The Cowboys

As Wil Andersen's (Wil) ranch hands abandon him for a chance at gold, the aging rancher must scour the dusty town of Bozeman, Montana, to find replacement drovers for his arduous 400-mile cattle drive. His friend Anse Peterson suggests hiring local schoolboys, but after visiting the schoolhouse and witnessing their inexperience, Wil is skeptical about entrusting them with the task.

However, come morning, a group of eager boys shows up at Wil's ranch, offering to volunteer for the grueling journey. Wil tests their mettle by challenging them to tame a bucking horse, and as they take turns trying to subdue the feisty beast, Cimarron, a slightly older boy, rides into view. While he successfully tames the test horse, his aggressive behavior towards Slim, the next-oldest boy, raises concerns. Wil is forced to send Cimarron packing after another altercation erupts.

Despite this hiccup, Wil decides to give the remaining boys a chance and hires them all, with the exception of Cimarron. He locks away their firearms in a secure box on the chuck wagon, and they begin practicing their skills: roping, branding, and herding cattle and horses. Meanwhile, a group of mysterious men led by Asa Watts appears, asking for work, but Wil's keen eye catches Watts in a lie, prompting him to refuse their request.

The arrival of Jebediah Nightlinger, a seasoned cook with a no-nonsense attitude, completes Wil's makeshift crew. As they embark on the long cattle drive, Wil notices Cimarron lingering at the edge of the herd. After witnessing Slim take a tumble while crossing a river and Cimarron saving him from drowning, Wil decides to give the boy another chance.

As the boys prove themselves to be capable cowhands, impressing both Wil and Nightlinger, they slowly shed their innocence. One fateful day, Dan, a bespectacled boy, stumbles upon Watts and his gang of cattle rustlers while chasing after a stray horse. Watts, revealed as the mastermind behind the rustling operation, releases Dan but warns him to keep quiet or suffer dire consequences.

In the days that follow, tensions rise as the chuck wagon's wheel becomes loose, forcing Nightlinger and Homer to linger behind to make repairs. Unbeknownst to Wil, Watts and his gang have been tracking their herd and now parallel them openly. As night falls, Wil sends Weedy to inform Nightlinger of the delay and instructs the boys to keep up appearances until the rustlers depart. Dan confides in Wil about knowing Watts had been following them all along but was too afraid to speak up, and Wil offers words of comfort.

As night falls, Watts' gang descends upon Andersen and the boys' campsite, brandishing Weedy's battered form as a grim harbinger of their intentions. Watts himself takes center stage, taunting Dan and demanding Andersen surrender his firearm. The latter refuses to back down, and when Watts cruelly crushes Dan's glasses, Andersen seizes the opportunity to take a stand. The ensuing fistfight sees Andersen emerge victorious, but at a terrible cost: Watts' mercy is as fleeting as it is brutal, as he rains bullets upon Andersen's defenseless form, leaving him near death.

The morning brings only despair and loss as Nightlinger and Homer rejoin the group, bearing witness to the devastating aftermath. As Andersen's life slips away, he imparts a sense of pride and accomplishment to his young wards, urging them to return home and bask in the admiration of those who hold them dear.

Andersen's burial marks the beginning of a new era for the boys, one marked by a burning desire for vengeance against the rustlers who took their beloved mentor from them. With Nightlinger's reluctant assistance, they orchestrate a daring ambush, claiming three lives and leaving Watts as the sole survivor. In a final act of retribution, Dan expertly frees Watts' horse, allowing it to spook and send its rider crashing beneath its weight.

With the cattle safely sold in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, the boys commission a stonemason to craft a memorial stone bearing Andersen's name and a poignant epitaph: "Beloved Husband and Father". A testament to the paternal bond that had formed between them, the marker is placed at the approximate site of his grave, as the group sets their sights on home, accompanied by Nightlinger.