Zagor receives a message from Major Thompson of the garrison of the town of Charleston , on the banks of the Kanawha River , and sets out with Chico .
Once they arrive in Charleston, Zagor leaves Chico without money. Chico finds Trampy , and they run a scam by posing as still life painters and eating the depicted food. They come out full, but unfortunately they are still discovered and beaten by the scammed person.
In the meantime, Zagor listens to the commander: the supplies for a small military detachment in a disadvantaged mining town called Golden Rock are regularly attacked by brigands, who evidently know the dates of the supplies: there must be a spy in the army. Zagor must go and ask Mark Robbins , head of the local garrison and son of Senator Alan Robbins, a national hero of the Revolutionary War.
This episode was originally written for French publisher Editiones Lug, who hired artist Mario Cubbino to draw the episode. In France episode was published on Speciale Kiwi 20 (5.12.1964), interestingly in Italy it was published two months before (September/October 1964).