The Gentry brothers catch old trapper Floyd killing another cow on the ranch and in an attempt to scare him they string him up for a fake hanging that goes wrong resulting in Old Man Floyd's death.

Matt avoids capture by the three Indian braves and continues on to the telegraph station. Exhausted, he finds out the telegraph lines are down. However, an advisory was issued before while the lines were still operating and Matt finds out who aboard the train sold the bad whiskey to the Indians. Matt borrows a horse from the telegraph operator and heads back to the train. Festus, meantime, is overpowered by panicky train passengers determined to give the Indians the guilty parties. They settle on two men who, it turns out, are deserters from the Army. The men protest, saying they had nothing to do with the whiskey. Matt gets back just in time to prevent the Indians from killing the soldiers. One of the guilty passengers tries to shoot it out with Matt but is killed. The other, whose pregnant wife is aboard the train, prepares to turn himself over to the Indians. Matt, however, convinces the Indians to let the surviving guilty man stand trial. The ordeal, while resolved, will cause major changes in the lives of the passengers, including an engaged couple, a pair of spinster sisters and a con man posing as a priest.