Rawhide · S4, E24
Incident of the Child-Woman
Mushy's attempts to save his l5-year-old cousin Posie from the clutches of a gambler ultimately involve all the drovers. When the trail drive beds down for the night near Buffalo Wells, Mushy rides into town to visit his cousins, Laverne and Posie Mushgrove. Both have become entertainers in a saloon owned by Big Tim Sloan, a slick gambler. Laverne, the elder of the two girls, is in poor health and convinces Mushy he should take Posie, only 15, away before she too becomes dissipated from saloon life. When Mushy tries, he is badly beaten up by cronies of Big Tim, who is reaping handsome profits from Posie's ability to sing and dance. Despite Gil Favor's orders several drovers head for town to settle the score with Big Tim's men. An angry Gil follows them, inadvertently gets involved in the fight and then agrees to help Mushy send Posie to live with Mushy's mother. But Posie has different ideas and so does Big Tim, who stalks the trail drive waiting to catch Gil alone.
