Trama

Hoppy goes undercover as an outlaw (which permits him, for once, to drink and be mean to children) to track down a bunch of outlaws operating along the border. Loco, the head bad guy, deflects suspicion from himself by pretending to be a moron.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Officials on both sides of the border are after an outlaw gang led by the Fox. They devise a plan where Hoppy is supposedly kicked out of the Rangers to become an outcast. When the Fox shoots his own gang leader, the famous ex-ranger Hoppy is recruited to replace him. Hoppy eventually realizes that the Fox is posing as the town idiot Loco. But the Fox is also on to Hoppy and uses Windy and little Molly to set a trap to for him.—Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

The activities of a bandit, known as "The Fox" and working out of Mexico, rouses the Texas Rangers into action. Rankin, head of the Rangers, decides upon a ruse. Texas Ranger "Hopalong" Cassidy is to submit himself to arrest after means have been taken to ruin his reputation as an honest lawman and force him from the Rangers. As an outcast, he is to go to El Rio, headquarters of the "Fox" gang and try to contact the bandit, Cassidy agrees and leaves, much to the dismay of fellow-Ranger Johnny Nelson, who isn't in on the scheme. In El Rio, Cassidy, after snubbing his old friend, "Windy" Halliday, takes up with the town's riffraff, which includes "Loco," a half-wit. Through an emissary, Loco overhears "Windy" tell young Molly Rand that he thinks Cassidy is putting on an act. This leads the pair to be kidnapped and held hostage by "The Fox" in case Cassidy gets too close to finding out his true identity.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>