The Virginian (James Drury of "Ride the High Country") is minding his own business when he checks into a hotel, but things change when he hears a woman cry out in fear in the room, number eleven, across the hall. He bursts in and in the darkness, two men stumble out, and our gallant hero finds himself face to face with an old flame. Jenny Davis (Janet Leigh of "Psycho") is recovering from being attacked by two men. When the Virginian urges Jenny to report the assault to the local constabulary as well as check herself out with a physician, Jenny refuses. The following day the Virginian boards the stagecoach with Jenny. Before he climbs into it, he encounters a curious man who is asking questions about the stagecoach. The Virginian challenges the scruffy looking man with a six-gun buckled across his waist, but the man, Wardlow (Myron Healey of "Journey to Shiloh"), deflects the Virginian. The stagecoach pulls out of town with the Virginian and Jenny sharing the same side of the coach with an older man, Randolf (Charles Drake of "No Name on a Bullet"), and a young woman, Mary Ann Travers (Jo Ann Harris of "The Beguiled"), who gets chummy with everybody. Randolf coughs a lot and he doesn't appear in the best of health. Not long after they embark on their journey, the Virginian spots three horsemen riding after them. The stagecoach driver (one-time only actor Joe Trela) tells the Virginian that he has been keeping tabs on them, too. He urges the four-horse team to greater speed. Before he realizes it, he loses a rear wheel and the stagecoach breaks down. The Virginian suggests that Jenny and occupants take refuge in some nearby rocks, while the driver cuts out a horse and rides off to get another wheel. Meanwhile, Kinroy (John Ireland of "Red River"), Mort (Christopher Dark of "Suddenly"), and Alfie (Lew Brown of "Telefon") are three gunmen who have been bothering Jenny and following the stagecoach. Eventually, Jenny relents and tells the Virginian that she has been married to an outlaw who just got out of prison and they were going to a place called Dry River to unearth the loot from a robbery. Kinroy, Mort, and Alfie were her husband's accomplices and they have been following her to get their share of the loot. Kinroy and company take the remaining horses and riddle the water keg attached to the rear of the way. As it turns out, the sick gentleman is Jenny's husband who got out of prison because he was too sick to serve out his sentence. The poor man has spent six years behind bars and he was hoping to start over with the loot. Kinroy and company get the drop on the Virginian and company when Mary Ann scrambles down to the stagecoach to get something to ease Randolf's anguish. Kinroy convinces Randolf to divulge the location of the loot on condition that he share the discovery with Jenny. The Virginian, Jenny, Alfie, and Kinroy ride off to a mining camp and unearth the money in a strongbox under the floor boards of a shack. The Virginian gets the drop on Kinroy and Alfie, but Wardlow shows up at the last minute and surprises everybody. As it turns out, Wardlow is a Pinkerton agent who has been keeping tabs on Jenny and Randolf. At fade-out, Jenny and Randolf are left alone in a hotel room while Wardlow escorts Kinroy and Alfie back to jail.
Scenarist Arthur Heinemann penned three other episodes of "The Virginian," and former "Gunsmoke" producer Norman MacDonald produced this episode that occurs out of Medicine Bow and on the trail in the desert wasteland. Veteran television director Harry Harris, who started out helming "The Texan" and directed 81 TV episodes of a variety of shows including "Gunsmoke," "7th Heaven," "Branded," and "Lost in Space," keeps the action on the move. This is one of those episodes that doesn't occur on Shiloh ranch. Only one man is shot and killed along the way as the outlaws struggle to recover the stolen loot. This above-average episode isn't bad, and Janet Leigh is a deception dame.
Scenarist Arthur Heinemann penned three other episodes of "The Virginian," and former "Gunsmoke" producer Norman MacDonald produced this episode that occurs out of Medicine Bow and on the trail in the desert wasteland. Veteran television director Harry Harris, who started out helming "The Texan" and directed 81 TV episodes of a variety of shows including "Gunsmoke," "7th Heaven," "Branded," and "Lost in Space," keeps the action on the move. This is one of those episodes that doesn't occur on Shiloh ranch. Only one man is shot and killed along the way as the outlaws struggle to recover the stolen loot. This above-average episode isn't bad, and Janet Leigh is a deception dame.
