Rawhide Kid #16
The Man Who Couldn't Talk
The Rawhide Kid and Randy Clayton are in Shotgun City when they spot a man tied to a horse near the brink of death with a note pinned to his back. The note reads "This hombre got too nosey and too close" which does not tell them much. The Kid turns over the wounded man to the doctor and leaves his horse in the care of Hammer, the local blacksmith. Sheriff Yarby gets involved in the situation and the learn that the man is going to survive but it is unknown if he will be able to talk any time soon. They search his clothes but find no identification. The Kid decides to check the horse for any clues. The only thing he learns is when Hammer tells him that the horse has clay caked in it's shoe that is only found in one place: Bluerock Flats.
The Rawhide Kid gets an idea to try and flush out the men responsible for hurting the man, and has the local paper publish a story about how the man survived and is going to talk to the Sheriff about who attacked him. The outlaws responsible get a copy of the newspaper, and decide to finish the job against the US Marshal that they roughed up.
The following morning, Randy warns the Rawhide Kid when he sees some strangers entering town. The Kid is waiting for them when they try to enter the doctor's house to eliminate the Marshall and they are taken into custody. However when the refuse to talk, the Rawhide Kid comes up with a better idea: letting their horses go. The Kid then follows the horses back to the outlaws hideout and stops their leader from burning the warrants for their arrest as well as the Marshall's badge and takes them into custody.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Sheriff Ben Yarby
Stampede!
With a herd of cattle stampeding toward Shotgun City, the Rawhide Kid takes control of the situation. He gets the locals to string a rope across the town's main stream and drapes fabric along the rope. When the cattle get near to town, the Kid and the other locals light the fabric on fire, spooking the cattle away from town. Rounding up the herd they find brands belonging to the Triangle X ranch that is located out in San Pedro. Wondering how the cattle managed to get this far, they send a telegraph out and soon learn that the cattle were stolen from the ranch a month prior.
Meanwhile, not far away, the Fluke gang lament over the failure of their plan to trample the city with cattle so they can steal forty thousand dollars that is in the local bank that the government intends to use to buy land off the local Native Americans. So they decide to try again and begin trying to round up the cattle, but they run afoul of the Rawhide Kid and Randy who easily disarm them. When learning their plot, the Kid tells them that the money had already been shipped to Los Palos the day before to prevent any potential robberies.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Sheriff Ben Yarby
Apache
King
The Man Who Flaunted the Law!
Wealthy Jake Bragg is on the rampage in town shooting the place up but he is put down hard by the Rawhide Kid who tries to talk sense into him that he has to contribute his wealth to town, but Bragg refuses and leaves town. The Rawhide Kid then checks in with Ben Yarby, who tells him that Bragg is at the top of the list for people who owe taxes to the town.
The next day when Bragg is in town taking money out of the bank the Rawhide Kid confronts him and demands that he pay his outstanding 200 dollar tax bill. Jake refuses and a shoot out ensues, which the Kid wins. Submitting and realizing the errors of his ways, Bragg pays the taxes owed to him.
Bragg then goes to Sheriff Yarby and asks to be deputized so he can help the Rawhide Kid collect the remaining taxes from other wealthy ranchers who owe taxes. Sure enough, the aggressive tactics of both Jack Bragg and the Rawhide Kid collect all the outstanding taxes needed.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Sheriff Ben Yarby
Apache
Desperate Decision!
Clyde Madison is running trouble in town forcing the Rawhide Kid to put a stop to his wild shooting. The Kid takes his guns away but Clyde warns him that he will get revenge, telling the Kid and Sheriff Ben Yarby that his father is the notorious outlaw Blast Madison before he is forced to ride out of town.
Later that day, Randy Clayton is runs into a rattlesnake and is saved by Clyde who tosses a rock at the snake knocking it out. Thanking Clyde for helping him, Randy asks why he does not have any guns and learns about how his mentor the Rawhide Kid stripped Clyde of his guns. Randy decides to help Clyde by going into town and asking the Kid and Sheriff Yarby to return the guns to him.
When Clyde pays a visit to the Rawhide Kid's house, he is surprised to find that the Kid is the very man who disarmed him in town. Feeling guilty, Clyde tells the Kid that his father intends to attack Shotgun City with his gang in revenge for the way he was beat. With Randy in town, the Kid and Clyde race in to stop Blast Madison from causing any trouble.
In town Blast Madison and his gang are looking for the Rawhide Kid and when Randy mentions he knows the Kid and refuses to tell them where he is, he is taken hostage. Soon the Kid and Clyde arrive and the Kid easily disarms the situation and when Clyde tells his father to stand down, Blast realizes how wrong his lifestyle has been and promises to reform in the future.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Sheriff Ben Yarby
Apache
King