#20 - "Meanwhile Back at the Reservation"
SEASON ONE
1965 - 1966
When the Rangers round up a gang of horse thieves, Joe "captures" 14 year old Indian Grey Smoke who is working for the gang. Joe takes him under his wing and gets the Captain to hire him as a runner. When Reese is sent out to join the rest of the Rangers chasing cattle rustlers (that's the last of Reese in this episode) Chad, Joe and the Captain are the only Rangers left in Laredo. They notice a disturbing gathering of nine gunslingers at the saloon. Cattleman Stan Greevy hired them to retrieve his stolen cattle in Mexico despite the danger of starting a border war.
NiteOwl Review: Not quite a top-ten favorite, but close. (All the good ones can't be top ten or it would be a top twenty.)
Cast Note: This was Kurt Russell before his popular Disney movies The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes 
(1969) and The Barefoot Executive (1971). In 1976, Russell co-starred with Tim Matheson in the gritty, well-done, but short-lived Western series The Quest. William Smith later appeared with the adult Kurt Russell in the film Mean Season.
Kurt Russell as Grey Smoke
Although Greevy has a change of heart and pays the men off, they decide that with most of the Rangers out of Laredo, they can take over. In the ensuing gunfight, Chad, Joe and Captain Parmalee take care of most of the gun slicks until Jug Herriot gets the drop on Chad and Joe in an alley while they're taking down another man. Grey Smoke saves the day be jumping off a roof knocking Jug to the ground.
Ranger Grey Smoke
Transformation into a Ranger
Original air date Feb 10, 1966
Directed by Bernard McEveety
Written by John D.F. Black

Regular Cast
Neville Brand as Reese Bennett
Peter Brown as Chad Cooper
William Smith as Joe Riley
Phil Carey as Capt. Parmalee

Guest Cast
Kurt Russell as Grey Smoke
J. Pat O'Malley as Stan Greevy
Robert Yuro as Jug Herriot
Rayford Barnes as Fred Chaney
K.L. Smith as Charlie Stamp
John Harmon as Sam Price
Ray Kellogg as Morgan
Jon Lormer as banker
Official Peter Brown Fan Site