The Virginian is sent to Winton, Wyoming to purchase oats for Shiloh from a farmer who advertised in the Medicine Bow paper. As he arrives he observes three men beating up one man so he steps in to break it up. The man he helps provides directions to Frank Adams' farm where he meets Adams' wife Marie who is elated he wants the oats. After looking over the oats, The Virginian offers $300 for a thousand bushels delivered to the railroad which is reluctantly accepted by Adams. From there he goes to visit rancher Tom Hadley, a friend of Grainger. He walks into the middle of a war session where the ranchers are discussing how to fight the homesteaders. Hadley wants to buy the Adams farm as it is unsuitable for farming and has a water hole he needs. Refusing to break the deal for the oats, The Virginian finds himself caught in the feud. An over zealous foreman tries to pressure The Virginian to back out of the deal by roughing him up. A broken fence and a barn fire which burns up the oats brings things to a boil. Further complicating the situation are issues between members of the Adams family.
—Anonymous