Arizona Kid #6
The Raiders of Balancing Rock!
The tranquility of Bannock City is broken when the Creech Gang rides into town, pillaging the entire town and slaughtering the every man, woman and child who lives there, and blow out to raid the next town. Weeks later, the Texas Rangers have set up camp near Sioux Falls, their latest stop on the trail of the Creech Gang. Major Cullen informs them that they have come to the area because it turns out that the local sheriff was in league with the gang and that they have learned that the gang intends to hit Sioux Falls that night. Cullen tells the Rangers that they will be there waiting for the gang when the ride in. When Captain Macklin expresses his concern about Nan's safety, Cullen tells him that Nan will stay in the camp under the protection of Happy Hicks and the other Rangers while they go in.
The following morning when the Creech gang attacks Sioux Valley, the Rangers are there to confront them. The counter-attack forces the gang to flee, but the Arizona Kid manages to capture Job Creech, one of the leaders of the gang. They attempt to question Job to learn where the gang is holed up, but he refuses to talk. Meanwhile, the other members of the gang are plotting to free their leader before he can be forced to talk or is hung for his crimes. Having staked out the Ranger camp, the gang has taken notice of Nan Macklin, and correctly deduced that he is the captain's daughter. They then storm the camp and easily outgun the Rangers still stationed there and succeed in kidnapping Nan in the hopes of using her as a hostage to free their leader. When Happy tries to stop them he is shot, and they leave a message to for Cullen and Macklin to meet them at Balancing Rock. When the others return to camp, they learn what happened, but Major Cullen refuses to let Job Creech go, because it would compromise the faith people have in the Texas Rangers. He apologizes to Macklin for not being able to do anything about it. However, the Arizona Kid refuses to leave Nan at the mercy of the outlaws and leaves camp to go and rescue her. He tells the other Rangers that the local Native American's have previously showed him a hidden route into Balancing Rock. Cliff, desperate to save his daughter asks the Kid to let him tag along.
They ride out to Hanging Rock and hideout until sundown. When one of the gang's members comes for the exchange and finds nobody there, he rides back to their secret hideout to tell the others unaware that the Arizona Kid and Macklin are following his trail. They find the hideout near Balancing Rock, and kill the sentry on duty to slip into the gangs camp. There they overhear one of Creech's men talk about wanting to slip into the cabin where Nan is being held prisoner to give her a kiss. Disgusted by this the Arizona Kid slips around to the back and goes in through a window to rescue Nan. They burst out of the cabin, with the Kid gunning down everyone in their path. They run back to Balancing Rock where Cliff it waiting for them. With the rest of the Creech Gang on their heels, Cliff and the Kid push Balancing Rock over causing an avalanche that wipes out the gang, ending their reign of terror forever.
Recurring Characters
Arizona Kid
Cliff Macklin
Nan Macklin
Major Cullen
Happy Hicks
Arrow
Mystery Mesa!
The Arizona Kid and Happy Hicks are riding through Bearpaw Basin on their way to the Sandstorm Ranch. When they arrive they find that there is a hanging underway. They stop the ranch owner, Jasper Sandstorm from hanging a man accused of rustling, telling Sandstorm that the man has a right to due process under Texas law. Jasper accuses the man, Ham Coley, of being a masked rustler named the Hawk who has been stealing cattle in the area for some time. Ham denies it, telling them that Sandstorm and the others are just looking for someone to blame. The Kid informs the ranchers that they have been sent into the area to investigate the theft of the cattle and vow to capture the man posing as the Hawk. Jasper tells them that that is easier said than done as the Hawk simply vanishes after all his thefts.
The two Rangers leave to try and hunt down the Hawk, the Arizona Kid is convinced that he is trying to run the ranchers out of the basin by making them go broke. They try to find clues to the rustler's hideout but find nothing and decide to camp out for the night. In the middle of the night the Arizona Kid is awoken by the sound of voices. He wakes Happy and the pair track down it's source and find the Hawk and his gang of masked rustlers coming to kill them in their sleep. The Kid and Happy force them back and when they try to follow their retreat, they are shocked to find that the Hawk's gang has disappeared. However, one of the men they shot dead was knocked off his horse and they spot it running free. They follow after it, hoping that it will lead them back to the Hawk's hideout.
They watch as the horse rides through a nearby waterfall and find all the stolen cattle on the other side. They find the Hawk's mask but it's owner. They are soon attacked by the Hawk's men, but gun them down. Having figured out who the Hawk really is, the Kid rides off to the Sandstorm ranch with Happy in tow. There they find Jasper ready to hang Ham for the Hawk's crimes and the Arizona Kid once more steps in to stop it. He reveals that he has deduced that Jasper Sandstorm is really the Hawk. When Sandstorm tries to get away, he is soon covered with guns and confesses that he is the Hawk, but asks the Arizona Kid how he figured it out. The Kid explains that when he found the Hawk's mask, there were blonde hairs in it, and it was easy to deduce that Jasper was really the Hawk since he was the only man in the basin with blonde hair.
Recurring Characters
Arizona Kid
Happy Hicks
Arrow
Power Smoke Pay-Off!
When Twist Reeves and his gang ride into Texas from Oklahoma, the Texas Rangers pick up their trail in an effort to capture them after the gang has raided a number of mountain towns. Major Cullen orders Cliff Macklin to gather up six of his best men to go on a hunting party for the Twist gang. When the Arizona Kid offers to join up, Cullen denies the request telling him that they need more supplies for the camp and sends him to hunt for game to feed the camp. Later, when Happy questions if Cliff was trying to get the Kid's "goat", this inspires the Arizona Kid to go up into the mountains to hunt for mountain goats and wild sheep, as an excuse to also look out for the Twist gang.
Riding up into the mountains, the Arizona Kid is suddenly caught up in a blizzard. Knowing that there is a hermit in the area named Shoshone Pete, the Kid rides over to his cabin to seek shelter from the elements. When the Kid comes knocking, Pete tells him to get lost and slams the door in his face, leaving the Kid to believe that there is something seriously wrong going on. Circling around the cabin, the Kid takes a peek into Pete's stable and finds a number of horses in there. Sneaking up to the back window of the cabin, the Kid is not surprised to see that Twist Reeves and his gang are inside and have forced Shoshone Pete to provide them shelter from the blizzard. He overhears them force Pete to show them how to get out of the mountains in the storm in order to elude the Rangers. Held at gunpoint, Pete has no choice and leads them all out. The gang is unaware that the Arizona Kid is following after them.
The Kid follows from behind until he catches up to the gang and then silently begins picking off stragglers one by one as they fall behind. Eventually Twist realizes that his numbers of thinning out and that Shoshone Pete has been leading them around in circles the whole time. Suspecting a double cross, Twist is about to shoots Pete, forcing the Arizona Kid out of hiding. The Kid is winged with a bullet, but he manages to shoot down Twist Reeves and most of his gang until the remaining members surrender to him.
Much later, Cliff Macklin and his team return to the camp to inform Major Cullen they failed to find Twist Reeves and is shocked when Cullen informs him that not only did the Arizona Kid put a stop to the gang, he also brought the camp the game he was ordered to hunt.
Recurring Characters
Arizona Kid
Cliff Macklin
Major Cullen
Arrow
