Gathering Clouds -- Part One
THE PEOPLE OF SWEETWATER GET A TASTE OF THE COMING WAR WHEN THEIR TOWN IS CAUGHT BETWEEN RAIDERS AND THE ARMY...
A bank is robbed by the Hawk's Raiders, a gang of Southern sympathizers who try to raise funds to buy guns and ammunition for the South in preparation for the inevitable war. Fifteen miles outside of Sweetwater, they stop Cody and intercept a package which is intended for the military.
A new captain is in charge of the cavalry in Sweetwater, a "greenhorn"
named Captain Lewis. Right from the start, the captain made it clear to
his subordinates that he intends to succeed in bringing the Hawk and his
raiders to justice. Though he says he does not intend to give a show of
force, Captain Lewis requests two more platoons of soldiers from Fort Miles.
He is not being overly cautious, though, for the Hawk and his raiders have
left a trail of death and destruction in Kansas. His second-in-command
reminds the captain that the Hawk seemed to have changed his ways, now
being regarded a friend of the people. 
Emma and the riders are in town and the housemother asks Jimmy to get her some molasses which, unfortunately, were placed near the lye. Since Jimmy couldn't read, it took him a long time to decide which one to give to Emma. He ends up giving her the wrong item anyway. Emma tells him it's time for him to learn how to read. Kid asks Tompkins about supplies but the shop owner says the army cleaned him out.
Kid wanders outside and listens to a man who talks about "keeping our basic freedom." The man is accosted by a soldier who calls his words treason. Despite the older man's claims that he is loyal to the country, the soldier still attacks him. Kid "rescues" the older man and exchanges blows with the soldier whom he soundly defeats. Another soldier comes up and Kid also beats him (Go, Kid!) until Marshall Cain arrives to break up the fight but not before Captain Lewis sees what happened.
Next, Kid is seen entering a hotel room occupied by a government agent, Ben Fetterman (the same one who nearly got Cody killed in Decoy). Inside the room is the first soldier Kid beats up. Apparently, the whole fight was just staged for the benefit of the man Kid defended. The man had two sons riding with the Hawk and the government agent wanted Kid to infiltrate his gang. The soldier, on the other hand, was assigned to Lewis's unit to find out who was supplying the Hawk with inside information. The government in Washington had no idea who the Hawk. When Kid asks about the second soldier, the two men say they don't know him but his interference only made the Kid's performance more realistic. The Kid agrees to help out the army.
Buck, Ike and Lou are in town and they see a stagecoach full of women arrive. Apparently, they are mail order brides. One of them catches Ike's attention but Lou reminds him that they are spoken for. The women are introduced one by one to their future husbands until only one is left, the woman Ike was interested in. Then somebody approaches the lady and the man in charge of the mail order brides and tells them that the woman's husband-to-be was in a mining accident and was probably dead. Ike hears this, approaches the young lady and offers to take her to the motel. Buck acts as an interpreter.
In the schoolhouse, a new teacher discusses freedom of choice when Jimmy comes in, intent on brushing up on his reading. He notices the teacher's lovely assistant. As the teacher -- named Stiles -- continues the lessons, the discussion veers towards the coming war and choosing sides. When the talk turns to Hawk and his men, Stiles put it off for another day. As the children leave for the day, Stiles catches up with Jimmy and introduces himself and his assistant Vera Collins. Jimmy tells them he want to improve his reading and the schoolmaster readily offers Miss Collins' tutoring services. As they chat, Captain Lewis arrives to escort Miss Collins.
That night, Captain Lewis tells Vera about a new shipment of rifles he asked from the army while he was about to escort her home. He seems intent on impressing her and even tells her that his capture of the Hawk might lead to an even bigger command. He tells Vera that an officers wife must be able to accept that they'll never be at one place all the time. Vera answers saying she might be able to do that for the right officer.
As soon as Lewis leaves, Vera slips out and meets with Aaron, one of Hawk's men. The soldier, Sgt. Miller, who was supposed to meet with Kid sees them and confronts Vera. Vera shoots him and Kid runs to see what happened. Vera starts to scream, saying Kid was the murderer. The army goes after the Kid who is shot trying to escape. Vera gives her statement to Captain Lewis and completely twists the events, saying she heard Sgt. Miller and the Kid arguing about the Hawk and that the next thing she knew, Kid shot the soldier. The Captain believes her, of course, having seen Sgt. Miller and the Kid cross words a couple of times. Meanwhile, Kid tries to elude the army and is saved by men who turn out to be Hawk's raiders.
Teaspoon tries to talk to Captain Lewis, but is unable to convince him of the Kid's innocence. Outside the army office, Teaspoon tells the riders that Kid is in serious trouble and orders Jimmy to keep his eye on Vera Collins since she seems to be the key to what's going on. Teaspoon also questions Ben Fetterman about the Kid and the government agent tells him about the whole plan. Ben apologizes, but says the army needs everything the Kid could give them. He promises to clear the Kid of all charges when the whole thing is finished.
During the town meeting called by Captain Lewis, the town air their grievances against the army. Lewis, in turn, bans all "propaganda material" and threatens to arrest anyone who supports the Hawk. Sam Cain tries to reason with the captain but he is unable to, seeing the captain's point. He was shocked, however, when the captain hands him a wanted poster with Kid's name and a $200-reward.
At
the Hawk's camp, Kid wakes up to find Aaron and Jeffrey Darnell watching
him. Aaron tells the Kid he used to ride with a fellow from Manassas, Virginia
named Jed. When Kid says Jed was his brother, Aaron tells him he knew since
they pride themselves with being thorough. Kid asks Aaron if he was the
Hawk, but Aaron evades answering the question, asking one himself, "If
I was, would it be a problem?" All the while during their conversation,
Jeffrey looks at Kid suspiciously.
In town, Ike fetches Annie from the church after a service and invites her for a ride in the country. They spend their time talking and getting to know each other. Kid walks around the Hawk's camp, assessing the number of men and horses the raiders have, when Aaron rides in and tells them that they'll be doing a public service, busting the town folks Lewis put in jail.
Meanwhile, Jimmy practices his reading with Vera's help. When she congratulates him on his progress, he tells her he is more interested in reading the flyers Hawk's men give out. Vera warns him about the flyer but Jimmy tells her he thinks Hawk made more sense. Stiles hears this and takes note of it. Ike falls for Annie and talks to Emma and Sam about wanting to get married. They try to discourage him, though. Kid busts in on Sam that night and he and the Hawk's raiders free the prisoners. When Jeffrey tries to kill Sam, Kid, however, stops him. Before he leaves, Kid asks Sam to set up a meeting between him and Ben Fetterman.
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