Written by RIC HARDMAN  Directed by  WILLIAM WITNEY  Guest Cast CLAUDE AKINS as Cotton Buckmeister  JACQUES AUBUCHON as Ike Macallam JOHN HOYT as Judge Josiah Larkin DUB TAYLOR  as Dude Meeker WHIT BISSELL as Burke BEA BRADLEY as Ada Macallam FRANK GERSTLE as the Farmer  TOM FADDEN as Fish Simpson JACK WILLIAMS as Eusebio

This episode is the first of five in which Claude Akins appeared as Ranger Cotton Buckmeister. The story starts with Cotton befuddled because Chad, Joe & Reese, sent to arrest moonshiner Dude Meeker, give him every chance to get away.  The reason becomes apparent in court where federal judge Larkin hands out Draconian sentences for minor transgressions.  When a court clerk races into Laredo with a box of legal records rescued from a burning courthouse in Uvalde, Cotton, Chad & Joe are assigned to take the box to Uvalde to await the arrival of Judge Larkin despite Cotton’s great reluctance to take the assignment..  On the way a lawyer tries to buy the box for victims of corrupt local judge Macallam who uses perjured testimony & trumped up charges to extort money from people whose charges remain unresolved for years.  They are afraid that Judge Larkin will pass sentences based on the false records in the box.  Judge Macallam wants the records because he doesn’t want a federal judge to take away a rich source of income.  Chad & Joe discover the box contains a warrant for Cotton’s arrest for breach of promise, the victim being Macallams's sister.  When the Rangers are ambushed in Uvalde by Macallam's men, Joe blows up the box, destroying all the documents except the warrant for Cotton which is fortuitously rescued by Ada Macallam.  Larkin puts Cotton on parole to the Rangers for breach of promise, under Chad & Joe’s supervision.

Dude Meeker

Judge Larkin

Judge Ike Macallam & his sister Ada

A typical Chad interlude

Cotton waits to hear his fate

NiteOwl Review:  This episode was written by Ric Hardman who supplied most of the lighter episodes in Peter Brown's former series, Lawman.  We wish he'd written more for Laredo.  Another top ten episode (we may have more than ten in the top ten, but who's counting).   Cast Note:  Claude Akins was a ubiquitous, versatile and well-liked character actor.  He played heavies, heroes and, as in this episode, comical good guys.  He appeared in five episodes and is sometimes (wrongly in our opinion) listed in cast lists as a regular.  He was a heavy favorite to replace Neville Brand due to Brand's inability to cope with the demands of series television.  In this and several other episodes he lightened the burden on Brand by taking over the role of the comic dupe in the Ranger trio.