Kid Colt Outlaw #7

Trapped Between Two Fires!

Clay Tindell is riding his kid brother-in-law Jimmy Beresford to the ranch that Clay shares with his new wife June. Along the way they pass by a castle which Jimmy asks about how it got there. Clay tells Jimmy that the castle used to belong to an eastern businessman named the Brain and tells his story....

Sometime ago, in New York, the Brain had met with his assistant Charles and learned that his business rival Martin Beresford had sunk his entire fortune into Consolidated Shipping. This plays into the Brain's plans and orders Charles to pull out all their stock in the company making the remaining stock worthless and ruin Beresford. Days later, the Brain's plan played out and Martin confides in his daughter June that he is financially ruined before running into another room and committing suicide. Back at the offices of the Brain, the Brain decides to use his wealth to form his own country and take over the United States. He decides to relocate and build a castle in the American west and puts Charles in charge of his operations in New York. His planning gets interrupted when June Beresford bursts into his office with a gun to avenge her fathers death. However the Brain disarms her and orders Charles to have her arrested and put in jail.

Several months later, Kid Colt is visiting his friend Clay Tindell who shows him the Brain's newly constructed castle. Tindell tells the Kid that the Brain fancies himself some sort of king and has hired on every bloodthirsty gunhawk in the area to be part of his private army. Spotting smoke not far away, Clay and Kid Colt ride out to check it out and catch some of the Brain's men burning down Clay's ranch. The pair gun down the men responsible. Kid Colt decides that it is time to talk to the Brain and rides out to the castle.

When he arrives there he is shot at but tells them not to shoot, telling them that the men sent to burn down Clay's ranch are all dead. Hearing this, the Brain orders Kid Colt executed. Kid Colt is then chased away in a hail of bullets. Seeing that the Brain is sending his army to destroy Clay's ranch, Kid Colt races Steel and jumps over Buffalo Pass in order to cut them off. Getting ahead of the army, Kid Colt then drops large boulders to block the mountain pass between the Brain's castle and Clay's ranch. Kid Colt returns to Clay's ranch and the two decide to deal with the Brain by getting the US Army involved. However as Kid Colt leaves, he finds that Marshall Bender at the door having come to arrest Kid Colt on behalf of the Brain. Clay tries to help Kid Colt escape, but Kid orders him to stand down and agrees to go with the Marshall to the Brain's castle. There they see their hopes of getting the army to help dashed as the Brain has convinced them to do manoeuvres in his castle. Kid Colt realizes that the only way they can get the law to help them against the Brain now is to find incriminating evidence against him in New York. Kid Colt manages to escape the Marshall and rides off to New York. The Marshall in turn goes to warn the Brain, who orders him to go after Kid Colt and then instructs one of his other minions to send a telegraph to Charles to warn him of the Kid's arrival.

Days later, Kid Colt arrives in New York City and locates the office where the Brain worked out of. Charles is alerted of his arrival and has a gang of men waiting for him. However these city roughians are not match for the western outlaw who out draws and shoots some of them dead but is on the defensive. The fight takes him to the roof of the building where he is assisted by June Beresford. They both swing across to the next building and smash through the window. Charles and his men catch up and are about to shoot both the Kid and June when Marshall Bender arrives and helps Kid Colt gun Charles and his men down. Fleeing the building, Bender explains that he had done some research on the Brain and agrees to side with Kid Colt in stopping the Brain, and June insists on accompanying them to avenge her father.

Days later they return to Buffalo Junction where they fight off a reception waiting for them at the livery stable where Kid Colt has left his horse Steel. The Kid then races off to face the Brain alone. The Kid scales the walls of the Brain's castle and gets the drop on the guards. He then corners the Brain, not wishing to be arrested decides to take fate into his own hand and jumps out a window, falling to his death. Kid Colt then warns the other outlaws that their leader is dead and the law is coming and they all quickly flee. In the aftermath, Marshall Bender allows the Kid to go free and June and Clay inform Kid Colt that they intend to get married.

Recurring Characters

• Kid Colt

• Steel

King of the Valley!

Nimo is out in the wilderness protecting his domain. His mate Tama and her cubs are attacked by an eagle, but Tama defends her cubs. Tama meanwhile spots a black bear in his territory and battles the creature. This attracts the attention of a ranch owner who witnesses the battle. When Nimo kills the bear, his ranch hand offers to shoot and kill Nimo, but the rancher declines, telling him that Nimo does more to protect his herd than he ever could possibly do.

Recurring Characters

• Nimo