A rancher, C. Palmer, wires for Paladin to come for a job. When
Paladin rides up to the house, a man aims a gun at Paladin from inside a
doorway and orders the gunslinger inside. The badman, a younger man, is
wearing a fancy Western outfit and even Paladin is impressed. However,
an older woman storms up and tells the gunman, Travis, to put down his
gun and stop fooling around. The young man complains that his Aunt
Cynthia should call him Laredo, and he fumbles his gun and shoots out a
lamp. Paladin quickly takes the gun away from Travis and while Ruth
insists that her nephew's name is Travis and that's what she's going to
call him.
Once Travis goes outside, Paladin laughs and Ruth
explains that Travis was a teacher at a woman's seminary school back
East. He spent most of his time reading penny-dreadfuls and fancies
himself a badman. Ruth gets down to business and explains that she's C.
Palmer and that she runs the ranch. She ships her cattle to nearby Cedar
Wells but the town is filled with criminals and outlaws. Last year she
lost nine of her men to Indians, gamblers, and drunkenness, and the
citizens have run out any lawman that tried to civilize the place. She's
hired a man, Bart Reynolds, to take over as sheriff but hasn't heard
from him. Ruth offers Paladin $1,000 to go to Cedar Wells and make sure
that Bart keeps the job until her herd arrives. Paladin accepts but Ruth
has one more condition: she wants Paladin to take Travis with him and
put him on a train back East. He refuses and she offers him $200, and
Paladin finally agrees but only for what he says are humanitarian
reasons. He also insists that Travis leave his gun behind.
Paladin and Travis ride for Cedar Wells. As they take a break, Travis
explains that he always dreamed of being something more than a teacher,
but admits that he's realized that he'll never be man enough to become a
gunfighter. What he really wants is to teach literature and make it
come alive in the minds of his students, and have a day when people
thought he was somebody who mattered. Paladin admits that it's an
admirable goal and they mount up again.
When the two men arrive
at the stagecoach station, the agent tells them that the stage will be
late because the local head outlaw, Amos Saint, has been shooting them
up. A bruised Bart is waiting for the next stage and Paladin asks him
what happened. Bart tells him to tell Cynthia that he's not taking the
sheriff's job and that the townspeople are too cocky to be afraid of
anything. Paladin gets an idea and tells Travis that he was convincing
when he held the gun on Paladin back at the ranch. Travis is hesitant
when he realizes what Paladin wants, but Paladin takes Bart's gun and
tells Travis that now is the day he wanted where he'd be somebody who
mattered.
Paladin rides into Cedar Wells on his own but no one
pays attention to him. He pulls out his gun and starts shooting up the
place, yelling and acting drunk. Ezra Heath, the local mortician, runs
out to see if he has any new business, but then sees Paladin and
dismisses him as just another rowdy cowboy. When he tells Paladin to
keep it quiet so they can play blackjack, Paladin shoots out the
mortician's sign. Ezra warns him that if Paladin persists then he'll
have to answer to Amos Saint, who runs the town. However, Paladin says
that he's with the Laredo Perkins gang and that he rode in ahead.
As he walks over to the saloon, Paladin confronts two of Amos' men and
decks them. Impressed, an intimidated Ezra starts making up stories
about the Laredo Gang while Paladin grabs a saloon girl and orders
everyone to drink up. The owner comes downstairs with the two men from
outside and Paladin breaks a bottle over his head and takes down his
henchmen.
Once Paladin has spread the tale of Laredo Perkins,
Travis manages to ride into town. When Ezra spots him riding down the
street, he yells a warning and Paladin orders everyone out to welcome
his boss. As Travis rides off, the townspeople beg him not to bring the
rest of his gang into town. Travis just manages to dismount from his
horse without breaking his neck and Paladin, watching from inside, sighs
with relief.
Travis walks around the town making an impression
while Ezra meets with the hotel clerk. Paladin overhears them as they
discuss hiring him to kill Travis. The gunslinger refuses, insisting
Travis is too tough for him, but figures that Bart can handle him. Ezra
grabs onto the idea and goes to get Paladin's horse so he can go to the
station and bring Bart back.
On the street, a young boy named
Theodore talks to Travis and is eager to learn how many people he's killed.
The schoolteacher, Ruth, comes out and tells Ted to come inside for
school. She confronts Travis and tells him that he's a depraved killer.
When she complains about how it's the criminal element that means the
town has a half-dozen saloons but only one run-down schoolhouse, Travis
gets an idea of his own. Theodore asks Travis if he's going to gun down the
schoolteacher, but Travis tells the boy to get all of the townspeople to
school with paint and tools. As Theodore runs off, Travis turns back to Ruth
and starts talking about his theory of teaching students by appealing
to their imagination.
Fearing for their lives, the townspeople
go to work on the school and wait for Paladin to bring Bart back so
he'll kill Travis for them. Meanwhile, Ruth shows Travis her copy of the
complete works of Shakespeare, the only set in the territory. Travis
receives and Ruth stares at him in admiration, admitting that he would
be a great teacher if he wasn't so vicious and depraved.
Amos
and his two men ride into town and the townspeople call Travis out and
then hide. Ezra points out Travis to Amos and explains that he's the
newest outlaw leader in town. However, Amos doesn't back down and
insists on shooting it out, willing to die rather than look like a
coward. Travis refuses and Amos finally walks over to him, takes his
gun, and discovers that there's no firing pin.
As Amos prepares
to kill Travis, Paladin and Bart ride up and open fire. Amos' men go
down and the outlaw leader grabs Ruth and Travis and takes them into the
schoolhouse. Paladin has Bart provide cover fire while he climbs up to
the second floor and climbs in through the window. Meanwhile, Amos tries
to shove the shelf with the copies of Shakespeare to block the window
and Travis finally has enough. He tries to stop Amos but the outlaw
clubs him down. However, Paladin is able to drop down and shoot Amos
dead, while Ruth runs to Travis and makes sure that he's okay.
Later, Paladin tells Travis that it's time to catch the train back East.
Ruth, who still doesn't know who Travis really is, insists that he's
changed his ways and tells him that he will never wear a gun again. She
insists that Travis will help rebuild the school and become a teacher,
and Travis is more than willing to agree. The schoolteacher orders
Paladin out and he plays along, warning them that Travis will never
reform. The gunslinger rides out, leaving Bart in charge of the
now-settled town.
Written by Gadfly on Sep 16, 2018