- Returning to America after an extended stay in England, Cousin Beau Maverick is hired to take the place of a young English nobleman. However, he soon finds himself the victim of a kidnap and ransom plot due to his assumed identity.
- Bart tracks down his cousin Beau, who was recently exiled to England by Pappy for being the "white sheep" of the family. The cousins see a way to make a quick $4,000 by Beau posing as an Englishman, Freddie, who wants his father to think he's being made a man of, but Beau discovers that the whole thing is a ruse to hold Freddie for ransom. Problem is, Freddie's father the Marquis would rather rescue his son in person then pay the money.—Gislef
- Bart is heading downriver on a riverboat and arrives in St. Louis. A fight is going on and men fall into the water. A carriage driver arrives with Bart, who says that he's looked everywhere but the docks for Bart's cousin and refuses to get involved in the fighting. He drops Bart off, and Bart sees three men get thrown out of a saloon by the sheriff, Muldoon. Muldoon comes out and tells his deputy, Granas, to get them a room.
Bart comes over as Muldoon tells Granas to stack the men up on the docks because the jail is full. Bart explains that he's looking for his cousin, Beau, but admits that he doesn't know because he's been in England for the last five years. Muldoon suggests that Bart check with Freddie Bognar at the Blue Moose, and then asks if Bart plays poker. When Bart says that he does, Muldoon tells Bart to tell Freddie that he sent him.
Bart goes to the Blue Moose and peers in the window. He sees Freddie playing poker and goes in, and Freddie notices Bart watching him. Bart goes to the bar and watches Freddie, who observes him as he wins again. One of the players accuses Freddie of cheating, but one of Freddie's bodyguard shoves the player down. Freddie sends a bodyguard over to pickpocket Bart's wallet, but Bart catches him and calls him on it. Bart easily knocks the bodyguard back after recovering his wallet, and both bodyguards come back at Bart. He fends them off and a fight breaks out in the saloon. Bart crawls through the chaos and Freddie joins him under a table.
As the two men watch the fighting, Bart tells Freddie that Muldoon sent him. Freddie acknowledges that Bart is adept with his hand, and Bart points out that Freddie was cheating. The Englishman is impressed that Bart caught him, and Bart asks if there's somewhere they can talk. They make their way through the brawlers, go down to the docks, and Bart explains that he's looking for Beau. Freddie admits that he and Muldoon have a "trade agreement", and offers Bart $2,000 a job. He invites Bart to come along with him... after returning Bart's wallet that he pickpocket out of habit.
Freddie takes Bart to a restaurant and eats, and then explains that his father the Marquis de Bognor received a prospectus for the Bar H Ranch in Wyoming. The Marquis wants Freddie to go there and check it out, to make a man out of Freddie, but Freddie doesn't want to give up his "business connections" in St. Louis. Freddie wants Bart to impersonate him and go to the ranch, and figures it would be a lark for Bart but it would kill him. Bart figures that it wouldn't work and the two go their separate ways.
Outside, Bart lights a cigar and hears Beau telling some men about he got a medal in the Civil War. Beau comes over and the cousins see each other, and Bart tells Beau to retract his story before Pappy finds out that Beau did something heroic, and exiles him back to England. Bart says that he just managed to calm Pappy down enough to let Beau back into the States. He points out that Beau supposedly captured a Yankee general, and Beau admits that he beat the man in poker since Beau was the only one not fighting. Beau had just won a hand when the Confederates arrived, and the general said that he "gives up" at poker. They assumed he had surrendered to Beau, and Beau got a medal. Pappy is unhappy that Beau is the "white sheep" of the family and exiled Beau.
Beau explains that an Englishman had stolen a purser's trunk, and his name is Freddie and Bart was mistaken for him because of the English accent he acquired. Bart says that Beau's accent might be worth $2,000, and Beau perks up after asking Bart for $5 get his bag out of impoundment. Bart realizes that Freddie sole his wallet, again.
Freddie is playing poker at a club when Bart and Beau find him. They peer in through the transom and Freddie sees them. Startled, he drops a card and a fight breaks out among the players. Freddie sneaks out with the money, and Bart and Beau grab him. Bart explains that Beau will impersonate Freddie, and Beau reminds Freddie that he stole the purser's trunk and left Beau to take the blame. Beau says that the impersonation and the bond he had to pay is another $2,000, meaning Freddie will be paying him $4,000. Bart is unimpressed and takes the money from Freddie's hart.
Later at the hotel, Beau pays Bart half of the take and discovers that Freddie stole his watch. The next day he takes a stagecoach to Wyoming. Two masked man hold up the stagecoach and ask which one of the passengers if Freddie. Beau figures that they're from the rank and it's an initiation, but they tell him it isn't and take him to a farmhouse.
The two men, Pecos and Brazos, take Beau to an Englishman, Herbert. Herbert calls in a Cockney woman, Molly, and asks her if Beau is Freddie. Molly admits that she's never seen Freddie and figures that Beau is the Marquis' son since Freddie gave Beau his signet ring to wear. Since the Marquis is rich, Herbert figures that the Marquis will pay 20,000 pounds as ransom. Beau claims that he's a wayfarer named Courtney Faversham and won the ring in a poker game. The two thugs insist that they checked the passenger list and Beau must be Freddie, and the razor-wielding Herbert figures that regardless, Beau knows too much and will have to kill him.
Beau tells Herbert that his plan has genius, but suggests that they ask 25,000 pounds. He'll impersonate Freddie and shows the papers that Freddie gave him. Herbert wonders what Beau is up to, and Beau says that he can get him the money faster. Herbert is impressed and Beau explains that he'll take the extra $5,000 as a "consultant fee". They'll include the signet ring and a veiled threat, and Bret will write the note and send it to the Marquis' business agent in St. Louis to expedite the delivery of the money. Herbert gives Beau his razor and invites him to write the ransom note.
Bart is playing poker at the club in St. Louis and draws to a full house. He gets the note from Beau and finds the signet ring inside. Beau sent the note to Bart as the "business agent", and asks for 25,000 pounds. A disappointed Bart excuses himself, and the other players look at his discarded poker hand in relief.
Bart writes a note to the Marquis asking for the 25,000 pounds, appealing to his sense of fatherhood, and suggests that the Marquis leave the money as a bond in a bank so they can set a trap for the kidnappers. He sends it to Liverpool by cable,
Bart plays poker with Herbert, Pecos, and Brazos, and wins. Herbert suspects Beau of cheating and drinks whiskey, and he says that if the ransom isn't there in five days, he'll kill Beau. He then sends Beau out, and Molly goes out with him and warns that one day Beau will push Herbert too far. She says that Pecos and Brazos work for the ranch, and Herbert sent a bogus prospectus to lure Freddy there. Brazos and Pecos got jobs on the ranch so they could capture Freddie, and Molly told Beau that she knew the Marquis would send Freddie. She admits that the only real man was the one she left, the Marquis. Molly warns Beau that Marquis told her that he won't send any money because he didn't think much of Freddie. Beau, fingering his neck, realizes that the Marquis might not pay.
Bart is playing poker and draws to a straight flush. The hotel clerk brings him a telegram from the Marquis, telling Bart to meet him when he arrives. Bart shows Freddie the wire and admits that he tried to convince the Marquis to just send the money, but he's coming himself. He suggests that Freddie get out of sight via a boat cruise with Captain Wolf Kratkovitch. After Bart leaves, Freddie realizes that Bart pickpocket him.
The next day, Freddie meets with Kratkovitch on his ship and gives him Bart's note of introduction. When Freddie asks for a suite, Kratkovitch drags him to the boiler room.
The Marquis arrives by ship, and Bart introduces himself. The Englishman wonders where the "little thief" is, and is eager to go to the Bar H Ranch. Bart tries to convince the Marquis to put the money in a bank to lure the kidnappers to them, but the Marquis takes the kidnapping as a personal challenge and wants to meet them personally. Bart warns that it's a four trip day, and the Marquis says that they'll do it in two.
Bart and the Marquis go to Wyoming by train, stagecoach, canoe, and horse.
Beau plays solitaire, and Herbert tells him that the five days are up and he'll kill Beau if the ransom money isn't there. He leaves with Brazos, and Beau tells Molly that he trusts Bart but admits that he isn't sure why. She says that she has nowhere to go so stays with Herbert, and Beau suggests that she go back to the Marquis once she improves herself. Beau figures that the Marquis went down to Molly's bar in Soho because he wanted a real woman, and loves her as much as she loves him. He offers to take Molly to England, grabs a bottle of the whiskey, and figures that they need a distraction. Beau will attract their attention, and Molly throws the whiskey in the fireplace and they sneak out in the confusion. Molly agrees and hugs Beau.
Herbert and Brazos discover that the money isn't where they specified, and spot Bart and the Marquis riding to the Bar H. They take a shortcut to get there first, and meanwhile Bart and the Marquis arrive at the ranch house and a ranch hand, McGee, tells them to move on. Bart introduces himself, but McGee isn't impressed. When McGee throws a punch, the Marquis knocks him down with a boxing punch. Impressed, McGee tells the Marquis that he's a lover of the manly art and they can stay as long as they want.
Pecos trips as he watches from the corner of the ranch house, and McGee says that he just hired Pecos and Brazos because good men are hard to find. Bart takes a look around, and McGee asks the Marquis to show him more of his fancy footwork.
Pecos rides off and Bart follows him. The thug Bart and gallops away, and Bart follow him. The Marquis and McGee see Bart ride off, and McGee figures that Bart has rabies and they'd better tie him up.
Herbert arrives at the farmhouse and goes in. He pulls out his razor and Beau realizes that the ransom money wasn't there. Beau asks for his last look to be at the plains and valleys. Pecos arrives and says that Bart is following him, and they capture Bart when he comes in. Bart tells them that they kidnapped the wrong man and presents Beau's passport. Molly isn't happy that Beau isn't Freddie, and she says that Beau tried to convince her to escape with him. Herbert locks her in a room, furious that she was going to betray him. Brazos ties Bart and Beau up, while Herbert and Pecos go out and spot the Marquis and McGee approaching.
Once they're alone, Bart notices that Herbert left his razor behind. Both Mavericks realize that they can use the razor to cut themselves free.
Brazos joins Herbert and Pecos, and Herbert realize that he left his razor inside. When he goes to get it, Bart jumps him while Beau goes after Brazos and Pecos. He sneaks up on the two men, but Brazos spots him and fires. Beau feigns being wounded, and fights Brazos when he comes over.
Herbert knocks Bart into a stove, spilling the hot coals. Bart rolls Herbert onto the coals repeatedly as they fight.
Beau knocks out Brazos, grabs his gun, and he and Pecos exchange shots.
Bart and Herbert knock the whiskey on the hot coals, starting a fire. Herbert runs out, shoves past Beau, and gets on his horse. Bart runs out and pulls Herbert off his horse, and the two cousins knock out Herbert. The Marquis and McGee arrive and the Marquis charges forward, yelling English battle cries. Molly calls for help, and the Mavericks let the Marquis rescue her. The Marquis charge into the farmhouse, and the Marquis carries Molly out. He's fallen back in love with her, and they hug.
Later back in St. Louis, the Marquis is with Molly and says that he'll be back after he takes Molly to England, he'll come back to run the ranch with McGee. He gives Bart and Beau a thousand pounds each to settle account, and Bart assures him that Kratkovitch is making a man out of Freddie. Once the couple depart on the ship to England, Bart and Beau go to get themselves a meal and grow they money. They find Kratkovitch hauling freight for Freddie, who now owns Kratkovitch's ship.
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