A Texas ranger disguised as notorious killer Dog-Town Kid meets "Thinker" Gibbs and Pike, a pair of gunmen, in a saloon in Cactus Junction, Texas, and out-smarts them in a poker game. When the Texas Rangers pass through town, Dog-Town shoots out the lights and he, Gibbs, and Pike escape. Just outside of town, the men prove their sharpshooting skills by knocking clothespins off the line of pretty homesteader Marian Henley, who orders the men to re-wash her clothes. Later, Gibbs and Pike are reunited with Dog-Town when corrupt cattleman Jim Morgan hires them to aid Sheriff Chris Bradley, whom Morgan appointed after the old sheriff was murdered, in clearing the territory of homesteaders. Bradley gives each of the gunmen a badge to protect them in case of trouble and Morgan promises to pay each of them $1,000 when the last of the homesteaders leaves. Outlaw Lobo Joe and his gang then enter the saloon and Lobo challenges Gibbs to a poker game, believing he can be easily beaten. When the gang realizes Gibbs' stupidity is a ruse, a brawl starts and Dog-Town uses his badge to stop the fight and arrests the gang. Bradley had not intended to give Dog-Town the power of arrest, but locks up the gang anyway. Dog-Town, meanwhile, has been falling in love with Marian and visits her home and discovers she has a baby. When Marian is called away for a homesteaders' meeting, she asks Dog-Town to babysit. Gibbs and Pike join him and together they quiet the baby by letting him play with Dog-Town's gun. They miss their meeting with Morgan and Bradley, however, and Lobo and his gang are hired instead. When the sheriff releases the gang, Lobo pulls a gun on them and locks them up, demanding the combination to the sheriff's safe, then leaves to rob Morgan's ranch and steal his cattle. The homesteaders, meanwhile, receive word that three gunmen just apprehended Lobo Joe, and Marian realizes the gunmen are none other than the men who shot down her laundry. She races home to save the baby and, finding Dog-Town's gun in the cradle, forces the men at gunpoint into the cellar. Lobo Joe and his men arrive and Marian lets them in, believing they are the homesteaders. While Lobo Joe and two of his men are busy discovering the baby in the bedroom, Marian releases Dog-Town, who rides to the meeting to summon the homesteaders. When the homesteaders accuse Dog-Town of being in league with Morgan, he escapes and falls from his horse long enough to send the angry mob after Lobo's gang. He then arrives at the house just as Lobo pours gasoline down the bullet holes in the cellar door. Dog-Town successfully disarms Lobo and knocks him out, and as the mob arrives to lynch him, Marian tells them he just saved her from Lobo Joe. Later, Marian explains to Dog-Town that the baby is her brother Bob's, who is on vacation with his wife. Dog-Town confesses that his real name is Johnny and that he is a Texas Ranger who was sent to Cactus Junction to investigate Bradley. After killing the real Dog-Town Kid in self-defense, Johnny had found a note on the dead man linking him with Bradley. Johnny then tells Marian he will be a steady caller.
