The Wild West was lawless but had a few iron-clad rules, among them: never draw the attention of the Vigilante Commmittee, never kill a bartender, and certainly never mess with a woman that another man wants to stake a claim on. With too few women to go around, the trouble for Texas John begins at the end of a trail drive when he discovers he and Bizz Ridgeway are both sparkin’ Betty Wilkinson, the belle of the town and “pretty as a brand new bowie knife.”

Bizz assures John that he is merely consoling himself with Betty; he has his sentimental eye turned to another--"A pitcher of divine beauty! Gloria La Venner, which sings in the Silver Boot, over to War Whoop.” The problem? Bizz sort of killed the bartender in War Whoop, so he can’t go back. Oh, and the town wasn’t particularly friendly to cattlemen, in any case.

But, in order to insure exclusive access to Betty, John vows to go to War Whoop and bring Gloria to Bizz, whatever the risk. It’s Texas John’s story, and I reckon he’s an honest man, so I believe him when he swears that “Folks which says I went to War Whoop a-purpose to wreck the town, is liars.”