The Yellow Mountain

In Goldfield, former mining partners Andy Martin and Pete Menlo run divergent operations: Martin operates the Fandango saloon/casino/brothel, while Menlo handles mining advice and resources for claims backing the casino's stakes. Their uneasy alliance anchors the town's fortunes as a mining strike looms, with Nevada, Jackpot's daughter, entering the picture as a romantic interest.

They purchase a mine stake and strike it rich, catapulting their fortune. But rival magnate Bannon offers higher pay to the miners, sparking a price war that gnaws at their gains and loyalty.

A confrontation in the street with Bannon's hired guns raises tensions and fans resentments. The conflict marks the opening salvo in a battle over ore, wages, and town power.

Mule drivers drift away from loyalty to either mine as ore transport to the smelter becomes unreliable. The inability to move ore compounds the costs of the price war.

The partners plan to ship a load out of town, but their lawyer betrays them to Bannon. The wagon convoy is ambushed outside Goldfield, leaving Martin unconscious in the desert until he is found and carried back to town.

As Martin makes his way back, a cave-in traps three miners in the mine. Rescue efforts unfold while Menlo and Bannon discuss a plan for a state-wide railway deal that would grant a 50% stake in the town's mines.

Martin arrives and wrongly assumes a double-cross where none exists, dissolving both the business partnership and his romance with Nevada. The misreading sets in motion a fracturing of loyalties and plans.

Martin and Jackpot meet in a casino, and Martin wins Jackpot's mine. A quirk of obscure mining law then reveals that the rights to all the mines are controlled by the owner of Jackpot's mine, who is now Martin.

The lawyer who betrayed Martin is run out of town, removing a key obstacle. Menlo then attempts to buy the mine from Jackpot, only to discover it is owned by Martin and to try buying back via Jackpot.

Martin is attacked again by Bannon's hoodlums and dragged to a meeting with Bannon, who presses to purchase the mine. The encounter tightens the stakes around ownership and control of the ore.

Nevada, Jackpot, and Martin press the mine and uncover high-quality ore capable of dominating the region's strikes. They realize they are being watched by one of Bannon's hoodlums.

Bannon wants to kill the prospectors, but Menlo resists, leading to a fight in which Menlo is knocked unconscious. Hoodlums race to the claims registration office to prevent the party from registering the claim.

A gunfight erupts; the hoodlums are killed, and Menlo reappears in time to stop Bannon from killing Jackpot. The immediate danger passes, but the personal stakes remain high.

The story closes with a fight scene between the two original partners, echoing a moral about business, romance, and old ties, then resolves with a note of reconciliation or fruitless nostalgia.