Overland Telegraph

Tim Holt and Chito Rafferty are looking for work when they help Terry down from a telegraph pole at her father's operation. Terry suggests they try Colonel Marvin at Fort Craig for employment, setting up a potential new path for their lives. This encounter places the telegraph operation at the center of the upcoming conflict.

Marvin has just been ordered to shut down the fort because the telegraph has rendered it obsolete. This decision would ruin Paul Manning, who supplies the fort with equipment and horses and fears he cannot marry Stella. Brad Roberts advises Paul to go ahead with the wedding despite the looming financial collapse.

Six masked men attack Terry's camp and destroy the telegraph wires. Tim shoots and wounds one attacker, Steve, before Tim, Chito, and Terry flee on horseback. The assault marks the beginning of a sabotage-driven thread running through the story.

Tim and Chito trail the assailants to Mesa City, where Steve and Bellew seek help from Brad. Brad shoots Steve and claims it was suicide, fueling Tim and Chito's suspicions about his involvement. The plot thickens as the relationships between characters become more murky.

Terry hires Tim and Chito as guards on a stagecoach carrying a $10,000 payroll. Paul Manning pays off Bellew in Brad's office, pleased that sabotage has delayed the payroll by $50,000. After Paul leaves, Brad hires Bellew to steal the Muldoos payroll, hoping to redirect suspicion away from Paul.

Bellew and Joe ambush the stage, which is transporting Stella and Terry's father Muldoon. They grab Muldoon's bag and Stella's purse, and shoot Muldoon just before Tim and Chito arrive to chase them off. The robbery escalates the tension surrounding Stella, Paul, and Brad.

Chito takes Paul to jail to await the sheriff. Muldoon dies from his wounds, and Terry organizes a lynching party for Paul, who admits involvement in sabotage but refuses to implicate Brad. Tim convinces Paul to ride to Crockerville for the wedding with Stella, a plan overheard by Bellew who informs Brad.

As Tim and Paul ride toward Crockerville, Bellew and Joe open fire. Paul is wounded, but Tim captures Joe. Paul then guides Tim to Brad's nearby ranch house to recuperate from his injuries.

Bellew reports back to Brad, who orders Bellew to round up more men to find Tim and Paul. Tim finds Stella's stolen purse at Brad's house, and Paul reveals Brad's part in the sabotage. Paul realizes Brad is trying to frame him because of his love for Stella.

Chito identifies Joe's horse near the doctor's office and ties up Joe, informing Tim. Joe is later freed by Brad and Bellew, who head for Brad's house, prompting Chito to ride to Terry's camp for help.

Tim and Paul confront Brad's gang at Brad's house; Bellew sets the house on fire, but Tim and Paul extinguish the blaze. Chito arrives with Terry as Tim shoots and captures Brad, ending the immediate threat.

With the danger resolved, Paul and Stella finally marry, bringing a sense of resolution after a bout of sabotage, betrayal, and pursuit. The couple's union marks the emotional culmination of the turmoil that defined the earlier events.