As a youngster of about ten years old in 1827, young Jim Hawk makes his way into the office of then Tennessee Governor Sam Houston, begging him to pardon his father for a crime he committed. The governor explains that the man was found guilty by a jury of his peers, and that his sentence to death by hanging was lawful. Houston is shocked when the boy declares that he'll kill him one day in retribution for his father.
Fast forward to Texas in 1844, and Jim Hawk (John Derek) finds himself among a band of outlaws who wouldn't mind seeing Houston dead themselves. Accepting the challenge, Hawk confronts now Texas President Houston, and is talked down from his mission after Houston realizes who his assailant is.
By this time, Hawk's embarrassment at not being able to read or write has him seek out a school teacher (Marcia Henderson) to help him become literate. After a short time, Hawk is reading well enough to tackle a passage on justice and the law, and begins to understand that his future depends on educating himself and being a productive citizen. Once again, a simplistic ending to a complex dilemma offered by one of these Ford TV Theatre presentations, a product of a simpler time when television was just beginning to find it's legs as an entertainment medium.
Fast forward to Texas in 1844, and Jim Hawk (John Derek) finds himself among a band of outlaws who wouldn't mind seeing Houston dead themselves. Accepting the challenge, Hawk confronts now Texas President Houston, and is talked down from his mission after Houston realizes who his assailant is.
By this time, Hawk's embarrassment at not being able to read or write has him seek out a school teacher (Marcia Henderson) to help him become literate. After a short time, Hawk is reading well enough to tackle a passage on justice and the law, and begins to understand that his future depends on educating himself and being a productive citizen. Once again, a simplistic ending to a complex dilemma offered by one of these Ford TV Theatre presentations, a product of a simpler time when television was just beginning to find it's legs as an entertainment medium.