 With action and suspense out of the Old West comes the most famous hero of them all. Hopalong Cassidy starring William Boyd. The ring of the silver spurs harrows the most amazing man ever to rise up to the early West. Hopalong Cassidy. The same hoppy you cheer in motion pictures. And the same California you've laughed at a million times. Raw courage and quick shooting have built a legend around this famous hero. Hopalong is a name to be feared, respected and admired. For this great cowboy rides the trails of adventure and excitement. William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy. And Andy Clyde as California. Well Hoppy, what about our story? We call this one black grass fever. Some folks don't realize it but in the early days of the Great West cattle ranchers had a great responsibility to the big cities in the East to keep the stock moving to the packing houses on time so they can handle it all right. Now once in a while if a rancher didn't have the cattle he promised to deliver he'd try to buy or borrow it from some friend of his. But sometimes on account of drought or rustling or freezing winter that might be hard to do. I remember one time California and I were finding it that way. Have nothing but bad luck and we've been traveling a hard trail a long, long way from the bar 20. George, so much longer we're going to be eating this outcry, Darcy Hoppy. See that blue sky straight ahead of these twin dukes we're riding through? Well, as soon as we get there we drop down into one of the sweetest little cattle ranches in all Montana. We've seen plenty of ranches in this trip, Hoppy. What we need is the right folks to do business with. Old Matt Blaine, one of the finest guys anywhere. Matt told me when he started this thread that the things ever got tough to just come over and borrow a few hundred heads. Well, I reckon things just saved up all right, sir. Hadn't been for me, we probably could have bought all we needed, clear, back in Cheyenne. Oh, sure. What ever got into you, California? Well, the first thing I knew you had your six-shooter out and there you were, making that poor fellow dance to that Lady Piano Player's music. Well, I wish I had to know it was the sheriff. What did you think that star was, his gallus buckle? Well, no, but Hoppy... Oh, forget it. All the world loves a lover. Ha-ha! Okay, look at that there. Ah, look at it there. She is, California, right below us. What a layout. Never did she anything so pretty. Be kind and nice to own a spread like that someday. Mm-hmm. You'd be so lonesome for the boys at the bar at twenty you'd be back in a month. Look, what do you make of that? I don't see nothing except a nice ranch house and some of the greenest grass in the world. Oh, they're at the right. What about those stairs? Huh? Where? I'll be dad-rattled. They ain't moving. None at all. Must be about a hundred of them. All laying down right, they were asleep. They aren't sleeping in the hot sun. They're dead. Come on. We got here just in time because it looks like old Matt Blaine's in trouble. Back to hop along Cassidy and black grass fever. Hoppy and California have come a long hard trail to old Matt Blaine's place to borrow some badly needed cattle for the bar twenty. But when they get to Matt Blaine's, they find tragedy has struck at the beautiful spread and more likely they'll be trying to help Matt than asking a favor of it. That is, help Matt if they can. Hoppy! Hello, Matt. Oh, it's mighty good to see you. This is California. Oh, how are you, California? Hoppy told me lots about you. You're a friend of Hoppy? Yeah, that's all I need to know. Well, Hoppy, you don't know how glad I am to see you. Things are bad here. Oh, excuse me. This here's Mr. Lathrop. He's a veterinarian. This is Hoppe along Cassidy and his pal, California Carlson. How are you? Glad to know you, Mr. Cassidy. Howdy, Lathrop. What's troubling, Matt? Hoppy, two weeks ago, every rancher in this section started losing steers and they've been dying like flies. Oh, are we sure about a hundred ahead from the top of abuse? Go on, Matt. Well, I've lost half my herd and some of them had been hit harder than me. But Matt, what's the reason for all this? Well, we didn't know. But Mr. Lathrop here happened to be riding through on the stagecoach when he heard about the trouble. He's a veterinarian from Jackson City. Go ahead, Lathrop. Tell Hoppy about it. Well, the cattle on these spreads is dying of black grass fever. Black grass fever? What's that? I've only heard about three other cases in this country myself. Mostly it happens in the Orient, you see. Well, how does it work? What does it do? Once it takes hold of grazing land, there's nothing you can do to stamp it out. As long as you graze steers here, more of them will die. Come to see your friend at a bad time, Mr. Cassidy. So I have, Lathrop. So I have. Well, as long as I'm here, I think I'll warn some of the other ranchers of my diagnosis. I think it's my duty. Oh, that's mighty nice of you, Lathrop, and thanks for telling me, too. Just my duty. Goodbye, man. You aim to stay in town, Mr. Lathrop? Yes, I probably will for a few days. Why? I'll probably see you then, professionally, I mean. Anytime, Cassidy. I don't know you, Hoppy. How about seeing him, I mean? Matt, what would you say if I told you I came here to take you up on your offer to let me buy a couple hundred head anytime I needed him to meet a delivery contractor? My cattle are all dying here. If you want to take and drive them off for you, you might be able to save them. You're plum welcome. Yes, we'd be plum grateful, too. Not so fast, California. Matt, I need those cattle, and I need them bad, and I need them fast. But not so fast that I'm going to leave you here thinking you're wiped out and you have to give up this beautiful spread. But what's the use, Hoppy? Fact is fact. Matt, are you going to book on cattle diseases in the house? I reckon I have you. I'd like to see it. And then, Matt, I'm going to give you a few facts about the previous spread. You see, Matt, I've never heard a black grass fever and there's nothing in this book about it either. But my steers are dying. How come Lathrop just happens in the town about this time? That don't make no difference. If I stay longer, it means losing more steers. I can't afford it, Hoppy. But you're too old to make a fresh start, Matt. Now, what if your steers are being poisoned? I don't think they are. We've had the druggist analyze the water in all the waterholes, and it's all right. Besides, why would anybody want to ruin it? I don't know. It might just be someone as anxious to get hold of this land around here. That's where you're wrong. When us ranchers pull out, the land goes back to the banker who's holding the mortgages. And who's that? Jess Atkins, and Jess is the squarist banker in these parts. He says he can't be prosperous if us ranchers ain't. Hmm, he says that. Well, then... What's your suspicions up in the first place, Hoppy? I was coming to California. Here it is. Matt, think of that vet later. What are you driving at, Hoppy? All the vets I've seen were tanned from being out in the open with the stock. Hoppy's right, Matt. And did you notice his hands, Matt? If that doesn't keep his nails long, I'd get in his way. Maybe so, Hoppy. Think, Matt, who does keep his nails long here in the west? I'll tell you who. A gambler. Now, Matt, does that give you anything to think about besides just pulling up steaks? Maybe, Hoppy. Maybe... Give me in California 48 hours. Maybe I'm all wrong. But before you decide to quit, just give us a chance to look into things for you. What if it don't do any good? Well, the offer still goes. If we fail, we'll buy your stock outright to the bar 20. If we succeed, we'll just borrow them. You keep your spreading until we return the loan after the fall roundup. Yeah, Hoppy. There's that vetched buckboard parking in front of the bank. Surprise. What's on inside the bank? Are they late for bankers? Not too late for that later, fellas. Just walking down the bank steps. Looks like that's money. He's stuffing in his billfold. What do you know? California youth scanner knows around some. Right, Hoppy. When I come out of the bank, he'll be waiting for me in front of a silver dollar casino down the street. Are you Jeff Atkins, the banker? Who wants to know? It's not a business, though, Cassidy. It is. About time it was, anyway. I did accommodate another stranger a minute ago, but I've locked up the bolt now. Well, all I want to know right now is if you have any land to sell. I might want to buy some. No, I haven't a thing. And I don't think you'll find much anywhere else in these parts either. I'll come. Well, all these ranchers pulling out and you holding the mortgages, I think you'd have a lot of land to sell. All right. And I see you've met Mr. Lathrop, the veterinarian. Yes, I have. Well, if everyone pulls out, I'll have some land, lots of land. But I'd hate to see you buy it and try to sell it to some unsuspecting poor devil. Why not? You'd have nothing to worry about. Well, just my conscience. Well, thanks for the information, anyway. That's all I wanted to know. All right. Good night. Good night, Atkins. Hoppy, where's our pal Lathrop, California? And who do you think's dealing most of the time? He is. And that fellow Lathrop knows how to deal, doesn't he? He sure does. But Lathrop ain't winner. Let's take a look, see. There's the game over there. Let's stop and watch from the bar here. What's yours, strangers? Nothing, thanks. Did you see that, Hoppy? I sure did. Lathrop did deliberately slip the young fellow card. I will see. There's the showdown. And the tender foot wins. Uh-huh. California. You're lucky tonight. Oh, no, bad. I don't want to get into that game, Hoppy. Give me a chance to try to get a rise out of him. Let's go. All right, Hoppy. If you say so. Hmm. Now it's the tender foot, Steve. Looks funny. Howdy, fellas. Got room for the condescended, unluckiest poker player in Montana? How about it, Mr. Lathrop? I'm losing, but it's all right with me. There's your winner, ask him. His deal anyway. Oh, sure, it's okay. Sit down, mister. All right, next to me if you want him. Might bring you luck. Well, thank you, fella. Everybody ready? There goes. I didn't expect to win, really. No? King bet. I was just killing some time until tomorrow. That doesn't. I just saw you second-dealing, stranger. He's got what's coming to him, all right? Look at that second chip for Sharper. That's the shelf I got tender for, didn't he? Not so fast. I was standing right back of the tender foot when he was dealing. He didn't second deal. Furthermore, Lathrop, on the hand just before this one, I saw you deliberately peel a card from the bottom of the deck and give it to the tender foot, and he won that pot. Oh, blooded murder, man. Lathrop has done most of the dealing and he wanted to make it look like the tender foot was winning a fortune, so he'd have a good reason to accuse him of cheating. You murdered him, Lathrop. Why? Were you trying to shut him up about something? You got him, Hoppy. Winged him neat. I'll settle with you for this, Cassidy. We'll see. I could have killed you when you drew on me, Lathrop. There are a few things I want to find out about you first. Come on, California. We've got a few more calls to make tonight. Back to Hop along Cassidy and our story, Black Grass Fever. Lathrop, the veterinarian who had advised Hoppy's friend Matt Blaine to give up his spread, has murdered a man in cold blood before Hoppy had a chance to save him. But now, Hoppy knows his suspicions about Lathrop are confirmed. And somehow, somebody must stand again if Matt Blaine and the other ranchers are so discouraged by using their herds that they give up their spread. Hoppy is determined to find out how and who and why. Our horse is right down here. Must have just now started raining. Come on, Hoppy. Uh-oh. What's wrong with you, California? Well, Hoppy and all the excitement have seen the tender boots wallet slip out of his pocket. Uh-huh. And maybe I ought to take it back while you old sidewinder. You're not fooling me. You picked up that wallet because you knew there'd be valuable information in it. Glad you're done it. Let me see it. Ah, good. Here's these papers. Well, I thought it was something like that. According to this, the tender foot worked for the Plainsland Railroad. I'm beginning to see the light, California. Yeah, where we're heading for now? Back to Matt's place. What's going there, Hoppy? Can you tell me? Uh-oh. What's that line off of the north there? Looks like a big, fresh block of salt for the salt lake. Right. Now, here are the footprints going from the buckboard of the salt lake. They're deep, see? Like someone was carrying that salt block from the buckboard. Yeah, and here's the same prints going back to the buckboard. Well, what do you say? Well, same man went back to the buckboard after he put that salt block down. All we've seen is that lake of color. I mean, he's back in town probably getting a bullet took out of his own. Never mind about that. If this salt block is poisoned, I'll have a pretty good idea who drove the buckboard. And I'm heading back to town right now to have the salt analyzed. Grab it, California, and let's go. I'm coming into the drug store with you, Hoppy, and maybe you ain't so popular around here. You better wait here with the horses. Guest it. Well, let's hope I might have guessed no shooting in here, man. I'm just trying to bind up this arm, stranger. This ain't no place. Take it easy, mister. Go ahead and fix up your patience. I just want to have this salt analyzed. Any objections, Lathrop? You must have come here right after the shooting. Well, what if I did? I just want to be sure. How long's he been here, druggist? Well, about 5, 10 minutes, I guess. Then you loaned your buckboard to somebody tonight, Lathrop, before you went to play poker. You didn't have time to do it since the shooting. Who borrowed that buckboard just before you went in to play poker and just before it started raining? I don't know what you're driving at, Cassidy. Just this. If you known to be playing poker, you could provide an alibi for any trouble that buckboard might happen to get itself into. If that's what I was up to, why would I murder the tenderfoot like you claimed? Lathrop, you and your partner, whoever he is, could have been providing alibi for each other. You don't know what you're talking about, Cassidy. But you're looking for trouble and you're sure going to get it. I'm getting out of here. Hey, you better let me change those values tomorrow. I'm afraid he wasn't listening, my friend. Now, how long it take you to analyze this salt block? Or are you a friend of Lathrop? It won't take me but 10 minutes. Just so as I get my fee, I'm in business to help anybody. Fair enough. But don't let this salt block get away from you. Say, Hoppy, your friend Lathrop just hightailed it right down the street in a hurry. Looks like you sure are scared when you walked in with that salt block down this way. Well, I hope I scared him into running right over to the man who was driving that buck board tonight. Let's just take a look at the bank and see. Lathrop figured he'd be seen at the gambling hall and he'd have an alibi while someone else took the buck board out to plant the salt. Proudly. What's that? Sounds like somebody running back towards the druggist. Well, anyway, here's the bank. And if Atkins and Lathrop are in there, they're sitting in the dark. Let's go. I should have known it. Lathrop would double back to the drugstore as soon as we left. It's the druggist store, right? Doc, you hurt bad? I'm done for, Cassidy. Somebody, somebody must have got in the back window sneak right up to me and before I could... The back window's still open, Hoppy. Shall I light out after him? Yeah, and Pronto, California. He's coming, Hoppy. I'll stand by. Hey, what's going on here? Somebody plugged the druggist here, Sheriff. How'd you get here so fast, stranger? I was standing outside the bank when I heard a shot. I ran right over. Outside the bank? Or this hour? Maybe he was, and maybe he wasn't. I heard Cassidy having an argument with old Doc just ten minutes ago. He knows I did. Don't kill, Cassidy. So you were here earlier tonight, Cassidy? I had a block of salt to have it analyzed. Ask him to tell you where the salt is, then, Sheriff. Where, old Cassidy? Well, it was right over here. But it just ain't there now, huh? Get your hands up, Cassidy. I'm taking you in for the murder of Doc Brown. Sorry, Sheriff, but I just got to ask you to drop that shooting iron. Go on. Drop it. Why, California, you old sidewinder, you're downright eloquent. Well, me and Hoppy's got a few errands to do tonight, Sheriff, so we'll just be taking our leave. The horse is outside the back window, Hoppy. Ask me where we're going, California. Now, gentlemen, I'll trouble you to keep peaceable and quiet while we go through this window. Where are we headed for, Hoppy? Why, we'll just head straight from that plane's place. Of course, he'll vouch for it. Now, don't move any of you. Go ahead, California. Now, let's get ridin'. Hey! Hey! Get off of those birds! Those colors shoot mighty boys. See that side street up in the town? Nice as the little side street I ever did see, right behind the straw to fill the matte bling. Right, gettin' the shadows over there. Now, they figure over that next rise. They heard us all right. They're headed for Matt's place. They sure are, Hoppy, and where might I ask now what we really headed for? That tenderfoot who worked for the railroad told you he came here on business. That's right, Hoppy, but what could that business be? Well, tying into the play Lathrop made can only mean one thing. The railroad sent a young fellow here to buy up the right-of-way for a line that's gonna be built right through this town. And Lathrop didn't want the word to get out. Poor he scared the ranchers off the stretch. But Lathrop isn't in this alone. He is a stranger here. He must be gettin' some help from inside the town. Dernivier? And I want to be able to prove who that is. Oh, I'll declare. What are we gonna do now, Hoppy? Do? Remember Jeff Atkins? We're headin' for his bank. The bank's dark, Hoppy. Atkins, 8 years. Fine, we're goin' in anyway. I see the poor old druggist wasn't the only one who leaves these windows unlocked around these parts. Come in, California. What's the idea, Hoppy? There's only one safe place so close to the drugstore. Lathrop could have taken that salt after he plugged the druggist. I got you, Hoppy, but if we're wrong, we blast that board and the salt ain't inside. Then we'll really be hog-tied. They'll be wanting us for murder and bank robbery. I sure wouldn't want to put a lot of money in that vault. Don't look very strong. Stand back, I think I can shoot that handle off. That last one did it. Hoppy, there's your poison salt. Sure, and that means that Atkins and Lathrop were in this together. Don't move either of you. Well, Atkins, nice of you to join the party. I had an idea you'd be headin' back here once you figured out the salt was poison-casity. So I've just been waiting for you to blow the vault door off. We didn't have to blow it off. We just fired three shots at it and it fell off. When the poshie comes back to town, I'm going to find three bullet holes in my vault door. Three bullets missing from your gun and two dead bank robbers. I'm going to kill you both. To the conclusion of our story, black grass fever. What a perfect set-up, Cassidy. To be able to kill you because you're robbing my vault. But it's not quite so easy. Think it over. You've got one gun. There are two of us. You think you can kill us before we close in? Maybe I'd better start with one of you right now. Don't be a fool, Atkins. You may get one, but the other will get you. Listen, the poshie coming back. I don't bluff. I don't hear anything. You don't either. Oh, yes, I do. Posse must have known they were on the false trail when they got out of the open. And you haven't taken that salt out of the vault yet. Get up, come on. I don't hear anything. Move a little closer to the window, Atkins. I can hear him. You're crazy, Cassidy. I can't hear a thing. I'm gonna... You didn't get hit, did you, California? No. You all right, Hoppy? Sure. And Banker Atkins wasn't hit either by anything harder than the heel of my shooting iron. By the time he comes to, the sheriff will really be back. All we have to do to get a confession out of Mr. Atkins is just leave that poison salt block sitting right in the safe where it's nice and dry. Hoppy? Yeah? Just tell me one thing. Yeah? What was you thinking when you was deciding whether or not to take a chance to loan off the door to Atkins safe and taking a chance of maybe being wanted from Banker Atkins? Well, California, I'll tell you. Yeah? Yeah, Hoppy? I figured if it came to the worst... Yeah? Then we'd just grab ourselves some of Jeff Atkins' money so then we could even pay double if we had to to get cattle for the bar 20. Well, well, I declare, Hoppy. Or if we got the cattle without paying double, we'd buy some more cattle and start a spread for you to run, California. Hop long, Cassidy. You're the most thoughtful hombre this side of... Then we'd go back to Cheyenne and look up that lady piano player you were so local about and get her to settle down with you. Oh, no, Hoppy, you wouldn't. No, sirree, I ain't a go... Yeah? Ha, ha, you didn't. But for a minute, fool me, Hop long, Cassidy. No, sure not. But for a minute, you ring-tail coyote. I guess not, California. I guess not. Ha, ha, ha. Well, Hoppy.