When a town bank is robbed, Cheyenne discovers a conspiracy of revenge dating back to the Civil War.
Episode Notes[]
- Kevin Brodie, who plays Bart Ainslie, starred with Cheyenne lead Clint Walker in the movie Night of the Grizzly.
Real World References[]
- Cheyenne mentions serving with a fellow Army officer before and during the Custer Massacre.
- The "Camp Six" referenced in this episode could be based on Andersonville, a notorious Confederate prison camp during the Civil War.
Continuity Nitpicks and Errors[]
- Notice any? Add them here.
Plot[]
Cheyenne finds the bank robbers' detonator used to blow up the bridge.
At the stoke of 9 p.m., four men set in motion a well-organized heist of the Lehigh Bank. One man breaks into the vault, another starts a fire in the middle of town, a third cuts the telegraph wires while the fourth detonates the bridge leading out of town. Town plutocrat and bank owner Thackeray Smith surveys the damage. He demands an immediate investigation by the law but the sheriff can't be found. In the meantime, the citizens gathered in the streets celebrate the hated Smith's bad luck.
The next morning, Smith demands to know why Sheriff Cheyenne Bodie wasn't on duty. Cheyenne was paying a call on pretty widow Cora Ainslie and her son Bart, but he's not about to tell Smith and let the cruel man scrutinize his social life.
While out looking for clues with Deputy Maxon, Cheyenne recognizes the robbery tactics as mirroring those of a Confederate general he knew named Hillary Lee. At the telegraph office, he puts out a wire to the War Department for the names of men who served under Lee. They're interrupted by a frantic Bart who needs Cheyenne to come quickly to his office.
Cora and Cheyenne share a tender moment.
Smith and his cronies are threatening Cora in the sheriff's office. She foolishly tried to pay off her mortgage with bills stolen from the bank. A furious Cheyenne confiscates the bills as evidence and forcefully kicks the men out. Later, Cheyenne visits Cora's ranch and demands an explanation, but she won't give up the names of the robbers.
Back in town, the wire from Washington names local hotel owner Andy Clark as serving under Lee. Cheyenne and Maxon arrive at the hotel to arrest him. As Clark confesses to the crime, his accomplices reveal themselves: Robinson the telegraph operator; Evans the bank teller; and even Deputy Maxon. All four remove their shirts to reveal ugly scars. They were former prisoners of war in Colfax Prison, Pennsylvania, run by a cruel man named J.N. Thomas. Thomas got rich there while allowing torture, starvation and death to run rampant.
The men, along with Cora's husband, have been tracking Thomas since he escaped justice at the end of the war, intending to get revenge. They found him in Lehigh using the alias Smith and making the townspeople his prisoners through predatory lending. Sheriff Bodie refuses to let them murder Thomas under his watch. After a tense four-against-one standoff, Clark surrenders as he's certain that no jury will convict them for the robbery if Smith's true identity is revealed in court.
Smith arrives at the jail thinking he will face the bank robbers. But the tables are turned when the incarcerated men confront him for his war crimes. Smith tries to bribe Bodie to kill them and even Cora. Even though he's disgusted by the man, Cheyenne lets him leave, confident that the law will win out in the end.
Smith cries crocodile tears after he's outed by Clark and his men.
The next day, Cheyenne discovers that war crimes charges against Thomas still stand. But before he can move to arrest Smith, a black cloud appears in the sky. Smith's barn has mysteriously exploded with him inside; his lackeys declare it a suicide. Smith's will is found which names Bodie, Cora and the four robbers as heirs.
After Smith is buried, the heirs arrive at Smith's house for the reading of his will. A surprise guest at the event is...Smith himself! He faked his death in order to trap and kill the people who know his true identity. However, Cheyenne didn't believe Smith's fake remorse and brought backup just in case. When Smith tries to kill them, Cheyenne's deputies gun him down.
With Smith truly dead, Cheyenne celebrates with Cora and the townspeople now that they are free of Smith's oppressive mortgages. Smith's horrible legacy is now buried with him.
Quotes[]
"Bart, you know the other night I was telling you how a sheriff comes up against all kinds of men? Well, you're the first one I've run into that measures up to a full man and a half."
- - Cheyenne uses new math to praise Bart Ainslie for doing the right thing.
"How much for the widow?"
- - Cheyenne asks Smith for the bounty on Cora, to see just how depraved the criminal might be.
"This is me...a plain, simple, ordinary sheriff doing a plain, simple, ordinary job: protect the law and jail the lawbreakers."
- - Cheyenne explains that extraordinary circumstances don't change his mission.
"You think I can issue a license to kill? You think I'd let you die on his account?"
- - Cheyenne tries to talk Clark and the others into not taking the law into their own hands regarding Smith.
"I fought in 20 bloody battles. I saw so much death there was only one life in the world that had any meaning to me...my own."
- - Smith/Thomas blames the war for his bad behavior.