Old and retired Sergeant Nash Crawford (Brennan), formerly of the Texas Rangers, enters a saloon where his former partner, Gentleman George Asque (Wills), plays poker with a man and beats him ten times in a row. The man calls George a cheater and prepares to draw his gun, but Nash saves his comrade by calling him "Wyatt," making the stranger mistakenly assume he is Wyatt Earp.
The two exit the saloon. Nash gives George a telegram which says they should go to Waco because former partner The Baltimore Kid (Astaire) is in trouble. It is signed "Friend."
Jason Fitch (Buchanan) is getting married to Louise Murphy (Bronson). George and Nash interrupt the ceremony to take Jason with them to Waco and they convince him by shouting the Ranger code "Brazos!" Jason promises Louise he will return and leaves with his friends.
In Waco, they find out "Friend" was Amos Polk, a former outlaw, now a newspaper man. Polk takes them to the Baltimore Kid's grave. It's unclear why Polk called them, but he shows them the Kid's wallet, in which is a note Kid leaves to his comrades when he dies. The four go to the saloon, where they meet a drunk who looks very familiar to the Baltimore Kid. They take him to the newspaper office, where he claims to have been a Texas Ranger once. The group is now sure he is the Baltimore Kid.
The Kid puts on some elegant clothes and gets a new gun. His gravestone is removed. The Kid becomes the Waco city marshal and the old Rangers his deputies.
Now it's clear that the bandit who killed the previous marshal and his deputies is a fake. The gang of Sam Braham returns to Waco to kill the real Baltimore Kid. A gunfight in the streets of Waco results and the Rangers win against the outlaws, but the Kid is shot dead. Citizens of Waco bury the Kid again. The old Rangers leave, but, at the end of the town, the Baltimore Kid is waiting, very much alive. All of them go with Jason Fitch, who has to get married.
Who gives George a telegram?
Nash