Trail Guide

Tim Holt and his sidekick Chito Rafferty serve as trail guides for a group of homesteaders heading toward new lands. As they near their destination, they swing toward Silver Springs to look for work as cowhands. The plan is practical, but trouble looms from competing interests in the West.

Kenny Masters shoots at them and tells them homesteaders are not welcome. Tim and Chito deny that they belong to any homesteaders' group. The hostile encounter sets a tense mood for what follows.

Tim reaches Silver Springs and starts looking for a job, while Chito flirts with Regan's saloon girl. Regan, the saloon owner, breaks up a fight between Kenny and Chito. After the fray, it's revealed that Kenny hired Regan to steal the homesteaders' claims.

Tim and Chito spot a gang leaving town and decide to follow them. The gang ambushes Wheeler, the homesteaders' wagon master, and steals the homesteaders' claim papers and money. Wheeler cannot identify the attackers, but Tim and Chito find a gun at the scene and head to the Masters' ranch to press Kenny and Regan on the crime.

Tim and Chito head to the Masters' cattle ranch to question the Masters and Kenny about the Wheeler assault. The Masters deny any involvement, and Regan's guilt is not confronted directly yet. The men leave with the impression that the matter will be pursued in town.

Back in town, Tim and Chito discover that the marshal has been killed. Tim begins to see that the ownership of the gun may be more important than the feud between ranchers and homesteaders. The case deepens and raises the stakes for everyone involved.

Kenny asks Peg for some of their deceased father's money but won't explain why. He goes to Regan's saloon to gamble, prompting Tim to accuse him of gambling with the homesteaders' funds. Regan's men pick a fight with Tim in the bar, but the attempt fails and Tim and Chito escape.

Back at the homesteaders' caravan, Peg tends Wheeler's injuries and signals a willingness to negotiate with the other ranchers to allow the homesteaders to stay. Peg denies that the gun found belongs to Kenny, trying to downplay the conflict. She holds the line that the homesteaders deserve a chance to settle there.

Peg returns to the Masters' ranch to find Kenny packing to leave, unaware that Regan and his henchman Dawson have already come by to threaten him. Tim and Chito intervene as Kenny's departure approaches; Dawson shoots Kenny, under Regan's watchful eye. Tim gives chase to Dawson, while Regan confronts Chito over Kenny's death.

Tim heads to Regan's saloon and subdues Dawson. Dawson tries to grab a gun from Regan's desk and, in the struggle, reveals the location of the homesteaders' claim papers implicating Regan. Chito escapes, reunites with Tim, and the two hurry to the Masters' ranch with Dawson in tow.

Returning to the Masters' ranch, Regan accuses Chito of killing her brother, causing Peg to turn against the homesteaders. Peg decides to leave with Regan, while Chito is held captive at the ranch. The balance of power shifts as Regan tightens his grip on the situation.

Tim and Chito, with Dawson, arrive back at the Masters' ranch where Regan makes a last attempt to escape but is subdued. The truth about the killings and Regan's plot is brought into the light as he is restrained. Peg's alliance with Regan has left the homesteaders in a vulnerable position.

The homesteaders arrive in town and Peg offers Tim and Chito jobs. Chito declines to stay because Maria, another homesteader, might pressure him into marriage. Tim, determined to keep Chito out of trouble, leaves to continue their journey elsewhere.