Hoppy and California are on their way back from the state capital up north, after taking care of some Bar 20 business. California, who used to live in this territory, has talked Hoppy into taking a shortcut to Elbow Creek, where they plan to spend the night before they finish the ride down to the Bar 20 the next day. They should have been at Elbow Creek hours ago, but California's shortcut has taken a lot longer than he expected...