Enredo

A notorious outlaw befriends a young girl while hiding out in a Mormon wagon train headed for Utah.

It's just after the civil war when the elderly outlaw Bascomb and his gang try to rob a bank. They run into a trap as officers are waiting in ambush. Bascomb and the cold blooded killer Yancey escape and join a Mormon wagon train heading for Utah. They learn there is gold hidden on the train and eventually Yancey finds it. The plan is to take the gold and flee but a nine year old girl has become attached to Bascomb and Bascomb is beginning to change his mind.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

In the 1860s after the Civil War, governors from Wyoming, Nebraska and Dakota as for federal help to stop the area's banditry. John Fulton is the head of 10 federal agents sent to arrest outlaw Zeb (Bad) Bascomb and his gang. Fulton and the governors know little about the elusive Zeb, except that he has a rope burn scar on the back of his neck from an attempted lynching and he is left-handed. Fulton also has information on Bart Yancey who is described as a renegade white, raised by Indians. Bascomb has a network of spies, including one of the attendees at the governor's meeting. When Bascomb gets word of the federal agents he sends one of his men, Curly, to Timber City to drop word that Bascomb and his gang are going to Mineral Wells and with the law misdirected the gang will rob the bank in Timber City. Jimmy Holden has just joined the gang to be with his father but arrives two days after his father gets killed and Zeb has taken the young man under his wing and Zeb who is illiterate has Jimmy do any required reading. While practicing using his right hand to shoot, Elder Moab McCabe, a lone Mormon missionary out recruiting converts to Elijah Walker's caravan to Utah, rides up on horseback to see what the shooting is about thinking it might be the Mormon scouts hunting. Bart Yancey is suspicious of the missionary and after Zeb sends McCabe on his way Bart shoots and kills him in cold blood and Zeb has words with him about who's in charge. Meanwhile, in Timber City Curly and the spy from the governor's meeting have been captured by Fulton and the law and an ambush is arranged for the Bascomb gang. The Bascomb gang of 30 to 40 men ride into Timber City at night and start shooting up the town. Bascomb breaks into the bank and Yancey is out front when he notices Jimmy is taking advantage of the confusion and attempting to escape by riding out of town and Bart shoots him in the back. Bascomb and Yancey escape together with Fulton and a posse in pursuit but the bandits evade them in the dark. The next day Zeb and Bart come across the Mormon wagon train and decide to join it and hide out from the federal officers. Zeb glibly lies to Elijah Walker and the others, says his name is Ezekial Smith and Bart is Johnathan Briggs, and that they were with Elder McCabe when he was killed by outlaws. Walker invites the two men to join the caravan and they meet McCabe's daughter and granddaughter Dora. That night after dinner, Zeb is still hungry and steals some meat from the larder and while hiding and eating it he is discovered by little 9-year old Emmy who threatens to turn him in and they end up sharing the stolen meat. This is the first of several conversations the two have and Emmy displays her penchant for spelling words which confounds the illiterate Zeb (Zeke). The next morning two men are informed they have to the heavy work for the unmarried women in the caravan. The men are told to choose which women they want to help. Zeb originally chooses to work for the attractive widow Annie Fremont but Emmy again threatens to tell about the meat theft and coerces Zeb into picking her grandmother Abbey instead. Bart makes his choice by asking whether the women have horses or oxen and goes to work for sisters Tillie and Lucy Lovejoy who have horses. One day, the caravan's scouts ride in with the injured and unconscious Jimmy Holden. Jimmy is nursed back to health by Dr. Luther Mason and Dora who is his nurse. Zeb and Bart coerce Jimmy into keeping quiet about who they are and to say he was shot by Indians. The three plan to break away and rejoin the gang at Shoshonee Pass when Jimmy is healed. Jimmy is smitten with Dora and tells her he is contemplating going to Utah and getting married and settled down. Jimmy tells Zeb he is not rejoining the outlaws and Zeb wishes him luck. Zeb and Yancey are just about to slip away when Zeb talking to the Lovejoy sisters discovers that the wagon train is carrying a cache of gold that the Mormons intend to use to build a hospital. Zeb and Bart delay their departure so they can search the wagon train and find the gold. Fulton and posse show up looking for members of the Bascomb gang and Zeb and Yancey get caught by Emmy trying to slip away and Zeb returns and is interviewed by Fulton. During the meeting, Emmy suggests Jimmy was probably shot by the outlaws but he states he was shot by Indians. Later, Jimmy is suspicious of why Zeb and Bart haven't ridden on and he warns them to stay out of trouble. Zeb and Bart begin searching all the wagons for the hidden gold. Zeb comes up with a plan to get the wagon train to cross the river so that everything will get wet and they can search more easily when everything is out of the wagons drying off. Yancey, who grew up in this area, is dispatched to make with contact the Indian tribes and uses smoke signals to do so. The Indians agree to help force the wagon train across the river out of their hunting grounds and send up more smoke signals. When the wagon train attempts a dangerous river crossing, Abbey's wagon tips over and Emmy falls into the water and is rescued by Zeb. Zeb convinces the wagon train to have a celebratory dance that night but the his real purpose is to give himself and Bart a chance to find the gold. Emmy borrows a dress and meets Zeb and shows him a gold ring that she claims is hers. Zeb gives Emmy a lecture about stealing and in his frustration to get her to leave them to search for the gold he pushes Emmy to the ground. Emmy, believing that Zeb no longer loves her, runs away from the caravan camp during the dance. The camp spreads out to search and Zeb finds Emmy, they reconcile and he returns her to the wagon train but she becomes ill. Bart meanwhile has found the gold hidden in a false bottom of Walker's wagon. Zeb is torn between his concern for Emmy and stealing the gold. Zeb decides to forgo the theft and stay with Emmy. Bart, however, tries to steal the gold on his own, and is caught by Elijah Walker who he shoots. Zeb shoots at Yancey who drops the gold and escapes. In his dying words, Elijah appoints Zeb to lead the caravan to Utah. During Walker's funeral Zeb notices Indian smoke signs and his first order as the caravan leader is to prepare for the impending Indian attack. Zeb find Jimmy saddling a horse with plans to ride to Fort Bonneville for help. Zeb knock Jimmy out and takes his place. Zeb swims his horse across the river through the Indian camp. He is seen and engages in a running battle with several pursuers. Zeb is shot off his horse and falls into a river where he ambushes and kills his attacker. Zeb takes the Indian pony and rides to fort shooting one more pursuer on the way. Bart is with the Indians preparing for the attack which he has incited so he can get the gold. Zeb's riderless horse returns to the Mormon camp just as the Indians attack. Zeb arrives at the fort and gets help, including Fulton who offers to ride along. Zeb returns to the camp with U.S. Cavalry reinforcements just in time to save the Mormons from a massacre as their circled wagons have been breached. Zeb finds Bart attempting to steal the gold, they fight and Zeb stabs Bart with his own knife. During their struggle, Zeb loses his neckerchief and Fulton discovers Zeb's rope burn and arrests him. Zeb convinces Fulton to let him talk to the Mormons and make his own explanations and Fulton agrees and lends him his handkerchief. Zeb tells the Mormons he is just going along with Fulton to help identify Bascomb and that he will be back in a few days and he leaves Jimmy in charge. Zeb bids Emmy farewell and leaves her a button as Emmy realizes that Zeb is not coming back. Zeb rides away with Fulton saying his farewells and engaging in one last spelling exchange with Emmy on the word darling.