Road Agent

On the road to Trail City, Arizona, wandering cowboys Tim Holt and Chito Rafferty are forced to pay a twenty dollar toll, which has been levied by land owner and cattle buyer Milo Brand. Outraged by the surcharge, Tim and Chito intercept Slab Babcock, who is delivering the day's toll collection to Brand, and at gunpoint, demand all but four of their twenty dollars back. Later, in his Trail City office, Brand meets with ranchers George Drew, Adams and Barton, and informs them that if they refuse his low purchase offer and instead drive their cattle to market, he will charge them five dollars a head to cross his land. Brand then fires Slab, not believing his story about the reclaimed sixteen dollars. Meanwhile, on the trail, Tim and Chito stop to inspect some grazing cattle and are fired on by a hidden sniper. Tim sneaks up on the attacker, who turns out to be Drew's daughter Cora. After Tim convinces Cora that he and Chito are not rustlers hired by Brand, she reveals that she and the other ranchers cannot afford Brand's toll but have no viable alternate route. Later, Tim and Chito check in at the Trail City hotel and saloon and happily reunite with saloon girl Sally Clayton, one of Chito's former flames. As Sally is offering to lend the almost broke cowboys some money, Slab walks up and tries to jump Tim. Tim and Slab fight until the sheriff intercedes, and when Tim admits that he forced Slab to return some of his toll money, the sheriff orders him to pay Slab back. Slab then hands Tim's money over to Brand, but Brand refuses to reinstate him and, loaded with cash, leaves town on a buying trip. Still indignant about the toll, Tim and Chito don capes and masks provided by Sally, intending to steal their money back. The robbery goes awry, however, when Chito accidentally fires his gun, spooking Brand's horses just as Tim is removing his sixteen dollars from Brand's case. Left holding all of Brand's money, Tim and Chito decide to "play Robin Hood" by giving the ranchers enough cash to pay Brand's toll. After Tim and Chito deliver the money, which is accompanied by a note signed "Robin Hood," Cora and the other ranchers startle Brand's clerk Pringle by buying enough toll permits to undertake their cattle drive. Cora then hires Tim and Chito to help on the drive, and although she suspects that they are somehow involved in her windfall, they refuse to admit they are "Robin Hood." Later, at Brand's office, the still unemployed Slab begs Pringle for a loan, but he refuses. Desperate, Slab kills Pringle and steals money from Brand's safe, leaving behind a note signed "Robin Hood." Soon after, Brand returns from his trip and finds Pringle's dead body and the note. With the sheriff in tow, Brand rides to the Drew ranch and demands that all of the ranchers be held for questioning in connection with Pringle's murder. At the saloon, Tim and Chito notice the suddenly flush Slab and become suspicious. When confronted on the road, Slab denies stealing the money, so Tim decides to don the mask and cape for one more robbery. Brand spies Chito carrying the cape out of the saloon, however, and gets Sally to reveal that the cowboys are "Robin Hood" and are after Slab. Brand and his men then race to Slab's cabin, arriving just as a disguised Tim is demanding the loot from Slab. After Tim refuses to hand Slab or the money over to Brand, Brand signals his men to start firing on the cabin. During the ensuing gunfight, Slab is killed. Tim and Chito are then down to their last bullets when the sheriff, having been summoned by Sally, shows up and disarms Brand. Tim leads the sheriff to the money and confesses that he and Chito were behind the first robbery. After the sheriff declares that the cowboys can turn themselves in when they return from the cattle drive, a grateful Cora kisses Tim.