The Women of Windy Ridge | Hopalong Cassidy (02-16-52)

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Old Time Radio Westerns: The Women of Windy Ridge | Hopalong Cassidy (02-16-52)
Host: Andrew Rhynes
Episode Date: September 4, 2025
Original Air Date: February 16, 1952

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Episode Overview

In this digitally restored radio drama, Hopalong Cassidy and his companion California find themselves embroiled in a deadly conflict in Windy Ridge, Oklahoma. What starts as a detour to visit an old friend, Liz McCoy, quickly turns into a tense and layered mystery involving a murdered marshal, a town torn apart by a fervent reform movement, and a web of intrigue centered around two formidable women: Liz McCoy and Dolly Chester. As Hoppy sleuths through suspicion and deception, he uncovers the truth beneath Windy Ridge's virtuous veneer.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Arrival in Windy Ridge and the Siege at Liz’s House

• [01:54] Cassidy and California, headed for Kansas, detour to Windy Ridge to visit Liz McCoy, famed for her beef stew.
• [02:24] They arrive in the midst of a standoff—Liz is barricaded, accused of murdering Marshal Traynor, and threatens to use dynamite against any who approach.
• "I'm giving you ten seconds to get back across that street...If you don't, I'll blow you sky high." (Liz McCoy, 03:09)

2. Conflict Between Law, Reform, and Friendship

• [05:21] Sheriff Wade explains Liz is accused of murder and is refusing to come out, fearing for her life.
• Hoppy is skeptical about the fairness of any potential trial due to rising hysteria and reform-mindedness in the town.
• California vouches for Liz's character:
  • "Liz McCoy wouldn't kill nobody. I've known her for years and she just ain't that kind." (California, 05:45)
• The reform movement led by Dolly Chester has already led to deaths and division.

3. The Role of Dolly Chester and Fergal

• Dolly Chester is both the leader of the reformers and the town’s most glamorous woman, described as "Feathers."
• Fergal, a gambler who owns the only remaining gambling hall ("Blue Emerald") just outside town, cautions Hoppy against getting involved, hinting at dangerous undercurrents:
  • "Your interference will only confuse things." (Fergal, 11:18)

4. Negotiations with Dolly Chester

• [12:40] Hoppy confronts Dolly Chester, seeking her guarantee of a fair trial for Liz.
• Dolly reveals personal motives—Traynor, the murdered marshal, was her fiancé:
  • "The man she killed today was the man I was going to marry." (Dolly Chester, 13:39)
• After Hoppy’s bold confrontation, Dolly relents:
  • "Go back to your Liz McCoy. Tell her I guarantee that she'll get a fair trial." (Dolly Chester, 15:23)

5. The Aftermath: Death and Denials

• [17:12] Liz McCoy is found dead, stabbed in the chest, after apparently being released on bail. The mayor insists it was suicide by despair; Hoppy refuses to believe it:
  • "Liz McCoy wasn't the type of woman to kill herself, whatever kind of problem she might have had." (Hopalong Cassidy, 19:39)
• The reform movement’s cost—"With four people dead? I think it’s more than enough." (Dolly Chester, 20:14)

6. Hoppy Solves the Case

• Hoppy investigates the property records at the county recorder’s office, discovering Dolly Chester owns half of Fergal’s gambling hall.
• The so-called reform movement was a ploy to eliminate competition, leaving only Dolly and Fergal’s business standing.
• Hoppy accuses Dolly:
  • "You engineered this so-called reform movement so all the town competition would be wiped out... But I guess the marshal caught on...and you killed him." (Hopalong Cassidy, 23:25)
  • "Liz McCoy would have used a gun. The knife was your touch, Dolly. And you did the same thing to Liz to make it look like a guilty suicide." (Hopalong Cassidy, 24:10)
• A final confrontation: Fergal attempts to gun down Cassidy, but Hoppy outsmarts him using a derringer hidden in his hat.

7. Resolution and Reflection

• Dolly Chester and Fergal are arrested; the town is left to recover from its tumult.
• Hoppy explains how the clue that solved the murder was California's comment on "cobwebs"—in Liz’s famously clean house, those could only have been remnants of Dolly’s feathers as she crept by in the dark.
  • "So when you were crawling around on our floor last night, I didn't see how you could be pushing your face in the cobwebs like you said. But I did figure it could be feathers...with Ms. Chester wearing them as she sneaked by us in the dark." (Hopalong Cassidy, 26:09)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• [03:09] Liz McCoy: "You and the rest of your party...If you don't, I'll blow you sky high. This is the last warning, Wade."
• [05:45] California: "Liz McCoy wouldn't kill nobody. I've known her for years."
• [13:39] Dolly Chester: "The man she killed today was the man I was going to marry."
• [15:23] Dolly Chester: "Tell her I guarantee that she'll get a fair trial."
• [19:39] Hopalong Cassidy: "Liz McCoy wasn't the type of woman to kill herself."
• [23:25] Hopalong Cassidy: "I'm talking about how you engineered this so-called reform movement..."
• [26:09] Hopalong Cassidy: "So when you were crawling around on our floor last night...I did figure it could be feathers...with Ms. Chester wearing them as she sneaked by us in the dark."

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Important Timestamps and Segments

• 01:54 – Hoppy and California arrive in Windy Ridge.
• 03:09 – Liz McCoy’s dynamite warning.
• 05:45–06:02 – Debate over Liz’s innocence and the prospect of a fair trial.
• 08:27–09:13 – Revealing the motives behind the reform movement.
• 10:00–11:45 – Conversation with Fergal, the gambler.
• 12:40–15:23 – Hoppy’s tense negotiation with Dolly Chester.
• 17:12–19:39 – Liz’s murder scene and aftermath.
• 20:37–22:22 – Hoppy’s investigation uncovers Dolly Chester’s secret.
• 23:25–24:46 – Hoppy confronts Dolly Chester with evidence.
• 25:32–26:09 – Final showdown and explanation of the key clue (the feathers).

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Tone and Language

The episode is steeped in classic Western drama, with terse exchanges, atmospheric tension, and biting one-liners. Hoppy’s calm, clever demeanor contrasts with the volatile emotions and hidden agendas of the townsfolk, creating a narrative that is both suspenseful and sharply observant of human nature on the frontier.

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Summary

"The Women of Windy Ridge" delivers a tightly woven mystery where personal loyalties, ambitions, and community reform collide with deadly results. Hopalong Cassidy’s unwavering sense of justice, combined with his shrewd detective work, exposes greed and duplicity lurking behind moralistic crusades. With restoration heightening the period’s ambiance, this classic radio drama resonates for modern listeners—showing that in the untamed West, the real danger often hides behind a mask of righteousness.

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Transcript

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Foreign.

[Andrew Rines (Host)]

Welcome to the Old Time Radio Westerns. I'm your host, Andrew Rines. And before we get into this episode, I wanted to remind you to check out our other western podcasts released daily by going to otrwesterns.com or or searching OTR Westerns in your podcast app of choice. I also wanted to invite you to check out our other podcast channel releasing non western shows by going to otnetcast.com or by searching otnetcast in your podcast app of choice. Now, let's get into this episode. This episode is going to be Hopalong Cassidy. Original air date is February 16, 1952 and the title is the Women of Windy Ridge. Let's get into it.

[Narrator]

With action and suspense. Out of the Old west comes the most famous hero of them all, Hopalong Cassidy. Starring William Boyd. The ring of the silver spurs heralds the most amazing man ever to ride the prairies of the early West, Hopalong Cassidy. The same Hoppy you cheer in motion pictures, and the same California you've laughed.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

At a million times.

[Narrator]

Raw courage and quick shooting have built a legend around this famous hero. Hopalong is a name to be feared, respected and admired, for this great cowboy rides the trails of adventure and excitement. William Boyd as Hopalong Cassidy and Andy Clyde as California. Here's Hoppy now with another new story.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

The Women of Windy Ridge, we call this one. And it happened in western Oklahoma, in the narrow stretch that lies between Texas and Kansas. We had no real business being there at all since we were on our way to a Kansas roundup. But California had remembered that Liz McCoy lived in a place called Windy Ridge. Liz McCoy, who could make the best beef stew west of Topeko. So in Windy Ridge, we went looking for Liz and her beef, Stewart. But what we found there had nothing to do with food. Before we rode into the little town.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Look a here you. I'm getting sick and tired of this, Wade. They tell me you haven't done a thing yet.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Why don't you let us alone, Steve? You may be mayor of this town, but I'm sheriff of the county.

[Steve (Mayor)]

But you've had three hours on this job and you've done nothing. What's the matter?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

She's a woman, Steve. It ain't the same with women.

[Steve (Mayor)]

It is when they're killers. I want her taken, Wade. I want her taken now.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Listen, Steve. Liz has dynamite in that house, and she's promised to use it if we rush her.

[Steve (Mayor)]

What are you doing, letting her buffalo you?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

All right, Steve. Hang around a minute. You'll see how it is. Liz, can you hear me?

[Liz McCoy]

I hear you all right. And I'm sick of hearing you.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I'm giving you one last warning, Liz.

[Liz McCoy]

And I'm giving you one that warning, Wade. I'm giving you 10 seconds to get back across that street. You and the rest of your party. If you don't, I'll blow you sky high. This is the last warning, Wade. The next folk that rattles that door gets it.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Come on, we'd better get back across the street like she says.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Listen, Wade.

[Narrator]

Shut up, Steve.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

That woman isn't fooling here. Let's get in this doorway. Getting dark. Maybe after a while she'll fall asleep.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Not Liz McCoy. She never sleeps.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Just the same, we'll wait. She might even decide to give up. Look, Wade.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Couple of waddies stopping in front of Liz's place.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I better warn him. Wait.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Let's see what Liz does about it.

[Steve (Mayor)]

A stranger, so it won't matter.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Steve, you've gone crazy. You let one yap out of you.

[Steve (Mayor)]

And I'll wrap this gun around your head.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

You've gone crazy. You've let this reform fight go to your brain. Hey, look. They're knocking on her door.

[Steve (Mayor)]

I'm gonna stop. You're going to do nothing. That woman's a murderous, and this is going to deliver her into our hands.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Not if it means getting them fellers killed. Hey, get back from that door. Get back before you get.

[Narrator]

Now back to Hopalong Cassidy and our story, the women of Windy Ridge. With California seeking out Liz McCoy, who makes the best beef stew west of Topeka. Poppy has come to the town of Windy Ridge, Oklahoma. But here, as they're standing knocking at Liz McCoy's door, a warning shout comes from across the street. And a charge of dynamite explodes almost in their faces.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

You all right, Hub?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah, I'm all right. But I wouldn't have been if somebody hadn't yelled. Who did that?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I did. Here. We'd better all get back out of the way. No telling what that woman will do next.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Look, Wade. That explosion tangled up the whole front of her house. Maybe it got Liz, too.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

And maybe it didn't. We won't take any more chances.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What's this all about? Who are you fellas?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

My name's Wade. I'm sheriff here.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

That explosion.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

What Liz McCoy did that. She's holed up in there and we.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Aim to get her out.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Wait a minute. Why is she holed up?

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Yeah, and why do you follow James? To get her out. Liz McCoy happens to be a friend of ours.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

And she also happens to be in trouble. The marshal of this place was stabbed to death this afternoon. And it seems that Liz McCoy did it.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Liz McCoy, Sheriff? Yeah, yeah. You just ain't making sense. Liz McCoy wouldn't kill nobody. I've known her for years and she just ain't that kind.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

People change. Anyway, the marshal's body is lying inside her house and she won't give herself up.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What happens if she gives herself up?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

She'll get a trial.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

A fair trial.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Sure, it'll be a fair trial. What kind of people do you think we are?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I don't know. But if you're sure she'll have a fair trial, I'm willing to try going in for a talk with her.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Hold on now. She's liable to blast your head off you get anywhere near.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Maybe. But I'll take that chance.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

And I'm taking it with you, Hobby.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Well, all right. You want to take the chance? You might try going in from the side. From the top of that porch next door. We'll try and keep her attention out here.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Sounds like a good idea. Come on. California.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Dark in here. Wish there was a moon or something. Can't see a thing.

[Liz McCoy]

I can see all right.

You don't climb back out that window, I'm gonna blow your head off.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Don't shoot, Liz. It's California.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

California, Carson and Hop along, Cassidy. Liz, we just want to help you.

[Liz McCoy]

Why, you two or pulled cats? What are you doing here?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Liz, you're in trouble. We want to help you.

[Dolly Chester]

Hoppy, nobody can help me.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What happened? You didn't kill the marshal, did you?

[Liz McCoy]

I never killed nobody in my life. But that ain't gonna help me now.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Well, if you didn't kill him, Liz, give yourself up, stand trial.

[Liz McCoy]

What, be hanged for something I didn't do? Not me.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

All Liz. They don't hang women out here.

[Liz McCoy]

That's where you're wrong, California.

[Dolly Chester]

I've seen a woman hanged.

[Liz McCoy]

Margie Benjamin over to Pascal's Gulch. The way things are in this town, I don't have a chance. Besides, I ain't gonna let her mock me. Sit there while I'm on trial a grinning at me.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Who are you talking about, Liz?

[Liz McCoy]

Why, I'm talking about that Dolly Chester.

[Dolly Chester]

Her in her fancy feathers.

[Liz McCoy]

It wasn't for Dolly Chester, I wouldn't.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Be in this trouble, Liz. Give yourself up and stand trying.

[Liz McCoy]

No, not me, Hoppy. I'd rather shoot it out here in my own place and die with my self respect.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What is it? That's wrong, Liz? What's the cause of all this?

[Liz McCoy]

Why, they've gone crazy, that's what's wrong. Crazy with reform. And that woman's the cause of it.

[Dolly Chester]

Now get on out of here, you.

[Liz McCoy]

Two, before them others try sneaking in here while I'm talking. And you could tell that sheriff that I've got two shotguns waiting for them as I don't get with the dynamite.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Well, what'd she say?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

She doesn't think she'll get a fair trial. What's behind all this, Sheriff? What was the cause of the marshal being killed?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Well, there's a reform movement on this town. And there's already three men dead because of it. Liz McCoy got into trouble because she wouldn't close her gambling place.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Gambling place? You mean Liz had been running one?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

That's right. And when Traynor ordered her to close it, she told him to go soak his head.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Who's Dolly Chester? Liz said something about Dolly Chester being the cause of all the trouble.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I guess you could say she is. It's Dolly Chester that's leading the reform movement. And I can't stand here talking. I've got to do something about getting Liz McCoy out of that house.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Wait a second, Sheriff. Why don't you hold off a while? I've been thinking that if this Dolly Chester guaranteed Liz a fair trial, Liz might give herself up.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Yeah? And who's gonna get Dolly Chester to do that? Not me, or not any other man in this town.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'll talk to her.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

You mean you'll try. Ain't a man in the world ever got anywhere talking to feathers. And the same will go for you.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah? Where can I find her?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

That won't give you no trouble. The biggest and best looking house in town. And she's the prettiest woman in these parts. And if you think you can handle her, you're plumb Locke.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Wait a moment, friend.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I'll walk with you.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I heard what you said to the sheriff back there about talking Liz McCoy into giving herself up. It made me wonder.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What about?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Why you should want to meddle in things that don't concern you.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Liz McCoy is a friend of mine.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

And you think you'll help her by giving her that kind of advice?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

How would you help her?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I'm working on that. I'm doing my best to get her out of town.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

That would make her seem guilty.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Should also help her to live longer. You must be unaware of the bitterness there is in this town, friend. The reform movement they have going has incited a lot of People to hysteria. The kind of hysteria that breeds lynch mobs.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

You speak as a man of education, but I don't know you.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I'm Fergal, a gambler. I run a place called the Blue Emerald.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I see. Well, I appreciate your advice, but I think you're wrong. I've never known anyone to help himself by going on the run.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

If Liz McCoy stays in windy Ridge, she may pay with her life. I know that, and Liz knows it. Liz and I are in the same business, and I always take care of my kind.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Suppose this Dolly Chester is willing to guarantee Liz McCoy a fair trial?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Dolly Chester will guarantee nothing to anyone. And your interference will only confuse things.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

It'll take gunplay for you to get Liz from under the nose of that sheriff. He's tough and determined, and he has determined men with him.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Well, you're a man of your own opinions, friend, so I must warn you to stay out of it.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

And if I don't?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

You may not see the end of this street.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Then I guess I'd better go on my way alone.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Yes, perhaps you had. Good night, friend.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Hey, you there.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Sorry. I'm not stopping.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

You better stop.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Why? Aren't you good on moving targets? Stay out of this, whoever you are.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I'm telling you to stop.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Better change your business, stranger. You're in a deadly trade.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

If this is one job I'm going to finish.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Bartram.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Where is he?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Bartram. I'm here, Fergo. You better come and get your gunman. I have business of my own with Dolly Chester.

[Dolly Chester]

You wanted to see me?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yes, I did.

[Dolly Chester]

Do you always stare like that?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

So that's why they call you Feathers.

[Dolly Chester]

Who calls me that?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Oh, several people. Maybe the whole town. Plumes. And never have I seen them so delightfully displayed.

[Dolly Chester]

And what else did they tell you?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

They told me there wasn't a man in the world who could handle you.

[Dolly Chester]

And I suppose you came here because of that. To satisfy yourself as to whether they're right or wrong.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I came here because a friend of mine is in trouble.

[Dolly Chester]

Who are you?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

The name is Cassidy, but my friends call me Hoppy.

[Dolly Chester]

You're a stranger here?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yes, I sort of get around. But I want to talk about Liz McCoy. I'm gonna ask you to help her.

[Dolly Chester]

Help her? How?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

By assuring her that she'll have a fair trial if she gives herself up.

[Dolly Chester]

And why should I do that?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

You're a woman.

[Dolly Chester]

Yes, I am. Probably more woman than you've ever seen in your life for all of your getting around. And that's just the Reason I won't help Liz McCoy because the man she killed today was the man I was going to mar.

[Narrator]

Now, back to Hopalong Cassidy and our story. The women of Windy Ridge. Hoppy has been given a couple of hours in which to save the life of Liz McCoy, an old friend of California's. Liz, barricaded in her home, swears she's innocent of the killing of Brent Trainor and won't give herself up unless she is guaranteed a fair trial by Dolly Chester, leader of the town's reform movement against gaming halls. Hoppy has just made the request to Dolly Chester and the lady has just flatly refused him.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

You know what it'll mean, don't you? You're saying no?

[Dolly Chester]

I suppose it could mean anything.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

It means that Liz McCoy will blow herself up when the sheriff and his men move in. And maybe she'll blow up one or two of the others with her.

[Dolly Chester]

I don't see how that concerns me.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

You know, the more I talk to you, the more I feel that nothing concerns you except those fancy feathers you're wearing.

[Dolly Chester]

Now, you are being impudent.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

And I suppose that is being disloyal. I suppose nobody even dares to be impudent to the Queen of Windy Ridge. Ms. Chester, what you need is a good spanking.

[Dolly Chester]

Oh, and do you think you're man enough to give it to me?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yes, I think I am.

[Dolly Chester]

I guess you might be at that. I guess you might. Hoppy, go back to your Liz McCoy. Tell her I guarantee that she'll get a fair trial.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Well, Cassidy, I'm sure relieved. And I'm much obliged to you. I've got that deputy of mine ready to take Liz McCoy over to Reddington. Be safer for her there. Safer for all of us.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Sheriff, how would Fergal figure in this?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

I don't know. Blue emerald's just outside the town limits. The only gambling place around that the mayor can't close up.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Has Fergal always been friendly with Liz McCoy?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Liz has always hated his insides. And she's never been backward about telling him.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What about this reform movement? What do you think of it, Cassidy?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

This is a raw country. Its people have to blow off steam somehow.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Bottle them up and you breed trouble.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah, you're right there, Sheriff.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Steve Graham was a good mayor until he started off on his campaign. Now he's full of fever and so are the rest of the folks. And the worst part of it is going to come when those trail herds from Texas start moving through here next week. With this. No gambling, no drinking. Fever. The folks are just waiting for him. You're gonna see a bloody time, Cassidy. And bloody time.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Was the gambling harmful?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Not that I ever noticed. Marshall always kept everything under control. Who's that?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I couldn't tell for sure under that lantern out there, but I think it's my partner and the mayor.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Mayor?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Can't be.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Wade. I want.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Hey, I thought you and my deputy were taking Liz McCoy over to Reddington.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Not me, Wade. There was bail put up, and Judge Lawson said she could go free until the trial.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Bail? Of all the who put it up. Fergall.

[Steve (Mayor)]

He said she was his kind and he was going to help her.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Earnest wants to see you, Hoppy.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Right away.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Over to her house. She said to come even if it was late.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

That rips everything. Come on, Pete. We better start swearing in more deputies. We're gonna need them. And Cassidy, if you and your pal are willing. I'll start with you two.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

That explosion sure tangled this place up. Seems kind of silly to be knocking on this door.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Hold it a second. Why didn't you hear that?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

What?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I thought I heard voices. Somebody sort of gasped or choked and.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

The light just went out. Come on, let's get through these right timbers.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah. Might have been easier if we'd have gone around the back way.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

No, back that way. House sets into the side of the hill. Poppy, there's something wrong here. Wish there was more light.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah, well, at least we're through that stuff.

[Liz McCoy]

Yeah.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

This ought to be the front room. I.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

What?

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Dog on it.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

What's the matter?

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Went flat in my fool face.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Stay quiet a second. Liz? Liz, are you here?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Like being in a grave.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Like.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Oh, what's the matter now?

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Push my face into cobwebs or something. Hubby, ain't you gonna match? This is getting on my nerves.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'm way ahead of you. There's a lamp we can light if I can get to it. Uh.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Oh.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Gotta light another match. Hey, what was that? Could be more of those boards just falling. And it could be somebody making them fall. There, now we got the lamp.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Yeah.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Yeah, that's better. Let's see if Liz is in this other room.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Well, well, well.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

I'll be gol dearned sitting in a chair, fast asleep.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'm afraid it's gonna be a long sleep. California, Take another look. There's a knife buried in her chest. Foreign.

[Steve (Mayor)]

I tell you, that woman knew she'd be convicted of the marshal's murder and she killed herself.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I don't agree with you, Mr. Mayor. Liz McCoy wasn't the type of woman to kill herself, whatever kind of problem she might have had.

[Steve (Mayor)]

Ah, that's ridiculous. Anyone can kill themselves for any reason. Sure, and I'm sure that's what our coroner's jury will say about it. And with this over and done with, we'll finish the business of cleaning up this town.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'd say you've already finished it. And maybe the town as well.

[Steve (Mayor)]

What do you mean by that, Steve?

[Dolly Chester]

I think Mr. Cassidy's right. I think it's time to let up on our crusade. You've been getting too upset over it, Steve.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Why?

[Liz McCoy]

I closed up all the gambling places in town.

[Dolly Chester]

Don't you think that's enough?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

With four people dead? I think it's more than enough.

[Dolly Chester]

Mr. Cassidy.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yes, Ms. Chester?

[Dolly Chester]

Could I talk to.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Mind if I make it a little later? Right now I'm heading for the county recorder's office.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Look, do you have to go through every paper in the place? Can't that clerk help you?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Shh. Quiet. Clerk's an old man, and he doesn't see very well. I'm just about through anyway.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Right, Hoppy? But I sure don't get it.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

You will. California? Because I think I've come up with the exact reason for all this trouble they've been having in Windy Ridge.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Hello, Cassidy. Don't tell me you're one of the few people around here who can read.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Hello, Fergo. Yes, I can read. It's a habit I picked up when I was quite young.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Thinking of buying some property in the neighborhood?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Not for a few years yet. I still like to get around and see things.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I imagine you see a lot of things, Cassidy. Too many, perhaps.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I notice you're wearing a gun, Fergo. You didn't have it on yesterday.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

No.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I only strap it on when I feel there's the possibility of personal unpleasantness.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I see.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Of course, I could take it off again. If you were willing to leave town. You might think about that, my friend.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

There goes bad medicine, Hoppy. A chunk of ice and probably chain lightning.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

With a gun.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

He wears it as though he's used to it. But we can't worry about that. Not now, anyway.

[Dolly Chester]

So you came back, Hoppy.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Didn't you think I would?

[Dolly Chester]

I hoped you would. Because I. I can't seem to get you out of my mind.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Well, that could be a compliment.

[Dolly Chester]

It's meant to be.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

And coming from a woman as beautiful as you are, well, I'm impressed.

[Dolly Chester]

Do you like my house, Hoppy?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I guess it's about the fanciest home I'VE ever been in. Especially for a town like this.

[Dolly Chester]

I chose this town deliberately, Hoppy. I picked it out and came to it when it was just beginning. I decided to make it my town because I wanted to grow with it. And it is growing. Where? The county seat. Now, soon there'll be a railroad coming here. It's going to be a big town and I'm going to be the most important woman in it. But a woman doesn't like to go her way alone. Oh, Hoppy, stop twirling your head. Just look at me.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

How about Traynor, the marshal?

[Dolly Chester]

Oh, that was never a particularly flaming affair.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

At least not on your part.

[Dolly Chester]

That's right.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

From what I hear, he had it pretty bad for you, though.

[Dolly Chester]

Perhaps that's why I said I'd marry him. I really only wanted to be kind. But with you.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Harvey Traynor had it so bad for you that he didn't quite know what to do when he found out you were crooked.

[Dolly Chester]

When he found out I was? What on earth are you talking about?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'm talking about the fact that you own a half interest in Fergal's gambling hall. I'm talking about how you engineered this so called reform movement so all the town competition would be wiped out. With Purgal's place the only one left because it's beyond the city limits.

[Dolly Chester]

Wherever did you get such a fantastic idea?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

From a very factual source. The county Recorder's office. You didn't have much time to lose, did you? Most people out here can't read recorders. An old man almost blind. You weren't very likely to be caught. But I guess the marshal caught on, didn't he? But he loved you. So he made the mistake of telling you he knew and you killed him.

[Dolly Chester]

Liz McCoy killed him.

[Liz McCoy]

He died in her home.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Liz McCoy would have used a gun. She was that kind. The knife was your touch, Dolly. And you did the same thing to Liz to make it look like a guilty suicide.

[Dolly Chester]

Happy? In a few years it won't matter. But right now the town wouldn't like it if it knew about this.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

No.

[Dolly Chester]

It'd be a shame to have me get in trouble for it, don't you think? Happy? Sort of a waste.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Well, you're a very beautiful woman.

[Dolly Chester]

And you have a lot on me. Enough to keep me entirely in your control. Entirely. How about it, Hoppy?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I'll think about it, Dolly. But in the meantime, I'm going to walk you over to the Sheriff's office and turn you in for murder.

[Dolly Chester]

You fool.

[Liz McCoy]

You insolent Fool.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Virgo. I'm here, darling.

[Fergal (Gambler)]

Don't move, Cassidy. Just keep those hands and that hat away from those holsters.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Not giving me much of a break, are you, Virgo?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

I never give anybody a break, Cassidy. It's the way I do business.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

If this were stud poker, you'd be high, man. But high card showing isn't always the best, is it?

[Fergal (Gambler)]

It is this time, Cassidy, because you don't even get a chance to Dr.

[Narrator]

Now back to Hop along, Cassidy.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Take it easy, Hobby. This leg's gonna lay you up for a while.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

How about Donna Chester?

[Wade (Sheriff)]

We got her, Cassidy. And you know something? She's already squawking about getting a fair trial. But how'd you happen to down Fergal when he had the drop on you?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

I figured ahead of time and I'd be in the middle. So I had a derringer inside my hat. But it almost wasn't big enough.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

You did a great job, Cassidy. The town already has its sense back. And I'm not going to have to worry about them Texas Trail Riders.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

But how did you know, Hobby? How do you figure? It was Dolly Chester?

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Did you ever know Liz McCoy to keep a dirty house California church?

[California (Andy Clyde)]

No. She was about the cleanest party alive.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Right. So when you were crawling around on our floor last night, I didn't see how you could be pushing your face in the cobwebs like you said. But I did figure it could be feathers with Ms. Chester wearing them as she sneaked by us in the dark.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

She was feathers.

[Hopalong Cassidy]

Yeah.

[California (Andy Clyde)]

Well, I'll be gold earned. Yes, sir. I'll be golden.

[Narrator]

And that brings to a close the story of the women of Windy Ridge. In Hoppy's next story, there is plenty of adventure and excitement and it carries the unusual title Right Rope, Wrong Neck. Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is transcribed and produced in the west by Walter White, Jr. The women of Windy Ridge was written by Buckley angel with original music under the personal direction of Albert Glasser. All stories are based upon the characters created by Clarence E. Mulford. This is a Commodore production.

[Wade (Sheriff)]

Foreign.

[Andrew Rines (Host)]

This has been a presentation of otrwesterns.com and we hope you enjoyed. Please take some time to like and rate our shows in your favorite podcast application. Follow us on Facebook by going to otrwesterns.com Facebook subscribe to our YouTube channel by going to otrwesterns.Com YouTube and send us an email podcasttrwesterns.com youm can call and leave us a voicemail 707-98-68739 this episode is copyright under the Attribution Non Commercial Share Like Copyright for more information go to otrwesterns.com/copyright. Have a great day and thanks for listening.