A good natured young man asks Binks, the cranky stable owner and general store proprietor for a job. The young man, Tim Farland, is trying to raise money to pay off a loan on his ranch. Binks says he has no job openings, so he and Jim Hardie suggest Tim try the Gopher Hole ranch, who has horses that need breaking. But the Gopher Hole men are a mean bunch, and Farland comes away badly injured when he's forced to try and ride a wild horse. As it happens, Hardie already has his eye on the Gopher Hole ranch in relation to a robbery where a Wells Fargo agent was murdered.
This episode doesn't have a lot of action other than a few fisticuffs and a brief shootout, but there are some good characters and a fairly interesting plot, although not particularly epic.
The Gopher Hole gang aren't going to a lot of trouble concealing the fact that they're up to no good. The ranch is an obvious cover. They aren't working it, and they have agressive guards posted. They're extremely suspicious, and it's well known how mean they are. Plus, they seem to have plenty of money, always paying in gold coin. It takes Hardie about 10 seconds to zero in on them as suspects in the recent robbery and murder.
I liked Binks' character, he was gruff on the outside but that was more of an act. Hardie would razz him a little and he'd break out with a sheepish smile. Charles Wagenheim appeared in mostly bit parts over his long career.
Tim Farland is a stand-up young man...respectful, good-natured, and resourceful. Chuck Courtney had a modest career, but he did appear in Star Trek.
Walter Coy as Dude Randall was the best known of the bunch, appearing in The Searchers for one. He could play sneering villains extremely well, as in this one.
A decent watch overall, with Hardie being lucky to have men like Binks and Farland to back him up.
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