- To obtain water rights, bad guy Mark Foster murders the heir to a cattle ranch and puts an imposter in his place.
- Before he was killed by Mark Foster's men, Bud Lawton willed part ownership in his ranch to Hoppy and his two pals. When the three arrive they find a fake posing as Lawton. When they expose the imposter, Foster gets the Sheriff to jail them for Lawton's murder.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>
- Bud Lawton, one of the Bar 20 cowboys, asks Hoppy to let him stay on at the ranch for room and board. Bud ran away from home when he was young after an argument with his father and has been a rootless drifter ever since. He has grown to consider the ranch as his home and Hoppy as a father figure. After he receives a letter telling him his real father has died and he is the majority heir to his sprawling ranch, he is murdered by two hired killers. Traveling to Bud's hometown, Hoppy, California, and Jimmy find that Kit Moyer, a Bud lookalike, is impersonating the dead man in order to sell the ranch to crooked townsman Mark Foster over his "sister's" objections. When Hoppy and his friends expose the plot, they are arrested by the town's corrupt sheriff and falsely accused of Bud's murder.—Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)
- Hopalong Cassidy, foreman of the Bar-20 ranch, herds cattle with his friends, California Carlson, Jimmy Rogers and new ranch hand Bud Lawton, for delivery to the railroad. Bud is nearly ambushed by two unidentified gunmen, and later in town, he learns that his father has died and that he has inherited the family ranch, The Diamond Hitch, which controls all the water for the valley. Bud asks Hoppy, California and Jimmy to help him start up the ranch, and when they assent, Bud eagerly drafts a partnership agreement with a lawyer. On his way to get signatures, Bud is murdered by two gunmen. Hoppy, California and Jimmy sadly sign the partnership contract and head for the Diamond Hitch because they suspect that Bud's death is linked to his inheritance. Unknown to them, Mark Foster, the executor of the Lawton estate, has arranged for outlaw Kit Moyer to impersonate Bud, who had been away from home for ten years. Bud's sister Faith is thrilled to welcome her long-awaited "brother" home until he expresses interest in selling the ranch. Hoppy, California and Jimmy arrive in time to witness the reunion, and when the Lawton ranch hands are later driven off by mysterious assailants, the three apply for jobs at the ranch. Kit refuses to hire new ranch hands, but Jimmy stays on after Hoppy introduces himself to Faith as a friend of her father. In town, Hoppy confides to Judge Stevens that Kit is an impostor, and informs him of his partnership in the ranch. California, meanwhile, looks for the left-handed gunslinger who killed Bud and gets in a fight with cowboy Rip Austin, who works for Foster. Hoppy finishes off the fight and, because of his interference, Foster orders him killed. However, Hoppy confronts Kit and Foster at a party and accuses Kit of being an impostor, and Foster of trying to steal the Lawton ranch. After Foster implies that Hoppy is the thief because of the partnership agreement, Hoppy, California and Jimmy try to escape. California is wounded in the chase, and he, Hoppy and Jimmy are arrested. When Faith comes to visit them in jail, Hoppy slips the partnership agreement to her through his cell bars so she can thwart any attempts to sell the ranch. When the sheriff releases them under the pretense of saving them from a lynch mob, Hoppy sees two men waiting to ambush them, and he forces the sheriff to lure the men inside. The men are Bud's killers and Hoppy imprisons them. Kit confronts Foster when he learns that Foster plans to betray him, and is killed by Foster. Hoppy then wrestles with Foster until he knocks the criminal unconscious. With the duplicitous gang locked up, Hoppy, California and Jimmy turn the ranch over to Faith, and head back home to the Bar-20.
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