Ep 14. 21 Days to Tenstrike

Alias Smith and Jones is a popular Western television series from the early 1970s that follows the adventures of two former bank and train robbers, Hannibal Heyes (alias Joshua Smith) and Kid Curry (alias Thaddeus Jones), as they attempt to go straight and avoid capture by a group of notorious bounty hunters. In season 2, episode 14, entitled "21 Days to Tenstrike," Heyes and Curry find themselves in a precarious situation as they try to help a young woman and her father save their struggling ranch from a ruthless landowner.

The episode opens with Heyes and Curry traveling through the dusty plains of the Old West when they stumble upon a group of cattlemen who are heading to the town of Tenstrike to sell their cattle at an upcoming auction. The two outlaws decide to join the group and make their way to Tenstrike, hoping to blend in with the crowd and avoid any unwanted attention from the law.

However, their plans quickly go awry when they meet a young woman named Ellen Tanner (played by guest star Lynne Marta) and her father, who are on the verge of losing their ranch to a wealthy banker named Amos Coogan (played by guest star Claude Akins). Coogan has been scheming to take over the Tanners' land for years, and now that they are behind on their mortgage payments, he sees an opportunity to foreclose on the property and sell it to the highest bidder.

Heyes and Curry are sympathetic to the Tanners' plight and offer to help them in any way they can. They soon discover that Coogan has hired a gang of ruthless thugs to intimidate the Tanners and their neighbors into leaving their homes and businesses, and they realize that the only way to stop Coogan is to fight back.

With the help of the cattlemen, Heyes and Curry come up with a plan to thwart Coogan's efforts and save the Tanners' ranch. They recruit the local sheriff (played by guest star J.D. Cannon) and his deputy to help them round up the gang of thugs and put a stop to their destructive behavior. Meanwhile, Ellen devises a clever scheme to raise enough money to pay off her father's debt and save the ranch from foreclosure.

As the clock ticks down to the day of the auction, tensions run high in Tenstrike as Heyes, Curry, and their allies prepare for the final showdown with Coogan and his gang. The outcome of the battle will determine the fate of the Tanners' ranch and the livelihoods of everyone in town.

"21 Days to Tenstrike" is a thrilling and action-packed episode of Alias Smith and Jones that showcases the series' signature blend of humor, drama, and suspense. The plot is cleverly constructed and keeps viewers guessing until the very end, with several unexpected twists and turns along the way. The guest stars are all excellent in their roles, particularly Lynne Marta as the feisty and determined Ellen Tanner and Claude Akins as the slimy and conniving Amos Coogan. Fans of Westerns and classic television will find much to enjoy in this exciting episode of Alias Smith and Jones.