Gunsmoke Western #41

Two Guns for Freedom!

Approaching the town of Bullwhip, Kid Colt is confronted by a posse of men who say that they only allow those who fight the law into town and that those who want in have to prove it. They don’t think the Kid has got what it takes and tells him to turn around. The Kid insists that he’s coming in, and this prompts the outlaws to draw their guns. Kid Colt quickly draws his own weapons and shoots the guns out of their hands. To show how good a gunfighter is, he then orders the men to toss their guns into the air and shoots them into pieces. This convinces the outlaws to let him in.

Once inside the town, Kid Colt is called over to the blacksmith’s shop. There he is reintroduced to a man named Frank Tyne, whom the Kid had met in San Antonio a few years ago. Tyne tells him that the outlaws had overwhelmed the local sheriff who quit. After that, the church and schoolhouse were shut down. Kid Colt points out that state law allows for townsfolk to request for a Marshal to come and defend their town. However, all telegraph messages leaving town are screened by Lobo Payne, the outlaw who runs things in town.

When Kid Colt goes down to the telegraph office he discovers the operator has been attacked. He’s still alive and tells the Kid that he took a chance to get a message out once he learned Kid Colt was in town and was attacked by Lobo Payne and his men. Although the telegraph officer passes out, he finds the message that was received, it is an acknowledgment and that troops were being sent from Fort Laramie and Fort Slocum to help the beleaguered town. Deducing that Lobo and his gang are preparing a defense against the lawmen. He goes back to Frank Tyne and has him get all the local ranchers to help him out. He then lures the outlaws outside town and then has the ranchers unleash their herds through the town, which through the crooks into disarray that they are easily rounded up when the law finally arrives.

With their town finally free of tyranny, the people of Bullwhip celebrate this by naming a street with Kid Colt.

Recurring Characters

Kid Colt, Steel