Gunsmoke Western #38

The Phantom of Caribou Flats!

While riding on the trail, Kid Colt witnesses a rockslide that will threaten a stagecoach if it doesn’t stop in time. Racing ahead, the Kid helps slow the horses so the rockslide doesn’t hit the coach. As this is one of many near accidents that the coach has faced since taking on its passenger named Baldwin, the coach driver tells him to get out and refunds him his fare. When Kid Colt is asking what’s going on, the coach driver says the boy’s cursed. Learning that Baldwin is heading to Caribou Flats, Kid Colt convinces the coach driver to at least give him a horse. Baldwin thanks Kid Colt, saying he needs to get to Caribou Flats right away since the ghost town has been willed to him by his late uncle Sam Baldwin. Kid Colt warns the lad that Caribou Falls is a dangerous place, but the young man insists on going, so Kid Colt decides to tag along to make sure Baldwin stays safe.

When Baldwin arrives he encounters the so-called Phantom of Caribou Flats, a burning man who tries to attack him. Kid Colt arrives just in time to save him and the Phantom manages to getaway. Kid Colt. Later when they set up camp, they have to run for cover when a massive fireball is launched at them. Suspecting that there’s something less-than-supernatural going on, Kid Colt has Baldwin pretend to leave while he stakes the place out in the shadows.

Sure enough, once Baldwin leaves, Kid Colt spies a man wearing a strange tarp over his body climb out of the well. When Kid Colt approaches the phantom it suddenly lights on fire again. Kid Colt draws his gun and is hardly surprised when the phantom draws a gun of his own. Kid Colt shoots it out of his hand and then begins shooting at the ground making the phantom back into the well and fall back in, dousing his flames. Apprehending the phantom, Kid Colt unmasks him and reveals that it was just a normal man all along. As it turns out, the “phantom” was Sam Baldwin’s old partner who discovered a hidden deposit of gold under the town and created the myth of the Phantom of Caribou Flats to scare people away so he could claim the land for himself. With the deception exposed, the young Baldwin intends to use the gold to revitalize the town so it can become a decent place for kids to live.

Recurring Characters

Kid Colt, Steel