The Iron Sheriff
A stagecoach is robbed in South Dakota and its driver is killed. A dying man, Gene Walden, tells the sheriff, Sam Galt, that it was Sam's son Benjie who shot the driver. Benjie is engaged to be married to Walden's daughter.
Benjie is placed under arrest. Newspaper publisher Phil Quincy demands to know what Walden said, but Sam won't say. Quincy and the sheriff are in love with the same woman, Claire, whose father was a lawman killed in the line of duty.
Sam brings in a prominent lawyer, Roger Pollock, to defend his son and hires a detective, Sutherland, to help find the real culprits. In time, all evidence points to Benjie being the killer, and against his lawyer's wishes, Sam testifies to what Walden told him. Benjie is found guilty and sentenced to hang.
Coins from the robbery are found in Kathy's hope chest. She conspired in the robbery with Leveret, a telegraph operator who knew the stage's schedule, ambushed it and murdered the driver. Walden unjustly placed the blame on Benjie, disliking him for seducing his daughter. Sam manages to bring Leveret to justice in time to save his son.
murder