- An assailant leaps Tarzan-style from a tree, murdering a wealthy rancher riding a horse. The victim's brother flies cross-country to hire Peter Gunn to disprove the Texas coroner's verdict of accidental death. The big city PI sticks out like a gun in a haystack compared to the suspiciously lackadaisical local sheriff, but Gunn rounds up a Texas-size line-up of prime suspects, who might turn and stampede him.—David Stevens
- Prologue: A man on horseback is out riding, he goes under a tree and someone on a branch from above assaults him with a rifle butt, knocking him out and to the ground, sits on his chest doing something to him, leaving him lying unconscious, and rides off. At Mother's, Pete is introduced to Clay Baxter, whose brother Ross was killed on his ranch, and he wants Pete to find who killed him. Pete goes to Texas finding life on the ranch different from the city, to say the least. At morning coffee at the table with Clay Baxter, Pete is introduced to Ross's widow, Wilma, and Sheriff Jim Billings. At the horse stable, Pete meets Frank Kelly, one of Clay Baxter's top hands, and a colder reception was never received, suspicious, argumentative and just plain unfriendly. Pete, Clay and the Sheriff go to look at the area where Ross was assaulted and left to die. Pete asks, about why would anyone kill Ross. Clay tells him 40,000 acres of ranch, owned half with Clay, worth $25,000,000, his wife is the beneficiary. The Sheriff pipes up and says you have to prove he was murdered, not an accident and hit his head on a rock, like the one in Pete's hand under the tree where Ross was attacked. Pete returns to the horse stable later, Ross's horse had an inflamed area on its left flank, suspecting Wilma, Clay himself, Frank, with the Sheriff insisting it was an accident. Pete rides out to the accident area again, alone, picks up a rock, hears a noise, remounts and continues on with someone following behind on horseback. A thin instrument was jammed into Ross' eyelid, piercing his brain, which is how he was killed, per the coroner telling Clay, the Sheriff and Pete the next morning just outside the coroner's office. Pete said it likely was the same way Ross' horse was injured. Pete tells how the horse was stuck intentionally. Pete asks about who found Ross's body and that he would like to meet them; two ornery coots, brothers, Phineas and Luke Merryweather. Clay and Pete jeep their way out 10 miles from town to an old silver mine where Merryweathers reside in their shack cabin. They are welcomed with gunfire, but Pete manages to get permission to visit. No comment from either of the old boys if they killed Ross. They take a shot over Pete's shoulder as he leaves, claiming it was a rabbit. As Clay is just starting to drive away, Clay is hit with another gun shot. Back at the ranch the doctor says Clay will recover, the gunshot went clear through, just under the collarbone. Clay was shot with a rifle, the Merryweathers used shotguns. Wilma was on the couch playing solitaire when the doc walked out of the bedroom with the news on Clay, afterward, she is nowhere to be found, as the sheriff seeks to tell her of Clay's condition. Pete borrows a surgical probe from the doctor. The doctor is also the coroner, same man, dual titles. Pete removes a fragment from the Ross horse's left flank, Wilma happens along, talking to Pete of his veterinarian skills. He tells Wilma, somebody jammed a needle in the horse's flank to purposely make the animal pull up lame, someone also tried to kill him that afternoon, they missed, shot and wounded Clay instead. Mrs. Baxter claimed her husband was killed accidentally, Pete asks to borrow one of her horses to ride out to get a sworn statement from the Merryweathers. Pete surprises the men at suppertime, requesting their help in trapping the killer before he kills them. Along comes Frank, shoots through the window at the figures seated at the table, comes in to find clothes only at the table with Pete ducked below, gun drawn. Frank flips the table over, runs out the front door greeted by the Merryweathers, their guns pointed at Frank, with Pete behind, gun once again, drawn. Asks Frank why he killed Ross Baxter, he said Wilma promised him half the ranch, Pete says you can tell it to the Sheriff, when he starts a fist fight with Pete. Pete wins eventually. Pete enters Mother's in his western garb, everyone has their jaws open, invites Edie to dinner, with his ten-gallon hat to Barney.
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