Beware a wronged avenger

An army patrol led by Lieutenant Shadrak Pickett is making its way through the Pioneer Mountains in southwest Montana. Its purpose is to deliver the monthly payroll to Fort Wisdom. Then Jake Rankin, an old colleague of Pickett's, asks for a ride to the next trading post, claiming his horse has died from snakebite. But Rankin's plan is to steal the payroll in such a way that Pickett takes the blame. A cunning deception by the brigand ruins Pickett...