Captain Parmalee assigns Reese is to protect the rightful owner of the Willingham Ranch, which means evicting the Willinghams to make way for the railroad. The Willinghams are an eccentric but gracious and likable Southern family of artists who lost a son in the Civil War. Reese falls and ends up in bed with a sprained back. Parmalee sends Chad to check up on Reese. Chad arrives and sees two railroad surveyors pushing Mrs. Willingham around and promptly decks them. He and Reese agree to find a nice way of getting the Willinghams to leave. Joe is sent next and walks in on Reese, Chad and the Willinghams singing Swanee River. They discover that brother Alcott signed the bill of sale but had no ownership right to the property. All they have to do is find the waiver he signed stating so. Joe is persuaded to pose for a sculpture and after Erik arrives he's soon reading Shakespeare. The four rangers search for the waiver with the Willinghams as railroad toughs approach the ranch determined to forcibly evict the family.