Blaze Carson #5
Murder by the Wrong Man!
Blaze Carson and Tumbleweed are informed that someone tried to stampede the Lockridge cattle the night before. Blaze decides to go out and talk to the Tom and Betty Lockridge, leaving Tumbleweed in charge of things in town. Tumbleweed is convinced that a newcomer named David Jensen, whom Tumbleweed knows was involved in rustling in the past. Blaze cautions Tumbleweed not to jump to any conclusions. Blaze then meets with the Lockridge's and observes that their ranch has been doing quite well recently. He warns them that Jesse Oland and his men have been attacking ranchers on the other end of town and cautions them to be careful. Blaze wonders where Oland has been selling the cattle he has stolen.
Blaze then departs to go and talk to Dave Jensen. Along the way he is ambushed by Jesse Oland, but Carson manages to shoot him down, but is left wondering how he could have known he was riding through the area. He is soon met by Tom Lockridge who tells Blaze that he had come out because someone had cause his cattle to stampede after Blaze had left. Blaze orders Tom to bring Oland's body to town while he pays a persona visit to Jensen. Blaze talks to Jensen about the recent trouble and shows him a letter that he received about Jensen's past from another lawman who states that Jensen was sentenced to 10 years for cattle rustling and that he was released after 6 for good behaviour. Jensen explains that he has gone straight and does not see the honour in killing cattlemen and stealing their herds and offers Blaze to search his property while he goes out and warns his men out on his land to keep an eye out on the rustlers.
No sooner than when Jensen is gone does Betty Lockridge comes racing through on an out of control horse. Blaze saves her and the panicked woman insists that he take her into town and Blaze reluctantly agrees. After dropping Betty off, Blaze asks Tumbleweed if Tom Lockridge arrived with Jesse Oland's body, but Tumbleweed has not seen him. Soon a rider from Jensen's ranch rides in and tells Blaze that the cattle he was left to watch were stolen as well. When Tumbleweed lets slip that Jensen used to be a cattle rustler, the locals become furious and begin organizing a mob.
With the situation escalating, Blaze and Tumbleweed quickly ride out to the Lockridge ranch. There Blaze confronts Tom as he has deduced that Tom is behind the rustling, seeking to pin it on Jensen due to his checkered past. However, Tom gets Tumbleweed at gun point and is able to slip out and drive off their horses while he tries to run his stolen cattle away. However, Tom is not so lucky as he is thrown off his horse and trampled to death by the cattle. Out of the chaos comes Dave Jensen with a smoking rifle, he explains that he also deduced that Tom Lockridge was responsible and shot Tom's horse as he tried to escape.
As Blaze and Tumbleweed ride into town, Tumbleweed tries to convince Blaze (or at least himself) that he knew Jensen was innocent he entire time.
Recurring Characters
Blaze Carson
Tumbleweed
The Great Impersonation!
Tex Taylor is riding across the desert when he spots some buzzards and investigates what they are circling over. He shoots them away and finds a man named Howard Orkin, a school teacher in Dry Gulch who strongly resembled Tex. Orkin explains that he is running for the head of the citizens committee in town and his chief competitor Brad Davis had him run out of town. Taking Howard back to his cabin, Tex learns the whole situation and comes up with an idea: Going back into town posing as Howard Orkin to deal with Brad Davis.
Tex Taylor rides into town dressed like Howard Orkin. When he is spotted by Orkin's father, he explains the whole situation and the elder Orkin tells Tex that the only way to carry on the ruse is to resume Howard's job as a school teacher. After teaching the children about law and order, he dismisses them early and has them inform everyone in town that the citizens committee will be meeting tomorrow on the main street.
Meanwhile, Brad Davis and his gang learn that "Orkin" is back in town and confront Tex as he is putting posters up for the election. However, Tex is able to out draw and out shoot them, sending them fleeing. One of the gang members quickly realizes that the shooter is Tex Taylor and they receive word that the real Howard Orkin had been spotted in his cabin. Realizing that they are dealing with Tex Taylor, Davis and his men kidnap Howard's father and force him to write a note claiming that Tex Taylor threatened him and ask him to come back to town and denounce the impostor.
Furious, Howard returns to town and interrupts the citizens committee meeting and denounces Tex as an impostor. However, when Tex is accused of kidnapping Howard's father, Tex denies it and rushes off to rescue him from the real captors. Storming Brad Davis' hideout, Tex guns down all the outlaws that stand in his way. After rescuing Howard's father and the surviving gang members taken to jail, Howard wins the election by a landslide. Howard then offers Tex the job of the town sheriff, but Taylor politely declines.
Recurring Characters
Tex Taylor
Fury
The Menace in the Past!
Blaze Carson enters his office just as Tumbleweed is going into one of his made up stories of how he battled Billy the Kid to young Johnny Baxter. Blaze asks Johnny to run along and tells Tumbleweed he is concerned about the boy hanging around with some loafers in town and does not want Tumbleweed's tall tales to give the boy any ideas. Before Tumbleweed can defend his position they are aroused to the sound of gunfire and rush outside.
Outside they find a posse who have gunned down a bank robber and have caught his accomplice -- Johnny Baxter. When they confront Johnny about his involvement, Johnny confesses he did not know what the men were going to do. With the situation under control, Blaze and Tumbleweed take young Johnny back to the sheriff's office.
There Blaze tells Johnny a story of his youth: How he was hired by a man named Keno to watch his horse and soon realized that he was helping Keno rob a bank. While fleeing the law, the young Blaze Carson accidentally ran down a young woman. Wanting to go to her aid, Blaze was horrified when Keno disregarded her and ordered Carson to keep fleeing. Once they got away, the young Blaze was paid five dollars for his help.
However, the boy was filled with guilt and rode back into town and overheard a doctor examining the girl he trampled down and that he chances of full recovery will be a miracle. The girl's father, having seen Blaze fleeing the scene is determined to have a reward put out for him. Before Carson can do anything, Keno comes up behind him and knocks the boy out. He then bursts into the house and threatens the doctor and the girl's father. Having revived, Blaze then burst in and shot Keno dead. Then much to everyone's surprise the girl rose out of bed, seemingly recovered from her injuries. However, Blaze -- now a wanted outlaw -- then fled town.
With his story over, Blaze gets Johnny to promise not to mix in with questionable characters again and sees him on his way. When Tumbleweed comments on the powerful and emotional story he is shocked when Blaze confesses that he made the entire story up, much to Tumbleweed's chagrin.
Recurring Characters
Blaze Carson
Tumbleweed
