Throughout the series, Cheyenne Bodie has shown his respect for the natural environment and the critters who share it with us. He might be a tough cowboy but he's got a soft heart. When the situation is sure to be perilous, as happens in this episode, he makes certain that his faithful steed, Brandy, is far from the danger zone, even though that leaves him without a way to get out quickly himself.
The story begins when he comes upon a campfire in the dark and is accosted by a brash young man named Bill Paxton who points a gun at him and, with no interest in introductions, accuses him of being in league with rustlers that have menaced the valley for a long time. He easily disarms the impetuous Paxton but just as he rides away, two glowing eyes appear in the bushes and he hears an anguished scream. When he returns to the campsite, he finds Paxton brutally killed and the fire extinguished. He takes the body into town, only to be met with suspicion from everyone except Englishman rancher Jim Harwick, who hires him and as his first job assigns him the task of finding out what's responsible for a string of deaths like that of young Paxton. Bill's twin brother Pierce, a hothead like his twin, remains skeptical of Bodie's intentions.
After Cheyenne rescues Pierce's fiancée, Sherry, from whatever is hiding among the trees, he shows Paxton papers identifying him as an agent for the Indian Department, with the commission to identify and stop the rustlers who have been stealing cattle from the local tribes. Paxton agrees to help. To do it, Cheyenne sets a trap with himself as bait for the mysterious fire-hating predator. It turns out that the rustlers were using the creature to frighten the superstitious locals into inertia so that they could carry out their nefarious activities without interference. It's a dastardly plan, but Cheyenne has maneuvered events so that he can not only catch the creature but also capture the gang of rustlers.
All the supporting players are very good, including a cameo by venerable Western cowboy Slim Pickens, who injects a note of levity into the drama by admitting to be a coward who is still reluctant to take Cheyenne's horse as instructed and leave Cheyenne alone to confront the mysterious creature terrorizing the basin. This is another case of Cheyenne Bodie overcoming distrust and using his brain to solve a crime. When he demonstrates a humane approach toward the poor traumatized bear, it's yet another facet of his personality that has endeared both the character and the man who brought him to life, Clint Walker, to thousands throughout the decades.
The story begins when he comes upon a campfire in the dark and is accosted by a brash young man named Bill Paxton who points a gun at him and, with no interest in introductions, accuses him of being in league with rustlers that have menaced the valley for a long time. He easily disarms the impetuous Paxton but just as he rides away, two glowing eyes appear in the bushes and he hears an anguished scream. When he returns to the campsite, he finds Paxton brutally killed and the fire extinguished. He takes the body into town, only to be met with suspicion from everyone except Englishman rancher Jim Harwick, who hires him and as his first job assigns him the task of finding out what's responsible for a string of deaths like that of young Paxton. Bill's twin brother Pierce, a hothead like his twin, remains skeptical of Bodie's intentions.
After Cheyenne rescues Pierce's fiancée, Sherry, from whatever is hiding among the trees, he shows Paxton papers identifying him as an agent for the Indian Department, with the commission to identify and stop the rustlers who have been stealing cattle from the local tribes. Paxton agrees to help. To do it, Cheyenne sets a trap with himself as bait for the mysterious fire-hating predator. It turns out that the rustlers were using the creature to frighten the superstitious locals into inertia so that they could carry out their nefarious activities without interference. It's a dastardly plan, but Cheyenne has maneuvered events so that he can not only catch the creature but also capture the gang of rustlers.
All the supporting players are very good, including a cameo by venerable Western cowboy Slim Pickens, who injects a note of levity into the drama by admitting to be a coward who is still reluctant to take Cheyenne's horse as instructed and leave Cheyenne alone to confront the mysterious creature terrorizing the basin. This is another case of Cheyenne Bodie overcoming distrust and using his brain to solve a crime. When he demonstrates a humane approach toward the poor traumatized bear, it's yet another facet of his personality that has endeared both the character and the man who brought him to life, Clint Walker, to thousands throughout the decades.