Parmalee sends Reese, Chad and Joe undercover, disguised as prospectors, to find Lazyfoot and his gang. In Aggie's Saloon they meet Grubby Sully who says he needs partners to get to his goldmine because it's in territory controlled by Lazyfoot. Chad and Joe lead the local sheriff to believe Reese is a wanted sheep rustler, giving them time to ride off with Grubby while Reese is locked up. The three are captured by Lazyfoot and Reese tracks them down. He frees only Grubby who he hopes will lead him to the gold mine. Reese returns to free Chad and Joe and foil Lazyfoot's plan to ambush Captain Parmalee and his reinforcements with a gattling gun. He then heads back to the mine. Chad and Joe get credit for the rescue and Parmalee thinks Reese was out looking for gold the entire time. Grubby eludes them and waves goodbye from the distance on the way to his real mine.
Parmalee sends Reese, Chad and Joe to Porfirio to investigate Mexican bandits but find elderly Alvar de Aveles flying a Mexican flag over the jail on Alamo Day. Reese breaks into the jail, through the roof, and talks to de Aveles. As this happens de Aveles companions, unknown to or approved by him, rob the entire town, including Chad and Joe. When they emerge from the jail Reese is knocked out and taken prisoner. Chad and Joe must stop the Mexican Bandits before they cross the border with Reese. Since everything was stolen they have to acquire boots, horses, guns, etc. along the way. After crossing the border Reese is made to walk and Aveles willingly joins him. When Chad and Joe catch up Reese gets to fight the gang's leader, Paco Vargas.
A New Hampshire deputy constable named Clendon Macmillan comes to Laredo with 9 years of experience, intending to improve the quality of the average Ranger. He would like to apply his modern law enforcement techniques to what he refers to as "" the most primitive law enforcement organization in the country - the Texas Rangers."" He is sent out with Reese, Chad, and Joe to track Running Antelope and Linda Little Trees. Chad and Joe take a fiendish delight enjoying the fact that no man has ever rubbed Reese the wrong way as easily as MacMillan does. They arrive at a town just raided by Running Antelope and find Linda Little Trees in jail. While the rest are having steaks with the Marshall Little Trees talks MacMillan into releasing her, saying she will take him to their hideout. He is taken prisoner and rescued by Reese, Chad and Joe. Upon their return to Laredo Parmalee offers MacMillan the toughest Ranger assignment ever but MacMillan declines saying he's needed back in New Hampsh
Reese, Chad and Joe chase Durkee, a wanted man, into Captain Parmalee's office only to find out he is seeking amnesty in return for information about the Jamison Gang. The three of them are assigned to work with him and sent to Arillo. Meanwhile, Sam Burns is trying to force Annamay, a widow with two children, off her ranch so he and Jamison can get the silver bars the Gang buried in her barn's floor. The Rangers help Annamay and the children repair her wagon wheel and she takes a liking to Reese, who the children are soon calling ""Uncle Reese"". Annamay learns of the silver and switches it to a new hiding place. Jamison and Gang threaten Annamay and the children as the Rangers hurry to rescue them and recover the silver.
Emily, an old girlfriend of Chad's, appears in Laredo with her father, a railroad tycoon. He offers Chad a $400 a month job, whether the romance between he and Emily works out or not. Reese and Joe try different schemes to bust up the romance but they backfire and Chad proposes to Emily and resigns from the Rangers. Reese and Joe are sent out to protect a wagon train from a possible Indian attack and they use it as one last ploy to keep Chad in Laredo. Reese rides back reporting that the train has been attacked but Chad doesn't believe him. Reese heads back and finds out the wagon train really is under attack, sending a rider back to Laredo. While waiting for the stage with Emily and her father Chad sees Parmalee with other Rangers leaving town and finds out Joe and Reese are in danger. He tells Emily he has to go and will catch up with the stage. She delivers an ultimatum that he must leave right away if he wants her. Chad tells her off, catches up with Parmalee, who reinstat
Chad sneaks into the barracks at night wearing only his underwear. Reese and Joe catch him and he explains he lost Billy Harker, the prisoner he was escorting. He gets a change of clothes, Reese's spare gun and a horse and heads back out. The next day Reese and Joe are sent out to catch the thief who stole the ranger horse, the only clue being Chad's muddy socks. They find Chad as he is wrestling with Laurie Martin, Harker's girl, a very convincing but deceptive young woman. She convinces Reese she was forced to help Harker out of fear and she leads him off to find Harker but knocks him out with a piece of wood instead. She is caught but tricks cattle drovers into thinking the rangers are outlaws and escapes during the ensuing fist fight and cattle stampede. Joe saw her escape but let her go saying if she thinks they aren't following she'll head right for Harker, which she does. The rangers track her to the outlaws hideout and capture or kill Harker and his gang in a shootout.
Reese, Chad and Joe get into a saloon fight defending the honor of the Rangers. Parmalee disciplines them by assigning them to escort Jerky Collins' wagon of smelly buffalo hides. Chad tries to dissuade unwanted, married admirer Marianne Montaigne but she wants to leave her husband Louis and Chad hides her out in the wagon load of hides until they're out of town. Because of the fight two saloon girls were fired by the owner, Fatty Brown. Reese helps them by loading Fatty's pi-annie into a buckboard and allowing them to follow along with the hides. Unknown to all a shipment of rifles have been hidden in the hides by the man who sold them to Broken Horn, a renegade. The trip is a party until the Indians attack.
Captain Parmalee sends Reese on a mission to pickup a special shipment and bring it back to Laredo. Reese brags about the mission before he leaves leading several people to believe it's the $100,000 in gold shipment that everyone's heard rumors about. After he picks up the shipment in a wagon Reese is challenged for it by the Baker Gang, Sheriff Wes Cottrell and his deputies, Ma Burns and her daughter Flame and an Old Timer, who just wants to see what $100,000 in gold looks like. Reese outwits them all until everyone but the Old Timer join forces, surround Reese and force him into a shoot-out. Meanwhile, Chad and Joe have been sent out to find out why Reese is two days late. They arrive during the gun battle and help Reese. The strongbox has been penetrated by bullets and the contents, 36 bottles of limestone Tennessee sippin' whiskey for Parmalee's private stock, is leaking out. Only 1 bottle is left for Reese to deliver to the Captain. Can he do it without breaking it?
The stage carrying State Senator Sparks and Captain Parmalee is held up by the Davis Gang, who takes the stagecoach horses forcing the Senator and Parmalee to walk to Laredo. Meanwhile, the Brannigan Brothers lose heavily in a card game and accuse Chad of cheating, which starts a fight in the saloon. The fight spills out onto the street just as the Captain and Senator Sparks arrive, giving the Senator a bad first impression of the Rangers. Reese, Chad and Joe set up a Texas style breakfast for Senator Sparks but the Brannigans ruin it and cause the tray of food to be dumped onto the Senator, who threatens to remove Ranger funding. Parmalee travels on the stage with the Senator to dissuade him from cutting the funding. Reese, Chad and Joe devise a plan to have their own ""outlaw"" gang, lead by Reese, stop the stage and then Chad and Joe will come to the rescue but a member of the real Davis Gang is in the saloon when Reese is recruiting and the plan backfires. This leaves the three
Reese, Chad and Joe capture the Slaughter Gang and take them to the nearest jail in San Sabo. They take the stolen money to the bank and meet Miss Emma there, who is a cultural lecturer selling tickets for her lectures on Greece with little luck. Chad and Joe trick Reese into helping her. He does so by employing saloon dancer Carlotta to warm up the crowd for Miss Emma's lecture. While Miss Emma is speaking a gang robs the bank and releases the Slaughters at the same time to throw suspicion on them. While pursuing the robbers Reese crosses paths with Miss Emma and discovers there may be more then meets the eye concerning the ""wealth"" of her wagonload of books.
Reese's friend Cletus Grogan comes to town and Reese gets him to join the Rangers to convince him he isn't a jinx. Cletus is sent along with Reese, Chad and Joe to track down Linda Little Trees and her gang. Cletus ends up dislocating Chad's shoulder. The first town they arrive in has just had it's bank robbed by the Little Trees Gang. Chad sees a doctor for his shoulder while Joe immediately follows the outlaws trail before a rainstorm can wipe out the tracks. After the rain stops Joe takes off his wet shirt and is spotted by Linda Little Trees who is smitten with him. He is jumped by her gang and fights them off until Linda hits him on the head with a rock. Linda proposes to a tied-up Joe while Blue Dog, who wants Little Trees, threatens to kill him. Reese, Chad and Joe find the hideout and capture everyone but Linda Little Trees. Reese tricks Cletus into fighting by pretending to be wounded. Cletus overcomes is jinx fear, resigns from the Rangers and heads home to marry hi
Parmalee has only 3 rangers, Reese, Chad and Joe to keep order at a land rush. He reminds them that any rangers found showing any favoritism will face prison. While patrolling the area Chad meets lovely widow Alice Coverly and walks her back to her wagon. Reese gets into a discussion with her young brother Robert concerning western Indians versus real Indians that his British grandfather fought against. Reese goes to meet Robert's grandfather, Major Donaldson, and he and Chad have tea with the family. Parmalee breaks up the tea party and expresses his wishes to have an extra hour before the noon starting time to give those trying to file deeds illegally time to come in and be caught, Reese steals Commissioner Smoot's glasses, giving the Captain his extra hour. The rush begins and Major Donaldson is able to stake out the river land he wants but collapses after doing so. Chad puts on the Major's uniform and rides the Major's horse. He then has to pretend to be Major Donaldson to
Chad and Joe set Ranger Jess Moran up for a 4th of July boxing match with Calvary champion Percy Flower, the bet being a month's pay. The Pryor Gang is in the territory and Captain Parmalee is worried about them hitting the next silver mine shipment so he cancels the holiday for the rangers and assigns six of them to be on duty in town while he waits at the mine with the rest of the rangers. Chad, Joe and Jess are three of the six left in town. The Captain has agreed that one of them may leave guarding the silver bars if all of them agree it's necessary. Their problem will be getting straight-laced Ranger Gruber out of the way. Insurance man Wilson Jones helps them do this. Once Chad, Joe and Jess leave for the boxing match the Pryor Gang strikes and steals the silver. Jess twists his ankle just before the fight and Joe has to face Flower. Chad and Joe leave to chase the Pryors and capture them and recover the silver while Jess takes a swing at Flower and knocks him out.
Chad and Joe are planning to spend the weekend at the festival in San Gill but Captain Parmalee is leaving down to make a speech and puts them in charge of the office. Reese returns from a mission so Chad and Joe con him into being acting Captain but he immediately assigns them as stand-by for the weekend. Chad then alters a telegram to say a prison escapee is headed to San Gill so Reese sends them out to track him down. Once they arrive they discover that San Gill is where Parmalee is giving his speech and they immediately buy masks and serapes to disguise themselves. Reese eventually learns the outlaw was killed escaping and heads to San Gill after Chad and Joe. The three Rangers stumble onto an assassination plot that includes 6 Mexican government officials with Parmalee thrown in for good measure. They foil the attempt with fireworks and leave San Gill without being seen but having been heard by Parmalee. The Captain returns to Laredo and assigns them to seek out three Lared
Reese is tricked into volunteering for stable duty by Chad and Joe, who are then sent out to escort a payroll wagon. They are distracted from the wagon by a runaway team and the payroll wagon is taken by a group of renegade French soldiers who want to return to the power and status they enjoyed under Maximilian. Reese is sent to the French camp as a spy by Parmalee. He does all right but is suspected and when he leads the French out after another payroll wagon Chad and Joe are caught sneaking into their camp by a reserve force. Parmalee and the Rangers guarding the second payroll wagon are taken back to the French camp with Reese, where it is decided Reese is to be shot as a spy. Meanwhile, Chad and Joe break their bonds and are dressed as Mexican soldiers allied with the French. Reese notices they are two of the four men in the firing squad and the brawl starts. Back in Laredo Chad and Joe convince Reese he is going to receive a medal. He finds out there is no medal from Parma
Chad and Joe are sent to Guarded Wells to dispose of the Ramirez Gang. They do and a grateful town rewards them with food, drink and hotel rooms for free. Chad devises a way he and Joe can take advantage of this and wires the Captain that the Calico Kid is headed for town. Afterwords they learn that the real Calico Kid, a road agent 30 years earlier, is now Sam Lowell, an older man who has since become a model citizen. Not wanting to cause trouble for Sam, Chad and Joe work out a plan to put on a mock shoot-out during which the Calico Kid(Chad)is killed. Meanwhile, Sam's niece Lorrie sends a telegram to Parmalee asking for more men, stating they are doomed to destruction because of the Calico Kid's impending visit. Parmalee gets suspicious and rides to Guarded Wells with Reese. Town businessman Jacobus Carson, who originally hired Ramirez finds out about the Rangers Calico Kid plan and decides it would be a good time to rob the gold bullion from the bank. Chad and Joe stage the
Hired gun Jab Harlan orchestrates an escape for outlaw Brad Scanlon so he can trail him and clear an innocent man of Scanlon's crime. In the process he tangles with Reese, foiling a capture attempt which brings him to Parmalee's attention. Scanlon, helped by his wife Lilah, pretends to be dead and soon is as he is ambushed by his partners to keep him quiet. Reese and Jab indulge in a little cat and mouse with each other after Scanlon's death. Reese, not knowing Scanlon's dead, locks Jab up until he can capture the outlaw. Jab sends Reese in the wrong direction and then picks the lock. Jab and Lilah ride out to the Garrett ranch to catch the rest of the gang. Reese returns to town and finds a note at the undertakers from Jab telling him to come to the ranch. He does and gets there just in time to help Jab in a gunfight with the outlaws and recover the money. Despite their disagreements Jab and Reese part friends.
Two actors, Dudley and Newton, are being threatened with jail in Three Forks for their outstanding bills as their manager ran off with their receipts. Chad and Joe walk in and Chad rescues his old friend Dudley by telling the Sheriff the actors are wanted by the state, a higher priority, for the crime of framus. Chad and Joe are searching for the Pecos Kid, a notorious outlaw who has murdered 14 people. Dudley and Newton head for Whiskey Flats where Dudley passes Newton off as a minister to make some money as the town hasn't had a minister around for three months. They meet Miss Belleflower Ferne who wants Newton to marry her and her fiance Ben Conrad, who has been off making his fortune, actually he is the Pecos Kid. Under threat of death from Conrad Newton marries them. After the wedding he and Dudley dress as cowboys to stick-up the stage and halt the honeymoon. After finding out who the Pecos Kid is and his whereabouts Chad and Joe meet the stage at the same time Dudley and
New ranger Cotton Buckmeister is assigned by Judge Larkin to return a strongbox of official documents to Uvalde. Chad and Joe are to accompany him. Judge Ike Macallum ruthlessly rules Uvalde and has illegally brought charges against many people in order to blackmail them. So both Macallum victims and his henchmen are after the strongbox. During the journey Chad and Joe discover that Cotton also has an interest in the strongbox as he is ""wanted"" for breech of promise when he refused to marry Judge Macallum's sister Ada. A shootout occurs before Parmalee can arrive with Judge Larkin. Joe ends the gunfight by blowing the strongbox up with dynamite. All of the documents are destroyed except one - Cotton's. Court is held and Cotton is found guilty and Chad and Joe are appointed as supervisors.
When Reese, Chad and Joe capture the Morgan gang it includes 14-year-old Grey Smoke. Joe helps him out and gets him hired as a runner for the Rangers. Reese is assigned to trackdown cattle rustlers, leaving only Chad, Joe and Parmalee left in Laredo. They notice that gunslingers are drifting into down, nine in all. They discover cattleman Stan Greevy is responsible for hiring them as he is upset about the cattle rustling. Parmalee is more concerned about the gunslingers starting a range war. Greevy goes to the saloon and tries to pay them off but the outlaws have noticed the lack of rangers and have decided to rob the town. Parmalee, Chad and Joe wait outside the saloon and a gunfight ensues. Grey Smoke knocks out one gunslinger at Ranger Headquarters and jumps on Jug Herriot from a rooftop when he gets the drop on Joe and Chad.
Reese and Cotton run off two outlaws intent on forcing the inhabitants of San Diablo to divulge where the fabled treasure is hidden. Dandy Davis is wanted and Cotton heads back to Laredo with him but Dandy fills Cotton's head with stories of the treasure and how Reese will beat him to it. Reese has stayed behind as he knows the other outlaw Ben Slick will be back to raid the town and the San Diablo citizenry has asked him to teach them to defend themselves. Reese becomes general of their ""army"" and is even given a uniform. When the outlaws return Reese and the citizens defeat them and Reese and Cotton are able to return to Laredo.
Reese comes up with the perfect plan to catch Linda Littletrees, use Joe, who she is in love with, as bait. Parmalee says they might use the plan but then orders Reese, Chad and Joe to stay off the ""streets"". Reese and Joe are walking down an ""alley"" when they run into three escaping prisoners, two of Littletrees gang and William Tinney, a Ranger from Company A posing as an outlaw to gain the confidence of Littletree's gang. Reese captures Tinney and Joe tracks the two escaped outlaws Max Vander and Blue Dog. Reese is sent to San Antonio to fill in for Tinney, who is to continue his undercover role. The Captain and Chad spend their time waiting and worrying about Joe's safety. Joe is captured by Littletrees gang and locked in a room where she serenades him and has a wedding suit laid out for him. Tinney arrives as Joe is trying to escape and they capture the gang, including Linda who, to Joe's relief, tells him she won't love him anymore if he takes her to jail.
Reese is sent out to escort the Bordeaux sisters and gets his face slapped before finding out the sisters he's looking for are nuns. He escorts them to a settlement and makes them promise not to continue to Massacre Mission where priests were slaughtered some years earlier by hostile Comanches who are still on the warpath. The sisters telegraph Parmalee they have left for the mission anyway and the Captain sends Chad and Joe to protect them. They arrive to find the sisters smoking a peace pipe with the Comanches, who claim they have had nothing to do with the raids. Things are soon complicated by the arrival of outlaws who have treasure buried in the mission's sanctuary. They have been dressing like Comanches and committing the raids while using the mission as their hideout. Chad and Joe capture the gang with the help of the Comanches and each donates his share of the reward money to the mission.
Reese pretends to be a cattle buyer at Martha Tuforth's way station where outlaws Jack Hanks, Paco and Crazy John Holden are awaiting the arrival of Benny Murphy, who has their money to travel to Mexico with. Crazy John recognizes Reese as a ranger and they take him prisoner. Councilman Willburn and his wife Letty arrive shortly after and also find themselves hostages. Paco spends his time romancing Letty Willburn and Maryanne, Martha Tuforth's niece. Joe shows up disguised as a traveling salesman named Stanley. He is soon found out to be a ranger and joins Reese, tied to a chair. He tells Reese and the outlaws that Benny Murphy has been captured. Reese and Joe trick Crazy John into challenging Paco to draw and Paco kills him. Paco picks young Maryanne as the hostage to take with them along with the rangers when they leave. Martha breaks a glass and hands a broken piece to Joe who manages to cut through his ropes. A fist ensues and Reese and Joe capture the outlaws.
Reese has a toothache and is sent to retrieve the overdue school teacher from the train station at Gutter's Gulch. While there Reese brags that he is there to pick up the most important man ever to come to Laredo, which is overheard by recently released convict Anson Jones, a man Reese helped put behind bars. Pringle comes walking into the station as he got off the train when it made a brief stop and was left behind. Pringle has never ridden a horse so Reese has to time him to his mount. Jones and his gang try to kidnap Pringle unsuccessfully. The next day Reese's tooth is worse and he decides to take a detour to Doc Severnson's but walks into the Jones Gang's hideout in doing so. The Doc treats Jones bullet wound, inflicted by Reese. Reese, Doc Severnson and Pringle overcome the bandits but Severnson cannot pull Reese's tooth as his arm was broken in the fight against the outlaws. During the fight Reese is hit in the cheek. When he returns with Pringle the toothache is gone a
Reese decides to throw a party for Captain Parmalee's fourth anniversary with Company B. Chad and Joe are sent after robbers to recover Press Wasco's money and to unofficially pick up whiskey for the party. In the meantime Reese is busy trying to get a cake baked. The cook at the Laredo Saloon quit and left town so Reese ends up baking the cake with a little help from Joe. Gunslinger Mike Kelly shows up in town and challenges Parmalee to a gunfight at a quarter past eleven. Parmalee remembers Kelly's face and eventually discovers Kelly's real name is Fallon, a revenge minded man from his past. Reese, Chad and Joe convince Kelly they will gun him down from behind if he draws on the Captain. Kelly and Parmalee face each other but Kelly backs off as he hears each of the Rangers guns being cocked behind him. Parmalee isn't quite sure why Kelly backed off and everyone celebrates his anniversary, although Reese's party is a day early, with the whiskey and the cake Reese baked that re
Lance Mabry joined a gang of war buddies for a train robbery and is now on the run with the money. He hides out at his farm and learns his young daughter Missy is there, having run away from boarding school. Reese, Chad and Joe arrive and are all slightly injured or kept at bay by Missy, who thinks they are the outlaw gang after her father. The Rangers are soon won over by Missy and they try to work out a way to avoid her finding out her dad is a train robber. They concoct a story of how they killed the outlaw gang and recovered the stolen loot. During the telling of this story to Captain Parmalee it is also conveyed that Mabry died fighting the outlaw gang. Unknown to the Rangers Mabry has already turned himself in to Parmalee, knowing it was best for himself and Missy. Reese, Chad and Joe receive a week of stable duty.
Murders begin occurring the day Shamus McCloud arrives in town. At first the murder of Doctor Ingram's dog seems to be possible revenge by Shamus McCloud for the death of his brother at the doctor's hands. More murders take place and McCloud is blamed, the believed reason being he is taking revenge on the town too. The Rangers investigate other people who came to town the same day, such as Prof. Smythe and his traveling Museum of Horrors. One of the victims is a gambler that Joe owed money to so even he falls under suspicion. Shamus finally asks to be put in jail so he'll be cleared when the next murder happens. While he is playing cards with Chad and Joe in the jail the three of them figure out the killer is someone who can't tolerate high-pitched noise.
Reese ""saves"" three con artists from robbers and Don Miguel's ""dying"" wish is that Reese have 10% of his estate. It turns out the estate is the entire city of Laredo and the surrounding county, which Don Carlos de Laredo and his ""sister"" Dona Dolores are claiming the right to with a recently discovered Mexican land grant. Don Carlos makes arrangements for the former landowners to pay to keep their land while Reese spends time with Dona Dolores. His new role as a gentleman prompts Chad and Joe to put Reese through a Pollyanna transformation. Captain Parmalee suspects something is wrong and secretly ""borrows"" the land grant to have it checked out.
Reese's inventor friend Major John Cane is called upon to open a locked bank vault. Outlaw Ezekiel Fry sees him do it and tricks him into helping his gang rob the Porfirio Bank. Reese, Chad and Joe are sent to Porfirio to investigate the robbery. Realizing he's been deceived the Major refuses to help rob the Cattleman's Exchange until Fry and his gang kidnap Reese and threaten to harm him. Then Cane invents a precision plan that requires the outlaws to practice their parts in a barn. Chad and Joe follow a dog that has hung around them since they arrived in Porfirio, hoping it will lead them to Reese. Major Cane cuts Reese lose while the outlaws are practicing the robbery and the fight begins just as Chad, Joe and the dog arrive.
Midas Mantee is out of prison and back into his old career: stealing gold from banks. Reese unwittingly foils Erik Hunter's plan to go undercover and join Mantee's gang. So Erik stages a gunfight in front of one of Midas' men, ""killing"" Chad and escaping Joe. Parmalee joins them having heard of Chad's ""death"". Mantee's master plan for the Val Verde Bank involves a lady dentist, nitrous oxide and camels.
Chief Tohpay, whose land has been stolen by the white man, is on the warpath. With modern military training provided by former army specialist John Garth they have taken a fort and captured Winchester rifles and a Gattling gun. Garth has been promised the hand of Tohpay's beautiful daughter Lohray as a reward, although she is unwilling to marry Garth. Reese and Chad are sent to investigate a town controlled by a crooked sheriff and armed Indian guards while Joe and Erik search for Tohpay's camp. All four are captured but break loose. Erik discovers the secret of the stone fire-breathing idol Tohpay has been using to convince his people that the God's support him. Erik uses this to discredit Tohpay as the other rangers try to capture the Gattling gun.
Jake Murdock wants revenge on Parmalee for sending him to prison. His plot involves Dr. Duvain who has a mind-controlling drug that can make a man kill his best friend. To remove suspicion they plan to have a ranger kill the captain. Reese is picked and undergoes a series of injections to prepare him for the murder. A $5 gold piece is the key to controlling Reese, whenever he sees one he is to obey the next verbal command which results in Reese allowing an outlaw to escape, immersing himself in a horse trough (Go soak your head) and busting up the saloon. Chad investigates the doctor's background and reads books about chemistry and the brain. He figures out what is causing Reese's strange behavior and convinces Parmalee of it who then devises a way for the plan to backfire on Murdock and the doctor.
Pro-Juarez rebel Juan Morales is taken from Ranger protection by the LeBec gang across the border to a French prison to await execution as an enemy of Emperor Maxmillian. The four rangers are sent to retrieve him and gain access to the prison with the help of cantina owner and Juarez sympathizer Carmella Alveras, who is also an old girlfriend of Erik's. Erik devises a plan to rescue Morales ""after the execution"". Reese, Chad and Joe sneak into the firing squad barracks and load the rifles with blanks while Erik does the same for the captain's pistol which will be used for the coup de grace, the final shot to the head. The pistol is fired at Erik when he's leaving the fort so he, Chad and Joe intercept soldiers sent from Maxmillian and impersonate them with Reese reluctantly posing as Morales' wife. Erik poses as a major and uses his ""rank"" to fire the coup de grace himself.
The four Rangers stake out and foil a bank robbery by the Emerson Gang, capturing leader Wayne Emerson and killing the rest except for Wayne's younger brother Ed. Reese's yearly enlistment with the Rangers is up and he intends on using his share of the reward money to buy some ranch land. He buys parcel 16 from the Fletchers and is excited until he discovers the land is under alkaline water! Eric sets out after the Fletchers, posing as a wealthy European who wants to buy land in Texas. Reese, Chad and Joe, with prisoner Wayne, in tow head for a rendezvous with Erik and the Fletchers in town. Reese wants to get his money back by force but Erik, Chad and Joe plan to get it back with finesse so they handcuff Reese to the bedpost in the hotel's bridal sweet along with Emerson. Later Chad and Joe decide Reese and Emerson would be safer in jail. They get Reese to sign his re-enlistment paper by telling him they will get the sheriff to let him out but keep it instead. Eric gets the Fl
Sean Finnegan is intent on starting organized crime in Texas. He recruits name outlaws wanted outside of Texas and teaches them methods and techniques in various rackets. A stage robbery planned by him goes awry when one man is killed and Oklahoma's fastest draw Tom Fox is identified as the gunman. Parmalee sends Reese and Chad to Dry Wells to scout around and they find Sheriff Gorman has ""disappeared"" and been replaced by one of Finnegan's men. They soon discover the entire town is under Finnegan's control. Reese and Tom Fox get into a gunfight and Reese things he outdrew Fox, although Finnegan actually shoots him from the saloon as Fox was now wanted in Texas and a risk. Erik and Joe infiltrate the gang as outlaws Zack Johnson and Cherokee Joe, two outlaws whose recent capture has not been publicized. Finnegan decides to do away with Reese by putting his feet in cement and rolling the wagon where they are hiding him into a lake. Erik and Joe devise a plan to rescue him. Erik
The rangers are investigating a series of bank robberies. They discover the robbers come in through the ceiling. Erik suspects a circus and joins it as a magician, romancing the lovely lady tiger tamer, Eve. Tolliver, the circus owner, uses an air balloon to transfer the money after the robbery. He then cases out the next bank to be robbed dressed as a wealthy gentleman and deposits their stolen funds into it. He also uses the circus performers, strongman, tightrope walker and acrobats, to carry off the robberies. Eve has second thoughts when she thinks Tolliver has murdered Erik. Erik figures things out and with the help of Joe and Eve, who saves his life, foils the last bank robbery. Erik takes Eve up in the balloon and drops a note to Chad and Reese stating all is well and, much to Chad's frustration, Eve sends her love.
Reese and Erik attempt to deliver a mine payroll but are ambushed by the Sweet Gang, a hillbilly gang lead by Ma Sweet, and have to retreat. Parmalee, Chad and Joe ride to join them, meanwhile Erik tries to find another route to the mine but is taken prisoner by the Sweets, becoming a romantic interest for Billie Lou Sweet. The Rangers use the local sick wagon to transfer the mine payroll. They are attacked by the Sweets who, holding Erik as prisoner, force them to disarm and surrender the payroll. The Rangers use psychology and then force to capture them. Reese, Chad and Joe catch the measles due to being around or in the sick wagon.
Emerson Whitby III is a millionaire who travels to Laredo to participate in a marathon poker game with other millionaires including the beautiful Sabrina Lane. The Rangers stop an attempt to kidnap Whitby from the stage and discover Whitby and Reese have the same sounding voice. Since the kidnappers didn't see Whitby but only heard his voice the Rangers devise a plan to substitute Reese for Whitby in the poker game. The plan is to let Reese be kidnapped and then follow the gang to their hideout. Reese is captured but puts up too good a fight and Joe, hiding in a bush, has to knock Reese out with his gun butt so the kidnappers can subdue him. The switch is discovered and the real Whitby is spirited away in a trunk. The Rangers rescue him and catch the ringleader when the gang attempts to get the ransom money.
Joe is on a stage that is held up by Indian Pete's gang and their only intent seems to have been trying to kill a 9 year-old girl passenger. The stage arrives in Laredo and the girl is dismayed to find out it doesn't continue to San Remo where she is going to live with her Uncle Charley. Reese, Chad and Joe go to draw their pay but are overdrawn so Parmalee gives them $5 each as a loan. They lose it at the saloon playing double or nothing so the girl, Gussie Smith, offers to pay them to take her to San Remo. Since they are broke on their weekend off they accept the girl's $10 offer. Captain Parmalee has also warns them to be on the lookout for a character who is passing bad checks. They arrive in San Remo, a near ghost town, and Chad goes to ask the sheriff where Charley Smith's place is. The sheriff turns out to be a gunfighter who murdered one of Chad's friends years ago. After being kicked off the land by ""Uncle Charley"" and shot at the Rangers discover the real Uncle Charle
The four Rangers mission is to find out who has been raiding settlements, kidnapping skilled workers and killing the rest. Reese and Joe track the raiders for three days and are captured. Joe eventually becomes a gladiator second class and Reese a slave in the camp of Hannibal Rex, a would-be Roman-type emperor in Texas. Chad and Erik pose as a sculptor and an architect and are also abducted by Hannibal's henchmen. Hannibal's favorite wife Celeste invites Erik to her tent but he suspects a trap. Chad goes instead and is punished by being hung on a slowly heated metal pole that is suspended over a pit of poisonous snakes. Joe, Reese and Erik free Chad and they succesfully battle Hannibal Rex and his henchman. Erik ends up having a picnic with Celeste who he has handcuffed himself to.
Prince Lazlo of Ambrasia is fascinated with the Texas Rangers and picks Laredo as the site to sign a treaty with Aguacaldo. His half sister Helena and consort Karl see this as their perfect opportunity to kill Lazlo, which they attempt with poison and a hired gun. Chad Cooper is a dead ringer for the Prince and Captain Parmalee decides they should switch identities for the Prince's safety. Reese believes the Prince to be Chad dressed up until the Prince passes out from drinking a shot of red-eye. The ruse is eventually figured out by Helena and Karl whose hired gunman goads the Price dressed as Chad into a gunfight. Chad is able to substitute for the Prince at the last moment and scares the gunman off with his fancy gun-handling. The gunman kidnaps the Prince and demands more money from Helena. Reese and Joe rescue the Prince and return him in time to sign the treaty and expose Helena and Karl.
Chief Kicking Bear and his tribe do not want wagon trains camping in their valley and threaten to attack the one camped there now. Captain Parmalee, Reese, Chad and Joe arrive to help. After a meeting with Kicking Bear and war eager Many Horses Parmalee sends Chad to fetch the Indian Affairs Commissioner. He assigns Reese and Joe to ride to the Indians camp to negotiate, stall for time, until Chad gets back. Parmalee stays with the train to keep the hot-headed wagon master from starting something. While in camp Reese competes in several games and wins them, attracting the attention of the Chief's hefty, giggling daughter Lost Bird, who decides she wants to marry him. Many Horses wants to marry Lost Bird and challenges Reese to several matches. Reese pretends to be injured for the last two contests and Joe steps in, winning the knife throw and the horse race. Lost Bird decides she now wants Joe for her husband. Chad arrives with the Commissioner and peace terms are agreed to.
Parmalee sends Chad and Joe after the Sam Dixie Gang, who Erik has been trailing for two weeks. Meanwhile, Reese is assigned to catch the thieves who stole merchandise from Morgan's Store. He tracks them down and is captured by the thieves, a group of four orphan boys lead by Dixie's teen cousin Matt who wants to join up with Sam Dixie's gang. Erik has been romancing Dixie's girl Mollie and while searching for the Dixie Gang runs into Reese and the orphans. Sam Dixie eventually meets up with the orphans but wants nothing to do with them. Reese managed to save the life of Midg the youngest of the boys and the orphans are determined to keep Sam Dixie from killing Reese. Is the Dixie Gang strong enough to do battle with two Texas Rangers and four orphan boys?
Clay Morgan runs a reverend out of Black River because he feels the reverend's presence will eventually lead to local law enforcement. Joe keeps the reverend from being murdered by one of Morgan's thugs. It turns out that the reverend was Parmalee's first arrest as a young ranger. Parmalee sends Eric and Chad to Black River disguised as ministers. The three rangers work with the town's church committee to get a church established, the reverend back and Black River out of Morgan's control.
Reese gets the drop on outlaw Johnny Rhodes but his horse Cactus is spooked by a rattler and Reese is thrown and knocked unconscious. Rhodes' horse is lame so he takes Cactus. When Reese wakes up he has amnesia and because of the horse with Rhodes name on it he is mistaken for the outlaw. Chad and Joe have been sent to track Rhodes in the hopes it will keep him too busy to attack a gold shipment. They come upon Reese in San Rosa and observe him as ""Johnny Rhodes"". They approach him as his ""outlaw"" buddies, assuming he is undercover. After their conversation they get the true picture of Reese's condition. Reese has Mio, the cantina owner with eyes for Reese, help him tie up Chad and Joe after they've been slipped knockout pills. The real Rhodes appears with his gang. They take Reese, Chad and Joe prisoner and tie them up in the cantina. Mio cuts their ropes and helps them fight off and capture Rhodes and his gang.
Red Gully and his gang of brothers attack camped Indians and kill everyone except young boy Black Wing. His uncle Flying Cloud also survives but Black Wing does not know as he has already left to trail his father's killers. Chad, Joe and Erik are sent to bring Reese back from an extended weeks vacation and to get the Gully Gang. Reese, who is partying with three saloon girls, asks what day it is, realizes he is late getting back and heads for Laredo. Reese stops on the way where he is ambushed by Black Wing who shoots him in the buttocks with an arrow. The two quarrel at first and then establish a caring relationship as Black Wing eventually asks Reese to be his dad. Chad, Joe and Erik telegram their situation to the Captain and spend their time waiting with the saloon girls. The three trail the Gully Gang, running across three mail order brides who had everything they owned stolen from them by the Gullys. Black Wing finds the Gully's camp and shoots an arrow into it. Reese ge
Joe saves Jem Sing from a traitor of General Ti who has stolen her and Ti's opium. Jem Sing tells Joe, ""Sterling One, you save Jem Sing's life, now life is yours forever."" Joe becomes frustrated with her customs and her calling him master. General Ti wants to make Jem Sing his wife and is also trying to close an opium deal with the syndicate. He kidnaps Jem Sing and Joe from the Ranger barracks, wounding Parmalee in the process. The Captain grants Chad and Erik ""vacation"" to go after Ti in Mexico. They intercept the syndicate representatives and impersonate them. They join with Joe to escape Ti's cell and do battle with Ti and his troops as they attempt to foil the syndicate deal and rescue Jem Sing.
Grover's Bend storekeeper Mr. Tinker telegraphs Parmalee that cattleman Ed Garmes is bullying a sheep raising religious group called the Peaceables, who refuse to defend themselves because of their beliefs. Chad, Joe and Reese are sent to protect them. Reese hurt his back in Laredo and is in need of bed rest by the time they reach Ernest Snilly's sheep ranch. Chad and Joe head into Grover's Bend while Reese is cared for by Snilly's daughter Delia who does her best to convert Reese to their non-violent ways. A pacified Reese is roughed up by Ace Brady and the other toughs Garmes has hired while Chad and Joe set to jailing half the gang, arresting one or two at a time. Ace and the gang ambush Chad and Joe who take refuge in the jail. Chad tries to snap Reese out of his new beliefs by convincing Garmes that Delia loves him but wants him to be more forceful. He attempts this at the Snilly house where Delia cracks him on the head with a frying pan when he touches her. Reese comes to
Laredo's new lady doctor is Captain Parmalee's sister-in-law, widow of his brother Frank who died in the Civil War. Reese, Chad, Joe and Erik are sent after outlaw Bart Cutler. They soon learn that Cutler is actually Frank Parmalee and, although they try to keep the Captain from finding out, developments eventually lead to a showdown between the Parmalee brothers.
Joe, Erik and Cotton Buckmeister meet printer Lemuel Beamish, who asks to travel with them the next day. Unknown to the rangers Beamish has three men following him. Beamish's cinch breaks and Cotton stays behind with him, spending the night at an abandoned fort. They are attacked and Beamish is killed. Before he dies he recites a nursery rhyme Cotton is to repeat to Beamish's niece when he delivers his belongings to her, which include a satchel of money. The money turns out to be counterfeit and the rangers suspect that the three men and possibly the niece are after something else, such as engraving plates. The nursery rhyme may be a clue to where they are hidden but Cotton can't remember how it goes!
Reese is caught in a downpour and heads to Small Chance for cover. He finds a nearly deserted town that seems susceptible to earthquakes and murder that the three remaining inhabitants, Kay Comstock, Sgt. Durgom and Old Charlie, say are caused by poltergeists. After another murder and two near fatal accidents Reese finds out there is a gold mine underneath Small Chance. He is held prisoner in the mine with a fourth Small Chance inhabitant Monte, a huge, simple man who works the mine. Erik rides in looking for Reese, which forces Kay and Durgom's hand.
Joe's old friend John Bright Star is accused of killing Clara McDermott, a woman who had befriended him. Joe and Cotton are picked for jury duty and Judge Lamprey is presiding, his family was killed by Apaches. After a quick trial Joe is the lone not guilty vote but is soon joined by Cotton and muleskinner Abbie Heffernan who has ideas about marrying Cotton. While the jury deliberates Parmalee sends Chad to look for evidence that will corroborate Bright Star's alibi. Parmalee, Eric and the Judge fend off a lynch mob and Parmalee concocts a re-enactment of the crime he hopes will catch the real killer.
Captain Parmalee assigns Reese is to protect the rightful owner of the Willingham Ranch, which means evicting the Willinghams to make way for the railroad. The Willinghams are an eccentric but gracious and likable Southern family of artists who lost a son in the Civil War. Reese falls and ends up in bed with a sprained back. Parmalee sends Chad to check up on Reese. Chad arrives and sees two railroad surveyors pushing Mrs. Willingham around and promptly decks them. He and Reese agree to find a nice way of getting the Willinghams to leave. Joe is sent next and walks in on Reese, Chad and the Willinghams singing Swanee River. They discover that brother Alcott signed the bill of sale but had no ownership right to the property. All they have to do is find the waiver he signed stating so. Joe is persuaded to pose for a sculpture and after Erik arrives he's soon reading Shakespeare. The four rangers search for the waiver with the Willinghams as railroad toughs approach the ranch de
Chad, Joe and Cotton Buckmeister are offered a $50 bonus to transport a bottle of Nitro Glycerin and the Professor who invented it to an army fort. A quick-change artist keeps trying to steal the Nitro and eventually succeeds. The Rangers manage to capture him and get the Nitro back.
Captain Parmalee receives an invitation to the reading of Jake Ringo's will, a man he arrested who has been hanged. Parmalee will be the only law officer amongst a who's who of criminals that includes Linda Littletrees. Chad and Joe, who Linda has feelings for, are to accompany Parmalee but Chad convinces Erik that Linda is like Pocahontas and he takes Joe's place. The meeting place is the Halfway Mansion which has the America-Mexico Border line running right down the middle of the house. The will states that the money gets split evenly among everyone, as long as they are alive. Since this is a group that already hates each other Captain Parmalee, Chad and Eric have their hands full as they try to stay alive, arrest those they can and return the $75,000.