Rawhide Kid #3
Six-Gun Lesson
The Rawhide Kid is riding when he is attacked by a gang of horse rustlers who seek to steal his horse Apache. The Kid fights them off and they find him too much of a match and flee the scene. Feeling that his ward Randy Clayton might in be danger, the Rawhide Kid pays a visit to the school to learn that none of the boys had arrived in class, troubling the Kid.
However Randy and his classmates are not in the type of trouble the Rawhide Kid expects. Instead of the danger of physical violence from the rustlers they are at risk of having their minds polluted by a local named Nogood Norris who boasts about his many accomplishments, his Texas background, and encourages the children to drop out of school, telling them that they don't need an education to have adventures. All the children buy into Nogood's sales pitch, but Randy sees through his clear lack of education and boasting manner.
When the Rawhide Kid happens upon the children as Nogood is once again telling the children that they don't need schooling. The Kid then challenges Norris to see who is the better man, if the Rawhide Kid wins the children go back to school, if he loses then the children will follow Nogood's advice. The two first start by wrestling, which the Kid wins by using Nogood's inertia against him. The Kid then also bests Nogood with a lasso as well as with his guns. Broken and defeated Nogood collapses to the ground in tears, realizing the errors of his ways and confesses that the children need a good education and vows to get one himself. Suddenly, the horse rustlers return to get revenge against the Rawhide Kid, but the Kid and Nogood easily out gun them and force them to surrender. In the aftermath of the battle the children rush back to school excited to get an education in the hopes of being a hero just like the Rawhide Kid.
With the children gone, Nogood asks the Rawhide Kid if he actually went to school, and the Kid admits that he has never seen the inside of a school house and has Nogood promise not to tell the children that.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Apache
Smokey
The Rustlers!
The Rawhide Kid and Randy Clayton are fording across a river when suddenly Randy and his horse Smokey are swept up in the currents and dragged down stream. The Kid tries to rescue Randy, but the rapids are too strong and Randy disappears. Not giving up on his young ward, the Rawhide Kid continues searching for the boy until it is too dark and decides to camp for the night.
Meanwhile, Randy survived and is unconsciously swept down river afloat on the log. He is spotted by two outlaws working for a cattle rustler named Dawson. One man, Sable, uses his lasso to rope in the kid thinking he could be a help to their operations. Randy revives and Sable quickly takes to liking the boy and brings him to Dawson. Dawson believes that the boy can be great help to their rustling by hiding him in a wooden crate and placing it in a cattle car to assist in raiding it of the cattle. Randy refuses to participate and when Dawson decides to force the boy to work for them anyway, Sable stands in his way and is beaten senseless and left behind.
While Randy is being forced into the cattle car, the Rawhide Kid picks up his trail and finds Sable and learns what is going on. The pair then work together to foil Dawson's plot and rescue Randy, apprehending Dawson and the rest of his gang. Returning to town with their prisoners, Rawhide tells Sable that they will try to get him a reduced sentence for turning over a new leaf and helping save the boy.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Apache
Smokey
The Rawhide Kid
The Rawhide Kid and Randy Clayton are riding along Slide Mountain in a region the Native Americans have called the Valley of 1000 Shadows where they just narrowly avoid a rock slide. The slider reveals a large vein of green gold including a Native American hammer also bound in the gold. They take it into nearby town of Del Oro to be appraised. There the Rawhide Kid tells Randy to keep the location of the find a secret. Randy however lets slip that it is located on Slide Mountain, unaware that two outlaws heard him disclose the location.
When the pair of outlaws report back to their boss Snake, he decides they should force the exact location out of the boy. The Rawhide Kid leaves Randy behind to go shopping for the boys birthday. Left alone, Randy decides to go back out and stake a claim on the green gold, travelling out to it unaware that he is being followed by Snake and his men. While exploring the mountain side, Randy finds a secret tunnel that leads to an ancient cavern with a large stockpile of the green gold. Just as he makes the discovery he is nabbed by Snake and his men.
Meanwhile, the Rawhide Kid returns to their hotel room to find his ward missing. Learning that Randy left town, the Kid realizes the boy returned to Slide Mountain and follows after him. He finds the secret tunnel and outshoots Snake and his men and demands that they let Randy loose. They agree, revelling in the amount of gold that they found, however not long after an avalanche buries them alive. The Rawhide Kid explains to Randy that a Native American curse on the area keeps the gold's location a secret and the outlaws greed led to their end.
Recurring Characters
Rawhide Kid
Randy Clayton
Apache
Smokey
