Trapped by the Bounty Hunter

Recognized in a town, Kid Colt makes a run for it and manages to flee the scene and manages to make it across the county line. Although he manages to elude the posse, Kid Colt is unaware that he is being stalked by the bounty hunter known as Grizzly Gaunt. Getting to higher ground, Grizzly tries to shoot Kid Colt with his rifle, but the Kid is tipped off when the sun glints off the metal finish of the rifle allowing him to evade the shot. Undaunted, Gaunt gets on his horse and starts to give chase.

Kid Colt eventually rides into the town of Carson, where the sheriff recognizes him but tells the Kid allows him to stay in town as long as he stays out of trouble. Soon, Grizzly Gaunt enters town and starts looking for the Kid, confident he’ll catch the outlaw since he doesn’t know what his pursuer looks like. When Grizzly Gaunt enters the local saloon, Kid Colt instantly doesn’t like the look of him. Still, when Grizzly asks to share a table with him, the Kid allows him to sit down. When Kid Colt tells Grizzly to take his rifle off the table, Gaunt decides to point the rifle at him instead. The Kid warns him to put it away, as he has his own guns drawn under the table and pointed at Grizzly’s belly. Knowing that Gaunt is a bounty hunter, Kid Colt flips the table and beats him up before tossing Grizzly out on his ear. As the Kid is paying for damages the sheriff comes in and tells the Kid to get out of town for starting a fight.

As he is escorted outside the local stable owner tells the Kid that his horse has a thorn stuck in his fetlock and will need to be cared for by a vet until tomorrow. The sheriff has little sympathy for this telling the Kid that they’ll tend to his horse but he’ll have to wait outside of town until they bring it to him. With no other choice, Kid Colt leaves knowing that he’ll be an easy target without his horse. His exit is witnessed by Grizzly Gaunt who has recruited a posse of men to help him capture Kid Colt. They soon charge at the outlaw, but Kid Colt runs to some nearby rocks for cover. He’s pinned down but manages to cover his escape by using his lariat to topple over a pile of huge boulders. Under the cover of the settling dust, Kid Colt manages to get the element of surprise and attack Grizzly. When the other men notice, Kid Colt quickly steals one of their horses and rides back in town to hide out on the roof of the Carson saloon. From there he spots Steel and notices that his horse is fine and deduces that the story about the injury was a ruse by Gaunt’s men to get him out of town.

Deciding that he’s done enough running, Kid Colt challenges Grizzly to come up onto the roof and take him alone. Gaunt obliges and the two get into a fight on the roof. Grizzly is easily overpowered and is almost knocked off the roof but Kid Colt grabs him. Grizzly pleads with Kid Colt not to let him fall, and the Kid spares his life. Seeing that Kid Colt is an honorable man, Grizzly Gaunt decides to let him go and after recovering his horse, Kid Colt rides out of town.

Recurring Characters

Kid Colt, Steel

Danger Under the Earth

While riding across the desert, Kid Colt happens upon the Starrett Silver Mine. Hungry and tired, Kid Colt asks the foreman, Iron Joe, if he can have a job to earn himself a meal. Iron Joe decides to give him a chance and hands him a shovel and shoves him toward the entrance of the mine. When Kid Colt asks how much this job pays, Iron Joe punches him in the face and tells him to work. Kid Colt is about ready to fight back when Joe says he’ll be fired and then he’ll have nothing. Not able to afford not working, Kid Colt backs down which gives Iron Joe a good laugh.

As he begins working, Kid Colt notices an man who is too old to be working in a mine. When he asks why the old man is slaving away in the mine he tells Kid Colt that he owes Iron Joe a great deal of money, that all the employees do. He explains that Iron Joe charges them for everything, including lodging and meals and that the mine owner, Mister Starrett, is unaware of the situation.

That’s when Iron Joe comes down and tells them to get back to work or he will dock them a half a days pay. Deciding enough is enough, Kid Colt confronts Iron Joe who tries to beat him into submission. However, Kid Colt is no easy prey and he fights back. Their battle weakens one of the support structures and when Kid Colt tries to warn Joe of the danger he ignores it. This comes back to bite him in the ass when part of the tunnel collapses on Iron Joe seriously injuring him. After everyone has been evacuated, the workers thank Kid Colt for standing up for them and figure it’ll be a while before Iron Joe is well enough to push people around.

Later that day, while eating a meal, Kid Colt is approached by Mister Starrett who has heard what happened and is impressed with how Kid Colt handed himself and offers him a job as the new foreman for the mine. Kid Colt politely declines, telling Starrett that he now has a full belly and has rested up enough to continue his journey. He leaves shortly thereafter making Starrett and the old-timer both wish there were more men in the world like Kid Colt.

Recurring Characters

Kid Colt, Steel