The night before the herd enters Abilene to end the drive Huggins falls sick. Favor has Don Grenfell take him to Abilene. Grenfell plans to stay at a hotel away from the gambling and drinking as he loves gambling. Due to an injured back he hopes to leave the cattle business and start a new career and maybe family. Because the Texan House Hotel is full, most of the men are forced to stay at the Oddity House Hotel with Grenfell. Not only are the men out of place in the upscale hotel, Huggins may have smallpox and the men are quarantined. Rowdy's nemesis Jack Harris wants to kill him while Jack's friend Vada Nordquist wants to deal cards to build a nest egg. Favor needs to leave town to make the payment on a ranch or he will forfeit his deposit. Jack and Vada are allowed to enter but not leave the hotel to entertain the men with cards and liquor. Rowdy and Favor both decide to try to break out but Favor stops Rowdy and changes his mind later when Huggins dies. Jack tries for revenge against Rowdy but Grenfell stops him after Vada cleans out Grenfell's own nest egg putting him into the same situation as Favor who lost his ranch. Veda then learns about Grenfell's injury which is now worse.
—Anonymous