Joaquín and his band move from Calaveras to Mariposa, where their reign of terror continues.

A Mexican informer reveals Joaquín’s whereabouts to an American named John Prescott. Prescott sneaks into the house with a party of men, but Joaquín is alerted when one of them holds a candle close to his face to ascertain his identity. Prescott shoots Joaquín in the chest and is amazed to see the bandit still standing; he expects to be paid back in kind. A shooting match ensues and Joaquín’s party gets away. The scourged body of the informant is found hanging from a tree a few days later.

Both Prescott and Joaquín survive their chest wounds. Valenzuela moves along Bear River, burgling houses and leaving their occupants bound and gagged. When an elderly lady entreats him to return a watch that is of sentimental value and contains a lock of hair, he immediately complies and she feels grateful to him. However, the inhabitants of the other houses become so terrified of strangers that an entirely innocent young man travelling down from the mountains must spend the whole night outside, turned away from every abode at which he asks for accommodation. Many of the locals mistake him for Joaquín due to his dark complexion.