quiet and peaceful that hot dusty afternoon. But inside theheffices of the porter enterpise, a young frightened girl was telling a story that would soon turn that piece and quiet into a storm of violence. Thats why you have to stop him mr. Gilman. Well now debbie you, uh, you dont look like the kind of little girir thats father is going to do something awful. He wouldnt. Hes wonderful. Well, but you just told me that. It must be those two men mr. Gilman. They must be making him do it. Those, uh, two men debby, you never saw them before they rode up to the ranchchouse . No. You dont know who they are or what their names might be . No ms. Porter. How did your folks take all this debby . Mom was real scacad. And your father . I dont know ms. Porter. Hes always so calm and all. He just kind of looked at them and shooed me out of the room. But you listened at the door, huh . I couldnt hear everything. But i know they are planning on robbing somebody. My father wouldnt do anything bad if you could help him mr. Gilman. Thas why i came to see e u. Youve got to stop it before its to late. I tell you, you go with ralph here. Afe, theyve even got some flavored ice down there. And you have some of that and ill see what i can do about your father. sighs thank you mr. Gilman. Its my pleasure. knocking on door cant think of anything the sheriff might want to say to me. Im a texas ranger ms. Mccallan. I am not a sheriff. Im just acting in a sheriffs capacity. water running and it is what you might have e say thats important. What could i tell you about . Well maybe about your husband. Or, uh. About a couple of strange men that rode up here yesterday. sighs i dont know what youre talking about mr. Gilman. Snooping around and asking questions. Were honest god loving folk y. Im not trying to. Just trying to help. Thank you, but we dont need any. Thats not what debby told me. What about debby . Whats happened to her . She told me she was just going for a little ride. What was she doing in porter mr. Gilman . What did she tell you . A whole lot more than you have ms. Mccallin. Now about her father . And, uh, these two strange men. And the possibility of a hold up. Ill only tell you one thing mr. Gillman. When my husband got out of confederate army, he swore on the bible that hed never again bare arms against anyone. Hes never worn a gun since. Bart mccallin is a good man. And you have no cause to bear him doing anything wrong. And im swearing to that on the same bible. horse galloping well i never saw you move so fast. Better start doing some e st moving yourself mr. Gilman. Alright, what is it . Sam traver just drove his buckboard into porter. Hes all shot upup the doctors dont know whether hell live or not. You know what we heard, uh, what we was s lking about earlier . Yeah. sighs well five thousand dollars of cattle money driver had on h h is missing. Alright ralph. Ill see you in a minute. Now w w about it . You want to tell me now . Word of sam travers shooting spread swiftly throughouou porter. The man whos daughter had ridden n to town. Whos story about her father and two strangers planning a robbery, had already become common knowledge. Debby mr. Gilman he didnt do it. There all say my father shot mr. Travers, but he didnt. Well debby, you told me your dad is going to get mixed up in Something Like this. But he wouldnt shot anybody. I know that. Well i hopopyoure right. Doc be righthtith you. Shouldve known it wouldnt be another patient. Well you got your hands full as it is, i understand. Plenty of full. Sam is no condition to talk now hoby. He may never be. You get anything out of it . They got one double eagle for their trouble. I thought he was supposed to be carrying five thousand dollars cattle money. Ah, killers mustve thought that to. Chad stevens over at the banks tells memeravers forman deposited that money this morning. Twenty dollars. Dont seem like a mans life is worth very much. Plenty have been killed for less. Yeah. Did travers see who did it . Nope. But he figures he knows. How . He regained conscious once when someone was going through his pockets. Managed to see the man was wearing confederate calvary boots. Well thats not very much to make an identification from. Travers wont agree with you. Sais theres only one man around here. Them. Works on his ranch to. Names bart maccallin. Uh. Those people outside know that . Worried about a lynching party . No. No his daughter is. Standing out there is all. Well not yet debby, but t s very badly hurt. Poor mr. Travers. What about my father mr. Gilman . Well im going to have to find him and talk to him. But i told you he didnt have anything to do with it. He doesnt even wear a gun. Im still going to have to find him. You wont have to wait long hoby. Bart hi darling. Up you go. Please tell them you didnt do it daddy. Now you better calm down and tell me what this is all about. Your name is bart maccallin . Thats right. Mines hoby gilman. Id like to talk to you. Well what about . Sam travers has been held up and shot. Daday tell them you didnt do it. Please, please. That cant have nothininto do with me mr. Gilman. Well were looking for a man who wears confederate calvary boots. Porter, texas august twentieth. Now rudely awaken by the shooting of sam travers. Its fears and alarms centered an angry hatred against thman believed responsible and hoby gilman was questioning that man. You can do whatever you want about me mr. Gilman. Ive told you everything i can. Well thats not very much mccallin. I didnt rob or shot sam travers. You were at the time of the hold up. Or who those two men where that debby said showed up at your place. Im sorry mr. Gilman i cant. Daddy you know they were there. I heard you talking. Why dont you tell mr. Gilman . Im afraid youll have to leave this up to me deborah. But if theres nothing to hide, why dont you. Thats enough deborah this is my business not yours. I guess you dont believe me either . Er my questions. A man has to live by his conscious mr. Gilman. I have nothing more to say. Alright, i guess we have nothing more to talk about. You going to jail me . Now. But if travers dies, ill l me looking for you. Ss charges against mccallin, spread through town quickly. Several of the more inflflntial citizens objected loudly. One of these, banker jeb stevens, called Ranger Hoby Gilman to defend his position. And ill you gilman, theres a band of thieves and killlls on the loose around porter. This town is bulging with monene and what do you do . Let ringleader free as air, thats what you do. Free as air. You got any proof . Mccallins refusal to tell where he was at the time. To identify those riders who came up ththranch house. Everybody knows about all those things. Well thats quite a list, but it doesnt prove anything. Doesnt it . Well if that isnt enough. Take a look k this telegraph message i received from austin. You wired ranger headquarters to check about mccallin. I did. And they told you he served three and a half years for attempted baba robbery before the war. Thats right and they told me they. Youyou knew about this . Mmhmm. I try to do my job. And you still let mccallin go . Most men make a few mistakes. Hes paid for his. I dodot believe it. How can you have the nerve to call yourself sheriff of porter. I dont. Im a ranger. Im just acting sheriff, you know that. For my money youre not. Porter needs protection. It certainly isnt getting it from hoby gilman well he certainly has his back doesnt he . Well he has a right to hoby. Money is pouring into porter from those cattle drives and whoever shot sam travers is after some five thousand. Yeah, i guess. sighs well doesnt it stand a reason hell try again. And if mccallin is guilty, well its just the same as giving him the key to yes, its possible. You dont think soo no, i just dont know. scoffs henrietta. Hoby you know jeb stevens is running off about a citizens commitee. Yeye, im not too much worried about it. No bararyou cant. You cant take up the gun again. You swore to it on the bible. A man has to do what he feels must be done. But theres no need. If you forget this, we can tell mr. Gilman all about it we can start over again. Its too late jenny. Oh please bart dont go, please. sobbing oh bart. Dont hold back information now ms. Mccallin, not with the town stirred up like it is. whispers here sit down here. Alright now, who are these two men that came riding up here that debby was telling me about. Who are they . One was barts brother, rave mccallin. Hes the one who. Who got bart into o oubles years ago. Bart hasnt seen him since what didide come back for now . He and that. That killer whos with him praeger. They were running from the law. They needed food, supplies, and money. And barts been helping them. He gave them food and a place in the hills to hideout. And he tried to get them money. We didnt have any to give. But he thought sam travers did. No i tell you no. Debby heard them plan it. The others yes, but not bart. He had nothing to do with it. Well why wouldnt he tell me anything about his brother or any of this. Because he lives by this book. Well, id like to you ms. Mccallin, but, uh. rse galloping crickets chirping door knock jeb you all heard what ralph said. Mccallin is in town wearing g gun. Ralph here was on the job. As usual. Getting a us all together. But wheres the man who is supposed to be protecting us. Wheres gilman . Oh, you know as well as weweo jeb, hes out of town somewhere. Sure. Hes out of town and maccallin is in. Well hes not getting away with anything this time. Even if i have to go out and shoot him down myself. If you gun was as big as your mouth jeb, or are you forgetting sam travers so soon . Oh keep your britches on jeb. Any action we take is going to be legal and proper, as long as i have anything to do with it. Mr. Gilman, ere is he ms. Porter . Wheres mr. Gilman. Well hes not here right now debby. But hes just t t to be. Whats the matter child . My father and those two men, i heard them up in the hills. Theyre going to rob the bank here. Hoby nice job. Mustve had lots of experience. Well i didnt you wanted your vault broken into. The vault . Its alright debby. This man, he isnt bart mccallin. No, he called himself praeger. Its not my father. No, its not your father debby. Its just like he told you. Bart everything alright mr. Gilman . I heard the gunshots. Yea fine, ill take the gun now. Daddy its alright debby. Everythings alright. Well hoby do we get an explanation . Oh, hold this will you . Well you know your bible pretty well dont you henrietta . Yes, but what does the bible have to do with this . Well i spotted mccallin on the rode and i persuaded him to thats all. You were talking abobo the bible. Huh . , oh, well uh, its simple mrs. Porter. I didnt want to play cane to my brothers able. Then i thought i had to. Only mr. Gilman here convinced me there was another way out. I had to become my brothers keeper. Thank you mr. Gigian. cheyenne rio hondo. Quiet now. But maybe its the quiet before the storm. This is the town i was headed for with two wagonloads of supplies for sale to the highest bidder. Wherever you crossed the Mexican Border there was always the inevitable french patrol