- Frankie French has a mysterious and secret benefactor who has paid for her trip to Ten Strike with the promise of more funds. Who is the benefactor, and what does he want from Frankie?
- Bret arrives in the town of Ten Strike with Frankie French, a dance hall girl who was invited there by an unnamed benefactor. Two men want Bret to leave, and Frankie wonders if it's a coincidence that someone invited her to Ten Strike at the same time that the two men try to get Bret to leave.—Gislef
- Bret arrives in the town of Ten Strike, traveling with Frankie French. They disembark and Frankie suggests that Bret take her luggage over to the town's only hotel. Bret tries to bow out, but the driver "helpfully" notes that there's only one hotel in town.
Bret ends up hauling all of Frankie's hat boxes over to the hotel, and tells the front desk clerk that he's delivering it for Frankie. The clerk quotes him the rates and Bret goes up to his room to get hot bath. Once the clerk leaves after dropping off the hot water, Bret scents the water with rose of water, goes to his room to get the soap he forgot, and comes back to discover the door is locked.
Frankie yells that she's in the bath, and Bret says that he paid $1 for the bath. When Bret threatens to come in, Frankie threatens to start screaming. Bret goes for downstairs, gets the passkey from the clerk, and goes back up to unlock the bath door. When he goes in, Frankie isn't there and there's no water in the tub. Bret goes to Frankie's room and knocks on the door. She opens the door and says that she's disappointed in him because she thought he was clean cut. Bret demands his dollar, and Frankie pays up. Once she pays, Frankie goes back in and slams the door in Bret's face.
The next morning at breakfast, Bret is eating at the restaurant and Frankie wistfully watches him from the window, since he took some of her remaining money. Bret finally takes pity on her and invites her to his table to eat. She figures he has a guilty conscience for taking her last $1, and she says that she'd rather starve than beg for Bret's scraps... while eating breakfast.
Two men, Vic Nolan and Eddie Burke, come over and ask if they can have a word with Bret. They tell Bret that he's leaving on the next coach, and say that it's advice rather than a threat. Bret wonders what he's done to deserve their "hospitality", but they refuse to explain. After they leave, Frankie figures that it's a coincidence that someone is going to a lot of trouble to get her into town at the same time that they're trying to get Bret out of town.
Frankie shows Bret a note she received from "a benefactor" saying for her to come to Ten Strike in check in at the hotel. There was also a $100 bill paying her for her trouble, but she spent it all on hats before she got there. Frankie doesn't know anyone in Ten Strike, or any relatives. She wonders if Bret is the benefactor, then figures he isn't. As they talk, banker Martin Scott walks by and sees Frankie through the window and notices hr.
That night, Bret goes to the saloon as the stage pulls into town. Vic and Eddie watch it and see that Bret didn't leave on it.
After losing at poker, Mae Miller comes over and introduces herself as the saloon owner. She tells him there's no place else to go, and she'll order out for supper. Bret says that he has a "stray cat" at the hotel and he needs to tend to it. Aa he leaves, he sees Frankie through the restaurant window, having dinner with Scott. He mouths to Frankie, asking if Scott is his benefactor. She waves him off and Bret leaves.
Frankie says that Bret has character, taking her last dollar, and says that she's thinking of marrying Bret. She figures Bret feels the same, since he was ordered out of town and stayed regardless.
Vic and Eddie approach Bret in the street and point out that he didn't leave. They insist that he's leaving town, and beat him when he asks why. The men wake him up at a crossroads out of town, with water from a bucket, and Vic says that they'd feel responsible if Bret didn't get the message. Bret asks again why they want him out of Ten Strikes, and Vic avoids answering the question, then knocks Bret unconscious.
After Vic and Eddie leave, Frankie comes along in the hotel's buggy and wakes up Bret. She figures that it's her fault that Bret stayed in Ten Strike, because of her, and ignores Bret when he says that he didn't. Frankie says that she saw the two men take Bret out of town and followed them, and suggests that the two of them leave town together. Frankie figures that someone is making a fool out of her. Since her benefactor hasn't turned up, Frankie says that there was another girl at the dance hall she worked at, got jealous when her boyfriend made eyes at Frankie, and paid $100 to get rid of Frankie.
Frankie suggests they go to either of the towns at the crossroads, but Bret figures that he'll go back to Ten Strike. He lost $200 to find out how they play poker, and is curious to know why someone wants him out of town.
The duo head back to their hotel in Ten Strike, and Frankie figures that Bret better stay in her room because the men might look for him in his room. She has him lay on the bed while she sleeps in a chair, and finds an envelope that someone slipped beneath her door. Inside is a note saying that she's done well. Ben asks about Scott, and Frankie assures Bret that he's not his benefactor because she asked. Frankie describes how Scott talked about how Ten Strike is a great place to settle down.
Frankie figures that Bret is jealous, and Bret insists that he's not the jealous type and wouldn't be jealous of Frankie in any case because she's not "the type". He admits that there's something about Frankie, and kisses her. She kisses him back, then tells him to relax because he's in "critical condition" He promises that Vic and Eddie will be worse the next night when he catches up to them, and Frankie goes to the next room to sleep.
The next night, Bret tracks down Eddie at the barber shop, where he's getting a bath. Bret pays the barer, Joe, to make sure they're not disturbed. He then goes into the backroom and puts a bucket over Eddie's head. Bret draws his gun and then asks why Eddie was ordered to get him out of Ten Strike. He holds Eddie's head under the water until Eddie says that he did it for Vic, who said it was a favor for the friend. Bret asks where Vic is, and Eddie directs Bret to the blacksmith's shop.
Bret pays off the blacksmith to give him ten minutes alone with Vic, then goes into the stable and punches Vic unconscious. He then strings Vic up by his feet, and Vic wakes up. Bret draws his gun and demands to know why Vic ordered him out of town. Vic says that he did it for Bret's own good, and for Mae. He figured it was none of his business why, and Bret releases Vic and leaves.
At the saloon, Bret barges into Mae's office and she claims that the two men are is pulling her leg. Bret wonders what they'd gain by sending him to her. Mae points out that they sent Bret to her because they figured he wouldn't. She notes that she has no reason to want Bret out of town, and he goes to find Vic. One Bret leaves, Eddie emerges from the next room and Mae glares at him.
Bret is walking down the street when someone shoots at him. Bret takes cover and draws his gun, and shoots the shooter across the street when the lights in the store behind the shooter come on. Bret goes over and discovers that it's Eddie who is dead. The sheriff and the townspeople arrive. The sheriff suspects Bret, and Scott comes over and says that he saw Eddie shoot first.
After the sheriff accepts Scott's testimony, Bret goes over and accuses Scott of being Frankie's benefactor. Scott insists that he doesn't care, and likes Frankie but figures it's the kind of person the town needs but Bret isn't. Bret admits that he's come to the same conclusion, and says that he's leaving.
Bret walks off, and Scott knocks at the saloon door. When Vic answers, Scott tells her that he has to see Mae. Mae invites him in, and tells him that she knows from Vic that Eddie is dead. Mae and Scott go to Mae's office, and Scott says that Eddie is dead because of Mae. The banker says that he warned Mae years ago when she had Stoner deliberately killed. Mae insists that she did it for Scott, who says that Bret didn't recognize him when he talked to him face-to-face.
Mae suggests they leave it at where it's at, but Scott promises to end it. He says that the doctor gave him less than a year to live, and he's going to tell the sheriff what they've both done. Mae notes that they won't hang her like they'll hang Scott, but Scott says that he doesn't acre and isn't out for revenge. He leaves, and Mae tells Vic that they should start running. Vic wonders if there's an easier way, and Mae tells him that it's up to him.
As Stoner arrives at the sheriff's office, Vic starts to shoot him and then hesitates.
Bret goes to his room and packs, and tells Frankie that he's going. She wonders about herself, and accuses Bret of leading her on concerning marriage. Bret insists that he hasn't done much to lead her on, and then kisses her again. He then pulls away and insists it doesn't prove a thing. Frankie says that she'd want the man she marries to be braver than Bret, and they say their goodbyes.
Frankie goes to her room and finds Scott's corpse on her bed.
Meanwhile, Bret arrives at the crossroads and rides onto the next town, Faro City. When he gets there, Bret starts playing poker. A man sits in and says that he saw Bret at Ten Strike a few nights ago. He explains that Frankie was arrested for killing Scott. Frankie claimed that she's innocent, but no one believed her. Bret picks up his money and rides back to Ten Strike.
Frankie is sitting in a cell when Bret is let in to see her. She says that they found out that Scott was her benefactor, and confirmed in his books that he paid her the $100. Scott left her his money, but if she died before he did, all the money would go to the town. All of the people in the town get the money if she's prove guilty, so no one is rushing to defend her.
Bret asks around town, and the printer says that Stoner came to Ten Strikes eight years ago. Mae arrived in town with a traveling show six years ago, bought the saloon, and stayed in Ten Strike. The printer finds the handbill he printed, and identifies the show as coming from Virginia City. Bret remembers playing poker in Virginia City. He goes to Frankie and tells her that Mae must remember him. Bret ended up in jail after fighting with someone accusing him of cheating. He was imprisoned next to Scott, who got a gun away from a guard and escaped. Bret knew Scott's real name, Frankovich, and confirms that Frankie changed her name from Frankovich... and Scott was her father.
Figuring that Mae was blackmailing Scott, Bret goes to Mae's office. Vic is there with her, and they apologize to each other for what happened between them a few nights ago. Bret then tells Mae that he knows they met in Virginia City, when Scott was there. Mae and Vic realize that Bret has figured out the whole thing, and he says that he checked his newspapers and confirmed Stoner died five years ago. Stoner knew Scott, and Bret explains that Scott was Frankie's father. He mentions that Frankie doesn't know about it and asks for $1,000 to keep his silence.
Mae figures that Bret wouldn't sell out Frankie, and Bret suggests that Mae hand over Vic as Scott's killer. He suggests that they have Vic "shot while trying to escape". Mae figures that it's a bluff, and Bret says that he left an "open on my death" letter to the sheriff. Mae considers Bret's offer, and suggests they give Vic a head start first. Bret says that if he gets his $1,000, he'll go with Vic.
Vic says that he'll kill them both, and Bret invites him to open the door and let the sheriff in. The sheriff waits outside the window and hears the entire thing, and arrests Vic and Mae.
Later, Bret makes sure the stagecoach is empty and then boards. Frankie runs up at the last minute with a ticket, and gets in. She has $500 from her new estate, and isn't ready to settle down yet. Frankie figures that Bret tried to sneak off because he believes he'd be beneath her now that she's a heiress. Bret insists that he doesn't believe that, and insists that he's not in love with Frankie. She kisses him, interrupt his objections, and Bret kisses her back as they leave Ten Strike.
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