The Comanche are on the warpath and with hundreds of warriors plan to attack Bloody Fox' secret oasis hideaway in the desert. During his ride Old Shatterhand crosses paths with Old Wabble, the legendary 'king of the cowboys' and together they rescue Old Surehand from the clutches of the enemy Indians. Old Shatterhand realises that Old Surehand is at the centre of a desperate secret when he has an eerie encounter with an insane squaw in Kaam-Kulano. The adventure turns complicated when a detachment of mounted white soldiers becomes involved, but together Winnetou, Old Shatterhand, Old Surehand, and Bloody Fox repel the Comanche attack by cunning and subterfuge. When the cactus trap falls shut behind the enemy Indians, a new friend joins them-Apanatshka, a mysterious Comanche chief; but the other companion, Old Wabble, turns from friend to foe when a scoundrel known as the 'general' appears in the oasis.