Kid Colt Outlaw #60
The Challenge!
Kid Colt rides his horse Steel across a one way bridge when a man named Dagger Tate stops him half way to cross himself, threatening to cut the bridge loose if the Kid does not move out of his way, forcing the Kid to dangerously ride his horse backwards on the dangerous bridge. When Tate begins to cross the bridge, the Kid pulls out his gun and shoots the gun out of his hand. The Kid then forces Tate to tie his horse to the post of the bridge then crawl backward on his hands his knees back the way he came. When both Tate and Kid Colt end up on the opposite side, the Kid uses his knife to cut the bridge sending it falling into the water. As Kid Colt rides away, Dagger Tate vows to get revenge on him.
A week later Kid Colt is waiting for bidding at the annual bronc round up in Crockett City. Each rider bids for the lowest possible amount to corral three hundred wild broncs for the Z-Bar-Y Ranch. Also in the crowd is Dagger Tate who orders his minions to insure that he wins the auction, however Kid Colt underbids him, and when Dagger's men try to stop him, the Kid roughs them up. The conflict prompts the organizers to reward the winner who can round up more broncs in the shortest amount of time. Dagger goes first and manage to round up the broncs in thirty-two minutes. When it's Kid Colt's turn, he sends only his horse Steel. To everyone's surprise, Steel manages to round up the broncs in about four minutes, winning the competition for Kid Colt. When Dagger tries to draw on Kid Colt, Steel runs up behind him and knocks him over, ending the conflict.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt
Steel
Day of Decision!
Kid Colt is helping a number of soldiers who are under attack by a gang of renegades trying to obtain a important pouch. With all the soldiers wounded the trust Kid Colt to run the pouch to the fort as whoever holds the paperwork owns a part of Texas. Kid Colt flees in the night to get the documentation to the fort. There he learns from the commanding officer that the paperwork is a land transfer that will see land transferred from Texas to Arizona territory and that it needs to get to Elephant Butte by noon the next day. Kid Colt agrees to see it to Elephant Butte, but insists that he be the only guard on board the train carrying the paperwork.
Sure enough as the train rolls toward Elephant Butte, it is attacked by the renegades led by Bull Akins who seeks to get possession of the land for himself. However Kid Colt defeats the outlaws all by himself and insures that the documentation makes it to the destination on time.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt
Steel
An Act of Faith!
Kid Colt is awoken from his sleep when he detects a young boy sneaking into his camp and attempting to steal his food. Kid Colt wakes up and offers the boy food much to the young boy's surprise. Getting the boy to confide in him, Kid Colt learns that the boy's name is Danny and his father is the doctor in Pine Bluff.
Curious as to how a doctor could not afford to feed his family, Kid Colt pays a visit to Doc Haynes in Pine Bluff. He learns that the Doc has not been paid by any of his patients and that he is thinking of moving on to greener pastures. Kid Colt tells Doc Haynes to stick around as he will help solve the problem.
An hour later, Kid Colt gets in between two men who begin fighting in the street, trouncing them in a fight and dragging them down the street to Doc Haynes office where he forces them to pay for medical treatment as well as everything they owe the doctor for past services. Soon Kid Colt confronts every rough neck in town, beating them to a pulp and sending them to see the doctor and forcing them to pay what they owe on top of other medical treatment.
With the locals finally appreciating Doc Haynes services and Haynes able to afford to care for his family, Kid Colt pays leave to Haynes who decides to stay in Pine Bluff to continue his practice.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt
Steel
Desert Vengeance!
While riding across the desert Kid Colt comes across a monk just as he collapses from heat exhaustion. The Kid rushes to his aid and gives him water and builds a shelter to keep him out of the sun. He learns from the monk that some men stole an ancient vase from the Chapel of Santo Miguel which is kept in a fountain due to it's special properties. Kid Colt leaves the monk in the care of a local and then goes to the chapel to search for clues. Checking the fountain, Kid Colt finds that the water is poisonous and deduces that the vase must have some sort of filtering properties that makes the water pure enough to drink. Kid Colt then tries to follow the thieves trail, finding it still fresh.
Not far away, the three thieves argue over what to do about the vase, one of them just wants to get rid of it, while their leader believes that it could be sold for a great amount of money. However they find no prospective buyers and that night they return to camp. There they are ambushed by Kid Colt who takes the vase back from them, but the thieves vow to take it again. The following day the thieves head back to the chapel but run out of water along the way. By the time they arrive at the chapel they are dying of thirst. Rushing inside, they take the vase out of the fountain and begin drinking the water only to be poisoned as a result. As they pass out, Kid Colt takes the vase back and returns it to the fountain. The monk returns to tell Kid Colt that the maker of the vase was an expert on purification. Kid Colt examines the men will be okay soon enough as they did not drink enough of the poison water for it to be lethal and when the men are back in good health they are let go, believing that they have learned their lesson.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt
Steel
