In 1878 at Protection, Kansas southeast of Dodge City Bat stops with a herd of cattle he is driving just as the town prepares for an election. He finds himself confronted by Teddy Wright and his two henchmen wanting $2 per head to pass through town which he refuses to pay. Bat visits the sheriff who recommends he pay to avoid trouble nor does he have the power to stop the gang. While there, Kitty Meadows who has met Bat before enters the office. She has a dance troupe but Wright wants a payoff from her as well. When Bat goes to play cards at the saloon, Wright wants an entertainment tax. Before things go too far, the sheriff arrives to take Bat to see the mayor. Bat, unimpressed with the mayor and his gang decides the mayor running unopposed needs competition. He pushes Joe Rankin, an honest man with several friends, to run but Joe has little education or skill to take on the mayor's men who decide to teach Bat a lesson.
—Anonymous