The Texas Rangers

Originally Aired: March 6, 1939 Cavalcade of America #155, "The Texas Rangers," young Tom Dawson's life is shattered when bandits burn the Clayton Ranch, killing his sweetheart Betty and her family. As lawlessness and terror threaten the development of Texas in 1837, the governor reorganizes the legendary Texas Rangers under Captain McNelly. Tom leaves his family's ranch to join the force, carrying a letter of recommendation from his father Mills, himself a former Ranger. At Captain McNelly's border camp, Tom meets the hardened men tasked with fighting cattle thieves and outlaws who are stealing herds by the hundreds and terrorizing the frontier. Tom arrives eager for action, bringing only his horse Smoky, a frying pan, blankets, and a sack of corn. Captain McNelly warns him that the job ahead is tougher than anything his father faced in the old days. Just as Tom settles in around the campfire with his new comrades, urgent news arrives about Sam Bass Russell and stolen longhorns crossing the Rio Grande, signaling that Tom's first test as a Texas Ranger is about to begin.