- Bart gets involved with a mysterious woman, Daisy Harris, who wants him to act as her bodyguard, no questions asked.
- Bart doesn't like being employed at all, but accompanying a beautiful, moneyed widow on a stagecoach apparently wasn't ruled out by Pappy. Though they are traveling South from Old Santa Fe through badlands, the coach's heating up. The closer they get to Le Mesa, the more Bart wants to combine business & pleasure. Are those danger signs he's ignoring from not-so-demure Daisy? Is protecting her making Bart love-blind and vulnerable ? Which is the real danger: varmints he's been hired to protect her against - or her and the jeweled gun?—David Stevens
- Bart talks about the grave of John Haskell in La Mesa, and notes that no one is buried there.
Earlier:
Bart and Bret are riding together to Santa Fe, and go their separate ways when they disagree on which way to go when the path splits. Bret is going to see a woman, Adelaide, and would rather go to Clayton. Bart rides on to Santa Fe, and he decides to spend his time walking around. A woman, Daisy Harris, comes over and asks Bart to pretend he knows her. She points out three men and says that they've been following her for ten minutes.
The three men pass when Bart draws Daisy to the side. Daisy thanks Bart for coming to her help, and asks if she's a strange. She admits that she is, and Bart invites her to look around Santa Fe with her. Daisy agrees and they walk around. The couple take in the local attractions, and at the end of the day Daisy thanks Bart for the wonderful afternoon. She says that her carriage is in the stable across the street, refuses to give her name, but makes sure to confirm Bart is staying at the Barker House.
Later in his room, Bart hears a knock at the door. Henrique Fillipe is there and says that he's an attorney and asks Bart to invite him in. Once Bart does, Fillipe asks if Bart spent the afternoon with Daisy, his client. Bart confirms that he did, and Fillipe says that Daisy is rich but cautious. The attorney says that Daisy is looking for a $500/week job escorting Daisy to Laramie, Wyoming. The trip is dangerous and Daisy wants to go there under an assumed name and an assumed husband.
Bart refuses, and tells Fillipe to tell her that he's flattered but isn't looking for a job. Fillipe says that he has a busy practice and is a rancher, and can't do it himself. Bart says that the job doesn't appeal to him, and Fillipe tells Bart that he'll do his best to make Daisy understand.
Later in the lobby, Bart loses up his poker game and goes to his room to get his $1,000 pinned to the inside of his travel jacket. As he goes back to the game, Daisy approaches him in the hallway and invites Bart into her room. He accepts, and Daisy asks him to reconsider her offer. She says that she wants Bart and feels safe with him. Bart points out that he wouldn't be much help, and Bart asks why she doesn't want to travel on her own. Daisy only says that there's a great deal of money at stake but refuses to give an explanation.
Bart starts to go and Daisy doubles her offer. Bart is tempted to find out what he wants, and says that he already has $1,000. After flashing the bill, Bart goes downstairs to the game. He talks to the desk clerk, who says that Daisy checked in that evening.
After playing into the night and losing, Bart knocks at Daisy's door. She answers, and Bart asks if her offer is still open. Daisy says that it is, and Bart agrees as long as she plays her half in advance. She tells him that Fillipe pick them up at his ranch and has arranged for a stagecoach to stop on the road and pick them up.
The next day, Daisy comes to get Bart. He's won back his money in poker, and asks if he can buy his way out of the job. Daisy says that he can't, and they go to the stagecoach. Fillipe pretends that Bart and Daisy are married under the name "the Haskells", and insists that Bart take a rifle with him.
The stagecoach hears for Laramie, and the passengers make small talk among themselves. A Wire Salesman talks about stretching wire across the land. A Cattleman with them objects to stretching barbed wire across the land, and turns to the other passenger. The man, a Book Salesman, says that he sells the Book of Knowledge and is relieved when the Cattleman declares him all right.
When the stagecoach enters into Comanche territory, the driver speeds the horses up. They continue on and arrive in the next town, and the "Haskells" check into their suite at the hotel. Daisy comes to see Bart and suggests that they dine together. Bart has her take off her necklace to avoid tempting the local thieves, but she refuses. Bart starts to take it and kisses her. Daisy kisses him back and then takes off the necklace. When Bart offers to get her a gun, Daisy says that she wouldn't know how to use it.
The next day, one man replaces the Book Salesman in the stagecoach. One of them, Mitchell, stares at Bart and Daisy. He says that they look familiar, and Bart tells him that they're strangers to the area. Mitchell introduces himself, and Bart gives his assumed name. When Bart says that they're newlyweds, the Cattleman notes that Daisy said they had been married for five years. Daisy passes it off, saying that they think of themselves as newlyweds.
Mitchell continues staring and finally asks Bart if they met in a poker game. Bart says that he plays whist but not poker, and Mitchell seemingly accepts is story. When the Wire Salesman asks Mitchell what his line of work is, Mitchell says that he handles guns but isn't a gun salesman.
The driver speeds through new Comanche territory, and Bart spots a trail of dust behind them. He takes out the rifle, and Indians ride up on them. Bart, the Cattleman, and Mitchell open fire, and Mitchell tells Bart that he does remember him from a poker game in Dodge City.
The three passengers continue shooting down the Indians, and Mitchell is shot. The Wire Salesman confirms that he's dead, and Bart and the Cattleman keep shooting. The Indians finally give up and ride off.
That night at the hotel, Bart discovers that there's a secret compartment in the butt of the rifle Fillippe gave him. He quickly hides it as Daisy comes in, and insists that they cut to see who gets the hot water in the tub first. They tie, and Daisy smiles smugly and goes to the bath after nodding at Bart to join her.
The next day, the stagecoach leaves the town and the Wire Salesman stays behind. That night, the "Haskells" check into their hotel room at the next town, and a man, Snopes, watches them. He checks the ledger and the name they registered in.
Later, Bart comes downstairs and leaves, and Snopes watches him go. He then goes upstairs to the couple's room and knocks at the door, claiming that he's the manager. When Daisy opens the door, Snopes says that she knows him and she'd better lead him in. He wonders why Bart is using a fake name and says that he's always liked Daisy. Snopes says that he has a new business as a groom but could use $100. Daisy agrees to pay him $100, and Snopes doubles his request.
Daisy figures that Snopes is going to blackmail her, and she draws a jeweled derringer and shoots Snopes dead. She plants a revolver on Snopes and calls in Bart and the sheriff. The Sheriff accepts her claim of self-defense and leaves, but Bart doesn't and calls Daisy on it. Daisy says that Snopes was a groom in her family stables in Philadelphia, and knew about her jewelry.
Bart points out that she said she didn't know how to use a gun, and Daisy says that she doesn't trust anyone in the world 100$. She saw no reason to tell Bart that she had a gun and knows how to use it, but Bart doesn't entirely believe her and says that he's leaving unless she gives him the full story. Daisy turns on the tears, but Bart demands to know the reason for Daisy's travel. She asks him to wait until they get to La Mesa for his answers, and Bart agrees to wait until they get to La Mesa. Once Daisy goes to her separate room, Bart looks at her jeweled dagger.
The next day, the stagecoach arrives in La Mesa. The "Haskells" check in, and Daisy draws her gun on Bart. She opens the window and pulls down a curtain, then takes out her jewelry. Bart figures that Daisy has set him up, and Daisy tells Bart that her life and the life of the man she loves depends on her carrying it out.
Daisy shoots Bart twice, and he falls to the floor. She screams and hides the jewelry and her derringer in the rifle's hidden compartment. The other guests come running, and Daisy comes out and claims that a man shot Bart and then fled out the window. Mrs. Adams, one of the guests, and her husband Fred tend to Daisy. The other guests call for a doctor, but another man comes out of the hotel room and tells the doctor that there's nothing the doctor can do for Bart. The sheriff arrives, and he goes into the room with the guest.
The next day, the La Mesa sheriff questions Daisy about the shooting. She claims that she doesn't know what gun the killer used, and the sheriff says that the undertaker--Fred Carter-- took derringer bullets out of Bart's body. Daisy claims that the killer must have used her gun, and that the handle was encrusted with jewels. Bart jumped the killer, and that's when he shot Bart. The sheriff picks up the rifle where Daisy left it, checks it, confirms that it wasn't fired, but doesn't find the hidden compartment. Daisy says that the rifle belonged to Bart, and the sheriff puts the rifle back down.
Later at Carter's undertaking parlor, Carter meets with Bart. Bart is looking at the powder burns on his shirt, and says that he should have taken out the powder along with the bullets when he sabotaged the gun earlier. Carter assures Bart that they'll let Daisy see Bart's "body", but they won't bury Bart for real.
The sheriff comes in and says that he isn't sure if he can continue with the deception. He tells Bart that Daisy sent a telegram to Fillippe, and she's delaying the funeral until Fillippe arrives the next day. The sheriff can't arrest Daisy unless he has a charge. Bart tells the sheriff that he needs to find out what Daisy is up to, and they won't find out if she's in jail. The sheriff says that he checked the rifle when Daisy was out of the room, and confirmed the jewelry as inside.
Daisy arrives at the parlor and Bart hides before she can see him. She says that Fillippe will be there the next afternoon, and Carter agrees to wait. Once Daisy leaves, Bart emerges from hiding.
The next day, Fillippe arrives in town and comes to the parlor with Daisy. Carter tells Bart, who gets into the coffin and pretends to be dead. A fly lands on Bart's forehead and then nose, and Daisy and Fillippe come in. Bart blows the fly off before they come over, and after a brief glance Carter leads Daisy and Fillippe into the next room where the mourners are gathered.
Later, Bart is "buried" and Daisy leaves flowers at the tombstone, with the sheriff and Carter looking on. Daisy and Fillippe return to Daisy's room, and Fillippe says that now they're safe. He points out that Daisy has been getting more tense by the hour, and Daisy wonders why they did it. Fillippe points out that he shot Daisy's real husband in self-defense, and now they're safe.
Fillippe assures Daisy that he hid the real John Haskell's body, and now everyone will believe he died in La Mesa. Daisy settles down and they kiss, and then she screams as Bart comes in through the window. She faints, and Fillippe attacks Bart. Bart easily knocks him out, then lets the waiting sheriff in and says that Daisy is ready to tell him the full story.
When Daisy recovers, she makes a full confession. The sheriff takes her and Fillippe back to Santa Fe. Bart is watching, and Daisy looks briefly at him. Bart gets in a couch, and finds Bret there. Bret admits that things didn't work out with Adelaide, and Bart gives him a cigar and invites Bret to tell him his story.
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