William Witney

The Apaches are on the warpath and the Army must defeat them. Murphy's mission is to get a shipment of rifles, but they're stolen by greedy white traders with the help of mutinous soldiers. In 1868 Arizona the Apaches led by Cochise are on a warpath and U.S. Army Captain Bruce Coburn is tasked with protecting settlers on their way to Apache Wells. A group of undisciplined soldiers, led by Corporal Bodine, make Coburn's task more difficult. When they're sent after a shipment of repeating rifles, Bodine and four others steal the weapons and desert. Captain Coburn manages to return to Apache Wells where he vows to capture Bodine and his fellow deserters. Meanwhile, Bodine meets Cochise to negotiate the sale of the stolen repeating rifles without knowing that Captain Coburn has recovered the stolen weapons and has killed the other deserters. Cochise and Bodine chase after Captain Coburn in an attempt to recover the rifles which both the Apaches and the settlers need in order to prevail. A race against time ensues. —nufs68

After Quantrell's gang is almost destroyed, two of the captured members agree to join the Arizona Rangers to help finish the job. Murphy plays an ex-Quantrell's Raider who's released from jail with buddy Cooper to be deputized as Arizona Rangers in order to hunt down the remnants of the gang, rumored to be hiding out in a town "neer dee border", in the words of the loose-lipped saloon dancer. The goons are found hiding in an Indian mission. Murphy and Cooper pretend to want to rejoin the gang, but the bad guys catch on and brutally beat Cooper, who protects Murphy's true sentiments to the death. —Rita Richardson

Chased by a posse, bank robber Clay Anderson, traveling under an assumed name, takes refuge at a farm owned by a preacher and his pretty young wife. Notorious outlaw Clay Anderson and gang rob the town bank and flee in separate directions. Riding hard, Clay's horse goes lame and he is forced to pull-up at a nearby farm. He soon discovers that the place belongs to local preacher Hollis Jarret, his new wife, and a son from a previous marriage. Clay, posing as a weary traveler, tries to insinuate himself into a secure hideout, but the reverend isn't fooled. He agrees to allow Clay to remain at the farm for a few days, but his motive isn't the preservation of his family's safety. Hollis reasons that, with time, patience and a lot of faith, he can convince the outlaw to turn over a new leaf. But Clay's criminal tendencies may run deeper than the preacher had imagined... —Chris Stone <jstone@bellatlantic.net>

Roy edits a small town newspaper. A rancher is murdered, and his fortune is inherited by a young boy. Editor Roy, with the assistance (?) of big city reporter Dale, brings the killers to justice. In this Roy Rogers entry, featuring a song written by Oklahoma Governor Roy J. Turner (making him and Louisiana's Jimmie Davis and Texas' W.E. "Pappy" O'Daniel possibly the only state governors to write songs used in a western), Flying T ranch owner Sam Talbot is killed by a fall from a horse. St. Louis reporter Connie Edwards comes to check a rumor that he might have been murdered. She goes to Roy Rogers, editor of the local newspaper, and he takes her to the reading of Talbot's will. The ranch is left to Talbot's 12-year-old ward, Duke Lowery, much to the dismay of Talbot's niece, Jan Holloway. After some attempts on Duke's life, Roy finally proves that Jan, Steve McClory and coroner Jim Judnick had Talbot killed and are conspiring to do the same for Duke, making Jan the last heir. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net> Duke (Lanny Rees, "The Life of Riley"), a 12-year-old orphan of unknown parentage and provenance, unexpectedly and inexplicably inherits a 50-million-dollar ranch from his informal guardian who is not related. Roy (Roy Rogers), as editor of the local newspaper and on the basis of a puzzling note from the dead man, takes on the role of investigative reporter and determines to ensure justice is done. Meanwhile, the late ranch-owner's daughter Jan (Carol Hughes), who is left a paltry sum of cash, reflects that if little Duke were out of the way, she would be the only possible remaining heir. Connie (Dale Evans), a singing ace reporter from St. Louis, joins the hunt, but soon there are two reasons for Duke to die. —Badger Wealthy rancher Sam Talbot has died in an accident and his only relative Jan expects to inherit his ranch. Instead it goes to an unrelated 14 year old boy. When an attempt is made on the boy's life, newspaper reporters Roy and Connie investigate. At the scene of the accident they find Talbot's broken watch and later learn that the time on it proves his death was not an accident. —Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>