Bill is summoned by Clay Fielding to Marin County. There he finds that Fielding is in a conflict with Martin West and the Drag-W over the water rights to Spider Creek. Fielding needs the water for his paper mill.; Bill is camped on a rise above Rainbow Valley when he's awakened by the sound of riders. He follows them and interrupts their raid on a cattle herd in the valley. Bill finds that "Devil" Devlin is trying to buy out all the small ranchers in the valley and if they refuse he threatens to drive them out. Bill organizes a merged cattle drive of the small ranchers and brings in some gunfighters to offset the gunmen he expects Devlin to use to attack the herd.; Bill saves a man from quicksand in a river. He finds that the man and his partner had struck gold earlier and that his partner threw him into the quicksand so that he could register the claim in his name only.