Lucky brings news that Hoppy's brother Buddy has been murdered by a dishonest deputy sheriff and the coroner's jury has ruled the killing accidental at the urging of solid citizen Henry Stoneham. Hoppy vows vengeance and enters the town under the assumed identity of a hardened outlaw. Lucky and Windy also enter the town covertly without revealing their relationship to him. When Hoppy makes it clear to flirtatious dance hall hostess Faro Annie that he intends to set up illicit operations in the area, he is threatened by the apparent leader of the local gang, saloon owner Ace Crowder. Crowder cautions him that he must split his proceeds with the Lone Wolf, the real power behind the outlaw organization, whose true identity remains secret. Hoppy insists on meeting him and refuses to deal with a second in command. Cassidy is later contacted by the Lone Wolf, who wants to recruit him into his operations. Although he appears in disguise when they negotiate. Cassidy notices a very distinctive ring on the criminal's finger and is later able to identify the outlaw mastermind as Stoneham, the railroad's representative in the territory. However, when Hoppy is wounded and captured before he can expose the truth, the outcome comes into doubt.
—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)