Although Jud Terrell and King Patterson were uncle and nephew, there was no love lost between them. In fact, the feud between the Terrells and the Pattersons had started even before King's birth, when his mother had defied Jud and has married a man he didn't approve. But Jud was the only man in town with the power to have Nell Garrett released from jail -- and King was extremely eager, for borh personal and business reasons, that she be freed.

So King bearded Jud in his office to demand a note to the sheriff arranging bail for the prisoner. King was not surprised that the answer was no -- until he pulled an ace from his sleeve and announced that he knew the whereabouts of his cousin and Jud's son Duke, a fugitive from justice with a price on his head.