Returning from the Cherokee strip where they broke up Slick Mattheson's sinister scheme to bankrupt the settlers, Red Ryder and Little Beaver have stopped at Painted Valley Ranch for a home cooked meal, a bath and a restful night in the eiderdown, before picking up Ace Hanlon's corkscrew trail. While packing away Ching How's three inch steaks and mouth-melting apple pie, Red is startled to hear the Duchess say that she wishes Red would stick around to make sure the $38,000 the ranchers have collected to pay for the railroad is delivered to the company. Right now, it's sat in the safe at the Cattleman's Association - but that's probably not going to be the case for long...