Texas Lawmen

After three masked bandits ambush a stagecoach near King City, the sheriff and his posse track them down. The sheriff is mortally wounded during the ensuing gunfight and hands his badge to deputy Tod Merrick, asking Tod to "make outlaws fear it and honest men respect it." Later, U.S. marshals Johnny Mack Brown and Dave are assigned to investigate the ambushes. They suspect that the Morrow gang are responsible for the ambush. Although they do not have evidence against the gang nor can they identify them, the marshals know that Bart Morrow, his son Steve and henchman Mason, have raided every town within a hundred miles. Johnny observes that since the gang has never robbed King City, he suspects that someone in town is in league with them. Johnny then visits Tod to discuss a plan to capture the outlaws, but when he suggests that someone from King City might be helping the gang, Tod becomes defensive. Later, Bart rides into King City to blackmail Tod, who is actually his estranged son. Tod is wanted for a bank robbery he committed at age 16 while in his father's gang and Bart threatens to reveal the truth if Tod attempts to stop his nefarious plans for King City. Tod orders his father out of town and warns him that a marshal has been sent to arrest the gang. Having spotted a note in the sheriff's office disclosing the delivery of a gold shipment that afternoon, Bart decides to kill the new marshal and then rob the stage. Bart orders Steve and Mason to wait at Eagle Canyon, and then, posing as a helpful traveler, Bart tells Johnny that he has seen "Bart Morrow" camping in Eagle Canyon. Johnny distrusts Bart, but Tod does not corroborate Johnny's suspicions because he fears Bart's earlier blackmail threat. At Eagle Canyon, after Johnny successfully disarms Steve and Mason, Bart, who has followed Johnny, shoots. Believing that Johnny is dead, Bart, Steve and Mason then ride off. Johnny, who only feigned being killed to escape the outlaws, then reports to Dave that he expects the gang to ambush the afternoon stage. Because only the Wells Fargo bank and Tod know about the shipment, Johnny suspects Tod might be involved. Dave assigns Deputy Marshal Potter to assist Johnny and, when the Morrow gang ambushes the stage, Johnny and Potter commence shooting from inside the passenger's cabin. After the gang flees, Johnny sends Potter to monitor Tod's visitors. Meanwhile, Tod bravely attempts to arrest the Morrow gang on the trail, even though he faces imprisonment for his past crimes. When Mason shoots and wounds Tod, Bart is determined to save his son. Bart orders the men to escort the wounded Tod to King City for medical help. After the doctor successfully operates on his wound, Tod, in a pain-induced delirium, reveals to Bart that another payroll is being delivered to the Blue Girl Mine the next day. Later, at the sheriff's office, Potter confronts Bart, Steve and Mason, who then lock him in a jail cell. Leaving Mason behind to guard Potter, Bart and Steve plot to steal the payroll and then leave town without Mason. Later that night, Johnny enters the jail house, subdues Mason and frees Potter. Johnny then interrogates Tod about the strangers who escorted him to town. When Tod finally reveals that he is wanted for a crime and that Bart is his father, Johnny assures him that he did his duty under very difficult circumstances. The next day at the Blue Girl Mine, the gang are trying to break into the safe when Johnny and Potter arrive. In the ensuing shootout, Potter is wounded. Johnny chases after the bandits, wounds Steve and corners Bart. While pretending to surrender, Bart attempts to shoot Johnny, but Johnny shoots and kills him first. Later at the sheriff's office, as Tod prepares to turn in his badge, Johnny reports that the governor has pardoned Tod for his past crimes and he can proudly return to being King City sheriff.