Western Jamboree

The Circle J Ranch comes under pressure as foreman Gene Autry and the staff await the arrival of new owner Van Fleet with uneasy expectations. They hear rumors that outlaws are searching for a helium gas floe on the property, a prize that could be sold to foreign powers for dirigibles. The tension hints at upheaval to come and the danger of losing control over the valuable gas. This fragile calm sets the stage for the looming confrontation.

An attack on one of the ranch hands confirms the immediate threat, and Gene Autry and Frog Milhouse decide to pursue the outlaws. They track them toward the trail while vowing to stop the theft and protect the helium source. The pursuit marks the first sustained clash between ranch men and criminals. The stakes rise as the gas floe remains a coveted prize.

In an abandoned house near the trail, Gene and Frog find Dad Haskell claiming to be the Circle J owner and saying his daughter Betty will arrive from the east. To maintain the ruse, Gene agrees to keep up the pretence and let Dad play the part of owner while the real arrangement unfolds. He converts the Circle J into a temporary dude ranch to keep up appearances until the true owner arrives. The discovery deepens the deception and sets Betty on a misinformed path.

Betty arrives with her fiancé Walter Gregory and his mother, and Gene pretends to rescue her from Frog, who is posing as an Indian. Betty is startled and angry when she learns it was all a gag rather than a real rescue. The staged incident tests her patience and seals the dynamic between Betty, Dad, and Gene at the ranch.

That night Betty tells her father that Mrs. Gregory allowed her to charge $1,500 worth of clothing to her account, and she needs to repay it soon. Dad Haskell, eager to preserve the ruse, writes a bad check to cover the debt, hoping he can win the money back later at cards. The financial tangle adds personal pressure to the growing peril surrounding the gas.

The next day, Gene and Betty ride together and accidentally discover the helium source, finally confirming the gas floe's location. The outlaws who have been tailing Gene now know where the gas can be accessed. Suspicion also falls on Randolph Kimball, the chemist who once dismissed the gas's value, framing him as a potential conspirator.

Van Fleet arrives at the Circle J to assert control over the property, but he is intercepted by Frog and ranch hand Joe Frisco who tie him up to keep the owner away from trouble. Gene unexpectedly frees him when he comes upon the enraged owner, unwittingly releasing a man who will soon decide the ranch's fate. The jailbreak heightens the tension between the real owner and the ranch hands.

Doc Trimble wins enough money at cards to cover Dad's bad check, easing the immediate financial threat. Van Fleet then arrives, furious, and throws everyone off the ranch—including Walter and his mother—who want nothing more to do with Betty and Dad. The confrontation punctuates the fragile peace and the growing conflict over the gas and the ownership.

Gene devises a bold plan and fills an aeronautical balloon with helium, sending Frog aloft in a basket to scout from the sky. From above, Frog spots the outlaw pipeline feeding the cave where the gas is stored. The rooftop reconnaissance becomes a turning point that ties the ranch to the criminals' hideout.

Gene punctures Frog's balloon with a bullet, sending them toward the outlaws' cave for a direct confrontation. A tense shootout erupts as Gene and the squad storm the hideout, and they capture most of the gang and Kimball as he tries to escape in a truck. The successful assault secures the gas and cripples the criminals' operation.

Impressed by Gene's initiative, Van Fleet offers him the position of ranch manager, signaling a new era for Circle J. Betty decides that Gene would make a much better husband than her former fiancé, sealing the couple's future. With the danger resolved, the ranch settles into a new balance under Gene's leadership.