A man, Cliff Doby, peers into the window of his home. When he tries to open the window, his wife fires a warning shot and Cliff ducks back. He complains that his wife has locked him out of his own house, and his wife says that he treats her like an animal. When Cliff peers in the window again, she aims the shotgun at him and he quickly ducks back and then goes into town to get the ones responsible for what's happening.
Cliff goes into Porter and yanks down the signs advocating women's suffrage. He tears them down and ignores a woman when she protests. Cliff goes to the suffragette headquarters and tears down their main sign, and Henrietta tries to stop him. He goes inside, vowing to put an end to all of it, and promises to burn out Gil Hallswell and his sister Amelia for interfering in his marriage. As he throws the flyers out in the street, Henrietta runs to get Hoby. As Cliff burns the flyers, Hoby comes over and orders him to put the fire out. Cliff refuses,, and Gil runs over to stamp out the fire. Cliff grabs him and Hoby separates them. When Henrietta objects, Cliff says that she's responsible as well.
One townsman, Jud, says that women have no right to meddle in politics. Another townsman, Vick, joins in, and Gil tries to settle things down. Cliff tells him that if he isn't out of town by that night, he's going to kill him. Hoby takes his gun but Cliff says that he'll kill Gil with his bare hands
Later, Hoby helps Gil, Henrietta, and Ralph clean up the messes He points out that if he had thrown Cliff in jail, it would have just aggravated things further. Amelia comes in and Ralph says that he has to put up posters with her. Hoby advises them to leave Porter, and Gil tells his sister that he's been threated. When the Ranger wonders why Gil gets involved with something that should be the concern of women, Gil says that it should be every citizen's concern. He lists his triumphs, and Hoby warns him that his luck may change.
Later, Hoby sends a telegram to Ranger HQ to check out the Hallswells. One of the towns that Gil cited, Alpine, is where Hoby lived at the same time and he doesn't remember the Hallswells. The telegraph operator, Ed, wishes Hoby good luck and complains that his barely makes him breakfast anymore.
That night at the suffragette headquarters, Ralph is with the Hallswells counting the day's money that they've gathered for memberships. Henrietta arrives with food, and Gil asks her to act as treasurer. He warns that the Porter men may resent her even further, and Henrietta locks the money in a cabinet. Next they're going to write a letter to Texas Senator Elisha Watkins. He's Gil's friend and sympathetic to their cause, and they'll invite him to come to a rally in Porter. Henrietta suggests that they have it at the school, and Gil tells Ralph that they'll put up posters all over Porter after they eat.
At the Buckhorn, the men are complaining to Tenner about how the Hallswells came to their spreads to get money from their wives. Gil puts a poster up on the outside wall of the saloon, and Cliff, Vick, and Jud lead some men out to confront him. They quickly pull him down and beat him. Hoby hears the commotion and comes over, and pulls them off. He arrests Cliff as the ringleader Ed delivers the telegram response to Hoby. Meanwhile, Gil tells Amelia that the women will flock to them once they hear about the attack... and they'll make more money.
Later, the men gather at the Buckhorn as the woman arrive for the parade rally. Tenner goes to the sheriff's office and tells him that there's lynch talk at his place. He says that the men in Porter don't know about women, and the women are raising trouble because they're telling them that they can't vote. Tenner figures that if the women got the right, they'd figure it was unimportant and don't want any part of it. Hoby insists that the women are unreasonable, and Tenner realizes that he knows something. The Ranger shows him a prior arrest record on the Hallswells. They're husband and wife, not brother and sister, and Tenner figures that they're so dedicated that they're posing a brother and sister to not scare off anyone who falls for one or the other. Hoby got another wire from Watkins saying that he's never heard of the Hallswells, and he's against women voting. Tenner warns that Henrietta won't believe Hoby if he tells her.
Henrietta comes in and asks Hoby if he's going to give her protection. Hoby assures them that there won't be any problems, and tells her that he's been making some inquiries into Gil. Henrietta figures that he's done it out of chauvinism, and tells him not to pressure Gil because he doesn't agree with Gil's beliefs. Hoby shows her the telegram from the senator, and figures that it proves that Gil is a liar. Henrietta figures that Watkins overlooked the letter, and Gil just talked himself up. She insists that she isn't falling for Gil like a schoolgirl, and tells the two men that she believes that women should have the vote because they can't do any worse than men.
As the women march, the men boo them. When the men get out bushels of rotten eggs, Hoby runs over and promises that he'll fine them $5 every time that they throw something. He tells the men that Watkins isn't showing up, and deputizes Vick and Jud. If they don't throw any troublemakers in jail, they'll go to jail themselves. Once the men leave, Hoby talks to Cliff privately.
In the schoolhouse, Gil tells the women that Watkins will arrive any minute. The men listen outside as Gil says that they've succeeded. Hoby and Tenner arrive and Tenner figures that the Hallswells wouldn't go through the scam for a couple of hundred dollars in memberships. Meanwhile, Gil has Ralph and Amelia collect money from the women. Henrietta asks Gil what is delaying Watkins.
Later, Amelia counts the money and Watkins still hasn't arrived. Gil tells everyone that he and Amelia will go to the depot to find Watkins, and then everyone goes out on the street to greet him. The women agree and Gil leaves Henrietta in charge with instructions to watch the collection box. The Hallswells leave and Hoby and Tenner go inside. Hoby asks how much money they collected. When Henrietta refuses to tell him, Hoby says that Watkins isn't coming because he doesn't know Gil. Henrietta tells him to go out, and Hoby demands an accounting of the money. The women tell Henrietta to count it and show Hoby that he's making a fool of himself. Henrietta opens the box and discovers that the money is gone. Shocked, Henrietta breaks into tears.
After the women leave for their homes, Henrietta blames herself for what happened. She tells Hoby to go away. Hoby apologizes for doing it that way, and Henrietta wonders how she's going to face the women. She insists that they weren't wrong even if the Hallswells were crooks. Hoby agrees just as Cliff comes in and nods to Hoby. The Ranger takes Henrietta home, and Gil and Amelia are waiting in a wagon outside. Cliff hands over the money he took from Amelia, and Hoby gives it to Henrietta to return to the women.. Henrietta says that one day women will have the vote and there's nothing that they can do to stop it.
Written by Gadfly on May 16, 2017