Kid Colt Outlaw #86
Trapped by El Lopo
In a town along the Mexico border, Kid Colt is suddenly surrounded by soldiers who order the outlaw to surrender. Disarmed, Kid Colt is taken to meet the governor at his mansion. The governor apologizes for the rough reception but they needed to find the Kid quickly. When Kid Colt asks what the governor wants, he says he is offering the Kid a chance to serve his country by helping capture the notorious outlaw known as El Lopo. The Kid knows all about El Lopo by reputation, having heard that he commands an army consisting of 20 of Mexico’s worst criminals. The governor goes on to say that El Lopo and his men recently broke into his mansion and stole some important government papers and have been holding them ransom. The Mexican government has been trying to help them recover the papers but have been unable to capture El Lopo and his gang. Since sending in the US army would cause an international incident, he wants Kid Colt to travel into Mexico and recover the stolen papers. Not only does he know Kid Colt has the skills for the job, he knows that the outlaw is loyal and true to his word. Convinced, Kid Colt agrees to recover the stolen documents from El Lopo.
In a race against time, Kid Colt races across the border past the customs guards, eluding them with relative ease. Soon he arrives in the mountain town near El Lopo’s hideout. When the Kid starts asking around about El Lopo he discovers that everyone is scared to death of the outlaw and they refuse to talk. Soon he finds himself under the gun of one of the locals. At first, he thinks he is being arrested but quickly learns that he is being taken to El Lopo himself. When surrounded by El Lopo and his men, they ask if he has come for the governor’s papers. However, Kid Colt says that he’s actually come looking for a place to hide out since things have gotten to hot for him in the United States and suggest that they team-up. Having heard the legends about Kid Colt, El Lopo decides to learn if they are true by attacking the American outlaw. Kid Colt wins the first fight and when he prepares to draw his guns, El Lopo is convinced that he is worth his mettle and welcomes him into the gang. El Lopo’s minions aren’t sure they can trust the American, but El Lopo insists that Kid Colt will always be watched and he can’t escape back to the United States since the borders are armed with guards. As a final test of his loyalties, El Lopo tells Kid Colt that he will help them rob a bank in the town of Las Quantas.
Finding himself in a bind, Kid Colt tries to think of a way to search El Lopo’s tent for the stolen papers before the bank robbery. He orders Steel to start bucking and tells El Lopo that his horse was stung by a bee. Pretending to try and calm his horse, Kid Colt motions Steel toward El Lopo’s tent and as the horse tramples it he grabs the lockbox containing the stolen papers. Realizing what’s going on, El Lopo orders his men to kill Kid Colt, but he manages to escape the camp. Then, after hiding in a forest and gives the outlaws the slip. Kid Colt then rides to town to warn them about the bank robbery but is driven off by the local sheriff. When El Lopo and his men attack the town, Kid Colt lends a hand and eventually, the battle becomes a stalemate as both the outlaws and the townspeople are evenly matched. Kid Colt then challenges El Lopo to a one-on-one fight. El Lopo agrees but when the Kid comes out to face him, El Lopo pulls out a whip. Before the outlaw can use this weapon, Kid Colt draws his guns and shoots the whip through the handle. When El Lopo tries to go for his guns, Kid Colt shoots the holsters off his gun belt and then beats him into submission. With El Lopo and his gang under wraps, Kid Colt rides for the border. There the border guards try to stop him but the locals tell them how Kid Colt helped them capture El Lopo and they let him through. Having had his fill with dealing with trigger happy authority figures, Kid Colt decides that he’ll mail the stolen papers back to the governor instead of delivering them in person.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt, Steel
Meeting at Midnight
The Black Rider is patrolling the town at night when he suddenly hears gunshots. Riding to their source he spots another man on horseback trying to flee the scene. Noticing that he has been seen, the fleeing man keeps the Black Rider back by shooting at him. When the shooter disappears into the woods, the Black Rider loses the trail and decides to head back to town to find out what the shooting was all about. However, the investigation turns cold when the Black Rider can find any clues to explain what the shooting is all about.
The following morning, Doctor Matthew Masters is still trying to figure out what the previous evening’s shooting was all about. That’s when Masters is visited by Mister Warren who has his arm in a sling. When the doctor asks what happened, Warren says that he was careless while cleaning his gun and accidentally shot himself in the arm. However, Masters doesn’t buy it because Warren lives on the street where he heard the shooting the night before. After patching up Warren, Masters wonders what sort of trouble the upstanding citizen has found himself in.
That evening, Mister Warren has ridden outside of town to pay an outlaw named Carver some more blackmail money. Carver tells Warren he’s going to keep paying until he decides his silence has been bought, not the other way around. He warns Warren if he doesn’t return the following evening by midnight he’ll start telling the locals about how Warren once spent two years in jail. As this exchange goes on, neither men know that they are being secretly watched by the Black Rider.
The following day, Matthe Masters checks on Mister Warren to change the dressing on his wound. He then drugs Warren so he sleeps through the next meeting and goes to the meeting place as the Black Rider. There, Carver starts shooting at the Black Rider, but the masked hero easily shoots the gun out of Carver’s hand and gives him chase. However, as Carver tries to climb up the face of a cliff he ends up slipping and falling to his death. With Carver out of the way, the Black Rider returns to the town where he leaves a note for Warren telling him that his blackmailer is dead and that his secret is safe.
Recurring Characters
Black Rider, Satan
The Menace of Moose Morgan!
After days of hard riding for days with no sleep while on the run from the law an exhausted Kid Colt collapses off his horse. He is found by a gunman named Moose Morgan who wakes up the Kid so they can talk. Morgan says he is pretty fast with the gun and suggests that they both start working together. Kid Colt rejects this offer saying all he wants to do is get some sleep. Pointing his rifle at Kid Colt, Moose gives Kid Colt a choice: either they work together or Moose is going to take him in and claim the reward for Kid Colt’s capture.
Getting fed up with Moose Morgan, Kid Colt kicks the rifle from his hands and then reaches for his colts only to discover they must have fallen out of his holsters when he collapsed off his horse. Diving for the guns, Kid Colt quickly shoots the revolvers that Morgan pulls from his gun belt. With Morgan at his mercy, Kid Colt forces him to put on the Kid’s trademark white hat and cowskin vest and sends him packing so the arriving posse chases after Moose Morgan instead. Finally having some peace and quiet, Kid Colt gets some much-needed shut-eye.
Recurring Characters
Kid Colt, Steel
