Renewal of Faith

Jake Holmes, a young Kansas cowboy, is forced to face down and kill his best friend, Tom Claiborne, in a showdown after a drunken Tom guns down a deputy marshal who is attempting to arrest him. After Tom's funeral, a disillusioned Jake leaves town heading west, with no destination in mind. Several hundred miles later, he comes across a burning ranch house. The entire family, except for an infant girl, has perished in the flames. Jake rescues the baby, and, not knowing what to do with her, heads for the nearest town, intending to turn her over to the local law. He reaches town on a Sunday morning, and happens to be riding by the local church. He decides to stop there, to see if the preacher would know who might take in the orphaned child. The preacher, who is finalizing his sermon, just before services start, has, like Jake, been questioning his faith in God, but has been unable to tell his wife what's bothering him. When Jake comes into the church with the baby, it's the answer to the preacher's prayers. He and his wife have been trying to conceive, unsuccessfully, for years. The infant girl is the answer to their prayers. The preacher and his wife finally convince Jake to attend the service. Jake takes a seat in the back pew, by happenstance right next to a pretty young lady, who smiles up at him. Jake decides maybe God is with us, after all, and decides to settle down right there in Colby, Kansas.