Drought and crop failure leave Dodge without fruit or vegetables and a farming widow and her son very ill with scurvy. 

Doc, carrying money on an errand for Matt, is found near death. In Matt's absence, the townsfolk figure there's no need to wait for official justice to deal with those deemed responsible. Outside of Dodge, a trapper rides upon two men leaning over a body. Thinking it's a robbery, he shoots at them and runs them off. When he sees it's the Doc, he takes him into Dodge and tells everyone what happened. His story changes with each telling and when they catch them the town wants to do nothing less than lynch them both.