A boy chases a rabbit into a cave and there's a cave-in. Cheyenne Bodie and his friend Char, a former fellow Army scout, ride by together soon after, part company, and then Char finds the boy's pinto pony. Minutes later, a group of men from Gainesville overtake Cheyenne and tell him there's a missing boy. He says he'll be on the lookout and rides on toward town. The men then see Char with the boy's pinto. From that point on, there's a lot of jumping to conclusions based on prejudices and past conflict with the nearby Sioux camp. Before the white men and the Sioux finally reach a kind of détente, events multiply quickly.
First of all, the people accuse Char of kidnapping the boy in revenge for the sheriff's shooting Char's brother. Next, Cheyenne won't abandon his friend and that loyalty causes the sheriff and his deputy to threaten him and, before long, accuse him of being in league with Char and the rest of the Sioux. Add to the mix the saloon owner, who reveals her deep, dark secret to Bodie and asks him to help her. Being Cheyenne Bodie, he tries to do just that and ends up being accused of all sorts of further offenses. There's a great deal of misunderstanding before the satisfying resolution, when the boy is reunited with his family and the most offensive player is found out and sent packing, literally. Cheyenne even saves that rabbit!
Although there are tense moments, it's a feel-good story, a pleasant change from some of the grimy, violent narratives in the series. The sheriff winds up being very glad that he took a chance on Cheyenne Bodie, and Bodie leaves knowing that his Sioux brothers can live in relative peace with the people of Gainesville. Dean Fredericks (as Norman Frederic) is Char; he always makes a convincing Native American, as he has done in several episodes of "Cheyenne." Claude Akins (with the second deepest voice in the show) plays the sheriff, a hard-headed man who learns that there are ways of settling a conflict other than with a gun or a spiky belt. Randy Stuart is Peg Ellis, the ex-dancehall girl turned saloon owner, who wants only for her child to be taken care of and have a happy life. Clint Walker's velvet voice carries the show in more ways than one. Cheyenne Bodie speaks truth and common sense, and he also has the unwavering determination to stay around long enough to make sure justice is done.
First of all, the people accuse Char of kidnapping the boy in revenge for the sheriff's shooting Char's brother. Next, Cheyenne won't abandon his friend and that loyalty causes the sheriff and his deputy to threaten him and, before long, accuse him of being in league with Char and the rest of the Sioux. Add to the mix the saloon owner, who reveals her deep, dark secret to Bodie and asks him to help her. Being Cheyenne Bodie, he tries to do just that and ends up being accused of all sorts of further offenses. There's a great deal of misunderstanding before the satisfying resolution, when the boy is reunited with his family and the most offensive player is found out and sent packing, literally. Cheyenne even saves that rabbit!
Although there are tense moments, it's a feel-good story, a pleasant change from some of the grimy, violent narratives in the series. The sheriff winds up being very glad that he took a chance on Cheyenne Bodie, and Bodie leaves knowing that his Sioux brothers can live in relative peace with the people of Gainesville. Dean Fredericks (as Norman Frederic) is Char; he always makes a convincing Native American, as he has done in several episodes of "Cheyenne." Claude Akins (with the second deepest voice in the show) plays the sheriff, a hard-headed man who learns that there are ways of settling a conflict other than with a gun or a spiky belt. Randy Stuart is Peg Ellis, the ex-dancehall girl turned saloon owner, who wants only for her child to be taken care of and have a happy life. Clint Walker's velvet voice carries the show in more ways than one. Cheyenne Bodie speaks truth and common sense, and he also has the unwavering determination to stay around long enough to make sure justice is done.
