Dick Powell saved some of the best stories from Zane Grey Theater for himself and this is an example. He plays a tough law and order sheriff who gets the job done always. There are questions about his methods however.
They really get raised when a New York reporter Charles Aidman comes to town at the same time that James Griffith who is employed as a bank guard helps himself to the money and skedaddles.
The element of casting is important here. James Griffith for most of his career played essentially weak and scurvy type villains as he does here. He was a Union Army hero in the late War Between The States who cannot get himself established in the war. He's a true sad sack and probably beyond redemption.
Anyway Powell and Aidman do catch up to Griffith and he's killed. But Aidman gets back to town and his account doesn't put Powell in the best light.
Back in the day what Aidman was practicing was called yellow journalism. We went to war with Spain due in large part to lurid accounts in the Hearst and Pulitzer presses about their administration in Cuba. He's decided Powell is a good candidate for an expose.
Watch how Powell exposes him, worth the wait.