After finishing an assignment, Paladin stops at a small town for a
shave. As the barber finishes up, Paladin hears gunshots outside and
looks to see what's going on. Rancher Gene Morgan has just shot Grady
Stewart in the arm when Grady tried to draw on him. Grady promises to
kill Gene the next time they meet but Gene puts the younger man over his
knee and spanks him as the onlookers laugh. The older rancher then
tells Grady to go home and the boy staggers off with his friend Frank
Gault.
Paladin leaves the barbershop and offers Gene Grady's
discarded gun. He warns the rancher that Grady might very well kill him
someday, and that Gene made the situation worse by treating him like a
boy rather than a man. Paladin introduces himself and offers to buy Gene
lunch, saying that he has a business proposition. Gene figures that
Paladin wants to kill Grady and says that he doesn't want the boy dead,
but accepts Paladin's offer.
The two men chat over lunch and
Gene says that he can handle Grady if it's a matter of shooting.
However, he doesn't want Grady dead. Grady and his sister Sheila are
foster children that he took in after their father, a neighboring
rancher, died. Paladin points out that Gene's hesitation gives Grady the
advantage, and advantage that could get the rancher killed, and asks
how the fighting started. Gene tells him that the Stewarts owned
adjoining land separated by a river. When the river changed course, Gene
and Grady agreed to let the courts decide who owned what land. However,
Grady recently changed his mind. When Gene told him to keep his promise
like a man, he drew on Gene, forcing the rancher to shoot him in the
shoulder. Paladin offers to settle the matter for $1,000 and then rides
off to get Grady's side of the story.
Grady is at his family
ranch practicing his fast-draw in the barn. Frank comes in and gives him
advice, assuring him that he has plenty of time to become faster than
Gene. He tells his friend that he calmed Sheila down because she heard
about the incident, and Grady thanks Frank because he's the only one who
treats him like a man. Frank gets an idea and tells Grady what he can
do.
Later, Grady rides into town and spots Gene's horse outside
of the barbershop. The old man is apparently inside, his face wrapped
in a hot towel. When Grady goes in with a pair of shears, Paladin whips
off the towel and explains that Gene loaned him the horse and that he's
been hired to stop Grady. When Grady tries to attack him, Paladin easily
subdues him, shoves him into the barber chair, spins him around, and
smears Grady's face with shaving cream. The gunfighter then holds a
razor to Grady's throat and asks whose idea it was to ambush Gene. When
Grady admits that it was Frank, Paladin tells him to go back and tell
Frank that it was a bad idea.
When Gene rides out to check on
his cattle, his men inform him that somehow the herd broke through the
fence the previous night. Paladin catches up to his employer and points
out that Gene is making things worse by holding onto the land no matter
what the cost. Gene admits that he doesn't want to give up land that he
sweated over to earn and figures that Grady should know that as well.
One of Gene's men rides back and tells him that someone cut a hole in
the fence. As Paladin and Gene check on the fence, Grady and Frank ride
up. Grady figures that Gene cut the fence and let his herd loose on
Stewart land, but Gene insists that he's innocent. He offers to have his
men round the herd up and Grady privately asks Frank what he should do.
Frank tells his friend that Gene is trying to place a claim on the land
and will keep letting his herd stray onto Stewart land. Gene calls to
his foster son, saying that they should work it out on their own. Grady
agrees to let Gene remove the herd but warns him that he'll kill them if
they stray over again. As Grady rides off with Frank, Paladin figures
that his job isn't over yet.
Later, Frank and Sheila, who are
engaged to be married, have dinner in town. Frank insists that Gene
started the trouble and that Grady was the one who calmly handled the
situation. Paladin comes in and asks to speak with Sheila privately, but
both her and Frank insists that he talk to them both. Frank continues
to provoke things, telling Sheila that Gene hired Paladin as a
gunfighter to take care of Grady. Paladin sits down and warns Sheila
that Frank is the one putting her brother in danger. Sheila doesn't want
to hear it but Frank tells Paladin to go on, figuring it'll give him
more ammunition to use against the Stewarts. Paladin figures that Sheila
is marrying Frank because she needs someone to run the ranch, but warns
that if Grady dies, Frank will inherit it all. Furious, Sheila tells
Paladin to go. Once he leaves, Frank suggests that they postpone the
marriage if Sheila has any doubts. Rather than admit that Paladin might
be right, Sheila insists that they marry immediately.
That
night, Frank rides out to the fence, cuts a hole in it, and herds the
cattle through onto Stewart land. He then shoots one of the cows dead
and rides off.
The next morning, Paladin and Gene ride the
ranch, having heard that Sheila and Frank just married. They find the
dead cow and Gene figures that his foster son killed it. Furious, he
rides to the Stewart ranch and calls Grady out, telling him it's time
for him to be a man. Sheila and Frank come out and Sheila begs Gene to
stop, but the rancher says that Grady killed the cow and brought it on
himself. A surprised Grady denies killing Gene's cattle but Gene doesn't
believe him. As the two men prepare to draw, Paladin punches Gene
unconscious.
As Paladin puts the unconscious Gene on his horse,
Frank reluctantly thanks him for his help. The gunfighter says that
it's a matter of economics and then asks Frank about the pair of
wire-cutters in his back pocket. Frank instinctively reaches for them
and then realizes that Paladin is bluffing and says he doesn't have any.
As Paladin rides off with Gene, Sheila wonder what Paladin meant and
Grady points out that Frank does have a pair of wire-cutters. As they go
inside, Frank claims that he lost them months ago and that he heard
Grady ride out the previous evening. He accuses Grady of cutting the
fence and killing the cow, but Sheila confirms that Grady was in the
house. They realize that Frank has been lying to them all along and he
shoves Sheila to the floor.
As Grady prepares to draw on Frank,
Paladin steps into the farmhouse and calls to Frank. When Frank tries
to draw on him, Paladin shoots him dead. Gene comes in with Paladin and
helps Sheila up. Realizing what's happened, he offers Sheila and Grady
his home for as long as they need it.
Later, Gene and Grady
ride to the bank with Paladin and pool their money to pay his fee.
Paladin decides to get another shave and invites Gene to join him.
Taking the opportunity, Gene calls Grady "Mr. Stewart" and asks if he
could use a shave as well, and the three men go off together.
Written by Gadfly on Dec 23, 2017